Into the Void

by Amanda Frame

  “I don’t want to involve Becca,” John said.

  “Well, neither do I, but she actually has an excuse to visit him, being his cousin, so I think it’ll work. Besides, all she needs to do is get him to the car,” I said.

  “Okay, fine,” John said, scrubbing his hands over his eyes. “So when do we do this?”

  “Tomorrow? I don’t need more than a day to rest.” I answered.

  “I can’t, I have a job interview,” Anna said. We both looked at her, eyebrows raised.

  “What?” she continued, putting her hands on her hips. “I have a life, you know.”

  “Okay, fine. What works for you then?”

  “My mom works Saturday and my dad will be out of town on a business trip. Liz knows Mrs. Wilkes works Thursday through Sunday since she was stalking her,” Anna said.

  “I was trying to find you!” I scoffed.

  We all agreed that Saturday was ideal and went our separate ways. I was exhausted and Anna had to go home to eat dinner with her parents. So much rode on the success of this plan. Anna and John had an obligation to save Brian’s life. And end mine.

  CHAPTER 55

  ANNA

  I wore black dress pants, a dark blue blouse, and fake enthusiasm on my face. I floated through the interview, distracted and nervous. I should have postponed.

  The years of practiced bullshitting fined-tuned from hundreds of high school essays paid off, though. I answered their questions pretty easily, laughed in all the right places, nodded along when appropriate. It went surprisingly well. Even though I had never waited tables before, I felt I had a chance.

  The interviewer told me to expect a call back and looked forward to talking to me again soon. Sounded like good news.

  When I got home, I called Becca. I hadn’t talked to her in a few days and I was dreading the conversation we needed to have.

  “Hey, what’s up?” She sounded excited to hear from me and it made me feel guilty.

  “Well, we need your help,” I said bluntly.

  “Okay? Who’s ‘we’, and with what?”

  “John and Liz. To help Brian.”

  “Really? I thought you were insisting on not involving me in this stuff.” I could hear her close her laptop. She was ready for a serious conversation.

  “Yeah. I really didn’t want to, but Brian isn’t going to be willing to talk to me. I think he might talk to you, though, since you’re related, even though you aren’t really close.” I heard a skeptical grunt on her end. “Your part in this is pretty basic. I just need you to find out where Brian’s going to be tomorrow. If he won’t be at home, convince him to be home, that you want to come over to visit and take him out to lunch or the mall or whatever. And make sure his mom will be at work.”

  “Okay, that shouldn’t be too hard. Why though?”

  “I just need you to get him out of the house at a very specific time. Do you think you could just wait in his driveway until I call you and tell you to go in?” The timing had to be spot-on or this would all fall apart.

  “Okay. You’re kind of scaring me, though. This sounds very…heist-y? Is that a word?”

  “No, it’s not. This isn’t Ocean’s Eleven. It should all go down fine.” I was incredibly doubtful, though. Scared too. I tried not to let her hear it. “So? Think you can do it? Can you go over there today to make the plans to see him tomorrow?”

  “Uh, yeah, I think so. I’ll try. I actually won’t have to lie to my mom, she’s been encouraging me to go see him since my brother already did.”

  “Okay. Call me after?”

  “Definitely.” Becca’s voice was shaky. She knew there was much more that was going to happen that she wouldn’t be a part of. She was worried about me. She had been since the day of my car accident. She was such a huge part of my life. The sister I never had. I was terrified something would happen to her.

  I needed her help. I had no choice. I just hoped neither of us would regret it.

  ~

  I was watching TV with my dad and anxiously chain-drinking soda when my phone finally rang. I jumped up a little too suddenly and tried not to run out of the room.

  “I’ll be back down soon, Dad. Don’t wait for me.”

  “Okay,” he said, giving me an odd look. “Can we make that your last soda, please? You’re looking a little too…caffeinated.”

  “Yep.” He was right, but most of my restlessness was from nervous anticipation. I ran upstairs, answering the phone midstride.

