Benevolence

Chapter 12

It happened on Friday the 13th of March which ironically was an unlucky day and quite fitting for the event.

It had begun as a brilliant day where they were at dad's new house by Trafalgar square when he announced a picnic in Brighton for some family bonding.

Will was pretty keen on the idea too and the usually depressed James cracked a small smile at the thought. Olivia was ecstatic having never been to Brighton unlike them and took forever to dress as they waited by the stairs.

Their dad rolled his eyes thoroughly amused at Olivia's dressing craze but ten minutes into waiting by the front door the opening of a door could be heard along with the thudding of feet.

She was standing at the top of the stairs grinning and twirled showing of the creamy white dress Lou had gotten her with a pair of striped gold and white sandals. Her hair was cascading down her back in obviously curled ripples of milk chocolate and her hazel eyes were accented by the thick mascara she had applied.

It was funny how dressed up she had gotten for one trip to Brighton but he realised that most people he hung out with nowadays got this ready too. He just never thought they took this long.

As though she was on the walkway she tossed her hair back and whipped out her glossy black sunglasses, pursing her lips. She began walking down the stairs slowly, a sharp off white hangbag slung over her shoulder. He knew dad and James were trying to stifle their laughter but Will couldn't help it.

This was just so typically Olivia even on something as basic as a picnic. He wanted to show her up so badly because dad saw her as his angel. He frowned at his intentions because Olivia had began loving him and they had spent some time together where he'd gotten to know her. It wasn't her fault she was a spoilt airhead and she had tried so hard to look so chic even if it were for a picnic.

Wait, what if she was trying to show dad that she was trying the hardest for this trip and that he, Will, didn't care at all? That simply wasn't right because he too cared a lot about this trip as it meant a lot to dad.

But he loved her and knew it was just a part of her that couldn't be helped so he should let it go however.....

Oh god he wished she would slip a little and make a complete fool of herself because that would really be a welcome laugh.

He felt a surge of energy gush through him and realised in horror that after weeks of denying the force any wishes he had just carelessly wished.

It all happened really fast. He saw how Olivia lost her footing and began tumbling down the stairs. He heard the crack of her foot as she screamed in shock and pain. He saw dad run to the stairs and looked on paralyzed in alarm as Olivia hit her head against the wall in front of the stairs just as dad grabbed her upright.

He saw James look at him, eyes full of suspicion and anger before helping dad hold Olivia's head upright. Trembling he walked with leaded legs over to where Olivia lay.

She was bleeding at the forehead in small rivers down her jaw with scarlet drops pushing of at her chin and splashing on her dress; a crimson mess decorating her stark white dress. Her face had taken on a deathly white pallor and the redness of her lips had faded. Dad had shakily told them that her heartbeat was slowing down to a faint beat.

James sprang into action dialling 999 after which he called mum followed by Lou. Will sat on the step watching with vacant eyes how Olivia was letting out faint puffs of breath.

Dad was trying to wake her up and rose to his feet as mum rushed in, cradling Olivia to her chest her face wet with tears. The medics ran in with a stretcher and clipped wires like those on Theo. They gently put her on the stretcher and Will looked down in shame as he saw how fragile she was.

He looked on concerned as they attached the clips to her and saw dad barely holding himself together to tell them what happened. His eyes widened with horror as Mum walked up to dad and slapped him, knocking his glasses off.

Everyone around them froze and Lou stepped up angrily yelling at mum about how it wasn't his godfather's fault and how it could have happened to anyone. Mum realising no one was going to back her up left the house in tears but not before telling James to ring her as soon as Olivia was admitted.

Dad was dragged into a green Ferrari by Lou and Will went into the back seat making himself as inconspicuous as possible because dad was distraught enough and he didn't need to further stress him out.

Just before the ambulance drove out of sight he saw James clamber in holding Olivia's hand and talking to her whilst glaring daggers at Will.

......................................

His stomach churned as he walked the corridors of the same hospital where he had met Theo the last time. Fate truly hated him for Olivia had the same room allocated to her in intensive care as Theo had.

She lay so still upon the crisp white sheets with wires protruding from her, attached to many beeping machines. She already looked dead, her skin ghostly white. They weren't allowed in yet and all they saw was through the window. Dad was inconsolable, wringing his fingers in the waiting room and fidgeting consistently even as Lou tried calming him down.

