*This is just something I came up with on the fly. Enjoy!*

My hands are cold. It’s nothing new; my hands are always cold, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Why?

Because they’re shaking, that’s why.

My hands don’t shake. I don’t shake. For some reason, however, standing in this dark, empty room, I see my hands start to twitch against my will, then full on vibrate against my leg. I hold them up in front of my face, examining them, as if I could find the source of the problem on the outside.

Something falls to the floor in the darkness, sending an echo around the room and blasting into my ears. I only have a second to process the first sound before another comes louder after it, and then footsteps after that.

“Cold, are we?” he asks, taking his time as his steps draw closer. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Where am I?” I ask, still unable to see farther than a few feet in front of me. “Why am I here?”

“You know why you’re here, Myra,” he says. The footsteps come to a halt, and all I can hear now is my breathing and his voice. “You have something I need.”

The footsteps pick up again, and as they draw ever closer, my hands shake more violently. With each step, I wonder if somehow he’s responsible.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. My hands stop shaking.

“Give it to me.”

“Give what to you?” I ask. “I don’t have anything you need.”

He lifts his hand again, and my hands resume trembling. “If that were true, your hands would be still. The two pieces cannot function separately, Myra, but together, they have unlimited power. I have one piece, and you, my dear, have the other: but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Why are my hands shaking?” I ask cautiously, my eyes wide as I feel the air move around me. “What are you doing to me?”

“I’m not doing anything. It’s that stone you wear around your neck that itches to be reunited with its other half that I wear on my wrist. They cannot resist one another.”

The stone seems to grow heavier on my chest as his hand runs from my shoulder to my neck, then to the other shoulder. It sends a chill down my spine.

“I’m going to give you one more chance, Myra. Hand over the stone.”

I swallow, forcing a painful gulp down my throat before shaking my head. “No.”

He chuckles, the rasp sending another wave of chills through my body. “I’m sorry, that’s not the answer I’m looking for.”

His footsteps move slowly, the sound painful and torturing as they circle me. I close my eyes, breathing deeply as I do my best to stay calm. I’m terrified– and I’m sure he knows it– but I won’t let my fear control me.

My breath hitches in my throat when I hear his breathing right in front of me. I can feel the change in the air; I can sense the closeness between us.

“Open your eyes, Myra,” he commands, his voice stone cold. “Face your fate.”

With shaking hands and gritted teeth, I slowly open my eyes.