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Pitch Black	By : ASunInWinter Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 2810 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Pitch Black
- 2-Chapter 2
- 1
- 2
She didn’t want people to hear her sing.

Sarah had never thought of herself as an accomplished singer, but it was something she loved – something that brought a sense of peace and fulfillment to an otherwise dull life. The few times that she had slipped, mentioning the music she used to narrate her days, people would infallibly try to coax that music out of her. She didn’t like the feeling of being under the spotlight, of being forced to put her talent on display for others to judge. It was hers, this music, and hers alone. She cherished that sense of ownership fiercely.

A wry smile twisted her lips as she walked around her apartment, but it wasn’t enough to stop her humming. She often hummed to herself when she was home; the tiny one-bedroom seemed somehow empty without music floating through it. When she was busy with other tasks, she’d turn her computer on and stream music from the internet. But every now and then, she just enjoyed hearing the sound of her own, secret song.

She walked across her cramped living room to the desk that sat in the far corner, enjoying the warmth of the chair from where the window next to it had warmed it. She looked out, as she always did, and just like always, she couldn’t help but feel disappointment. The only thing she could see was the tan stucco of the building next door; her apartment was sandwiched on the lower level of a large complex, with no view of trees or sky from any of the windows. She’d told herself that it wouldn’t bother her when she first toured it, but it ate at her. For a moment, she found herself standing on the shore of a lazy stream, reciting the words from her favorite book. She shook her head and smiled again. It’s probably just as well, she told herself. I’d never be able to get anything done if I actually had something to look at all day.

She sighed, turning back to her desk. She powered up her computer and opened an internet window. Her homepage prompted her for her login and password.

“Welcome to SmartSite, the online course management system of the University of California, Davis. Please enter your username and password to get started.”

Without even thinking, Sarah filled in the two waiting blanks and logged herself in.

“Welcome, Sarah. To access the resource materials for your currently enrolled courses, click the link below. To access the Gradebook for your discussion sections, click the ‘Gradebook’ tab.”

Sarah clicked the link that took her to her Gradebook. As a graduate student, the only way she could hope to pay for her courses was through teaching - it was fortunate for her, then, that she wanted to eventually become a professor. It was a very different life from her undergraduate years; she laughed, now, thinking about how overwhelmed with work she felt she was at her tiny Pennsylvania college. Ah, Muhlenberg, she thought wistfully. What I wouldn’t give to be back there now…
Four years at that place had come and gone so quickly, and while she dearly missed the friends she’d made there among students, staff, and faculty, she was glad she’d decided to bite the bullet and move cross-country for grad school. There are worse places to be spending your twenties than sunny California, she reminded herself. But still, the idea of going to grad school had really forced her to give up what vestiges of her childhood she held on to.

Life goes so much faster than you think it does, she thought to herself.

Time is short.

The last thought made her close her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing as a look of deep sadness creased her features. She brought her hand up to grasp the small heart-shaped locket that hung around her neck. Inside was a tiny picture and a lock of hair, all that she had left of the biggest piece of her heart.

Especially with those we love most.

She could barely breathe at the thought of him, even now. Three days from now would mark a year since he died, and she still couldn’t stop the crushing feeling in her chest whenever she said his name.

“Oh, my Toby.” she whispered to herself. “I miss you so much.”

It had been the bike that had done it – the bike that she herself had bought him for his birthday. Her father and step-mother had been so helpful in picking it out, subtly getting details about Toby’s favorite color and style through nonchalant questions asked over several months. She and her parents had giggled like schoolchildren when they were wrapping it; that memory was still one of her favorites of her time with them. To be sure, there had been some rough patches that the three of them had gone through. Sarah never quite got over her mother leaving her, and it took her a long time to accept that Karen and her father were better together than her mother and father had been. But eventually she’d come to realize just how much they cared for Sarah, and above all, how much they shared her love for Toby. In the end, it was Toby who had healed Sarah’s heart and allowed all four of them to come together as a real family.

