Ampersand: Chapter Two

The Jump

I’ve jumped from fences, buildings, my roof, but this was a whole other experience.

I wasn’t jumping. I was falling.

And it was a tremendous rush.

Fear and exhilaration tangled for control over my mind as I plummeted towards the bottom. But it wasn’t just that. It was like I was in forever as air rippled past me. It was peaceful and simple, and surprisingly quiet.

So I screamed. And I remembered the camera already faced towards me.

I hit the flash capturing forever, then I turned the camera to Tal and laughed. She was line straight and looked like she was about to hurl the word humorless.

“SMILE!” I yelled to her laughing and hit the flash.

When the water came into view, I yelled “YAHOO!” raising my hands in the air as I broke the surface. I submerged deep into the cool black water with the slightest pinch on my jaw.

I couldn’t see as I swam up, but I could feel Talia’s submersion bubbles all around me. Then I felt her grab my ankle.

Tally!

I yanked my foot free and continued upward. I was almost out of air.

That disoriented me, and I wasn’t even sure if I was swimming up anymore. It was like I was going nowhere fast. I kicked as hard as I could, my head going fuzzy, and it came as a huge relief when I burst out of the water.

“Alright!” I screamed, filling my lungs with air. “Oh, my gawd, that is soo suh-weet! I can’t believe we just did that Tal?” I looked around.

I didn’t see her, nor did she pop up. “Tally? Talia.”

My heart skipped. Then it seized up, that forever feeling long gone.

I looked all around the black water, the little light of the moon leaving much to be desired. I could only see the surface, but no Talia.

“Talia, come on! This isn’t funny!”

I waded around in quick circles unable to find her. Apart from me the water was too still. No ripples other than mine. No bubbles.

If Talia was drowning wouldn’t there be bubbles? But she couldn’t have drowned.

Fear’s icy cold finger slid up my spine, the threat of strangulation apparent.

She grabbed my leg.

What if she was hurt and trying to tell me?

I just left her down there.

I was so scared for her and disappointed in me I wanted to cry.

But I couldn’t cry.

Pull yourself together, Hailey! You have to make sure she’s okay.

I took a deep breath and held and went back under. I opened my eyes unable to see squat. That and the water looked blacker and felt colder than mere moments ago. I stayed under longer than I could, and the need for air won out over my will.

I started to swim up filled with shame and remorse, tears burning my drowning eyes.

What am I going to do?

The same water that stole my friend swallowed my tears. I didn’t even care if I made it to the surface at this point.

There was so much I should’ve said to her.

Why?

Why didn’t I say it when I had the chance? Why was I so stupid! Why did we have to have that stupid fight in the first place? So much time wasted.

Dots began to form behind my eyes. I was too miserable to care.

Then there was a bright shiny light that appeared out of nowhere. It moved closer and closer to me. My eyesight was blurry, so I couldn’t make it out.

Am I dying now too?

Talia, maybe. Or. What was going on? Or maybe it was a sign that I should live. That I should turn over a new leaf and pray to Talia’s god, The Great Mama something or other.

I was so confused. I needed air.

Surface!

I struggled up, but now I could only make out light everywhere. The light began to form patterns as it surrounded and enclosed around me. White light, black light, rosettes, opening and closing.

No air.

I stared mesmerized at the huge light thing, no thoughts left in my head.  It was so pretty it almost made me forget that I had to breathe, but my body didn’t forget. I tried to go up, but I couldn’t.
I looked down and there was a tentacle thing tightly coiled around most of me, which connected to the light thing. I could barely think.

I was probably going to be eaten. Or… more likely, drowned, because the bubbles of my panic made it to the surface, but not me.

I grabbed the tentacle and began yanking as desperation set in.

Can’t breathe.

I was out of air.

Is this what happened to Tally?

I looked up and what I saw shocked me. Tally?!

There was Tally!

Above me!

Now I could clearly see that the monster or whatever had a tentacle around her as well, only she didn’t look like Tally. She glowed such a weird and bright white from the ends of her hair to the tip of her toes. And she wasn’t moving either. She was limp, floating in the water in this creature’s grip.

