How to be Alone

Chapter Six: Anna and Ryan

I was running but I stopped, now I stand cautiously staring back towards the encampment.

"Crap!" Is all I can mutter to myself. I'm so useless! Useless!

I bash my face in with the palm of my hand, sitting down in the foliage and just groaning to myself. I can't just leave, right? I can't just kill anyone, right?

"Where the hell is my son?" A British voice shouts over the trucks. "I know he's in 'ere! Let me—no, you get the fuck out o' my way!"

Ryan's dad. Ryan is over there trying to claw his way inside, but I can only hear one side of the conversation. I sulk over closer to them so I can hear the soldier replying, straining to listen.

"Currently, we're on lock down, sir. Please calm down. We will have a representative with you shortly. Please remain calm."

"Fuck you, you're fuckin' useless!"

I drop down, peeking under the trucks, and see three pairs of legs—Ryan's father, his mother, and the soldier. His mom is being quiet.

"Lila in there too?" He asks. "Fuckin' creeps! Where are our children? I'll get the mayor—"

"Sir, there is nothing I can do, you just need to be—"

Ryan's father shoved the officer, who pushed him to the ground and drew his weapon on him after he fell to the ground. "Keep your hands off of me!" He screams. Ryan's father looks like he's about to cry. Crap. I have to do something. Haven't I already done enough? I mean, they aren't going to shoot him, are they? I mean...are they?

I close my eyes and concentrate as hard as I can, to summon the apparition, to vanish, to assist however I can. What might I do... Appear behind him, subdue him? No, he'd have me on the ground in seconds. Just like last time. Maybe I can just scare him... Think he sees a ghost. I can do that, yeah. I give myself a confident huff and open my eyes to see that all is black and white once more.

I sprint out from behind the truck and consider where I should be. In front of him, right? So he sees me. I'll walk towards him, appearing, disappearing, approaching. I do exactly that. There's a long dirt path which stretches from the forest edge to the little entrance to the camp. I stand at the very end and psych myself up, getting ready to this. I close my eyes and ask again to come back, but the apparition was there already, waiting for me behind my eyelids.

"Don't close your eyes," He says. "Just ask." When he speaks it startles me, causing me to jump.

I open my eyes and I've not reappeared yet. I just ask in my head... Reappear.

Then, I did. Color flooded in and I saw Ryan's dad still staring up at the soldier, who's starting to lower his weapon. He looks up and sees me, then I ask to vanish, instinctively closing my eyes.

Yes! Yes! It's working! I run forward and stop, reappear. He's just staring down. I vanish again, and run forward. It'd be scary, I thought, if I contorted my body, so I threw my arm over my head, cocked my head as far back as it could go, twisted my body in horrifying ways, and reappeared only for a moment. I disappear and run forward again, now halfway down the stretch, but this time I just stand and stare.

"SHIT!" He screams, drawing his weapon on me. He doesn't fire anything off before I vanish. I can't help but laugh, dashing to the side and forward, away from where he would be firing, this time thinking it'd be funny if I crawled like the grudge.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He exclaims, firing into the dirt. The gunshots pierce me. Not literally, but my heart skips a beat. I collapse to the ground after vanishing once more and feel my heart racing. I take a moment to recollect myself quickly, then I reappear behind him, but I don't move, I don't make a sound. I just look at him and watch what he does. He's looking left and right, scanning his gun around. Ryan's father is on the ground, curled up with his head between his knees, waiting for it to end. I lean in very close... I put my lips just barely an inch from his neck and I slowly exhale. A hot, breathy exhale. He starts to swing around but I vanish again before he sees anything.