Black Puddle

Her screams of excitement make my ears ring. She found some water in a puddle behind some random house. She drags me by my wrist while looking back at my eyes. Those damn green eyes; they get me every time. I follow closely behind her because, to be fair, she is an idiot. She sort of just runs towards whatever interests her without thinking about who, or what, could kill her. It was annoying, for sure, but she was hot so I dealt with it.

She needs the water to dump in her brother’s car. She didn’t tell me why but, considering the kind person she usually is, I bet he messed up pretty bad.

We got to the puddle. I watch her bend down and dip her bottle into the water. As she places her hand inside the water, it keeps going. Her hand, it keeps going. The puddle doesn’t seem that deep so why is it still going. I grab her forearm aggressively as she looks at me with confusion. Her hand is pitch black. What the hell is that? She is confused and so am I, but not about the same things.

I pant as I try to rub the darkness off of her hand. She snatches it away abruptly, asking what I am doing. Is she insane? Does she think she can pour this in her brother's car? He’ll kill her. I explain to her that she has every right to be upset but this is out of hand. She asks what the hell I'm talking about. Is she serious? Does she think this is normal? Does she not see the black liquid? I grab her hand back and she pulls away again. Wait, does she really not see it? It's right there. It's on her damn hand. I stand up and start yelling. She’s going crazy. Why is she so calm, who knows what that shit is? It could be toxic? She gets up and starts backing away. I am, momentarily, relived until I see her still stepping back. I try to come close but she flinches and moves faster. She keeps a sharp eye on me as she moves. I think she’s scared? Scared of what though? Is-is it me?

She drops the bottle and the black crap pours out of it. I scream at her to look at it. Does she not see it? I know I am getting loud. Lights are switching on from someone’s window. My eyes batted to it momentarily but then quickly straight back at her. Those green eyes don't look the same anymore. Her voice is shaking. The exciting shrieks might have been annoying but I much prefer them over this. Regardless, she probably finally sees it now. I try walking towards her but she backs up again. She isn't backing up from the puddle this time. She is backing up from me. She is scared of me.

Why? I'm just warning her. She does stupid things all the time and, like always, I save her ass. I was doing what I always do. So why is she so terrified?

“There’s no black.” she mumbles in an impossibly low tone.

“What, speak up!” I yell aggressively.

“The water is normal, it’s clear! It isn’t black!” she shoots back in a panting anxious attempt at yelling.

What is she talking about? It’s black, not clear. I notice people begin to walk out of their homes to check on the noise. As they see me they all looked at me with faces of fear and confusion, just like she does.

“Tell her it's black! Look at her hand!” I scream at them all.

They just stare at me. Why the hell are they just staring. I see one whispering to another and another joining in. I stare back at her. She is already looking at me. I notice a tall male figure growing behind her. It's her brother, he is coming towards us. She turns towards him and runs into his arms like a terrified child. What the hell, I thought she was pissed at him.

“I don’t know why you’re running to him, you know she was going to pour this black stuff in your car?” I yell at them both speaking to them separately but as if they are one person.

“What black stuff, it’s literally water!” he yells back

Are you serious? Is this seriously happening? Does no one see this? Are they crazy? Am- am I crazy?

I peel my eyes off of her green ones down to the puddle. It is still black. There is black splashes around it covered in back footprints. There's a slight reflection but it's muddy and black. I can see myself covered in black smears that run across my eyebrows and cheek. Some black drops touch my mouth and find their way in between my teeth. I stare at myself. My eyes look crazy. As I stare longer I notice the pupils of my eyes dilate. They dilate up to the edge of my iris and then even more. My eyes begin to fill with blackness. I step back in fear but notice my foot lands in some liquid. It's the black liquid. The puddle expanded. Suddenly the footprints and splashes are completely engulfed by the new puddle. My ankles begin to feel wet; the puddle was rising. I look back at my reflection to see dark veins creep up my neck. Blackness begins to bleed up my skin to my chin and along my jaw. I touch my neck with my hands but then quickly pull them away. I notice my fingernails go cold. Just like a frostbite, they go black. So distracted by my changing body, I forget to notice the liquid now up to my knees and swimming up to my thighs.

I look up to find her, she is staring down at me. That face of fear, it's gone now. No excitement either. Her face is blank. Completely emotionless. What? Why-what was happening. I was lost for a moment. How could her eyes be so cold? Where did she even go?

Quickly, I snap out of this trance when the water hit my waist. It starts to burn. It burns everywhere. It feel like I'm boiling in a pot. Suddenly the floor beneath me vanishes and I am fully submerged in the puddle. I try to tread towards her and every time I do the hot liquid scolds me again. I can't get to the edge, I don't even know where the edge is. My hands and arms were beginning to grow boils. Quickly, these popped to expose the red flesh beneath my skin. The yellow puss and blood wash away as my tissue begins to turn white. I feel my body getting weak. My legs slowly stop moving and my breathing slows. Before I let myself die I look back up at her. I see her brother smiling down at me while standing behind her. His arm is wrapped around her shoulders as if the duo were posing for a family photo. I guess she was never really mad at him.

With her face still unexpressive and cold she stared at me while my eyes began to shut and muttered one last thing.

“I still don't see it.”