The Fear Between Us

PROLOGUE

The air was cold, suffocating. She sat next to me as she gazed up into the sky. Even in the moonlight, her skin glows like the morning sun. I want to reach over to her, hold her hand and tell her how I feel, now is the perfect time. The night is still, it's quiet, it's calm. Nobody else is around. It's just her and I right now, "We made it, Tara." She whispers as she finally looks at me with that tender look, her eyebrows are relaxed as she breathes in the fresh salt air of the beach. The waves crash below us by the bed of the cliff, despite the darkness I can still see the sparkle in her eyes and the small smile on her lips. I swallow hard as I close my eyes for a moment, "Josephine," I say as she turns to look at me, "Josephine, I--"

But that sentence never escaped my lips; bright lights shine behind us causing Josephine to turn around. Four men in masks begin to approach us making us jump onto our feet. I can feel my heel touching the edge of the cliff as I look over to Josephine, her face turning pale, "Put your hands in the air!" One of them shouts as Josephine immediately obeys. The men force her down on her knees, as they separate us. I can see the tears in her eyes forming slowly, "You, come with us." Another says while pointing a gun at me, but I don't respond, "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He repeats but I stay still while looking at him. The tension in the air is rising, raising his gun in the air, he brings it down slamming it in my face as Josephine leaps up towards me, "Tara!" She shouts as the men pull her aside towards the cliff's edge, "We told you to stay put!"

"She didn't mean to! She didn't mean to! We're sorry, she didn't mean to!" She screams as I get up shouting, "No!" But they push me down to my knees forcing me to stay put. I can see one of them level their gun to Josephine's head, "Leave her with the parents." Said an older coarse-like voice. For a moment Jo looks at me and I know it, she knows it too. She moves her lips to form the words what looks like I'm sorry before the loud boom cracks the cold air as Josephine falls over the cliff. My world froze for a second, I didn't even know that I was on my feet racing for her, leaning over the cliff as I watched her fall gracefully towards the ferocious ocean. Suddenly the once beautiful night turns dark and destructive, "Jo!" Echoes off the waves and bounces back towards me, I know that I can't reach her and yet I still stretch out my arm to catch her. The men came in fast as they held me tight and dragged me away. I attempt to kick my feet vicariously to get them to let go while screaming as loud as I can, "Let go of me! Let go of me!" Repeatedly. I want to go home but in the back of my mind, I know that I'm all that's left. Just me and the picture that I kept in my locket. We didn't make it. We were never going to.