The Warning Colour (Part II) - Saving Ian

"The trouble is not so much dying for a friend, it is finding a friend worth dying for."
-Victoria1

Holly woke up with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. Her heart was frog-leaping at a hundred miles per hour. She breathed in inaudibly and tried to calm herself down – it had only been a nightmare.2

It was rather late, she guessed, perhaps their parents had returned. But it was too dark for her to feel safe enough to go and check. And it was too cold…and strangely unquiet. Holly could hear a soft whistling sound and feel small, whooshing gusts of frosty air. In her grogginess, this hadn't quite struck her as odd.3

She felt herself drifting back into the Land of Nod, when a scuffing noise against the wooden floor brought her back to alertness. She narrowed her eyes and lifted her head a little in the direction of the noise. What she saw first was the open window.4

Snow was swirling inside and a huge melting heap lay under the window. It was only snowing very lightly so the size of the mound seemed implausible.5

'But didn't I close that window? Didn't I lock…?' Holly thought, and then realized she had in fact forgotten to lock it. Still though, how had it opened?6

'Well, I ought to go shut –' she stopped dead in her thoughts as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she caught sight of a set of mammoth-sized, snowy footprints.7

Eyes wide, breathing shallow, heart pounding, she let her gaze travel along the footprints…8

'If this is another one of Ian's stupid tricks, I'm gonna…' and then the footprints ended abruptly and that glint caught her eye again.9

Her heart caught. Standing there, in her room, near the bottom bunk, was an enormous, muscled man with a gigantic mane of overgrown black hair and beard. That momentary glint had illuminated his form. The momentary glint of a knife.10

'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!' thought Holly frantically, 'What's he gonna do…?'11

And she knew it even before it happened.12

There was a sudden start, followed by a choking sound, a muted cry and a scramble of limbs – and then a sickening swipe of sharp, icy metal as it sliced swiftly through soft flesh.13

'Oh my God! Oh no! Oh my –! Ian –! Nooo!' Holly's mind was going hysterical with panic and terror, but she dared not even breathe.14

She remained absolutely frozen, not making a single sound, trying to remain as small as possible and stay hidden. Holly squeezed her eyes shut, praying silently that he would leave without noticing her, praying that her best friend wouldn't die, praying even as tears noiselessly seeped from her closed eyes and slid down her pale cheeks, even as she knew that what she hoped for was not going to be.15

She sensed him edge back, as hope flared in her heart. Maybe she would go unnoticed. Daring to peek, she let her eyes open to slits. She could see his back, near the window, apparently ignorant of her presence.16

'Come on, come on. Just go! Please, God, make him go!' Holly hoped desperately.17

He froze. His head cocked, like he was sniffing the air. Slowly, he pulled out the bloody switchblade from his pocket – then turned around, as if in slow motion.18

Holly's frightened eyes, shining with tears, had unconsciously widened and as he lifted his head, their gazes locked. His eyes were clearly bloodshot and a deranged look had filled them.19

Slowly, a lopsided smile spread across his face, revealing a set of perfectly white and entirely crooked teeth. Holly took a terrified intake of breath – he'd seen her.20

Holly's shaking hands leaped up to protect her throat.21

He let out a bark of derisive laughter, "Well, well, what do we have here? A little red-headed girl. Look at those pretty locks. And that pretty neck. Why are you hiding it? Show me your pretty neck."22

Holly shook her head frantically, clutching her throat.23

"You don't have any choice…" he dragged the words out in a low, sing-song voice.24

Leisurely, he edged closer, still smiling viciously. Holly backed away, wishing she could sink into the wall, which her back was pressed up against.25

"Oh, come on," he murmured, "You don't want to make me angry now, do you? Tell me what your name is."26

Holly's eyes were stinging from the cool air because they had been wide open for so long. She now pressed them shut firmly in hopes that this was just not real. She, counted to five, sent out an unspoken prayer once again, and opened her eyes: he was at the foot of her ladder, switchblade held aloft.27

"Aaah, just look at that beautiful hair; that colour, such a stunning red…" he began climbing up the ladder onto her bunk.28

She groped for a pillow and held it in front of her defensively. He stopped for a moment, and started cackling in a most horrid manner.29

"A pillow? How impressive!" He was now on the bed, inching closer to her.30

Holly's heart was beyond frenzied. There was nowhere else to go, nowhere to escape. She was stuck and she was going to die.31