I tried to scream her name, but it was useless. I needed air and space to do that. What it did do was pull the monster’s attention away from Talia and onto me.

The tentacle tightened and squeezed so tight I thought my head would just go pop. When I could open my eyes I saw that the patterns had stopped opening and closing and began shifting aside as another pattern formed.

Except, it wasn’t just another pattern.

This was three dimensional. But still light.

First I saw teeth, which opened into a mouth I couldn’t help but stare inside of. But what surprised me was that it stared back at me. The mouth was literally filled with thousands of glowing eyes.

Renewed terror tore through me. I screamed out any last bit of air I had.

I fought against the monster’s hold as hard as a corpse could. I might’ve passed out.

I came too when the pain started.

I felt amusement and looked up to see the mouth now resembled a smile.

Pain unlike anything I ever experienced—and I knew a lot of different types of pain—seemed to pump into me from the creature’s tentacle. It felt as if every cell in my body was turning to glass. It was like being shredded apart piece by piece from the inside out.

I hoped I was dying. This was… AGONY! And I couldn’t scream. I wasn’t even moving. Couldn’t move.

Please let this be over!

That is it; let yourself drift, someone said in my head.

The voice was soothing. I began to relax into the pain, and, in turn, the pain began to subside.

Let yourself forget and become me. Come along and you’ll never suffer again.

Yes, I thought. Not suffering sounded just about great.

It had to be the monster that was talking to me. Probably, but who cared.

I looked up at the other. That one was struggling.

Silly. What’s wrong with you?

We were about to become great. We’d be more. Non-suffering.

Ridiculous.

The great one turned its attention back to the other and I closed my eyes to relax. When I opened them again, my skin glowed an ebony color. I was beginning my transition. I knew somehow that it’d take years to complete, but that was okay. I wouldn’t fret. Why the other was struggling, I just didn’t understand.

I smiled when I could breathe again. And the pain was almost nonexistent.

I looked at my hands and noticed something hideous hanging from my wrist.

Ugh. The camera.

I had to remove it. I grabbed the camera and tried to yank it from my wrist.

Instead of coming off it flashed brightly at the Great One.

A blood curdling screech nearly made my head explode as a crushing pain threatened to make me into paste.

It brought me back to my senses.

What the He—

YOUUUU! The monster boomed.

Even though it was in my head, I covered my ears.

It was loud.

INSIGNIFICANT BUG! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF ME! MY GIFT! YOU DIE HERE!

Oh, no! I did not like the sound of that.

Continuing my earlier struggle, I tried to free myself, now that breathing wasn’t a hassle. It still wasn’t happening. Before I could plan my next move, the creature’s eyes or mouth or whatever appeared in front of me.

The mouth opened wide, revealing all those eyes and sharp glowing teeth thingies. The tentacle holding me began to recede back to the creature, reeling me closer and closer to the mouth.

Noo!

I screamed. I struggled. Nothing I did slowed down my impending doom. And all while the creature laughed in my head. It was all just a joke to it. A three year old lord of the ants. And I was under his magnifying glass.

“SHUT UP!” came out my mouthful of bubbles.

I never wanted to cry so hard.

It pulled me into its mouth and I glanced up at Tally.

I could see her so clearly now. And she was trying to tell me something using her free arm. She pointed at me.

Then I was encased in darkness with millions of eyes watching me die.

First I choked and gagged without any idea what was causing it. Then it felt like millions of frozen needles were burning through me. My skin was peeling off my bones. Like I was being flayed alive with an icy cold blade.

Something went through me. I didn’t know what, but one thing I did know was that I was going to die.

I slapped both my hands to my head, and something hard followed and whacked me hard on my forehead. I could barely feel it over the real pain.

I reached for whatever hit me.

Camera?

I vaguely remembered Talia. Is this what she was trying to tell me?

Camera?

It was just a camera. But… then…

There was a thought somewhere under all the pain trying to form.

