YOU'VE GOT THE DEVIL IN YOUR EYES

YOU WENT AND TOOK ME BY SUPRISE

I stand up, even though my legs are shaking.

I help Elliot to get up, without stopping to look around.

We start walking, we don't know exactly where.

The feeling of being watched doesn't go away.

The weight of silence grows stronger and stronger. Each creak of the branches when you step on them feels like a telltale cry in the middle of the night.

"It can't be him, it can't be..."  I hear him mutter, desperate, as his steps become slower and slower.

My heart races. I know what he means. Or rather, who.

Clancy.

I've been denying it all these days. But there's just no escaping the truth.

I don't say anything. My urge to survive is bigger. I don't want to talk about it.

I want to get out of here.

We continue walking in silence, but each step is heavier, as if the thought of Clancy, of what he may have become, is dragging us down.

The forest seems to close in around us, the shadows become denser, more threatening.

Suddenly, Elliot stops dead, and I almost crash into him.

"Listen..."  he says, his voice a tense whisper.

We both stand still, trying to hear beyond the rapid beating of our hearts.

 At first, I hear nothing, just the wind rustling the leaves and the distant crackling of the dying campfire. 

But then, something else. 

A soft, rustling sound.

Footsteps.

"Shit..." I whisper, my voice barely audible.

Elliot looks at me, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination.

Then, without warning, the sound of laughter returns.

But this time it's not a distant echo.

This time it's close.

Very close.

My heart skips a beat, and I grab Elliot's arm.

"Run"  he says, even though I know he's at the end of his rope.

And without thinking twice, we start running.

Or at least, we try. Elliot's wound still slows him down, and the fear I feel makes my legs feel heavy.

But we run, through the trees, feeling the laughter following us.

It's mocking, cruel, and seems to surround us.

The ground becomes uneven beneath my feet, and we stumble several times, but we don't stop.

Panic drives us, even though we're increasingly exhausted. Finally, we reach a clearing, and Elliot falls to his knees, panting.

"Hey, are you okay?" I crouch down beside him.

"Yeah... come on, keep going..."  his breathing ragged "Keep running, Rabbit..."

Suddenly, the laughter stops.

Silence.

A terrifying silence.

We both start looking around.

"Is he... gone?"  I ask in a whisper.

I look around, expecting to see those red eyes again, but there's nothing.

Just darkness, shadows between the trees.

And the echo of our own fears.

"Elliot, please get up, come on..."

And then, a whistle.

Not a laugh this time, but a low, guttural whisper, as if it were coming from everywhere at once.

"FUCK!" I pull on his arm. "Elliot, come on, come on...!"

The whistle seems to be getting closer.

Those eyes again.

NO.

NO, PLEASE, NO.

The red eyes seem to flash in the darkness, circling us like a hungry pack of dogs.

But then the hissing stops, as if something bigger is about to manifest.

My heart is beating so hard I feel like it's going to burst, and I cling to Elliot's arm, not knowing what to do, not being able to move.

Then I see him. At first, he's just a shadow in the trees, but slowly the figure becomes more distinct.

Clancy.

It's obvious that he's wearing the same clothes as Clancy, that familiar outfit, as worn as the last time I saw him. A bandage surrounds his entire head. 

But something is wrong. Very wrong.

He has the same black stains. But they're very widespread.

His chin is stained too, almost reaching his mouth.

They're not just stains.

They seem to writhe, moving slowly across his skin as if they were part of him, spreading through his arms, legs, and perhaps even his soul.

"No..."  I murmur, incredulous.

It's his eyes.

Red eyes. Bright. Lifeless. Devoid of humanity.

Clancy approaches, with those red eyes that take my breath away, but I don't know.

I don't know if it's still him. All I see is my friend, but different... broken.

My mind doesn't process it, and my heart beats so hard in my chest it feels like it's going to explode.

"Clancy..."  I murmur, waiting for some sign, something, anything that tells me it's still him.

I try to get closer to him, but Elliot stops me.

He's stood up, his breathing ragged.

"Rabbit... it's not him."

I ignore him. I don't want to hear it. I can't believe Clancy is... missing.

