Infringement by Benjamin Westbrook Page A

deafening screams that filled his ears. His own howl joined the horrid harmony of the other sad suffering souls whom he could hear, but could not see, and, like their cries in the night, his own cry went unanswered.
    He writhed on the ground for what seemed like days, until he sensed a hint of distinction among the voices, an understandable call from a recognized voice which had somehow managed to distinguish itself from the others. This hint of the familiar prompted Declan to sit up and focus all his energy and senses on that single voice in the black night. The voice became ever so slightly louder, and he could just make out her calling his name, “Declan… Declan…”, then “Declan, help me, please, Declan, save me.”
    He focused more intently, pulling himself up from the ground. Soon her voice rose above all the others, until finally, Declan heard only her cries, “Declan, help, please”, then she screamed, “No, no, leave me alone!”
    “Megan, I’m coming,” he called out. “I’m coming!” But, where was she? He tried to follow her voice, still unable to see anything except the foreboding blood moon hanging in the darkness above him. He moved left, then right, then turned in a complete circle, trying to determine the source of her voice.
    “Declan, Declan,” she called again, the fear in her voice rising. “Declan, please, I’m scared. Please, help me!”
    “Megan, where are you? Where are you?”
    “Declan, please, he’s coming for me. No, no!”
    He ran desperately in every direction, gasping for breath and unable to determine in the dark whether he’d actually gone anywhere.
    “No! No! Leave me alone,” she screamed, her voice filled with fear. “Declan!”
    Declan raced toward her, determined to find her in the darkness, to save her from whatever monster was tormenting her. He ran as fast as he could, yelling, “I’m coming, Megan, I’m coming,” until he suddenly tumbled over something in the darkness, falling hard and painfully, face first, onto the ground again.
    The voice had gone silent. Declan struggled to shake off the pain radiating from his head and chest and regain his senses. “Megan, where are you? Where are you?”
    His calls went unanswered. A cold bitter stillness fell over the night and permeated the darkness around him. Declan rose to his knees and groped along the ground trying to find whatever he’d fallen over. His blind hands moved along the hard ground, slowly probing for the object, when he finally felt the softness of her hair beneath his fingers.
    “Megan,” he screamed. “Megan!” Declan’s fingers quickly found her breathless body and followed the contour of her beautiful face.
    “No! No! Megan, Megan, come back! No!” Declan’s own cries were the only thing breaking the insufferable stillness of the night.
    He sat holding her lifeless body, sobbing into the darkness, pleading with God to bring her back. He gently caressed her face and kissed her forehead, but she didn’t stir. Finally, Declan slunk down beside Megan’s lifeless body, exhausted and defeated. He’d failed her.
    The black night hung all around him, quiet and still. Declan laid next to her, listening to the rhythm of his breathes, when, as with her screams amid the thousands of others, he slowly picked up on the rhythm of another breath. He shot up, and felt her chest. It was perfectly lifelessly still, yet the breathing of another person became even clearer. He was not alone.
    Unlike Megan’s earlier screams, Declan had no trouble determining that the breathing was coming from behind him and was getting louder and closer. He turned quickly, unable to see anything in the dark, but the sound still came from behind him. He jerked around again, flailing his hands aimlessly into the darkness to try and fend off whatever or whoever the slow rhythmic breathes belonged to, but, again, he heard them behind him. Regardless of which direction he turned, the breathing came from the total