“AH- eughhh…”

  I raised my head to see the remnants of the once broad auditorium. Looking at it now, you would never have guessed what the room had actually been. Unable to move my legs, I can just barely muster up the will to move my arms as I pull myself across the floor.

  It’s hard to see, my vision blurred from my sudden awakening. It feels like my head has taken a dive against a curb. My sight finally returning itself, I was made aware of the carnage that filled my surroundings.

  “I thought the students… weren’t real.”

  Their bodies laid decorated across the debris. Dozens of the student body laid twisted and mangled. Without my own doing, my body averted my head from the scene, stopping me before I gathered a fuller picture. …I killed them…

  “...I killed them. …I-I killed them…”

  I held my breath, unable to allow myself to breathe. I turned my head to view the unruly sight once more. My stomach began rising with an uncomfortable and burning sensation. Saliva leaked from my mouth before being accompanied by the presence of vomit rushing out. Yellow stomach lining, and blood filled the spot on the floor under me.

  Writhing in pain, the realization of my own heinous actions, it bared too much for my heart to handle. If the students were real, then that could mean they were once like us, trapped. …I took lives. Innocent lives. They were forsaken for a place of torture.

  Just… What happened? I remember everything crashing around me. The auditorium was-

  The moments I spent on stage started to run through my mind. I can still see her face… hear her voice. I remember it all so clearly. That laugh, everyone’s laugh… they all laughed at me…

  T-that… wasn’t a play…

  “What did I do?! …What did ‘I’ do?!”

  What did… she do…?

  Tears started to feel on my face, as my breathing ran fast to the point my lungs were unable to keep up. I can’t hold back my emotions. She brought them out and shoved them right back in my face.

  I don’t wanna think about her. I hope I never run into her again…

  She….

  She…….

  ‘Darling… remember this. This is all for your pleasure.’

  Darling…? Why do I keep hearing that replay through my head?! That wasn't pleasure. It was torture…! I

  Am I… a joke? What did she find so amusing about me?

  Is it really that bad that I don’t feel all that ready yet for….. Does that make me a kid? Does that make me less of a man? Was she right? Am I really that pathetic? Will I never be a person that someone loves… on an intimate level?

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  Everything she said… could've been true. But I… I didn’t enjoy any of that. I didn’t like being humiliated on stage in front of all of those people. I didn’t… I really didn’t… it hurted… a lot. Who could’ve found that pleasurable? Who…?

  “Zion… We… gotta go.”

  “...Huh.”

  I looked up to see Elijah staring down at me. He was holding the side of his stomach as blood leaked out between the fingers of his glowing green hand. He’s healing while also pushing himself to move at the same time.

  “It’s okay. This is nothing.” He extended his other hand out to help me up from the broken ground. I didn’t take his hand.

  “I can’t move… where is she, Eli? Where is she?!” I began looking in panic, trying to scan the field of dead bodies to find her. “If you move she’ll get you again!”

  Sweat ran rapidly from my forehead, I could barely hear the sound of my own voice through my shuddering lips.

  “If I try to move again… she’ll slash me! s-She’ll slash you too!” I said, helplessly pleading with my friend in an attempt to save his life.

  “...I…”

  He doesn’t know what to say. How could he know what to say?! We almost died! No! We still might… she still might be here!

  I finally gathered the strength to raise my arms, but not to wipe my face. I grabbed my hair and started to pull at it.

  “Z-Zion! It’s okay! It’s-” he said, before falling to his knees as he tried to kneel down beside me.

  My heart is beating rapidly fast, it’s getting hard to breathe. The hair on my arms began to stand as a wave of dread filled up my body's core. It felt like I was drowning. I don’t wanna move nor do I think I can at all. She’s gonna come back.

  “E-Eli…”

  My entire body is twitching in anticipation of the incoming slash. If I prepare, If I tense my body at just the right moment… maybe it won’t hurt as much. Maybe it’ll be more bearable. The stress is causing a knot to be tied into the back of my throat. Whenever I try to speak, I start to choke on my words, and get a sharp, and aching feeling pulsing through my chest.

  I-I… I feel scared….

  She’s gonna kill us. We have to escape.

  I…

  I can’t think…

  IcantthinkIcantthinkIcantthink.

  I started to grip my chest tightly.

  My ears are ringing from the painful remembrance of her laughter. The sound of voice is burned into the inner workings of my ear like clockwork, blocking out any other sounds from being perceived.

  ‘Darling~’

  ‘Darlinggggg~’

  ‘Do you love me darling? Say you love me. Tell me how much you love me Zion. Tell me.’

  Why did she do that…?

  Whydidshedothatwhydidshedothatwhydidshedothat.

  My heart hurts… I can’t breathe… I… I need help…

  Eli… help me… she’s gonna come back…

  She’s gonna come back!

  She’s gonna get us!

  She’s gonna come for me! She’s gonna she’s gonna she’s gonna….

  I felt Elijah’s hand grab mine. He started to hold it tightly as he laid down beside me.

  He didn’t say anything. He just gave me a comforting gaze.

  I wanted to speak but no words would leave my mouth.

  None of my pleas could be heard as I could not express them. It’s all too much for me to handle. Eli’s body shielded my view of the ruins around us. He just laid there. Why is he lying here with me? Why isn’t he leaving?

  She’s surely here still… isn’t she?!

  His mouth began moving but I was unable to hear his voice by the overshadowing of her malicious presence. Even as I lay here now, it feels like I can feel her peering down at my helpless, cornered self. She takes pleasure in my suffering. This is just another game of hers!

  His mouth moved again, I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the smile he emitted after each pause. Could we be… Are we… Are we safe…?

  Is she gone? She’s not gonna do that again is she?

  She’s not… here anymore…?

  Eli’s here… are we… We’re safe. Do I feel safe? My big brother, he’s here with me.

  I noticed the green glow around his body disappear. Looking at his body, his injuries were now nonexistent. My own aching feeling that had in every corner of my body was now no longer a bother. Is that his doing?

  The ringing in my ears finally subsided. My heart beat was starting to slow and I could start to breathe normally again. The surrounding terror of her presence was slowly eroding.

  “It’s okay… I'm sorry.”

  Hearing his voice was vibrant and gave off an aura of ease.

  All of them… you guys are always here. Even near death.

  I’m gonna be okay… I'm okay. Everything’s fine now.

  Everything’s okay… everything is…

  My vision is starting to fade.

  I feel… tired.

  “You can rest now. I’m here. I’ve got you.” He said. His words gave me the assurance I needed to finally close my eyes.

  I’m safe.