Chapter 28

True Fear

The kind that makes your spine shiver. When you look at death in its physical form, what comes to mind? A wild bear towering high? A lion’s jaws? A plane crash?

I never knew what I feared most in this world until it stared at me with the face of the one I loved.

Fran wasn’t herself anymore. She didn’t have blonde hair, and she wasn’t smiling her big, happy, cute smile. She was furious. A wild ferocity enveloped her. She was shrouded in darkness and stared at Rebecca and me like we were her most fearsome enemies.

She slowly stood up from the small crater she had left in my garage. Rebecca pulled Shad and me away from her with her vines, but we were still impacted by her absolute power. Was she always able to do that? Was she holding back all this time?

She stared in my direction, and I could tell if I turned around, I would only get pounced on immediately.

Fran is lightning fast; she has unimaginable strength. If she is truly not in control anymore, we are doomed.

I was stunned and lost in thought, but Rebecca rose (haha, funny) to action almost immediately. "Steven, you have to get out of here now! I’ll hold her off." I knew more than anyone that it wasn’t possible to stop Fran. I breathed heavily as I sat there wanting to cry. My chest felt tight, and I couldn’t move. My breathing started to become so rapid that I couldn’t focus.

Rebecca summoned flowers, and for the first time, I saw a red aura as she used her powers, but I now understood why I hadn’t seen it before. She threw something—it was so small I couldn’t see it from here, but it glowed red. Suddenly, a giant plant erupted from the tiny object. Fran was pushed back with giant vines into the wall. Suddenly, though, the vines were ripped to shreds, and Rebecca’s face was in Fran’s hand while she pushed her head into the ground.

Dust settled, and Rebecca lay there motionless.

Suddenly, my heart calmed down. All of this happened within seconds. But finally, my healing factor kicked in. My adrenaline shot me off the ground as I leapt forward. Fran raised her mighty fist again to punch Rebecca, probably for a final blow that no one could recover from. I closed my eyes and jumped over her body.

A powerful gust of wind tore at my clothes and my skin. When the wind pressure stopped, I looked up, and Fran’s fist was only an inch away from me.

She had stopped herself right before she hit me.

A single black tear fell from her face. She looked hurt and confused.

"Ste...ven... why?"

Without any more fear, I shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!?" I mustered all the strength I had for this shout. "Fran! If you’re still in there, then you should know. You’re hurting people."

Fran’s composure suddenly shifted, and she looked down at herself. Why?... Why?? Tears came rolling down her cheeks.

Then things changed. A screech like nothing I’ve heard before, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!" Fran was shouting into the sky. Suddenly, clouds formed above her, and the wind started to gather where she was. She began to float off the ground, holding her head in her hands. "I didn’t... want... this." The wind was becoming so powerful I could only stay close to the ground, covering Rebecca’s motionless body.

Lightning crackled and began to strike Fran, not once, but several times.

Craaack! CRAAACK! BOOOOOM!

The darkness was suddenly erased from her, and what was left was the Fran I recognized, but now she was covered in bright orange flames.

"Fran!" I called out to her. "Stop!" My voice was being swallowed by the wind. What could I do? I don’t have anything to stop her with.

I wished I could go up there and hug her, to tell her it wasn’t her fault.

Something inside me ignited, and suddenly, I was there next to her in the air. I grabbed onto her tightly and hugged her. "It’s okay, Fran! I’m here now." Her powers suddenly shifted, and rain fell down from the sky. "I didn’t mean to hic I... I didn’t mean to." She was crying, and we drifted back down to the ground as I held her tightly. We knelt down.

"I’m so sorry!"