Whispers of Death

by Alicia Rivoli

  Vanessa gasped. "She is so beautiful."

  "Yes she is, a true little angel," I answered.

  James stopped. "What did she say?"

  "Sorry, she said that she is beautiful," I answered reverently.

  "Amelia, why do you need all these pictures?" Mark asked.

  I turned to look at him; he was staring at me intently. I took a deep breath, then looked back at Vanessa, who was scanning each picture and smiling. James had stopped pulling out pictures and was waiting for my answer.

  "Vanessa is stuck in Limbo. She is forgetting everything." My voice was quiet, almost a complete whisper. "She is becoming a lost soul."

  James gasped. His eyes filled with fear, then with anger. "What do you mean she is stuck in Limbo?"

  I looked at Mark. "You haven't told him have you?" I asked.

  He looked away from me and then looked at James, "No, I didn't know how to explain."

  "What didn't he tell me?" James asked angrily.

  "James, I have been with Death," I said, carefully watching his face for any type of reaction.

  "What does that have to do with my wife?" he said, not skipping a beat.

  I took another deep breath. "Your wife is stuck because of a Demon named Fear. Fear has stolen the only way to relieve the pain and suffering of the souls that enter Death's care," I tried to explain quickly. "Death uses his Scythe to touch those about to enter into Limbo. He uses it to take away their pain and show them the way to the judgment path. Without his Scythe, Death is becoming weak, and he is no longer able to help them. If Souls remain in Limbo for too long, they become lost and forget who they are. Vanessa has been in Limbo for too long; she is starting to forget. I am hoping that if she sees these pictures she will be able to hold on long enough for me to finish what I've started."

  The room was completely silent. I realized instantly that I hadn't even told Mark all of that information. Both men were staring at me. Mark's face had gone white. I reached for his hand, holding it close to me. James snapped out of it and quickly grabbed the next set of pictures. Each picture he put down he explained when it had been taken and who was in it, but he wasn't talking to Mark or me, he was talking to his wife. Vanessa listened intently and smiled at every story.

  "He is coming."

  My head snapped up. I stared at Death who had been standing quietly in the shadows.

  "How long?" I asked aloud.

  Mark and James stared at me.

  "Not long. Are you strong enough?" he asked me.

  I looked at Mark and back at Death. "Give me a few more minutes," I said.

  He nodded. "Quickly."

  I looked back at Mark. He stared at me, disbelief in his eyes.

  "Mark, I promise I will be back. Please don't give up on me." I had tears rolling down my cheeks. "Please, you are what is keeping me alive. You help me stay strong. Without you, I am not strong enough."

  I quickly explained how I was able to fight off Fear. I explained that all my own fear was kept under control by remembering my family. I told him about my ability to pull strength from my body while I was in the Spirit World and how that I had saved a woman's life.

  "Mark," I whispered, "I need you. You are my strength. You and our beautiful children are the reasons I'm here right now. I can't do this without you."

  He pulled me in close to him, holding me tightly. "Forever," he whispered in my ear.

  I felt like the luckiest woman in the world as he held me. I didn't know many husbands that would let their wives 'die' to help someone.

  He kissed me softly. "I'll go get the kids so you can tell them."

  I panicked; I didn't want to have to tell them that I was leaving again. My heart raced. The beeping on the monitor reminding me that I was still attached to it. The wires suddenly felt restricting, and I pushed and pulled at them to move them away from me.

  Abby came running into the room, Hunter walking behind her.

  "Mommy, are you okay now?" Abby said, her little voice bringing so much joy to my soul that I felt at peace. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her softly on the forehead. I pulled Hunter in closer and gave him a big bear hug.

  "You are taking my mom again aren't you?" Hunter asked Death.

  I had forgotten that he could see him. Hunter's voice was shaky, and I could tell he was on the verge of crying.

  Death didn't answer; he just looked at me. His eyes were dark, and I could tell he was trying to get me to hurry.

  "Hunter, do you know why I came back?" I asked.

  He shook his head.

  "I had to come back because I needed you. You, Abby, your dad, Aunt Livie, and Uncle Peter, you all give me a power that will help me come back again. It is also your love for me that is helping me make sure Mindy's mommy won't forget her." I smiled and pulled him closer to me. "Does that make sense?"

  "Yes," he said quietly.

  "Listen," I said, turning Hunter and Abby's faces toward me, "I have to go help Mindy's mommy now as well as a lot of other people. I will be back as soon as they are safe."

  Abby wrapped her arms around me. "I love you Mommy. I will read to you every day," she said.

  My heart filled with joy. "Thank you my sweet. I love you both very much."

  A scream filled the air. I turned in time to see Vanessa collapse to the ground. Chills shot through my body, and goose bumps ran the length of my body.

  "HURRY!" Death yelled.

  "I have to go! Don't forget me. I love you." I grabbed Mark and gave him a kiss. "Please forgive me. I will be back." I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

  I felt a surge of energy run through my body, almost like a burst of electricity. The machine beeped wildly in my head as my heart pounded in my chest. The pain increased as my soul ripped away from my now lifeless body. The sound of metal against metal rang through my ears before the wave of electricity vanished. I opened my eyes; I stood next to Death, Vanessa was curled in a ball on the ground, her frame shaking, her face full of agony. My family all stood next to my bed; my body lay still as the machine beeped slowly, and tears were streaming down all their faces. Abby was holding on to my hand and had buried her face into the sheets. Hunter was holding on to his dad, who looked at me with so much love that I gave a faint smile.