Sarah had thought her heart would burst when Toby realized what she’d gotten him. He shrieked as soon as her dad came staggering out of the garage with the poorly-wrapped bike in his arms. “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” he’d yelled, alternating between jumping up and down and dancing while he waited impatiently for his dad to set it down. As soon as it came within reach, his tiny hands tore savage holes in the paper, and Sarah had felt sure he was going to pass out from the gasp he made as he beheld his new neon-green Schwinn.

“IT’S A BIKE! IT’S A BIKE!” he was yelling, running around it in circles, looking at every shining inch. He looked up at Sarah then, a smile bright enough to shame the sun, and ran over to her as fast as he could. He tackled her hard enough that they both fell over laughing, his arms wrapped around her neck.

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!” he yelled in her face, giving her a big kiss on the cheek before hopping off and running over to his parents. Sarah sat up and watched from the ground as he hugged his parents with equal enthusiasm. With that taken care of, he raced over to the bike and hopped on, kicking the kickstand back and taking off down the driveway. He zigged and zagged up the street, the silver spokes of the wheels flickering like glitter as he pedaled up and down.

Sarah stood up and dusted herself off, going over to where Karen and her father stood watching him. They both turned as she came over, and her father put an arm around her step-mother’s shoulders, grinning.

“You know, Sarah,” Karen said, laughing, “I think you may have picked a winner.”

“Yeah,” the young woman replied, laughing back. “Now the problem is going to be getting him off the bike long enough to eat.”

The three of them laughed, loud enough that she almost didn’t hear Toby as he yelled to her from down the street.

“Sarah!” Toby yelled as he turned the bike around to come racing back toward them. “Look, Sarah, no hands! I’m Superman!”

She turned her head, already laughing at the image of her brother with his arms straight out in front of him like his favorite super hero….

…and turned just in time to see the car slam into her baby brother.

They said later that it was an accident; the man driving had had a seizure and lost control, careening through the intersection and into the tiny boy on his shiny new bike. There was no way of preventing it. No way they could have saved him.

They said Toby died before he even hit the ground.

To Sarah, it didn’t matter; until the day she died, she’d never be able to get the image out of her head: those shiny new spokes, glistening in the sun, tinted red with her brother’s blood.

It was her fault he’d been on that bike. It was her fault he’d died. It was her fault that Karen, the woman who’d been nothing but kind to her, had been unable to cope with the loss of her little boy. She’d gone to two funerals that month, one for her brother and one for Karen. Her father had disappeared shortly after; Sarah never saw him again.

And so it was that she found herself, broken-hearted and alone, on the shores of a distant sea. She knew it was her second chance, perhaps her last chance, to find some measure of peace. It was her hope that by studying music, the one thing she could still claim to love, that she would be able to find a place for herself in the world. If she could do that, then maybe, just maybe, she might one day find a way to be happy again.

A loud noise jostled her out of her melancholy thoughts. Her cell phone was buzzing, and she could see it was Kevin calling. Sighing, she picked up the phone.

“Hi Kevin,” she said, trying to sound cheerful and failing utterly.

“Wow,” Kevin said, “You sound bummed. What’s up?”

Sarah shook her head before remembering that Kevin couldn’t see her. “It’s nothing.” she replied. “What’s up?”

Kevin sounded unconvinced, but he responded to her question. “Well, seeing as it’s Friday, and seeing as we’ve been here for two months without seeing anything but this dinky little town, I thought maybe it would be fun if we took a ride up north and went camping for the weekend.”

Sarah sighed again. “Kevin, you and I both know that we have too much work to go fool around in the woods…”

But Kevin interrupted before she could finish her lecture. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the argument. But for Christ’s sake, Sarah, we’re going to end up going crazy if we don’t get some down time soon. I found a great little spot in the Sierras just northeast of here. It’s only a few hours away. And besides, it’s actually cold up there. They’ve been getting snow the past few days.”

