by Dawn Gray
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, my eyes filling up with tears as I sat on my knees beside the edge. I wanted to reach in, to caress his face, to know that he was real, but I held back, knowing that I wasn’t to be the one to take him out. “I’m going to take you to her.”
You came, a voice picked up, echoing around me. I turned to find it and caught the faintest shimmer of mist in the corner of the room. He wasn’t whole, to the point where I could make out features, but he was there and I smiled.
“I’m not your Sam,” I replied to the spirit before me.
I know, she’s waiting for me, I can hear her calling.
“How did you get here, why can’t you leave?” I questioned, maybe going too fast, for he shushed me into silence, almost laughing, as Zander would do.
It’s not finished, Sam. His voice sighed. It’s not going to let me go. It wants to keep me here. So long as I’m here, he can be out there.
“I’m not going to let him keep you from where you need to be any longer,” I said sternly and stood. “That isn’t you letting off those bolts in the other room, is it?”
I have no control over my powers here. They put me here to keep me safe, to keep him from completely taking over, it’s why they moved me.
“Who moved you, Zander?” I whispered, and then felt the rush of the wind around me, and the sounds of drums in my ears.
Suddenly, I understood. Whatever was unleashed from the burial ground wasn’t what the Ute Indians had buried there. They were the butterflies, they were the spirits that moved him into the water to begin with, to keep the demon from completely taking over. I looked up at him once more, before glancing into the pool.
“I have your ring, and your necklace,” I told him softly, then listened to him sigh in relief. “You left them purposely, didn’t you?”
Items we hold closest to our hearts can be used to ward off evil intent, he whispered and I felt the caress of a gentle touch on my cheek. Your Zander waits for you. He’s worried because they keep my communication secret, and he is unable to contact you.
“What happens if I take you out of here?”
Than he can take control of my power.
“I made a promise to my father, to Sam’s father, that I was going to bring you back to her and set things right,” I told him as I backed away from the pool and stopped in the entrance of the cave. “I’ll be back very shortly, and when I do come back, you’re going home.”
With that, I ducked into the passageway and headed for the other side.
20
They were all watching as I stepped out into view, five flashlights trained on me as I blocked my eyes from the brightness. Zander, who had been released from the holds of his captors, rushed to me and took me in his arms. I felt the tears run down my cheeks before I could stop them and I gripped his coat tightly in my fists.
“He’s there,” I whispered, my voice mumbled by his jacket. “His soul is trapped there by whatever the hell this demon is. He says that it won’t let him go over, that it’s keeping him here for his power.”
“Shh, baby, we’ll figure it out.” He sighed.
“No, listen, we need the ring and the necklace, they’ll help. But we have to move him, no, I have to move him,” I said, stepping back to look at him.
“You’re not going to be able to move a frozen body out of a pond full of water by yourself,” he scolded and looked down into my eyes.
“I’m not going to be doing this by myself.” I smiled.
With the black bag in hand, the ring securely on my finger and the cross necklace tucked in my pocket, I turned and looked at Zander, as he stood, M4A1 in hand, looking as much the soldier as I had ever seen him and I smiled.
He winked, flicking the safety off the gun, and with a deep breath, I ducked into the tunnel once again.
Once inside the hidden cavern, I observed the strange little orbs that floated around the room as the sun reflected off from them and smiled. I could hear the whispers of the spirits as they floated past and watched as they gathered around the pool. With a deep breath, I knelt down and placed my hand within the water, reaching down towards the frozen form beneath. The liquid was freezing, cramping up my fingers as I held them in the water, and after a few moments, I couldn’t take the pain, and pulled it out.
With a sigh, I looked around the room, and watched as the mist gathered in the back corner once again.
“How am I going to get you out of there?” I questioned. “The water is too cold for me to touch.”
Ask for help, Zander’s voice replied, laughing.
“All right,” I sighed, and then glanced up at the orbs. “I want to take him home to be with the woman who loves him. Can you help me get him out of the pool?”
I watched as they gathered, circling the water, and slowly, his body rose to the surface, perfectly preserved in the icy cold water. He moved, as if on his own, and came to rest on the ground where I had laid out the body bag. I shivered as I watched this, disbelief in the back of my head, but I keep an open mind, knowing that I had dealt with the unknown my whole life. What made this any different?
Gently I reached out and touched his cold cheek. His skin was stiff, but warmed with a certain fire as I brushed the back of my hand against it. His ghost giggled, knowing that a human hadn’t touched him in three years, that the sensation would have tickled him, I didn’t react to him.
“Are you ready to go?” I whispered, glancing up at the mist that moved closer to me.
I’ve been ready for so long, Sam, but are you prepared? his voice asked with concern.
“Trust me, the troops are waiting.” I smiled and slowly zippered him up, and began to pull him through the tunnel and out of his makeshift tomb. The spirits helped, though they couldn’t be seen, and I tossed out a glow stick before exiting the tunnel so they would know it was me.
