Sequel: Wrists Intact ›
Hearts Intact
There's A Chapel In A Hospital
It was the night after the concert in Calgary and I was home alone. Skylar, Jimmy, Devin and I had been staying at Jimmy’s house with Sheila while the others stayed in their motor homes. We’d invited them over a few times of course but it was nice to get a break from them.
Jimmy, Skylar, Devin and Sheila had all gone out to the bar but I’d decided to stay home. I wasn’t feeling all that well and I didn’t really like going out to the bar. Besides, Ryan and the others were going to meet them there, and I was still trying to avoid Ryan. He still scared the crap out of me.
After the others had left I put Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World into our stereo and curled up on the couch with a book. I was cold and I had the heat turned up so high but I just wouldn’t warm up. Finally I gave up and decided that even when I wasn’t around, Pete, Brendon or Ryan I was destined to be frozen.
I had just gotten to a really good part in my book when I heard a huge bang from upstairs. I jumped and dropped my book. Okay, now that was scary. I was clearly the only person home and I was pretty sure that I hadn’t imagined the bang. Damnit, that meant that I had to go check it out, alone.
I made a detour into the kitchen to grab my knife. Pete hadn’t given me back my knife so I was stuck with a smaller, not as sharp one. Then I slowly began to walk up the stairs.
I checked Jimmy’s room first. Nothing was out of place and it smelled really bad. Next I checked Sheila’s, nothing was different in there. Then Skylar’s, he had a poster hung upside down but that really wasn’t all the strange for Skylar. That meant that the bang came from my room. Lovely, I was going to die.
Very slowly I pushed my door open and turned on the light. My bag, which I had never bothered to unpack, was dumped out in the middle of my bed. I was about to run when I noticed something that hadn’t been in my bag before. Trembling slightly, I walked over to my bed.
The red scarf was missing. I know that it was supposed to be in the bag, I’d never taken it out, but yet it wasn’t here. But my book was. The one from Chicago, the one that had disappeared before my eyes.
“Oh shit!” I whispered, jumping back. Then my door slammed and I whirled around. Standing beside it was a man! He was tall, wearing all black and he had long, shoulder-length black hair. His eyes were dark brown and he was pale. He smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow, crooked teeth.
“Who the fuck are you?” I cried, shaking. I gripped the knife hard, getting ready to use it. The man laughed and took a step towards me.
“Not that it’ll matter much to but I am called Zacharias.” He said, taking another step towards.
“Don’t you come any farther!” I warned, holding up the knife. Zacharias laughed again, his eyes piercing through me.
“Just relax darling.” He said. I trembled and stepped backwards. Why, oh why do I always end up in these kinds of situations?
“What do you want?” I asked nervously. Zacharias was looking me over, a hungry look in his eyes.
“Take a guess.” He said, stepping towards me. I had a guess, but I didn’t want to say if for fear that I would be right.
Ryan’s POV
We were all at the bar, trying to find Skylar, Jimmy, Devin, Shelia and Izzye. It was hard, the place was so crowded and everyone looked the same in the dim lights. I was starting to get annoyed, it wasn’t supposed to be this hard to find five people in a stupid bar!
“Hey I see them!” Brendon said, pointing towards a table at the back of the bar. I stood up tall, trying to see over the heads of nearly fifty drunk, dancing kids. Brendon was right, they were all sitting at the table, deep in conversation it looked like.
Brendon led the way over to them and I stopped dead when I noticed someone was missing. Izzye, the one person we were trying to keep alive!
“Hey you guys, where’s Izzye?” Brendon asked, sitting down next Skylar.
“She stayed home.” Jimmy said, taking a drink from his beer. All of us, Brendon, Pete, Joe, Andy, Patrick, Spencer, Jon and I stared at each other, horrified.
“She what?” Brendon yelped, jumping to his feet. Skylar, Jimmy, Devin and Sheila all looked confused.
“She stayed home, why, what’s wrong?” Skylar asked worriedly. None of us answered him, we were too busy thinking.
