Simon tightly clutched Isabelle's hand in his own, never wanting to let go. Her breath wheezed in and out of her lungs and a wet, gargling noise was coming from her throat. Maureen had punctured her lungs- she was drowning in her own blood. The thought of this made Simon cry out and clasp Isabelle's thin hand even harder. She already felt cold to even Simons touch.
"Isabelle, I never-"Simon began, but was strangled by his own words. Isabelle simply smiled up at him, her eyes still burning with the fire she had that he loved so much.
"I'll love you forever, no matter what," Simon finally managed to spit out through his tears. The blood seeping out of Isabelle's chest made his stomach lurch with both heartbreak and his own sickening hunger for it. Isabelle sharply sucked in a breath of air and moved her lips to speak.
"Love is about caring about the other person's happiness, Simon," Isabelle said between gasps of pain "You have to be happy without me for my own sake, even if I'm not here,"
"I can't, Isabelle!" Simon blurted out, furiously wiping away the tears glazing his vision "Not knowing that you'll be alone..."
"I'll never be alone, I'll always be with you," Isabelle said calmly, tears now trickling down her cheeks. Her breathing was becoming faster and shallower. She was dying.
"I love you, Simon" she whispered, her words painfully drawn out. Simon felt her grip on his hand lessen and he watched grief-stricken as the fire that always flared in her eyes smothered out.
"I love you too," he said quietly, his voice trembling. With a tranquillity that he did not actually feel, Simon drifted his fingertips over Isabelle's face so they were hovering just above her eyelids. He gently closed them and then that was it. Isabelle was gone. Simon felt his body give into fatigue and he slumped to the ground, resting beside her. When his eyes drifted shut, his hand still gripping Isabelle's, he wished he would never wake up again.
Luminous blues and greens engulfed me as soon as I stepped into the club. I involuntarily inhaled sharply. The room was huge, with several glass staircases leading to higher platforms, and nets of blue lights hung around randomly. Practically every inch of space was crowded with clumps of bodies writhing to the hypnotic rhythm of the music blasting around the club. With pretence confidence, I stepped further into the club. Immediately, it was like a tide washing over me. Before I knew it, I was sucked under the waves of dancing dummies. I felt a hot rush of panic—my heart rate suddenly accelerating. This was not my sort of environment. Too many people; too many shadows cast over the room. Somehow I managed to break away from the throng, and find a space next to some of the stairs. I tried sucking in more air to calm myself down, but it was too hot and clammy. I decided to go up the stairs. The platforms above seemed to have fewer people on them. I adjusted my dress with shaking hands, relieved to have some space to myself. My dress was sea-green, sleeveless, made of a silken material with dip-hem to it. The colour brought out my eyes, though the design of it didn't match my flat chest and slim physique. My golden-brown hair was down, its curls tickling my arms. No matter how dressed up I was, I still didn't belong in this place. In truth, I wasn't sure why I'd come. I was meant to be meeting up with friends to go to a Halloween party. But as I'd walked past the club, Pandemonium, something lured me inside. I felt a flutter in my stomach and turned my attention to looking for the exit from the platform. I couldn't see it. The room was too dark, and there were too many people clustered around. I felt woozy, unstable on my own feet. I grabbed the railing for support. The music was pumping, the room vibrating, the people throbbing with energy. And then it all stopped. Suddenly, the music cut off, and everyone stopped moving. It was like someone had flicked their fingers, and cut off all life in the room. People just stood utterly still, their faces slack and vacant. Something was going on here that was intensely wrong: the whole atmosphere just pulsated with a strange darkness. Then a flurry of movement broke out, a group of people began pushing through the crowd out into a space—about a twenty five metre square—which had miraculously formed. I bit down hard on my lip and sank slowly down to the ground, concealed by one of the large metal pillars around the club. I tried to make my breathing quieter, peering around. There were about five people in the space, four in a line together and one person standing away from the rest of them. I concentrated, trying to hear what they were saying.
"...Don't be foolish Daylighter, tell us where it is," came a sharp sounding voice- from the pitch I could tell it was a young man and his accent had a Spanish lilt to it.
"My name is Simon, not Daylighter" said another voice, this one sounding younger- 16 perhaps, so roughly my age "I'm not stupid Raphael- I know you're working with Sebastian," There was a long, stifling silence. Perhaps these men thought it was funny to make things as melodramatic as possible.
"Very well... I had hoped it wasn't quite so obvious," the man- Raphael- finally responded, lazily drawling out the words as he spoke them. I craned my neck further around the pillar trying to get a look at him. From what I could see, he was startling pale with short black hair- handsome, with a captivating aura about him. I couldn't quite see the other boy, Simon. Suddenly Raphael snapped his fingers and then all the clubbers began to move towards the exit, all moving eerily silently. Raphael and the others with him stayed in the same place. Taking the hint, I began to move with the people around me, trying to keep my face blank and emotionless.
"I feel there's no point in keeping them in here, do you Daylighter?" Raphael continued, amusement colouring his tone "Seeing as this is apparently 'non-negotiable' from what you've said," I had now reached the bottom of the stairs, only a matter of metres away from the exit. Every nerve in my body was screaming at me furiously to sprint to the exit, but I forced myself to keep the same trundling pace. Whoever Raphael and the people with him were, they were dangerous. Very dangerous. My heart ached for the boy Simon, or 'Daylighter' as they kept referring him to, and I very badly wanted to go to him. But I didn't even know which one he is- I hadn't dared look to see who he was in case I was caught out. Now I was passing by Raphael- I could feel his icy stare on me. A muscle in my jaw twitched. I was almost at the exit now-practically everyone had filtered out of the room. And then the heel of my shoe caught on the back of my dress, tripping me up. I hissed out a curse and froze. I was the only person left in the club now, other than Raphael, his thugs and Simon. Without even looking back, I began to sprint towards the exit. The distance was closing between me and my escape...