Just as I cleared the entranceway, I felt the assistance I had slip away and it took a lot to pull the black bag along with me. Daniels, who was closest to me at that point, grabbed the other end and helped me bring him across the line of burnt leaves and twigs. It was then, the instant we crossed that barrier, that the ghoul came after me, lightening striking close to my feet.
“SAM!” Zander yelled as he moved over to guard me. He grabbed my hand as I moved under his protection but tried to get back to the body. “Leave him, Sam!”
“No, I can’t,” I pleaded, turning to stare into the dark pools of emotion that I had fallen in love with. “Listen, he’s our past, and our future. We have to close this chapter or we won’t be able to finish anything we start.”
Zander waited a minute, shook his head, and as the storm grew dangerously strong in his eyes, he nodded. The two of us moved towards the bag and watched as the ghoul manifested before us, his bright red eyes blazed as he glared at me. He bared his fangs, stretching ligaments. I heard the snarl as his power trained on me.
You will not take what belongs to me! He growled, staring directly at me.
“He doesn’t belong to you anymore!” I answered back, holding my ground as my insides shook with fear.
His bright red eyes flashed with the power of electricity, like two balls of lightening in his skeletal head. He opened his mouth, as wide as he could, exposing the tendons that pulled against the stress, and he released a shriek that nearly doubled over the others in pain. He glared, lightening bolts descended from the high, arched ceiling above us, striking around the body and on the floor closest to us.
Sam, you won’t be able to survive if one of those hit you, Zander spoke up, his voice filled with fear.
I don’t intend to be hit! I replied, and felt the heat flare up in my chest. I glanced at him, taking in the features of his face, and prayed that when this was over, I would still be able to look upon it.
With a deep breath, I reached out my hand, gathering the heat and fire within me into that one spot and sent out a large ball of flames towards the monster. He screamed as it hit him, catching the dry, gray skin of hi
s arm on fire, and he retaliated with a lightening strike that made me jump back a foot. Zander raised his arms to the sky, gathering the lightening to do his bidding, and he sent half a dozen bolts in the direction of the beast.
I leaned over and grabbed the body bag, turned my back on the monster and pulled with all I had to get it out of the way. It was then that I felt it, an electrical shock that made my body numb, and I couldn’t shake the tingle that touched every nerve. Zander looked at me, horror in his eyes as he glanced at the smoking spot on the ground by my foot where the shock had traveled from, and he was standing in front of me instantly, his arms around me.
I went limp in his arms, only his strength was supporting me, and I stared up into his eyes.
You little brat, I thought I told you to be careful. His voice whispered, trying not to sound terrified.
We have to end this, we have to work together. Fire and electricity, I whispered, and watched him shake his head.
You don’t know what my powers will do to you. He answered with total conviction in his voice. I’m not going to risk losing you!
Together, Zander, we’re stronger than he is! He thought about it for only a moment, taking a deep breath, and he closed his eyes, nodding. Look at me; concentrate on me.
His eyes opened wide, locking directly into my own and I watched the storm clouds brew behind the brown eyes. He breathed in deeply and smiled. I could feel his pulse begin to vibrate through my body, taking away the numbness as my own fire grew. The bright light and warmth that surrounded us was like a firestorm, and I could see the glow as if standing outside myself.
He grinned, not feeling the burn from the flames that encased us, and suddenly released the power that he held inside. Lightening flashed in every direction, coursing between us like a conduit, and then he looked up, directly at the monster on the other side of the burn line.
You won’t harm anyone any more, he stated and then let loose the fury of the elements. The men around us ducked, as he held me tightly, and lightening rained down upon the creature. I felt it more than heard it, as he turned towards the others in the group. “Fire away, boys!”
The next sounds I heard were the M4A1’s discharging, and the rounds whizzing passed us into the creature. Slowly, I turned in Zander’s arms, the fire still surrounding us, and the lightening still striking its target, and watched as the creature began to writher in pain. The firing ceased, and silence filled the cavern for only a moment as all of us watched and waited for the end.
He stood straight, his glowing eyes locked on each one of us. Suddenly he began to convulse, light and electricity breaking through the taut, brittle skin. He opened his mouth to release one last dying scream, one that brought the team to its knees. My mind went out, blocking the boys from any damage that his death rattle might bring, and slowly they rose to their feet.
Harris stepped forward, placing the butt of his gun against his hip and fired away, sending rounds of the special ammunition into the spook one more time, but the ghoul turned, focusing his attention on the gun-happy Army boy. Before we could move, the monster had Harris by the throat, lifting him off the ground. He turned his bright red eyes on me and grinned evilly.
You may have the power I need, but now I have his soul! He stared down into the frightened face of the man he held captive and I watched as Harris stopped struggling against him, his expression and his face going limp against the power of the demon.
“NO!” I screamed and stepped away from the safety of my protector’s arms and held up both hands, shaking as I tried to concentrate on the spook and hoping to avoid Harris at all cost. I sent out the fire with everything I had, but the creature laughed at me and shook his head.
The fire had no effect on the laughing ghost, and I could feel the life force being drained from Harris’s body. Zander stepped up beside me, directing his lightening directly at the gray ghoul, but still there was no change. I glanced at him, as he shook his head, and then closed my eyes.
