Raining Hellfire 2

Chapter 4: The Shadow

The floor was cold beneath you, your sweaty palms sticking to the surface. Tears laced your eyes as you stared across the empty hallway.

You couldn't remember when the nightmare finally stopped. When you were no longer frozen in place, staring at Will consuming black dust.

And yet, you woke up back in the hallway it all started. You felt nothing but guilt. It should have been you.

"Y/N? Y/N!" Max's voice echoed against the walls, her footsteps padding against the ground as she ran to you. "Y/N? Are you okay?"

You quickly wiped your tears with your back turned, "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. Just had a little panic attack that's all."

"Are you-"

"I'm fine." You said quickly, finally looking at her while wiping your palms on your jeans. "What happened?"

Max started to tell you how they found Will on the field; barely responding. Joyce had arrived and taken him home when he finally broke free from his episode.

"Is he..." You swallowed thickly, "Is he okay?"

"I- I think so." She responded, shaking her head, "I don't really know whats going on. I know something is up but it's like no one trusts me."

She lowers her head, eyes holding a memory shed rather forget. Her hands shook slightly so you took them in your own.

"Hey, hey." You comforted, pulling Max into a hug that she gladly accepted, "The important thing is that no one is hurt."

It felt like the worst lie you had ever told. Every muscle in your body ached. You couldn't even imagine what that thing did to Will. Even if he did wake up, was he even going to be the same?

"I should go home." Max nodded, pulling away and standing up from her crouch. You joined her, straightening your jacket.

"Are you sure you're okay?" You look down at your sister, offering a warm smile.

"Yeah." She muttered before whipping her head back with a groan, "I bet Billy left without me."

"Want me to walk you home?" You asked. You didn't want Max to have to deal with what she just saw by herself.

"Won't it be weird?" She questioned, tucking her skateboard under her arm.

"Maybe." You shrugged, a deep pit in your stomach from the possibility of seeing your mother again, "But I can deal with it."

She sent you a small, grateful smile.

You and Max had the chance to catch up a little while you walked to her new home. She told you how California was, how upset she was to leave your father behind. She even opened up about how she tried to run away but was caught before she could.

You told her about the friends you made, how you met the party, Eddie. You shared some of the bad parts but kept most of them to yourself. Mostly because you were scared that if you said it out loud, it would become too real.

The house itself was nice. It was a bungalow of sorts but looked huge from where you stood. The slabs of stone leading to the house looked as if they needed fixing up but other than that, it was nice. Not as nice as the home in California but you saw that they had tried their best to add colour to the place, a bush of red flowers situated in front of the porch.

"You don't have to come in." Max said as you both walked up the path. Each step you took made you rethink your decision. Where you really ready to see your mother? After all, you just witnessed something genuinely terrifying and here you were, acting like it never happened.