Written By:
Hana-BassYou can read the
original here:All credit goes to the original author
I woke up this morning, normal day. Went downstairs, had breakfast, dressed up for school and left. Once at school, I met with my friends at the lockers. Nicole –or Nicky–, one of my friends, who is completely in love with the one I love too, talked about this guy, named Derek, that he had been really nice with her since he became her lab partner. I didn’t feel jealous at all, what had been her intention: to make me jealous; but I wasn’t.
“So, Jamie,” Nicky said trying to make me jealous, but without success. “Don’t you think Derek looks way hotter with his new hairstyle? He told me he just cut it!”
“Yeah, he looks great,” I said coldly. There was something that caught my attention.
On the other side of the hallway, hidden in the corner, was a tall guy. His skin was extremely pale, a lot more than mine; he had long-straight black hair, covering one of his eyes; the naked eye was–or I think it was– like a bloody red, but I couldn’t say for sure, since my sight is not so good. He was wearing black clothes, from top to bottom: black pants, black shirt, black shoes, and some black, punk gloves.
He looked really abnormal, like if he doesn’t belong to this school–or world–, but his eyes were the scariest aspect he had… And I caught him staring at me, with deep-cold eyes. I went pale and Nicky saw my scared expression.
“J? Are you okay?”
It took me like a minute to react, “Yes.”
“We gotta go now, the bell had rung already.”
So we both left the locker area. I turned once more and I saw him again, leaning on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, staring at me while everyone left the area except him.
Once at the classroom, I asked Nicky:
“Hey, who’s the new guy?”
“What? What new guy?” Nicky asked confused.
“The pale-white guy, who’s dressed up with dark clothes.”
“There’s no one in this high school with that aspect, J.”
“But, I swear I saw someone like that!” I was really confused.
“Maybe you’re just imagining things, J. The teacher’s already here, you can go to the nursery if you feel dizzy or something.”
“But N, I told you I’m fine! I swear I saw him!”
Nicky stared at me confused, “Sure, J. We’ll talk about it later.” She went to her place.
I swear I saw him… There was for sure a guy like that on the lockers. Well… maybe Nicky is right; maybe I’m imagining things.
I stood up and asked the teacher permission to go to the nursery. Once there, the nurse told me I was pretty fine, that I should just drink water and relax. I wasn’t feeling good at all to return to Physics class, my mind was busy with other thoughts. I went for a glass of water and sat on the benches at the hallways, near the lockers. I stared at the place where the dark guy was before. He was gone for now, maybe to his next class? If so, that left my mind less worried, maybe he is a normal guy, why shouldn’t he be? I have no reasons to think that way about him, I mean, I don’t even know him.
I drank a little more water, when I felt a cold scent beside me; that made me shiver once. And, when I turned, I was surprised as well as scared of what I saw. It was him… the dark guy. He stayed standing still, not moving any muscle at all. Even though he looked scary, I stayed firm and introduce myself, to be polite:
“Umh, hi. I’m Jamie, and you?”
He was staring directly at my eyes, but then his naked eye–which I’ve finally seen it better and was indeed bloody red– stared at my hand, stretched for him to take it. I had to admit he was extremely beautiful. Even though I’ve considered dark people disgusting to me, this one was an exception. He was really beautiful.
I felt a little silly with my hand stretching on air without him taking it. Finally, he moved slowly his arm, but before he could take my hand, I heard someone screaming my name:
“Hey, Jamie!” Derek called, walking by the hallway, waving his hand high up.
When I turned back at the dark guy, he was gone. Like if he had disappeared all of a sudden, without making any noise or anything. It was really scary… my hand fell slowly at my side.
Derek finally came up to me, “Why were you stretching your arm?”
“Umh, I just met, or almost met, the new guy. But he’s gone.”
“New guy? What are you talking about? There’s no new guy.”
“That’s what Nicky told me, but I swear there’s someone in this school that just arrived!” I stood up from the bench.
“Uh, Jamie, maybe you’re imagining things. Why don’t you go to the nursery?” He scratched the back of his head, confused.
“I just came back from there! Because Nicky told me the exact same thing!”
“Well, she’s probably right.”
“I swear there’s a new guy…”
“Hm, well… We’ll talk about this later; I have to go to my next class, so see ya!” He waved good-bye, running to his classroom.
I sighed, confused. Why doesn’t anyone believe me? Am I just imagining him? Is he not real? This was all turning into a scary story. My legs felt weak; I was about to faint, when suddenly two cold hands stopped me from falling. I turned my face back and saw the dark guy again. I felt his hands on my arms, and he had stopped me from falling. He’s solid… so he has to be real!
He was staring at me, with a really small smile. I couldn’t smile at all; are me eyes lying? He was absolutely beautiful; like an angel fallen from the sky. But angels are not dark, so what is he?
He ran one of his hands all the way to my hand, taking it softly. I had felt his cold hand running through my arm, which made me shiver lightly; while his other hand started to play with my brown, soft hair. My eyes were wide open, scared and confused; my mouth opened a little to take a breath. I could feel his cold skin grazing mine. This was all completely strange; what does he think he’s doing?
Finally, I reacted and rudely apart his hand from my hair and removed his other hand from mine. He stared at me with deep, confused eyes, without saying a word.
“Who are you?” I finally said, turning all my body around, facing him firmly.
He took my hand again, “You should’ve asked ‘What are you?’” He whispered in a cold, dead voice; beautiful at the same time. He kissed my hand softly and faded away.
Scared, confused, and secretly in love, I fell to the floor, sitting with my arms wrapping my knees. “What are you?” He had said… What does he meant by that statement? I was really scared… But something in me wants him near, like if I depend on him. He always appears all of a sudden, and disappears when someone else is near… Why?
I put my hands on my face and kept a scream to myself. What is going on? Who’s this guy? Or, what is this guy?