James joined them after a while and said that she was stable for now though still in critical condition. She was in a comatose state and for now wouldn't receive any visitors.

Will kept his head down and tensed up as James sat beside him. Lou suggested that dad and him went to get coffees and regrettably Will was left alone with a furious James.

‘Will I know it was you. I could tell it was you so I dare you, I dare you to defend yourself here. I've been noticing more than ever all the weird stuff happening around you like I had last time and it just strengthens my assumptions that you are doing something. Yeah you didn't push her but you did something because you looked so god damn guilty and I demand an explanation as to WHY YOU HAVE PUT OUR SISTER INTO A COMA!’

The staff looked at them warily and told them to use their indoor voices as to not scare away the patients.

Will stayed silent and gulped not knowing what to say. James got up and took his arm dragging him outside to the car park of the hospital.

James grabbed his shoulders and Will winced at how tightly he was gripping onto them. James eyes were alit with a sort of crazy desperate look kindled by immense anger. Will took a deep breath and decided to come clean about everything so that James would either help him or think he was fooling around. Either way he wouldn't have lied.

Feeling like he was finally going to cleanse himself of his dirty secret he said in as steady a voice as he could, ‘Look James you're being ridiculous again I couldn't have done it. I'm not capable of anything you're suggesting like telekinesis or magic because they aren't real.’

He wanted to rip out whatever was controlling him and kill it over and over again. His eyes begged James to see the falseness of his words and widened with relief as James's brow furrowed and he whispered in Will's ear, ‘Why are you constantly lying to me when it's so clear you want to tell me? Why? Is something stopping you?’

Will felt himself stiffen up with those words and push James off with strength he didn’t know he had before harshly whispering back, ‘Shut up James. JUST SHUT UP. You have no idea what silly things you're saying and predicting but your accusations are getting out of hand.’

James's eyes flashed with dragon-like anger as he opened his mouth to talk again. Will's hand shot out over his mouth and viciously said, ‘I said James that I wish Y-YOU WOULD JUST SHUT UP!’ The last few words were shrieked and had Lou running out of the hospital and by their sides demanding to know what was going on.

His eyes were disappointed and annoyed as he pushed Will off of James. Will panicked seeing James clutching his throat and gagging with his face turning from red to plum.

Will stuttered weakly whilst staring in horror at James, ‘Louis...Lou, James...James is choking.’

Lou paled and tried to help James out by thumping his back and then rushed him into the infirmary. James kept gesturing at Will and pointing to his throat. Will tried hard grasping at the threads that gave him the power to wish but he couldn't. You can't undo a wish with a counter wish but he kept trying amidst the tears spilling from his eyes because he had condemned two siblings to terrible fates. Dully he wanted someone to kill him so that no one else would get hurt because of him. Looking back at James through the window he yearned to save him and with a firm determination he wished that James would get saved.

Gritting his teeth he squeezed his eyes and tried to force his wish to come true. He wanted nothing more than to save his brother. He drew in a huge breath and held it whilst wishing over and over, biting hard on his lips. A trickle of blood smeared his teeth and he strained his brain until it hurt excruciatingly.

Blinking back tears he looked up to see James sit up puzzled staring at him. Smiling Will stood up but before he could take another step his world began spinning topsy turvy until there was nothing but blackness.

He felt so light. It had been a while since he had felt so alive and feather light. He felt his worries and stress ooze out of him and sighed at the pure bliss like relief he felt wash over him as he lay feeling golden.

So very light and golden. It was beautiful and surreal. It had been ages since he had felt so good.

He blinked hazily up to Lou and James's worried faces hovering over him. He clumsily patted them and smiled at them, so happy for the first time ever.

His smile lessened at the scared and tense look he saw on James. Sitting up he looked at Lou and asked where dad was. He was told dad was asleep in the waiting room and that James had stopped choking a few minutes ago. Will nodding said, he was going to go get coffee if James would join him.

James nodded knowing that Will had something to tell him. Sighing Will walked in silence after getting coffees to a secluded flower patch in the gardens to begin his explanation.