Toby loved the snow, Sarah thought before she could stop herself. And it was true – he had. She had many happy memories of the two of them in their front yard having snow wars until Karen finally called them in to hot cocoa and a warm fire.

She really didn’t like the idea of going away for the weekend. She wasn’t joking when she said she had too much to do. But there was a tiny voice in the back of her head that was steadily growing louder. You have to live your life for both you and Toby now, it said, and what better way is there to honor his memory than to do something he loved?

“You still there?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Sarah said, coming out of her reverie. “What do you want me to say, Kevin?”

“Say you’ll go.”

She opened her mouth to tell him no, but what came out instead was:

“Okay, fine. I’ll go.”

She could almost hear Kevin smiling through the phone. “Great! That’s great. I’ll pick you up at noon. I’ll bring a tent and everything, you just bring a sleeping bag and some clothes. Sound good?”

No, she wanted to say again. “Sure, that’s fine. See you then.”

They hung up, and Sarah covered her face with her hands. Great job telling him no, Sarah. Reluctantly, she exited out of her grading program and went in to her bedroom to pack.

Soon enough, Kevin was knocking on her door. Sarah grabbed her small pack and sleeping bag and stepped outside, locking the door behind her.

“Is that everything?” Kevin asked, looking around her.

“Yeah. I’m a light packer.” she replied.

Kevin put a hand dramatically over his heart and staggered backward. “What? A woman who packs lite? I didn’t think such a thing existed!”

Sarah aimed a solid punch at his shoulder. “Shut up, you.” she said, but she couldn’t help laughing. It was the reason she and Kevin had become fast friends – he was the only person she knew that could always make her laugh.

They hopped in the car and headed out. Kevin had turned on the radio, and both sat in comfortable silence as the scenery changed from the dusty, parched plains of their university town to the steep, lush hills of the Sierras. Kevin’s jeep maneuvered easily around the twists and turns of the bumpy road, a solitary figure on a road less travelled.

Sarah couldn’t help but feel her sprit lift with the terrain; she truly did love nature, and she relished the opportunity to be immersed in something so unchangingly beautiful. She said a silent thank you to Kevin, who was well aware of her love for the outdoors and her consternation over her cramped apartment. She was lucky to have a friend like him.

She looked over at him then, watching as he hummed along with the radio and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. He was a big guy, six foot four, and built like a linebacker. He had wavy blonde hair and beautiful baby blues, with a killer smile set in sun tanned skin. He looked like the quintessential jock, but there was a brain behind that pretty face; he was going to grad school to get his doctorate in genetics.

When Sarah had first met him, she assumed he was like all the other men who’d shown an interest in befriending her; he was looking to score. But unlike the others, he hadn’t given up when she’d told him, flat out, that she was “not interested.” Instead, he laughed outright, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

“That’s great,” he had told her, “I’m sure my girlfriend will appreciate that.”

As it turned out, Kevin really was looking for friendship. “It’s important to have friends outside of your program” he said by way of explanation. “Eventually, you’re going to get sick of talking about what you do all day. I want to know someone I can get a beer with and not have to worry about having nothing in common besides an interest in genetically engineered rice crops. You know?”

She did know. And that was how she’d found her closest friend. He didn’t shy away from the darker parts of her personality, like others had. Instead, he did his best to support her and bring some happiness into her life. She didn’t drink, as Kevin soon learned, so they’d found other ways to unwind. Like impromptu weekend trips.

Four hours after they’d left Davis, Sarah and Kevin pulled off of a tiny dirt road and drove two miles down an even tinier dirt road. The road ended in a small clearing rimmed by trees, and the dying sunlight dappled through the leaves to cast dancing shadows on the ground. Except for a small fire pit in the center of the clearing, the area was devoid of any signs of humanity.

“This is beautiful,” Sarah said, stepping out of the jeep.

“I know, right?” Kevin replied, pulling a small tent bag out of the back seat and dumping the contents on the ground. “A friend showed this to me last month. This clearing is actually a little plateau on the side of the mountain – if you go and look over past the ring of trees, you’ll see that it’s all downhill slopes. It’s too late in the day to see now, but when the sun is at full strength you can see down into onto the plain through the gaps in the trees. It’s an amazing sight.”

