“I shouldn’t waste my energy, though,” Karena said, leaning back against a tree and shutting her eyes. Before falling asleep, she said: “This time, actually do wake me up for my shift. I don’t care if I’m doing all the work, I still feel guilty with you not getting any sleep.”
52
The next morning, Karena found that Shawn hadn’t woken her up despite her asking him to. Frustrated, she turned over to where he’d been, only to find that he was sound asleep. There hadn’t been anyone on watch last night.
Karena shook Shawn awake. “Why didn’t you wake me up for watch last night?” she said.
“There isn’t any point in a watch,” said Shawn. “What are we going to do, defend ourselves? When he wants to finish us off, he’ll finish us off. In the meantime, there’s no reason for us to be wasting hours where we could be sleeping just watching the forest to see if he’ll appear.”
“But isn’t that giving up hope?”
“Not necessarily,” Shawn said.
The day went much the same as the day before, except that this time they were travelling through the forest rather than through the large, open field, and thus there was less of a sense of urgency. Since they weren’t near the road, the going was easier. And if they were to come across someone, then there were lots of places they could hide now, unlike where they were before. But the dread still hung over everything like a dark cloak, and Karena was constantly trying to remind herself that their chances weren’t actually better in the forest, but rather they just seemed better. And that didn’t mean anything.
However, they didn’t come across anyone the whole day, which was even stranger then yesterday. Of course, Karena remembered, the reason they’d left to go into the forest in the first place was so they could get away from all the Sandmen, but it still seemed strange that there were absolutely zero here, especially when he knew where they were the whole time.
The next day they continued on their journey. Karena had no clue whether they were going north, south, east or west, since she’d never really bothered to learn how to determine that sort of thing without a compass, but it hardly mattered anyway. All she knew was that she was heading away from the city.
That same day, something strange happened. Of course, everything that had happened since Karena had woken up as an 11 month old all those years ago had been strange, and really this was not very strange compared to some of the other things that had happened. But nonetheless it happened and so it’s worth talking about.
Karena and Shawn stumbled into a clearing in the forest. But the most significant thing about this clearing was the fact that in the center of it was a small cottage. At first, Karena was so shocked that she didn’t react at all, but after a moment she backed away and fell back into the cluster of trees.
“We need to get out here,” Karena said, turning around and heading back the way they’d come. “There could be someone in there.”
“Hold it, wait,” Shawn said. “If there isn’t someone in there, then it could be a perfect place of refuge for us.”
“But if there is a Sandman in there, then we’ll be killed.”
“Not necessarily. We can always fight our way out.”
“Unless he decides to kill us.”
“You’re putting the cart before the horse. I say we should check in there first. If we can take refuge there we’ll at least feel safer than we would sleeping out in the open, even if we aren’t really safer.”
Karena scoffed. “What’s the point of that?” she asked.
“It might be worth it. Would you rather spend the last few days of your life out in the woods or in a cottage? We need to rest some anyway, at least for a few days. Then we can move on again.”
Karena thought about this. “It’s risky.”
“No it isn’t. You’re thinking about it the wrong way. Whether we go in there or not, he’ll kill us whenever we wanted to. Really it’s a matter of ‘Why not?’”
“Okay, fine,” Karena said, once again trusting Shawn’s logic. She slowly moved forward into the clearing, looking cautiously around for anyone. Not seeing anyone in her direct surroundings, she went up to the window of the cottage and peered inside. There was a small table with a couple of seemingly rickety chairs around it, but other than that it appeared to be vacant of both people and furniture. The whole inside looked run down, as if it had been abandoned for a long time, and Karena felt a surge of hope. Maybe no one had actually lived here when the Sandman had taken over everyone. Maybe this place had been abandoned for decades, because that’s certainly what it looked like.
Karena moved around to the front of the cottage and opened the door, which wasn’t at all very secure on its hinges. She stepped inside, making a mental note that they could fix things up such as the door if they did end up staying here, which didn’t seem like a bad option.
The cottage in total consisted of two rooms, a main room that was bare save the table and chairs, and a bedroom with a rickety bed that didn’t have any covers on it save a single torn up cloth that had clearly been a feast for moths for a while. At first she saw no bathroom, but with further exploration she found an outhouse on the other side of the clearing.
“It’ll do, I suppose,” Karena said. “It’s certainly better than sleeping outside. The only thing I’m worried about is that we’re not yet far enough away from the city.”
They were sitting at the table, having a meal. “We’ll be fine,” said Shawn. “Or at least as fine as we can be, which isn’t really fine at all, but we’ve already accepted that.”
Karena nodded glumly and took another bite of the energy bar she was eating. She’d grown used to not talking when she was with Shawn, and so it wasn’t awkward as they sat there in silence, eating, just waiting for the inevitable to happen, though they had no idea when it would happen.
After dinner, Karena went to the bedroom. Shawn had said he was fine sleeping without a bed, since she was bigger anyway and would need it more than he did. Once again, she felt slightly guilty but she was too anxious to argue with him. Maybe they could take turns. She’d tell him that the next day.