“Okay, Ryan, Patrick and I will go get her, you guys get them out of town.” Pete said, looking at Joe, Andy, Spencer, Jon and Brendon. They nodded.
“Get up, we have to go!” Brendon said seriously, turning to Skylar and the others. They didn’t move.
“Come on, now!” He said. They all stood up, looking very confused and slightly scared.
“What’s going on?” Skylar demanded.
“I’ll tell you on the way, now come on!” Brendon ordered. He led them away from the table.
“Come on, we better go.” Pete said. I only hoped that Izzye would still be alive when we got there.
Izzye’s POV
“Come on, guess!” Zacharias insisted, taking another step towards me. I was trapped, I couldn’t back up anymore and there was no way I’d be able to run around him.
“Please don’t hurt me!” I begged. I’d never been this scared before, not in the alley, this was a thousand times worse.
“I make no promises.” Zacharias said with a chuckle. I was shaking even more by now.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice trembling. Suddenly Zacharias’ face grew serious.
“You know what I want.” He whispered. Well he was wrong there, I had no clue, and I didn’t really want to know.
Suddenly, Zacharias snarled loudly, a lot like Ryan had in the alley, and lunged at me. I ducked and he missed me, crashing onto my bed. Without wasting a second I bolted for the door. I didn’t get far before I heard another snarl and suddenly I was falling. Zacharias had jumped at me and as we collided, I fell.
“Don’t even try to escape!” He hissed. I was trying my hardest to get away from him. I was kicking him as hard as I could but it didn’t seem to do anything!
“Stop!” Zacharias ordered. I didn’t listen, believe me, I wasn’t going to stop trying to get away from anything.
“Let me go!” I cried, tears filling my eyes. He just laughed at me. He started to say something but stopped, staring towards the door. Could he hear something that I couldn’t?
Suddenly the door swung open and something collided with Zacharias, pulling him off of me. I scrambled my feet and turned to see what was happening. I didn’t get to though, someone wrapped their arms around me and turned me so I was facing the wall.
“Let go!” I cried, absolutely terrified. By now tears were streaming down my face.
“Shh, it’s okay, he’s not going to hurt you, you’re going to be fine, just close your eyes.” The person whispered. It was Ryan! I never thought that I’d be so happy to hear his voice!
“What’s going on?” I asked, trembling so much I could barely stand. Suddenly there was a horrible hissing noise from behind us and then someone screamed.
“Shh, just go to sleep.” Ryan whispered. As if his words were a spell, my eyes closed against my will and in a second, I was asleep.
Ryan’s POV
“How is she?” Pete asked, his voice trembling. I picked up the now sleeping Izzye and gently placed her down on the bed. She didn’t look like she’d been hurt but I had to make sure.
“Mostly scared, but I don’t think he bit her.” I said, checking her neck, arms and legs for bite marks. There were none, thankfully.
“No, she’s clear.” I said. Pete sighed in relief and stared down at what remained of Zacharias. It wasn’t much, just ripped up clothes and a few pieces of clothes.
“We have to burn this, so there’s no chance he can come back.” Pete said. I nodded and glanced back at Izzye.
“I’ll go get some matches, you watch her.” I said. Pete nodded and walked over to the bed. I ran downstairs and found a pack of matches in one of the drawers in the kitchen. Then I ran back upstairs. Pete hadn’t moved.
“Let’s do this quick; there might be more on their way.” I said. Pete nodded and together, we set fire to Zacharias’ remains. We were careful not let the fire burn anything besides the remains and we put it out quickly with some water.
“Come on, let’s go.” Pete said. I nodded and picked up Izzye. She was light, it was as if I was carrying nothing. I could almost forget that I was carrying her.
Patrick was waiting for us out in the car and both Pete and I got in the back. I gently put Izzye in between us as Patrick speeded down the street. We needed to get away from the house immediately.
“Was it him?” Patrick asked. Solemnly Pete nodded.
“Yup, it was him, but he won’t be hurting anyone else ever again.” He said quietly. Patrick understood what he meant.
“Is she hurt?” He asked. I shook my head.
“Not that we can see at least.” I said. I looked down at Izzye. She looked scared, even though she was asleep.