I heard the bell ring, and saw everyone going out of their classrooms. Everyone was staring at me strangely. I didn’t mind if anyone was staring, I was worried about other important things. Nicky saw me and told me:
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I’m alright,” I lied.
“Well, c’mon, I have to tell you something about Der…” She paused when she saw Derek coming to us. “Oh, hi Derek!” She blushed.
“Hi, Nicky. Umh, can you leave us alone? I need to talk with Jamie,” he said staring at me.
Nicky glanced at me fiercely, “Okay,” she left.
It was already time to go home, so we had to talk in the bus.
“So, Jamie,” Derek began. “You’ve been acting really weird today. Are you okay?”
“Derek, I know that if I tell you you won’t ever believe me,” I sighed.
“Well, try. I have no reasons to mistrust you,” he smiled gently. He was really beautiful; his golden brown hair, his sky blue eyes, his perfect smile…
“Well, is about that guy I told you before…”
“Oh,” he said with a tone that seemed not interested at all.
“Derek, I know what I saw!”
“And what exactly did you saw?”
“Him! The dark guy! I swear there’s someone like that in this school, and…” I turned my face back at the last seat, and there he was again… staring. “There he is! Look!” I pulled Derek’s arm and he turned to see where I was seeing, but after I blinked, he was gone.
“Uh… Jamie, there’s no one in there.”
“But, I swear…” I hesitated, but before Derek could speak, I stood up and sat next to the dark guy, I was staring at him and he back at me. Derek was watching me confused, and I could’ve sworn that he already thought I was crazy.
“Why can’t they see you?” I whispered.
He didn’t answered to my question, just took my hands softly, and leaned his forehead on mine, smiling. His coldness was extremely rare, since we were on middle autumn, and the weather was warm enough.
“Why?” I whispered again, closing my eyes, feeling his coldness. But the moment I opened them, he was gone. I blinked surprised, and looked back at Derek, who was staring at me awkwardly. I felt really stupid.
The bus had stopped. I didn’t turn to the windows to see where I was; I just walked towards the doors and went out. It was all foggy; I couldn’t see anything at all. I was really scared now. One hand took mine softly.
I smiled, “I knew you were coming…”
“Well, of course, I had to go out of the bus, this was the last stop.” It was Derek, not the one I had expected.
“Oh, Derek. Where are we?”
“I have no idea,” he was looking around, squeezing my hand.
“Derek… This is definitely not where I live, you know? I mean, I’m already getting nervous.”
“Chillax, girl. We’ll be fine… I think.”
“Exactly; we don’t know for sure,” I said looking around scared.
“Yeah, well we’ll be fine as long as we stay together,” he said squeezing my hand a little harder.
“So, where should we go?”
“You’re asking me? I have no idea, but… let’s just keep walking straight,” he pulled my hand, walking forward.
I felt a familiar aura near. Is him, he’s following me again…
I turned back while Derek kept looking forward, and saw him. I wasn’t going to make a fool of myself again, trying to make Derek believe me; I’ve just realized no one can see him but me. Strange, but true.
He was looking at me with an evil smirk, but irresistible. I looked at him with a confused face. He suddenly disappeared with all the fog; I turned forward. What did he meant by that smirk? Derek suddenly stopped.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know; look over there,” he said looking at a strange, little house. It was indeed in the middle of nowhere. All was foggy and blurry, while the house highlighted the whole place.
“What’s with the house? This is not like a place to live or something. I don’t even know where we are,” I said shaking my head lightly.
“I know; but anyway, let’s go check who’s in there, maybe we can stay there for a while or ask for directions? Whatever that can help,” he shrugged.
“Okay, I’ll just follow you; as long as I’m with you, I feel less worried.”
“That’s good; you make me feel important,” he smiled.
So, we walked towards that strange, little house. Once there, we knocked the door. A woman opened the door; she was wearing an old-fashioned dress, like from the 19th or 18th century. Her hair was combed all up into a tall, curly pile of hair; classic of that century. It was really weird, no one wears that nowadays.
I turned to see Derek’s face; he was as shocked as I was.
He whispered in my ear, “Is this a kind of joke or something?”
“I would like to know…” I whispered back.
“Oh; welcome, welcome, my dears!” The woman called.
“Uhhh… Hi, miss uh…” Derek hesitated.
“Don’t worry, darling; just come in! We have some fresh fruit so you can have something to eat,” she said with a British accent.
“Thanks, that’s very sweet from you;” I said, “but… we’re just here to ask for some help.”
“Oh, how come?” She exclaimed.
“Yeah, well we’re lost… Miss,” Derek said.
“Well, you’ve come just in the right place! Come, come!” The woman said, pulling our hands.
Once in there, there were other four women, dressed up the same as this one. What in the world was all these? Where are we? Who are these strange women? Anyway, the woman let us sit on the fancy, old-fashioned coaches. The other women were drinking some tea, staring at us with strange faces.
“Ladies, we have some newcomers!” The woman who received us called out with that accent.
“Hi,” Derek said.
“Hello,” I said, trying to sound polite.
“My, my;” one woman said, standing up, looking at us strangely, “So, what is this way of dressing up? And your hair!” The woman was referring to me.
“Indeed,” another one said. “Look at her extremely short miniskirt! In my times, they didn’t allow us to show our legs that much!”
I felt embarrassed; I placed my hands on my legs as I blushed a little.
“And your hair, why is it straight down?”
Derek almost laughed, but he resisted.
“And let’s not talk just about you, young lady. What’s with your boyfriend?”
“Oh, no, no, no… He’s not my boyfriend. He’s… just a friend,” I grinned nervously. Of course, I wanted that so badly to be true.
“Oh my dear; your pants, your hair, your jacket!” A woman shocked. Of course it was shocking in her times, but he looked hot in my times. “You look like a repulsive vagabond! Why don’t you just wear a nice tie, clean smocking, and comb your hair backwards to show your delightful face! That’ll help this young lady next to you fall in love easily!” The woman shouted.
