Aurora 2026

Krislyn Moreland

a glass of ice water over my torso and gotten out into the snow. My body was already starting to shake, coming off so many drugs all at once, I suppose. I looked down and saw the dark spot blooming over my abdomen and thought I must have drooled all over myself on the way home. It was only after getting down to the subway and realizing everyone was looking at me that I actually took notice. Notice that the stain wasn’t water; it wasn’t even dark. It was bright red contrasted on my mint green shirt. I ran from the subway and staggered home after hailing a taxi. Turns out it’s a lot harder to see blood in the dark. It was only a few stitches I had popped, and with a few days off work, I was good as new. At least I know I put that leather interior to some good use. My route is riding the subway a few blocks, then up Fourth Street, then doubling back twice to make sure they aren’t following me. I’ve been working with them a long time, but I’d be a fool to let that build trust. I don’t know why I bother anyway; I already know they know where I live. It was before the first time, just after I had signed up for my first donation. I had gone out to buy whatever preservatives disguised as food that my salary as a customer service line worker could afford. I came back to find everything in my apartment slightly to the left. The air was heavy with someone else’s presence and stale in a way that told me they had already come and gone. Everything remained in its place, not that I would have cared or noticed if anything was taken. My laptop was still open, playing the same Sandra Bullock movie I had been watching on repeat for the last two months. Miss Congeniality, Lucy’s favorite. I walked through the whole house, and the only thing that didn’t match my less than encyclopedic memory was the bathroom cabinet. The apartment came with a small medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It was covered in a thick yellow paint that was obviously my building’s variation of the landlord’s special. The door was ajar, and my various colored bottles slightly moved. It looked like a rainbow in this cabinet, and I can only imagine the person who opened it must think I’m trying to make a collage out

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