Frights at Twilight (Part 2)
By: Sloane Baecker (7)
Beatrice’s Point of View
Chapter 3 ~Nightfall~
Two young women who shared a small dwelling lived a lovely little life with a love of ceaseless swelling.
Beatrice was practically a saint doing anything asked without the faintest complaint. Perry was upfront, wouldn’t go silent but would confront anything flawed. Her impulsivity lied in her need for excitement. The two shared a sense of wonder so strong they were only rivaled by each other.
Everyday they woke up normally, a contrast to the night. Perry had sufferings each nightfall that seemed everlasting. She dealt with terrors in everything; she dreamed more severely than anyone thought it seemed. Luckily, Beatrice and Perry had each other. Every time terror attacked, Beatrice brought her a calming feeling and would not leave her reeling.
Just about every night, Bea expected to be awoken from her slumber by words Perry had spoken or by actions from which Perry would have from her nightly frights. However, tonight was completely different in a sense of aggression and intensity. Halfway through the night, Bea felt Perry’s hand on her shoulder and felt it move all the way up to her head. This wasn’t unusual, but then Perry stopped with her hands around Bea’s neck.
Her grip started to tighten, this had never happened before. Beatrice knew the best way to handle Perry during a terror was to be gentle and not aggressive (it was best to ease her out of it). She tried to take Perry’s hands off her neck, but they didn’t budge. Bea kept trying and slowly grew more forceful, but this only made Perry clamp her hands even tighter. Then, Bea began coughing and struggling to keep her breath. This was the turning point. Bea was running out of breath and didn’t have much time to think about it. Next thing she knew, she struck Perry. As strong as she felt it didn’t seem to do much, Perry was still gripping tighter and tighter and tighter. Using all of the strength she had left, she struck Perry again. But everything from Bea’s sight to her hearing felt like they were slipping away. Things were already going blurry; she couldn’t tell how much damage Perry had done. One thing did click immediately, following the second slap, Perry’s grip had loosened freeing her throat. Bea could feel all the air returning to her lungs.
Chapter 4 ~Silence~
Perry had awoken in her full mind, but Beatrice was still trying to catch her breath while her vision was starting to fade in. Perry was overflowing with confusion and sympathy. Bea was so overwhelmed by all that had happened, so she lost her balance and toppled over and onto the floor. Bea still couldn’t see perfectly, but she heard Perry run over on the verge of tears as she asked a million questions about everything. She heard all of them, but she only acknowledged the last one. The scary one, the one Perry already knew the answer to. Only five words, “Was this because of me?” All Bea could do at this point was look up at Perry. This assured her that they both knew the answer.
Beatrice still didn’t say anything; she just left the room and fell asleep on their couch. She never became this silent unless she was trying to send a message. Perry knew exactly what that message was. The next morning, there was so much tension and no interactions, just pure uninterrupted silence. This day would have been easy, but this was a rare occasion where nothing was supposed to happen. It was only ten in the morning, but by this point, the clock made it to the 30 mark. Beatrice broke the silence, “Ok.” The first and only word she’d spoken, but enough to show last night took quite a toll on her. “Ok, Ok, Ok,” she repeated, trying to gather her thoughts. Then she began telling what happened to her last night…