  “Hey, how’d it go?” I asked, shutting my door.

  “Not good,” Becca said. My heart sank.

  “What do you mean ‘not good’? What happened?” I paced the carpet.

  “He’s been committed, Anna.”

  My mouth dropped. “Committed? You mean…like Jackie?”

  “Yeah,” she said, a small hiccup escaping her. “His mom was such a wreck. She said I can go visit him tomorrow if I want. He’s allowed to hang out in the hospital courtyard for an hour a day as long as there is a staff member supervising nearby. His mom put me on an approved list.”

  Oh my god. It had gotten to this point already? He spiraled down so much faster than I expected. We had to move fast but the plan had just been tanked.

  Or maybe not.

  “Do you think she would put me on the list too?” I asked hopefully.

  “After what you told me happened the last time you went to see him? I seriously doubt it.”

  “Dammit.” She was right. I guess she was going to have to play a bigger role in this than I thought.

  ~

  John and I waited. Liz said she would be at John’s at nine in the morning so we could start the plan, although she wasn’t yet aware that it wasn’t going to happen. She was late. I was worried.

  She finally faded in around 9:30. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.

  “Oh, thank God! I thought something had happened to you!” I said, clutching my chest in relief.

  “Sorry about that. I had to dodge a few Stalkers on the way over.” She scanned our faces, picking up the vibe. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

  “We have to postpone,” John said with a sigh. “Brian’s in the hospital.”

  Liz groaned. It echoed like she was at the bottom of a well. Still creeped me out. “So what are we supposed to do now?” she asked.

  “Becca got visitation rights. I think it can be a huge advantage,” I said.

  “Unfortunately it means the timing needs to be even more spot-on than before,” John continued. “We have to act fast, though. He’s going downhill pretty quickly.”

  “So when? Can we still do it today?”

  “No,” I said. “Visiting hours are at eleven. You won’t be able to walk to the hospital in time once we get all the details figured out.”

  “Is he at Saint Mary’s?” Liz asked.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “That’s where my body is. I can get there in fifteen minutes,” she said confidently.

  “How?” John asked skeptically.

  “I figured out how to skip—never mind. Just trust me. Can you get Becca to make it?”

  “I think so,” I said.

  “Okay, get on it. I already left the water at Brian’s house and I won’t be able to take it with me that far, but there’s a pond by the hospital. I’ll get more there.”

  I was trembling but tried to keep it out of my voice. “So we’re really doing this?”

  “Looks like,” said John with a shrug.

  I called Becca, and she said she could do it. Brian’s mom had told Becca where his room was, so luckily we had that information.

  We all knew where we needed to be. John would be outside the doors of the mental health unit, waiting for Becca. I would be in the lobby, watching for when Becca and Brian came out. I had a clear view of the courtyard from there. I felt bad that I was playing such a small role in this, but there really wasn’t much I could contribute. I was the one who caused this mess; I should
be the one fixing it.

  I hated that Liz was carrying out the most dangerous part. She didn’t even need to be involved in this. She volunteered. I think she was okay with it because if something happened to her, if she died, it was what she wanted anyway. But I had a terrible feeling that if the Leech did kill her, her soul would be gone. Rather than dying and moving on to a better place, she would be gone.

  I didn’t bring this up. I didn’t think it was my place, and I didn’t want to scare her. But now I wish I had. She shouldn’t have to risk that. It wasn’t fair. We could have found another way. I pushed the thought out of my mind and tried to focus on the task at hand.

  It was go time.

  CHAPTER 55

  ELIZABETH

  I located the room Becca had told us Brian would be in and peered in the window. There he was, sitting on the bed, mumbling to himself. Or maybe to the Stalker sitting next to him.

  I ducked with a gasp. I had expected this, but a fresh wave of dread washed over me anyway. The sounds and people dissolved into almost nothing as I faded back into the Echo. Thankfully I could get close enough to interact with my surroundings there. I picked up my gas canister full of water. It was heavy. I grunted with the effort.

