ParaNormaline

Chapter 10: A Hint of Light

--Norman's POV--

Norman was starting to get more worried with every step he took. Psycho Norman had officially decided to leave him alone, which he would've enjoyed more if it hadn't been because they had both started hearing whispers echo through the woods. Norman had even thought he heard Coraline a few times, which caused him to go in the complete wrong direction and get himself lost. "I'm never gonna find her at this rate..." he groaned. "I wouldn't say that..." he heard Coraline's voice hiss. He whipped around, hoping to see her, but there was no one there. He sighed in disappointment, turning away and heading forward. Suddenly an image of Coraline flashed in front of him for a mere instant, laughing as he jumped back. "W-what the-?!" he stammered. The image appeared again next to him, and he jumped away in shock. "Over here!" Coraline taunted as she flashed away again. She kept disappearing then reappearing all over the place, and soon enough Norman was seeing double. He could swear his eyes were spinning as he tried not to fall down from dizziness. Suddenly he felt someone pause him down hard and he yelped. He rolled over onto his back just before being shot with darkness, accidentally knocking Coraline over in the process. He looked over at her, but his relief didn't last long when she went to kick him. He quickly got up, ready to run incase something happened. "W-wait!" he exclaimed just before she shot at him again. To his surprise, she actually listened. "Just... Wait for a minute, ok...?" he pleaded. The darkness around her hand went away as she got up, her eyes narrowed at him. "If you have something to say, say it quick before I change my mind." She told him darkly. "Alright, just hear me out here..." Norman told her quickly. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to talk. "I-I understand that you probably either don't care or don't want to admit it, but this isn't who you really are. I know I haven't known you for very long, but I also know that you wouldn't do any of this. So, if there's any chance that you can actually hear me in there... Could you show me?" he pleaded. He had a feeling that this wouldn't work. But it was worth a shot. After a moment her eyes seemed to soften a little, and Norman gained a little. But then she burst into laughter, and the hope went around. "You are so pathetic!" she exclaimed. She kicked him back into a tree and he yelped in pain. "I... I-I'm not pathetic..." he argued quietly, looking up at her. She laughed even harder. "Don't lie to yourself, Normie." She taunted, shooting darkness at him. It pinned him up against the tree, not allowing him to move. He gulped nervously as she walked over. Don't panic... You dealt with Aggie, you can deal with her he told himself. He yelped when he felt something wrap around his throat and push him against the tree even more. That is, if she doesn't rip my throat out first... he added as he felt her hand squeeze tighter, not allowing him to breath. "I'd say it's about time I got rid of you once and for all, freak..." Coraline hissed evilly. Norman looked down at her in panic, trying to beg her to stop as tears of pain came to his eyes. This was terrifying. He couldn't breathe at all. He quickly clamped his eyes shut when her fist pulled back far, darkness coating it. Suddenly he felt himself drop to the ground and a loud scream of shock from Coraline. Or, at least it sounded like Coraline. It was hard to tell for him at the moment. The second he landed he went into a coughing fit, and it didn't take long for him to feel something... Someone grab his hand and begin to run, dragging him along with them. He tried his best to keep his legs going, but he kept stumbling as they started to give out more. "-so sorry! That wasn't me!" he heard the person exclaim quickly to him. His eyes widened when he realized who it was. "C-Coraline?!" he gasped, looking over at her. Everything was starting to go into focus as he heard a loud shriek from behind them. They both picked up the pace and he glanced back in panic to see the other Coraline - the fake, evil one - smirking evilly as she watched them run. "Run, little prey, run..." she taunted. Norman quickly turned back to look at the real Coraline, his eyes wide. "W-what's going on?!" he asked frantically. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest!" she answered. "Just keep running!!!"

--General POV--

By the time they got far enough away from the fake Coraline, they were both panting and out of breath. They slowed to a stop, flopping down onto the ground to take a breather. After a moment, Norman finally decided to speak up. "A-alright... What... Was that?" he asked, still terrified. "It wasn't me, I can guarantee that..." Coraline answered. "But whatever it was seems to be able to... Copy other peoples forms, I guess. But it needs their DNA first..." she explained. Norman raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. "H-how would it have your-" he cut himself off with a gasp when he noticed something. Coraline had three scratch marks on her cheek, which were still bleeding. His eyes widened in shock. "Y-you're hurt..." he stammered. How had he not noticed before? He went over to her, getting a closer look at it to make sure it didn't look infected or anything. "I'm fine, Norman." She assured him. It still stung a little, but it wasn't as bad as when she first got the wound. "Are you alright? That thing is dangerous..." she trailed off examining him. Then she noted the missing hood. "Your hoodie..." "Oh, yeah... It's fine, I can get a new one." He rubbed his arm a little, glancing downwards. "Alright, but I was going to ask how it happened." Coraline smiled a little, though it didn't last long. "Oh. Right." Norman felt like slapping himself. "Well, whatever was pretending to be you started choking me with my hood, so... I had to rip it off." He explained simply. Coraline pouted a little and scooted closer to him. "Sorry about that." She apologized. "It's fine. It wasn't you're fault. Besides, like I said, I can always get a new one." He smiled. Then he blushed a little, realizing how close they were. "W-we, uh... Might wanna get moving soon. It could be dangerous to stay in one place for too long." He stated, getting up. Coraline nodded in agreement, getting to her feet as well. "I found this lake while I was looking for you. Maybe it'd be safe there." She suggested with a shrug. Norman smiled at the thought of the idea. "Lead the way?" "Of course, you wouldn't know where you were going!" Coraline laughed, heading off in the direction of the lake with Norman close behind her.