Dark Figures

Chapter 19: Gabe

Gabe

Adrenaline rushed through my veins. Everything i felt was being tossed and mixed inside of me like cookie batter, only the end result wouldn't be sweet.

I was drunk in the anger, and frustration, and sadness. All I could see in my mind was Oliver's lifeless body. How could she have her life when Oliver didn't have his. I wanted to hate her so bad, and somewhere in the back of my mind i did. Then there was the terrible guilty side of me, that was glad he was gone, glad i could have her all to my self, glad she isn't gone.

I shook my head vigorously, as if i wanted to get rid of my own thoughts. But i couldn't escape myself. I was on the edge between the scary woods of my thoughts and the maze of reality. Neither was a place i wanted to go though.

Maybe i should have died instead of Oliver. Oliver always was worth so much more than even one of my breaths. Maybe, i should just follow him. I wouldn't be stuck in this misery, where even the girl i loved hated me. No, not love. I couldn't love her, not after what i did.

I wanted so bad to follow him, but i could hear his voice in my head, as if we were running together like we used to at the castle. I could practically see him besides me. He was telling me not to be a coward. To protect her.

"I dont want to protect her!" I screamed at the shimmering figure before me. But as i reached out to him, he slid through my fingers, just as his life had slipped from reality.

I had been running for a good hour now, when i felt something wet in my face. I looked up and even the weather was morning, crying, fat tears of rain and thundering in frustration from Oliver's death.

I mumbled my agreement to the sky and started the slow trek home. 

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Christina

When i was little i used to play with these fancy paper air planes. They had cardboard wings, a plastic propeller and a rubber band, that you would wind up to make it fly. When we were little, Walter and I would obsess over them. They would fly so far until the rubber band broke, and once it broke it wouldn't work until it got a new rubber band.

Right now i felt as if my rubber band had snapped.

It had been slowly breaking as i whispered the 3 words seconds too late, only to be beaten to the finish line by death. But sitting here, listening to Gabe knowing he was right had snapped me.

It was my fault. Oliver told me the first time we met that pride would be my heroic flaw, only he didn't know it would also lead to his down fall.

Gabe had been gone for close to an hour now, and Eliot was starting to get worried.  He seemed so sure Gabe would come back, but now it was starting to rain.  The rain crashed to the ground, leaving ant sized craters in the dirt and swimming pools of mud for the crickets. 

Eliot and Walter had earlier cast a traditional funeral spell over Oliver and his body had disappeared, along with all of my hope.  Our camp seemed to be an umbrella, blocking all rays of happiness.  Between Oliver’s death, and Gabe being, well Gabe, smiles were as extinct as dinosaurs.

“Do you guys want the bad news or good news first?” Walter asked, walking into the clearing after being sent out to look for supplies. 

“bad” Nicolette decided for us

                                                                                          

“we are almost completely out of supplies and Gabe is nowhere to be found.” Walter said plainly

“What’s the good news” I croaked, speaking my first word in the hour since Gabe left

“I thought of an amazing joke” Walter tried to grin, but it was like Will Herondale, not real even though we all pretended.

“What happened when one egg told another egg a joke?” Walter asked

“I don’t know, what?” Eliot asked, playing along for Walter’s sake

“They cracked up.” Walter laughed at his own terrible joke.  The rest of us could barely even give fake smiles.

“Yeah, bad joke. I know. I just wanted to lighten the mood” Walter looked down, a guilty look drawn on his face.  I gave him a slight smile so he wouldn’t be too hurt, but he looked away, not wanting to face me and my demons.  But who would?  I would do anything to escape my own head. 

My head was pounding from inner and outer voices screaming at me.  I went to lay my head down, to except my much needed sleep and my eyes fluttered shut. 

My eyes were shut but I was in a meadow.  This meadow, the one he had died in, where we were all resting in but I was alone.  The darkness of night swallowed each blade of grass, making me feel as if I was drowning on the air.

I looked around, hoping to find something or someone so I knew what was going on, but everything was empty, and soundless, seeming to magnify even the little bits of my existence.  Each breath was like a trumpet and every blink was in slow motion.

I felt a tingling sensation in my hand, I looked down to see a worn knife sitting in my hand, my hand gripping it ready for a kill.

Two arms wrapped around my waist, and everything that Walter had taught me about those sneak attacks went on auto pilot.  I elbowed the dark figure behind me, just as I had done to Walter in my room just a couple days ago.  It feels like months ago, that Walter had told me about his job at the cupcake shop, but nope.  Just a couple days ago, I met Nicolette, Elliot, Gabe, and Oliver.

 It hurt just to think his name, so instead I focused on the attacker. 

They held me tighter refusing to let go, and all of a sudden I remembered the knife in my hand.  One look at the tarnished piece of metal, and I dug the blade into the persons stomach.

“I love you” the dark figure whispered into my ear

No.  It couldn’t be.  But I would recognize the voice anywhere.

Light filled the meadow and I spun around to see the body fall.  It was him, I had killed him.

All of a sudden, Gabe materialized by my side. “Wake up” he screamed. “Wake up!” and I could hear the panic in his voice above my own sobs.

All at once, reality rushed to me and I sat up quickly. 

“Oliver” I screamed, I needed to see him, know I hadn’t killed him.  In truth though, wasn’t my dream exactly what happened? The only difference was it wasn’t my blade.

My face was soaked in tears and I couldn’t take it.  Arms wrapped around my waist, “shh, it’s going to be okay” someone soothed.  I looked around to see who held me but the camp was dark, as night had fallen on the camp as I slept.

I tried to muffle my sobs, and just let this real life dark figure hold me. At this point, it didn’t even matter who it was.