We both blushed; damn with these women!
“Why don’t you dress like we do?” A woman asked.
“Oh, boy…” I sighed.
“And that language? We don’t use that type of language, dear!”
I shocked by her reaction and squeezed Derek’s hand.
“Anyhow, I’ll get you some tea!” One called.
“Was it a good idea to come to this place?” I whispered at Derek’s ear.
“Well, now that I see it for myself, no.” He whispered back.
“I rather prefer being lost outside than being shocked inside.”
“Hey, that rhymes;” he laughed lightly. I elbowed him hard. “Sorry,” he said.
Then the woman came with two cups of tea, “there you go, darlings.”
“Oh, sorry, I don’t like tea;” Derek said.
“Nonsense! Everyone likes tea!” She cried out, and then lowered her voice, “you’ll drink it even if you don’t like it.”
“Uh… yeah; I think I need to go to the bathroom,” he said shocked.
“Yeah, and I need to… make a call!” I said, trying to follow Derek.
“Take your time, dears. The bathroom is at the bottom left; the phone is right next to the bathroom.”
“Thanks,” we both said, running where she had said.
Once there, we hid ourselves in a room, which was–or I think it was–one of the women’s room.
“We have to find a way out of here!” I whispered desperately.
“I know, I know! But, where? These women are freaking me out!” He said desperately as I was.
“God…” I ran my hand through my hair, thinking.
While Derek was looking around, I heard a door creaking nearby. I turned my face and saw the dark guy, opening a door lightly, looking at me with a beautiful and trustful smile. Then he faded away, so I turned with Derek and pulled his hand, “This way!” I said in a low voice so the women couldn’t hear us.
“Are you sure that’s the right way?” He asked doubtfully.
“Yes; trust me!”
We opened the door, and ran without even stopping to see where we were. And that was a bad idea, since there was no floor, so we fell to a hole. We fell on a bunch of autumn leaves–which was strange, since there were no trees around.
“Where are we now?” I said, looking around.
“You tell me, you said this was the right way!” Derek shouted.
“Well, it was the only one!”
Then we turned upward; there were those women, with mean faces, “Get them!” one cried out, all jumping to the hole.
“Run!” Derek shouted, standing up and pulling my hand, running.
“Those women are faster than us! They’re gonna get us!”
“Think, think, think!” Derek murmured.
I turned around, looking for the dark guy. He is like my angel; he saves me every time I’m in trouble, so he has to appear now!
And yes, there he was, far away. I shouted “help!” But that didn’t seem to help at all. He faded away… Why? Why didn’t he help me this time?
“Jamie, we can’t ask for help; there’s no one here but us and those freaks!” Derek said, pulling my hand even more, running faster.
Well, maybe if I’m in real danger, he’ll appear; so I don’t have to worry at all… right?
“Jamie, look;” Derek pointed at a big wall. “Those women are getting to us; you can cross this wall and stay safe at the other side.”
“But what about you?”
“I’ll be fine; maybe I can climb it up, if not, at least you’ll be safe. Don’t worry about me,” he smiled gently.
“No, Derek. We’re in this together; I won’t leave you alone.”
“Jamie, please. It’s the only way I can save you!”
“Then let’s both get caught, not just you…”
“Don’t be silly, please! I don’t want you to get hurt!”
“I don’t want you to get hurt either!”
He sighed, “We’ll never end this discussion before they caught us, so…” He placed his hands on my waist and pushed me upward the wall, “go to the other side!”
“No!” I cried, pulling his hand.
“Jamie, let go, please! I know it’s hard, but I want to keep you safe!”
Then, before I could demand, two cold hands placed on my waist, pulled me down to the other side of the wall. I turned my face once I was on the floor and saw the dark guy.
“What do you think you’re doing? I can’t leave Derek alone!” I cried out.
“You will even if you don’t want to… He’ll be okay… trust me…” he whispered coldly, pulling my hand.
I rudely apart my hand from his, “I won’t go anywhere without him! Especially with someone I don’t even know…”
He smiled with a light laugh, “Fine.” He just stayed arms crossed, not doing anything while I heard Derek’s screams.
“Derek!” I shouted worried, hitting the wall until my hands hurt like hell.
“You won’t help doing that, you know?” He said.
“Shut up!” I yelled at him, angry. “If you wouldn’t have pulled me down, I could’ve saved him!”
“Really? I don’t think so. Those women aren’t real women at all.”
“What do you mean?” I turned to face him.
“They’re not human…” He said, and then smirked. “Your friend is probably going to die soon,” he laughed lightly.
“What? What is so funny about it! You’re insane, you idiot! You need to help me, please!” I shouted, tears running down my cheeks. I couldn’t let Derek die… not this way… not in any way, actually. I need to save him.
“Idiot? Wow… I thought of you a kinder person,” he smiled. “Oh, well.”
“Could you at least for once show interest and help me right now?” I yelled at him, trying to climb up the plain wall.
He laughed again, “Yeah, of course you will get to the other side that way.”
“Shut up, I said!” I was even angrier. “I mean, what happened to that kind guy I met at school before? You were gentle with me, now you’re acting like a moron!”
“Idiot. Moron. Something else you want to add?”
“C’mon, you know why I call you like that!” my foot slipped on the wall and I fell to the floor. “At least help me get to the other side; I’ll do the rest myself.”
He laughed at the way I fell, “Okay, okay.” He helped me stand up and hugged me.
“Eh, how is this supposed to help? I didn’t ask for a hug. By the way, I’m freezing.”
He laughed once more, “You talk, talk, and talk. I like your attitude; you seem particularly interesting to me. You’re quite funny, you know?”
I sighed, “Sure, I’ve killed people of laughter before,” I said sarcastically. “Hey, are you trying to make me waste time so that Derek dies before I can stop them?”
