Chapter sixteen

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They were going to leave the boat tomorrow, but had decided on staying the night and moving when the light was better and they were all rested

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They were going to leave the boat tomorrow, but had decided on staying the night and moving when the light was better and they were all rested.

But Leo couldn't sleep. His head was swimming with memories and thoughts and it was making his head throb. He just wanted it to stop, he wanted to be able to sleep without the nightmares and the memories, he didn't want the memories, not anymore. He felt betrayed and that hurt him, it hurt him a lot. He stood at the rail on the top deck, his eyes locked on the ever-shifting waters, but his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't sure if he could help Jeanette and the others with what they were about to do, he can't fight wights, and he can't fight...

He just wasn't sure if he was strong enough to do it. Not anymore. Things were changing rapidly, and it was going too fast for him to catch up.

People were changing, they weren't the same as they had been when they left the loop, for some it was like reality had appeared and wacked them in the face, for others, it had been a wakeup call, one that told them that they were right, that there is much evil out there.

"Leo?" the boy turned to see the blonde little girl stood behind him, at the door to the lower decks.

"You should be in bed Alice." He told her. She shrugged.

"So should you." He laughed feebly at her words, making her look at him in thought and walk over to him, joining him at the rail. "Why are you so sad?"

"I'm not sad, I'm just thinking." He answered, it wasn't exactly a lie, and she could tell.

"But whatever you're thinking about is making you sad. Don't be sad Leo, we're going to start saving all peculiarkind tomorrow!" She said. He smiled.

"That's true." He agreed.

"Leo, something is bothering you, what is it?" She asked, she knew him well, she thought of him as an older brother after all.

"I just- How do we kill someone we used to trust?" he asked her, she smiled lightly and patted his arm.

"I think we are all thinking that, but perhaps we may not have to kill him. The wights may have done that for us!" She answered brightly.

"That would make things easier, wouldn't it?" he asked her with a small smile. She laughed.

"See., you're happy Leo again now." She grinned, patting him on the shoulder and walking back inside, leaving him to his own thoughts.

"I can't believe you would contemplate killing me!" Leo jumped at the familiar voice, but as he looked around, there was no one there.

"I know you can hear me Leo."

Leo jumped away from the railing in shock. "Where are you?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I'm not really here Leo, only you can hear me."

"Stay away from me!" Leo screamed, running towards the door, only to find that it refused to open.

^^^^^

Jeanette awoke to the sound of someone shouting. She knew who it was immediately. Having to worry about her fellow peculiars all the time had made her in tune to their voices and she could always hear them, unless they whispered.

She got out of bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, before making her way onto the top deck. She found the boy curled up into a ball, screaming and sobbing.

"Leo?" She asked tentatively, kneeling beside him. "Oh Leo." She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her blanket around the two of them.

"He was here Jenny." Her eyes widened at his words.

"Are- are you sure?" She asked. Leo nodded.

"I heard him, in my head." Leo had calmed down a bit now.

"He's dabbling in dark magic Leo; I fear we don't know quite what we are up against anymore." She sighed.

"What does this mean?" He asked.

"It means I am stronger then you all." Ethan appeared on the top deck.

"Go away Ethan, you have no right to be doing this." Jeanette yelled at him angrily. He just laughed at her, before fixing Leo with a stare, the boy whimpered and wrapped his arms tighter around Jeanette's shoulders, she hugged him back, knowing he was scared. Ethan looked back to Jeanette.

"I'm not really here Jenny." He smiled at her, before stepping towards the two.

"Stay back Ethan, whether you are here or not, you stay away from us, from him." She said calmly, but he knew as well as she did that she was terrified.

"Look at what you've been reduced to Leo." Ethan's tone was patronising.

"Ethan." Jeanette said protectively.

"You can't keep me from what's mine." Ethan said.

"He is not yours, he is a person, he is his own person and you will never take that away from him." Jeanette answered angrily.

"what about you?" Ethan's question caught her of guard.

"What?" She asked.

"You promised you wouldn't leave me, you promised to trust me, same as he did, you both promised that you would come with me if I found us somewhere safe." Ethan told her, bringing up memories that had been buried deep inside her mind. That promise had been made so many years ago.

"But we would not be going somewhere safe." Jeanette argued.

"But I have found us somewhere safe." Ethan told her. Jeanette bit her lip. In a way he was right, in a way, if he deemed it safe, they had promised they would go with him.

"We won't go with you Ethan, we can't go with you." Leo muttered.

"But I love you, both of you."

"Ethan I love you, Jenny loves you, but you aren't our Ethan anymore. Just go away and stop bothering us." Leo said angrily.

"Leo- "Ethan was cut off by the dark-haired boy.

"Go!" Leo yelled, the image, or whatever it was, of Ethan disappeared. Leo turned to Jeanette, the two were still sat with their arms wrapped around each other. "Are you alright?"

"We've made a right mess of this Leo." She said.

"I know."

A strange peculiarity || Enoch O'ConnorWhere stories live. Discover now