Hold Me Close | Kellic

Chapter 16

When we came across the faces before all I had to do was stand up to them but I had a feeling that it wouldn't do it this time. With every second that passed Mike looked more and more defeated. I turned to look at Jack who looked clueless as to what was happening but nevertheless concerned about Mike's well being.

"Jack, what the hell do we do? Look at him! He can't get out of this on his own!" I hissed at Jack, not quite sure why I was getting so heated or why I was letting it out on my friend. He just shrugged, pretending to not be annoyed at my tone of voice towards him.

I hesitantly stepped towards the bars again, making sure to not make contact with them. My eyes rested on Mike, still hunched over in the corner, tears now streaming down his cheeks like a river that would never stop flowing. His mouth began to part and it seemed as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find strength to do it.

"Mike!" I shouted at him, trying to gain his attention, "Mike!" I repeated, raising my voice a little louder. I tried once more and he finally acknowledged my presence, staring at me with wide, scared eyes.

"M..make it stop," he whispered.

I knew that that was as much as I'd be able to get from him so I nodded, even though I knew I couldn't, then looked at the faces. Their eyes were strained purely on Mike, amusement dancing in them at his distressed state. They wouldn't take any notice of Jack and I.

"Jack," I began, "Leave this to me. Go back and look for Justin before he gets too lost." He nodded, giving me a cautious look before leaving.

I took a deep breath and tried to conjure up a plan in my head. The only thing I could think of was Mike standing up for himself, facing them himself like how I had done it before. I wouldn't be able to do it for him. On the other hand there was the option of forcefully ripping of the faces off of the wall although I doubt I'd even come close to succeeding if I tried that tactic.

The only option I had was encouraging Mike and supporting him so that he'd regain his strength and fight off the evil thoughts. I called his name repeatedly again until we made eye contact and I knew he was trying to listen to me and avoid the other voices.

"Tell them they're wrong, Mike!" I shouted but he just shook his head, letting more tears spill.

"Whatever they're saying isn't true! You're better than them!" I said urgently, "Just tell them that they're talking a load of shit!"

I couldn't get any reply out of him and I was getting desperate, my thoughts irrational. I had to show him just how much I believed he could do it, that he could get through pain just as I could. I inhaled and exhaled deeply then tightly wrapped my fingers around the bars, gritting my teeth at how much it hurt.

"You can get through it," I shouted at the top of my lungs, "They can't have any effect on you, they won't have any effect on you! You're better than them and you know it! Don't listen to them, Mike! Fight back!"

I was determined to get through to him, no matter what even if that meant keeping my hands clasped around the burning, metal bars.

I was about to bark at him some more but I heard frantic footsteps behind me so I turned to see Justin and Jack running up to me with looks of horror upon their faces.

"Come with us. Now" Jack said, as if the fact that Mike was sitting there in absolute pain wasn't important in the slightest.

"Can't you see I need to stay here? He's getting worse!" I seethed, I was getting to the point where the frustration was too much to bare.

"Yes, but what you need to see is slightly more important," Justin said, sounding nervous whereas Jack was completely serious.

"Important in the way that it'll help Mike and you nee-" he paused when he saw my hands around the bars and he ran towards me, "What the fuck, Kellin? Get your hands off of there!" He said and tugged at my arms, trying to make me break loose.