In an unannounced fashion, daybreak hurried out the unruly darkness that seemed to protest its notice to vacate the premises; much like rowdy club patrons, refusing to leave after the frolicking had ended. Degree by degree, the horizon lightened enough for Laurie to witness the events that were taking place – the creature had immediately transformed into a black bird, that flew onto a branch of the tree. The coffin, chains, and baying wolves went silent, and were nowhere in sight – they’d simply vanished!
Laurie stretched her legs out from under her, and eased her frame onto the sharp, roguish grass that sought revenge, and delighted in stabbing her entire body that was now imposing on a greater surface area of their territory as she lay sprawled, on the unwelcoming hosts. She took shallow, quiet breaths through parted lips, with keen diligence, trying to remain undetected by the beast; she could taste the noxious fumes that the wet sludge emitted beneath her face, as she sucked in the foul air.
It was only a matter of time before it was over – at least in the movies, these types of events always came to an end, sooner than later – all she had to do was keep her head down, and play dead. On the flip side, she reminded herself, that in the movies, when the subject gets caught, in a situation like hers…it almost never ends in their favor. She reasoned, ridiculously at the equally ridiculous and harrowing scenario, as she lay sprawled on the seeping Earth.
Suddenly, someone or something approached from behind her. It touched her bare skin with coarse, heavy hands – she quickly flipped onto her back and came face to face with the most disturbing and petrifying image that one’s mind can conceive – her life as she knew it, was over.
It was Avery’s face in a state of advanced decay. His soulful eyes were no longer there, but, empty, white sockets that were oozing copious, bloody fluid instead. His curly hair had fallen out in random clumps. His lips had decayed, leaving the disturbing sight of his white teeth, lodged in purulent, bloodied gums – much in the way a rotting corpse would appear.
“You coming with me!! You get away last time, but not again you dirty little bitch!!!”
The creature scowled, and threatened in a raspy, low, un-human like voice that was absolutely horrific.
Immediately after, the zombie spoke with a different voice. It was a male voice that seemed more vibrant, eloquent, and younger – spoken with a different accent; it was either a Creole or, French accent that belted out the words,
“Ha, ha, what a pity – what a pity your pretty face going to look just like mine!!”
She let out a loud scream and started flailing her arms and legs violently to ward off a possible attack from the massive, grotesque, hostile creature who was straddling her. She closed her eyes, with her forearms shielding her face and hoped that the disgusting creature would just leave her the hell alone. She wasn’t ready to die, Laurie thought to herself, and if she had to exit this world at her youthful age, with as much unfinished business she had – she sure as heck didn’t want to go out like this – not taken out by some rotting sideshow!
With all of her might, she balled up her fist – so tight, that her fingernails dug into the palm of her hand. She took a deep breath, and swung forcefully at the creature, striking it in the middle of its face. It seized her arm at the wrist firmly, and pinned her body forcefully into the mud as she tried harder, to claw at its throat with the opposite hand!
“Ouch!! Dammit!! Stop!! It’s me, Avery – calm down!!!” Avery yelled, overcome by a solid blow to his face.
Her opened eyes only revealed a shadow that hovered over her. Avery was there, trying to calm her, with his hands, restraining hers. They were still lying in bed from earlier that evening. She looked at him, frantically scanning the room, as she lay on her back, breathless, and sweaty.
“Oh, my God, what happened?” she questioned.
“You slugged me really good in the face – that’s what happened!!” he said, guarding his nose, looking peeved.
“Oh, goodness, I’m sorry – oh no! Avery, ah, let me get you something…a rag, no – you need ice,” she said, rising to her feet in a panic, mortified by her actions.
“I’m fine – Laurie, sit down. You’re here with me – at my place. I think you had a bad dream. Are you okay?” he questioned, startled from the entire brawl that unfolded just seconds ago.
