Dark At It's Brightest

Chapter - 25 - Hunting for Michael.

When he opened the door for me I literaly fell out of the car. My legs were numb from sitting in the car. If Michael hadn't catched me, I would be face planting into the ground right now. He helped me to stand up again and stepped back a little so that we wouldn't be so close.

"Thanks!" I muttered.

I felt like the two steps he stepped back weren't enough. I needed my space. His way of breathing and gaze was crushing me from the inside. His eyes were full of worry and sadness, even regret. I wanted to get rid of this awkwardness as fast as I could, but he already did it first. He offered me his hand in a gentleman-asking-a-lady-to-dance-way and I imediatelly took it.

Michael dragged me away into the forest which loomed over us from the both sides of the road.

 His hand felt warm and a little bit sweaty - or was the sweaty one mine?. Either way it felt nice holding it. It was my last support which held me sane. I squeezed his hand and after a while, with a bit of hessitation, he sqeezed my hand back. I already thought he had ignored my gesture, but apparently he hadn't.

We were going more deeper into the forest. I looked back and the lights from the car were barely visable. I was starting to worry a little bit, but I tried not to show it to him. I was sure it had been almost half an hour walking but we were still in the middle in the forest. It was starting to get dark outside. One more hour and there would be complite darkness all around us.

"That thing you wanted to show me... are you sure we're going in the right direction?" I asked Michael in worry.

He didn't even look at me and shot back an answer.

"We're going, ok? It should be right here." His tone was a little bit mean and full of rudeness.

"What does it look like?" I asked him trying to help. He ignored me and kept yanking me forward with my healthy arm.

"It should be right here." Michael said and suddenly stopper right in front of me. I pushed into him tripping on my own leg. I didn't expect him to stop walking so suddenly. I winced at the sudden pain in my shoulder and tried to regain my balance.

Michael looked at me but didn't help me. His hand was still holding mine, but it was as useless as a dead fish in the middle of the lake.

I shook it off and looked around. There really wasn't anything but trees around us. I couldn't imagine anything what he would want to show me out here. There was nothing.

I turned away from him pulling my hand out of his. I stood there a moment looking for a way back, but I couldn't manage to see even a small glimpse of the car's lights. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"What are you even looking for?" I turned around to see him, but he was complitely gone. 

"Michael?"

I didn't believe it. It can't be. It was like he was never here. Where did he go? Did he left me alone in this forest? How could he even disapear like that? It's not like he had a good hiding place here. There were only trees.

I turned around a few times looking for him or even the slightest movement behind the trees.

"Michael!" I shouted hoping that someone would answer. Nothing.

Everything stayed quiet as it was before.

"Michael!" I shouted.

Everything was dark. The only light was from the moon which showed above the trees. I had lost my sight of which way the car was.  Though  right now it wouldn't even mater. I woulnd't be able to find my way back to my brother on my own anyway.

My heart started pounding hard in my chest. I started running. My breathing was uneven and it became more painfull to breathe the cold air into my lungs even just one more time. The wound on my shoulder was hurting like someone was digging holes in it with their fingers. I touched the bandage with my fingers and felt something wet. I looked at my trembling fingers. They were driping with some strange dark liquid. The blood on my fingers looked black in the moonlight.

I stoped running, but my havy breathing wasn't controlable. My chest was full of many hot, small, sharp, pointy needles.

"Michael!" I managed to get out of my throat.

I pushed my hurting body against a tree.

This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

Keep it together, Zarah. Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint.

As on que something bright flashed in my face, blinding me. My eyes started to tear up as I tried my best to see something in the bright light.

A dark man's silouette stood in front of the light a few metters in front of me. I took a few steps closer to it, trying to keep my consciousnes. He didn't dare to come closer to me so I stepped another small step forward to see his face.

"Michael." I whispered to myself. He had a sad expresion on his face that I couldn't translate. Despite the bright light which shone behing him I managed to see that he had dirt on his face. His left eye was twice the size of his right one and he had blood on his eyebrow right above his swollen eye. His red, checkered flannel shirt was torn and one of it's arms were torn off so it hang losely around his wrist.

"I'm sorry, Zarah." He avoided my eyes.

"What?" I spit out when my mouth was covered by a gloved hand.

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