Confront It

The grey skull gets as close as it possibly can to Olivia's pink bubble, but it does not enter. Even an entity such as itself can not pierce the shield. It's fortunate for us. It means that as long as we stay in the confines of the bubble we are safe. The only problem is there is no telling how long we'd have to wait it out. It could be days, weeks or even years. That's when I realize we are going about this all wrong. "lower the shield." I request. "What?" "He's not going to go away." I say. "But that's suicide you're talking about." She shouts. "It's suicide if we leave it up. We'll starve to death." "We can come up with something." I shake my head. "There is no other way. We have to confront it." "But-" "I'll go myself . You stay here." "I'll come with." She says. "No, you stay here. Just in case." Olivia bites her lip. "I'll be back soon." I promise. "You mean it?" "I do." Olivia takes a deep breath. "Ok. I'll weaken the shield, but only in the back. That way you can slip out and sneak up on him.
I silently counted to three then slipped out the back. When I exited, the grey skull was already there waiting for me. It was as if it knew ahead of time what I would do. It inched closer to me. I looked deep into its black, concave eyes. I saw empty, swirling galaxies, and I felt colder than I had ever felt in my entire life. I took a breath and said to it simply, "Here I am."