Out of the Darkness

72

"Oh my God," she said, laughing breathlessly. "Did you just call uncle?" I asked, laughing with her. She nodded, and gulped in air. "Yeah. Like, saying I give. You win. Please don't tell me that's something that no one says anymore," she groaned. I shrugged, and smiled. "Okay, I won't tell you." She rolled her eyes and pushed her legs through the water, walking past me towards the shore. "You're so annoying," I heard her mutter, before she threw a playful glance in my direction. I followed her to the edge of the shore, then took her hand, and started walking down the coast, just like the couple from earlier. "Thank you for this Colby. For today. I'll never forget it. I hope I never forget it," she corrected herself. I said nothing, just raised her hand to my lips, and pressed them softly against the skin there. We spent the rest of the day, and into the evening, just walking the beach. She became excited over seashells, old driftwood that had whitened to the color of bone, the way the moon lit up the inky black ocean, and even the cool breeze on her cheeks. The beach was my happy place. It always had been. Here, watching her face light up with each new discovery, or the wind blow her hair across her cheek, the way she danced barefoot on the sand, or the way the moon illuminated her pale skin...it was more my happy place than ever before. Once we were both exhausted, and she had a hefty pile of seashells folded over into the bottom of her shirt, we gathered our shoes and blanket, then trudged back to my car. The ride back home was peaceful, her hand in mine, even with all of the traffic and city noises that occurred outside of the car. When we got finally arrived back at the house, it was quiet. Almost serene. We walked inside, hand in hand, and started up the stairs. "Did you have fun today?" I asked quietly. I heard a soft sigh come from her mouth. "I did. It was amazing. Thank you for doing that. Thank you for everything. I- OH!" Her mouth formed a perfect O, then she grabbed onto the banister and closed her eyes. "Anna? What is it? What's wrong?" She was breathing hard, through gritted teeth, but she opened her eyes and met my gaze. I could see it, in the emerald depths. She was hurting. Something was hurting her. "What can I do?" I begged, rubbing her back. "It huuurts," she gasped out, clutching her hand to her chest, before falling down on the stairs. Her hand still held onto the banister, her knuckles turning white from the force. "What hurts?" I asked, my hands flailing around her, unsure of where to place them. "Every- uun" she stopped speaking and bit her lip so hard, I thought that she would draw blood. "Everything," she finally managed to breathe out. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing that I could think of. I picked her up gently, trying to ignore her gasps of pain, and started up the stairs to my room. Once there, I laid her down, as gently as possible, on the couch. As soon as I did, she curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her self so tightly, like she was trying to hold herself together. "No, I'm not ready," she whimpered, opening her eyes and meeting mine. They were shining with tears, one spilling over the bottom of her eyelashes. I put my hand on top of hers, offering what little bit of comfort that I could. "Should I call an ambulance? Or do you want me to take you to the hospital?" I asked. She shook her head slightly, then grimaced from the pain. "What could they do, Colby? I'm not even supposed to be alive. There's no telling what they might find. Besides," she said, then pulled in a deep, wracking breath. "I think my time is up. Whatever made it possible for me to be here is fading. I can feel myself fading." She held her hand up, and rotated her wrist. I watched as it faded in and out of focus. I gasped myself, not ready for the feelings that started to overwhelm me. I wasn't ready for her to leave either. I wasn't sure that I ever would be. I hadn't had time to try and figure out a way to keep her here. I didn't even know where to start. I took her hand in mine, and pressed it to my lips, then leaned my forehead against it. "I'm sorry," I whispered sadly. "Why?" she asked, her voice still heavy with pain. "That I couldn't help you. That I didn't even try. I just thought that it would be nice for you to get to enjoy one day. I thought that you deserved that. Maybe I was being selfish though. Maybe I wanted to enjoy one day with you." "Oh Colby," she breathed out, her fingers tightening on mine. "I loved today. I'm so grateful for everything that you've done for me." Her voice started to fade, sounding like it was far away. I opened my eyes, and looked at her. Her body was turning transparent again, fading out completely in some spots. "Noo," she wailed, cutting off what she was saying before. "I don't want to go back." Her body wracked with a hard sob. "Where Anna? Where are you going?" I asked, lowering my hand as her own slipped through mine. "The darkness. The Dark One. I can see her. She's waiting on me. Calling me. I can't stop it." Her voice was now full of fear, as well as pain. "Fight Anna!" I said loudly, feeling totally helpless. "I- I can't!" she sobbed. I watched as her transparent hands covered her face. "Colby, I-" Then she disappeared. There was nothing left of her. Not a scent, not a transparent figure, not a feeling. Nothing. I stared at the spot where she had just been moments before, in complete shock. I couldn't let this happen...but what could I do? So much research had been done trying to find out who she is, but nothing else. I jumped up, and darted to my desktop. It was time to dig into witchcraft. It was the only thing that I could think of. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, scrolling and clicking page after page, looking for something, anything that might help me understand how to help Anna. The only thing that I did stumble across that didn't look fake or just for show, was a simple website. The banner said "I can help." I scrolled down, reading the little bit of information that was available. It was basically just a biography of the witch, her name, how long she had been practicing, her lineage, etc.