Chapter 4: Fear
Running...
Snow crunching.
Leaves rustling.
Darkness rising.
"Who's there?"
The moon hidden behind the shadows...
...whispers carried in the wind.
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
Holly stood stock still in the doorway, frozen as she watched blackness swirl just beyond the forest edge. It twisted and grew, crawling closer with each second. The sight caused a queasy feeling in her stomach. She could remember darkness much like what was forming before her. A suffocating darkness, uninviting and cold, threatening to suck you in and never let go; the images rushed to the forefront of her mind in a single heartbeat. But she shut her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to calm down. Whatever was happening now was not the same all those centuries ago. In front of her, Piper snarled, his tail lashing about in fury as he growled a warning at the enemy hidden in the trees.
"Piper, shhh," Holly whispered as steadily as she could, patting the dog on the back as she shut the door behind her. The lock clicked as glitter pulsed from her hand to the doorknob. Piper barked menacingly once before quieting, relaxing his defensive stance only slightly as Holly stepped forward into the snow.
"Who's there?" she called again. Her fingertips tingled as she conjured glitter, forgetting her exhaustion in her apprehension. As gentle as she could be, she would not hesitate to defend herself. This was her Hollow; no one came in unless she allowed them to. Anyone who could destroy the barriers that kept people out without her knowledge would have to be incredibly powerful, and incredibly dangerous.
Whispers echoed around the forest again as the shadows became more active, bubbling and curdling like lave against the snow. A dense, dark fog formed above the treetops and blocked out the Moon. Immediately, the sense of danger ringing in Holly's head intensified, screaming for her to run. Her eyes flit from shadow to shadow in a panic, trying to pinpoint the source of the darkness. She stayed completely still, glitter shimmering against her skin as it swirled around her hands.
A shadowy tendril swept out. As it rushed towards her, Holly saw the sharp, black barbs on the tendril. They glinted in what little moonlight was left, dripping darkness onto the snow with every movement. She sidestepped and it missed her just barely, slamming into the door as she danced out of the way. It retracted to the tree line, the shadows creeping out from the bushes a bit more.
Again, a tendril came for her, this time followed closely by another.
Her feet moved before she could think, twirling her away from one as her hands shot out to blast the other with a powerful stream of glitter. They recoiled and drew back, but in her haste to get away Holly lost her footing on a patch of ice.
As her feet flew up from under her, she could hear Piper snap at something. Nearby, he was ripping and slashing through several tendrils trying to worm their way past him relentlessly. Holly hit the icy ground with a hard thump and a pained gasp flew past her lips. Her body fought against her exhaustion, trying to force a recovery as she scrambled to stand.
Too late.
From a nearby tree, a stronger tendril shot forward and wrapped around her ankle. Pain lanced up her leg as the barbs dug into her skin, and she cried out in agony. It dragged her up into the air as she screamed and struggled, still reeling from her fall. Piper heard her cries and spun around to help her, but the shadows he fought quickly wrapped around him, pinning the dog to the snow-covered forest floor. His fur bristling with fury, Piper struggled with all his might, but the darkness would not release him.
Eventually the Hollow quieted as Holly dangled from her ankle, her head throbbing as the forest seemed to spin before her. The pain brought tears to her eyes as she bit her lip. With every subtle shift of the vine it felt as if her leg was lit on fire again and again, an agony washing over her that only intensified with every moment. She could feel something warm flowing up her leg as she dangled upside down and forced herself not to look.
A voice rose like an echo from somewhere beyond where she could see, chuckling darkly.
"Fear and pain are such delightful expressions on you, my dear..."
It was deep, with a distinct accent that seemed so familiar and yet foreign. But in her daze she couldn't place it.
"You must be so exhausted from all the work I put you through today... but I'm sure you'll forgive my transgressions, as you have such great compassion...
Kindness trapped by fear... such a wonderful situation, and so familiar, yes? The perfect combination for tragedy and pain; let's see if I can bring back that perfect face."
A pulse from the tendril holding her ankle hit Holly like a bucket of ice water. Her mind was pulled to a distant place; so far away she barely ever remembered it. A place she didn't want to remember. Not now, not ever.
Snow. Lots of snow. And a darkness that hid even the moon.
"Mama... where are we going?"
"Stop," Holly whispered, struggling again as her mind was drawn back into dark waters with another pulse.
A pained smile. A soft hand. The smell of ginger and honey.
"Far away, somewhere safer for the both of us."
She could feel her breathing become heavy as she became more distressed, frantically kicking her legs despite the intense pain to get away from the shadow holding her. "Stop it."
Confusion. Creaky boats and raging seas. Thunderous rain. Large crowds. Terrified people.
"Is Papa coming?"
There was barely anytime to focus before the next pulse slammed into her.
Tears. Lips turned down in a frown.
"No, a leanbh, Papa is staying here. He is keeping us safe."
