Who's Afraid of the Dark?
Ember Anderson
Ember collapsed behind a door after she forced it shut, her face falling between her knees as she struggled to get her breath back. After seeing a shadow, and then feeling a cool, creeping hand on the back of her neck, she and Niall had darted as quickly as they could through the giant, maze-like castle, desperate to find a way to the grounds. But they couldn’t find a way. All the windows around the huge building were stuck shut in a way that Ember couldn’t even fathom; there were no locks, no duct tape, no visible way as to why the windows refused to open.
What scared them even further was that they hadn’t seen another one of their friends since the disaster in the dining room. Ember tried to calm her thoughts by remembering that the castle was incredibly large, and it was entirely possible that they were all at different ends, but it didn’t seem likely to her that she wouldn’t see any signs of any of them.
“How are your cuts holding up?” Ember asked her boyfriend, desperate for some kind of a distraction.
“They kind of burn,” he admitted, his hands forming a kind of barrier between her and the wounds. “Like they’re on fire or something. At first, they were just hot like normal healing cuts are, but now, it’s like...” His voice trailed off as he let out a punctuated breath, trying to remain tough and keep from crying out in agony.
Ember knitted her eyebrows together as she crawled across the splintery hardwood floor to Niall. “They shouldn’t burn that badly,” she mused. She gripped Niall’s fingers, bringing his hands away from his leg, ignoring his twisted expression of pain, so she could see what damage he was hiding.
What she saw made her suck in a sudden, sharp breath and avert her eyes before she was violently sick all over the place. What had started out as shallow, though bloody, scratches all over his pale legs had turned into bright, blistering burns that had taken over his skin like some kind of violent rash. The skin was unsalvageable, as far as Ember could tell, and she wasn’t even sure how he could walk on them.
“Niall,” she breathed, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re going to be alright.” She reached forward and put her palm on his face, giving him a small smile that she knew was nowhere close to convincing.
“No, I’m not. None of us are.” His blue eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them, and she found herself retracting from him just slightly. “We’re all going to die in this fucking place, and it’ll be all my fault.”
“You didn’t know.” She reached forward again, trying to soothe him, but he caught her hand in his and put it back in her life.
“But I took risks with people’s lives that I shouldn’t have.”
Just then, a shrill, bloodcurdling scream echoed through the room, and Ember shot to her feet. “Was that Sophie?” she asked in a hiss, her wide eyes fixed on the door, like their friend would come crashing through the door at any second to seek solace.
Ember got no response. “Niall…?” Her voice was weak and on the verge of cracking with emotion as she turned around to find that Niall had moved from his place on the floor and was braced against one of the walls. His knuckles were white with effort as he struggled to cling to the bricks, his fingers slipping against the small crevices. But what scared Ember most was the look on his face, his eyes wide, his cheeks pale, and the pulse at his throat throbbing wildly.
He was choking.
Without thinking about it twice, Ember raced forward, grasping Niall’s shoulders and trying desperately to pull him away from the wall. She knew nothing tangible had him around the neck, and she wasn’t sure what else to do to make everything stop.
“LET GO OF HIM,” she screamed, tears falling from her eyes and making tracks down her cheeks. The whispers from the dining hall started up again, and Ember could feel adrenaline and fear pulsing through her veins. “STOP IT.”
Niall finally slackened, and Ember threw her arms around him, sobbing with relief when she felt his heavy breaths against her neck. And then she felt something sticky and warm drenching her face and neck, running down her back and soaking her shirt to her skin.
Horrified, Ember pulled away and saw her boyfriend, his eyes vacant and his throat sliced open, blood still dripping from the wound and staining the floor under their feet. “Niall,” she breathed, but she knew he was dead. No one could survive something like that.
She didn’t bother to wipe the uncomfortable, quickly-drying blood off her as she settled to the floor, lying Niall in her lap, her fingers going through his hair softly. She didn’t want to fight the ghosts in that godforsaken place anymore. Deep down in her soul, she knew that the others suffered similar fates. They were all gone. And soon, so would she. And she welcomed the reality with open arms.
