by BL Maxwell
“Hold up. Let me give us a little extra protection.” Jason swung his backpack off and rummaged around before pulling out the chalk. He walked over to the wooden door and proceeded to draw a five-point star in a circle.
“What’s that all about?” Jimbo asked.
“It’s a pagan symbol of protection. It’s called a pentacle, four of the points represent the four elements and the fifth represents spirit,” Jason explained while he took the chalk and drew out the symbol he was describing. “It should help protect us from sprits that might want to cause us harm. But I’m not sure how it’ll work against anything else that might want to hurt us.”
“We’ll take any help we can get right now.”
“That should do it. Let’s get in there and get this over with.” I grabbed Jason’s hand and squeezed it, he squeezed back and released it.
“You two ready for this?” Jimbo looked at Jason and then me.
“Let’s do this,” Jason said and started to walk into the basement. He turned on his flashlight and shined it around the space before he entered. Jimbo and I were right behind him. When all of us were inside, we took a lantern out of Jason’s backpack.
“We need to put the candles in the four corners of what was the cell. We’re going to use them to focus the energy,” I directed Jason. He took two candles out of the box and walked over to the wall. As soon as he was near the area where the cell had been, glass began to tinkle. The air in the basement started to get heavier.
“We need to hurry. We have to get this set up before he gets here.”
“Tell me what to do.” Jimbo was nearly frantic to help.
“Here, take the salt and draw out the area that was the cell, leave one side open as an exit.”
He grabbed the remaining salt and got busy outlining the area. I went to the box and grabbed a few more candles and handed them to Jason. He hurried to put them in the back corners closest to the wall. Jimbo followed our lead and outlined the shape of the cell with candles in each corner.
“I need the lighter.” I held my hand out to Jason.
He reached into the backpack and after rummaging around he handed it to me. “Should we light them now?”
“Yes,” I instructed. “We need to focus his power so he can use it to get out of here and not to attack us again. Hopefully he feels the pull of the flames and goes right to the cell without throwing debris all over again.”
When we were finished, we stood back and studied the outline of the cell with the candles in each corner and the entrance, or exit, where there was no line of salt.
“Now what do we do?”
“We wait, Jimbo. Now we just wait.” Jason glanced over at me before reaching into his backpack and pulling out a small video recorder.
“Here, can you film what happens? I know it’s lame, but I really want to capture this.”
Jimbo considered him for a second before taking the camera and checking exactly how to use it. We were all focused on watching him when suddenly the candles flared up.
There was a loud gasp between us. I wasn’t sure who it was from, but it was obvious all of us were on edge and now shit was about to get real. The flashlights blinked out, and we were left with only the light of the candles.
We all stood there waiting. My own senses were hyperaware of every movement and every tiny sound. I could once again hear the glass start to tinkle and scrape across the floor. Suddenly there was a whirlwind of sound and motion blasting through the area.
“Everyone be careful,” I shouted over the noise. We all had our ears covered in response to the explosion of sound. Just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and we were once again plunged into silence.
“What the fuck was that?” Jimbo stammered out as he slowly lowered his hands from his ears.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” I warned.
Jimbo elbowed me in the side and pointed with his chin. “What’s up with, Jason?” he leaned in close and whispered.
I turned to look at Jason and was immediately concerned. He was panting, breathing too hard and so fast that his shoulders were moving with each breath. I moved in front of him so I could look at his face.
“Jason?” I reached out my hand and smoothed back his hair.
He slowly raised his eyes to mine but immediately I knew. This was not Jason. As soon as he made eye contact, his mouth transformed into a smile that was both insane and menacing at the same time. With none of the warmth that Jason normally possessed.
He reached out his hand to stroke my face, but I flinched back from him. His mood changed instantly, and he seemed enraged. He lunged for me with his hands curled into claws. He grabbed for my arm, but I slid away from him. “Jason, what are you doing? Jason!”
Once again he smiled that evil smile at me, and I felt goose bumps erupt on my arm where he’d touched me. He lunged at me again and started mumbling something unintelligible under his breath. This time his eyes were locked with mine. “I know what you want, but it will not work. I will never leave here. This is where I belong, and this is where I’m going to stay.”
“We’re trying to help you. Louise Chalmers, your wife, asked us to help.”
“Argh, cares nothing for me that one. Told me she’d take care of me and then starved me.”
“That’s not what happened. She tried to keep you safe.”
“Liar!” he bellowed, and I could feel the wind start to pick up again. Glass shards started to swirl around the floor of the basement. Jimbo stood there with a shocked look on his face.
All at once it stopped. Everything got quiet, and I had a feeling of anticipation. Something was going to happen. Mr. Chalmers started to walk slowly toward the cell we’d drawn out on the floor in salt. The closer he got to it the louder the room seemed to get. When he crossed over the line into the cell, there was a loud sucking sound, like all of the air was being drawn from the room.
Mr. Chalmers used Jason to walk over to face the wall and froze. He didn’t seem like he was even breathing. Slowly he raised his head and turned to face us. He was mumbling again, words I could barely hear and that made no sense to me. He looked directly at me and time stopped.
