Eldritch

Chapter 21

It's Thursday. Daniel bounds down the stairs, car keys in his hand and rushes for the front door. As he places his hand on the door knob, Marissa steps into the hallway, arms folded and eyebrows raised. 'Ahem.'

He slowly turns around to face her. 'Just where do you think you're going?'

'Martin's,' he lies.

Marissa raises her eyebrows even more. 'I don't think so, young man,' she states, her voice stern.

'Mom,' he protests. 'I'm seventeen, and it's only six o'clock. It's not like I'm going to--'

She holds her hand up and he quietens down. He knows better than to keep going when she raises her hand. It means she's about to come out on top in the argument. 'You are not going anywhere, Daniel. A young girl was murdered a few weeks ago, three people you're close to have gone missing, you were attacked last weekend, and there is a wild animal going around killing people. I don't want you going out.'

He stares at her for a moment, opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again. Her argument makes sense; the residents of Starryton are going up against a lot. But, it's only because of what he and his friends did. He wants to make it right; figure out how to put things right. And he needs to meet Lisa, Martin and Sophie in the library to do that. But, Marissa doesn't look as though she's going to give in.

'I want your car keys,' she says.

He pulls a face. 'Oh, Mom, come on, I--'

'Keys, now,' she says, outstretching her open palm to him. 'You can have them every morning when going to school, but I'll be taking them back in the evenings.'

He looks to the keys in his hand, sighs and places them in her hand. Then, she takes a step closer to him and takes him in her arms. 'Baby, I'm sorry about Sean. Ella. Charlene. It's terrible.'

He nods. 'Yeah,' he swallows. She backs away and flashes him a weak smile.

'Daniel, please don't get upset when I ask you what I'm about to ask you,' she says.

His heart rate shoots up as she looks him in the eye, her eyes glassy. 'Whatever you tell me, I'll believe you,' she says. 'But, I have to ask, do you know anything at all about what has happened to Abi Prendergast, Charlene, Ella or Sean?'

His eyes are also glossy from the tears building in them. He takes a moment to get his answer out. He sniffles, and runs his hand underneath his nose.

I can't lie to her anymore, he thinks. But I can't tell her the truth either. I can't lose her too.

'No Mom,' he gulps.

Marissa nods. 'So, your acting strange, is that solely to do with being stressed out?'

Daniel bows his head and walks back into a hug with his mother. 'Yes,' he mumbles. 'Mom, my best friend, his girlfriend and my ex girlfriend are gone missing, all of them, and I don't know what to do. I want to help, but I can't. I don't know where there are. And, Sean, he, he's my best friend, Mom. He has been since we were, since we--'

And that thing is coming for me on Saturday, and we still don't have a plan to stop it while saving the others.

'I know,' she gulps. 'And, if there's anything that you need to tell me, please know that I will do everything I can to help you. I mean it, Daniel. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you.'

'I know,' he swallows. 'I love you, Mom.'

'I love you too,' she cries, while running her polished fingernails over his dark brown hair. 'More than anything else in the world.'

----

'Daniel, no way,' Martin says.

He bows his head. As they're in the school library, they each lean across the desk to whisper between themselves. 'Martin, it's the only way.'

'No, it's not,' Lisa says. 'It can't be.'

'Lisa,' Daniel replies. 'I've been to Annie I don't know how many times. She doesn't know anything else that can help. And we've looked through every freaking book there is to be read on supernatural and mythical creatures and all we found was one piece of paper with a drawing of it.'

Martin bows his head. 'I'm not taking part in this plan,' Martin states. He slams his books closed.

'Martin, come on, we--'

'Look,' he hisses. 'You might be okay with dying so the rest of us are safe from that thing, but it's not going to be you who'll have your blood on their hands when you're dead. It'll be the rest of us. And I'm not signing up for that.'

Before Daniel can utter another word to dissuade his friend, he storms away and exits through the library doors.

'You guys have to do this,' he tells them. 'I am asking you to do this. I'm going to die either way, so you need to save as many people as possible. My time is running out. I have until tomorrow night.'

Lisa looks to him with tears in her eyes. 'Okay,' she swallows. 'I'll do it.'

'You will?'

She nods painfully. 'I'll just have to keep reminding myself than it won't be you I'll be killing, it'll be that thing.'

He bows his head. 'Thanks,' he murmurs. 'I'm going to pack a bag and go stay at a motel in the city tomorrow evening. I can't stay at my house and bring my Mom into this mess.'

Lisa nods. Daniel stands up and the two girls follow his lead. Slowly, he pulls them into a group hug, swallows to suppress his tears. 'Please promise that you'll both do whatever it takes to kill me, and kill that thing when it's inside me.'

Sophie nods and sobs. She leans further into him and he squeezes her gently. To prevent himself breaking into tears, he backs away and throws his schoolbag over his shoulder. 'Make sure my Mom knows I love her. And please let Martin know that I love him too, and that I'm sorry it's come to this.'

Sophie nods again and blinks away her tears. 'Bye Sophie.'

He turns to Lisa, who stands, expressionless. 'Goodbye.'

Daniel then walks out onto the corridor of his high school, and looks around the building, taking it all in for what he believes will be his very last time.

----

Daniel comes to a stop before a small grave. He just stands and stares at the headstone for a moment, blinking back tears as he does so. Engraved on the stone are the words Mia Stone. Born 7th July 1969, died 23rd September 1973.

'Hey Mia,' he swallows while sporting a weak smile. He squeezes his eyelids and a couple of searing tears make their way down his cheeks.

'I'm sorry,' he says. 'I never meant for you to get hurt that day in the park. I shouldn't have kept pushing the roundabout so hard, and I should've made sure you were holding on to the bars. And I didn't. For that, I'm so sorry.'

'I just had to say that one more time, and say goodbye,' he says. 'Soon, I'm going to be gone, just like you. Maybe this is my punishment. Maybe I deserve it, for what I did to you. You didn't deserve it.'

His face stained from teardrops, he wipes them away and bends down at the grave. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a band of daisies, each linked to each other. Slowly, he places it to surround the photograph of his little sister hugging into him when he was five years old. 'This is the daisy chain I promised I was going to help you make after you got off the roundabout that day. I'm sorry we never got to make it together, but I made it for you.'

He nods, stands up and smiles once more, weakly. 'Goodbye, Mia. I love you.'