“Maybe; maybe not.”
“Agh, get off me!” I struggled to get out of his hard arms.
“Fine; I’ll get you there,” then we started to rise up. I was in his arms still, while we were rising up to the other side of the wall. Then we land on the floor, still hugged; it was like if we were floating or something.
He finally released the hug and I said shocked, “What was that? How did you…? I mean…”
“Let’s just go find your friend,” he said coldly, pulling my hand as we walked.
“Do you even know where he is?”
“Do you even have to ask me this?” He said, imitating my tone, “I mean, of course I know,” he smiled.
“You know, your changes of moods are kinda getting me dizzy.”
“I’m sorry, I apologize for acting rude with you; just that… I don’t like him.”
“Who? Derek?”
“Yeah, is he your boyfriend?” He suddenly asked.
“Uh, no! But, honestly… I wish he was,” I blushed lightly.
“Right,” he said as he let go of my hand. “You should keep going yourself; I guess you don’t need me, or you’re just using me like an item.”
“No, wait! I’m not! But… hey, you started in first place,” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Start what?” He asked confused.
“You began acting rudely with me…”
“Oh, c’mon, Jamie…”
“How did you know my name?”
“Uh… I just… guessed it.”
“What’s your name, anyway?”
“Try to guess,” he grinned.
I didn’t say a word then, I just kept walking next to him. We were back where Derek and I were before: the little creepy house. He must be in there, with those women. I swallowed, nervously.
“Relax; you’ll be fine as long as you’re with me,” he said, squeezing my hand as we entered the house without knocking the door.
“Derek?” I shouted, but then the dark guy placed his hand on my mouth.
“Shhh… don’t even try to say a word,” he whispered. He led me to a room and we both eavesdrop behind the door. I could hear the women voices, but opening a little the door, I saw them; they looked fierce and dreadfully scary. Then I saw Derek tied up on a chair.
“Let me go right now!” Derek was shouting, while the others were laughing at him.
“How can we help him?” I whispered, but I guess loud enough for them to hear me.
The dark guy put his hand on my mouth once again and pushed me besides the door. One of the women opened the door rudely, looking around; and for our luck, the door was covering us on the side we were hiding. Then, the woman left and closed the door.
The dark guy sighed and whispered really low, “I said don’t speak!”
I just nodded in apologize and moved back where we were before. One woman was grazing Derek’s face with her hand, and the other one was threatening him with a knife on his neck.
“Tell us where the girl is!” the woman shouted.
“Never!” Derek yelled.
I placed my hand on my mouth, trying to keep a scream. Is it me who they are looking for? Of course, I’m the only girl who had been with him. I looked at the dark guy, waiting for him to say or do something. He took my hand and walked quietly out of that place, taking me to another room.
When he closed the door, I said in a low but shocked voice, “What are you doing? We have to save him!”
“Jamie, shut up!” He yelled; his tone of voice made my eyes go wet. He then saw my reaction and placed his hands on my shoulders, “No, no, please; sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
“Shut up…” I cut him. “I don’t have time for this; while we’re talking here, Derek is being threatened with those women. So, I’ll make this myself.”
I then walked out the door, running towards the room where Derek and the women were; I entered the room. The women turned to me with lighting eyes and Derek with worried eyes.
“Why, Jamie?” Derek said. “Why! They wanted you to come so that they could kill us both!”
“Why?” I asked confused. Then, the women were getting near me.
“No!” Derek shouted.
All their hands were getting near me; but before they could get me, a hand pushed them all away. I turned back and saw the dark guy with his hand stretched on air.
“Why don’t you ever listen to me?” He said softly.
Then, the women thought I was the one who pushed them away; also Derek thought that, since they couldn’t see the dark guy. One of the women –who seem to be the youngest and more beautiful of the group, with long-golden curls and white dress–, left the room secretly, while the others stayed. I noticed that the woman who just left was staring not at me, but someone next to me: that is the dark guy. So that meant she could see him just as I can? Why?
“Whoa, Jamie?” Derek said surprised; I just shrugged.
The creatures, now angrier than before, ran over me; but my angel pushed them all away again. The women finally gave up and ran off before it could get worse and someone gets hurt.
Derek looked at me shocked, “How did you…?”
I turned to look at the dark guy, who just smiled and faded away. Then, I turned back at Derek while I untied him from the chair. “Uh, you know; when someone gets me mad, you don’t know how… powerful I might become.” I didn’t even know what I was saying; all the work was done by my angel.
“Whoa, Jamie; I didn’t know that side from you.”
I just smiled.
“Really, you looked really hot…” He then said.
I rolled my eyes, “Asshole.” I pulled his hand, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Should I trust you this time? Because maybe we can get caught again.”
“Derek, please; I just said let’s get out of here, I don’t know where to go.”
“Okay, as long as we’re outside this creepy house,” we walked towards the door and went out of the house. Everything was the same as before: foggy and blurry.
I looked around, and I saw a little kid standing right in front of me. He was wearing old, dirty clothes; he seemed like a poor child. When I turned to see Derek, he was gone.
“Derek?” I called, “Derek!”
“I’m lost…” The kid said, pulling my hand carefully.
I turned to see the kid and knelt to the ground to be like his size, “You can’t find your mother?”
“No; I’m lost… help me,” the kid said with a cute, innocent little voice.
“But, where could she be? I’m lost too,” I sighed.
“This way,” the kid pulled my hand, making me stand up, and started walking.
“Uh, but where are you taking me?”
The kid didn’t answer, just kept walking, pulling my hand. I felt some steps behind us, maybe Derek or maybe the dark guy.
“They’ve found us!” The kid cried, running this time; I ran faster too.
“Who? What are you talking about?” I said desperately.