“Yes, I mean, no!!” she screamed out frantically, holding her head with both hands. “I’m not okay!!” she paused, realizing that the entire event, as vivid as it was, was all in her head. She had hit Avery hard enough to leave a bruise; how she wished that, that part was also, a dream.
“You were restless, and talking in your sleep – I shook you because you kept squirming around like you were scared, or in distress… then you straight up, punched me in the face – woman, you’re dangerous – huh!” he said, disconcertedly.
“Gawd, I feel horrible – I’m sorry! I had a horrible dream – and when you shook me, you startled me…and then, I hit you…” she said, overcome by remorse.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, I was just concerned,” Avery informed her, with an uneasy look on his face.
“I didn’t mean to punch you – I’m terribly sorry…” she moped.
“It’s okay, it was an accident – you were dreaming, quit apologizing – just don’t do it again!”
“Yeah…I guess I was dreaming – wouldn’t call it a dream exactly, more like a damn, nightmare in broad daylight to boot, huh? Gosh, and that tree was there…”
Laurie’s eyes darted around the room, as she transitioned back into reality. She was still out of breath and embarrassed by her outburst, which had become too familiar over the years. Her heavy breathing confirmed her looming anxiety; it was as though her unconscious was still trying to escape an attack from the unrelenting assailant.
“Do you wanna tell me about it?” Avery asked, caressing her arm. She shrugged her shoulder, indicating that his touch elicited discomfort.
“What’s happening to me? It was about you… you were – a rotting, smelly zombie, tangled in chains – carrying a casket!! You turned into a bird when the sun came up, and then you sneaked up on me and threatened me, saying something to the effect that you, you –you came to take me away? And you called me… bitch.”
Avery looked at her, wide-eyed. He was convinced by now that Laurie was dealing with some deep-rooted issues; much like the ones he’d been struggling with for most of his childhood – the ones that kept him seated for hundreds of hours in the chair of his psychiatrist’s office. These issues were the said ones that Baba Yaga found, too complex to deal with.
“What? I dunno what to say, Laurie, you were dreaming. None of that stuff was real, okay? I promise. I never called you a bitch either,”
“I know – sorry, I hate that you had to see me like, this,” she confessed while burying her face in the palms of her hands.
“Hey, you’re fine, there’s no need to apologize. How long have you been having nightmares – like this one?” Avery questioned, reaching for a brown, cashmere throw that was bundled on the pillow behind him; he draped it slowly over her back.
“Thanks…” she whispered, with half a smile, lowering her chin and wrapping herself in the comfort of the soft fabric.
“I’ve had bad dreams ever since I came back to Chestnut-Field, but none as lucid as this one. I thought it was because of – stress, and adjusting to my new lifestyle…” she said, wondering if now was the time to tell him about the events that led up to her medical discharge from the, Coast Guard – but she didn’t.
She let herself sink slowly, back onto the large bed. Her head lay contemplatively on the fluffy pillow, as she recapped the unsettling nightmare.
“Gosh, why is my mind playing these tricks on me? I don’t get it…I mean – you’re so sweet, and there you were, in my dream in the worst possible state ever, snarling, and yelling nasty things at me… what gives?”
Avery chuckled, and shook his head at the undesirable description her brain had conjured o
f him – he didn’t plan on making that sort of impression on her. Maybe a dream of him being a brave warrior, or maybe a superhero even…but a rotting corpse?
“Yeah, well our minds can play nasty tricks on us, but, you’ve got to appreciate the genius of our human brain, having the ability to scare us out of our wits! The fact that we can’t control what we dream is like having our own unannounced, personal horror movie! I don’t mean to trivialize what you’ve dreamt by any means, but, uh, looking at it that way can lighten things up a bit.” He said grinning.
“Hmm, thanks for putting it that way… next time it happens, I’ll be sure to appreciate the grotesqueness, and poor taste in entertainment my brain decides to play while I snooze. Yeah – I’ll do that.” Laurie added, with an expression on her face that indicated she wasn’t excited about Avery’s take on nightmares.
