"Excuse me," I heard one person say. "Can you tell me how to get to Labor and Delivery?"
Upon closer inspection I realized that she was about to have a baby. They quickly whisked her away and took her down a different hallway. I took two more right turns before stopping dead in my tracks. The hallway was empty, dark, and cold. I could feel the despair and sadness. I didn't have to ask Death where he was; the thick black cloud that streamed from one door told me exactly where he was. I ran toward the door and entered the room. Death stood right in front of me, his body shaking as he fought the darkness that tried to engulf the patient lying in the bed. Fear hovered nearby, a dark seething smile stretched across his face.
"You have no power here." His deep raspy voice gave me chills. "Your power has been lost."
I stepped toward the patient and looked at her. Her body was covered in deep purple and black scars. Her face twisted in agony as Fear tried to overcome Death and take her life. I felt the fear rise inside me as I tried to think of what I could do to help this woman. I remembered the look on Mark's face as I’d left Abby's room. The look of desire and fear. I felt his love surge through my veins. I turned toward Fear and walked forward.
"What do you think you are going to do? You are just a lifeless human. A nobody, just like him," he said, pointing the Scythe at Death. Instantly Death collapsed, and the darkness overwhelmed the patient on the bed. She screamed, and I threw myself on top of her. I felt her body relax, but her pain shot through me like a bullet. I screamed, but my body couldn't move. Her pain was etched through every part of me. I felt the pain increase as Fear pushed his way toward me.
"Happiness is the key." Death's voice reverberated through my mind. "Happiness!"
The pain became unbearable as Fear pushed himself through my soul. I tried to think of something happy, but my mind was filled with darkness. I struggled to breath as I felt my body begin to weaken. I had to fight back. I had to return home. I tried to focus on what or whom it was that I was fighting for.
"NO!" I screamed.
Abigail's face appeared into my thoughts, her sweet touch as she kissed my cheek. I could hear the wild beeping of a monitor, and I could feel oxygen running through my body.
"Don't forget about us." The voice was faint in my ear, but the sound gave me new life. I pushed back at the darkness and thought of my babies. I called out. I could see Hunter smile at me, as he reached for my hand.
"I'm right here Mom," he said.
Where was I? I was having a hard time remembering what was happening, but the surge of pain that I felt was real. My heart beat frantically in my chest as the darkness crept forward. I pushed back again, my thoughts turning toward Mark. I saw him bend down toward me. He gently pressed his lips to mine and then laid his head against my forehead.
"I love you," he said quietly.
I gasped for air, shoving the darkness away from my body. I felt it retreat away from me, the pain slowly withdrawing.
"How?" Fear shouted, staring down at me. He retreated toward the doorway and then vanished.
I felt the body beneath me inhale and heard her take a deep breath. She moaned as I pushed myself away from her. The room lightened, and people began to surround her. Someone reached through me and grabbed her hand.
"Isla? Isla can you hear me?"
I turned to see what I assumed to be her husband holding her hand and rubbing her face lovingly.
"Thank you.,” she said in a raspy voice.
I looked down at her. She was staring right at me.
"Me?" I asked.
She nodded. "You are my angel," she said.
"Isla, who are you talking to?" her husband asked, looking around at the other people in the room.
She turned to him. "My angel of mercy," she said, reaching for her husband. "I have so much to tell you."
I watched in awe as she stared at her husband. I looked around the room again. Death sat in a chair near the wall. His once sleek black cloak was now tattered and torn at the sleeves and hem. He looked more pale than usual, his breath coming unnaturally slow. I went to him, kneeling in front of him.
"What just happened?" I asked.
He didn't answer. His eyes focused on me. He stared, a look of awe crossing his face.
"Death, where did Fear go?" I asked, annoyed that I wasn't getting a response.
"He has retreated for now. He hides in the dark reaches of the universe where no light can find him."
"Can we get to him?"
"No, it is one place we don't want to go. Fear has complete control there. It is his sanctuary," Death explained.
I turned and looked back at the woman that I just saved. She was staring at her husband with a look of longing. She seemed to be doing much better.
"Death, what did I do to that woman?" I asked, not looking away from her.
Death rose from his seat and stood beside me. "You did the same thing to her that you did to Vanessa in Limbo. You took away her pain, only this time it didn't return."
I looked at him in shock. "I healed her?"
"Yes, her injuries from her accident have completely healed on the inside. She will remain scarred and bruised for the time being, but the internal injuries that threatened her life are no longer present. It seems that your interference with Fear has more of an affect than I realized."
He didn't look at me as he spoke; he seemed to be lost in his own words. He stared at the woman, almost as if peering into her soul itself, which I'm not sure he wasn't actually doing. The woman didn't seem to notice his stares or that we were even in the same room for that matter; she had eyes only for her husband. It was a very reassuring feeling that I had somehow saved her life and that she had someone that was there for her.
"Wait, I saw my family. When I was being attacked by her pain and Fear, I saw my husband and my kids. How is that possible?"