  Now was the tough part. I took a calming, meditative breath and focused on the gas canister, feeding some of my energy into it, connecting it to me so I could draw it into the Barrier. I began to fade back toward Brian.

  It took so much effort and focus to take the water with me, but I felt it break through and then I was able to relax. For a moment anyway.

  I waited, ducking down in front of the door so the Stalker couldn’t see me. I had a feeling Brian would be able to see me too. I kept glancing over to the entrance of the ward, which I could barely see from my position; it was mostly blocked by the reception desk. I heard her voice and my heart skipped. It was go time.

  “Yeah, it should be there. Becca Marsters?”

  “Yes, I see you here. And your name, sir?” the male nurse asked impatiently.

  Becca answered for him, “Oh, this is my grandpa. They told me I needed an adult to accompany me because I’m a minor.” She wasn’t a minor, but they didn’t bother checking her ID. The phone rang at that moment and the nurse picked it up, waving John and Becca through distractedly.

  Wow, that was easier than expected. I knew that visitor protocol was pretty lax in this hospital but I had thought there would be some convincing necessary.

  I watched the two of them walk towards me accompanied by an orderly. My heart raced; I was on the verge of backing out. Why the hell did I suggest this plan?

  John glanced at me and gave a slight nod as the orderly opened Brian’s door. John would be able to see the Stalker once he went in. It was going to be hard for him to pretend he didn’t.

  I heard muffled voices and tried to make out conversation. It was almost completely one-sided. I only heard a few mumbled words from Brian.

  Waiting was killing me. I couldn’t make my move until Becca and Brian were about to leave. The door opened and I jumped up. Becca was delicately holding Brian’s hand with twitchy fingers. I swore I could almost hear her heart pounding. I wished she could see me and I could at least give an encouraging nod. All she had to do was get him away from the room. It would be easy. In theory.

  As soon as the two kids had exited the room, I poured a puddle of water in the doorway then jumped over it, crossing the threshold.

  John was standing in front of the Stalker, trying to distract it. They couldn’t interact, but the Stalker was confused. It was standing upright, making twitchy movements with its giant claws, its elongated head cocked to the side, unsure.

  The Stalker was definitely on the same plane as me. It wasn’t often that I saw something completely corporeal. Everything in the physical was always slightly translucent, the Echo always just a little blurry. This creature was solid. It was here. With me. And I was terrified.

  With a yell, I splashed the Stalker with the water from my canister. It shrank away from me and gave a startled hiss, wobbling slightly. Becca knew once they were out of the ward, she had to get them outside as fast as possible, running if she could get Brian to follow. I hoped it would be enough.

  John ran out of the room and I followed close behind. Startled staff members yelled at the old man to slow down, but John ignored them. I risked a glance over my shoulder and to my dismay, the Stalker was following.

  When it stepped in the puddle, it almost lost its footing, but it kept coming.

  “Shit shit shit!” I yelled, “Hurry up John!”

  John burst through the exit doors, still running, almost head on into a stretcher. He was going back the way he had come.

  “No, no, not that way! You’re going closer to Brian! We’ve got to go the other way!”

  He shuffled, not knowing which way to go. I didn’t know either. The Stalker was gaining on us. I saw the remnants of the door in the Echo, overlapping the world that John occupied. It was in splinters. The Stalker had busted through it. It seemed to follow the same laws of physics I did. It could interact with the Echo but not with the physical. Which most likely meant it could interact with me.

  “This way!” I shouted. I only knew of one other place that might be safe. The ICU. Where my body was. The whole unit was protected with water. Obviously the water didn’t affect Brian’s Stalker nearly as much as one that existed completely in the Echo, but it was worth a shot.

  I turn a corner and risked a glance over my shoulder. It was going to catch up. I tipped the canister as I ran, leaving a stream behind me. It lunged forward right before its foot splashed into it.

