Cataclysm

3.5

Braken came back wild and frantic. He shoved his way right past me, making sure his hands never touched anyone. He was crying, too, rubbing his face to wipe away the tears.

"Braken, what's wrong? Did you find him?" I asked.

He just shook his head and pushed away from me. He ran up to the ladder and pulled himself into the old apartment. He was hiding from me.

I followed him up and found him sitting at the table with his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. "Braken, what's wrong?" I repeated.

He jumped up and staggered back, his eyes wide and terrified. He shook his head quickly and kept his hands behind his back. I noticed that his skirt was dirty and torn.

"What happened to your -"

Before I could finish my sentence, Braken glanced down at his skirt, narrowed his eyes, and yanked it off, his movements jerky and filled with anger. He wadded the skirt up into a ball and threw it at the wall as hard as could.

Something was horribly wrong. I'd never seen him like this. He was hysterical. I stepped closer and reached my hand out, but he flinched and backed up into the corner between the wall and the counter.

"Please, I only want to help you," I said softly.

He shook his head again and pressed himself further into the corner. I gently touched his arm, and he screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

"NO!"

I staggered back and fell over, and his eyes widened in terror as he slapped his hands over his mouth. He'd just spoken. He'd just screamed the word no, and the sad thing was that I never wanted to hear that sound ever again. His voice strained and screeched like a demon from the underworld, shaking and then cracking under the pressure of a thousand worlds. It was the most inhuman thing I had ever heard come out of a human's mouth.

"Braken, what's going on?" I whispered, my own voice shaking.

He violently shook his head again, still keeping his hands pressed tightly over his mouth. His wide eyes were still leaking tears.

"You can talk," I said, climbing hesitantly to my feet and he shook his head once more.

He was absolutely terrified. His entire body shook, and his face was completely white, drained of all color. Maybe he was as scared of his voice as I was.

"Please tell me what's going on." I slowly started toward him, and he sunk to the floor, keeping his back up against the wall and covering his head with his arms. I knelt down beside him and he jerked away from me. I could just barely see one of his eyes from inside the shadow of his arms, and he was staring at me as if I was another person.

Please don't hurt me, those eyes begged. Please don't hurt me.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said, but he let out a cry of pain as I brushed my fingers over his arm. I'd barely touched him. There was no way that could've hurt.

And then it clicked. He wasn't afraid of me - he was remembering something. He flinched at imaginary voices and touches, and wailed out incomprehensible words.

"Braken, it's me. It's Joel," I murmured. "Everything's okay. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you." I rubbed his shoulder and he slammed back against the wall, staring at me with terrified blue eyes.

It took him a minute, but finally, he started to calm down, and let me rub his shoulders to help relax him. After what seemed like an eternity, he sighed softly and stood up, still shaking. Thank you, he signed. Sorry.