Note: All right, hiatus is over! Now I can finally finish this fic! sorry to keep you guys waiting so long!
Noah stayed with Luke for another half an hour until he drifted off to sleep again. When he was sure Luke wasn't having another nightmare, Noah stood and left the living room. He stepped out into the hall of the floor and looked at Patricia and Tom's door. He could hear music and laughter from their flat. Noah went to their door and paused before knocking. There was a patter of footsteps, the sound of the music cutting, and the voices from inside were hushed.
Patricia opened the door with a drink in her hand and the flaps of her shirt hanging uncharacteristically over her jeans. She smiled at Noah.
"Hey, you," she said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I just . . ." Noah peered over her shoulder and saw a group of guests in the living room staring at him. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"
Patricia looked over her shoulder, then back at Noah. "No. Come in." She took Noah's wrist and pulled him inside the apartment.
Noah stood awkwardly in the hallway. The stares of the other guests unnerved him, made him feel like he was interrupting something. "I just wanted to ask if you—"
"Can you hold that thought for two seconds, babe?" Patricia said, holding up a finger. "Go mingle with the others for a minute, would you?" She went down the hall with her drink, leaving Noah at the mercy of the strangers in the next room.
Noah slowly went to the living room and the guests lowered their eyes. They were dressed as though they were coming from a funeral, though the laughter and music from before suggested otherwise.
"Sorry," Noah said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
An elderly woman with white hair and blood-red lipstick whispered something to the gray-haired man next to her. They looked at Noah and slowly sipped their drinks. Not knowing what else to say, Noah motioned to the room across the hall and said, "Excuse me, I'm just going to use the restroom." He could feel the guest's eyes burning into the back of his neck as he left.
As Noah put his hand on the knob of the door to the bathroom, he stepped back suddenly as a man exited. "Sorry, I thought this was—" Noah stopped and closed his mouth as Howl stood before him.
"Noah," Howl said.
"What are you doing here?" Noah asked.
"Yes, what are you doing here, Howl?" Patricia asked. She appeared suddenly in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest with a scowl across her face.
Howl looked at Patricia, then at Noah. "I'm very sorry," he said. "Please excuse me—"
"Wait, you're not going anywhere!" Noah cried, grabbing the man's arm.
"It's all right, Noah," Patricia said. "Tom probably let him in, the big pushover." She approached Howl slowly, staring him up and down. "Howl has a way of getting into places without people knowing about it."
Howl ripped his arm away from Noah's grasp and turned back to the door of the apartment. "I'm sorry, I must go."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Noah called, running after him. As soon as Noah got to the hallway, he heard something coming from inside his apartment. Remembering Luke, Noah abandoned his chase of Howl and went to his flat.
The minute Noah got inside his apartment, he felt a chill. All the lights were off and there was an eerie silence that dug into Noah's bones, the kind of silence he only experienced when he awoke in the middle of the night in an empty house.
"Luke?" Noah called. He went to the living room and saw Luke standing by the window. Rain splattered on the sill like black mascara, the sky outside dark and violent.
"I had a dream while you were gone," Luke said. His was to Noah, so much so that he couldn't even see his face in the reflection of the window.
"What was your dream?" Noah asked, inching closer to his husband.
Luke's head bent forward slightly. "I dreamt I was standing on the edge of the roof. The rain was everywhere and as cold as ice. My feet slipped and I fell forward."
As Noah approached Luke, he touched the man's shoulder and finally saw his face in the window. It was sad, fearful, as if he had no hope left in the world.
Luke sniffled and raised his head. "They say you can't die in your dreams, but I did. I felt myself hitting the pavement and then the sidewalk opened me up and swallowed me." He turned his head and looked at Noah with tears in his eyes. "The scariest thing in the world is being punished for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Going to hell without the sin to match it . . ."
"You're scaring me, Luke," Noah said.
"I'm scaring myself," Luke said.
Noah touched his hand to Luke's face. "Come on," he said. "Let's go lie down." He led his husband to the bedroom slowly. When they got to the door, Luke turned to Noah suddenly.
"I don't want to die," he said. "I don't want to be dragged to hell."
"You won't be," Noah reassured. "You're just confused—"
"It's warm," Luke said as Noah led him inside the room. "It's happening all ready."
"Luke, stop it—"
"I can feel it," Luke said, lying on the bed. His face was covered in sweat. In the darkness of the room, Luke's face looked as hallow and shrunken as a dead body.