Sarah wandered over to the edge of the trees and was surprised at just how right Kevin was – not three feet after the start of the forest, the ground sloped steeply downward. She could just barely make out the reflection of water glinting in the sunlight.

“Is that a river down there?” she asked Kevin, going over to help him prop the tiny two-person tent.

“Just a stream.” he replied. “It’s really shallow. Can you help me roll this tree trunk over to the fire pit? We can use it as a bench.”

Sarah went with Kevin and helped him roll a fallen tree trunk to the edge of the fire pit. She brushed off pine needles and twigs from the top of it, and brought a blanket out of her bag to spread over it. Kevin stomped off into the woods to gather firewood, and within an hour they had their small camp set up and a merry fire going in the pit.

They spent another hour cooking dinner, a simple meal of chicken and vegetables with rice, cooked over the fire. The sun had set while they ate, and by the time they cleaned up the temperature had dropped considerably. Sarah was glad for the warm fleece she had brought with her. She went to the jeep and pulled a thick parka out, laying it on the bench next to her. She didn’t need it yet, but it would probably come in handy later tonight.

Sarah watched the fire from the bench and sighed, content. She could hear Kevin poking around in the jeep behind her, and heard the splash of water as he filled their cooking pot.

“Hey Sarah,” Kevin said, the sound of his voice accompanied by sloshing water as he came back toward the fire.

“I’m going to use some of this for the dishes, but I thought we could use some for tea- oh shit!“

Sarah barely had time to react as what seemed like a mountain of water splashed on her from behind. Kevin had tripped, dumping the pot of water all over his friend. Sarah jumped up from the bench, but it was too late – she was soaked. She quickly took off her fleece, glad to see that it had absorbed all of the water. Her parka looked three shades darker from where the water had landed on it, soaking it through, and her jeans were also drenched.

“Oh, shit, Sarah!” Kevin said, rushing around to her. “Shit, I’m sorry!”

“Oh, fuck you, Kevin!” Sarah said, punching him in the arm. She shivered violently in the rapidly chilling night air.

Kevin turned and ran over to the tent. “Did you bring another pair of pants?” he yelled to her.

Sarah cursed herself as she answered, “No, goddamn it. I planned on wearing these for the weekend.” She shivered again.
“Take them off, then.” he replied, rummaging around in the tent.

“Excuse me?” she replied, incredulous.

“They’re soaked. You’ll freeze if you wear them. Take them off, and we’ll put them by the fire to dry.”

“And what am I supposed to wear in the meantime?”

Kevin reappeared, a fluffy red towel in hand. “Here, wrap this around your waist. It’s really thick, so it should keep you pretty warm. And it’ll absorb whatever moisture is left on you.”

He turned around while Sarah changed, turning back only after she’d sat herself down on the bench.

“I’m really sorry, Sarah.” Kevin said sheepishly, coming to sit beside her.

“Jerk.” Sarah said, punching him again. “Come over here and keep me warm before I freeze to death.”

Kevin scooted next to her and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bottle and handing it to her.

Reading the label, Sarah squinched her face in disgust. “What is this? Whisky? You’re giving me whisky?”

“I know you don’t drink, Sarah, but it’ll keep you warm. Just take a few sips.”

She looked at the bottle again, ready to hand it back to him, but just as her hand moved, she felt something cold and wet land on it. In the next moment, the sky was filled with falling snow.

“Great.” Sarah said. “This is just great.”

Within a few minutes, the snow had started to fall hard enough that the ground was beginning to show a dusty white coating. Sarah shivered again and, with a great sigh, opened the bottle. The bitter liquid burned as it flowed down her throat, making her cough and wheeze.

“God,” she said, sputtering. “What is this crap, gasoline?”