“Well, I guess it’s time to explain everything to her, once she wakes up.” Pete said. Hesitantly I nodded. I had hoped that this day would never come.
Jimmy, Skylar, Devin and Sheila had all gone out to the bar but I’d decided to stay home. I wasn’t feeling all that well and I didn’t really like going out to the bar. Besides, Ryan and the others were going to meet them there, and I was still trying to avoid Ryan. He still scared the crap out of me.
After the others had left I put Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World into our stereo and curled up on the couch with a book. I was cold and I had the heat turned up so high but I just wouldn’t warm up. Finally I gave up and decided that even when I wasn’t around, Pete, Brendon or Ryan I was destined to be frozen.
I had just gotten to a really good part in my book when I heard a huge bang from upstairs. I jumped and dropped my book. Okay, now that was scary. I was clearly the only person home and I was pretty sure that I hadn’t imagined the bang. Damnit, that meant that I had to go check it out, alone.
I made a detour into the kitchen to grab my knife. Pete hadn’t given me back my knife so I was stuck with a smaller, not as sharp one. Then I slowly began to walk up the stairs.
I checked Jimmy’s room first. Nothing was out of place and it smelled really bad. Next I checked Sheila’s, nothing was different in there. Then Skylar’s, he had a poster hung upside down but that really wasn’t all the strange for Skylar. That meant that the bang came from my room. Lovely, I was going to die.
Very slowly I pushed my door open and turned on the light. My bag, which I had never bothered to unpack, was dumped out in the middle of my bed. I was about to run when I noticed something that hadn’t been in my bag before. Trembling slightly, I walked over to my bed.
The red scarf was missing. I know that it was supposed to be in the bag, I’d never taken it out, but yet it wasn’t here. But my book was. The one from Chicago, the one that had disappeared before my eyes.
“Oh shit!” I whispered, jumping back. Then my door slammed and I whirled around. Standing beside it was a man! He was tall, wearing all black and he had long, shoulder-length black hair. His eyes were dark brown and he was pale. He smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow, crooked teeth.
“Who the fuck are you?” I cried, shaking. I gripped the knife hard, getting ready to use it. The man laughed and took a step towards me.
“Not that it’ll matter much to but I am called Zacharias.” He said, taking another step towards.
“Don’t you come any farther!” I warned, holding up the knife. Zacharias laughed again, his eyes piercing through me.
“Just relax darling.” He said. I trembled and stepped backwards. Why, oh why do I always end up in these kinds of situations?
“What do you want?” I asked nervously. Zacharias was looking me over, a hungry look in his eyes.
“Take a guess.” He said, stepping towards me. I had a guess, but I didn’t want to say if for fear that I would be right.
Ryan’s POV
We were all at the bar, trying to find Skylar, Jimmy, Devin, Shelia and Izzye. It was hard, the place was so crowded and everyone looked the same in the dim lights. I was starting to get annoyed, it wasn’t supposed to be this hard to find five people in a stupid bar!
“Hey I see them!” Brendon said, pointing towards a table at the back of the bar. I stood up tall, trying to see over the heads of nearly fifty drunk, dancing kids. Brendon was right, they were all sitting at the table, deep in conversation it looked like.
Brendon led the way over to them and I stopped dead when I noticed someone was missing. Izzye, the one person we were trying to keep alive!
“Hey you guys, where’s Izzye?” Brendon asked, sitting down next Skylar.
“She stayed home.” Jimmy said, taking a drink from his beer. All of us, Brendon, Pete, Joe, Andy, Patrick, Spencer, Jon and I stared at each other, horrified.
“She what?” Brendon yelped, jumping to his feet. Skylar, Jimmy, Devin and Sheila all looked confused.
“She stayed home, why, what’s wrong?” Skylar asked worriedly. None of us answered him, we were too busy thinking.
“Okay, Ryan, Patrick and I will go get her, you guys get them out of town.” Pete said, looking at Joe, Andy, Spencer, Jon and Brendon. They nodded.
“Get up, we have to go!” Brendon said seriously, turning to Skylar and the others. They didn’t move.