  I arched my back and screamed, feeling a claw rake through my flesh. I stumbled but caught my footing at the last second, trying to block out the white-hot pain that throbbed down my spine. I hadn’t felt real pain in thirteen years, didn’t even know I could. I had forgotten how to cope.

  “Liz!” John yelled from in front of me.

  “Just…” I sobbed out. “Go up the stairs. I… ICU. Go!”

  I knew it couldn’t hurt John. Or at least, I was pretty sure. But I needed him to be with me in case something went wrong. Which was clearly already happening.

  The Stalker had fallen back a little. The water was working.

  John was sprinting up the stairs as fast as Albert’s body could take him. I was close behind, gritting my teeth and trying to block out the searing pain in my back. The Stalker was a flight of stairs behind us.

  Fourth floor. One step closer. The creature hadn’t caught up. I ran through the puddle of water in the doorway.

  I was fading further and further away from the physical. The wound in my back and the sheer amount of time I had spent keeping myself so close were wearing me down fast. Unfortunately, no matter what level I was at in the Barrier, the Stalker was always just as solid as I was.

  This is it. I thought. This is probably the end.

  I wouldn’t get the peaceful exit I hoped for. Instead, I would be mauled to death by a monster.

  This thought was cut short as I heard and actually felt a snap, physically making me stumble. John slowed for a second; he had obviously felt it too.

  “Keep going!” I yelled, ignoring it and regaining my footing. “It’s slowing down!”

  I thought if I could just get it to run through water one more time, it would be too exhausted to continue. There was a puddle in front of the ICU doors.

  The scratching of its claws on the cracked tile of the Echo were slowing and its low hiss was fading.

  I slowed and looked behind me. The solid red orbs of its eyes met mine. It had no pupils but I could tell it was looking right at me. It dropped to one knee and opened its huge jaws one more time. I could almost feel its hiss like a physical force, the sound jarring my ears and shaking my bones.

  I heard John’s phone ring. He came to a stop in front of the ICU doors. He looked at the screen.

  “It’s Anna,” he said, lungs heaving, bending over w
ith his hands on her knees, glancing nervously at the fallen Stalker.

  “Get inside first. That thing is still alive. There’s water behind that door,” I pointed to the entrance to the ICU, “and more in front of my room. That’s got to be enough.” I cringed in pain. Just talking hurt. I felt hot liquid run down the back of my leg and finally noticed the bloody footsteps I was leaving behind me. I hadn’t even realized I could bleed.

  John answered the phone as he asked me frantically how he was supposed to get in. The door was locked but had a keypad next to it.

  “The code is 55362,” I said. “I’ll meet you in there.”

  “What? Where are they taking him?” I heard John say into the phone. His voice was getting warbled as I lost my hold to the physical.

  “Follow them up if you can,” he continued, typing the code as he was speaking. “If they don’t, the code to the entrance is 55362.”

  I didn’t know what was going on but ducked into the ICU before I heard the rest of it, waiting for the door to open for John. It finally swung open. Painfully slowly. The Stalker hadn’t moved more than a couple feet. I watched as it slowly faded and sobbed in relief.

  “Yeah, we’re…” John started as he began to walk in, and then I heard a crack as his skull hit the floor.

  “Damn it!” I pressed myself back against the physical with the last strength I had and went to examine his body. I saw some blood on the floor. I assumed it was trickling from his head. This wasn’t good.

  “Hello? Hello!” I heard Anna yell from the phone that had skid across the floor when John fell.

  “Fu—” I heard her begin, then she hung up.

  I faded back out toward the Echo to see if I could find John. He wasn’t in the hallway. I heard a hiss and swung around. John was in the ICU.

  So was the Stalker.

  I thought it would be gone. I hadn’t anticipated it appearing back in the Echo. It didn’t have a physical body. How was it there?

  But it wasn’t completely. It was sort of…wispy. Like a strong gust of wind might dissipate it.