"Clancy, what have they done to you?"  I say in a broken voice, taking a step towards him.

But his eyes don't see me. Or not like they used to.

"Rabbit, please..."  Elliot pulls my arm again, harder this time, his voice desperate. "Don't touch him."

"But it's Clancy!" I turn to him, my eyes filled with tears. "It has to be him, Elliot. We can't leave him like this!"

But Elliot shakes his head, his face filled with deep sadness.

"Please don't..."

I look at Clancy again, but my heart refuses to accept what I see.

He's covered in those black spots, the same ones we have. His arms, his neck, his legs... they're wasted away.

And his eyes... God, those red eyes. They don't look like his. They don't belong to the person I once knew.

But something in me doesn't want to give up.

"Clancy, look at me. It's me... Rabbit, do you hear me?" I say in a pleading tone, taking a step closer to him, not letting fear stop me.

But Clancy doesn't respond. He doesn't move, he doesn't look at me the same way. And suddenly, a crooked smile appears on his face. Not a kind or sad smile. It's something twisted.

Something that isn't him.

"Clancy?" I say again, my throat now tight with panic.

"Rabbit, don't come any closer..."  Elliot's voice is a desperate whisper.

But before I can do anything, Clancy raises his hand slowly, like he's pointing at me, or worse, like he's about to attack me.

I back away, my mind struggling to understand. It can't be. It's not him. Not my Clancy. Not the boy who helped me through the worst nights. What have they done to him?

Suddenly, Clancy laughs. A low, raspy laugh that echoes through the trees, chilling my soul.

But what really scares me is the emptiness in his eyes. The coldness.

"Clancy..."  I whisper, not recognizing what I see in front of me. The laughter dies down, and then, in a voice that isn't his, a low, cruel voice, he says,:

"There's nothing left of him."

My stomach twists, and fear begins to overwhelm me.

What's happening? What does that mean?

Elliot steps between us, his stance defensive. I can see the pain on his face, the pent-up rage.

"Get away from him, Rabbit!" he screams.

But I can't move. I'm trapped, staring into those red eyes, that cruel smile on the face of someone I thought I'd lost.

Clancy is silent for a second, staring at us, his red eyes glowing in the dim light.

Then, without warning, his body lunges toward me with terrifying speed.

"Rabbit, no!"  Elliot moves on instinct, stepping in front of me just in time.

Clancy's fist hits him in the stomach with brutal force.

Elliot doubles over, his face contorted in pain as his throat makes a rumbling sound, like all the air has been forced out of his body. He staggers, barely standing. I scream, trying to get to him, but fear paralyzes me for a second.

Clancy freezes, his face twisted into a grimace that doesn't belong to the boy I knew. That cold, hollow laugh fills the air again, bouncing off the trees.

"Elliot!"  I scream, desperate.

Elliot, though still panting and clutching his stomach, doesn't give up.

With a strength I don't know where he gets from, he stands up, his legs shaking from the effort.

His eyes meet mine for a split second, and then, without a second thought, he throws his fist at Clancy.

The blow echoes through the night, hitting Clancy's face with unexpected force.

Clancy's head snaps to the side, and though he doesn't fall to the ground, he staggers back a few steps.

His red eyes seem to flicker, as if something inside him is crumbling, but not quite yet.

Elliot staggers back, too, coughing, but not letting himself fall.

"Clancy..."  I whisper, a lump in my throat, watching as the boy I once knew seems to struggle for a moment, as if deep within him he's fighting against what controls him.

But then, the coldness takes over his face again.

The crooked smile appears again, and his eyes, still glowing with that damn red color, fix on Elliot.

And in a deep, gravelly voice, not his own, but something much darker, he says:

"Prepare for the worst, Torchbearer..."

Elliot freezes, as do I. 

But before we can react, Clancy steps back and, with unnatural agility, disappears into the darkness of the forest.

Silence falls again, broken only by the sound of Elliot's labored breathing.

I stand there, shaking, my eyes still fixed on the spot where Clancy was a second ago, unable to process what just happened.

It wasn't him. It couldn't be him.

But those words...

Prepare for the worst...

Torchbearer.

Before I can say anything, even react, Elliot falls to the side with a thud.