“Hey, this is Jack Daniels,” Kevin said in mock offense, taking the bottle from her and downing several swigs. “This stuff is top notch.”

Sarah continued to make faces, but she had to admit that it worked wonders. She felt warmth spread throughout her body, and before long she found herself reaching for the bottle to take another swig. She passed it back to Kevin, who also drank some, before putting the cap on and sticking it on the ground. Sarah’s head spun a little, and for the first time she knew what it was like to feel tipsy. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

“Thank you” she said, after a while.

“For what? I’m the one that got you wet in the first place, remember?”

“No, not that,” she said. “I mean, for making me come. For bringing me here.”

“Oh, that.” Kevin replied, slipping an arm around her shoulders and bringing her into a one-armed hug. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s what friends do.”

“I know,” Sarah said, staring into the flames. “But you’ve been a good friend to me since the moment we met. I really appreciate that.”

“I’m glad,” Kevin said, scooting himself over until their sides smushed together. “I’m glad that I can make you happy.”

“I just wish I knew how to repay the favor,” Sarah said with a sigh. “I’m not really so good at spreading the happy around.”

“Sarah, I could care less about your gloomy personality. That’s not what made me want to get to know you.”

Sarah gave a short laugh. “Fair enough. What made you want to get to know me?”

“This,” Kevin said, and before Sarah knew what was happening, Kevin had grasped her chin with his hand and turned it toward him, crushing his lips against hers in a bruising kiss.

Sarah was so shocked for a moment that she didn’t react – Kevin’s arm pulled her in closer toward his body as his lips continued to work against hers, the smell of the booze on his breath filling her nose and making her nauseous. The smell knocked her back into her senses, and she jerked her head back.

“Kevin!” she said, trying in vain to push out of his arms. “What are you-“ her words were swallowed by his lips; his tongue forced itself into her open mouth as the hand under her chin moved to hold the back of her head against him.

Sarah tried to fight, but Kevin was too powerful; she screamed against him, pushing her hands against his chest. But all he did was weave his hand through her hair, pulling tightly enough to make her scream in pain instead of surprise. When he finally broke from the kiss, a maliciously arrogant expression that Sarah had never seen before was plastered across his features.

“Aw, come on, baby. You didn’t think this was a one-way street did you? I’ve been good to you, and you said yourself: you want to repay the favor.” He used his grip on her hair to wrench her head to the side, and he leaned down to plant kisses down her neck. “It’ll be fun for both of us.”

“No!” Sarah screamed. “No, Kevin, let me go!”

Kevin began sucking on her neck, drawing her skin between his teeth before biting down hard. Sarah yelled, which only seemed to goad him on. He swung his outer leg around so that he straddled her, putting his weight on her and holding her in place. That freed his arm from where it had been wrapped around her waist, and he brought up his hand to kneed her breast. Sarah tried to use her hands to push his away, but it was like butterflies beating against a boulder; she was trapped.

He continued to bite and suck along her neck, switching to her other side and licking her ear. It was a very sensitive area for Sarah, and she couldn’t help but twitch and jump as she continued to plead with him to stop. When the hand that had been kneeding her breast dropped down to begin lifting her shirt, she used both her hands to keep it down. They struggled with it for a moment, before Kevin released his hand. Sarah relaxed, minutely; at least she could keep her clothes on.

But her relief was short-lived. Instead of trying to raise her shirt from the bottom, Kevin grabbed her collar and tore down, exposing her bra-covered chest to the cold night air. Sarah screamed as Kevin’s hand plunged down her bra, squeezing her breast until she was sure it bruised. Keeping her head immobile with his other hand, he lowered his head to the other breast and began sucking and licking.

He kept going, on and on, until eventually he raised his head to look at her.

“Isn’t this nice, baby?” he said, a horrific grin crossing his features.

“Go to hell” Sarah said, spitting in his face.

A look of anger crossed his features, and before she could blink, the hand that had been in her hair released itself and slapped her across the face. The force of it put stars in her vision, and Kevin grabbed both of her arms and started shaking her.