But a single night can bring a lot, especially when you aren’t expecting it to.
53
Karena lay awake, something that hadn’t happened in a few nights, strangely. She’d been sleeping on the ground in the forest for three nights, and for the first time in years she’d slept sound as a baby. Or at least and actual baby, not an adult in the form of a baby. Yet now that she was sleeping in a bed again, she was restless. Granted, the bed wasn’t excessively comfortable, and neither was her cot in the orphanage, yet she suspected it was something else. It was too ironic.
She rolled over for the umpteenth time and stared at the wall. There was a window on the opposite wall, and she’d been keeping an eye on that for a while, but she remembered what Shawn had said that morning about them not even needing to take a watch. It was pointless, and so she gave up on the idea and decided to legitimately try to get some sleep.
But sleep would not come. Legitimately trying to get sleep wasn’t something she’d done for a while, and so she’d assumed it would work now. However, she was wrong. It is always annoying when your brain simply decides not to let you fall asleep when you especially need some. But she had a feeling that something was going to happen, something big, and very soon. Just like when she couldn’t sleep back in the orphanage because she’d sensed something big, and then could sleep afterwards. But everyone in the world becoming the Sandman wasn’t the only big thing. There was something else that was going to happen, and it wouldn’t be long before it did.
Karena rolled over again. The forest beyond the clearing was pitch black, and so she couldn’t see anything out the window except for very vague shadows. It was just the conditions in which the Sandman would want to strike, Karena realized.
Karena felt a small breeze coming through the window. She lifted her head slightly, enjoying the feel of it blowing softly through her hair. But
as she raised her head higher, she felt it faintly against her check. Something solid, something that wasn’t air. She quickly lowered her head back to the pillow, the rapidity of her breathing increased. Looking up at where her cheek had been, she saw nothing. There was only one obvious conclusion to make. He was both invisible, and in the dark.
Karena slowly backed away, scooting along the thin mattress. She had to get to Shawn and tell him, even though he was probably already aware. He was probably coming for him too. She lowered one foot off the bed and touched it gently to the floor. There was nobody there. She raised her other foot and lowered it to the ground just as gently. There was nothing. But just as her large toe hit the ground, it brushed against something.
Before Karena could react, he grabbed her and she was being squeezed tightly at her ribcage, and she could feel it just about to crack. For someone who was practically just bones, he was excessively strong. She soon came to realize that there wasn’t just one of them, but two or three or more of them, all squeezing her so tightly that she couldn’t breathe, all completely invisible. None of them were grasping her neck, but it made no difference. She was being suffocated all the same.
Weakly, she raised her arms and tried to defend herself. But her body had been deprived of sufficient amounts of oxygen for too long by the time she tried this, and she found that she was unable to attack with any real force. This was it. This was when he had finally come to get her.
But just when it seemed like she was going to be killed for sure, when it seemed like if they squeezed her for another second she would suffocate, they were all suddenly gone. She didn’t see them leave, of course, nor did she feel them releasing her. They all just suddenly disappeared.
Karena was hunched over, leaning against the wall, in a state of shock. Her ribs felt like they’d been crushed, though she soon discovered that they weren’t. Her breaths were quick and rapid, despite her efforts to try to calm them down. With every breath she took, an aching pain shot up her bones. With all this pain, it took a moment for her to realize what she was supposed to be doing. Wearily, she stood up straighter and, clutching the wall to help guide her, walked into the other room.
Shawn was engaged in a losing battle. The invisible arms that held him suspended in the air were clearly trying to drag him away, and they would have done it the moment they started if Shawn wasn’t such a fighter. For a 3-year-old, he was remarkably resistant to being taken, throwing everything about wildly. She supposed it was from years of practice of being in the body of a toddler over and over again.
Karena didn’t want to go back into the battle. She just wanted to go back to her bed and lay down and pray that the Sandmen would leave her alone, by some miracle. But she never considered for a moment doing what she wanted to do. Shawn needed her help, and so instantaneously she lurched forward and tried making her way to Shawn. As she’d anticipated, a web of invisible skeletal structures blocked her. Karena bashed her way as hard as she could, which wasn’t very hard considering the fact that she’d just almost been killed.
But as she and Shawn were fighting, something became slowly more and more evident. This wasn’t like the time in the orphanage when Karena had actually been able to escape because they’d let her. This was clearly different, and they were losing. But something else was becoming evident, too. It’s that the Sandmen weren’t interested in her. True, they’d almost killed her at first, but that wasn’t an actual attempt to kill her, it was more a threat, like the time that Sandman had grabbed her neck in what seemed like so long ago, except fiercer. The Sandmen wanted Shawn, and now that he had made up his mind there was nothing she could do to stop his will from being fulfilled. He would let her get out of this one, but Shawn wouldn’t get out of this one. Shawn was going to be killed.
