A hand grabbed mine and ripped me from the water. I felt the reeds snap. The warm summer air kissed my skin. I sucked in a desperate breath only to choke and cough up water. Clawing my way out of the water, someone picked me up and held me as I kept coughing up water. I wrapped my arms around their shoulders as they carried me out of the lake. The reeds continued to snap and break as they tried to weave their way around my saviour’s legs. Then I realised someone was screaming.

“Forgive my trespasses Anaticula, but I couldn’t let you drown.” His voice was familiar but his words were foreign. My saviour placed me on the edge of the limestone wall.

“Claude…” I whispered as I stared up at his face.

He offered me a weak smile and then turned to the fairy as she stormed towards us.

The fairy’s eyes flare yellow as she seethed,“how dare y-“

Claude snapped her neck.

One moment he was here, the next he was right behind her. Her body instantly dropped with a splash into the shallow water. For a moment, I stared at her body floating on the lakes surface. I realised Claude was no longer beside the fairy’s body, he was beside me. I scrambled to my feet and backed away from him.

“Are you okay, Anaticula?” Claude looked down at me. Perhaps it was the dim lighting, but he genuinely looked concerned.

“How did you-?” I stuttered as met eyes flickered between the fairy’s corpse and Claude.

“She’s dead,” Claude answered and then frowned at me arm. His fingers hovered over the bite mark for a brief moment before I jump away from him. “She bit you.”

“Yea, it’s fine.” I snapped at him and edged further away. There was something wrong, I didn’t know what it was, but there was something different about him this time.

“A fairy bite will kill you, you’ll be dead by sunrise. You need to-“

“I don’t need to do anything, except get the hell away from you!”

“I’m trying to help, Anaticula,” Claude said softly and held out a hand.

“Stop calling me that!” I snapped in frustration. “What on earth are you?”

Claude tilted his head like he was confused. “What do you think I am?”

I scoffed at his response and shook my head. “Whatever you are, stay the hell away from me.”

“Ana-“ Claude hesitated, “Terra, let me help you.”

“No, I don’t want anything to do with you, or whatever this is,” I pointed to the fairy’s corpse.

“You can’t outrun them, they will keep coming for you, no matter where you go.”

“Who are you?” I asked alarm bells started ringing in my head.

“You can think of me…as a guardian of sorts, I suppose.”

I stared at the fake-Claude with a feeling of unease. The fairy’s corpse was bobbing up an down in the water behind me. I was wet and I was beginning to feel cold. My arm was throbbing and it felt like my skin was on fire. I didn’t know if anything this fake-Claude was saying was true, and I didn’t want to hang around to find out.

“You should hide that,” I said quietly and nodded towards the fairy.

“Of course, I’ll be right back.” The fake-Claude and the corpse disappeared in less than a second.

I turned and ran through the winding paths of the lakes, out into the streets until I couldn’t run anymore. The bite on my arm was stinging like hell. When I felt confident enough that I wasn’t being followed, I stopped under a street light so I could see the damage. My skin had begun to turn yellow and crusty around the teeth marks. It looked like an infection. When I touched the yellowed area, flakes of skin broke off. Gagging, I swallowed my vomit and stared at it, cringing at how disgusting it looked. There was pain pulsing through my chest. I had almost drowned, the pain was probably from breathing in water.

What the hell is this? What the hell is going on?

I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain intensified. I was scared, I was confused and I had a ticking death clock over my head because I got bitten by a fairy. The fake-Claude had said there was a cure, but I didn’t know anything about fairy bites let alone how to cure one.

Why can’t I remember anything?

I tried to blink back the tears, but they fell anyway. Leaning against the lamp post, I silently slid to the floor. My chest felt tight, my stomach was in knots and I didn’t know what to do. I cried. I wrapped my arms around myself I quietly cried on the pavement.

Maybe it was just a trick the entire time. What if Claude was trying to gain my trust, that’s why he helped me. That’s why he killed the fairy and saved my life. I couldn’t help but think that maybe Claude was also trying to capture me. But the person that saved me, that wasn’t Claude. Or was it?

Sniffling, I stared at the red holes and the surrounding yellowed flesh on my arm. The yellow was definitely spreading, and the bit marks were beginning to weep. I needed help.

“What the hell am I supposed to do about this?” I whimpered and stared hopelessly up at the sky. “I need help,” I cried desperately.

