stabbing in the dark ~fransykes~

19

Josh woke up shivering from the cold. He groaned, swallowing hard only to find no moisture in his mouth or throat. Thirsty and tired, he rolled over on the cold sheets, wondering if he had forgot to close the window last night. A cold breeze caressed his face, like someone was hovering above him breathing onto his exposed face. He shoved his face into the pillow, breathing in hard, his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion when the realisation that this wasn't his bed hit him like a ton of bricks.

He sat up abruptly, opening his eyes suddenly, leaving his vision blurry and his head spinning from the sudden rush of blood. This wasn't his bedroom. This wasn't his bed. There was someone sleeping on the bed next to him. With reluctant eyes, he gazed cautiously over at the person next to him, letting out a breath of relief when he realised it was just Oliver. Just Oliver, he questioned his thoughts, since when has Oliver Sykes ever been just Oliver?

Oliver's dark hair was spread erratically across the pillow, long eyelashes casting a shadow on his inhumanly pale skin. His body was as still as a statue, making the other boy question if he was even breathing due to his chest not even moving up and down. Josh tried not to think about how beautiful he looked sleeping in the moonlight, tried being the key word here. He couldn't help but feel a small smile pull against his cheeks as he basked in the feeling of waking up to someone, he felt something he hadn't felt since his parents died: wanted.

Licking across his dry lips, Josh realise the only way he was going to get back to sleep was by relieving his thirst. He carefully swung his legs over the bed and tiptoed across the floor, conscious that Oliver was asleep in the room. He didn't know if the other boy would be angry if he was woken up, but he defiantly didn't intend on finding out anytime soon. The floorboards groaned and creaked beneath his feet as he quickly made his way downstairs, ignoring the way the darkness seemed to engulf him.

He couldn't help but feel paranoid, like the darkness was looking back at his somehow and following him as he walked to the kitchen. Josh quickly poured himself a glass of water and drank it, almost dropping the cup on the floor when he felt something icy touch the back of his neck. He jumped around, paranoid eyes searching the seemingly endless darkness but finding nothing.

Shrugging it off, he placed the glass into the sink, eyes widening in horror as a shadowy hand slammed down on the kitchen window. The black handprint tapped its void fingers against the window pane, the noise shrill in the tense silence. Two glowing eyes fluttered open, red irises glowing abnormally. Josh bit down a scream, legs like jelly as he walked backwards towards the hallway. For some reason he just couldn't turn away from the unknown creatures fiery gaze that made his stomach fill with dread.

The sound of something smashing made Josh look away with a gasp, eyes fleeting through the darkness until they landed on the only available source of light. It flooded out from the now open door, casting a hue of deceiving warmth across the barren hallway. It was the room Josh went in earlier, the one with photographs of him in it.

Swallowing his fear, Josh slowly crept towards the open door. Every fibre within him was pulling him back, screaming at him to just run back upstairs, but he just couldn't. His curious nature took over, forcing his legs to carry him towards the lit room. Breath heavy, he learned on the wall as he peered around the doorframe and into the room. What he saw made him instantly curse his curiosity.

The previous dull red that stained the carpet was now glowing brightly, the photos Josh had found earlier now placed at each point on the star that was inside the large circle. Josh recognised the symbol but wasn't sure where he had seen it before, it seemed oddly familiar to him and yet so foreign. He looked away from the glowing hue of the paint, looking around at the shadowy figures that surrounded the circle instead.

Just like the one he had seen through the window, the cloaked figures stood around the circle were completely black. From beneath their hoods he could just about make out their red eyes, cast down at the circle on the floor as they held hands. Even though his eyes were completely focused, the figures still remained blurry, their dark outlines bleeding into the surroundings. Suddenly the ring on the floor burst into flames, making Josh stumble back in fright as the fire engulfed his vision.

Fear flashed through his blue irises, gold and orange reflecting off the glassy surface as he stared at the flames in horror. Paralysed against the floor, he watched as the shadowy figures began to circle around the flames, no hint of hesitation or caution in sight as they danced around the deadly fire.

One by one the figures turned to stare at him, death swimming in their blood red, crimson eyes as they looked down on Josh's quivering body. Their movements become faster, cloaks dipping into the flames as they span around in circles, taunting the scared boy with their movements. The flames began to travel up their blurry bodies, but they didn't seem to flinch.

Eventually they were completely on fire, flesh burning off their bodies leaving nothing but rotting bones in their path. Josh closed his eyes tightly, wishing this was all some kind of nightmare but the heat against his body and the feeling of fear in his chest was way too real for it to be just a dream.

When his eyes opened again the figures were gone, the fire dying back down into the floor as if by magic, leaving nothing but the red stained carpet in its path. The carpet seemed unaffected by the fire, no signs of ash or damage in its path. Josh gasped for air, his chest so heavy he could feel his lungs begin to collapse from the pressure. He could still feel the intense stare of the red eyes burning through his skin, making him sweat through his already drenched shirt.

He scrambled up from the floor, ignoring the way the floor seemed to grab at his ankles like hands trying to force him back onto the ground. He charged up the stairs, ignoring the way the walls seemed to watch him, laughing at him silently. The sound of whispers surrounded him, suffocating him. With sweaty hands, he urgently pushed the bedroom door open and didn't stop until he was back under the safety of the covers, back into the safety of Oliver's arms.

Josh pulled the covers up to his chin, pushing his body against Oliver's. He sighed in relief as Oliver wrapped an arm around his waist, the whispering instantly vanishing and leaving Josh to bask in the safety of the silence. Josh closed his eyes and cuddled further into Oliver's hold. If only Josh had opened his eyes at that moment, then he would have seen the sick smirk that pulled at Oliver's face as his eyes opened to look at the boy in his arms, crimson eyes.