Save each other // Joel Miller

I saw

Joel's hold on Tommy's collar dropped, letting him slump to the ground without a passing glance. His view was directed at Sophie, who was withering in agony, swinger her arms wildly around as Ellie tried to calm her. It only took a few long strides to make it to their sides, his hands hovering over her struggling body, not knowing what to do with them. He dropped to his knees next to her and scooped up her upper body in a tight bear hug to his chest.

He shushed her as she screamed and thrashed, desperately to get out of his grasp like he was trying to kill her. He pulled her in tighter, placing his lips on her ear.

"Hush now Soph, it's me darlin'" His voice was mellow but he couldn't hide the shaky tone. "Come on, you're safe. I'm here." His words whispered in her ear seemed to be working because he could feel her body reacting. It was slowing down, her once loud screams now trickled to a whimper. Her whole body slacked in his grip and shook like a leaf on a windy day. He searched her face, looking for any sign of recovery, only to find her eye lids squeezed shut, and her expression twisted in awful pain.

He reached down and stroked the side of her face with the back of his knuckles, coaxing her with quiet words back to him. The audience that had now gathered didn't bother him one bit, lost in his determination. He hardly heard Maria shooing people away with words like 'nothing to see here' and 'everything is fine.' He kept his eyes focused on Sophie's face, silently willing her to open them.

A small hand landed on his shoulder, making him divert his stare, only for a brief moment. Barb was here and rather than argue with Joel, she took a kneeled seat on the other side of Sophie, waiting for Joel to lay her back down so she could get a better look at her. Joel reluctantly followed Barbs unspoken orders, laying Sophie down with cautionary movements, afraid of making her explode like an undetonated bomb.

Barb stroked a few stray hairs out of Sophie's pale face, observing her clamped eyes and tense muscles. She rubbed along Sophie's eyebrows with her thumbs until her face soften under the touch. Sophie was slowly starting to look like she was just peacefully sleeping, not accounting for the beaded sweat and small harsh breaths that leaked between her lips. Joel's heart broke more and more with each sound she made, feeling utterly useless.

His hand held onto Sophie's and he stilled at the feeling of her limp fingers start to wiggle and squeeze. He held his breath and watched her closely. Her eyelids shot open, revealing panicked, undistinguishable pupils. She looked around wildly before shooting up to her feet in a defensive stance. Joel and Barb got up just as quickly, taking a few steps back with their hands up. It was now Sophie, jerking her head around, looking between the people closing her into a human equivalent of a boxing ring.

"Sophie..." Maria stood behind her, speaking low and cautious, trying to draw the girl back into her own body. Sophie twisted in an instant, lunging at Maria. They both went crashing down to the ground and Sophie pinned Maria's arms under her legs, reaching upwards to land a right handed fist in the bewildered Maria's face. Before she could strike, Joel grabbed onto her wrist, ripping her off of Maria, who sat up on her elbows and took a few deep breaths, looking at Sophie with shock and concern.

"Let go of me!" Sophie screamed and clawed at Joel's hand. Ellie began to approach to help but was stopped in her tracks by Sophie's next words.

"LET GO! I WONT LET HER HURT HIM. LET GO." Sophie's screams seem to travel miles, causing everyone in the group to freeze in astonishment. Tommy was still sitting on the ground, watching the entire transaction from a few feet away, mouth agape. Joel was the first to move, twisting Sophie's arms around herself and pulling her back tight against his chest. He tried his hardest to keep his face passive, but worry melted his features, betraying his resolve.