So when an invisible hand came out and grabbed her, carrying her through the air into dark nothingness, she didn’t struggle or fight. She just kept her eyes locked on Niall’s lifeless body and let her fate overtake her.
What scared them even further was that they hadn’t seen another one of their friends since the disaster in the dining room. Ember tried to calm her thoughts by remembering that the castle was incredibly large, and it was entirely possible that they were all at different ends, but it didn’t seem likely to her that she wouldn’t see any signs of any of them.
“How are your cuts holding up?” Ember asked her boyfriend, desperate for some kind of a distraction.
“They kind of burn,” he admitted, his hands forming a kind of barrier between her and the wounds. “Like they’re on fire or something. At first, they were just hot like normal healing cuts are, but now, it’s like...” His voice trailed off as he let out a punctuated breath, trying to remain tough and keep from crying out in agony.
Ember knitted her eyebrows together as she crawled across the splintery hardwood floor to Niall. “They shouldn’t burn that badly,” she mused. She gripped Niall’s fingers, bringing his hands away from his leg, ignoring his twisted expression of pain, so she could see what damage he was hiding.
What she saw made her suck in a sudden, sharp breath and avert her eyes before she was violently sick all over the place. What had started out as shallow, though bloody, scratches all over his pale legs had turned into bright, blistering burns that had taken over his skin like some kind of violent rash. The skin was unsalvageable, as far as Ember could tell, and she wasn’t even sure how he could walk on them.
“Niall,” she breathed, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re going to be alright.” She reached forward and put her palm on his face, giving him a small smile that she knew was nowhere close to convincing.
“No, I’m not. None of us are.” His blue eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them, and she found herself retracting from him just slightly. “We’re all going to die in this fucking place, and it’ll be all my fault.”
“You didn’t know.” She reached forward again, trying to soothe him, but he caught her hand in his and put it back in her life.
“But I took risks with people’s lives that I shouldn’t have.”
Just then, a shrill, bloodcurdling scream echoed through the room, and Ember shot to her feet. “Was that Sophie?” she asked in a hiss, her wide eyes fixed on the door, like their friend would come crashing through the door at any second to seek solace.
Ember got no response. “Niall…?” Her voice was weak and on the verge of cracking with emotion as she turned around to find that Niall had moved from his place on the floor and was braced against one of the walls. His knuckles were white with effort as he struggled to cling to the bricks, his fingers slipping against the small crevices. But what scared Ember most was the look on his face, his eyes wide, his cheeks pale, and the pulse at his throat throbbing wildly.
He was choking.
Without thinking about it twice, Ember raced forward, grasping Niall’s shoulders and trying desperately to pull him away from the wall. She knew nothing tangible had him around the neck, and she wasn’t sure what else to do to make everything stop.
“LET GO OF HIM,” she screamed, tears falling from her eyes and making tracks down her cheeks. The whispers from the dining hall started up again, and Ember could feel adrenaline and fear pulsing through her veins. “STOP IT.”
Niall finally slackened, and Ember threw her arms around him, sobbing with relief when she felt his heavy breaths against her neck. And then she felt something sticky and warm drenching her face and neck, running down her back and soaking her shirt to her skin.
Horrified, Ember pulled away and saw her boyfriend, his eyes vacant and his throat sliced open, blood still dripping from the wound and staining the floor under their feet. “Niall,” she breathed, but she knew he was dead. No one could survive something like that.
She didn’t bother to wipe the uncomfortable, quickly-drying blood off her as she settled to the floor, lying Niall in her lap, her fingers going through his hair softly. She didn’t want to fight the ghosts in that godforsaken place anymore. Deep down in her soul, she knew that the others suffered similar fates. They were all gone. And soon, so would she. And she welcomed the reality with open arms.
So when an invisible hand came out and grabbed her, carrying her through the air into dark nothingness, she didn’t struggle or fight. She just kept her eyes locked on Niall’s lifeless body and let her fate overtake her.
♠ ♠ ♠
:( And then there were none.