The Dead Of Night

Promises

Seeing something Janson walked straight to me. I opened my arms to hug him but he just placed his fingers at my neck. They trailed along what I knew to be the most painful part of my injury. I let my hands rest on his chest as he gazed at my neck. I was sure the place Zack's ice cold fingers had been was bright and red.

Janson looked into my eyes sadly, "I didn't protect you..."

"You came for me," I reminded him.

"But you still got hurt." He whispered.

"And I'm still going to recover." I said firmly, not allowing him to feel sorry for himself. There was nothing he could have done, nothing I could have expected him to have done.

He pulled me tight to his chest and pressed his face into the side of my neck. "I'm so sorry." I closed my eyes and leaned my head onto his. I slid my arms under his arms and held his shoulders so I could pull him closer. "I will protect you for ever. I promise."

"I know...I know you will." I hug him tighter to me.

It was painfully cruel for Zack to interrupt at that moment. "So will you tell me who the hell you are, and why the hell you can see me?" Zack asked, his voice now annoyed. Hearing the change in his voice made it harder for me to be sympathetic with him. My eyes snapped open to glare at him, and Janson slowly disentangled himself from my grasp.

"I'm Janson, and that's my girlfriend you beat up. So you better say your god damn prayers you go to a better place." Janson said stepping towards Zack with a confidence I didn't know he had. I was so shocked that I didn't think to act as he punched Zack in the face.

Zack tumbled to the ground and I stood in shock. Had Janson just done that? Before he could get up, Zack was being beaten again and again. I stared on in horror and then uncertainty. Should I break them up? There was no reason I needed to, I had every right to hate Zack...but I hated the way he'd been taken by surprise.

I stepped forward just about to call out when Zack spun Janson onto his back on the bathroom floor. "Janson!" I cried in fright. Zack brought his arm up and punched Janson in the jaw.

I heard my mother knock on the door. "Sweetie, are you alright?" She called. I ran over and grabbed Zack by the shoulders trying to pull him off, but he wouldn't budge.

"Get of him." I growled. Janson punched him in the gut, pushing Zack into an upright position and indirectly knocking me onto my butt. "Stop!" I begged.

Janson was on his feet in a moment and I felt my heart lunge. "Get back, Mallorie." He warned. For a moment I was about to listen to him, and then I changed my mind. I ran at Zack, wrapping my arms around his waist in a tackle and shoved him into the wall. There was a loud thud and I was glad I was the only mortal who never went through a ghost.

"Stop it." I begged them.Zack turned around to charge at Janson. I raised my arms up as I stood between them. "Don't do it." I warned. He looked like he was going to run anyways.

"It's useless." I told them desperately. "It'll never end. You're both dead, you can't kill each other. Hell, you can't even bleed!"

As the truth of my words sunk in to them both, and to myself my mother called again. "Mallorie? What's going on in there?"

We all stood staring at each other in silence for a moment, and then I called out to my mother. "Nothing." I turned back to the two boys in the room. "No more fighting." I glared at them both and trudged to the large wooden door, not bothering to see if they'd listen to me. I walked out to see my mother staring at me in confusion. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking of ... Zack's friend, Janson. He's going to be really upset."