Death turned his head quickly to look at me. He didn't say anything; he just looked at me for a long agonizing moment.
"Come, we need to get back. Fear will be recovered soon, and we will need to be ready," he said, quickly turning and walking straight for the wall, disappearing before I could even say a word.
I quickly followed and squinted out of habit as I stepped outside into the bright sunlight. I took another look around. No one would ever believe any of this. The streets were packed with yellow taxicabs and city buses. Death cleared his throat, and I hurried to his side. His finger snapped, and a swirling black mass appeared in front of him.
I hated this part; it wasn't any easier now than the first time I’d taken a leap of faith. Death beckoned me forward. I took one final look behind me before stepping through the portal. As we appeared back in Limbo, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had made it back.
"Welcome back," Vanessa said. "Were you able to get there in time?"
"Thank you," I said. "I saved a woman's life, but I wasn't able to get the scythe."
Death said nothing as he came through the portal. He walked quickly toward the Paths of Judgment and the Golden Stone. I followed quietly behind him, unsure of what to say. He placed his hand on the stone and traced the outline of his scythe. The stone glowed brighter at his touch. A golden swirl formed out of the stone and encircled Death. It almost seemed like liquid gold as it moved around his body. He hunched over, sighing with relief. His cloak remained tattered and torn, but his soul seemed to shine brighter.
"The stone provides me with the energy I need to remain in Limbo without my scythe," he explained, reading my thoughts. "The battle with Fear took more of a toll on me than I’d thought possible. When he pulled my scythe out of his robe and pointed it at me, he was actually sucking away my life force. You didn't only save the woman, you also saved me."
He turned around to face me, for the first time I didn't see the fearsome man I had always seen in my nightmares, but a soul full of gratitude.
I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with how much attention was on me at that moment. "So what do we do now?" I asked a
wkwardly.
"We need to return to Earth. I have a feeling he will return there soon," Death said.
"Why would he go back to Earth so quickly? Why wouldn't he try and get more power before going back?"
"To learn more about you."
I gasped. "Me?"
"Not just you, but all humans. He was intrigued by your ability to find so many happy memories. Most of the life forms he steals can't find things that make them happy enough to fight back. Many people don't know how, even if they could fight back," he said. "You fought back and made him weak. Now I'm assuming he'll want to gain more power by taking the lives of more humans."
The fear must have shown on my face because Vanessa was by my side in an instant. "You can do this," she said, smiling.
The joy didn't stay long on her face before the look of pain returned. I wanted to touch her again, just for a moment to see if I could also take away her pain and heal her like I had done with the other woman. Somehow I knew that I couldn't do that to her though. Maybe it was because she no longer had her body, and healing a spirit wasn't something that I could do. I gave her a half smile, hoping that was enough to ease her mind.
"When can we go back?" I asked after gaining a little composure. After what I had witnessed on multiple accounts, I didn't want Fear anywhere near Earth, or anywhere else for that matter, so I was eager to get back.
"Soon, I need to rest," Death said, sitting next to the stone and closing his eyes. The liquid gold continued around his body, healing his soul.
"Besides finding things that made me happy," I said after a minute of silence, "do you think there was something else that helped me fight back against Fear?"
"Are you talking about being able to see your family?" he asked.
I thought for a moment before answering. What did it all mean? Yes, I could see my family during his attack, but it wasn't just that. I could feel them. I could hear the monitors beeping in my ears and the oxygen rushing into my nose. I could feel the touch of the sheets against my bare legs and hear the sound of someone in the kitchen. It was like I was there in my house, not in a hospital room on the opposite side of the country.
"Your mind is never dull," Death said, interrupting my thoughts. "You think so many things at the same time, it's hard for me to distinguish your real question."
"You are reading my thoughts?" I was a little embarrassed that I had forgotten his ability to do that.
"Yes and no. I'm listening, but only getting a few images here and there. Like I said, you are always thinking of so many things I have a hard time focusing on one specific..."
His voice trailed off at the last word. He stared at me for a moment, before jumping to my side. "Were you there?" he asked.
Confused by his question I just stared at him.
"Amelia, were you at your house when Fear attacked that woman?" he clarified.
"I don't know," I sputtered, "it all felt so real, like I said, it was almost like I was there, but how could I have been?"
Death turned and paced in front of the stone. He rubbed the back of his neck, then twisted and turned his fingers together over and over again.
"I need you to stay here, " he said. "I need to go see someone." Before either Vanessa or I could ask a question he disappeared.
"What was that?" I asked Vanessa, who looked just as shocked as I was.
"I have no idea," she said, staring at the spot where Death had vanished.
Fifteen
Time stood still as we waited for Death to return. It felt like he had been gone for hours. Vanessa and I didn't move for a long time at first, but eventually we began pacing back and forth in front of the large Golden Stone. My soul felt a surge of energy each time I passed the stone. I began to wonder what would happen if I placed my hand on top. I stopped and stared at it, afraid.
"Vanessa, what would happen if I touched the stone?" My voice trailed off at the last word. I was afraid of her answer.