It… it’d freaked? Yeah.

It was just a camera, but the monster had pretty much freaked when it flashed.

That’s… uh, yeah. That’s why I was in this mess!

What did I have to lose?

I could barely move, so I could barely lift the camera with shaky limbs. Bones under raw nerve endings searched agonizingly for the flash button. I couldn’t stop the violent shivers. So cold.

A twitchy finger that jolted violently, by chance, hit the flash.

All at once there was another loud screech and the pain stopped. Just like that.

Encouraged by the results I hit the flash again and again.

The eyes began to shrivel and I saw an opening.

I made haste and swam out of the mouth and to Tally, who was still in the monster’s clutches.


The monster in turn was out of control.

The monochrome rosettes were now a solid red glow. The monster was screaming. It jerked up and down, and left to right, or whatever direction it could manage. Talia being whip-lashed along with it.

Despite the residual pain, I had to save Tally.

I swam somewhat awkwardly brandishing the camera as my newfound weapon. Before I could get close to Tally, she was jerked into me with a bodily impact.

Before she jerked in the other direction, I managed to grab her.

I yanked at the tentacles, but they were like chains.

Talia had this terrified expression under her glow. And as we were jerked, I tried not to be flung away.

While the creature was moving, before the change in direction, I flashed the camera at the tentacle.

Talia and I rocketed through the water unexpectedly, the tentacle completely dissolved. The monster let out a piercing wail.

I pushed then pulled Talia up, up, as hard as I could, kicking, and using my one arm to push water hard. Something slammed into us, knocking the spit out of me, and it yanked my arm hard. With my other hand I scrambled for the camera and hit flash. There was a squeal and I was freed.

Something else grabbed my limp body and pulled me up. We broke surface.

Before I could even catch my breath, I was pulled in a direction. Terrified, I began to fight, but it was Talia. I turned from by back to help.

She was still glowing.

When she was sure I could swim on my own she mostly let go of my waist, though not completely, and she slowed to swim at my pace. We swam in silence as we headed for what I thought was the rest area.

When we reached shore we wearily climbed onto land and got as far away from the water as possible. Then we plopped down in cool, damp grass to catch our breaths.

We lay in silence, Tally staring up at the stars and me staring at her.

I marveled at her white glowing form, then she turned her head to me. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing.

We almost died.

I mean, yeah, we almost died, died, but the die we were thinking of, well, we almost lost our souls.

No more Talia the neurotic smart-ass. No more E’haile the impulsive brat.

Yeah. We almost died. Almost lost our souls. I did for a minute.

Scary.

We both jumped up when we heard a splash.

And there was the devil we just escaped, who just about stole our souls.

It squealed pathetically, dragging its body on land trying to make its way to us.

Talia and I scrambled to our feet, backing away.

It was smaller than it was, visibly shrinking before us.

It’s nothing, I thought as I stopped backing away. Then I walked up to it.

With the camera in front of me I stood above it. All the rosettes zoned in on me. It was the monster equivalent of what I’ve come to know as complete loathing.

I’m still an impulsive brat, no thanks to you.

I smiled.

“Say cheese.” I hit the flash and the creature completely disintegrated.

When I looked up, neither Tal nor I were glowing. We were back to normal.

Problem solved.

When she saw that it was over, Tal gestured me over and turned, heading for the stairs. I followed quickly at her heels, just in case there were some other non-run-of-the-mill thingies out here. Like vampire bunnies. Or stab fairies.

When we were up the stairs and  heading down the steep path of Fright’s Climb, then back on Malady Lane, Talia paused.

She didn’t look back, but she did look thoughtful. Then she said, “How… dumb.”

That seemed to sum it up for me.

I nodded. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s go home.”

At this point, it was all I really wanted. And not to be scared out of my mind.

I looked up, and the moon, more full than not, beat its way out from the clouds.

It sent a shiver down my spine.

“Wanna sleep over my house?” I asked.

“I’m too scared to do otherwise."

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