• Charlotte held him tightly in her arms, hoping that she could stop his uncontrollable shaking if she could hug him hard enough. His blood poured out through a wound on his chest, mixing with sweat and making her sleeves stick to her skin. The wound wasn’t life-threatening; at least, it wasn’t supposed to be. The small cut on his chest, right over where his heart was (at least, that was what she thought), barely broke the skin; she had gotten worse injuries from falling off her bike, but a few minutes after the cut appeared, blood started to pour down his chest like a crimson waterfall.

    “It’s going to be alright, Simon. I swear to God, it’s going to be alright.” She kept repeating the same words over and over but she couldn’t even convince herself that things were going to be ‘alright’. The words coming from her mouth had lost meaning, becoming more of a mantra to keep her from losing strength.

    Charlotte gazed at his face and began to caress his cheek, but abruptly stopped and looked away because she couldn’t bear to see the energy slowly drain away from his once bright, energetic eyes. She looked around the room in which they were hiding; it was a dark, cramped space that had an odd metallic smell, no doubt coming from the life pouring out of her husband. The thought of peeking over the overturned wooden table behind which they hid sent waves of horror through Charlotte’s body, but she couldn’t resist peering at the door. The sight of the door still closed and barricaded with a desk was a small relief, but she swore she saw something moving. Looking again, she could see the door handle being turned repeatedly.

    “No, no, NO,” she screamed at the door and the creature beyond it, “STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM US!” Her heart started beating frantically and tears started to roll down her cheeks as her mind showed her visions of Simon being cleaved in half, her being picked up by the monster, staring into its eyes, it eating her-

    “Hey baby.” said a raspy voice. She snapped back to reality and barely stifled a scream. It took her several moments to realize that it was Simon who interrupted her gruesome visions.

    “Don’t talk,” she said hurriedly, “save your energy. I’ll take care of you, so don’t worry. Just go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Of course, it was all a lie. She knew that if he did go to sleep, he wouldn’t wake up. But what kind of person wouldn’t offer comfort to a dying man, especially to their husband? She shook her head. He can’t die, she thought, I still have so much I want to experience with him. We promised to explore the world together, there’s no way we can die now! However, all of her positive thoughts were drowned out by the rattling door handle.

    Simon’s eyes, open but unfocused, met hers. “I just want to say…” he coughed, spraying blood all over her shirt, “If I die now, I want my last sight to be your smiling face. Can you smile for me?” She smiled even though her heart was being torn apart again and again and again. She looked deep into his eyes, his beautiful chestnut eyes, and there she found the courage to truly smile for him, one last time.

    Her courage evaporated as the door seemed to explode. Wood chips and little pieces of glass showered the floor, making little clinking sounds. She looked away from Simon and stared at the door. It didn’t explode, but an arm was sticking out from it. Suddenly, the door screamed as it was ripped off of its hinges and flung back into the hallway. Her ears rang as the door shattered the window in the hallway.

    The moonlight from outside illuminated the creature that threw the door across the room. Charlotte’s eyes widened as she realized what her attacker was. A small child strode past the broken desk into the room, looking around with eyes that seemed to see right through the veil of darkness. Its gaze slowly swept the room until it and Charlotte locked eyes. She tried to look away from it, but she found that no matter how much she struggled, it was useless to try to look away from its piercing pale blue eyes. She let out a small whimper and the child smiled. What she saw horrified her; the child’s teeth were filed to sharp points. Even worse, she could hear its jaw crack as it unhinged, making the child look as if it were screaming silently. It started to walk toward her.

    “No, don’t come any closer,” she sobbed, finally breaking eye contact with the demonic child. When she looked up, she found herself face-to-face with it. It crouched, looked at Simon, and then slowly reached out until its hand rested on his face.

    “NO!” Charlotte screamed and slapped its hand away. It looked back up at her and her will to resist shriveled up and blew away. She started to sweat and looked down, cursing her cowardice.

    It stood up and grabbed Simon by the feet. Before she realized it, Simon was already being dragged out of the doorway. She tried to get up and chase after him, but her legs gave out as she tried to stand. Fear paralyzed her more effectively than any poison. She could only sit, looking horrified and despair as the only man she trusted with herself was being taken away.

    “Please, don’t leave me,” she whispered, “I love you, Simon…”

    Right before his head disappeared behind the wall, he smiled at her. His eyes regained focus for a brief moment and looked into her eyes. She looked back into his eyes, and in his eyes, she could see a million things that couldn’t be put into words.

    Hey baby, his eyes seemed to say. No matter what happens, keep smiling-

    All too abruptly, his eyes widened with terror and he croaked, “I want to live”. And with that, Simon disappeared from her life into the dark embrace of the night.