Thanatophobia (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 31

The torch was flickering, just like Evan's emotions. Using one arm to support Jonathan behind him, he turned to face Luke.

The monster was standing there casually, as though he was just a normal person waiting at a bus stop. He wore a red hoodie that was ragged around the sleeves, his hood up hiding the upper half of his face.

It reminded Evan of his YouTube channel, and suddenly the red devil fit much more closely to the being before him. The monster let out a soft chuckle.

"What did I tell you Evan?"

He looked into his eyes, lit up golden in the fiery light. His pupils were practically nonexistent, and his expression fit the deranged persona perfectly.

As he glided forward, Evan wished he could take Jonathan and step back.

"Go away! Get away from him!"

"Oh?"

Luke tilted his head, giving a toothy smile. He took another step.

"You do realize that your trespassing on my property, trying to take something that belongs to me?"

"He doesn't belong to you, you monster! Look what you did to him! And you took his sight, you tortured him! This can't go on, Luke!"

"His sight? Oh, that must've been from the acid. I told him to look at me, and the thing wouldn't even listen...thought I'd teach him a lesson."

Evan grit his teeth, biting his tongue to keep from doing something he'd regret, a coppery taste filling his mouth. He could still feel Jonathan shaking behind him.

Luke continued moving forward, his footsteps loud and ominous. He started to laugh again, a sinister chuckle that reverberated around them.

Evan knew he had to do something, anything. He turned one last time and briefly kissed Jonathan, and took a step forward.

Luke looked interested as Evan came to meet him, the gold in his eyes swimming with cruel interest. He hadn't expected Evan to be this desperate, but who was he to make assumptions?

"So, are you going to leave? Having you here is anything but a pleasure."

A knife suddenly appeared in his hand, a dark blade that glinted wickedly in the torch light. Evan couldn't hear anything except the blood pounding in his head and his lungs taking in air. There was no going back.

He let Luke approach him, and when he lunged with the knife he went into action. A long time ago, Evan's parents had given him self defence lessons, which at the time he dreaded. Now he was thankful as he pulled Luke into a complex flip and pinned him.

The monster struck out, the knife cutting a solid line across Evan's cheek as he dodged too slowly. Acting quickly, he dug his fingers into the pressure point of Luke's wrist, the knife falling from his fingers. He kicked it away.

"Luke, I'm warning you. Leave this place, leave Jonathan and everyone else, and never come back."

His voice was steady, but the underlying emotion broadcasted his delirium like a beacon. Luke was silent, and they sat there for a long time, the silence only being broken by the slight rattling of Jonathan's chains as he shifted.

And suddenly, Luke was laughing again, but this time it was different. The sound would crescendo and decrescendo at random intervals, a broken sforzando of sadness. It was a pained sound, the sound of a broken, helpless man.