Amelia

That was enough to make me freeze in place. All I could do was stare at Noah's motionless form. He could wake any minute and then what? Stare wide-eyed while Gavin remained behind him and silently slit his throat? He'd been through enough, at least spare my child.

"Put the knife down," I said slowly.

Gavin's smile gleamed with satisfaction. The second he laid his chin against Noah's neck, I stared at him with unmasked disgust. As though smelling my fear, Noah drifted awake. He groaned, but managed to focus himself. Next came gestures that were more of a struggle and whatever had alerted him slowly fell away as if sensing I was there. Then his eyes grew wide.

"MOM–"

Gavin clamped his hand to Noah's mouth, muffling most of his fear-stricken cries.

"Shut up," he hissed and shook Noah like a ragdoll.

He was shaking in terror, just the way Gavin liked it. The words, muffled against the demon's hand, sounded like a terrified "Please, please."

"Don't hurt him. Do whatever you want to me, just let him go."

Gavin kept his gaze on me the whole time.

Why is he doing this?

Everything was becoming more and more surreal. My living room was a bloodbath and a constant reminder of my brother's corpse laying across the floor, sprawled into a bloody heap.

Shit.

The revelation of Gavin's plan struck me like freezing water.

Oh shit, shit, shit.

Within moments of learning that Gavin planned to let Noah bleed out slowly and painfully, I struggled to keep my balance and sucked in deep breaths of air.

"If you hurt my baby, I will kill you," I warned. "Understand?"

Everything was going too fast now. Too fast to focus. Gavin stuck his hand out, stretching his fingertips as far as they'd go. I fell into the wall, landing with a crash.

"I hope you realise," Gavin started, "That you ruin everything you touch."

And when he stared down at me, I yelled "Bullshit!" and tried to get to my feet.

"You've got your husband killed, you've put your son at risk and now, I've got you exactly where I want you. If that retched Boogeyman had just stayed under the beds… he knew everything, everything I was planning to do to you and your precious family."

Gavin's words hit home and as painful as it was, Jack had been right to have his suspicions. Slowly, he moved his hand from Noah's mouth to the boy's throat, ready to clamp it back if he screamed.

"It's your fault children are in danger. It's because of you that hundreds could have died– ARGH!"

A wave of relief washed right over me, yet I remained transfixed, rooted to the floor the instant Gavin discarded his chew toy by throwing it to the ground, striking it with his foot so hard it curled into a ball. He stared at his hand, stunned by the teeth marks and the blood Noah had drawn.

Gavin lunged at me, meeting me in mid-air with a bone jarring thud. We fell to the floor. Gavin and I grappled a lot, kicked and punched our way at each other. I took in the size of the demon. He was powerful and fuelled by his resentment. And he was also insane. I was strong yet fuelled by courage. This fight couldn't last long. If it did, I might not survive.

How am I supposed to stop him?

Gavin was getting stronger as we fought. I grappled when I didn't have the chance, preferring to lunge from the side, landing kicks and punches. Gavin shrugged it off and kept going. I came behind him and struck him in the jaw. I lunged at him, then moved away and felt my ankle click. I was getting tired and Gavin landed a blow to my eye, and when he was about to deliver the killing blow dark tentacles, made from sand, snaked around his arms, up his legs, pinning him to the floor.

Pitch stood over him, scythe in hand.

"Did you really think I'd let you harm them?" he seethed.

Gavin opened his mouth to protest, but didn't get the chance because Pitch brought the scythe down, chopping deep into his neck. I screamed. It wasn't the gurgling sounds that came as blood spurted from Gavin's throat, it wasn't the reality of seeing Pitch make the kill. It was the horror of seeing his lips part, revealing jagged teeth and throwing his head back while roaring with laughter.

"Don't be afraid, Amelia. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Noah, run!"

I gasped for air and bolted towards the door. It was still open and I hoped Noah and I still had a chance.

Less than two minutes later, Noah and I bolted down the street, zigzagging everywhere, searching for a place to hide. We entered the woods on the nearest path, giving the main street a wide berth. The time would come for facing Pitch, but it hadn't come yet.

We ducked behind one of the many trees in the park, and I halted Noah so we could wait.

"Mom, will he find us?"

I crouched down, met his eyes and replied, "I don't know."

Most people would normally call the cops. That was the first thing anyone would do when they were in danger. But to tell them that demons and boogeymen were out to get you was a one way ticket to the psychiatric hospital. If it was ever an option, I would have considered it. But there was no point to being trapped in a place where you'd be separated from your child. Especially when he was counting on you to save him. Apart from my mom and dad, I was the only immediate family Noah still had. Which brought me back to Pitch, the shadow of a man he once was; somebody who'd had a home and a family. Except things were different now.

It was difficult remembering Pitch gained his strength from fear, but the more I reminded myself I managed to calm down. Noah's heart must have been in overdrive, because the look on his face suggested he'd broken into a sweat. He gripped my hand and urged me to keep moving. And as he loosed his grip, his eyes reflected the outlines of a plan.
"We need to find the Guardians. They can protect both of us."

I shook my head.

"They can't."

Noah's lip wobbled and his eyes threatened tears. He clenched his fists in anger – or was it fear?

"That's a LIE."

"Noah, they can't protect me because I'm not a child. They're not supposed to protect adults."

"Tell me the truth!"

"I am!" I shouted, "Grown-ups have to take care of themselves, that's how it works. It's our job to protect kids like you."

"And the Guardians?"

Pointing to his heart, I told him, "They protect what's here."

