Altered

Thirty-Two: Fear

James' heart hammered against his chest. He clenched his teeth so tightly, he feared they might break, as he fought not to overthink what he was doing or whom he was attacking. 

Charlotte sat on the cool, stone step, her breathing ragged, her muscles taut, not trusting him to leave her be. He wondered if it was pointless, if he was only tormenting her. She seemed to be getting nowhere close to counterattacking; he hesitated, running his hands through his hair, doubting his tactics. She was perhaps one of the most insanely stubborn people he had ever met.

Yet, even as he looked at her now, anger coursed through his veins, and he'd be damned if he was going to let her get away with being so bloody obstinate all of the time. 

Elmhirst would never allow her get away with it, and his means of forcing her would be a lot harsher than James' tactics would be. He knew that her biggest problem was that she feared herself - a fact she seemed oblivious to. He shook his head, doubting very much that her alteration was as strong as she seemed to believe. He had seen the flickered and failing projections in the opening game. And yes, he was aware that Holly Childs had screamed bloody murder when Charlotte had attacked her in the captain's game, but he wasn't afraid of anything as mundane as spiders. The thought of such a ridiculous fear irritated him. No he feared nothing; nothing except... Well she won't find that, he grunted inwardly.

James sighed, resigning himself to releasing her from the torment he was causing, when his sight swam for a moment. It was a brief flicker, the world about him shimmering like a mirage before settling back to how it had always been. He shook his head, instantly forgetting it, and hopped down moving towards Charlotte. She looks pretty pathetic, he thought. He would have to work with her to make her seem less weak, that was if  he managed to coax her to work with him at all. The frustration she was causing him hit once more, rushing through him like a tidal wave, unsettling him. He had no idea where it came from, but he found he couldn't just leave her give up, not yet.

"You think you can just bat your eyelashes and people will do exactly what you want," he snarled, more anger in his voice than he thought he was capable of. "If I am going to come here and waste my time, you are going to put in the effort". He gritted his teeth, raised his hand and flicked his wrist with the least amount of effort, before running his fingers through his hair, watching as fear contorted her face. 

The step beneath Charlotte jerked forward forming a slope that led straight down into the black, gaping hole where the floor had been. He watched as Charlotte reached back trying to pull herself onto the step behind her, but that too had begun to slope, forming a large, solid, highly polished slide. She could not find any ledge to grip on to. She really is making it too easy, he thought almost bored. He stood on the only step that didn't form a part of the huge stone slide into the pit below them, the pit tormenting Charlotte.

"James, please don't do this," she cried, as he watched her trying to fight gravity. She clawed at the polished stone, trying fruitlessly to find a grip. She kicked out with her legs trying to avoid the inevitable plunge awaiting her. 

It really was too easy. James frowned, watching her pathetically trying to win a battle against the gravitational pull. A part of him was knotted, trying to reason with what he was doing, but another part was almost urging him on. He glanced away from Charlotte for the briefest moment, trying to clear his head of the conflict he felt powerless over. His heart continued to race, the pounding in his ears only growing more intense. His skin felt as if it was on fire, though the hairs on his arms were standing on end. He clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to dismiss the uneasiness that suddenly gripped him. It seemed to work, as once more he turned his attention back to Charlotte.