14. Chapter 14 (1/2)
day 13
her head was on fire, she was sure of it; there could be no other explanation for the searing pain that was pumping through her head. she noticed it more and more with every beat of her heart but there seemed to be no way of getting rid of it. she took a deep
eath, hoping that the cool air would offer her some relief but it did little. she kept her eyes shut, not wanting james to know that she was awake but she needed to know where she was, what had happened to her.
the ground was hard beneath her and cold as stone, it was stone, and she reached out her fingers a little and felt where the stone gave way to wooden panels. she resisted the urge to react as the rough wood gave her a splinter and she withdrew her fingers as quickly as she dared to. the air was cold around her and she thought that she must be outside somewhere, or at least not inside of a proper building. perhaps she was on a porch or something? she didn't know, she couldn't work it out.
deciding that touch would get her nowhere she decided to focus on what she could hear. there were no distinguishable human noises, just the sound of the wind blowing through the trees around her, they creaked slightly but the wind wasn't strong, she couldn't feel it so she knew she must be sheltered.
aving whatever would be facing her, tanya eased open her eyes.
the first thing she saw was the moon. it was late at night, again, judging by the position of the moon it had to be past midnight. she could see the trees outside of the window waving slightly in the wind, as if to foretell a storm. she deduced that she was in some kind of hut that was half wooden and half left to stone. she turned her head and groaned, instantly regretting it as pain seared through her skull. she could see water and she realised she was in a docking hut where boats were rented to take out onto one of the lakes in central park. she sat up slowly, beginning to scan her surroundings and trying her best to ignore the pain in her head. it became easier as she sat up and realised that she had pain in other places. most worryingly, on the insides of her thighs and in her lower abdomen. it didn't take her long to work out what had happened, what james had been driven to.
she didn't know what to feel, she felt numb. anger and pain and sickness coursed through her and she wanted nothing more than to dive into the lake and scream and scream until the water filled her lungs. but that wasn't who she was and that wasn't the way to handle this situation. she was, however, paralysed with shock and fear of where james was now and what else he planned to do to her.
slowly, she stood and tried her best to keep her balance at the room spun slowly. she closed her eyes and took deep
eaths until it steadied, but it didn't stop the sick feeling that was nestling in the pit of her stomach. she had a concussion; she didn't need to be smart to work that out. but there was little she could do about it at that moment so instead she decided to try and work out how to get out of her difficult situation.
once she felt steady enough, she turned slowly around to look around the room; there were boats and gear that was of no use to her. she hated the water, she always had done, swimming was her idea of horrible and the ocean was a real fear. she didn't intend to be getting out of the hut via the lake; she intended to find another way. she walked through towards the door that led to the office; through there would be a door to get out into the park. once she was in the park she knew that she would be able to get her bearings and get to the police, maybe even to peter so they could get james and detain him before he did any more damage. despite what he'd done to her, tanya still saw her best friend in james, he'd just lost his way a little and needed some help in finding his way back, she would help him even if it sickened her every step of the way.
she reached the office door and went to open it but it was locked. she rattled it for a few moments to no avail but refused to let panic set in, instead she looked around calmly to find something to smash the glass with. she found a long rod with a hook on the end, something used to pull in the boats when the customers were unable to row them in properly themselves. tanya grabbed it and stood back, raising the rod above her shoulder. she paused and took a deep
eath, readying herself to strike, when a voice from behind her made her jump.
'why wouldn't you just ask for the key instead of vandalising property?' james asked her in a sickly tone. she turned suddenly, ready to defend herself; but his powers wrenched the rod from her and it flew in a high arch and landed with a splash in the lake behind james. he had changed again, he had returned to his evil alter ego, the image of himself that sickened tanya even more than she already was.
'james, what's happened? what have you done?' she asked slowly, trying to remain as calm as she possibly could be and quell the panic bubbling inside of her stomach and throat.
'i think you know what happened tan; i honestly don't know what possessed me to do it. all i knew was that it was my right.' he replied coolly and tanya knew that her best friend was still in there and he was sorry for what he had done.
'james, how can you think it's your right to hurt me like this? let me go and get some help and we'll see to it that you get better, just like we're doing for harry.' tanya said to him taking a step towards him even though every single instinct she had was screaming at her to get as far away from him as possible.
'you really don't understand? even after everything that's happened in the past two weeks? you just don't get it; i don't want to be cured! i want to stay like this, powerful.' james told her and there was a coldness in his voice and eyes that scared tanya and she did wonder truly whether he could actually be saved.
'james, this isn't you. this isn't the friend i've known since we were small. please let me help you.' she pleaded and he looked momentarily confused.
'you want to help me, even after what i've done to you?' he asked her and she tried her hardest not to let her heart
eak at the surprise in his voice.
'yes, james. i want my friend back, not this monster.' she told him honestly and he smiled and walked over to her. she forced herself to remain frozen despite her fear, he took her arms in his hands and squeezed hard; she wanted to wrench herself away but even if she tried she doubted she would be able to.
'and then...?' he began but didn't continue; tanya furrowed her
ow.
'and then what?' she asked quietly, worried about his intentions still.