He knew James needed to know why he was choking as last time he had been rudely cut off.

‘James you were right. A...about everything you've deduced. Correct and I am to blame except there's one thing you need to believe me about. There's a force inside me that gave me the power to make wishes about anything I wanted to and sometimes caused me to black out so I wouldn't remember stuff it looked like I'd done. It makes me sometimes talk and say things I never meant to say and do stuff I’d never do. It made me lie to you and now I think it has complete control over me but I have no idea what to do to get it out of me. Hell, I don't even know what it is...’

James paled considerably and mulled over everything he'd said with a relieved but stressed look as he muttered, ‘I believe you Will, even though it's so strange but.....but does it travel like to other people because......because..I....I'm feeling weird. Like my head feels heavy and my body feels like lead. I feel so tired and down.....I don't like it Will because I'm not feeling like that. Is this.....anything you felt like?’

Will, who had been so thrilled to realise his light feeling meant it was gone froze thinking James was feeling what he had since the last few weeks which meant it was in him somehow.

Closing his eyes with a growl he put pulled James to him in a tight hug before telling him the worst news he wouldn't now wish upon his worst enemy.

He told him not to panic but to remember to never wish and that this time James would have something Will didn't have. A brother to help him through it.

As he left James to his thoughts and demons he went on Google to search about parasites. The definition and properties of parasites were eerily comparable to what was happening to them but with a tinge of super naturalness to it.

Parasite:

Noun

1. an organism which lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the others expense.

‘Once utilizing a host fully and taking in all the nutrients it desires it may move onto another host in order to ensure a ready supply of nutrients and a healthy host for its survival.’

He got nothing for his search of wish granting parasites that control and cause black outs other than stupid alien theories which he read, just in case they were substantial yet all they were were ridiculous.

................................

This would be a continuation of chapter 1 but obviously it can't. Thankfully Will kept a diary so he just had to edit it a bit as did I so here I am editing my journal.

We are almost there although we have no idea where there is but we have to hurry up because Becca and Will really needed his help. They had to stop the bloody aura before it destroyed everything with its insane greediness. It had gone out of control and I wish there were more people other than this rag tag team we have to try save the world.

We honestly have no idea what we are doing but maybe if we fail you, whoever gets this can do something or just save yourselves from this demon.

The good thing is that Will and I have wished this book indestructible in any way- it was so hard to trick the demon into it- and voila it's gonna be here no matter what.

Will is now frantically searching the shelves in this supposed wonder library that ought to help us seeing as we travelled far enough to get here. Okay now ummm before you read my journal I need to introduce myself like Will did- although his vision of me sucks a bit.

I am James Clarkson, eccentric and brilliant prankster extraordinaire who is also a most gifted singer- musician. Hmm what else, I am handsome as I'm sure has already been said.

I don't need to go into deets about how life went from awesome to shitty because it sort of isn't Will's fault but man that dude is something else...

Okay I am very close to my mum and get along with dad. Yes Will has dissed her enough but I sort of get that. I get distracted as easily as she does but her cheating was not okay. I am a player but Sara was one I had been utterly faithful to from the core of my heart yet now.....well never mind.

I am protective because no one hurts my lil siblings but me and that's that! Now what else, I am quite observant which caught Will by surprise and now I want to be ignorant but not really.

We've gotten closer and know each other now better than before yet I didn't want it in away like this.

Dad is a gem and I love him but he was always closer to Will than me. Lou and Olivia hold a special part of my heart as Will does.

Now as friends go my true real friend now I realise is Becca and will always be Becca. Sara always hated how close we were, even though we saw one other as a sibling!

Now I constantly got into trouble and that time with the guys hurting Will when I got sent to the head I yet again weaselled my way out by explaining my brother's fragile state and how he had only grazed the boys. I had also explained how many others would back him up and she had just smiled and let me go with a warning because she knew how horrid the boys were too. And being me I just walked out with a grin.

Becca and I went way back to primary school when she had dunked paint over my world book day costume in fifth grade. She became pals with Sara in high school, grade nine. She was also the one who pushed me into asking her for the spring dance in tenth grade.

We'd been together for two years and a half. And I loved her so much yet being my best friend I loved Becca more.

So in a way Will had done me a favour.....