Young Writers Society

Fear:

They ran.

They ran as though, by running, they could escape what was coming. They reached the concrete landing and sat there, huddled in the corner. She pressed herself against him and shuddered as he held her. And he held her, knowing what was about to happen, hoping that his presence, his embrace, could hold It back.

But nothing could hold It back.

It came.

He knew when It had come. She began to tremble violently and he clutched her ever closer. She started murmuring darkly under her breath. He muttered encouragement as he rocked her gently. “It’s okay… shh… it’s okay…”

She whimpered. He did not have to imagine what was happening to her. Although he had never experienced himself what she was going through, he had been with her at other times when It came. Somehow though, he knew this time would be different.

“Go away.” He said, though he did not believe It would ever listen to him. It had never listened to him before, why should it start now?

The trembling that had taken hold of her body ceased. He knew what would come next. And, just as he had expected, It spoke. It spoke with that horrifying, deliberate tone and inflection that was her voice, yet was so alien that it could never be her voice. “Why should I listen to you?”

“Leave her alone.” He said through gritted teeth.

“You don’t care about her.” It said, ignoring his commands. “You’re going to forget about her when she leaves. You know you will.”

“I will never forget her.” He said, yet deep down he felt his heart pause, his gut clench. His greatest fear was exactly that. Somehow It knew, and the fact that It had spoken his fear aloud seemed to make the fear acutely real. His breathing came in shallow, ragged breaths.

“You are weak. You are powerless. You can’t stop me, and you can’t save her.” It said, and he could tell that It was enjoying this immensely.

“Shut up.” He said, trembling now himself.

“You won’t remember her once she’s gone. She’s leaving, and you’re going to forget.” It was persistent, he had to admit, but he had known that from the moment It had first spoken to him.

It stopped talking. He sighed with relief, but suspicion flashed across his mind… she lurched.

If he had not been holding her so close to his body then he might not have reacted in time. Her body convulsed and she threw herself towards the stairs. He held on fervently and was lifted a few inches off the ground by the force of her leap.

They struggled for one long moment in which he cursed everything about himself that might be failing him. He cursed his reflexes, wishing he had been faster to catch her. He cursed his strength, as he was having difficulty holding her down. He cursed his perception, for he should have seen this coming.

He thought, for one fleeting moment, that he would fail, and that she would hurtle down the stairs to her death. Then, for an instant in which he hated himself on every level of existence, he thought that it might end then. That the whole ordeal would end with her death and they would all be free from this nightmare. But then she stopped struggling and he lowered her back down into his arms. He cradled her there for a moment as he calmed his nerves by taking several deep, slow breaths.

And in that moment, that terrible, horrible moment, all his fears came rushing at him.

She was leaving. She was leaving and It had full control over her. It no longer merely got into her head and abducted her voice. No, now it was master of her body as well. It could kill her. She was going out of the country, alone and apart from all those who knew her, who knew about It. She would have no protection, no comfort, if It were to come while she was away. No defense and nowhere to break down alone if It came.

He might lose her. And if he didn’t lose her to death by It’s machinations, then who was to say that he wouldn’t lose her because of the move? She would be a long way away, and it would be a long time before they would see each other again. Distance could be a formidable foe to overcome in a relationship. Who was to say that it would not overcome them? What if she met someone else? What if he did forget about her, like It said? What if It was right, what if It had always been right?

It was gone. He knew It was gone, though if you were to ask him how he would be unable to tell you. But he knew It was gone. She looked up into his face and he was overcome with how beautiful she looked in his eyes, even after such a stressful and horrifying ordeal as the one she had just gone through.

“Are you okay?” He said, gazing into her eyes over her glasses, which had somehow managed to stay on her face when she tried to throw herself down the stairs.

She nodded as she pressed herself against him.

He hugged her tightly against his body, nestling his face in her hair. Her hair was soft and comforting against his cheek. Her body was small in his embrace. She was always so fierce and so strong, yet he had never noticed how incredibly frail she truly was. Not until today, not until… he refused to think about it and held her even tighter.

They pulled away and he looked into her eyes again. Then he bent towards her and pressed his lips to hers. The tingling, invigorating, thrilling sensation was there, as it was with every kiss, magnified by the enormity of the emotional situation. He stroked her hair, and held her close as they kissed. He wanted desperately to protect her, to care for her. To help her.

Kissing her was the only thing he could think of to do to help.

It was the only thing he wanted to do to help.

After a long time they stopped. He still held her close, and she huddled against him as if he were the only shelter from an immense storm. He loved her so much, and did not want to ever let her go. But he knew they had to leave. He was afraid of letting her go; afraid of what would happen to her once they were apart. But he was also afraid of being found. For no one knew, and he did not want anyone to ever find out.

They pulled apart and he stood up carefully. Sitting for so long on a hard surface, especially with the weight of another person against you, was never good for one’s body. He steadied himself, then offered his hand to her and helped her up.

He hugged her again. He still did not want to part from her. Then she took his hand and they walked together back to reality, hoping that all would be well...