The Time Before Home

Chapter Twenty-Four

A blood-curdling cry left my lips as I fell to the floor, feeling as though I'd been shot right through the stomach. My brother smiled, whispering a quiet thank you. His warm gaze met mine as he dropped to my level, eyes the exact same colour as mine and glimmering behind his tears.

"I love you, baby sister-" he tried, but a deafening crash sounded as I was yanked backwards towards the floor, vision darkening for a second too long and crying out as the ear-splitting crashes refused to relent. I forgot how to breathe as I threw myself towards the now swirling fish tank, hyperventilating as my eyes darted around for any sight of my brother.

There was no room for him to breathe. I hammered at the door as I sucked in panicked breaths, gulping as I searched for any pocket of air I could direct him to. I couldn't see him. The blues were so murky and the waves had crashed with such reckless abandon, what if he was unconscious?

"He could still be alive!" I cried desperately to the group in the hope they would try and help me break through the glass, "He could still-"

Perhaps he could have, had I not seen a single trainer spinning through the centre of the blues, spinning towards the glass. As I noticed my name scribbled underneath the sole in pink highlighter, a prank I'd pulled only days ago, I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

"Come back," I whispered into the glass, battling the feeling of falling onto the floor and dying, "Michael, come back!"

The next few minutes were relentless as I likely broke bones throwing myself into the door, only held back by Seb who sobbed with me, trying to hold me still. I hammered at his chest, begging to be let go. I tried to explain that he only had a few seconds left until Michael would suffocate, but my wails coincided with a thunderous bang. I knew it was Vika. Worse, I knew that meant only one thing.

My brother had died.

The girls screamed at whatever they saw, but I didn't care as my body failed me, convulsing as I fell to the ground and slammed into the concrete, howling the grief from my broken body. Seb grabbed at me but I could barely feel him, just calling Michael's name over and over again as if it would bring him to me. He had drowned. He had tried to suck in air and his lungs wouldn't let him, he probably thrashed and cried... he was probably scared. And now he was dead.

"Leave us alone!" Violet screamed at the top of her lungs, causing me to finally lift my head weakly. When I saw the tall, thin, awful apparition I'd grown used to, I let out a furious cry and slammed my fist against the ground for the hundredth time.

"You're supposed to be gone!"

Even now, it was still terrifying. It stood over us with rows of razor-sharp teeth and the blackest, emptiest eyes staring us all down. Blood dripped from every cracked bone in its body and when it took a threatening step towards us, the snapping noise was too much to bear.

"Please!" Kira pleaded, falling to the floor and pushing herself backwards, "You got... you got Michael. You got him!"

There was a lull as it stared at me, evil and terrifying. When the snapping noise started and I realised it was lifting its arm, claws dragging across the floor, my stomach plummeted. Slowly, too slowly, it extended its huge claw, and I realised it was moving to point. At me.

"Step away," Seb said to me quietly, squeezing my hand, "Step away, Al'."

What? No-"

"Al'," he turned to look at me, lifting a hand to my cheek. I sank into him, feeling as though I had been lit on fire, "Trust me."

So I did. And when I moved to the side, I realised the demon had not actually been pointing at me. In fact, his huge, extended claw was held up to Seb, unmoving. With the most awful feeling, I realised that was infinitely worse.

"Please," my voice barely managed to leave my throat, "Please just take me instead..."

But he just stared, finger pointed at Seb. I couldn't take the feeling of my heart tearing up in my chest, so I stumbled right back to him, shielding him with my body.

"Don't-" I couldn't finish, because the pain seared through my body with the intensity of a thousand knives. When I looked up with a gasp, I realised it had pierced through my shoulder with its claw, sudden and grinning. I let out a pained yell, tapering off as it yanked itself free, leaving me breathless. Seb's eyes went wide as he took in my wound, losing himself as he lunged at the creature. It was futile because he was held in midair uselessly as Finn scrambled towards me, pressing his hand over the bleeding wound.

"Stay still," he whispered to me, voice shaking, "Just keep breathing..."

Seb cried out as he was held back by nothing, arms flailing out in an attempt to reach the creature whose head cracked horribly as it grinned, showing off the teeth which I was sure had come to rip us to pieces. I couldn't comprehend any of it. My brother was dead and the hole in my shoulder throbbed, bleeding too quickly. Seb was being held still by forces I didn't understand and Kira clutched at me, next to Violet who reached slowly for my hand. Life was simply moving. It stopped being normal months ago.

"What do you want?" I asked it weakly, letting out a sob when it continued to point at Seb.

"So take me," he said quietly, stance defeated, "Do it. If it means you leave them alone, do it."

"My brother gave himself to you!" I screamed helplessly, "Why are you still here? You're not taking someone else."

But he wanted Seb. I didn't know why or what exactly he was planning to do, but I couldn't let it happen. I simply couldn't. I staggered to my feet once more, making a move towards the boy who I couldn't bear to let go. Life had tied us together and these claws were haplessly trying to break the strings which I thought might have bound us since birth. I couldn't cope with losing him too. 

I wouldn't.