Chapter 16: Fear

Gemma grunted, head-butting Pitch and making him stumble back, rubbing his head. "Goodbye!" Gemma said sing-songy. "Ugh. Oh, you-" Fog appeared, not only blinding him but also making him cut him off his sentence with surprise. He scowled and called to his Nightmares: "Find her! Do your jobs!" He turned, reaching his hand out for his horse. After finding it, the Boogeyman climbed on its back. They shot into the air, and after zooming through thunderheads finally got up above the fog and the rainclouds, which were still dumping.

In the clear night sky, he turned and saw Gemma flying away at full speed. He clicked to the horse and they ran after her at full gallop. Gemma saw them coming and moved faster, the cloud zooming across the night sky. She knew where she was going, but at the moment all she cared about was getting well away from Pitch. But he wasn't going to make that easy.

Pitch threw some sand, trying to grab her. She glanced back in time and formed a gust of wind to break it apart. She swerved left, rising into the air, making a thunderstorm. Lightning cracked around Pitch, making him jump and the horse rear up. The bolts surrounded the horse and owner, stopping them in their tracks. Gemma took the chance and flew away again, hoping the storm would stop them long enough to get away.

Gemma calmed down as she made some distance between her and Pitch, and even more when she saw her hideaway. Her favorite spot in the forest was a hidden lake at the far side, opposite of the town. Nobody knew about it, and she loved to go there and relax. Her absolute favorite spot, though, was the island at the center. The reason for that was because the large oak near the edge was a perfect place to sit, sending out storms to other countries, and to talk to the Moon.

On the island was its own little forest, with trees that were so close it seemed like the land was choking. Nobody could get through it, she had tried. The trees were oaks, unlike the rest of the forest, which were pines. The largest oak was near the water, and had a huge branch that pointed at the shore. The tree was tall and strong, and Gemma had always felt safe there, leaning against the trunk while sitting on the branch. That was especially the case when the Moon shone above, talking to her.

But the Man in the Moon wasn't saying anything, tonight, and she wasn't safe. Gemma stopped the cloud and hovered for a moment, the thunder booming behind her. She had to find a place to hide, where Pitch and his Nightmares couldn't find her. She glanced around, shooting down idea after idea until WHAM! Something smacked into her from behind, making her fall. She screamed in terror as the water zoomed at her face, the splash of the water taking over when she hit it.

She went deep and came up coughing, sputtering, gasping for air. Above her, a Nightmare began to dive, making Gemma go under for fear of being hit. The same thing happened a second time, and a third. Finally, Gemma stayed up long enough to get a good breath, went down again, and began to swim towards shore. She was a good swimmer, and was able to reach the shallow water in one breath.

As she sat up in the shallow water, gasping, the horse attacked again. The mare got close, but at the last moment Gemma made a strong wind that formed a huge wave. The wave swallowed the mare, disintegrating it, but swept Gemma underwater and smashed her against her favorite tree. The lake water pulled away, leaving her lying at the foot of the trunk, groaning in pain.

Pitch's laughter echoed through the trees, seeming to come from everywhere. "Well done, Gemma. You destroyed another Nightmare. Too bad you destroyed yourself in the process." His shadow appeared on the grass next to her, and moved towards the shore. His body took shape in front of her, an evil grin spread across his face. "Nowhere to run."

Out of breath, Gemma gave Pitch a once-over. She tried to get up, but fell on her side, groaning. "Aw, you poor thing. Are you finished, yet?" She looked daggers at him, still catching her breath. Pitch chuckled. "Tell me, Gemma. Why are you running? I just want to know what you were going to tell the Guardians." "That's none of your business." "Oh," he paused for effect, "but I think it is." He grinned at her. "So," he stepped forward, his figure outlined by the full Moon, "what's troubling you?"

Gemma glanced past him, but Pitch didn't notice. A slight breeze picked up from the lake as she weakly grinned at the dark man. "Location, location, location." Confusion ran across the Boogeyman's face just before he let out a yell. Another large wave crashed into shore, being pushed by another ferocious wind. Gemma formed a cloud below her and floated up, grabbing the large branch above like a sloth, the water grazing her back.

The water receded, revealing Pitch as he fell on his back, groaning in pain. He crashed to the ground like a tree in a storm, straight as a board with an audible THUMP. Gemma watched, then heaved herself on top of the branch. She sighed, leaning heavily against the tree trunk, her dark green eyes reflecting the moonlight. Seeing the Moon above made her relax, and she was relieved that Pitch was unconscious.

That was a mistake. Black sand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her to the ground, making her cry out in surprise. "Oof!" Pitch held her face in his hand, forcing her to look at his pointed face. "Nice trick, Foggie, where'd you learn that?" Pitch let go as black sand began to envelop the girl's body, she herself struggling against it. "Don't fight the fear, Gemma. It only makes the sand stronger."

As shadows become longer when the sun sets, the black sand crawled up Gemma's body. It moved slowly at first, then gained speed as Gemma's body stopped resisting. It clung to her skin and clothes like frost on a car window, slowly capsuling her in a sandy coffin. Gemma grunted, trying to pull her feet off of the ground. The sand had gone between her shoes and the grass, plastering her feet to the ground. It was impossible to run, and with her body covered in sand she couldn't make a cloud to fly away. She was stuck.

Realizing there was no escape, Gemma stopped trying. But she didn't stop being afraid. The noises coming out of her mouth revealed just how terrified she was as she watched the sand run down her arms. Pitch watched, grinning as the sand climbed up her neck and up to her face. She pointed her head up to the sky, trying to keep the sand away from her face. Pitch stepped forward, looking into her beautiful green eyes. He wanted to be sure that the last thing she saw was fear.

"You do have beautiful eyes, Gemma. I'm sorry they'll never see the light of day again." Then the black sand covered her eyes, and the world went black.

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