Fields of flowers

I tried to speak to go outside and speak to Jacob, to warn him of Mr. Hyde, but the roses that have been growing outside in spite of the cold weather blocked my path. I moved backwards, knowing there was no doubt that Mr. Hyde had planted them himself, but there were only more roses behind me, and they grasped at my ankles and dragged me below the earth.

When I emerged once more, I was in an endless field of flowers. Mr. Hyde was staring at a house, his back turned to me, just like in Jacob's paintings. He turned around and walked forward, his thorn-dagger raised high above his head.

I stared at him for several seconds, frozen with fear. Then I turned around and ran. After running for several minutes, I stopped to catch my breath. I turned around, and the house was just as close as ever, as was Mr. Hyde.

There was no escape.

Mr. Hyde’s thorn-dagger had grown in length substantially since I last had a clear view of it, and was by then closer to a thorn-sword. He dragged it across the ground as he advanced on me. No roses sprouted from the ground to obstruct my movement as I tried in desperation to flee from Mr. Hyde. This was his personal show, one in which he was both the audience and the star.

I pulled a rose from the ground and stabbed its thorns into Mr. Hyde's chest.

He was still smiling as he stared down at the tears in his suit and the wounds in his flesh. As Mr. Hyde tore the thorns out, the world around us dissolved.

I awoke in our world, the roses wilted around me.

Jacob rushed to my side. "Oh, thank God, Zoe, you’re safe," he said as he extended a hand to lift me up onto the ground. "I’ve been looking everywhere... where were you?"
I threw my arms around him and said nothing. I explained everything later, but in that moment, I was silent.

Somehow, although I do not doubt he is still alive, I feel that Mr. Hyde will not seek to harm us again in the near future.