Confused Ends

Chapter 12: Thoughts and Shadow (Clair)

As the distance between the trespasser and the trespassed grew, the situation had been questioned by both sides of the scene. Clair felt almost hypnotized by the sound of the waves beating on the sand, and also by the trudging of the boy's black shoes. Her mind had went wild, the saneness that was still left inside of it seemed to be running around in circles, as her thoughts tried to catch up to it. Body being struck by the wind, she plopped down on the sand with her legs crossed loosely. She hadn't even thought about what the boy may have thought about her; perhaps he believed that she was an insane, mentally deranged human that couldn't bring even the smallest bit of fun into her life. Or perhaps, she thought daintily, he thought I was, in some way, attractive. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, if anything, of the beach and those who surrounded it. Even though this had driven some thrill and energy into her, Clair shook her head wearily. Of course not, she thought, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Why would he ever~ she stopped abruptly, startled by a new sound that had appeared out of nowhere. It was of shuffling footsteps; they were each taken slowly, probably aiming to be unnoticed. She immediately got up to her feet, then looked back at the beach house behind her. Her mind raced yet again, but still far from being in sync with her body; for that reason, she couldn't move from her current stance. Even her voice wouldn't cooperate, not that she would use it even if she could. The footsteps had become more clear in sound, and in return, had revealed their location. When a large figure masked in darkness began to step towards her, she suddenly remembered how her body worked; moving swiftly, she glanced at the ground and spotted an open pocket knife, then reached for it and held it firmly in her hands. Just as she did this, she charged at the figure, while closing her eyes and letting out a hearty shriek. "Arrrggghhh!" She bellowed, running at full speed towards the large figure hidden in shadow. As soon as she was close enough to the figure, the darkness had gave way to vague yet clear details; a small hand gun held at arms length was shown, but not until Clair's head was pressed slightly against the tip of it.