El was on the floor. She could feel the cheap carpet, rough against her hands. It felt a bit like sand. She listened to the rain. It was a heavy downpour. The noise of it got inside her head. It helped. It meant she didn't have to listen to silence. Silence heavy with Mike's anger and Will's pain. And her own, engulfing, fear.
Her mind was waiting. She stepped into it. It was so easy. The carpet and the rain disappeared. She was looking out to sea. There was a storm blowing and the waves looked as if they were exploding. She looked out at the grey and couldn't work out where the sky ended. Then she heard a voice. It was his voice.
She turned around. Hopper was on the floor and he was reaching out to her. He had a crazed look in his eyes.
I'm here to save you, she thought. Then she realised Hopper was trying to save her.
Behind her, a wave reared up and pounced. She didn't stand a chance and it took her away from Hopper. She fought it. Struggling to free herself from its icy embrace.
And then she was lying on a beach. This time, the sand was real underneath her fingertips. She opened her eyes and sat up. The sea was calm now. Peaceful. Like a lake. She walked to the water's edge and realised there were no waves. She stepped out onto the water and began to walk towards something.
Someone was out there. A man. He was sitting in a chair. His head was slumped forward on his chest. She could see blood dripping from wounds on his exposed chest and his leg was soaked with blood too. It was Hopper. She called out his name and ran towards him.
His eyes opened. He held out one hand towards her.
"You shouldn't have come," he said. As if it was too heavy, he dropped his arm, but his eyes stayed fixed upon El. They had lost their colour. Even his blood seemed grey.
She reached him and flung her arms around him. She felt his life as it struggled to stay inside his broken body. It was like holding on to a plastic bag full of air. She poured her own life into him. She felt it leaving through her fingertips.
"Don't die again," she said.
Something else was there. She looked up and the sky, blue before, was suddenly descending in darkness. It was pressing down on her. It roared loudly.
Another storm, she thought. But it wasn't another storm. The sky had eyes.
There was a crashing sound. Glass. Yells. Hopper and… someone else. Was he safe now? The sky was making it impossible for her to see. It surrounded her. Like a cocoon. Like a tomb.
It's too dark, she thought.
The woman was looking forward to killing this man slowly. There was nothing she liked more than to see a strong man beg and shrivel and then finally, die. And he was a strong man. Correction, he was a strong man.
"Did you hear me," the man behind her said.
She turned to him. The sooner this was over, and she could kill him too, the better. He was too thin. Too grey and no fun.
"I heard you," she said. "They think they've found the girl." She sighed. "Where?"
"They're at the boys house. The Wheeler boy."
"They're like rats those kids. They'll probably find a hole to sneak out of."
"There's something else," the man said. "I think you need to come outside for this…"
The woman turned to Hopper. "Looks like we need to be patient," she said. "I'll be back." She crossed to the door.
Hopper watched her. Even his eyes hurt.
"Who do you work for?" he asked. It exhausted him to speak. He could feel his life ebbing away. She may not have cut an artery, but he knew he was dying anyway. He could feel it inside. Everything was closing down. It was like someone shutting up shop for the day. Forever.
The woman turned around and smiled, then she walked back to him. The sound of her heels clattering against the stone floor was jarring. She draped her hand across her shoulder and then slowly walked around him as if he were an exhibit in a zoo. Hopper felt her fingers dancing across his neck, down his back, along to his other shoulder and down his arm. Then she leant down and whispered in his ear.
"Who do I work for?" she repeated. "Well that rather depends on what the prize is…" She bit his lobe making Hopper wince. "And you were quite a prize Mr Policeman." She sighed luxuriously. Then she slapped him, hard, across the face. She grinned. "Don't forget me."
She walked back to the door and stood there until the grey man opened it for her. He kept his eyes cast down and only when the woman had walked out of the room, did he look at Hopper. Whoever this man was, Hopper thought, he was leaving it a bit late.
Hopper closed his eyes and thought of Joyce. And then he thought of El too. If he could hang on, he would, for them. But he didn't think he could anymore.
"This better be good," the woman said without turning around.
They came to a small white door. The man opened it for her and they walked outside. She turned to him expectantly.
"Well?"
He handed her his walkie-talkie.
She spoke into it. "Someone needs me?"
The reception was bad inside, but now the man heard the voice clear. The person speaking kept his voice even. It would do no good to show emotion, or to pass on condolences. She would see it as a weakness.
"Ariana is dead."
The woman took a deep breath. The only outward sign of distress was the white of her knuckles as she clenched the walkie-talkie in her hand. But then she relaxed.
"How did it happen?"
"One of our vans smashed into the shop…"
The woman listened with growing contempt.
She didn't want to hear any more. She was sad her sister was dead. She had loved her. But she had a job to do.
"There's something else," the voice said.
The woman was beginning to feel fury boiling inside herself. No one could do the job as well as she. This man was spoiling her afternoon. She glanced at the grey man. He did well to keep his eyes down. She might let him live after all. After she had killed the policeman.
"Speak!" she shouted. She began to pace, agitated.
"The Wheeler house was empty. We think the kids escaped."
"Escaped?" Now she was livid. "Who let them escape? Do you know where they went? Who was in charge at the scene?" She fired questions at the man. She only wished they were bullets. She had given up smoking 8 years earlier, now she was desperate for a cigarette.
She looked at the grey man. Perhaps he smoked. She went to ask him, but something made her stop. He was staring at something. She turned to see what it was.
A van.
A white van with 'The Best Fish in Alaska', emblazoned in blue on the side. And it was heading straight for them. She had time to see the man driving. Or was he just a boy? And another boy with lots of hair and a simple smile and a girl too…
And then she hard the sound of glass and tearing metal.
Now she was really pissed.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, your reviews are really inspiring for me :-)