Panic overwhelms me. I feel like I can't move, but I have to get up. I have to find Faé. I don't hear him. But he has to be somewhere near me. I force myself to sit up, then look around. A surge of too many emotions at once cloud my mind. He's right there. Right next to me. Curled up in a ball. Of course he's in a ball. That's what he does when he's scared. I'm scared too. I look around, but it's pitch black. Faé's breathing is quick and light, nervous. I move closer to him and wrap my body around his, then dare to whisper as quietly as I can.
“It's okay buddy. I'm right here with you.”
Faé doesn't respond. He's shaking. I can feel a lump forming in my throat, but I push through it.
“It's like the story I've been writing. The two main characters, they- they go through a series of rooms as a dare from one of their friends. They don't remember being dared, but they end up going to the rooms anyways,” I can hear my voice shake as I recall the plot line of my story. It's unmistakably similar to what we've gone through. Except, I'm not ready for it to end.
He shifts a bit and huddles against me. I wrap my arms around him gently. “W-what happens then?” His voice is just barely loud enough to hear.
“The rule is each pair has to go through the rooms. But they can't leave until-” I choke on my words. His hands cover mine, and I realize how steady they are. I was the shakey one, or perhaps we both are. “They can't leave until one of them is dead.”
This game is demented, it's cruel and evil
But with you by my side,
I'm positive we'll cheat the system.
We'll break the rules and preserve.
It's silent for a long time. The minutes drag on into perpetuity. Faé's uneven breathing is starting to worry me, but I force my fear away. This isn't the time.
“Neither of them die though, right? That's how the story ends?”
I actually hadn't planned the ending. I was making it up as I went. Faé knew how to make a better ending for the story. I rest my chin carefully on his head and stare into the blackness. “Of course that's how the story ends.”
Be the hero of your story
Till it’s done.
If the music stops,
Continue with the dance.
YOU ARE READING
Don't Go
RomanceThe rules are simple. A pair of people can only return to the normal world when one of them dies. It's an added bonus if they both die. But these two are so close to escaping alive, maybe they'll be the first pair to ignore the rule.