The kid didn’t answer to my question again; but when I turned back, I saw a skinny man, wearing nothing but his pants, with a huge knife on his hand–huge as a sword–; his entire body was all tattooed, also his top part of the head, since he was bold. The man was running as well after us. He looked really scary! He could kill us at any moment, so we have to hide somewhere!
“Come, come!” The kid said, opening a door for me. We both entered the room and locked the door–which probably won’t help since the man could just break the door down.
I turned to see the room. For my surprise, it was completely empty. There were no windows, no bed, nothing; I turned to a corner where the kid was sitting, in front of an old TV; so that was the only thing inside this room. The kid was calmly watching TV in black & white, like if nothing had happened. I knelt beside the kid and asked him, “Why did you brought me here? What is this strange room?”
The kid didn’t answer again, just kept watching the TV. I shook his shoulder, “Hey, I’m talking to you, kid.”
Then, a hard knock on the door caught our attention. We both turned shocked; the kid hid behind the TV and I stayed completely alone, nowhere to hide.
“He found us!” The kid whispered.
“But, what do I do now?” I said shocked, looking around for somewhere to hide.
I heard a growl behind the door. The man is here, he will now slice me into pieces! I just stayed froze in place, tears running down my cheeks. Is it really over? What had happened to Derek? Who are this kid and this man? Where am I? … A lot of unanswered questions.
The man finally broke the door into half and entered the room. I just moved back hesitantly; the man moved forward with an evil grin. My back was already pasted on the wall. The man raised his knife, about to cut me into half. I just closed my eyes, waiting for the moment to die…
Nothing had happened then, so I opened my eyes and saw the weird man on the floor, unconscious. I looked in front and saw the dark guy, with a serious, scary face.
“What?” I asked hesitantly, looking at his cold face.
“What do you think you’re doing here? You almost died!” He yelled at me, coming near me taking my hand rudely, pulling me out the room.
“Wait, wait, wait…” I stopped him, “Why was he trying to kill me? And those women that ran off; why did they want from me?”
“Is not just you, but your friend also. Any human who comes to this place, always die… There’s no survivor; so you and your friend need to go out of here now.”
“How are we supposed to go out? You need to help us! And help me find Derek!”
“Yeah, well I don’t know how to get out; and I don’t know where your friend is, so…” He shrugged.
“So, now what? We just wait until someone comes and kill both of us?” I said with a serious tone.
“We can go find him first, then look for a way out. I won’t let anyone get near you… I’ll protect you no matter what it takes,” he placed his hands on my shoulder.
“Just one more question… What are you?” I said, looking at him afraid.
He sighed and let go his hands off my shoulders, “I’ll let you know later. Let’s go find your friend.”
“Okay… by the way, it’s easier if you just say ‘Derek’.”
“I don’t like to mention his name so much; he seems particularly disgusting to me,” he laughed.
“Alright…”
We walked out of the strange, little room. The outside was now clear: there was no fog, but sunlight; there was no coldness, but warmth; there was no darkness, but brightness, etc.
“So, why did the whole place changed?” I asked looking around.
“It’s a good signal. The weather changes depending on the situation,” he smiled. “The climate has never been like this before ever since the humans invaded this territory. Whoa.”
“So, that means Derek is alright!” I cheered up.
“We don’t know for sure; come on,” he pulled my hand again.
While walking, a little bunny jumped in the middle of the road.
“Oh, how cute!” I leaned down to touch him, but the dark guy pulled my hand back.
“Don’t touch him!” He dragged me again, walking straight.
“What’s wrong? You’ve been acting so rude with me. It was just a bunny!”
“This world is different from yours; maybe things look similar, but they’re not. Most likely, every cute stuff is dangerous, while awful are sometimes good.”
“That doesn’t make sense at all.”
“Neither this world does. Just keep walking, will you?” He pulled me again.
“Hey, I can walk by myself; stop pulling, you’re hurting me.”
“Sorry,” he pulled me now softly. “Better?”
I sighed. Then, I felt heavy steps behind us. I turned and saw what I think it was a huge rabbit. Was it the same bunny I saw just seconds ago? The dark guy pulled me from my waist and hid me behind a tree.
Once the rabbit was gone, he said rudely: “Could you be more cautious next time?”
“Sorry…” I said, angry by his attitude.
“Look, I’m sorry I’m being rude all the time, but it’s because I need to protect you and I can’t control myself when I do it. Sorry…”
I looked at his face; he looked even more beautiful when he was apologizing. “It’s okay, I understand.” I hugged him softly. He hugged me back, tightly.
“Let’s go find Derek…” he whispered in my ear.
“You said Derek,” I smiled.
“Damn… I guess I did,” he shrugged.
“C’mon, let’s go.” I released the hug.
We walked again on the road.
“So, what’s your story? What are you? Please tell me now, to have something to talk about while we find Derek,” I suggested him.
“Well… What am I?” He laughed lightly. “I’m dead; I’m a ghost, spirit… whatever you want to call it.”
I shocked, “W-what? But… how come I… but you…” I hesitated.
“Yeah, that’s why no one else can see me but you.”
“But why only me?”
“Something in you wants me near, so I’m bound to appear only for you.”
“But, I don’t feel like I want you near; don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel it.”
“That’s what your brain says, but not what your heart says.”
“But… if you’re a ghost, how can I touch you? You’re solid.”
“It’s the same; because you want to touch me.”
“I don’t get it… So what’s the story? How did you die?” I changed the topic.
“It all started around the 19th century, in this same place. I told you, no human can escape without dying. I was a victim, and I died. There’s a creature more powerful than the ones we’ve just met. He was the one who killed me…” He said with a cold voice, then added with a whisper I barely heard, “In order to protect the one I loved…”
“You died in order to protect that person?”
“Yes. And that girl reminds me a lot of you; that’s why I want to be with you: to protect you, and not failing this time.”
“Oh… and, did the girl died?”
“I don’t know…I died without knowing a thing about her…”
“And… do you think the one who killed you has Derek on his hands right now?” I asked afraid of the answer.