"When Pitch finds us, I'm gonna kick him in the butt."

The corners of my mouth twitched.

"Let me tell you something. You could, but you'd make him mad. Then what? You'd get bad dreams, they might not go away."

"But most of the time, that's all he does. I'll protect you, Mom. I'd always protect you."

Noah wrapped his arms around me. After a moment, I offered him a warm embrace.

"My little Guardian. It's my job to protect you."

We knew nothing of the Nightmares. We didn't even register them until they emerged from the woods, coming from every direction, closing in on us.

"Mom…"

"They're just bad dreams, Noah." Another thing occurred to me. "Onyx? Onyx, if you can understand me, if you're here, I'm not afraid." But my son is, I added mentally.

One of the Nightmares came into the middle, scuffed its feet then made nickering sounds at the rest. And as they lunged at us, Noah shrieked.

"Mom, look out!"

My hand made contact with the nearest horse, only this time the sand remained black.

"What?"

They can smell our fear, a voice in my head reminded me.

As if on cue, they closed in. My eyes widened and I started to back away, gripping my son's wrist. They picked up speed.

"Ahhh, Mom… AAAAAHHHHHH!"

The surface became slippery underneath my feet and when Noah faltered, I screamed "Run!" and dragged him with me. His breath came in short, quick gasps. He simply couldn't stop himself from shaking above the web of cracks emanating underneath his feet. I went to take another step, causing another web to appear around mine.

No, no, no, no. Jack never would...

"Noah, look at me. Keep your eyes on me. Don't look down." Failing to keep the tremor from my voice, I added, "Now what you've got to remember, is that everything will be okay."

"Not, it won't."

"Would I lie to you?"

"No. You never do."

"Okay, okay listen to me. I promise you'll be…you'll be all right. You're not gonna die. You have to believe in me. Noah, take my hand." I crouched down a little, trying to reach him. "Don't worry, I've got you. I've got you."

The second he clasped my hand, he shuffled towards me, his gaze already trapped by the unpredictable surface.

"Help."

"Come on. Come on, Noah. You're almost there. You're almost there."

Chunks of ice broke around our feet.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!"

Jack appeared in half a second, stunning me with his speed. His eyes widened as he took everything in. At the same time, a glimmer of hope flickered in my gaze as he reached towards us, using his staff.

The ice cracked again as he instructed, "Amelia. Noah. Grab on."

That was the second my foot lodged itself between two chunks of ice. I felt my stomach drop. With all the strength I could muster, I lifted Noah up and to Jack, pleaded, "Take him! TAKE HIM!"

Jack reached out and grabbed Noah's hand. No longer did I care about the fast breaking ice, the cracks widening further underneath my feet, or the way my heart remained beating at an uneven pace. As long as Noah was safely away from the ice, as long as he was no longer in danger, I couldn't care about anything else. Even when Jack held his staff out for me to grab, even when I yanked my foot out of the ice, even when Jack and Noah both screamed my name, my foot gave way and I plummeted into the icy water below.

A deep gasp erupted from my throat, followed by hyperventilation that was a thousand times greater than my regular rate of breathing when I shot out of the water and clambered up the slope. As I looked around, I realised it was night. There were police lines wrapped all around the trees, flapping in the breeze and tape mapping where a body had once lain. It sent chills through my whole body.

When I gathered myself, a lot later, my chest was heaving and my throat was raw. I reached into my pockets and at that moment recognised I'd forgotten to pick up my phone. Why was I even looking for it? Where was Noah? Why was I at the pond long after dark?

Five minutes later, I came across an unfamiliar yet familiar house. And why were the older couple inside speaking to the cops? More importantly, why were they with Noah? Who were they? Something terrible must have happened, because I don't think I'd ever seen anyone looking so upset.

I was about to approach the solitary house when the cops opened the door.

"Hi. Sorry, can you tell me what's going on, please?"

They walked straight through me. I staggered back and crashed into the fence.

"Noah!"

Memories of why this had happened came flooding back. Pitch's Nightmares had chased Noah and I to the pond. Jack had been there, and he'd saved my child. Because of Pitch another life was lost. Speak of the devil…

He lingered a short distance in front of me, holding my gaze.

"This must be a shock for you."

Although he spoke in a gentle, soothing tone; something else passed in his expression.

Devastation.

The man who'd enjoyed the rush of fear, who'd been hidden away for many years, was showing me he cared. There was a brief moment of silence when the Boogeyman studied my face, searching for answers. In that moment, when he'd first laid eyes on me, I found myself lost in his eyes, but managed quickly to break away from the trance.

"I didn't know this would get you killed," Pitch went on.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you chased us."

"I can't leave you. Not after what I've done." He was getting annoyed now, but he managed to remain calm anyway. "Even before that, your family didn't look after you. Not really. All of your life I stepped back and gave them a chance, but…" He cleared his throat… "It's time to come home."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to be on your own."

I shook my head."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

Pitch looked hurt, then his eyes flared with anger.

"I wasn't giving you a choice."

"I'll scream."

"Even if you did, no one would hear you. They can't even see you."

I hadn't thought it possible for his eyes to narrow further, but they did.

"Very well," Pitch added, "You don't want to go with me. Fine."

He stared at me and for a brief moment I thought he would then burst into tears. Instead he reached into his pocket and held something, and before I even had time to react, he'd thrown a handful of black sand directly at my face, giving me no chance to duck.

I fell to the ground, and before slipping into a nightmare induced sleep the last thing I registered was Pitch lifting me into his arms.