Suddenly I was aware of a pushing feeling, of someone needing to get my attention. Like a child tugging on my pants leg but more insistent. Then just as suddenly it was gone, and I realized I was here, but I was no longer alone in my head.
Chapter Twenty
“Yes, Wade, you are correct. I’m now with you. I told you what had to be for me to help my Robert.”
I heard the voice in my head as though it were my own thoughts. I knew I should be freaking out, but I also knew this was the only way to end all of this and set them both free. And to bring Jason back to me.
“Is Jason safe? He looks like he’s suffering. You said we’d be safe, but he doesn’t look like he’s safe at all.” I started to move toward him but was stopped by a force that I had no control over. Mrs. Chalmers was controlling my movements and stopping me from going to Jason.
“What are you doing? I need to protect him.”
“You cannot reach him now. We’ll have to complete the ceremony for which we have conjured my Robert. He does not understand what you’re saying.”
“What the fuck? You told her this was okay?” Jimbo bellowed from my left. “Did you even bother to explain to Jason what he was signing up for? Because I’m pretty sure he had no clue this shit was about to go down.”
“James, you have to understand. If I had been completely honest with Wade, he would not have let Jason be possessed by my Robert. I have to set him free; he’s suffered far too long.”
“You lied to me. Get the fuck out.” I tried to push at her spirit and get her to leave my body, but it was like pressing on mist. She wasn’t leaving my body until she was damn well ready.
“I did not lie to you, Wade. I was not completely truthful, but I did not lie to you. My Robert deserves to move on and find peace. Now please, help me. I cannot do this without y
our help.”
I considered her words for a second and suddenly realized she could probably hear my thoughts as I was thinking them.
“Yes, I am able to hear your thoughts while I am with you. But you can also read mine. Go on, learn what you must from me.”
I concentrated hard on her words and soon I had thoughts racing through my mind, thoughts that were not my own. Months and months of loneliness and suffering that turned into years. But even worse than the loneliness was the longing. The feeling of her heart being near but not being able to touch him. The thoughts of how bad his suffering was and how it had gone on for years and years. Of not being able to get to him and lend him some comfort with a touch or even a word.
“Jason,” I murmured on a breath at the same time she thought her husband’s name.
“We have to help him, but please, you have to promise me Jason will come to no harm.”
“I shall do whatever I can to protect them both. Now let’s begin, shall we?”
“Jimbo, when I enter the cell area, I need you to seal the entrance with salt,” I instructed him.
“Dude, if I do that you won’t be able to leave, you’ll be completely defenseless.”
“I know. But it’s what has to be done. This is the only way we can set them free.”
I felt myself start to move toward the area, even though I hadn’t consciously made the choice to do so.
“I’m sorry but we do not have much time. We need to set him free while he is still trapped in Jason,” she explained as she kept moving me—us toward the entrance.
“Are you sure about this?” Jimbo was at my side and pulled on my elbow to get my attention.
“I’m sure. There’s no other way.”
He released my arm and stepped over to grab the bag of salt he had set down by Jason’s backpack. I started toward the cell and as soon as I was at the entrance Jason turned.
“What do you want?” His eyes were wild, searching but not really seeing. “I told you before to leave me alone. Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“Robert. My love.”
I felt my mouth form the words, but it was not my voice that came out.
Suddenly he seemed to calm down and his frantic movements slowed. He dropped his arms to his sides and stood completely still for a moment then his eyes cleared and were focused on me, on us.
“Louise? Is—is it really you?” His eyes were now wide in disbelief. “How can this be?”
“I shall explain to you after we have completed one small task. That is all that is required.”
“No, I don’t believe you.” He turned around and started clawing at the wall again. Jason’s fingers were raw, his nails shredded, leaving bloody marks on the dirty stone wall.
“Please stop,” I stepped forward into the cell. As soon as I crossed the barrier Jimbo was there behind me, I could hear him spreading the salt, sealing us in.
I moved slowly toward Jason and gently settled my hand on his shoulder. “Please stop.”
He froze, and then very slowly turned around. He was very clearly Robert Chalmers now. His eyes were no longer the warm, loving eyes I’d grown used to. Instead, they were the wild eyes of a man who had gone insane. Where before there was a glimmer of him, now he was completely Robert Chalmers.
“What do you want?” he asked again, his annoyance at us seeming to grow.
“I only want to help you. I have longed for you for so long, my love. So many years I’ve dreamed of being with you again, of loving you again. Am I wrong to assume this is what you would also desire?”
He paused and seemed to think about what she had just asked him. He slowly raised his head and looked at us once again.
“I want to leave here. I want to finally be free from this place that has held me prisoner for so long. I’ve missed you so much, my dear.” He looked at us with so much longing, so much love, and so much hurt. “I want to leave, Louise.”
I felt myself move even closer to him. I slowly took his hand in mine and very gently stroked the top of it.
“And so we shall. You’ve suffered enough, my love.”
I took his other hand so now we were holding both of our hands between us.
“I need you to listen to me very carefully, my dear Robert. You have the power to leave here. We both need to focus our powers and that will enable us to escape this prison once and for all.”
