Breaking Down

Chapter 48:

"What the..."

My eyes snapped open when I heard Nate's angry voice cry out.

My body was being pulled back off Nathan's lap and he didn't look pleased.  I began laughing. Someone in the room was getting greedy and they weren't willing to wait their turn.  There was enough of me to go around.

Within seconds, a dark shadow had moved over Nate and I couldn't even see him underneath it.  The figure pulled back its fist and pounded it into him repeatedly.  The faceless shadow picked him up off the couch by his shirt and slammed him on the floor.  It climbed on top of him and continued the assault to his face. 

Thrashing my body, I fought against the firm grip of the hands holding onto me.  I had to get back to Nathan.  I had to help him. He was going to get killed by the monster.  What would I do without him? He was all that I had left now. If he was gone, it meant I was alone. 

Keith was on his feet and ran over to go help Nathan. He lunged towards the shadow and landed on its back.  The shadow shook Keith off like he was a tiny flea and continued raining its fury down on Nathan.  

Keith was back up again and going back for more. Before he could make contact with the shape, a reddish blur tackled him from behind. They hit the floor and were rolling around, trying to pin one another.

"Fuck this. I'm done." Josh screamed like a girl.  He couldn't get out of the room fast enough.

The rest of the band ran out of the room behind him. No one even stopped to help me get away. Even Becky Candace was running while flailing her arms about like one of those wacky waving arm guys.

Someone drilled the person holding onto me, which knocked us both down to the ground with a hard thud.  I pulled and struggled, trying to break free until the person flipped me on my back above them and off of the cold concrete floor. I was laying on top of a very male body with my back on his chest. 

There was a boot coming straight towards my face from one of the many people running out of the room.  The guy holding onto me turned me just in time before it stomped down on my head.  He wrapped himself around me to block me from the chaos until the room emptied around us. 

"Stop.  Let me go."  I screamed, fighting with the hands holding onto me.  I almost wiggled out when they regripped and pinned my arms back like they knew what they were doing. It was a very precise, practiced movement. If I didn't know any better...

Wait...

I finally found enough mental clarity to look back at the face of the person holding me.

"Cami?"  I whispered, confused.

"Hey, Jess."  He said between labored breaths.  

I must have been pretty messed up if I was imagining him here right now.  I looked back over to Nathan, who was still getting pulverized on the floor by the big black shape with dark hair. There was something I recognized in the quick movements. I had seen those same arms moving up and down the frets of a guitar my whole entire life.

"Dad?"

He looked over when he heard me call his name, nodded, and turned his attention back to Nate, who was barely conscious on the floor.

I turned my head, confused as I watched the oversized shape move to hit him again. There was no way I was seeing things right.  I must have been having a bad trip.  If I closed my eyes, everything would go back to normal.  I would open them and still be on top of Nate, giving myself to him. I would never get away from Nathan; he would never let that happen in real life.  This was the alternate universe I created in my head. This was all a figment of my imagination.