Jody whimpered and clutched at Mark's arm for the seventh time that night. Mark squeezed the other boy's hand. "I already said, didn't I?" he murmured kindly. "Whatever that phone-voice said, you're perfectly safe while I'm here."
"I don't want to die," Jody whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek.
Mark glanced over at the clock. Two hours. He wrapped his arms around Jody's waist, pulling his closer. "Go to sleep," he whispered. Jody buried his head in Mark's shoulder, relaxing into the familiar position.
Half an hour. Mark rubbed a hand through his boyfriend's hair absentmindedly. He wouldn't sleep. No matter what he had said to Jody, he was worried about the curse. He had heard things - vague, terrible things in the mutterings of his Mad Aunt Rachel, all ending in the fateful words - The Ring. What it referred to, he could only guess.
Ten minutes. Mark's heart began to beat, faster, faster. Five minutes. He took a deep breath, inhaling the salty scent of the blankets, trying to quell the rising panic. His arms tightened around Jody's waist. Two minutes. It was almost over, just one more minute. His sleepless eyes scanned the room, flicking from side to side frantically. Thirty seconds, twenty, ten, nine, seven, four, one...
There was the 'phut' sound that normally accompanies power cuts. The computer monitor flickered into static. Mark's arms tightened around Jody's warm, sleeping body in panic. "You can't have him!" he shouted. "You can't, you can't, you -
His eyes rolled back into his head.