Khalifa: Queen in the Apocalypse

"Please believe me, it really wasn’t like that!" Mira held Laura’s hand. The other girl frowned, but gently took away her hold.

The chubby girl looked at her old friend with a complicated expression, heart inevitably softening.

Still, her reason prevailed. "I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think Claire will make it up."

Seeing that—like everybody else—Laura took Claire’s side, her eyes couldn’t help but pool tears.

"It’s just a misunderstanding! There’s really nothing going on between me and Chris."

"So she was just jealous?" Laura asked, looking at her friend’s reaction carefully.

She looked down, looking incredibly meek and pitiful. "I… she may have misinterpreted what she saw."

This seemed to have wiped off the pity in Laura’s eyes.

"You know what, Mira." The chubby girl raised her hand to stop any more nonsense. "Unlike Claire, who is just kind and sees good in everyone, I am a normal woman with a normal moral compass.

"But we’re friends and I love you, so I never pointed it out. Don’t think everyone’s stupid.

"Most of us—the women, at least—can still see your little thoughts, but it hasn’t affected lives so we just accepted it."

Laura looked at her friend, a little disgust in her face stung Mira’s eyes.

"We wouldn’t think that you’d go so far as seduce someone’s boyfriend—let alone a friend’s."

"I didn’t!"

Laura sighed and patted her friend’s shoulder. "My advice is just admit it generously, and apologize."

Laura gestured to turn away and, to Mira, it felt like the last thread of normalcy was slipping away."

"There’s no way to build a friendship based on lies."

***

That night, the nineteen-year-old Mira walked blankly along a sidewalk.

What went wrong?

It wasn’t supposed to be like this…

Obviously, Claire was so innocent. How could she detect her plans? Why was Chris so guarded with her?

Why did her friendship break so easily?

So many thoughts ran through her brain, she walked aimlessly, the random mishmash of images and events ran in her head, making her want to cry.

Until she stepped into a road, noticing the signal had turned red.

Her attention was caught by the loud honking approaching her. She turned her head and froze, unable to move out of the way.

CRASH!

She could feel herself flying, hitting a pole with such force that it dented. However, the shock was too much for her to feel pain at first.

And when it did, it felt like her soul was destroyed.

Mira’s short life passed by her head, then.

—Her ugly childhood of her own father beating her up and trying to sell her.

—Her parents’ messy divorce, where she and her mother came out with nothing but the clothes they had on.

—Their lack of food, clothing, and other basic needs thereafter.

And then her mother’s new ’job’, where slowly she’d bring home a different man every night. But then they could have food on the table, pretty clothes to wear, and she could even go to school.

It was only after kids threw stones at her, calling her a slut’s daughter, that she knew it was shameful.

It was why she was so obsessed with Chris, who was smart, handsome, kind, and had a well-off family.

She felt life would be good with him.

She simply wanted to ensure a better life for herself. Claire was so beautiful, loved, and with a well-off family. There would be another ’Chris’ who would throw himself at her!

She only ever wanted Chris! Was that so wrong?

Why was the world so against her?!

Was she going to die like this?

***

.

.

***

"What’s wrong?" Chris asked as he held Claire’s hand and placed it on his lips. "You seem distracted."

They were currently having a date, watching a popular romance movie in the theaters.

Claire blinked and looked away from the theater screen and to Chris. She had a complicated expression on her face.

She frowned and her eyebrows furled, not knowing where her sense of foreboding came from.

"I’m not sure…" she just said, "I just feel that something has… changed."

Chris could see she was genuinely worried. He leaned down and kissed her face.

"Well, whatever it is, this man of yours will always be here."

She smiled, kissing him back. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

***

Mira’s eyes opened abruptly, abruptly sitting up, and she felt a strong ache in her body electrify her.

"Don’t move too much! You are very lucky to only get a few wounds and sprains, but it doesn’t mean you are fine with abrupt movements!"

"What?" She felt disoriented. She remembered the accident, but also weird dreams of people becoming monsters, of being pushed away and banished, and finally dying by being mauled.

She shivered. "What the heck was that dream?"

However, there was also a sense of deja Vu. Like the Her in the dream also had similar experience but ..

Unlike before where she had both Laura and Claire at her bedside. Now, she was alone.

She frowned but only looked at the nurse. Seeing a stranger, her mask immediately fell into place, even if she was in pain.

If anything, it made her look pitiful. "Will I be okay?" She asked, voice weak.

The nurse softened at the young girl’s question, feeling sorry for the pretty girl. After all, her mother, the emergency contact, had yet to arrive after so many hours.

Obviously, this young girl wasn’t living a very comfortable life.

"Of course. You just need a little rest." She paused. "Do you have anyone you wish to call?"

She couldn’t help but recall the vivid dreams and frowned.

She could remember it all: the monsters, how they escaped, how they suffered… and how she was abandoned, left behind, to die a horrible death by her so-called friends.

"Miss?" The nurse asked again, worried, seeing her increasingly dark expression.

She shook her head in the end. "No," she said, with eerie finality.

"I have no one."