infidel (joshler)

Chapter 17

Tyler ran through the prison, his chest heaving. It's laughter followed him, hurtling around corners and following him around every turn. He couldn't escape it. He'd never be able to escape it. He found himself in his cell hallway. Melanie was still sitting there frozen. He yanked open her cell door, running to her. He placed his hands on her arms, willing her to wake up.

"Come on, Melanie, I need your help. I need your help. Wake up. Wake up!" He shook her arms, tears streaming down his face. He needed her help. It was going to come for him, and he needed her help badly.

She gasped, chest filling with air like she hadn't taken a breath in days (which of course she hadn't). She looked around wildly, jerking out of Tyler's grasp. She crawled backwards and pushed her back up against the wall.

"How did you-" Tyler held up a hand to silence her.

"Look, a lot of things have happened. I got sort of possessed by this demonic being and everyone in this prison and I'm assuming most of the surrounding area was frozen. I almost killed Josh. I need your help to kill this thing." Melanie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The look of confusion on her face didn't Tyler's ever developing anxiety.

"Melanie, listen. If I'm right, and I think I am, you have abilities like me, okay? And I need you to try and use them and help me kill this thing." He looked her in the eyes as he said it and he knew that she was seriously considering running away from him. But she didn't. She took his hand in her own and shook it.

"Tyler Joseph, you have yourself a deal." Tyler pulled her out of the cell, beckoning for her to follow as he took off running. Melanie surprisingly kept up with him. For a small and sickly looking girl, she was fast. They made their way through the endless labyrinth of the prison, the demon's laugh still following them. That's what Tyler was calling it now. A demon.

They found the main entrance, running by prisoners and guards who had been entering as the curse hit. Tyler hit the button to unlock the doors and they found themselves outside of the prison. He breathed in the fresh air, not having been outside in several months. It really had been a long time since he'd been convicted. Melanie had a serene look on her face, her arms outstretched and the wind blowing her hair out of her face. This would've been a beautiful moment if they weren't convicts running from a demon.

The gate was unlocked, hopefully from Josh escaping. Tyler had no idea where he was, and he was worried about him. Him and Melanie kept running towards the city. They' made it half way when a sonic boom knocked them forwards and off their feet. Tyler turned to see a thick black storm cloud spreading across the sky. He looked at Melanie, who had a look of sheer terror on her face. Her hands and knees were bleeding and tears were in her eyes. She looked like the scared little girl she probably once was.

Tyler shook himself out of his thoughts, pulling Melanie up with him and practically dragging her forward.

"Come on, Melanie!" He shouted over the now fierce winds. She looked at him, nodded, and kept running. Tyler was surprised he wasn't exhausted. His powers were pushing him to run faster, harder, to get away from the demon. Melanie didn't look tired either. Her powers must've been kicking in as well. She looked at Tyler.

"Can I try something?" He laughed as they were still running.

"Do whatever you can." Melanie clenched her fists, arms swinging, and suddenly she was lifting off of the ground, her arms spreading out like wings. She flew high above Tyler, laughing hysterically. She looked down at him.

"I didn't know I could do this!" She laughed, smile bigger than anyone's he'd ever seen. A part of Tyler was cheering because he had been right about Melanie and her powers. He could feel how strong she was from here. She'd be an asset to him when he went up against this thing. But part of him was worried. Melanie wasn't very stable. What if she turned on them? Powers would make it worse.

After seeing how much fun Melanie was having, he decided to try it. Still running, he clenched his fists as she had and focused on the sky and feeling light. It felt stupid, but soon he felt his feet leave the ground and suddenly he was able to see the entire city, grey buildings looming up in front of them .He spread his arms, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair, ruffling his jumpsuit. Oh right, the jumpsuit. He wanted to get changed out of that.

The storm cloud was ominously moving towards them at a concerning speed. Tyler didn't know if the demon was generating the storm or if the storm was the demon's current way of manifesting itself. He tried to put those thoughts out of his mind as he focused on going faster. He sped ahead of Melanie, laughing at the look on her face. She ended up right next to him, and he pointed down at a house that looked tiny from here. they dove down through the streets, dodging the frozen cars. Tyler was right; the curse had reached all the way out here.

He landed softly on the grass of his front yard. He took a deep breath. It felt like forever since he'd even looked at this house. He'd thought of it every day, missing his family and his old life. He hesitated with his hand on the doorknob before exhaling and opening it.

It looked almost the same. Zach was sitting on the couch playing a video game. Jay was next to him, immersed in what his older brother was doing. Madison was in the kitchen with their parents, smiling as she cooked dinner with them. Tyler smiled. They looked like they'd moved on. He walked by the wall of photos that they had, skimming over them. He suddenly realized that he wasn't in any. He ran through the house. They'd erased his presence. He quickly ran up the stairs, jerking the door handle to his room. It was locked. He flicked his wrist and it swung open.

With a sigh of relief, he sat on his bed. Everything was the same. He assumed that his mom had kept it this way. His dad probably would've burned everything if he had the choice. He understood, however. No one would want to be associated with a murderer. He grabbed some of his clothes out of his dresser and started unzipping his jumpsuit. There was a cough from the doorway, where Melanie was standing with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, I forgot you were there." She closed the door with a laugh. He changed into his regular clothes, finally feeling somewhat normal. Even though he'd just flown here and there was a demon chasing him. He walked out of his room, and Melanie was leaning against the wall. She shot him a smile.

"You good?" Tyler nodded.

"Let's go."

a/n: ik the flying thing is really cheesy but i've literally always said that if i had super powers it would be flying so i have to add that in there okay also thanks for the nice comments, please leave more of those i love them