Children of Darkness by Courtney Shockey Page B

entire body is shaking with fear. I don’t want to talk about it and I think he isn’t ready, either. We pull back into the street and drive towards my house. I try to convince him to drive me home and drop me off.
    “I need time to figure this out. They must want something from me.” It sounds good in my head, but he doesn’t seem all that convinced by my words.
    “I don’t feel that this is a safe plan. I’m not a very good man if I leave you alone.” His voice shakes as he speaks. His eyes grow stormy. I have never seen him like this. I don’t know what to do. The creatures will come whether he is with me or not, apparently, but he can’t see them. How can he help me if he can’t see them? I have to get him away for his own safety.
    His lips thin and the storm in his eyes turn into a full blown blizzard. “I’m not going to leave you, Janet. I don’t care what you say or what you do, I can’t leave you. I physically can’t.”
    I decide to take a different approach. “Coby, I need you to leave. I don’t want to be with you anymore. We’re done.” Tears fall freely down my face and I let them come. There is no taking the words back, but it is the only way I can think of keeping him safe and out of harm’s way.
    “You don’t mean that, Janet. You’re just scared and confused. Let’s go inside and talk about this,” he pleads. He reaches for my hand but I pull it to my chest, out of reach.
    “No, Coby. You’re not coming in my house and you’re not staying out here. When I get out of this car, you need to drive away. Go home. Forget about me and just leave me be.”
    I can’t keep this up much longer. I need to get out of the car while I still can. “Janet, please. Please, just let me come inside and we can take a bath or sit on the couch and just talk. Please, don’t do this.”
    The storm in his eyes dies quickly and sadness replaces it. I shake my head in silence and step out of the car. I shut the door and run up the pathway.
    “Janet! Stop!”
    I fumble to find the right key and try to shove it into the lock. The keys fall from my hand as his arms come around me. I attempt to shrug him off, but his arms are like a cocoon. I want to relax into him and have him wipe all my fears away. I know he can make me feel better, but I don’t need that right now. I need focus more than comfort.
    “Just go away, Coby. Please, just go away,” I cry. “I can’t do this. I can’t let you get hurt, too. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, Coby.”
    “How will being alone help the situation? You’re in danger, Janet. We can do this together. Please.”
    I have no words to give him. My already constricted chest squeezes tighter with every second that passes.
    “Damn it, Janet! Fine. You’ll have your way and I’ll leave. But don’t you dare think that this is goodbye. I will be back to check on you.”
    I scoop up the set of keys and find the house key, jamming it into the lock. I open the door and step in. I can feel him still at my back so I turn and look at his face one more time. I am hurting the only person I have left. I shut the door and slide down to the floor to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart.
    After a while of attempting to mend it, I pull myself up. My knees wobble and I have to lean against the wall to walk straight. There are no sounds in my house and all the lights are on. I take a deep breath and slowly make my way to the living room.
    Everything is so still and quiet compared to my labored breathing and accelerated heartbeat thumping in my chest. I look around and notice my house phone is blinking with a message. I can’t remember the last time I had a message on there so I quickly hit the play button. Mrs. Frost’s voice echoes through my quiet house.
    “Dr. Janet? I’m so sorry we haven’t contacted you sooner, but…Emily is missing.”
    I hear her sobs echoing around me, and then everything goes dark as I fall to the floor.

 

     
    I pry my eyes open and