Maybe he needed a good scare to set him straight, and then he’ll know what it feels like, she thought to herself.
“I’m only trying to make things better, Doll,” he consoled.
“And, I thank you.” her whisper was accompanied by a smile.
But, it was Avery’s own experience that made him very empathetic towards Laurie. She was evidently being haunted by some sort of dark spell – be it exhaustion, or being under the heavy shadow of a hex; Avery could relate.
Unlike Laurie, Avery never had flashbacks, or saw dead people, but had very unpleasant encounters with apparitions. In each of his dreams, he was always very young – a little boy at the age of three or four, crying, pleading for someone to help him – but his dreams never revealed to whom he was pleading.
Jessie and those who were aware of Laurie’s plight were deeply concerned about Avery, and what he was getting himself into. Anya and Emery were livid, knowing that Avery had become so, involved with someone he only knew for such a short time. However, it was only after Avery briefly told his mother, Anya about Laurie’s troubles, she was the only one who expressed great interest in meeting her.
After giving careful thought to Avery’s request, she wanted to meet this young vixen, who evidently was no stranger to swooning well established, young men, with impressive titles and bountiful assets attached to their names.
Mea Culpa
There’s something you need to know…I’ve meant to tell you for some time now, but I didn’t.” Avery lowered his head and closed his eyes. He passed his hands over his messy hair, as he considered his choice of words.
“All I can hope for is that, you don’t hate me…”
“Is it about… us?” she asked, hugging her body like she was bracing herself for the devastating, inevitable blow.
“Oh, no – not at all. That ghost you saw. The one you described in the chateau –your home, pretty much fits the description of this said woman I’ve been dreaming of for…well, years.” He felt terrible for not telling her sooner, but he also didn’t want to feed into her hysteria. This was a secret that he’d never revealed to anyone, not even his brothers.
“What? What are you telling me? How? Why’d you wait so long to tell me something like this?!” Laurie sprang up, looking at him. Her eyes were like, laser beams, scanning him as though he was suddenly an imposter.
“God!! I understand if you hate me! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! It’s a very long story – just hear me out, please!” he pleaded.
“This I’ve gotta hear. Go ahead. Tell me everything. I wanna know everything that you’ve been holding back from me, Mr. Avery Gallagher – philanthropist, Bob Vila wannabe, and women’s activist on his down time!” she exclaimed, making a mockery of, and putting into question his proclaimed interests and passions.
“I never meant to mislead you, and there is nothing else that I’m keeping a secret – I’m crazy about fixing old homes, and I do care about young women having a fair shot at all jobs – period! Let’s not do this, please, don’t cut me down – I’m no phony. But I totally understand if you don’t trust me,” he said, with a look in his eyes that begged to be heard, and longed for her forgiveness.
“Talk. I’m listening,” she demanded, parting her lips in shock at his revelation. He took her hands in his and squeezed them; she fought the urge pull away from him. He proceeded to relate his side of the story. The horror story that consumed a greater part of his childhood.
“So, uh. I’ve been struggling with these night terrors that never went away. And, uh, my therapist back then, thought it was because I was abandoned as a child by my birth mother – he fed me that sort of textbook nonsense ever since I entered therapy.” He looked at her hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. She was silent.
“What’s messed up is that my mind has been so freaking cruel to me ever since – I don’t buy the whole theoretical bull shit though, there has to be some underlying explanation that science can’t put into logical terms about this woman who kept haunting me… then nothing’s logical about this, huh?” he asked.
“Wait!! Wait!!” she screamed. She shut her eyes and paused as if to steady herself after being shaken by a jolting headache. “You’re telling me this stuff has been happening to you since you were a kid? Why didn’t you level with me? After all that we’ve been through with the investigation? And after all I’ve told you about Myrna, and Mr. Pierre? After so many sleepless nights I’ve had? Why did you let me go on, week, after week chasing after something that you were very well, damn aware of? I wanna fricking strangle you for holding out on me!” she expressed. Her cheeks were flushed, her forehead wrinkled, and her eyes narrowed in contempt upon hearing his confession.
