Your Worst Fears

Chapter 18: Him

I was free. After what felt like months of oppression, I suddenly felt lighter, like my spirit had a huge weight lifted off of it. I was free.

"Amber, are you okay?" I felt hands grab my arms. "Amber?" Alex was almost shaking me at this point. "Amber?"

I felt myself smile, which felt odd to my mouth, since I hadn't really smiled in a while. "It's me, Alex. It's me, so you can let go." I looked around, wondering who the stranger was standing over me with a Bible, cross, and bottle in his hands. "It's me." I'd not been me in a while, either, and it felt good.

I looked behind Alex and the stranger and saw Mark, all three of them looking at me expectantly. My eyes then ventured over to where Erik was crouched in the floor next to... "Nick!" I jumped up and ran to him, but once I saw the blood soaking his shirt, I wished I hadn't. "Oh, my gosh," I whispered, my breath feeling like it was knocked out of me at the sight of him, remembering how it had happened. "I did this." Everything blurred as tears filled my eyes. "Is he... is he...?" I couldn't even get the word out.

Erik surprised me when he reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it slightly. "No, he's still alive, but he's lost a lot of blood. I've already called an ambulance, since we don't know where the hospital is here, and it would take too long to get him to the one back home."

"I didn't mean to... I mean... that wasn't me. It was me, but not... me. My thoughts were all screwed up. It said we had to kill Nick and--" I cut my own words off, not wanting to tell him that his girlfriend was supposed to be next.

"Kill Nick and who?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I really don't want to talk about it."

He scooted close to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to."

"Amber?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice. "Nick, I'm here. You're gonna be okay. An ambulance is on the way."

"I believe everything is clear here," the stranger said, walking up behind us.

I tried to blink away my tears so I could see who this guy was, but I didn't recognize him. "Who are you?" I asked, confused as to why he was even here.

"I'm Father Timothy. I just exorcised the evilness that had taken over you and this place. It is a gone now." He took a step toward me. "Here, this is his. He dropped it in the battle."

Battle? Just what all had I missed?

I took the necklace from him, realizing it was the one his grandmother had given him. "Here, Nick. Here's your necklace." He started to reach for it, but accidentally knocked it out of my hand. "Don't worry, I'll keep it for you so you don't lose it." I was going to put it on, but the clasp was broken, so I stuck it in my pocket.

When I looked back at him, he was smiling, which made me feel better, but worse at the same time. How could he smile at me after what I'd done?

"Nick, I'm so sorry." I couldn't say it enough.

Sirens sounded in the distance, which prompted Erik to get up. "I'll go flag them down so they know where to go."

"Nick, they're here. You're gonna be okay." He wasn't moving. "Nick?"

He smiled again, opening his eyes and looking up at me. I wished he hadn't. Maybe it was just me and all I'd been through, but as he looked at me, chills spread across my skin. His eyes were glassy, the color washed out. What was once an ocean blue was now iced over. I wasn't sure if it was his eyes, his smile, or a mixture of both that made a part of me want to run.