I have an idea. The others need to get ready, once the two of us concentrate on him, he’ll be too busy to notice the guns, and he can’t deflect everything, I whispered and watched Zander nod. He raised his hand, glancing at the others, and with some sort of private sign language, relayed the plan to Daniels, who passed it on to the rest of the group.
With his hand in mine, the two of us raised as much power as we could, and then focused it on the demon. Harris’s head had dropped back and the ghoul shook him like a rag doll, his evil laugh penetrated my thoughts as he swung his gaze towards us. Fire and lightening erupted between us, aimed directly for the creature, and swallowed him in a blast of light and flames.
I could feel Zander weakening as he pressed himself harder, but his hand gripped mine tightly. I knew my nose was bleeding, the thick, sticky liquid dripped down my chin, and I could feel the coolness of the dirt below me creeping up from my feet.
Now, Zander, while the two of us are still conscious.
As bullets ricocheted off the stone walls, sending small fragments of the pyrite sailing in every direction and the sounds of casings falling against one another bombarded my ears, I released the final bit of power that I held, before my legs gave out from underneath me.
I watched the men as they moved closer to the ghoul, all very careful to avoid Harris as their bullets began to strike the creature. With a cry of pure anger, he tossed the limp body aside and turned in our direction. I raised my hand, too weak to physically move my body, and aimed for the bastard’s heart. But as my own raced I found that I didn’t have the energy to conjure up the fire.
He was almost on top of me, bearing down with his ghoulish face, and then I saw the flash of light as Zander stood and tackled the demon. His lightening erupted around him in a firestorm, encasing the two of them as they wrestled for control. Zander flung him off and as the ghoul stood, Zander watched Daniel’s raise the gun and pull the trigger. Bullets blasted into the gray and flaky skin, and the demon screamed in anger, the ammunition sparking just as it was meant to do, light emanating from the holes. He looked towards me one last time, and with an evil grin across the skeletal face, he burst into a cloud of dust that sent out shockwaves like a nuclear bomb.
The explosion rocked the cavern and I ducked to ground to avoid the falling rocks and stalagmites that fell around us. Once the rumbling stopped, and the dust began to clear, the noise of human coughing filled the quiet cavern. I could hear several people moan and I turned quickly and moved to the man who had protected me.
I turned him over, wiped the dust and grime from his face and waited for any sign of movement. Gently, I touched his cheek and watched the smile slowly form across his lips and those brown eyes opened to look up at me.
I grinned back, taking in a deep breath of relief, and kissed him warmly on the lips. Slowly, the two of us sat up and looked over the damage around us. We made our way over to where the still body of Harris lay, unsure of what condition he might be in. His skin was pale and cold and his lips quivered as he looked up at us with blue-gray eyes, the kind that the dead have, and I couldn’t help but shake. Zander took my hand as Daniels moved to assess his situation, and when he looked up at us and gave a slight nod, I felt my heart skip.
“We need to get him out of here and to a hospital as soon as possible,” Daniels whispered, placing his hands on either side of Harris’s head.
“Let’s go then, no need to waste time,” he replied and watched Walters take his feet and Rodriguez gathered the equipment around us, before helping Zander with the black bag that lay on the ground.
Once out in the warm light of day, Zander wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly as the sounds of army machines drew closer. Everett was, of course, right on time to avoid the danger and to order the clean up of the area, but there was something that I decided only I was going to be able to do. Zander kissed my temple as I dug out the necklace from my pocket and wiped a tear from my cheek. This wasn’t going to be the easiest of tasks either.
21
One week later
Zander stepped out of the hospital room, his hat in hand, and turned it around in his fingers before looking up at the others and me as we stood in the hallway waiting for answers as to exactly how Harris would fare. He took a deep breath and stepped towards me, standing at my side as he addressed the men in front of him. All were dressed in uniforms, all within their ranks and I felt quite out of place in my jeans and tee shirt, but honestly didn’t miss the fatigues that I had worn.
“His sight is coming back, but it’s taking longer than the doctors expected, the same with the strength in his muscles.” Zander sighed, rubbing his eyes. “He doesn’t remember much after the spook got to him, except the feeling of being drawn out of his body. He said it was like a vacuum sucking the life out of him.”
“He was trying to take his soul; I couldn’t ever imagine how that would feel,” I whispered quietly, hugging my chest. I could feel Zander’s hand against my back, rubbing gently as he continued to face the others.
“There isn’t much more we can do here,” he added, and gestured for the group to move down the hallway.
It was Walters that turned, midway down the corridor, and looked back and forth between us. “It gave in way too easily, sir, why would it have done that?”
“I’m not sure, private,” Zander admitted and shook his head.
“It’s not gone,” I answered and looked up at the men that stood around me. Each one stared as if waiting for the explanation to my statement and I sighed. “It’s been around for way too long, just to turn into a pile of dust and disappear. No, this one will be back. In fact, like I said, I’m not so sure it’s gone.”