by Ash Night
I woke up with a start when I saw Zoey was gone. Maybe she’d crawled in bed. Maybe she was wandering the castle. Maybe a demon had attacked her. But why hadn’t I heard any screaming? And I’d locked the strongest demons, the ones I’d been unable to kill, in a lantern case. They couldn’t have gotten out. The weaker demons couldn’t have found it, could they? I’d put it in a deep secluded part of the forest. It’d never be opened again. Fear gnawed at my stomach like ravenous, flesh-eating insects.
My mind felt foggy. My whole body ached. Why had I dreamt Zoey had run from me? She was asleep just like I had been. I wanted to drift off into that blissful world of sleep again, but a nagging feeling at the back of my mind wouldn’t let me. My dream had been violent. Why?
I ran through the hall. Zoey was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t in her room where I’d assumed she’d been sleeping peacefully. Sky wasn’t there either. A million scenarios were racing through my head. AngelRose was unpredictable. Anything could happen. The longer Zoey was missing, the worse the scenarios grew.
Just let her go, Eli. You don’t want to find her now. She’ll just drive you insane like Elena. The voice said, its sudden remark sounding like a gunshot in my mind.
“No, she’s good for me.” I said as I continued to run. My footsteps echoed, reminding me of how lonely I’d been before Zoey had come into my world. I never wanted to be that lonely again.
“Zoey!” My voice was hoarse to the point where screaming seared my throat. My stomach knotted so tight it felt like it was constricting my lungs. The boundless energy I always seemed to have was burning out, weighted down by worry. Zoey was my gravity. Without her, I was groundless. Without her, I was alone. Without her, I was back to being dangerous.
I was frantic. I’d checked every corner of every room in AngelRose castle. Zoey wasn’t in any of them. Her shoes were missing. Was she sleepwalking again?
She wants to leave you. If you really loved her, you’d let her go.
“I do love her.” I said. “But I don’t want her to leave, please!” My mind raced. Was the voice right? Did she really still want to leave? She’d been so adamant about us spending time together. The voice had to be lying. It had to!
You’re still a little boy. AngelRose may be your home, but you don’t belong here. You belong rotting in Hell.
“I am not a little boy anymore!” I shouted. Thunder split the sky, rain cascading down in sheets. I fell face-first into a mud puddle that was more water than mud. “Stop this! Please!” I cried like the helpless little boy the voice said I was, feeling as if my soul was dying, shriveling from the inside.
You control the weather, Elijah. Only you can stop it.
“Where is Zoey?”
Your guess is as good as mine.
“Why can’t you ever be helpful?” I sighed, standing up. “Zoey!”
“Eli! Help me…” Zoey’s voice reached me. My head whipped in the direction of her voice so fast I almost got whiplash.
Zoey was paralyzed with fear at the edge of the forest, a huge Shadow setting her down. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I snarled an inhuman snarl that would have scared me, knowing I could make such a sound, if I wasn’t so focused on her.
She was staring at me, fear shining in her eyes. “Eli…” There were vivid red burns on her upper arms where the Shadow had come in contact with her skin. She was trembling.
“Zoey, it’s going to be okay. I promise.” I said soothingly. “Trust me,”
She nodded stiffly. The Shadow grabbed her wrist. She screamed as the flesh of her wrist sizzled like it was piece of meat slapped onto a hot skillet. I growled. “You will not get away, girl.” The Shadow talked as though it was gargling water. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I heard its peculiar voice. That was the first time I’d ever heard one speak before in AngelRose and it wasn’t nearly as bad as the one I’d seen in Zoey’s world.
“Get away from her!” I shouted, grabbing it and whipping it around. My hands stung and throbbed, but I heaved it with everything I had. I had to protect Zoey. When I let go, the Shadow stumbled and split a few trees in half before it was able to regain its balance.
“E-“ Zoey’s scream was cut off as another Shadow clamped a part of his blobish body, a hand without fingers, over her mouth. She jerked awkwardly as if fighting for air. It was terrifying.
I looked around for a weapon when I noticed a black mass of fur lying limp on the ground a few feet away from Zoey.
Sky.
Zoey
I was screaming inside my mind. Oh Eli, why can’t you hear me? I need your help. My throat burned as the Shadow’s jelly-like skin slid down it, choking off my air. The taste was like eating a garbage bag full of rotten food. If I could, I would’ve thrown up. I was paralyzed with fear. My mind was frozen. I kept looking at Eli. He looked horrified, almost as if he were looking at me without really seeing me. His eyes were blank. He was miles away.
