A Beat Away

Danny

"Higher! Higher!", she screamed. Danny happily obliged and pushed with all his might, letting out a small grunt as he did. He misjudged the rut under the swing and lost his balance, falling forward under her.  Her feet just missed his head but he could feel the rush of the seat scrape his hair and make contact.  "Are you OK!?", she yelled.  "Please tell me you're ok!".  Danny had is eyes closed and tried not to cry.  Not now, not in front of her.  She reached down.  "Hey! Tell me you're ok!  Right now, tell me you're OK!".  "Alright, I'm OK just stop yelling at me.", he whimpered.  "Well good cause I've been bored all day and I'm not gonna be bored again so get up!".  Danny liked this girl.  He wasn't sure why, but he did.  She yanked Danny up by the arm and pushed him against one of the swing posts.  "Ow!! What the heck! Take it easy!!".  "Shut up and let me see.", she said.  "Ow! What are you doing!".  She grabbed Danny by the shoulders. "I said SHUT UP and let me look."  Her eyes were so determined that he froze on the spot.  "Your fine.  No blood. You'll live.  Now come on let's go!", and she took off running towards the slide screaming, "You're it!"  Danny just stood there for a moment, in pain and a bit confused.  He ran toward her and shouted, "I'll get you!", as his head pounded and throbbed with each step.  He wasn't going to let her win.  No way.

Tent minutes later they were exhausted and took a break over by a nearby oak tree.  It was large and had wide branches that sheltered them from the sun.  Not that it was hot enough to be uncomfortable.  The truth is Danny was exhausted and just a bit winded.  Danny hated that she wasn't.  "Let's just sit for a sec....", Danny said, taking in huge gasps of air in between words.  "Just....just for a minute."  She stood in front of him, staring.  "You said a second, now you want a minute.  Which is it?"  Danny looked at the ground and said, "A minute.  Yeah.  A minute."  Now he was starting to feel embarrassed, but he needed to catch his breath or risk throwing up on her.  "OK. Just for a minute.", she said eyeing him suspiciously.  "Where are you from?  I haven't see you before."  Danny was confused again.  "Well yeah, we only met today."  "No I mean I've never, ever seen you before and I've met everyone."  Danny just stood there and blinked.  "What does that mean?", he thought.  "I remember everybody I've ever met and I don't remember you.  Are you sure your real?"  "Well YAH, I'm right here.  I'm real.", Danny said in a nervous tone.  "OK, then let's go!", and she ran off towards the spinner.  It was red and shaped like a star with yellow handles and Danny knew he was going to throw up today.  He just knew it.

He ran toward her, or really, he sort of ran-walked toward her, wasting as much time as possible because the closer he got to the spinner the more the sense of dread rose from his chest.  She was already sitting on the outer edge.  "Spin me!"  Danny just stood there.  "Spin me!"  Danny sighed and grabbed hold of a yellow bar and started to push.  "Faster! Faster!", she yelled in a half laugh, half order.  "Come on, faster!"  Danny started to run and made the spinner go faster and faster.  "Jump on!", she yelled.  Danny happily obliged.  He was about to fall down anyway.  "OK now stand up!"  "She's going to kill me.  Yup, she wants me dead and this is how she's going to do it.  Death by spinning."  "Oh stand up you big baby!"  Danny complied.  He grabbed the yellow bar again and slowly stood up, locking his right leg around the base of the bar.  Danny did the same with his other leg on the opposite bar.  "YEAH!!!! Isn't this GREAT!!!", she screamed.  It seemed more like a declaration of war than a joyful noise.  "Yeah...great.", he yelled, rather meekly.  And then Danny locked his eyes with hers.  Her beautiful hazel eyes.  Her wide smile. Her jet black hair flying thru the air and the sun reflecting off of her olive skin.  It was as if she seemed to glow in the full sunlight.  Why hadn't he noticed it before?  Danny wanted to say something funny, anything really, to get her attention.  But before he could say anything, there was a loud crack of thunder.  Danny tried to look at the sky, but he couldn't move his head.  He couldn't move his arms or his legs either.  He was just....stuck in place, stating at her.  Then, he noticed that her smile was...melting.  Her whole face was moving down, like some kind of twisted cartoon.  Her smile now looked like a scream and her eyes were filled with terror.  Danny wanted her to say something.  Anything.  As long as she stopped looking like that.  Her jaw opened farther and exposed a black tongue that slowly made its way out of her mouth.  Danny wanted to yell, but he couldn't.  He was trapped, unable to move or scream for help.  Frozen, watching that black tongue come toward him.

Danny woke up screaming and immediately hit his head on the ceiling.  Another bad one, he thought.  Another nightmare like all the nights since he woke up here, wherever this is.  No sense of time here.  No lights. No sound.  Just a cold cell barely tall enough to sit upright in.  Every night the same.  Every night he dreamt about...her.  Every night he woke up here, in this cell.  If it's even a cell, he thought.  This could be a grave and I'm dead.  No. Don't think that way. You're not dead.  That's just what they want you think.  Who's they?  There's gotta be a they.  "I mean, come on, who else put me here!"  Danny was rambling out loud now and he caught himself, surprised by the sound of his own voice.  "I'm gonna get out.  I'm gonna get out.  I have to get out.  I have to know if she's real.  Oh please God tell me she's real."  And Danny sat there, hour after hour, praying for her to be real.