AIR WAS SUPPOSED to be weightless, yet the more Josh breathed, the heavier he felt. This didn't make sense. People couldn't hurt him. Darren couldn't hurt him. Multiple attempts had proven so.

Josh's cheek ached as a painful reminder that apparently Darren could hurt him.

Darren scoffed. "Pathetic."

He struck out with a kick. Too numb to brace himself or even move, Josh took it straight to the shoulder. He slammed down to the ground with a grunt, only having a moment to process the kick had hurt as well before Darren slammed his foot down on Josh's chest.

A searing pain laced through his ribs. Josh screamed. Dark spots dotted his vision as he heaved for breath. Every inhale burned.

"This all you have?" Darren peered down at Josh and sighed. "I expected more from you."

Before Josh could retort, a small box flew through the air into Darren's face. It fell to the ground next to them. Darren glanced down at it, then his eyes shifted to the source.

"Get away from Josh."

That trembling voice sliced through the paralyzing haze, but it made his insides freeze. Eli. His little brother was still there, witnessing all of this. Josh twisted his head as much as he could to catch sight of him.

Terror had Eli shaking in the spot, tears building in his eyes and snot trailing from his nose. But he stood there, another box in his hand, refusing to look away.

"Scram if you know what's good for you, kid," Darren said, jerking his chin in the direction of the rest of the store. "I'm feeling pretty good today, so I'm not gonna involve some innocent in this." When Eli didn't budge, Darren's smile gained a nasty edge. "Or, if you insist, I can just get rid of you."

Eli made a choked sound, and that sent a crack through the ice in Josh's body. Burning anger seeped forth, sweeping through Josh until he thought he'd see red.

Darren had threatened Eli.

With the roar of his fury filling his ears, Josh reached up and wrapped his hands around Darren's shins. Darren looked down at him. Snorting, he added more pressure.

Pain flared, but Josh ignored it and struggled to shove upward. He was a pretty strong guy, but somehow, Darren didn't budge. Gritting his teeth, Josh pushed harder, arms trembling.

He wouldn't let Darren do this in front of Eli, and he would never let him hurt his little brother either.

"Get off of him," Eli whispered.

Josh dug his fingers in. He would protect Eli.

Darren rolled his eyes. "This is your last warning to go, kid."

Protect Eli.

Another box flew. Darren's eyes flashed as he swatted it out of the sky. "Well, if that's your choice, just let me deal with your big brother first, alri—"

Protect.

The thought unlocked a flood gate. Energy surged through Josh. The pain no longer felt as consuming, and the weight on his chest no longer felt so heavy. Darren snapped his head back in Josh's direction, eyes wide.

But it was too late. Josh heaved with all his newfound strength. He didn't manage to force Darren to go down like he wanted to, but his leg being tossed upward did throw off Darren's balance. Josh rolled out from beneath his foot before he could drive it back down. Then, scrambling halfway up, he rammed into Darren.

The larger boy tumbled into one of the aisles. A shelf gave a loud groan as it gave under his weight. Not taking time to see if Darren was okay, Josh hurried toward Eli, frantically waving a hand at him.

"Start running!" he ordered.

Eli didn't need to be told twice. He spun on his heel, dropping yet another box he'd picked up, and ran. Josh caught up to him—

The wind gusted from his lungs as he slammed into... thin air? He stumbled back, trying to shake away the dizziness from the collision and regain his oxygen. His eyes watered, blurring the world, but that wouldn't have made him miss something large enough to feel like a wall.

Eli stood just outside the aisle, mouth agape. Something fell to the ground behind Josh, and Eli's eyes flicked that way. Fear filled his expression.

Josh didn't need to turn to know Darren was getting up. He took one last big gulp of air before stepping forward again. This time, he moved with his hand slightly in front of him.

Inches from the end of the aisles, his hand touched solid air. The world swayed, and this time, it wasn't just from slamming against something.

Solid air. He ran his hand across the area in front of him. It was all the same. A brush of his foot and extension of his arm revealed it went from the ceiling to higher than he could reach. A wall of nothing, refusing to let him pass.

"Josh, what are you doing?"

Josh's own shallow, short breaths echoed in his ears as he lowered his gaze to his little brother. The little brother that had walked out of the aisle without issue. How insane did one have to be to run into something not there?

Then again, hadn't he known he was going crazy? The signs had been there—the dreams that leaked into his reality, people supposedly watching him, the weird effect on Darren's eyes. Crazy. His broken imagination.

But what if it wasn't?

"Your brother asked you a question." Darren's voice was filled with a smugness that made Josh's skin crawl.

Eli took half a step forward. "Josh—"

The idea of Eli walking in and potentially being trapped as well finally snapped Josh out of it. He forced a confident grin and waved Eli onward. "Go get Mom and Dad. I'm going make sure this brute doesn't tear up the store."

"But Josh..." Eli looked toward the back of the aisle again, his face pale. "I can't just—"

"Eli." There was a note to Josh's voice even he couldn't place, falling somewhere between cold and emotionless. It couldn't match the smile on his face, but panic had seeped the warmth from him. "Go get Mom and Dad. Now."

Terror displayed plainly in Eli's expression, but there was a determined set in his jaw. In the end, though, fear won out. Sniffling, he turned on his heel and took off.

"Cute attempt to get help, but I don't think it'll work."

Taking a deep, fortifying breath and steeling his nerves, Josh turned to face Darren. The first thing he looked at was his eyes. Despite the dark color, Josh could make out the slit pupils. They were a dark voice, cutting through the grey.

"Look, Darren, I don't know what you think happened." Or what dark forces he'd sacrificed bunnies and puppies to in order for Josh to lose his mind. He kept that part to himself though. "Whatever you heard, I didn't sell you out. So just..." He licked his lips and swallowed hard. "Just back off, okay? You've already got to be in enough trouble as it is."

The smile that crossed Darren's face forced Josh to inch back. "Interesting," he mused. "From the memories I see, this isn't how you normally talk to this boy. Are you afraid now that you feel pain?"

This boy? Josh shook his head without really knowing why. "You have no reason to do this, Darren."

Those grey slit-pupil eyes glinted. "That may be true. Darren may not have a reason to do this, but Darren isn't here right now."

"You're right in front of me." Josh tried to put certainty into his words, but his voice came out desperate, almost pleading, because his thought earlier about sacrifices was coming back to him.

This was reality. This was not fiction. Some twisted occult magic or whatever this could be didn't exist.

Darren's smile morphed into a sneer. "You know you're wrong, boy." With a single leap and quick, graceful movement, he was before Josh once more, grasping a fistful of his shirt and yanking him so they were face-to-face.

"Though I guess it doesn't matter what you believe when soon you'll be dead."

Fun fact: Darren is one of the few characters who kept his name from a previous draft.  Except his connection to Josh and importance to the plot has constantly shifted, from now to beginning as a random thug Josh fought against.

Perhaps not the best of places to cut off, but it was either this or suddenly getting a 2.6k long chapter.  Which some wouldn't mind, but it's a pretty random difference from the ones before xD But yeah, if you hadn't guessed, this isn't just a random beat up.  Darren wants Josh dead, and there's some magical wall around helping him do it.  Or maybe it's not there.  Maybe Darren isn't even here.  Maybe none of this is real, and Josh is really just crae-crae o.o 

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!