Storytime

Chapter 20- Fading

She's my hero.

As we let go of each other, the smile on her face doesn't fade. Everything we ever wanted stands right before us and I couldn't be happier. I have her. After all of this, all the death, all the pain, all the torment, I have finally found myself. I finally understand why I'm here in the first place. I'm not here for the me I knew. I'm here for the me I was meant to discover. The me I have found it her.
"You're.. You're..."
"Alive? Of course I am. I could never leave you." I choke on my tears but for the first time, they're not tears of sadness. They're the first tears of joy I've ever cried.
"I'm so sorry Josie... This is all my fault..."
"Hey no no no stop Illeya. None of this is your fault don't ever say that again. No one could have stopped this. And, in the end, I'm glad it happened. Now I have you. And that's all I've ever wanted." I can't help smiling. She's finally mine. After all this time, I finally have the girl I never knew I wanted. And it's more perfect than I could ever have dreamed.
"Please don't leave me again. Ever."
"I promise, not even death cab tear us apart." She wraps me in her arms, my warm tears hitting her shoulder. The moment can't be ruined- or so I thought. Just as I go to smile again, I remember the carnage that took place before any of this awakened and the tears flood from my eyes, more hopeless than ever before. Josie pulls away from me, watching as I break once more. Her eyes are deepening with concern and I've never seen so much sorrow in those beautiful, hypnotising eyes. She looks up and down me in fear as my body shakes. The sense of the end fills me again and I watch her fall into this insecurity.
"Illeya, you're shaking. What's wrong?"
"Everything's gone... I've lost everything... I thought it was over, I thought I could go home... But nothings ever over."
"What do you mean? You still have me."
"I know and I'm glad of that but... I don't belong here. I've known since the beginning and I knew there had to be a reason. You are that reason. They told me I had to understand. I understand now. I thought I could go back home but nothing's over. Why won't it end?" My hands tug at my hair as my mind drives me subconsciously over the edge. It's a feeling I refused to let myself feel as the other me and now I see why. The feeling consumes me and I can barely feel her arms around me again. She utters words I can't hear and I'm left locked in a cage with no fitting key. Nothing exists except me and my madness. It is the only comfort left to hold. And I let it take over.

Until the voices break through my insanity. The voices I hear too often for myself not to break. The voices that refuse to leave, that tear me apart from inside out. The voices that destroyed me from the beginning.
"Such touching scenes don't you think Billy?"
"Oh yes I should say so."
"No. You won't break us this time around. We're stronger this time." Josie speaks up, her voice not even wavering.
"Illeya seems to show a different judgement." I life my head from my hands and look my dad directly in the eye.
"What would you know about judgement?" I say, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Even if I don't know much, I'm right on this occasion."
"Or so you think." I grab Josie's hand and we look at each other, nodding confidently.
"You think two sluts like you can get past us?" His words don't hurt anymore. My uncle stands with his arms folded, smirking.
"Us? We can do anything." Josie says, smirking too. Sure, she's just woken up from a coma and I've been assaulted with a blade. But we're together and nothing is impossible.
My dad spits on the floor and laughs mockingly. We stare him down and my uncle laughs too. He pulls a knife from his pocket and my dad has a rope. We know the only exit lies behind them. We know we have to find a way.

We run forward, launching ourselves at them. The cart beside one of the beds flies towards my dad, slamming him in the chest. He doesn't flinch. Josie grabs a bed sheet and tries to pull it over my uncles head but he just slices through it with his knife. I try to push through a gap between the two but my dad pulls me back, the rope around my neck. He pulls me to his chest and tightens his grip. My throat tightens and the struggle grows. My breath begins to falter as my hands desperately grapple to pull it away from my neck. Despite all my efforts, I fail. My eyes begin to close just as I feel something penetrate his side. His grip loosens and I roll out from underneath the rope. As I look back at him, I see blood staining his shirt. He winces but still stands strong. I look over at Josie and she shrugs modestly. Just as I go to talk, my uncle grabs her wrist and pulls her into him, the knife at her neck. Painful tears emerge in her eyes as the knife makes an indentation in the side of her neck. The blood trickles down her neck and she whimpers, closing her eyes so as not to face what's happening to her. I go to step forward.
"Don't. Move." My uncle threatens. I bite my lip and sigh. I have to do something.
And then I see the fire extinguisher to the side of me. If I can move fast enough, I can use it to my advantage. As he stares me down, I edge towards the extinguisher. One. Two. Three.
I mount it on my shoulder and launch the foam at his face. The knife falls from his hand and Josie elbows his chest. He keels over and falls on his knees. Josie grabs the knife, runs at my dad and kicks him to the ground. I stare at her in awe.
"What? I used to do karate. I've still got it." She smiles and I run to her side. She grabs my hand and we sprint for the exit.
"We did it." Her hands are on her knees and she breathes heavily.
"Yeah. We did." As she stands straight again, I look into her eyes and smile. She's so beautiful and she looks at me the same way. We face each other and our lips connect once more. The moment is perfect. Until her faces begins to fade away and her body dissipates into petals, carried away by the wind. The world around me starts to spin, fading too. In the end, I'm left in black on what used to be the ground.
Not now...

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
White. Faces. Spinning. What...
"Oh my god! She's awake!" Someone yells. The voice is vaguely familiar.
"Illeya? Illeya can you hear me?" A face blurs into focus above me.
"What... What..." I can't speak.
"Oh Illeya... I can't believe you're awake..." And no words have ever hurt me more.