“I uh, understand. D – don’t. Don’t strangle me – I’ll be more help to you alive than dead – I promise!” he said, hoping to lighten the mood.
“This isn’t okay!! You – you can’t just tell me something like this and expect everything to be fine and dandy!!” Laurie said, with her voice striking a high pitch.
“I know, I know, I know…” he was lost for words.
“So, who was this woman in the white gown? Was she your mother, Avery?” Laurie asked, convinced that she was finally at the crux of finding out who this ghost was. It was no secret that this demonic entity wasn’t happy at all with the people that she was harassing. Their encounters with it were always, horrifying.
And, now this – another blindside, and turn of events that put her on a different path, a path that was as senseless as the entire escapade. Avery’s confessions about his nightmares brought an added twist to the entire situation. Who was he, and why did they see the same ghost?
“Marie- Claire! Her name was Marie- Claire, Avery!! Do you know who she is?” Laurie asked, sternly as if to pry an answer from the deceptive, handsome stranger.
“No! No!! Calm down, I have no knowledge of anyone by that name – oh, I think that’s what my sister Caroline calls her dog…”
“Gosh! – stop trying to be cute – you’re not funny!!” she scolded.
“Uh…but no. I don’t know of Marie –Claire. Here’s where it gets confusing, the woman in my past dreams wasn’t my mother. I’ve seen photos of my biological mother; I know what she looks like.
She’s originally from Brazil well, born in Portugal and moved to Brazil – she is, or was, tall and dark, but the woman I dreamt looked very, Scandinavian. At least that’s what I recall.”
“Yes, the ghost at my place had very light colored, matted hair and pale skin, under the bruising!” she said, holding her index finger to her chin.
“Back then, no matter how hard I tried to connect the two – it was impossible because there wasn’t any relation between the two women…at least none that I could think of,” he said.
Avery felt some sort of peace having revealed his troubles to Laurie, but, wondered if it would change her opinion of him.
“Hmm, wow – this is getting more disturbing by the second! Tell me, Avery, are you able to recall whether the woman in your dreams had severe bruising on her face – specifically, around her eyes and mouth?”
�
�Yes, her face was battered looking, can’t say precisely where the bruising was though…she wore that white, flowy gown – just as you’d described.” Avery hung his head and paused for a moment, looking down at his hands that were still holding Laurie’s.
“Laurie, you’ve gotta know that I feel horrible for not telling you sooner, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I, uh, I needed to get to know you a little better before I sounded like a weirdo. Not that I’m implying that you’re – a weirdo, it’s just that – well, the situation and what we’re experiencing isn’t the most believable, or pleasant,” he paused and looked at her; she was drinking up every word he spouted. “It isn’t something I’d want to discuss with the woman I have strong feelings for – very strong feelings. It’s not something I wanted to discuss with you, or anyone else, for that matter. Marie- Claire, huh?” he said, biting the side of his cheek.
“Yep, we have a name – if it’s the same person! Right now, we’re assuming that Marie-Claire is our ghost. Gosh, I know exactly what you’re saying – I’ve experienced that type of self-doubt, and that isolation the comes with it firsthand. I understand more than you know.” Laurie said, conveying her deepest sincerity.
“I’ve tried to put this behind me, but … these night terrors have lasted for years…just when I thought things were improving, bang! They return – sometimes, there’d be months or even years before I get an attack, and then they would happen randomly over a period of several weeks.” Avery professed, almost whispering, as though covertly releasing his evil, treacherous demon-children to a deeply, trusted custodian. But, only this time, his confessions to Laurie left him with a profound feeling of catharsis, unlike his countless professional therapy sessions.
Reclamation Page 8