“Maybe…”
“We have to hurry!” I shouted desperately.
“Let’s go then, with no regrets as before.”
We hurried this time; he knew the place where the creature that killed him was, so it will be faster.
I heard some giggles, and the dark guy seemed to have heard them too, so we both stopped and looked where the giggles came from.
It was Derek, sitting on a huge rock in the middle of a river. For now, he was fine. But… what?! Who are those women around him? Wait… they’re not normal women. They have fish tails! They’re mermaids? How strange everything is turning out. Anyway, what was he doing with those mermaids? They were really beautiful, and very showy: they only had a small bra… Damn, Derek pervert. Why was he laughing, by the way? I was about to shout, but then thought of what the guy next to me would do, so I stayed quiet.
“Umh… won’t you go for him?” He asked me. So what, now he wants me to shout?
“If it’s okay with you…” I turned with Derek and got near him, “Derek?”
“Whoa, Jamie! Hello girl; did you know my new friends? They’re awesome, and hot.” He said.
“You’re disgusting… C’mon, we gotta go now, or else it’ll be too late.”
“C’mon, don’t be a party pooper! We’re having fun, wanna join us?”
I was about to reply, but suddenly I saw one of the mermaids behind Derek showing two long fangs, and was about to bite Derek’s neck.
“A Vampire Mermaid!” the dark guy called.
“What? Uh…” I picked a rock from the ground and threw it to her face.
The mermaid screamed and swam away.
“What was that?” Derek demanded.
“She’s a Vampire Mermaid! Let’s go or they’ll kill you!” There was no way I could get through him; he was across the river, far away from me.
“What?” He now saw what I meant, the other two mermaids were about to bite him from both sides, “Jamie!” He shouted.
“Uh, hold on just a sec,” I said, and the dark guy took me to the rock where Derek was without him seeing us. “Derek!”
“How did you…?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I hit a mermaid with my fist and threw her away to the water, unconscious.
“Careful!” Derek called, and pushed the other mermaid away.
“Leave her to me!” I said, now angry. I threw myself into the water, with the mermaid struggling to get me off. We were underwater, fighting; hitting ourselves. She scratched my arm with her long fingernails. All my blood went to the top of the river, and I could imagine Derek and the dark guy terrified.
I kept fighting, but I was drowning now; I needed some air, but the mermaid pulled me deeper. Then, I was seeing all blurry. I could barely see a shadow pulling me to the surface, but I fell unconscious.
Once I woke up, I saw a beautiful angel very near me. I blinked twice, and finally saw the dark guy clearly. “What happened?” I asked, and then my arm burned. “Ouch, I’m bleeding; where’s the mermaid?”
“I killed her as well as the other ones. You almost died, what were you thinking? Fighting with a Vampire mermaid?”
“Sorry… Where’s Derek?” I said weakly.
“I had to hit him on the neck to save you without him noticing. He will wake up soon and have no idea of what had happened.”
“Oh… Thank you,” I smiled weakly. I just realized I was resting in the floor with him really close to me. I felt… a little uncomfortable.
“Umh… I think I feel much better now,” I said trying to get up, but the dark guy stopped me, letting me rest once again. He placed his hand on my forehead.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, but then my eyes closed without me wanting. After what felt like three seconds, I opened them in a shot. “…Ace…” I whispered.
He smiled softly, “Nice to meet you.”
I leaned forward, now on a sitting position, staring at him with curious eyes.
“Your name is Ace.”
“Yes,” he nodded once.
I shook my head confused, “How did I know?”
“Don’t worry; the thing is that you know my name now. Happy?”
“Not at all… I’m still confused… But at least I know your name; I won’t have to call you ‘dark guy’ or ‘angel’ anymore,” I laughed a little.
“You used to call me ‘angel’?” He suddenly asked.
I blushed lightly, “Umh, yes… You’re like my guardian angel; you’re always there for me…”
“You know, this reminds me of a song I’ve heard lately around your school… which didn’t exist in my times; is: ‘Your Guardian Angel’ or something like that.”
“Oh, I love that song… every time I hear it the first thing that comes through my mind is you…”
“Well… I know parts of the song, and I would like to sing it for you…” he whispered.
I smiled softly, but deep inside me, I wanted to scream. My favorite song… and he will sing it for me.
He stared deeply into my eyes and began to sing softly, with a voice even better than the original singer:
“When I see your smile tears roll down my face, I can’t replace… And now that I’m strong I have figured out how this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul, and I know I’ll find deep inside me, I can be the one…” He was following the same rhythm as the song, then took my hands and continued: “I will never let you fall; I’ll stand up with you forever; I’ll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven…” His hands ran from my hands all the way through my arms; now on my cheeks: “It’s ok… It’s ok… It’s ok…” His hands ran again down my arms; “Seasons are changing and waves are crashing and stars are falling all for us… Days grow longer and nights grow shorter; I can show you I’ll be the one… I will never let you fall; I’ll stand up with you forever; I’ll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven…” He stopped with a long, soft ending. I think he didn’t know the rest, but still… it was simply beautiful. I wanted to cry, and indeed I did; tears were running down my face. He stared at me with worried eyes that made me feel guilty; those eyes were absolutely beautiful and… I just realized they torn from bloody red to a sky blue, never seen before, but extremely beautiful…
“Why are you crying? Was it too bad?” He said with those sad and beautiful eyes.
I cleaned the tears from my face and hugged him tightly, “I loved it so much… I’m crying because it was absolutely beautiful… I can’t even speak, my throat is drying.”
He ran his hand several times through my hair, “its ok… my true love, my whole heart…” Those words were also part of the song, which were more beautiful than the original singer.
I released the hug and stared at him, “Your eyes are sky blue… the first time I saw them were bloody red.”