"Get out of my head!" Holly cried, gasping for air just as she was dunked into her mind again.
A handmade doll dangling from a tiny hand. A cottage along the coast. A woman standing in the kitchen, smiling.
"Will Papa come to see us?"
"Let me go!" She was screaming, tears rushing down her face at memories she refused to remember. Too vivid, too painful. Too much.
Gunshots shattering the window. Doors flying off the hinges. Screaming. Blood on the floor.
"Papa has to stay here."
The illusion ended suddenly as Holly dropped to the ground, slamming onto the hard forest floor again as Piper tore and snapped at the tendril. He nudged her with his nose as it retreated, forcing her to stand on her feet. Between the tears and the throbbing in her head and leg she could barely see anything, but Piper pushed her forward into a run. As they flew past the trees, she could hear the leaves rustling as the shadows gave chase, slithering after them faster than they could run. The voice echoed in the trees once more, agitated.
"You think you can escape fear? Chase pain away from children and keep them 'safe'? You can't even escape your own tragedy, Holly. How could you ever dream of helping them escape theirs?"
She stumbled once as her chest exploded with emotion. Pain, fear, despair, agony. Voices of crying children filled her ears as she sprinted towards the forest edge. Turning slightly, she let out the last powerful blast of glitter she could afford behind her before covering her ears with her hands, trying to somehow block out the noise.
Suddenly, Piper shot off in another direction, barking frantically as he disappeared into the darkness. Holly slid to a stop, her knees shaking from the effort as she frantically called out for her companion. "Piper! Piper, come back!" she called, her voice hoarse. There was no reply, no answering bark.
She stood there waiting for a few seconds longer before she heard the shadows approaching again, having recovered from her silver assault. Her feet took off, carrying her to the edge where she knew the barrier was. But the moment the invisible shield met her fingertips, she knew something was wrong.
Her body slammed into the barrier like it was a wall, trapping her inside her invaded home. He'd done something to it, manipulated it against her for this moment. The realization had her beating against the invisible wall in useless defiance with her hands, praying for some kind of miracle because he had known. He knew her story. He knew how she would react. He knew she would somehow slip through his fingers. He knew she would come here to the edge of The Hollow hoping to slip through the barrier. Whoever it was had planned the entire day, every moment, leading up to this. He had her exactly where he wanted her. Trapped, alone, physically and emotionally exhausted; this was the perfect opportunity.
She slid down against the barrier, tears running down her face as her mind buzzed. Why? Why her? Why now? Why like this? What did he want? What was his goal? What did her assailant hope to accomplish by terrorizing her tonight? Where did Piper go? Did Baby Tooth make it out safely? Would the children be alright if she didn't make it out of this alive? Would Sandy be alright? Would Cupid?
A flurry of frost and ice rained down from above, crashing in front of Holly and cutting off the shadows as they made a beeline for her. She watched wide-eyed as the snow around her swirled up, creating a shield around her as the tendrils recovered and sped towards her, slashing the cold wall viciously.
Through the haze of the barrier and her tears, Holly could just barely see a figure land in front of her. The newcomer called into the darkness, trudging forward with a hand in his shirt pocket and a staff in his hand, his tone casual yet threatening.
"Normally when an evil plan is thwarted, the villain goes back to his dinky little hole and stays there for all eternity. But I guess you just didn't get the memo. "
Somewhere nearby, the deep voice chuckled lowly. "And so the hindrance returns; must you always butt in when you're unwanted? We were just enjoying a fun little game," it said, ending with what sounded like an irritated growl.
"You're talking to the embodiment of fun, and to be honest, that looked about as far from fun as possible. So if you don't mind, take a hike," said the newcomer, a darker edge slipping into his voice at the end.
A crackling noise rang through the air for a moment, followed by a snarl and the rustling of leaves.
"I'll be back, my dear Holly. And I won't forget this, Frost. I suggest you be on your guard..."
"Yeah, yeah; whatever you say, Pitch."
After another moment, the swirling snow barrier fell harmlessly to the ground as a fresh layer of powder. Holly blinked a few times as her eyes readjusted to the newly-restored moonlight, the fog having cleared with the departure of the deep voiced man.
"Hey, are you okay?"
It was a voice completely different from the other: warmer, younger, and much more comforting. With that one question Holly felt her body flood with relief. The snow crunched softly as the figure walked to where she sat and crouched down. Holly rubbed at her eyes, overflowing with more tears as she looked up.
What she saw surprised her.
The boy in front of her looked to be no more than eighteen, barely a year older than her, with snowy white hair and brilliant blue eyes. He looked as stunned to see her as she was to see him, even as he had so readily come to her defense. She didn't blame him; she probably looked like a mess.
But then he smiled at her, and suddenly it didn't seem like her appearance bothered him at all, if that was what it was in the first place.. "Hi, I'm Jack," he said, his lopsided grin twitching up a bit more at the curious look on her face.