“I . . . I don’t think I can do that, Louise. I’ve tried to focus, but nothing works. Nothing ever changes.” He pulled his hands away and started to turn back to the wall again.
“Robert, you must listen.” I grabbed for his shoulder, and he spun quickly to face us, startling me and Louise too.
“I don’t have to listen to nothin’ you’ve got to say,” he shouted in my face then shoved me so hard I stumbled back. I expected to be sprawled on the ground, but instead I hit what felt like a solid wall just a few feet behind me.
“What the fuck,” I said as Jimbo reached his hand up and touched what appeared to be a wall neither of us could see. A wall that had no shape or form but when touched felt completely solid.
“You see this?” he asked, not taking his eyes or his hand off the area where the wall was.
I felt my head nod in answer, but it wasn’t me that was answering him, it was Louise.
“It has to hold us in here, together. If we cannot reach Robert, we must force him to stay here. There is no other way, James.”
I forced my hand to move, and tried to take control of my body away from her. But she was too strong. Once again, she spoke so only I could hear.
“You know what you must do. Only with the blood of two lovers combined will he finally be able to pass over.”
“I know it, but I don’t like it. I don’t want to hurt him,” I replied.
Suddenly Jason turned and faced me. He had his hands clenched in anger as he stared right at me. “You will not make me leave,” he said through gritted teeth and then lunged at me again.
This time he was too quick. I didn’t have time to move out of the way. At first I didn’t feel anything.
“Wade, are you okay?”
I shook my head to focus back on what Jimbo was saying. Then I felt it, a stinging followed by a burning pain in my arm. I grabbed it with my hand in an attempt to stop the burning. I pulled my hand back and it was covered in blood.
Chapter Twenty-One
I felt Louise gasp as we both saw the blood. “What have you done, Robert?” My hand started to quiver. I looked over at Jason, and in his hand was clenched his Swiss Army knife. Something he always kept on him that I’d never given a second thought to.
“I told you to leave me!” he growled at me, holding the knife out in front of him in a ready position. Ready to stab or cut me again.
“Jason?” The shock of what he’d done tightened my throat. He blinked his eyes a few times but after a few seconds he widened his stance and seemed ready to strike again.
“Wade, you’ve got to get out of there. You’re hurt. Come out and we’ll leave this shit. No one expects you to risk your life for this. Come on, dude, let’s get Jason and get the fuck out of here,” Jimbo pleaded with me. I could barely hear him over the buzzing in my ears. It felt like too much stimulation. The pain in my arm was intense now. I could barely focus on what he was saying, much less try to keep my attention on what Jason was doing.
I took a step toward Jason and held out my hand. “Give me the knife. Jason, you have to trust me. You know me. You’ve known me since we were kids. I’d never hurt you.” I kept my voice low and steady, as steady as I could. He seemed to consider me for a second and then backed away from me until he was pressed against the wall.
“I do not know you. You will stay away from me.” The voice was all Robert Chalmers. Jason was nowhere to be seen or heard.
“No, Jason, fight him. You have to try to fight him.” I talked to him in what I knew sounded like a voice full of hysteria. The thought of losing Jason this way chilled me to the bo
ne. Without thinking I took a step toward him and put my hand on his shoulder.
He dropped his shoulder away from my hand and once again held the knife pointed at me. “He cannot fight me. I will not be controlled and trapped for one more moment. Louise, I know that you wish to help me, but I will not abide by what you would have me do.”
“Robert, we don’t mean you any harm. We need your help to finish what we’ve all started, then you can both move on to the other side and finally be together. Just like Jason and I. I love him, and I won’t allow you to control him any longer.”
I moved forward quickly before he could react. I grabbed the hand with the knife and held it tight against the wall. I knew I was hurting him, but there was no way I was letting the ghost of Robert Chalmers make choices for Jason. He was mine, and I’d protect him to my last breath.
“Unhand me. What do you mean trying to restrain me in this way?” His eyes were wide, and for a few seconds I couldn’t tell who was in control. Robert’s image seemed to flicker, and I could see Jason, he was so scared. He opened his mouth like he was trying to say something, but no sound came out.
“I won’t hurt you, but you have to let Jason go. You’ve already hurt me. Do you see the blood from where you cut me?”
He looked down at my arm, and once again I saw a glimpse of Jason. As soon as I saw it this time, I grabbed for the knife.
“No,” he yelled and started to try to squirm out from under my weight. I still had his hand held firm against the wall. I leaned harder into him and without thinking about it I elbowed him in the stomach. When he bent slightly in reaction, I twisted his hand and pulled the knife from it.
He was instantly in motion, rushing at me again. Struggling blindly, and trying to get the knife from me. It all happened so quickly I didn’t have time to think let alone react, yet it all seemed to be in slow motion.
He made a grab for the knife, and rather than trying to pull it away, I pushed it toward his hand. He couldn’t stop himself fast enough and the blade dug into the palm of his hand. He instantly pulled back and tried even harder to wiggle away from me, but I pressed my forearm across his chest and pressed into him with all of my weight. I dropped the knife and held his bloodied hand up above his head by the wrist.