Fear. Panic. Ash. Darkness.
These are the only things that registered in Chloe’s mind as she raced through the forest. She didn’t know what she was running from, or why she was running, but her body was acting on it’s own.
It was pitch black in the woods, but Chloe continued to run. She hoped that she was running in the direction of civilization, but who knew. She was about 20 miles away from the town of Ruby to begin with.
The woods appeared to be getting denser as she kept running. It would be even more terrifying if she were running away from civilization instead of towards it. This idea stayed in Chloe’s mind as she ran.
The moon was absent from its throne, and the stars hid behind the domineering clouds. Her body was drenched in sweat, even though the chilly wind of the Oklahoma night cut sharply against her skin as she ran. The trees, which were once noted for their beauty the month before, now look distorted and evil—as if they were reaching down to entrap her in a prison of woody bone.
Chloe could hear the thrashing of the forest floor behind her, so she knew someone—something—was pursing her. She didn’t know if she was going to make it. Her stomach was in knots; her legs felt like they were being stabbed with one hundred knives; her lungs ached with an urgency that would only be remedied by surrendering.
Trees passed in a blur as she ran, until there was no more: an open field spread out before her. There, in a distant corner, Chloe saw a congregation of people wearing white. There were children circling and skipping around what appeared to be an oven. She raced to them without a second thought. She pumped her arms; she sprang her legs. This could have been her only chance for protection—survival. Something was after her, yes, but she was determined to defeat them.
Up until this point, Chloe hadn’t looked back once. Afraid of what she might see, possibly a man covered in the blood and innards of her friends, she focused her sights solely on what was before her. She knew any wasted second or accidental trip could cost her life.
“Help!! Someone please help me!” Chloe screamed as she charged for the group.
Everyone looked at her, and with dazed eyes, cocked their head to the side at the same exact moment. This made Chloe’s heart sink.
“Come here now, child. What’s got ya’al worked up?” asked a lady in a long white dress. She motioned for Chloe to move closer.
Chloe couldn’t help but feel somewhat calmer in the woman’s presence. Her breathing slowed, but her chest continued to rapidly rise and fall.
The woman reached out for her hand, and a chill went through Chloe’s body. The immense weight she had on her shoulders seemed to disappear.
She didn’t know if she could trust the townspeople or not, but she knew she could trust this woman.
“Something’s happened to my friends… I think… someone killed… them. Someone’s.. chasing… me” Chloe tried to make out in-between each pant. Her mouth was dry from having ran so desperately. Every word spoken weighed down on her, exaggerating her already oxygen deprived state.
“I can’t make out what ya sayin’ child. Come sit here and calm down for a minute. Have some watther.” The woman pulled her canteen from around her neck and filled up a kid’s sippy cup.
Chloe reached out and took the glass of water and downed the first cup. The woman refilled it. A second was devoured.
“We need the police! We need the police! Something has happened to my friends!” Chloe took a break to say.
“Something happened to your friends, girlie?”
“Yes! There was a fire at the Two Doves. I don’t think they made it out.”
Her body dropped to the floor like a piece of china, with her sanity shattering the instant her knees touched the ground.
“Now, now, child. It gone be alright.” The woman patted Chloe on the back, and then turned to talk to the rest of the people gathered.
“Joey’s started. Now we can only wait.”
“Joey’s started what?” she asked the woman.
“Don’t ya worry bout that, yet dearie” the woman replied.
Chloe sat there on the ground completely baffled as to what was going on. She felt like she was being betrayed. She needed to get out of there.
Chloe tried to stand up, but for some reason, her legs didn’t register what her brain wanted them to do. They stayed there: immobile. The old woman turned to look at her.
“Ya not goin anywhere, child. You and ya friends were sacrifices for the Disallowing. Joey played yall as fools in order to get initiated into his family fold! You was murdered, but wes is here to help you.”
“What? That makes no sense. I got away from him! He didn't get me!” Chloe screamed frantically. “What are you talking about? Look at me!"
Chloe tried to get up. Her body stayed there, heavy on the ground.
Chloe tried again, but her legs were too heavy. "Why can’t I move?!” Chloe shrieked.
“Because you can’t.” The woman ended their conversation, and turned her back one last time. She slowly walked back to the gathering. Once Chloe’s legs stopped responding, her arms went too. Then her torso, and then her head. She was left motionless on the wet ground as if she were a kid’s doll. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe noticed a small blur of white move in her peripherals. She couldn’t see who or what it was, but she recognized the soft voice. It was one of the kids she talked to in the town square, the one who told her about Granddaddy Steward Morgan.
“I told ya if ya didn’t behave Grandaddy Steward was gone to come for ya. I tried warnin’ ya. Not ya business. Ya shouldn’ta put ya nose in other people’s business. The people of Ruby don't ask questions. Ya asked too many. Should a kept trudgin’”
“Ruby! Get back here!” the woman from before screamed.
“Coming, Connie!”
Chloe looked into Ruby’s eyes. She could see sadness deep within them, an understanding that seemed too complex for any child to truly grasp.
“Help me, please. Please, help me. I think she paralyzed me” Chloe pleaded.
“I can’t… It’s too late. You been disallowed. Just like me. Like all’a us.”
“Are you Ruby Morgan?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If I’ve been disallowed, where are my friends? They were too.
“With their ancestors. You’re with yours.”
“Where are we?”
“Haven, silly. Our family’s only home.”
“Don’t you mean Ruby?”
“Haha, no no. Ruby is their creation. I don't like that place.”
“Are you a ghost?”
“Kinda. I’m the town protector—a guardian. I can be livin’ or dead.
Ruby turned and started to walk back to the gathering. “Come on,” she said.
“But I can’t move my body.”
“That’s because you don't have a body anymore. Like I said, you’ve been disallowed. Welcome to our limbo.”
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