The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Seven

Nikki opened her mouth, crying out with heartfelt anguish. "Josh!"

The two men momentarily faltered as her scream pierced the air and their bodies collided with a young birch tree. The impact split its trunk in two, but it didn't halt them for long.

Unaware of herself, Nikki edged forwards into the over grown wood - heading towards the bodies grunting and wrestling on the soggy ground. Her eyes were glued to the identical men as their blurry forms moved with such speed she couldn't distinguish whose limb belonged to whom.

As suddenly as it started, the men came to a stop with one Josh sat abreast the other, holding the throat of his enemy in his hand. A loud snap echoed through the trees as the neck of the man on the ground was broken; his twitching became deathly still.

Panting slightly, the man sat on the chest of his twin looked at Nikki, meeting her eyes with a look of conquest.

"Sorry Nikki, you need to go now."

Dumbstruck she shook her head. Which Josh had survived? Who was talking to her?

"Nikki, you don't want to see what happens next, so please, I am begging you, go back to the car and wait for me."

Nikki's eyes found the empty stare of the dead man. His face was slack, without a hint of emotion as he gazed, unseeing into the distance.

"Nikki..."

What if that's my Josh? Nikki wondered, unable to tear her eyes from the man on the floor. Unexpectedly, an overwhelming sorrow gripped her. Unable to stand, her legs buckled and she landed with a dull thud on the thick grass.

Oh God, no...

Her heart splintered as a wave of grief crashed over her and swallowed her into a pit of despair.  She couldn't explain where this sudden, all consuming anguish had come from - after all she'd only known Josh for a day and a half - but regardless, she felt completely devastated.

Tears fell, unabashed, rolling down her cheeks as a cruel desolation consumed her. From deep within, a gaping black hole opened up and devoured her as she continued to stare in to Josh's lifeless eyes.

"Josh," she sobbed, throwing her arms around her body to try and stop the trembling.The surviving Josh appeared at Nikki's side. He gathered her in his arms and held her tightly, his lips brushing the top of her head in chaste kisses as he spoke in a hushed tone.

"It's okay Nikki, I'm fine. That's not me, I'm fine."

In the back of her mind she registered the danger she was in, if indeed the real Josh was dead, but try as she might, she couldn't stem her inexplicable outpouring of sorrow.

"Think back to the beach, think back to what I told you. I'm fine, it's all okay," he murmured as he gently rocked her back and forth.

Although his words were sinking in, Nikki couldn't quench the sobs that tore free. Through the jumble of thoughts hurtling through her mind she managed to find the information he was referring to.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and whispered. "You can't be killed."

She thought back to the bullet holes in his tee-shirt and her resolve began to grow. Her voice found a new strength and hope as she straightened herself up.

"You can't be killed."Her lids opened and she looked up into eyes that were full of life and sparkling."You're okay!"

Slowly, Josh nodded his head. His movements were stiff and awkward and as he spoke his jaw clenched.

"Yes, but I really need you to go back to the car now."The words came out more forceful than he intended but at this moment Josh couldn't afford the luxury of tenderness. Nikki's face fell, dropping from relief to rejection in a single beat.