“They change to this color when I’m relaxed and feeling good… actually; it’s been like decades since they don’t turn this way… You have something special that made me change completely; ever since I died I desired revenge, but now when I met you all I could think about is you… I’m always worrying about you, and I feel like a new me when I’m with you; a me who does not want revenge but to feel happy… and I thank you for this…”
“You know you can always count on me to cheer you up and make you feel good. I’m sorry for calling you an idiot and a moron, by the way…”
“Don’t worry, I was acting like an idiot and a moron anyway; this all feels like a “Good-bye” or something… we’re apologizing for silly things,” he laughed softly.
“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t mad because I called you like that.”
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing; your friend is about to wake up, and if he doesn’t see you, he’ll panic. Go with him, I’ll wait.”
He helped me stand up and I walked where Derek was resting. He looks cute when he’s sleeping… but not as cute as my Angel, my Ace…
I knelt to the ground besides him, when he started to open his eyes hesitantly, blinking.
“Jamie?” he said weakly. “Where am I?”
“Derek!” I said, “You hit yourself on the head; but don’t worry, you’re fine now,” I smiled.
I’ve considered… Ace is way nicer and gentle than Derek is; plus Derek has become a bit more pervert and idiot, while Ace is softer and pure; also, Ace is more beautiful than Derek… a lot more. However, Derek is still part of my life, so I want to be with him also and help him.
Derek laughed weakly, “what a stupid act of me… I just remember those mermaids. What happened to them?”
“Oh, they ran off,” I lied. “The good thing is you’re okay and that we need to get out of here.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, Jamie;” he suddenly said while standing up. He then hugged me, “I don’t know what would be of me if you disappear.” He released the hug.
I blushed lightly and shrugged, “well I’m alright; no need to worry at all.”
Ace was staring at us, and I could imagine he got mad when Derek hugged me, but he must know my heart belongs to him… well, rhetorically, since he’s death.
“Jamie, look over there,” Derek pointed with his finger to the north, were there was some dark smoke in the sky.
“Is something burning there?” I asked confused.
“We need to go to that place,” Ace said, now next to me.
“Why?” I whispered so Derek couldn’t hear me.
“There’s the exit from this place.”
“But you said there was no way out.”
“I…just remembered there is one,” he said hesitantly, like if he wasn’t sure of his words.
Anyway, I have to trust him, why should he lie to me? I then turned at Derek, “We need to go there.”
“Are you crazy? There must be danger over there! I can’t risk our lives there…”
“Trust me…”
“Last time you said that, I was caught by some strange women.”
“That was a mistake; but this time is real. Trust me… please.”
He realized I was completely sure in my eyes, “Fine.”
The three of us walked towards that place. It wasn’t so far; we had to cross the river again, then just a short path to get to a place which was foggy and scary. It was like a town, or which used to be a town: there were corpses lying on the ground; some covered with blood, others just injured; what used to be some small houses were all destroyed; every living thing in this strange world was death or unconscious.
Derek swallowed, “Jamie, this is a bad idea, let’s get out of here before we end up like those people!”
I stared at Ace and bit my lip, waiting for an answer.
“Let’s go on. The exit is in this town,” he said.
“Are you sure? Why are all these people–or creatures–death?” I whispered desperately.
“It’s nothing to worry about, trust me; let’s keep walking forward,” he said again with a worried tone.
I started to walk straight forward.
“Jamie! Are you crazy? I said let’s leave before we get killed!” Derek said freaking out.
I breathed deeply, worried as Derek was–and mistrustful, “I’m sure this is the way, don’t be afraid.”
He took my left hand the same time Ace took my right hand. At simple sight it was just me and Derek holding hands; but my vision was the three of us holding hands.
“Jamie, I’m afraid…”
“Don’t be. We’ll be fine,” I was just counting on Ace in this situation; he is protecting the two of us now.
“I’m not afraid of myself… I’m afraid that something could happen to you…”
“We’ll be fine as long as we stay together.”
Ace stopped walking, so I stopped too and Derek had to. I turned to see Ace, but he was looking in front terrified. I turned to see what he was staring at, and there was a young lady standing right in front of us, a little far away.
He had long-golden curls; a long ghostly, white dress, that seemed to be torn up from some edges; her eyes were pale blue, with no pupil; her hands were full of blood.
I just panic when I first saw her, so did Derek. I turned to see Ace once again, who seemed even more terrified than Derek and me together.
“Serena…” Ace whispered.
“Serena?” I stared at him confused.
Derek looked confused, “Serena? How did you know her name, Jamie?”
Serena giggled evilly and stretched her hand towards Derek’s eyes and a wave of air blew softly through Derek’s face.
“What was that? What did she do to you?” I said desperately.
Derek turned to face me, “Who’s the dark guy next to you?”
“What? Wait… you can see him now?” I said surprised.
“So, he’s the dark guy you always talked about at school?” Derek said surprised as I was.
“Yes!” I turned to face Serena, “What did you do to him? Why can he see him now?”
“Well, if he’s going to die;” she said, “he has to see the other ones who will die, too.”
Ace laughed, “I’m already dead.”
“I know; the two humans will die while I’ll make you disappear.”
“How will you do that?” Ace wondered.
Serena took out what seemed to be a gun; huge and gray with some green lights; “This gun was made specially to disappear ghosts. Once I shoot you, you will get caught and can never get out…”
“Why do you want me to disappear? I mean, what happened to the girl you used to be when I was alive?” Ace said with a sad voice.
“She changed in order to stay alive, and not ending up like you.”
“I gave my life for you! I took the risk in order to protect you…”
“Well, you were so stupid trusting in someone like me,” Serena raised the gun, pointing at Ace. “Good-bye, Ace…”
“Wait,” Ace said.
“What do you want now?”
“Please… I beg you: let Jamie and Derek go, and get rid of me… please.”
“I said I’ll get rid of the three of you.”