“Now listen, you stupid bitch.” he said. “I’ve been putting up with your whining for months now, and it’s time I got my due. This is going to happen, whether you want it to or not. So you can either lie down and take it the easy way, or you can make this difficult.”

“Fuck you.” Sarah screamed.
Kevin only smiled. “Fine. The hard way.”

He beat her. In her whole life, she’d never been hit. But he hit her now, and kicked her, beat her and bruised her until she could barely breathe. The snow had made a thick blanket across the clearing, and she found herself laying in it now. She felt his hands grab her hair, and she screeched as he flipped her on to her back. The towel was long gone, and her underwear proved useless at keeping the cold wetness of the snow at bay.

He straddled her waist, using her weakened state as an opportunity to unzip his pants. She could see where he bulged against the cloth of his boxers, and her mind froze with fear. In one smooth movement, he pulled his boxers down and exposed himself fully to the night air.

“So much mopey shit coming out of your mouth, all the damn time,” Kevin said, pressing her forehead into the ground with one hand and wrenching her jaw open with the other. “It’s time for me to put something back in it.”

Without another word, he forced himself into her mouth. He was without mercy or gentleness, pushing his way down her throat with every thrust. She choked and suffocated under him, but he paid no heed. She felt sure she would pass out, but she wasn’t so lucky. For what seemed an eternity, he continued to force himself into her, until with a last loud groan, he unleashed himself. She felt the scalding liquid of his semen flood her throat with bitter acidity.

Spent, he pulled himself out of her mouth and released her from his grip. She scrambled out from under him as fast as she could, turning to vomit up everything she had just been forced to swallow.

Kevin laughed. “So good you wanted a second taste, huh? Don’t worry, Sarah. There’ll be plenty of time for that.”

He watched her as she stumbled upright and began heading for the trees.

“There’s nowhere for you to go, Sarah.” he said, calling after her. “It’s deserted for miles in every direction. You’ll freeze to death before anyone finds you.”

She ignored him, barely hesitating as she reached the tree line.

“Come back over here, baby.” she heard him say. “I’ll keep you warm.”

It wasn’t until Sarah disappeared through the trees and began making her way down the slope that she finally heard his confident tone ebb. She’d made it about a hundred feet down the hillside when she saw the beam of a flashlight to her left. “Sarah!” Kevin was shouting. “Sarah! Get the fuck back here, right now! Goddamn it! Sarah!”
She moved as quickly as she dared, using the trees to catch herself as she basically slid down from one to another. Kevin didn’t pursue her; he remained at the top of the hill, calling her name. She turned back to make sure she was out of his line of sight and tripped on a tree root. She fell to her knees and slid down into the base of a large tree.

Exhausted, freezing, and injured, she lay there unable to raise herself. She couldn’t form any kind of coherent thought, and whether it was due to too many thoughts or none at all, she couldn’t tell.

“Please,” she heard herself whispering. “Please, help me. Somebody, anybody. Help me. I need you…”

Who did she need? She didn’t know. But in the next moment, she heard a cautious footfall in the snow. Terrified, she tried to make herself as small as possible. She brought her knees up and buried her face under her hands, willing whoever it was to pass her by. It wasn’t until she heard the voice that she finally looked up.

“Sarah?”

The voice was a low gravelly tone, and full of cautious disbelief. It was a voice that jogged her memory, a memory of a dream she’d once had a long time ago…

Sarah looked up and froze. Standing before her, in all his diminutive glory, was Hoggle. Her Hoggle. The friend she had made during her time in the Labyrinth. The truest friend she had ever known.

“But…” she heard herself whisper. “But you’re not real…”

“Sarah, is that you?” Hoggle said, coming closer.

“H- Hoggle?” Sarah asked, her voice hoarse and broken from screaming and other things.

Hoggle had finally come close enough to see Sarah clearly in the moonlight, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Sarah!” he said, concern thick in his voice as he rushed over to her. “Sarah, what happened to ye?”