"The stone opens the gate to the path you must take to leave Limbo," she explained. "It won't work without the scythe and Death to control the powers."
I stared; the power radiating from the stone was pulsing through me, sending vibrations to every part of my soul. I felt my mind wandering between my present and my past. I could see visions of my choices in life, but they were blurry, and I struggled to make out what they were.
"Why do you ask?" Vanessa said, stepping in between the stone and me.
I shook my head and looked around. "I was just wondering," I lied.
Vanessa looked at me and cocked an eyebrow but didn't pursue it any further. We continued our pacing.
"Come, we need to go," a dark voice said from behind me.
I jumped. The goose bumps tingled up my spine, filling me with fear. I turned quickly; Death stood there. His whole countenance had changed, and I could again see the dark soul from my nightmares. That dark voice had frightened me so many times that it still instilled the same emotions that I’d had on Earth. He turned and quickly moved toward the entrance to Limbo.
"Why are you still afraid of him?" Vanessa asked as we hurried behind him.
I didn't answer; my mind was still shaken by the power of the stone and the fear that Death still had over me.
I built up my courage as we hurried to the entrance. "Where did you go?" I finally asked.
"I had to go see a friend." He was clearly dodging the question.
"Yes, you said that, but where and who is this friend?" I asked, annoyed that I had to be so specific.
Death didn't answer, he only moved faster. I groaned, rushing after him. We arrived at the entrance, and Death didn't hesitate; he just stepped right into the swirling mass of nothing and disappeared. Vanessa and I jumped in together; our souls spun, and our minds seemed to go dark. I felt my energy being sucked out of me, then shoved back inside as we exited. I blinked, trying to regain my vision. The images quickly came into focus. I stood inches from a large gray tombstone.
I gasped and dropped to my knees. We were in the graveyard from my nightmares. The clouds rumbled above as the rain began to trickle down my cheeks. I could feel the cool touch of the droplets and quickly wiped them away. My hands were black from the mud around me, and my clothes were soaked through. I held a white rose in my hand.
"Why are we here?" I had begun to cry, something I wasn't entirely sure I could still do while not in my body.
"What do you feel here?" Death said darkly.
I turned to look at him. He stood behind me, his face hidden behind his tattered cloak. "Sadness, fear, pain..." I trailed off.
"Do you feel power here?" he asked.
His question took me by surprise. How could I feel power in a place of sorrow? This place pulled all happiness from me; it truly scared me.
"No," I whispered.
"What do you feel?" he urged again.
"I already told you. This place takes everything from me. It pulls away all happiness, all hope. What am I supposed to feel?" I was getting angry. I didn't want to be here. I thought I was going to see my family. I thought I was going home. Instead I was shoved into the middle of my nightmare.
His body seemed to tighten at my thought. "Do you feel anger here?"
"You already know I feel anger; you can read my mind!" I yelled. "Why am I here?" I could feel the anger build up inside of me. The feeling surged through me like lightening. My soul instantly reacted, pushing back by trying to find a happy memory. I felt strong as a memory of Mark came into view and pushed the anger back. With each new vision of happiness, I could feel new emotions weaving through my mind, replacing the thoughts of anger and fear until all that was left was joy.
The vision shifted, and the graveyard disappeared. I stood back in Limbo, but only for a second as my soul again began to feel the pressure of the portal. My soul felt light and airy as I stood on the creaky wooden floors of my home. I could see myself lying in the bed, oxygen tubes running through my nose and a monitor beeping by my side. I felt a sigh of relief
at being back home. Death appeared next to me, and Vanessa stood behind him; both had looks of awe on their faces. I ignored them, walking toward my body lying so peacefully on the bed. I was ready to be back with my family, ready to be home for good.
"I need to be here," I said, not looking back at Death.
"I know," he said.
I turned to look at him; he was smiling, actually smiling.
"You are just going to let her go?" Vanessa said, her voice cracking.
I walked toward her and wrapped my arms around her. Her pain instantly filled my body like it had done previously. I could feel every memory, every hurt, pain and joy that she’d had in her life and as a spirit. She had experienced a lot in her short life, enough to bring tears to my eyes, but something inside me had changed. Her pain no longer brought me to my knees; instead, I was able to turn her fear and pain into happiness by helping her remember what made her happy. I didn't know what had changed inside me, but somehow being in that graveyard had unearthed some weird superpower. She smiled and laughed at the visions she was now able to see. She was pain-free for the first time in months. I released her, and the memories disappeared, but for the short time I held her, she was able to find happiness.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for helping me remember."
I smiled.
"You have a gift I would have never imagined possible," Death told me.
"What happened to me in that graveyard?" I asked.
He stared at me momentarily before answering, almost as if trying to read my thoughts. "The graveyard was meant to test a theory. No one really knew what to expect when we found the one that held the key to travel freely amongst the dead. Like I explained before, we weren't even sure it was real." His body shifted, and his dark eyes became distant, like he was remembering something he had forgotten long ago.
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