Lifeline (Chills Fanfic)

46 - Autumn

Ivan leads Dylan and I through the woods and to the end of the boardwalk. As we reach the end of the boardwalk, there is seemingly another way of getting there, by walking through some more patches of woods, that will block our view of the end of the boardwalk.

"This is not a good idea," Ivan says. But he starts walking towards the side way to the end. He walks into the dim shadows of the woods, and Dylan and I follow him.

"Then why are we going this way?" Dylan asks.

"Eh, why not?" Ivan says.

"Because ... you just said this was a bad idea?"

"Yeah, well, I have a weird feeling about going the other way, so ...."

Ivan keeps going, not stopping to see if we are following him or not. Dylan and I walk toward the woods. But then, there's a piercing shriek from the sky.

"Ah, shit," Ivan says. He looks at me and Dylan. "Run."

We both run, and the creatures above us scream again and dive down. I glance over my shoulder at Dylan, and see a huge gargoyle thing diving right at him. My shadows burst free, enveloping the gargoyle. It screams, and I turn around and slam into a huge, gray creature that looks like a human mixed with a moth, with huge wings jutting out of its back.

The moth thing grabs my arms, and my shadows vanish the second it touches me. But then, there's a pulsing pain and heat that sears into my flesh on my right arm, and when I look down at it, I see a purple tattoo on my wrist, with swirls that resemble my shadows swirling down my wrist and onto my elbow and palm of my hand. I stare at the tattoos, and I cannot help but smile.

Dylan cries out behind me, and when I turn around, my heart stops. Because he is freezing solid right in front of me. He reaches for my un-inked hand and I take his own in mine and look at him, my heart breaking and tears falling down my face.

Dylan is turning into ice, and I can only watch as it covers his entire body. Including the hand holding me, locking me in place. I start to cry harder, looking at the tattoo on my right arm now, and then back to Dylan, my best friend who is now frozen solid.

Then, another moth creature lands on the other side of him, and this one is actually taller than Dylan is. So well over six feet tall. It then reaches a fuzzy, white humanoid hand out and touches Dylan's shoulder.

I blink and wipe my eyes on my shirt sleeve, not wanting to bother my new tattoo, and not being able to move my other arm because it's now frozen in place.

"Please. Don't ... don't hurt him," I plead with it.

The moth thing, with ridiculously creepy red eyes that are big and round and human looking but also compound in a way. It tilts its head to the side and looks at me, and then looks back at Dylan, and there's a brilliant flash of light, and then ....

I am laying in the town square of the Faerie settlement. I open my eyes and look around. I am alone, no one else is there, and when I look down at my hands, both of them are fine, but my right one is covered in the same purple and black ink that manifested on my skin before.

"Dylan?"

"Not quite."

I look up. A tall man wearing a black and silver rabbit mask approaches me. He stops walking a few feet away from me, and then .... nothing.