"Please…?" Her voice had somehow collected up the last of its life and spurted out of her in a plea.32

"Oh, don't you worry," he rasped, wild excitement in his voice and eyes.33

He wrenched the pillow away, tossing it onto the floor, "This will only hurt a lot," and he grabbed a fistful of hair, tugging her head back.34

The wetness in her eyes had spilled over, streaming uncontrollably down her face. With his weapon hand, he forced open her fingers, dragging her hands down.35

She gasped suddenly as the knife accidentally sliced through the stretchy flesh between her thumb and forefinger. The cut stung fiercely.36

He beamed broadly with obvious delight, as he steadfastly pushed his knee over her thrashing hands to hold them down. Her body continued to writhe as he brought the blade up to her throat.37

"Now sit still," he snickered, and he pierced her neck, smoothly drawing the blade through the flesh in a neat, practiced line.38

For a moment, the cut gleamed white, and then hot, crimson wetness seeped out. Holly's eyes rolled back in her head, as she felt a tidal wave of nausea swallow her, as the blood poured out fluidly.39

The man smiled for an instant at the graceful, gratifying perfection he had created, then twirled a lock of red hair between his fingers and hacked it off from her scalp, with his bloody blade. The bald spot he'd made was smeared with Holly's own blood. He quickly dropped her head and began making his way down the ladder.40

Holly lay there in a heap on the covers, rapidly staining them scarlet, as the man speedily climbed out the window. With a last fleeting glance at his works of art, he vanished…41

The blackness was creeping over her vision gradually. Everything was fuzzy, and the pain at her throat and in her head was excruciating. She knew for sure that death was imminent, yet, even as she thought herself fading, the pain remained unrelenting – unlike the quiet peace of death. Her mind, though submerged in this extreme pain, was fighting.42

'Holly, get up! You have to get up!' The thought exploded in her brain. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. She couldn't get up. She was dying.43

'No! You're not dying! You need to get up now! You have to go find help! Help – you need help!' The last thing Holly wanted to do was to get up. What was wrong with her subconscious? Couldn't it let her be? It was so much easier to just die and be done with it.44

'Holly Madison Walker! Since when have you been taught to take the easy way out?' And out of the blue, the voice suddenly sounded like her mother's.45

'What about Ian? Your best friend? You're just going to let him die? You won't even try to get help? Not even for Ian?'46

'Ian!' That was the first conscious thought Holly had, 'Oh my God, Ian!'47

A fire erupted in her chest and suddenly the pain wasn't such a giant obstacle. Fumbling for the railing of her bed, she heaved herself up, still gripping her slit neck, as if to hold it together.48

'Ian. You will not die! You will not die!' Holly thought urgently, 'You will not die!'49

Hauling herself down the ladder, she repeated this over and over in her head. When she reached the bottom and her eyes fell on the blood-soaked bed, her heart missed a beat.50

'No, Ian, you're not dead! You are NOT! I'm going for help! You will NOT die on me!' She thought fervently, as if trying to project this into Ian's mind. She would not accept the limpness of his body.51

She squeezed her eyes shut, prayed for strength, and began dragging herself out of the room, down the stairs, to the back door. She feverishly opened the bolts and locks, kicking the door open.52

'Holly Madison Walker,' she told herself soundlessly, 'You CAN do this! You HAVE TO do this!' The pain was inevitably killing her ruthlessly. She forced herself on, adrenaline still pumping through her veins.53

By now, her sweater was sodden with blood, and as she staggered across the backyard into her neighbour's, she was bit by bit losing her awareness.54

'For Ian…' she thought weakly, but her determination held strong.55

Pulling herself with all her power, she reached Mrs. Miguel's back door, and kicked out hard. Before her foot connected with the door, it swung open, revealing an alarmed Mrs. Miguel.56

"Holly!" the old lady screamed, as Holly collapsed on her doorstep, dripping blood everywhere, "Holly! Oh my –! Ben, CALL THE POLICE!"57

The old lady frenetically bent down, trying to scoop Holly up.58

Holly's eyes were fluttering close now, and her head was spinning. The pounding pain and blood-loss was about to overpower her will to stay conscious.59

Gathering all the strength she had left in her, she croaked out two, barely audible words: "Save…Ian," – and she let go.