The world stopped. For an eternity. For less than a second.
Everything stopped.
Then she screamed.
Her voice echoed through the world. I could feel it vibrating my bones. I pressed my hands over my ears but I couldn't block it out. The sound went right through me. It went through all of us.
"Marcy!" I shouted into the darkness. I could barely hear my own voice over the sound of her pain. "Marcy! Stop!"
I stumbled through the dark-- No. No it wasn’t darkness. It was nothing.
I could see myself. My hands in front of me. My feet and legs below me. I could see my hair when it swung in front of my face. It wasn’t dark, it was nothing. The world was gone.
Consumed by Marcy’s scream.
I squeezed my eyes shut and continued forward. I focused on her. Through my own pain I moved toward the sound. I repeated her name. "Marcy. Marcy. Marcy..." until the screaming was so loud I couldn't think anymore. My eyes cracked open and I saw her.
Marcy was on her knees. She looked tortured. Frail. Except for the powerful sound that flooded out of her and permeated everything. Permeated everything
and made it nothing.
"Marcy!" I said, feeling my vocal chords make a sound but unable to hear it.
I clawed my way to her.
I put my hands on her.
I pulled her tight against my chest.
"Marcy! Stop! Please you have to stop!"
Marcy swayed and heaved under me. She lifted my feet off the ground as she writhed in agony. I wrapped my arms around her. I tried to surround her like she was a grenade. Like I could contain her explosion, or stuff it back inside somehow.
Like I could stop her from destroying the world.
I don't know how much time passed like that. Eventually her screaming faded to sobbing, and her sobbing faded to frantic babbling.
"I loved her! I loved her! I loved-- How could she? How could she how could she how could she!!!"
I hugged her close and ran my fingers over her hair. "I know," I murmured, "I know. I know. I'm so sorry, Marcy. I'm sorry."
My eyes were closed again as I held her. Marcy's words continued. Repeated. Became background noise. I saw, in my mind, Marcy projected on the blackness behind my eyelids.
She was babbling a different rant. She wasn't speaking to me. She was speaking to Jack. She was attacking him.
"This is your fault! You couldn't just be happy with what we had! Go! Go away! You ruined everything! Go away and don't come back! This is all your fault! Your fault! Your fault!"
Marcy repeated herself relentlessly.
Jack faded into the blackness. He was taken by long, dripping tentacles that reached from the darkness and consumed him.
Then he was gone.
I opened my eyes and Marcy was still crying and repeating herself. "Marcy," I said and she didn't acknowledge me. "Marcy, what did you do?" I held her by the shoulders and looked at her. "Marcy! What did you do!?"
She fell away from me. She curled up on the ground and the tentacles came to surround her.
Soon she was gone too.
I stared in disbelief at the place where she had been.
I felt numb.
Time stopped.
“Reggie.”
I heard my name somewhat distantly. It echoed. Repeated. Something touched me and I spun around.
“Reggie!”
David reached for me and I flinched. I could see the concern in his eyes but I flinched anyway.
"Reggie, it's me! It's ok! It's me!"
"I don't know what's happening!" I sobbed. "She just destroyed him! He just disappeared into nothing I don't know what's going on! David! What's going on!?"
"I don't know," he murmured in my ear. "Try to breathe."
"Wh-where's Marco?! I-I-I need him to- I don't know! I-"
"Marco is outside-"
"Bring him back! We need him here!"
I flailed in David’s arms and he grabbed me by the wrists.
"You know I can't do that. I don't have the energy to—”
"THEN SEND DAREN I DON'T CARE!! JUST GET ME MARCO!!"