Some Quiet Place

over and over. Her shirt snags on something and she hears it tear, doesn’t pay it any mind. She senses Emotions and Elements running from this place as quickly as they can. Why? Why? She’s too frantic to pause and find out.
    The girl trips over something. Something solid and warm. She sprawls on the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt. She hacks, shuddering. After a moment, she struggles back up to her feet, glancing back to see what tripped her.
    The world stops spinning.
    The trees darken.
    Her veins pound.
    Landon lies on his back, his beautiful eyes staring up at the sky. Glassy. His blood sinks into the soil around him. His body, his achingly familiar body … it’s ruined. She stares down at him, and abruptly she feels a laugh bubbling up inside of her. Vicious Fear and his games. How could anyone make an illusion this cruel? She kneels down beside this fake boy, poking him. “This isn’t funny, Fear!” she calls out, clutching her middle as hysterics overtake her. There’s a loud ringing in her ears.
    A buzzing overhead. A fly lands on Landon’s blood-flecked arm.
    For some reason, it’s the sight of the fly that breaks her.
    No, no, no, no. Screaming, Rebecca crawls closer to him, pulling his head onto her lap. She rocks Landon back and forth, sobbing. Because she can’t deny it now. He’s dead. She starts to whimper. Back and forth, back and forth. “No. Come back, please, please,” she begs, a broken whisper. His blood soaks her jeans. “Landon … ”
    He doesn’t answer.
    Her soul shatters, and her heart stops beating. She clutches his face until her knuckles turn white. “Wake up, Landon. Wake up now!” She starts to pound his chest furiously. It’s the first time she’s ever struck him. Realizing this, Rebecca stops. She holds his cold body close again, shaking her head.
    Her power leaks out, affecting the land, and the skies open up and start to sob with her. Her hair plasters to her head and her clothes grow heavy with water. They sit there together in the mud, the girl and her brother. Trembling, she starts to tell him a story. She bends over him to shield him from the wetness, and her hair trails through the mud.
    “They all lived happily ever after … ” Rebecca says in his ear, kissing his cheek. His eyes are closed now—she must have shut them at some point. Rain falls harder now, soaking her to the skin, washing all the blood away.
    Thunder shakes the ground, but she hardly notices.
    “We need to go.”
    The voice makes her jump, and Rebecca looks up dully. “Oh. It’s you,” she mumbles incoherently, then puts all her attention back into rocking Landon.
    The woman kneels beside Rebecca, tugs at her arm. Her gray eyes are sharp and wary. “It’s not safe here,” she adds in a low voice. “We need to—”
    “Leave me alone!” The scream echoes, becoming lyrics to the song of the storm. Rebecca shakes. A moment later, however, she’s returned to the mindless grief. “You can’t leave me all alone. Please, please, please, come back … ”
    The woman apparently decides to forgo asking and seizes Rebecca’s arm. The girl hisses, swiping at her as if she’s a wild animal. Jerking back, the woman lashes out. The blow hits Rebecca in the head, and she slumps. Swearing under her breath, the woman gathers Rebecca up in her arms. She’s not much bigger than the girl; she stumbles back a step. The rain continues to come down in torrents. The woman sloshes through the mud toward the cover of the trees. She leaves Landon there, bleeding, rotting, dead. It’s too late for him. Her eyes prickle but she doesn’t look back.
    Rebecca stirs. “W-where’s Mom?” she asks bleakly, head lolling in the crook of her rescuer’s elbow.
    “She’s gone. I think … I think your father took her. I could feel his essence in the air. You were probably too distracted to tell the difference between yours and his. By the time I realized what was happening and went to warn you all, the house was empty. I heard you screaming in the woods.”
    The words don’t seem to register with Rebecca. “Where’s Mom?” she asks again. Her companion lets it go unanswered this time, breathing hard. When she trips over a root she curses, setting Rebecca down.
    “You’re going to run,” she orders her. “If you don’t, I’ll hit you again. Harder.”
    “Oh, Rebecca! Rebecca James!” The playful, unfamiliar voice comes from behind.
    The woman’s eyes widen in panic and she yanks at