It was terrible watching him once Karena realized this. His fight grew less and less until there was almost no resistance at all, just like the way the fight had diminished in him during his 9 lifetimes. Shawn lay in the air, all of his limbs pulled out far to the sides so that he was being stretched as they began to carry him away. But Karena only saw him there for a moment, because the Sandmen had him quickly whisked away out the cottage, and the door closed behind. In just seconds, Shawn was completely gone.
Karena was so surprised by this that for a minute there was nothing she could do. But then she ran out the door and raced across the clearing, yelling Shawn’s name. But he was nowhere to be seen, just like Karena knew would be the case. He had taken him and she’d never see him again.
54
The next days were among the worst for Karena in all of her lives, which was quite a feat considering how terrible many of her days had been. There was essentially nothing for her to do, and so she wasted away lying on the bed, occasionally eating and drinking. Saving her rations so that she would have enough for later was the last thing on her mind, along with upgrading the cottage’s defenses, finding more food, and basically anything that would ensure her survival. She didn’t care anymore.
She knew that it wouldn’t be long before he came for her too. Shawn was gone, and so that was all the proof she needed. She was surprised, of course, that he had been taken into the forest rather than killed right away, but she supposed it didn’t really matter. She knew that he’d be dead by now.
Karena might as well have already been dead.
For some reason, the sting of losing Shawn wasn’t the greatest feeling she felt. In fact, she hardly felt the sting at all. She just felt an inexplicable sense of not caring, about Shawn or about herself or about anything. It was already over. Her story was over, and she accepted it wholeheartedly, taking to just lying on her bed and wallowing away.
The days dragged on for what seemed like ages, even though it seemed like Karena should have been used to days dragging on from all her experiences. But it had never been anything like this. There had always been Shawn, and thus there had always been just a smidge of hope. Now there was no Shawn, and no hope.
And so it went on like this for who knows how long until Karena ran out of food and water. There was nothing in the forest, she’d already looked, though only half-heartedly. There was nothing left in either of the bags. There was nothing left for her.
Eventually Karena fell into a state where it was hard for her to determine whether she was dead or alive. She thought she was there, but she couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t be sure of anything except that she was going to be taken by the Sandman eventually, even if she truly was already dead.
Finally, after ages and ages of her agony, he came.
55
She wasn’t sure if she came during day or night. Her eyes were so bleary that it was nearly impossible for her to see anything, merely vague outlines against other vague outlines. She didn’t know if it was from her lack of nutrition or even from something that the Sandman had done to her. All she knew was that she could scarcely see anything clearly.
But when the Sandman came, it was of course obvious that it was him. After all, she could see the general shape of a person, and what other person would be coming here, especially since there weren’t really any other people besides him? There was only one of him, at least as far as she could see, and he came into her room and stood beside her. Karena expected him to grab her and drag her away, but he did not such thing. He just stood there, silently, and Karena realized that he was trying to increase her anxiety for what was to happen, something he seemed to want to do a lot. It was his primary goal in existence, after all. She was sure of that by now.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” she murmured weakly. “I’m not going to give in. How could I get any more anxious, anyway?”
“You will come with me,” the Sandman said.
“Ah, finally,” said Karena. She found it strange that he was speaking, but she was too weak to think about it. “Go on then, drag me away.”
“You will come with me.”
“Oh, I get it. You want me to walk, do you? All right then, fine, although I
must say I’m not likely to make it very far.” Karena was surprised that her weak voice had such a cheerful and somewhat mocking tone. She already knew she was dead, so there was really no reason to be scared of him anymore.
Karena moved her legs off the side of the bed and tried to shift the weight of her body from the bed to her legs in a feeble attempt to stand up, something she hadn’t done in days. She failed collapsing back into the bed. Her stomach lurched from hunger at the sudden jolt, and it felt as if it were about to cave in, leaving a hole in the middle of her stomach. Trying to ignore the pain and summoning up all the energy and willpower left within her, which was not very much at all, Karena tried again. This time, she managed to raise herself out of her sitting position, but she lost control and nearly fell over forwards. However, she managed to move herself forward so that she could hug the wall and use it to assist her in balancing. Shakily, she inched her way towards the door, crouched over and, keeping on arm on the wall to assist her, made her way across the room. It wasn’t by any means an easy task.
She reached the doorway and turned around to the Sandman who was still standing there as if she hadn’t gotten up and was still lying in bed. “Well, aren’t you going to show me the way?” she said. She’d meant to be somewhat loud, but it came out as more of a whisper. “Or were you planning on standing there all day motionless?”
The Sandman turned around, expressionless, as always. “You will come with me.”
“Yes, I know that. So why don’t you go ahead of me so that I can actually come with you?”
The Sandman said nothing as he walked forward and out the door. Karena slowly followed behind as they went out of the cottage, through the clearing, and into the woods. She had some difficulty getting through the clearing, and found herself having to crawl part of the way, but once she made it into the forest she was able to stand upright again, both because there were many trees to help her and because she was beginning to get used to walking again.
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