"Just relax, Luke," Noah said. He took his husband's hand. Luke looked at him suddenly and jerked his hand away.
"Get away from me!" Luke cried.
"Luke—"
"I know what you are!" Luke breathed heavily, cemented to his spot on the bed as though moving away would mean some other monster would grab him on the other side. "Don't touch me!"
"Calm down!" Noah cried. He was terrified, helpless as Luke thrashed on the bed.
Luke suddenly drew in a sharp breath and arched his back .He squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain. As he fell back on the bed, he tossed his head from side to side and whispered, "If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." Luke arched his back again and let out another agonizing cry.
"Luke, what's wrong?" Noah howled. "Tell me what's going on!"
"It's happening," Luke whispered. "I can feel it, they're coming—"
"Luke!"
"Oh, God, I don't want to die!"
Noah sprinted out of the room and ran to the kitchen. He took the phone from the wall and dialed 911. "Hello, can anyone hear me?" Noah cried. The dial tone went dead and all Noah could hear was the sound of teeth chattering on the other line. Noah hung the phone up and looked around. He didn't know what to do or where to go. He felt helpless, terrified that he might have to watch Luke die in front of him.
Noah ran from the kitchen and down the hall to the door. "Help!" he cried as he burst outside of his apartment. "Somebody help!"
Tom and Patricia's room was quiet, the light under the door snuffed out like a candle. Someone had to have had a working phone, someone who could help him in time to save Luke—
Howl opened his door and looked at Noah in the hallway. Noah stared at the man, wanting his help but wary of him. He wasn't sure which was worse—having Luke alone in the apartment as he screamed in pain or having Howl look at him in the hopes that Luke might recover.
"Please," Noah begged. "Please help him."
Howl gave Noah a curt nod and followed the man back to his apartment. "What happened to him?" Howl asked.
"I don't know," Noah said as they made their way to the bedroom. "I left him alone for two seconds and when I came back—"
"Is he bleeding?" Howl asked.
The question stopped Noah in his tracks. "What?"
"Is he bleeding?" Howl repeated. "His eyes, nose, mouth—"
"No," Noah said. "Look, I know you used to be a doctor—"
"I need to see him alone," Howl said as they paused in front of the bedroom door.
"No way!" Noah cried. "You're the one who made him sick in the first place, I'm not letting you—"
"Do you want my help or not?" Howl yelled.
Noah weighed his options. The power was out. The phones didn't work. Tom and Patricia weren't home and Howl may have been the only doctor within the building, however untrustworthy he may have been. When Luke let out another blood-curdling cry, all of Noah's reservations went out the window.
"Help him," Noah said. "Just do what you have to do!"
Howl entered the bedroom and closed the door. The second he was alone in the hallway, Noah regretted his decision. How could he have let that man anywhere near Luke? Doctor or not, how could Noah have even thought that Luke could be helped by someone so insane?
"No, please!" Luke cried from the other side of the door.
With his suspicions confirmed, Noah opened the door and pushed his way inside. Luke lay on the bed, soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. Howl kneeled beside him by the bed.
"He's here!" Luke cried, tossing his head back and forth. "He's going to take me!"
Noah looked at Howl and saw him holding a gold chain with a pendant on the end. It was Luke's necklace. He grabbed Howl by the shoulders and lifted the man to his feet.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" Noah cried.
"You don't understand!" Howl yelled.
Noah didn't want to understand. All he wanted to do was feel his fist come into contact with the man's face. He pushed him out of the room and tossed a punch to Howl's face. The doctor fell backwards and held his chin.
"Get out!" Noah screamed. "Get out, you sick bastard!"
"Noah—"
"I knew you stole it!" Noah yelled. "You've been trying to hurt Luke all along!"
"It's not me, Noah!" Howl pleaded. "You have to believe me, it's—"
A flash of lightning ripped across the sky and a boom of thunder sounded. Suddenly, the naked light bulbs around the house shattered, one after the other. The glass on all the windows exploded and a strong rush of wind blew into the apartment. Noah got to the floor to avoid the shower of glass. Then, as quickly as it all happened, the wind stopped and the apartment was as quiet as a graveyard.
Noah scrambled to his feet, fearing for Luke, and went to the bedroom. "Luke!" he called. When he saw that the bed was empty, Noah felt his blood freeze.
"Oh, God, it's too late" Howl said, standing near him. "They're already taken him."
To be continued