It’s a hallucination, she thought. I’m in shock.

“Sarah, say somethin’!” Hoggle lifted his hand, almost as if to touch her, but she flinched at the movement, and his hand fell back. “Please, Sarah, it’s your old pal, Hoggle. There ain’t nothin’ you can’t tell me.”

Against her better judgment, she found herself answering the small man.

“There was- there was a man-“

She couldn’t continue. The horror of what had happened, the memory of him in her mouth, made her sick enough to lean over and wretch. There was nothing left in her stomach. Hoggle came over and placed a cautious hand on her shoulder.

“Sarah, we need to get you outta here. We gotta get help.”

But before she could respond, a new voice echoed through the trees.

“After all these years, Sarah, do you really think you could call on my subjects without my knowing?”

Her head whipped around toward the sound, her breath catching at the sight of a man stepping through the trees. He was just as she had remembered him, tall and lean, clad in shining black armor. A huge sword hung sheathed at his hip, and the paleness of his skin shone in the moonlight with a brightness that almost seemed to make him glow. He was a fearsome figure, and Sarah shrank back as he came nearer. He moved gracefully, slowly, almost as if she were the prey he had come to stalk. He continued to address her as he came nearer, his blackened boots leaving pools of dark shadows in the snow behind him.

“You really are an arrogant thing, to think you can call on the creatures of the Underground as you will. But you’re not a runner anymore, and the consequences for summoning me without cause are dire-“

His words died suddenly on his lips as he finally grew near enough to see her. His eyes widened in shock as he slowed to a stop.

“Sarah” he breathed, his brows drawing together as a flood of emotions flicked across his features. The last of which was a quiet, murderous rage.

“What happened to you?”

Quick as a thought, he had crouched down beside her, his hand outstretched as if to brush her hair from where it hung across her face. But the movement was too quick, his expression too frightening, and Sarah reacted before she could think. She flung herself back from the approaching hand, sliding sideways. With the tree no longer behind her, she fell backwards down the hill, her back slamming into the ground as her body summersaulted backwards through the snow. The world swirled around her in dizzying confusion as she plummeted down, her already battered body assaulted from every turn by rocks and roots.

Without warning, the hill ended, and Sarah tumbled into a shallow stream. The water, not cold enough to freeze, immediately soaked through her thin clothing. The world continued to spin around her as she tried and failed to get her bearings – she was just too hurt. Thankfully she’d fallen into the creek with her head facing downstream – it meant that only a small amount of water found its way into her mouth. She choked and coughed, trying to keep her lungs clear, but the last of her strength was all but gone. Her body grew colder as darkness began to eat at the corners of her vision, and she suddenly knew that she was going to die.

I didn’t want it to end like this, she thought to herself. I wanted to keep going, to live for both of us. She felt the warmth of tears as they ran down her face to mix with the icy water beneath her. I wish it didn’t have to end like this.

She didn’t hear the sound of voices calling her name, of bootsteps crunching through the snow as they raced toward her. Something touched her shoulder, but she didn’t know what; her eyes had closed without her realizing it, and she was too tired to open them again. Vaguely, she felt herself moving, being lifted. Her head flopped bonelessly against something hard, the water from her soaked body beginning to coat it.

Her ears cleared for a moment then, and she heard a voice rumble through the hard surface near her head.

“Warrick” the voice said.

Sarah heard a sound, almost like shifting sand, followed by the clink of metal. Another voice, this one further away, answered.

“I am here.”

“Find the one responsible for this.” came the voice by her ear.

“And when I do?”

“Keep him isolated until I return.”

“Shall I take care of him for you, sire?”

“No,” came the reply, in a voice that Sarah would have feared if she could have.

“He is mine.”

At that, her hearing faded, and she felt a warm wind begin swirl around her. She wanted to react to what was happening around her, but she couldn’t. All she could do was issue one final thought before succumbing to the wave of darkness that crashed over her, dragging her down into its depths.

I’m sorry, Toby.
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Pitch Black