"Hi," she said back. Or at least she tried. It came out like a hoarse whisper, and Holly winced at how raw her throat felt now that she was actually paying attention. Her hand rose to rub her neck as she let out a small cough, trying to regain at least a little of her voice.
Jack frowned at this. "Hey, hey, hey," he said gently, reaching out to stop her, "Don't worry about it. You don't have to talk after all that." His eyes widened at the grateful smile she gave him before looking down quickly, running a hand through his hair and scratching his head.
Holly smiled a little in amusement. For someone who had seemed so tough and confident not two minutes ago, he sure was easily embarrassed. After a moment though, Jack recovered himself and stood up. He was dressed simply despite the cold: a simple blue sweatshirt and brown paints that ended just above his ankles. This struck Holly as odd and he noticed, quirking a brow at her as he balanced his staff across his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
She rubbed her arms and then pointed at him. Jack understood immediately and chuckled. "Nah, I've never been bothered by the cold. However, I can imagine you're probably freezing in this weather," he said, motioning at her outfit. Holly looked down at herself and frowned. Her white dress was soaked from the snow around the edges of the skirt and her long sleeves, and her flats were scuffed with mud and blood. The only thing that was still somewhat fine was her holly crown, which had miraculously not fallen off as she'd dangled upside down. When she looked back up at the Jack he quirked a brow at her. "Well, cold right?" he asked, leaning on his staff now.
Holly shook her head. This surprised the Jack, and he stared at her for a few moments. He seemed to mulling over something, thoughts flitting across his face and disappearing before she could puzzle out whatever occupied his mind. However he dismissed his thoughts quickly as he straightened and held out a hand for her.
"Come on, let's get you home. It's Holly, right? I think I saw your cottage on my way here," Jack said, grinning lopsidedly once more. She hesitated for a moment and he rolled his eyes, moving his hand a bit closer to her and giving her a look. "Trust me."
A small smile grew on Holly's face as she nodded, taking his hand after another pause. But as soon as he tried to pull her up, she cried out in pain and fell to the ground again. Her ankle pulsed with pain again and again; causing so much agony that Holly had to cover her mouth to keep from sobbing as tears fell onto the snow.
Immediately, Jack rushed to her side and edged her ankle out from under her so he could look at it, apologies tumbling from his lips as he took in the damage. It was a mess. The barbs had left angry wounds all around her small ankle, and the running she had done had not helped in the least. Dry blood and fresh blood trailed all across her skin.
A deep frown came to Jack's face as he set her ankle down gently. His hand clenched around his staff as he picked it up from where he'd laid it in the snow to check her leg, knuckles turning white. Pitch had taken it too far. Jack was suddenly very glad he showed up when he did, but guilt hung over his head at the thought that if he had been faster, if he had arrived a few minutes earlier, he could have saved her from much more harm.
Holly put a hand on his arm, and he felt the guilt drain out of him suddenly. The feeling shocked him, and he stared at her as she shook her head. It was like she'd read his mind.
"How did you do that?" he asked, incredulous.
She smiled a bit weakly and opened her hand, palm upward. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and conjured a bit of her glitter. It floated in a ball above her palm for a second before dissolving.
"Glitter...huh..." he muttered. Holly nodded, breathing heavier. The world was coming in and out of focus, pain numbing as shadows grew on the edge of her vision. Jack's eyes widened in alarm when he noticed her swaying slightly, exhaustion and blood loss finally taking over. She could feel him catch her as she tipped to the side, and then everything went dark.
Preview of what is to come:
"I shouldn't have left, and you should have told me what was going on."
"I didn't want t-"
"Don't you start with that!"
"Cupid!"
"You could have died, Holly!"
Hi guys!
Look! I updated in a week! A week! That's fabulous! But... I'm still sick hahaha. I actually got worse over the week after recovering slightly between Sunday and Monday, and now I have no voice. But no worries, I am attempting to get better... And I wrote a chapter! Things have actually been slowing down a bit at school, so I haven't been as caught up with piles and piles of homework. It's very exciting.
This update though...I have had so much fun writing this. It's a bit dark and really raw, but Pitch and the other villains I shall be introducing are quite dark and raw as well. I feel like I can't have inhibitions over what they will and will not do. I hope you all enjoyed the arrival of Jack into the story. I was thinking of stretching it out a bit longer before I brought him in (since many were very eager to see him hahaha), but as I wrote this chapter I realized that he really needed to enter the scene here. I actually put a lot of plot in this chapter now that I look at it again; we've got a glimpse into Holly's backstory, which is a very important part of the plot, and the first real encounter with a major villain. I'm quite proud of the end product.
I'm still stuck over which way I'm going to take this story, as mentioned in the author's note last chapter, but nevertheless the chapters will continue to flow. Hopefully I reach a decision before the point where it really, really matters. I have high hopes though, so we'll see.
Anyway, keep reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all your kind words and views, more than you know. See you soon!
Love,
ThinkEasy
