for sneaking into classes. That same night, I had a spare ticket to the gardens, and so together we went and created a night for ourselves that neither of us would soon forget.
John shifts his weight, bringing me gently to the ground and crawling over me like an animal. A deep and rumbling growl from within his chest even suggests it more so. I’m in love with a beast, I think to myself. And maybe someday he’ll say the same back to me … sans “beast”, that is. He looks down on me with hunger in his eyes. Right here? I want to ask, astonished. In the middle of the realm of the Dead? In view of the two others? He seems to read my thoughts, a wicked smirk twisting his face as he watches the emotions race across mine. Then he kisses me, and I’m lost in the taste of this beautiful man.
His energy soon expires, and we collapse to the ashen ground holding each other in the semidarkness, which grows darker and darker by the minute.
“That was a lie just to comfort me, wasn’t it?” I ask quietly. “The part about a rescue crew from the university coming to save us?”
He only clutches me tighter and rests his chin upon my head. The sight of his gently rising and falling chest is the last thing I see before drifting off.
When my eyes open, I’ve no doubt that the night has fallen. I shouldn’t be sleeping , I tell myself, blinking my eyes. I’ll sleep enough when I’m dead. A chill runs through my body from the tips of my toes to the end of my nose. I realize John’s grip on me has loosened and he now holds more of himself than anything else, hugging his chest tightly as he dreams. The two others still rest on the other side of the clearing, the boy with his satchel-pillow and Dana leaning against her new best friend: a big dead tree.
Soundlessly, I rise to my feet and turn around in a full circle. Every direction shows me the same impenetrable darkness. Gosh, it’s so damn inviting, I wonder why we’re not all sightseeing right now.
Then, I spot a light. My face twists, doubting it at first. What could possibly be glowing in the woods? One of the diviner’s spirits? Despite my inner amusement, I can’t bring myself to smile. The subtle light worries me.
My eyes grow double. It’s Marianne , I realize at once. The light almost glows red as her cheeks, except …
Recklessly, I move through the woods in pursuit. The forest floor snaps beneath my feet every five or six paces, but the light makes no sound at all. Am I mistaken?
It grows dimmer and greyer, losing its color. It’s as if the light retreats the closer I get. Maybe it’s just an illusion reflected off the thick and sleepless clouds above my head, perhaps casting an image of the moon into the woods below. Is it a full moon, or am I being lured to my death?
“Mari?” I call out, my voice quivering with anxiety. “Is that you? Mari?”
I stop. The shifting grey light takes the shape of a person, not my friend’s glowing red cheek, and quite suddenly it looks like someone else entirely. My eyes fill with tears and I bring a hand to my mouth. Is he who I think he is? Is he …
“Dad?” I whisper through my shaking fingers.
The light moves, dancing across the trees the way a reflection bends and twists through unrested waters. I watch it with shock, overcome by what I’m seeing. Have I gone as mad as Dana, or is there merit to her powers? The shape draws closer, closer …
Then it’s not my father at all. I step away at once, my back slamming into a tree as the pale, dead-eyed boy is upon me.
Just as I fill my lungs for a scream, the creature presses his gross dead finger to my lips, then freezes. He doesn’t hiss or growl. He doesn’t bare his teeth. He doesn’t move but for the grey finger he just put to my mouth.
It’s the same pale boy we captured in the hovercraft. I try not to be repulsed by his cold dead digit on my lips.
“No hard feelings?” I quietly ask through the finger.
“Just me,” he
John shifts his weight, bringing me gently to the ground and crawling over me like an animal. A deep and rumbling growl from within his chest even suggests it more so. I’m in love with a beast, I think to myself. And maybe someday he’ll say the same back to me … sans “beast”, that is. He looks down on me with hunger in his eyes. Right here? I want to ask, astonished. In the middle of the realm of the Dead? In view of the two others? He seems to read my thoughts, a wicked smirk twisting his face as he watches the emotions race across mine. Then he kisses me, and I’m lost in the taste of this beautiful man.
His energy soon expires, and we collapse to the ashen ground holding each other in the semidarkness, which grows darker and darker by the minute.
“That was a lie just to comfort me, wasn’t it?” I ask quietly. “The part about a rescue crew from the university coming to save us?”
He only clutches me tighter and rests his chin upon my head. The sight of his gently rising and falling chest is the last thing I see before drifting off.
When my eyes open, I’ve no doubt that the night has fallen. I shouldn’t be sleeping , I tell myself, blinking my eyes. I’ll sleep enough when I’m dead. A chill runs through my body from the tips of my toes to the end of my nose. I realize John’s grip on me has loosened and he now holds more of himself than anything else, hugging his chest tightly as he dreams. The two others still rest on the other side of the clearing, the boy with his satchel-pillow and Dana leaning against her new best friend: a big dead tree.
Soundlessly, I rise to my feet and turn around in a full circle. Every direction shows me the same impenetrable darkness. Gosh, it’s so damn inviting, I wonder why we’re not all sightseeing right now.
Then, I spot a light. My face twists, doubting it at first. What could possibly be glowing in the woods? One of the diviner’s spirits? Despite my inner amusement, I can’t bring myself to smile. The subtle light worries me.
My eyes grow double. It’s Marianne , I realize at once. The light almost glows red as her cheeks, except …
Recklessly, I move through the woods in pursuit. The forest floor snaps beneath my feet every five or six paces, but the light makes no sound at all. Am I mistaken?
It grows dimmer and greyer, losing its color. It’s as if the light retreats the closer I get. Maybe it’s just an illusion reflected off the thick and sleepless clouds above my head, perhaps casting an image of the moon into the woods below. Is it a full moon, or am I being lured to my death?
“Mari?” I call out, my voice quivering with anxiety. “Is that you? Mari?”
I stop. The shifting grey light takes the shape of a person, not my friend’s glowing red cheek, and quite suddenly it looks like someone else entirely. My eyes fill with tears and I bring a hand to my mouth. Is he who I think he is? Is he …
“Dad?” I whisper through my shaking fingers.
The light moves, dancing across the trees the way a reflection bends and twists through unrested waters. I watch it with shock, overcome by what I’m seeing. Have I gone as mad as Dana, or is there merit to her powers? The shape draws closer, closer …
Then it’s not my father at all. I step away at once, my back slamming into a tree as the pale, dead-eyed boy is upon me.
Just as I fill my lungs for a scream, the creature presses his gross dead finger to my lips, then freezes. He doesn’t hiss or growl. He doesn’t bare his teeth. He doesn’t move but for the grey finger he just put to my mouth.
It’s the same pale boy we captured in the hovercraft. I try not to be repulsed by his cold dead digit on my lips.
“No hard feelings?” I quietly ask through the finger.
“Just me,” he
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