Eli! I watched as he was swallowed by dark, gelatinous goo. Another Shadow had tackled him while he was distracted. My heart jumped up to my throat, crashing back down to the pit of my stomach. If the Shadow’s skin burned as bad as it was burning my throat now, Eli was probably in great pain.
My vision was blurring, black spots threatening to overtake me. My legs were buckling as my lungs burned inside my chest. I needed air fast. I looked at the Shadow on top of Eli. Please be okay .Please don’t die! I need you!
The nice voice drifted into my mind. Eli is strong. He’ll be fine.
That’s good. I was starting to feel warm and relaxed like being in a hot tub at just the right temperature. I was floating on a cloud, floating away from Eli. I loved this feeling, but I didn’t want to leave Eli. He needed help. I loved him. I didn’t want him to think I’d wanted to leave him. I didn’t want that sad look in his eyes to be the last memory of him I had. I couldn’t let him go mad like Poe had when he lost Virginia.
No, he’ll be fine. Just let go and keep floating. The pain will be over soon. Everything will be okay. Keep floating.
Okay. Goodbye Eli.
Eli
I had no idea Shadows were so heavy. Was the burning in my lungs from lack of air or the pressure on my chest? I was confused. I couldn’t move my arms or legs. The Shadow rumbled. It was laughing.
“Elijah, you don’t control AngelRose. You never did. It controls you.” The Shadow started to bubble, heating up its core temperature. Screaming in pain was not something I did often, but now was one of those moments I couldn’t control. My body felt like it was being roasted alive. I half-expected the Shadow to eat me. I didn’t know what they ate so anything was possible.
Elijah! Calm down and think! Can’t you hear Zoey screaming? She needs you. The voice yelled, adding fuel to the pain-filled fire. It was already hard enough to think without it screaming at me. Wait, did it say Zoey was screaming?
I closed my eyes against all the pain and focused myself. Zoey was screaming. The Shadows must have stopped feeding her burning jelly. She needed me. She needed me and I wasn’t about to let her down. I felt a shift inside me and then all I could feel was power thrumming through me like a million humming vacuum cleaners with supped-up engines. The cooking heat was no longer a problem.
Moving through the Shadow’s skin was a lot like swimming through caramel, but at least I had enough air left to take a deep breath before it closed over my head. I thanked Renée for helping me become such a strong swimmer. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead by now. Visibility wasn’t that good. It was a lot like looking through plastic wrap if it were wrapped tightly around your face. My lungs screamed as the minutes ticked by. God, there was no end to this Shadow!
Clamping a hand to my mouth to try and stop the inevitable gasp for air and getting a mouthful of disgusting Shadow gloop, I kicked as hard as I could, looking around wildly for an exit. Lungs about to burst, I felt myself become heavier. Zoey was still screaming. I closed my eyes sadly. I wasn’t going to make it. I couldn�
�t save her. The last year of my life, really the only good one, passed before my eyes as I started to sink. The burning heat started to seep back into me, but I could barely feel it. My heart was too dead to feel anything. There was only one reason Zoey had stopped screaming.
Opening my eyes once again to search for a glimpse of her face the last time I saw a light. I swam toward it as fast as I could. The irrational part of my mind thought I could still save her, all parts of my mind agreeing I should at least try. Fresh air burned my deprived lungs as I escaped the Shadow, but I was already too busy running to Zoey to notice.
She was curled up loosely in the fetal position on the ground, no heartbeat to match mine.
My mind ran as if on autopilot. I had no idea what happened to the Shadows. All function wished to stop, but a part of me told me to keep moving. Moving was essential now. Not moving was bad. The air was still, unmoving. That was bad. Zoey’s heart was not beating. Bad. My heart was beating. That was bad too. How could mine beat without hers to match it? How did my heart know what to do? It should’ve exploded by now, nothing to keep its tempo in check. I wanted to rip it out. I wanted to stop moving, stop existing, stop everything. Everything had to stop.
AngelRose had to be destroyed.
I instantly appeared at my grave. "It's okay, Zoey. I'll be with you soon. I promise. We'll be together forever." My voice sounded very far away as if it wasn’t mine and I was just watching a movie and this wasn’t really happening. I jumped down into the hole and laid Zoey down, making her hair fall just right, the way she liked it. I considered just staying here with her, but I had a job to do. Crossing her arms over her chest and covering her body with my jacket, I planted a kiss on her forehead and climbed out.
I blanked out for the duration of time it took me to bury Zoey, but now I stood in my play room, all my plays scattered throughout the castle all the way to the front door. I stood in the middle of a circle of my scripts. In my hand was the last one I’d written. The one I’d changed. The one Zoey had hated. I flipped open my Zippo and smiled at the flame.
The voice was finally quiet.