'and then we can be together properly. just like i want, just like what is right. tanya do you believe in destiny? because i do, and i believe that when we met as children and remained friends for so long, we continued to have major influences on one another's lives and so, we were destined to be together.' james explained to her excitedly and she felt tears pricking at her eyes and a lump rising in her throat as his elongated fingernails dug into her arm so they drew blood. she knew that james had no intention of changing and truthfully, even if they did manage to cure him, he would continue to think in this way and believe it.
'james, i'm sorry. i don't feel about you in that way.' tanya told him softly, trying to ease the blow the best she could, but she knew it would insight anger and sure enough it did.
'it doesn't matter how you feel tanya. it's about what the universe wants and this is it.' james said sternly.
'then i'll fight it.' she replied firmly, growing tired of catering to him even though the fear was running through her, increasing her adrenaline with every heartbeat. tears escaped her eyes now and james could truly see that she was afraid of him, but this only made him angry.
'why don't you care? why don't you choose me?' he yelled suddenly and let go of her arms, but the relief was only temporary as he transferred his grip to her neck. he hoisted her up by her neck and her feet dangled in the air. she tried to kick at his legs but her feet always seemed to miss and they sailed uselessly past, missing the mark every single time.
'james. stop.' tanya croaked, clawing at his hands but it was to no avail.
'you know, maybe vandalism is the answer sometimes.' james crooned before suddenly launching tanya through the window of the office door. tanya screamed as she smashed through the glass and landed in a heap on the floor on the other side. for a moment she was paralysed in pain at the impact and the various shards of glass which had become embedded in her skin.
'get up.' she whispered to herself,
eathing heavily as james approached the door in a saunter. after a few more moments she managed to pull herself up by the desk to limp around to the other side. she surveyed her injuries and noticed that none of the cuts were too deep, they just hurt a lot. her entire body ached from the impact with the glass and her head was pounding harder than ever.
'james, it doesn't have to be like this.' she cried as he pushed his way through the door, his boots crunching on the
oken glass. she backed away until her back connected with a bookcase and her eyes scanned the room. the door was to her left, but closer to james than to her and she knew that he knew she would make a
eak for it. the chances were that door was locked too anyway.
'how else can it be tanya? you want the monster, this is how monsters behave. i thought you knew that better than anyone, considering your new boyfriend.' he sneered and they stood in silence for a moment, either side of the desk, staring one another down and daring the other to make the first move. tanya decided that if she didn't try and then she would never know, so she ran.
she made for the door but sure enough, just as her hand closed around the handle she felt james' hands winding around her and yanking her back. she screamed again as she was launched over the desk and back into the bookcase. she lay on the floor, sobbing as her body continued to complain in pain. she eventually forced herself up as james sniggered.
'it's actually quite fun being like this. i feel like a god who gets to play around with human life. there's actually something else i want to try.' he told her as she stood and balanced herself against the wall, struggling to remain upright but trying hard all the same. she focused on the sound of his voice and glared at him through her red haze of pain.
'james, please, just let me go.' tanya pleaded, unable to truly focus on whatever he was saying, she didn't care about his deluded ramblings, and she just wanted to get away from him.
'i intend to.' james said quietly and flicked his wrist. the door leading out of the office suddenly flew off its hinges and towards tanya. adrenaline spiked inside of her and she dived aside just in time so that it sailed above her head and crashed into the wall behind her. she cried out as the splinters rained down on her and she shuddered to think of the pain it would have caused her if the door had hit her. once she was more in control of herself she dragged herself up again and james smiled at her.
she glared at him as he gestured towards the now open door. thunder rumbled in the distance and tanya heard the first pattering of rain outside.
'go.' he instructed her and she was frozen in confusion.
'what do you mean?' she asked and he smiled in a way that made her worry, it was the largest cause for fear she'd had yet.
'run. i'll give you a head start.' he grinned and she realised that he wanted to play some kind of sick, twisted game. she caught her
eath in her throat and forced herself to calm down a little. he laughed at her and gestured to the door again, his voice colder this time.
'i would start running if i were you.' he threatened and she suddenly realised that if she didn't then she would be punished. she slowly edged around the desk and towards the door, scared that it might be a trick and he would drag her back at the last minute.
'thirty seconds.' he whispered and covered his eyes with a sick grin. tanya didn't need to be told twice; she turned and sprinted out into the night to the sound of the thunder growing closer and a distant flash of lightning. the rain seemed heavier when she was running through it; it drenched her in seconds as she sprinted down the path and reached a fork. she didn't think she just picked a path at random and continued to sprint; she didn't care where she was going as long as she was as far away from james as she possibly could be. she didn't know whether it would be better to scream for help or not, she decided against it for fear of him finding her faster.
she came to a dense pack of trees and bushes and dived in without thinking, she burrowed down into the dirt underneath a bush. the twigs and
anches and thorns all snapped at her scratched her skin but she knew she couldn't be in more pain than she already was and she was right. once she was burrowed as far down as possible, she placed her hand over her mouth and peeked out between the leaves.
after the fast pace and loud noises of her
eathing and panic, it was suddenly quiet as she lay in the dirt. there was only the sound of the rain hammering down around her, something which she could use to her advantage, and the sound of the thunder growing ever close; and then the sound of footsteps.
tanya held her
eath as she saw james round the corner and walk onto the path where she was hiding.
'tanya!' he called in a
ight tone and thunder clapped again, ever closer. 'come out, come out wherever you are.' he sang and she closed her eyes for a moment as tears leaked from them.