“Come on, now!” He said. They all stood up, looking very confused and slightly scared.
“What’s going on?” Skylar demanded.
“I’ll tell you on the way, now come on!” Brendon ordered. He led them away from the table.
“Come on, we better go.” Pete said. I only hoped that Izzye would still be alive when we got there.
Izzye’s POV
“Come on, guess!” Zacharias insisted, taking another step towards me. I was trapped, I couldn’t back up anymore and there was no way I’d be able to run around him.
“Please don’t hurt me!” I begged. I’d never been this scared before, not in the alley, this was a thousand times worse.
“I make no promises.” Zacharias said with a chuckle. I was shaking even more by now.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice trembling. Suddenly Zacharias’ face grew serious.
“You know what I want.” He whispered. Well he was wrong there, I had no clue, and I didn’t really want to know.
Suddenly, Zacharias snarled loudly, a lot like Ryan had in the alley, and lunged at me. I ducked and he missed me, crashing onto my bed. Without wasting a second I bolted for the door. I didn’t get far before I heard another snarl and suddenly I was falling. Zacharias had jumped at me and as we collided, I fell.
“Don’t even try to escape!” He hissed. I was trying my hardest to get away from him. I was kicking him as hard as I could but it didn’t seem to do anything!
“Stop!” Zacharias ordered. I didn’t listen, believe me, I wasn’t going to stop trying to get away from anything.
“Let me go!” I cried, tears filling my eyes. He just laughed at me. He started to say something but stopped, staring towards the door. Could he hear something that I couldn’t?
Suddenly the door swung open and something collided with Zacharias, pulling him off of me. I scrambled my feet and turned to see what was happening. I didn’t get to though, someone wrapped their arms around me and turned me so I was facing the wall.
“Let go!” I cried, absolutely terrified. By now tears were streaming down my face.
“Shh, it’s okay, he’s not going to hurt you, you’re going to be fine, just close your eyes.” The person whispered. It was Ryan! I never thought that I’d be so happy to hear his voice!
“What’s going on?” I asked, trembling so much I could barely stand. Suddenly there was a horrible hissing noise from behind us and then someone screamed.
“Shh, just go to sleep.” Ryan whispered. As if his words were a spell, my eyes closed against my will and in a second, I was asleep.
Ryan’s POV
“How is she?” Pete asked, his voice trembling. I picked up the now sleeping Izzye and gently placed her down on the bed. She didn’t look like she’d been hurt but I had to make sure.
“Mostly scared, but I don’t think he bit her.” I said, checking her neck, arms and legs for bite marks. There were none, thankfully.
“No, she’s clear.” I said. Pete sighed in relief and stared down at what remained of Zacharias. It wasn’t much, just ripped up clothes and a few pieces of clothes.
“We have to burn this, so there’s no chance he can come back.” Pete said. I nodded and glanced back at Izzye.
“I’ll go get some matches, you watch her.” I said. Pete nodded and walked over to the bed. I ran downstairs and found a pack of matches in one of the drawers in the kitchen. Then I ran back upstairs. Pete hadn’t moved.
“Let’s do this quick; there might be more on their way.” I said. Pete nodded and together, we set fire to Zacharias’ remains. We were careful not let the fire burn anything besides the remains and we put it out quickly with some water.
“Come on, let’s go.” Pete said. I nodded and picked up Izzye. She was light, it was as if I was carrying nothing. I could almost forget that I was carrying her.
Patrick was waiting for us out in the car and both Pete and I got in the back. I gently put Izzye in between us as Patrick speeded down the street. We needed to get away from the house immediately.
“Was it him?” Patrick asked. Solemnly Pete nodded.
“Yup, it was him, but he won’t be hurting anyone else ever again.” He said quietly. Patrick understood what he meant.
“Is she hurt?” He asked. I shook my head.
“Not that we can see at least.” I said. I looked down at Izzye. She looked scared, even though she was asleep.
“Well, I guess it’s time to explain everything to her, once she wakes up.” Pete said. Hesitantly I nodded. I had hoped that this day would never come.