Oxenfree, Reincarnation, badass
In the darkness, Alex could make out a silhouette of a boy gliding towards them, closer and closer - yet he was not moving a single muscle. The woods, so eager to howl their pain into her and Jonas’ ears and thrust them about with sudden gusts of wind, suddenly stopped and the silence made them shiver.
Alex looked to Jonas, who stood frozen and stared in the direction from which the person – was that a person? – was coming from. Jonas' eyes were wide open, overly aware but distant at the same time. He didn't want to be here, despite what he had been saying, and Alex knew that all too well. She saw him force himself to bond with her, to nurture a somehow amiable sibling relationship she hadn't put any effort into building. All that while she was nothing but awful to him. And now he was stuck with her on that goddamn island.
Alex turned her head back at the sound of a leaf crumbling under a shoe. Only a moment had passed, but the figure was already within the reach of their flashlights, and Alex flinched at the view. The blood racing through her veins now felt icy cold. Her knees buckled under her, weak and trembling.
“Alex, are you okay?” She could hear the fear in Jonas’ voice, if she had given up, he’d be completely on his own, and them having each other was the only good thing left in this madness. She didn’t respond, though, too focused on what was before her.
“Michael...”
It wasn’t him, exactly. The boy in front of her was blond and a little shorter than Michael was, and his clothes were too uncanny for her not to had seen them in Michael's wardrobe before. But for some reason – was it the way he walked? His innocent smile? The general way of carrying himself? – she knew it was Michael.
He reached out his hand to her. “Alex.” His lips didn’t move, but it was his voice. A whimper left her chest at the sound of it. “I’ve missed you.”
In spite of her still wobbly legs, she stood up and then took a couple of steps towards him. He was so near, and it was almost, almost Michael. The closest thing to Michael she had.
“Alex, no!” Jonas gripped her arm and began pulling her away. “It’s not him, let’s go!”
“Let me go!” Alex tried to break free, but Jonas’ hold was so tight it hurt. He was adamant, running in the opposite direction, tugging her behind him, and she had no other choice but to follow him. If she hadn’t, she was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to drag her behind him on the ground. Her eyes welled up, but she kept on going without turning back. She was too afraid to know what she’d see, and too weak to trust her reason.
The woods resumed their nocturnal melody.