In Times of Sorrow
Ch. 3: Catch a Falling Star
"Claire?" The voice was distant, but she would know it anywhere. Charlie. Coming to rescue her, no doubt. She ran and ran, sure that the beast was following her. It was a massive thing, a sleek black panther, tall as a tree.
It's soft, panting breath sounded like nothing more than a heavy gust of wind...but she knew better.
On an on she ran, starting to grow tired. Starting to grow careless. A sudden, blinding pain shot through her leg and she fell to the jungle floor, her frail leg snapping with a sickening crunch. She managed to croak out one word before her world became black. "Charlie..."
"Claire? Dammit! Claire!" His footsteps sounded terribly loud in her ears, each one sending a burst of pain through her body. She glanced down to find herself caught in a bear trap. One she hardly even remembered setting. "Charlie..." It was a miracle she took talk, her leg twisted at an odd angle with blood spilling onto the grass. In the blink of an eye, a cobra coiled around her ankle, rising to full height and hissing down at her. Fear sent her scrambling backward, blinded again by the burning pain in her leg. "Claire, what are you doing?" The voice was calm. Patient. What was she doing? What was HE doing? Couldn't he see the cobra poised, ready to strike?
The crazed woman gazed into the distance, into nothing. "Charlie, kill it! Kill it!" With a long sigh, he crouched by her side and pinned her writhing body firmly to the ground with his arm, working to get her out of the trap.
"Claire, dear, there's nothing there." That patient tone again. Calm, soothing. But...the panther! She jerked her head around to search wildly for it, earning herself a rare, harsh smack from Charlie. "Claire, dammit, stay STILL! Nothing is there." The soothing tone is gone. The icy tone replaced it. The one that made her curl into herself and close her eyes. Like now. And then, after a slight pause, the familiar annoyed sigh. A soft kiss on the forehead. Suddenly, she was out of the trap. He set her leg in a makeshift cast. Helped her to her feet.
The panther occupied her thoughts for the rest of the day. Scared her. Was she going crazy? Of course not. Charlie wouldn't let that happen.
Maybe she was sick. Like the Others. Needed to be killed, for her own good. Bringing it up with Charlie earned another slap. She decided to forget about it.
The next week, she forgot about the panther.
"Claire?" She looked up from the rabbit she was skinning, a dull throb in her slowly healing leg.
"Yes, Charlie?" She scooted a bit closer to him, earning a pat on the head. She giggled softly and nuzzled her head into his hand.
"I want you to kiss me." That had become a rare privilege, kisses from Charlie. Without a second thought, she leaned forward and kissed him fiercely, dropping the rabbit. As he pulled back, that black cloud protruded from his mouth, pouring into hers. She ignored it. No doubt, it wasn't real, anyway.
He rocked her to sleep that night, singing softly to her. Her song. Aaron's song. That night, she dreamed that she could catch a falling star. She wished on every one of them. To go home. To have Aaron back. To keep Charlie, forever.
And she would. Because he loved her.
