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You ignorant fool. You have already fallen for my traps. My voice speaks clear, my power stands strong. Nothing is worth the risk.
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I ran as fast as I could to Jonah. How stupid am I to leave him, especially with an alternate on the loose? I continued to return to the macabre house, listening closely to a noise that went on and on. A whacking noise. Oh, I swear to God, if its hurting him. I quickly ran inside, swinging my head left and right, looking for the sound. It was coming from the back of the house, so I went. And then, I saw him. I saw Jonah. He was brutally beating the alternate with an axe.
We started these horrifying searches after what happened to my mom. At first, it was fine. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. He never seemed to be upset with these decisions, until now. He's lost it. He's fighting on his own, and I can't stand to watch. None of this was supposed to turn into a storm of endless worry, as time would quickly tick away. And I'm not doubting Jonah, no no. That's not it at all. He's got the bravery and toughness; I've always seen that in him. But there's a difference with being brave and being uncertain. When you're uncertain, swinging your axe, hoping to kill the enemy, it creates a dread of panic.
His shoulders moved up and down as sweat and tears dripped from his chin to the ground. They say there's one more thing to do when you're scared- fight, flight, and freeze. That's just what my body did, it froze. It's all I could do while watching in terror. He whispered through his gasps of breath, "Adam. I'm so sorry. And I know you can't hear me, I wish I could tell you all of this, but... I tried. All for you." I swallowed the lump in my throat, nearly squeaking from the hot tears forming in my eyes. Does he think he's pathetic? Does he seriously think that I see him as some little tag-along? He's done so much for me. My eyes caught to the alternate rising back on its feet. Of course it's still alive. But Jonah, he was accepting it. He just stood there with his head down. I then felt my body finally move, "JONAH!" He jumped and looked out of the doorway, noticing me standing in the hall. And he responds, so quietly, "... Adam?"
The alternate's head turned, facing my direction. I felt my face going pale, and watched the monster breathe in deeply, only to let out the most ear piercing scream beyond explainable. Suddenly, it came running my way. I glanced at Jonah while thinking it would be my last time, and made my move. I slid under its legs and quickly headed towards the axe he had dropped. Jonah's mouth moved, but I couldn't even hear. Despite the terrifying creature stomping back into the room, everything began to sound blurry. I smashed the window behind me, grabbed my friend, and jumped out.
I couldn't tell you the last time I was genuinely scared out of my mind. I've gotten used to doing these things ever since we started them, but this was different. My actions have been so ruthless, so selfish. If anyone ever told me to leave Jonah alone, I'd probably kick their ass and tell them to never speak to me again. He means so much to me, he's a huge part of my life. And to leave him? Not a chance, but I did... and no one told me to. Out of pure anger, I walked away from him and left the house. What the hell was I thinking? And he's never done anything to deserve this, to deserve such waves of anxiety and sorrow.
...Oh Jonah... I'm so sorry-
We ran to our truck and immediately drove away. I didn't care about getting pulled over, or running over some raccoon. I just wanted to get out of here, and say sorry to him. As I thought this would be a silent ride, he spoke after catching his breath. "You came back," I spat a laugh out and looked at him, but he was being serious. "W-Well, uh," "Adam, why did you even do that? I could've gotten hurt, hell, I could've died!" It took everything not to fall back into an argument, but he had every right to be upset with me. I clicked my tongue, "I know, and I'm so so sorry, Jonah. I never meant to hurt you like this, and to just walk off like that. The last thing I ever want to do to you is make you upset." I heard him breathe out. I'm a terrible friend, he's going to yell at me, I just know it. "...Thank you, Adam." I felt my face switch, I'm smiling like an idiot. Stop it stop it.
I parked up to a gas station. It was four in the morning, but we weren't tired. Not after all of that. I was really hungry, though. "You want anything? Like a coffee?" I asked while turning to Jonah. He thought for a moment, "A coffee with some life savers." I laughed, "Strange mix." "Hey, life savers are the best, and so is coffee." I couldn't argue with that. A minute of silence fell over us before I decided to go in. "Alright, I'm gunna-" "Wait," He abruptly put his hand on my arm. We made eye contact as he continued, "Thank you again. I can't put my thoughts to words but, I really appreciate you coming back and apologizing. And you're all I have, I'm all you have too. So things like this are way bigger to me." What was this? This strong feeling in me, it feels like I have to shit. And my face is all tingly. What do I even say? "Of course, Jonah."
"Of course."
