The beetles light up brighter than before. Lights dance around him. The creature hisses, pressing its damp body onto mine. I’m his prey, and he is not letting me go. Jaxson, unaffected by its presence, comes closer with fluid-like motion, his eyes remaining locked on mine. “Ace, everything is going to be okay,” he says. But he is wrong. How can anything be okay? “Stay,” I whimper, not wanting to be alone when I die, wanting to hold onto the illusion of him. Gravel crunches under his boots as he moves closer. He crouches down and reaches out, gently brushing my hair back from my face. He feels so real. He speaks to the creature in a language I have never heard before. It’s like a song, soft and sweet, yet firm and demanding. The Creature grows agitated, digging its claws deeper into my arm, and I let out a scream. It hisses against Jaxson’s words, but he continues to talk to the creature anyway, his eyes remaining locked on mine as he does. I wish he would stop. Having enough of what Jaxson is saying, the cat-lizard leaps off me in one swift movement and begins to drag me backwards.