The sound of nails prancing along pavement caught my attention. With a sniff I rolled my head to the side to see a tiny black dog trotting towards me.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I groaned as it trotted to me.

“A black dog appears just before you die.” I muttered absently as the dog sniffed me. The dog stood on her hind legs, placing on little paw on my leg for stability while it sniffed the bite mark.

“Yep, my stupid ass got bitten by a fairy. Are you here to take me to the light, or whatever?” I scoffed sarcastically as I wiped the tears away from my eyes, relieved for any kind of company.

The little dog backed away and then promptly turned, trotting back in the direction it came. I rolled my eyes and laughed at myself.

What was I expecting to happen?

A sharp bark echoed through the empty street, snapping my attention back to the little black dog.

“Can I help you?” I rudely retorted.

The dog’s sharp bark pierced the night air a second time, hurting my ears.

“What do you want?” I snapped and the dog barked again. With a heavy sigh I dragged myself to my feet, using the streetlight for support. I walk towards the dog, only for it to briskly turn and trot further down the road.

Am I seriously going to follow this dog?

Out of pure curiosity, I followed the dog down the road. Whenever I would stop, the dog would give a high pitched bark and wait for me to follow. After what felt like an hour of walking through the streets I began to feel light headed. My chest was feeling tight, the air was becoming harder to breath. It was like I just couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. The pain in my arm was becoming unbearable. The yellow infection had spread all the way around my arm. I honestly felt like I was dying.

He was right, I’m going to be dead by sunrise.

“Where are we going?” I gasped as I followed the dog around another corner.

I stopped under the only street light and peered into the darkness. It was another road, but a black dog on a black road with no lights, it was impossible to see her.

“Hello?” I called into the darkness.

A high pitched bark echoed through the darkness.

“I can’t see you, but I sure as hell can hear you at least,” I muttered in annoyance as I dragged my feet down the dark street.

The further I walk into the darkness and away from the light, the more my eyes adjust. Eventually I was able to make out the dogs figure and track her movement. Without the cover of the trees, the stars were bright enough for me to make out shapes in the darkness. I don’t remember how long I walked down that road for, or how long I’d spent walking that night. I only remember feeling relieved when the dog finally walked through the gates of an estate. Finally, it had reached it’s destination.

I staggered through the gates, pausing to lean against it as I peered at the estate. My stomach dropped as I recognised the front yard.

Elijah.

Pain lanced up my arm, the yellow infection has reached my elbow. I couldn’t bend my arm without intense pain and I had started to lose feeling in my hands and fingers. The dog sat on the front veranda staring at me, daring me with her dark little eyes to follow..

I’d rather die than have to ask for his help. He just thinks I’m a helpless kid.

Pain shot up my arm over my shoulder and down my spine like lightning. I manage to withhold a scream as I wait for the pain to momentarily pass. I breathed in shallow breaths as sweat dripped down the side of my face. It was getting worse. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I just wanted it to stop.

I staggered down the driveway towards the front door. The tiny dog watched me struggle the entire way, stumbling up the steps.

The dog gave two sharp barks and then I heard voices from inside the house.

“Is that Nightmare?”

“Who let Mary out of the house again?” Elijah called as footsteps thudded towards the door.

“I thought she was inside.” A girl called in response.

The front door opened and a little black dog scampered out from under Elijah’s legs. The little black dog I had followed instantly sprints off the front porch and into the night as Elijah’s dog barked and chased after it. I leaned against a pillar and watched in confusion as the two little black dogs ran down the drive way. Elijah’s dog stopped at the edge of the estate and continued to bark into the darkness long after the other dog had gone.

I thought the dog I followed was…

I could feel Elijah staring at me. I turned my attention back to the front door. Elijah stood in the door way, one hand resting on the door frame as he held the door open for me. He stared at me for a long moment, his eyes flicker to my arm and then back to my face, he frowned softly.

“Do you want to come inside?” Elijah asked gently and motioned for me to come in.

“Are you talking to the dog again?” Another girl called from inside.

“I, uh,” I mumble stumbling over my words. I struggled to get enough air in my lung to even say the words. “I think, I…need help.” I motioned to my arm and Elijah nodded in response.

Black spots began to cloud my vision. I tried to breath air into my lungs, but it was like I was in the lake again. I couldn’t breath. My skin was on fire. It felt like my blood had turned to stone in my veins. I heard voices and the thudding of feet as my knees hit the patio.

I think someone screamed.

I think it was me.