“Please… I beg you.”
“Well…Derek, you said? Well, he could be a nice partner; what do you think?”
“What?” Derek said confused.
“But let Jamie go, please,” Ace begged.
“Hmmm… I don’t think so; is she your new lover? Because I will kill her,” Serena said coldly.
“No!” Ace shouted, angry.
“Derek’s a cute guy… I’ll consider letting him go. But you, Ace, and your new lover will disappear…”
“I don’t get it; what are you talking about?” Derek said confused.
“Oh, don’t worry… you’ll be fine,” Serena said, getting near him and grazing her hand on his face. “But the other two will be gone!” She hit Derek on the neck and let him fall.
“Derek!” I shouted.
“Don’t worry; I said he’ll be fine; I’ll let him go. But you’re going to die. But Ace is first, so to make your death more suffering, I’ll make him disappear!” She then thought for a moment, “Umh isn’t it otherwise? Killing her first so that Ace suffers more?” She shrugged, “It’s the same; I already took out my ghost gun.”
She raised the gun again, pointing at Ace. Ace looked at me with sad eyes and then closed them, waiting for the moment in which he’ll disappear forever. I couldn’t let him go; I have to do something! …I don’t care about the consequences; I don’t care if something happens to me…
Without thinking it twice, I ran for Ace, stood up in front of him and raised my arms to the sides, in a protective way. Before Ace could push me away, the green laser that Serena shot from her gun hit me straight on my heart… I fell to the floor.
A big amount of blood was draining from my chest to the sides. Ace screamed my name desperately; Serena fell backwards because of the impact; Derek was still unconscious…
“Jamie!” Ace knelt to the ground and placed his hands on the edges of my face. “Jamie!”
I tried to smile, but I gave an effortless smile; “Ace…”
“Jamie! Why did you do that! Don’t leave me, please… Don’t.”
I raised my hand weakly to touch his face carefully, “I won’t ever leave you… I got hit by the gun, but it was not a mortal gun; so maybe it won’t affect me as a human…”
“But you don’t know that, maybe it has other effects towards humans!”
Serena hit her head hardly, so she was hurt and couldn’t get up; “Yes it has an effect on humans… This gun is extremely powerful that can catch ghosts; and its power can kill humans.”
“What? No!” Ace shocked. “Jamie, no…no!”
“Ace…” I said weakly, “I’m dying…for love; like you did… remember?”
“But this is different, Jamie!”
“No” I cut him; “If I die, I can live with you forever…”
“What do you mean? Oh, don’t tell me you–”
I nodded.
“Jamie…”
My eyes were closing; my breathing was ceasing; the last words I could say were: “Even if saving you sends me to heaven… I love you, Ace…” Everything turned inky black…
Derek’s P.O.V.:
I was opening my eyes slowly. I leaned forward into a sitting position; my head hurt a lot. Huh? I turned to my left side and saw the blonde girl on the floor, with some blood draining through her chest and mouth. She’s probably dead now… I turned to my right side and saw… No… no, no, no… NO!
“Jamie!” I shouted. Her body was lying on the floor, with blood draining from her chest.
I ran towards Jamie and knelt next to her. I leaned my head over her chest to see if her hearts was still beating… No, is not…
“Jamie!” I shouted once again, hugging her corpse. “Why!”
As I was hugging her, I realized the dark guy had left… How in the world could he leave Jamie dead here!
I carried Jamie’s corpse and started to walk straight. There was a white, potent light right in front; I suppose that’s the exit. I walked straight through that light and everything turned white.
Seconds later, I found myself at the school’s backyard (it was snowing, so no one came to school today) Hmmm… it’s really weird; it’s middle autumn and it had never snowed in years.
Days passed by really fast; Jamie’s body was buried on the state’s cemetery. I had become a really empty and serious person since Jamie’s death. Her best friend, Nicky, was the same. We all were the same…
Everyone asked me what happened to her; but if I tell them the truth they won’t ever believe me, so I say I don’t know. Her parents are crying and crying, wondering why she died… I feel really bad for keeping to myself the reason why she died, but it’s insane… I’m already freaking out, I can’t believe she died! Jamie… I would like to see her again… just one more time… see her beautiful face and delightful smile… Oh, Jamie…
I didn’t feel like going to History class, so I stayed at the hallways, sitting on the benches. I covered my face with my hands, trying to calm down, but I couldn’t. Jamie…
I looked up and a miracle happened… Jamie was there in front of me… I couldn’t believe it, she was there! As beautiful as always, smiling… Oh, what a beautiful vision… only if it was real…it’s just my imagination…
She stretched her hand all over to my face, touching it softly; her hands were extremely cold, but warm at the same time. Wait, I could touch it, so that means she’s real.
“Jamie…” I grabbed her hand softly, kissing it carefully. “I really miss you… Why did you leave me?”
“Derek, I love you… but my heart belongs to Ace…” She whispered.
I sighed, “That’s too bad… I love you too and I wanted your heart so badly…”
“You have it…” She said as she faded away slowly.
“I love you…I hope you come back again…”
She smiled and disappeared.
“Jamie…”
Sometimes we give everything,
Even our own lives, for love;
Sometimes we don’t realize
That true love we find it inside our hearts…
Everyone’s afraid to die,
But dying is not an ending,
Is a new beginning for life…
So this story does not have a happy ending… at least not for everyone; Derek finally realized Jamie was her true love, but Jamie just realized that her true love was Ace. So this story shows how someone died for love, not caring about consequences… Jamie went to heaven with the one she loved, making this the saddest situation Derek and everyone will have to endure… Ace finally has someone to be with after a long century of loneliness and sorrow; while his old love Serena died too, but instead she went to hell as a punishment for the things she’d done… It’s a happy ending for Jamie and Ace, but a pain for the rest… Now, this shows how people in heaven enjoy life more than the ones on Earth, just suffering…
The End.