  "Mom, please hurry back," Hunter said, looking at my body, then looking back at his dad.

  "Amelia, there is no time, he is already here, we have to go now," Death spoke urgently.

  "What about Vanessa?" I said, looking at her.

  "She will remain here," he said. "Now come."

  Death spun his hand in the air. As the portal formed, he jumped through. I looked back one last time and jumped after him.

  Seventeen

  As soon as I entered the portal I knew something was wrong. It wasn't just a squeezing feeling I had felt many times before, this time it felt as though part of my soul was being ripped away. As my feet connected with the ground on the other side of the portal, I collapsed.

  I looked around; Death was in a heap next to me, his own body shaking, his cloak torn more than it had been before.

  "What happened?" I asked. "Where are we?"

  The ground around me was soft dirt. A heavy fog surrounded us, and thunder clapped somewhere in the distance. Rain had started to fall, but it wasn't the rain that caused the chill to rise up my spine. Darkness seeped from under Death, twisting and turning. The darkness formed into a man. His dark smile looked down at me; a long silver blade was in his hand.

  "You don't recognize your own tomb?" His voice sounded horse. It cracked as he spoke.

  I gasped as the fog lifted. I stood in the graveyard from my nightmares. Fear stood in front of me. The blade he held was dripping with a black liquid. I looked from him to Death and back to Fear again.

  "What have you done?" I said, anger building in my chest.

  "Ah ah ah" he said, "you mustn't let your anger take control, or he will die." Fear looked at Death and swirled the blade over his body. Death s
creamed in agony. I looked at Fear's hand; the dark black liquid was moving slowly along the blade, turning it from silver to black. I realized that Fear had stabbed Death with his own Scythe.

  I gasped. "You killed him!" I moved quickly to try and get to Death.

  Fear moved faster; he used his darkness and wrapped himself around my throat. The darkness inched closer to my mouth and eyes. I squeezed them both shut.

  "He isn't dead yet, I have taken the last of Death's power. He is no longer Death, just a pawn for me to play with. At least until his blood works through the blade of the Scythe, and then he will die."

  I felt lightheaded as he picked me up off the ground. His voice sent pain throughout my body. It filled me with despair and filled my mind with fear. I struggled against his grip, trying desperately to free myself. I felt Fear's dark wisps of darkness enter my body. I fought back. I grabbed hold of his cold dead fingers and pulled. His body tensed at my touch, but he just tightened his grip. He was going to kill me; I wasn't going to get back to my babies, to my husband. My mind turned dark as the blackness took hold. I could feel the pain, the unbearable pain as it forced its way into my thoughts.

  "Do you see it mommy, her skin is white, and her lips are bright red. It looks like you when you put on your pretty lipstick."

  Fear flinched. "Stop fighting me, you will never win." He seethed.

  I searched my memories, trying desperately to find the happy memory that I had just heard. Fear pushed against my mind, trying to overpower my thoughts.

  Abby sat on my lap; her little hand traced the picture of Snow White as we read our nightly bedtime story together.

  "I see her, she is very pretty isn't she?" I said, smiling at her.

  "You look like her mommy, but your hair is not this color," she said, pointing to Snow White's jet-black hair. "It’s more like this." She pointed at the tall golden grass in the next picture.

  "Yes, my hair is blonde, just like that." I tickled her side. She giggled and threw herself onto her pillow, hiding herself in the covers.

  "Don't tickle me Mommy!" she squealed with joy.

  "No!" Fear yelled, and his grip tightened further, but I felt his strength leaving him.

  I searched my memories, trying to find more that filled me with so much happiness. After a few seconds, Hunter’s face came to my mind. His face was set in a look of determination as his pencil moved across his paper. His tongue stuck out, his hands were black from rubbing against the papers. He grabbed another pencil and quickly changed directions.

  "What are you drawing?" I asked him, holding back a chuckle as I watched him concentrating.

  "I saw a beautiful bird today," he told me, not looking up from his paper.

  "What kind of bird?" I questioned him, trying to peer over his shoulder to see his drawing.

  "Don't look Mom, it's a surprise!" he said, covering his drawing with his body.

  "Okay, okay," I said, "come show me when you are done." I walked out of the room and started folding the laundry.

  "I'm done!" Hunter called down the hall. "Close your eyes."

  I did as I was told. "Okay, they are closed," I said, smiling.

  I heard his little three-year-old feet shuffling quickly down the hall. "Don't look!" He scolded me as I tried to sneak a peak.

  "I'm sorry," I said

  I felt his little body right next to me. "Okay,” he said, “open them."

  A bright red Cardinal looked back at me as I opened my eyes. Its wings stretched out, as if taking flight. It was a perfect drawing, even down to the black feather that surrounded the reddish orange beak.

  "Hunter this is beautiful!" I gasped. "You did this?"

  His grin spread the length of his face. "Yes!" he said excitedly.

  "This is the most beautiful drawing I have ever seen!" I told him truthfully. I was completely amazed at how well he had drawn that bird at such a young age. "How did you know how to do this?"

  He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He grabbed his drawing and smiled as he ran down the hall.

  The cold fingers were losing their grip on my neck, and I felt my feet touch the ground. The darkness was retreating from my mind. I reached up and grabbed hold of his hand. As my hands wrapped around his fingers, he screamed and released his grip. The darkness retreated quickly out of my body, and I collapsed on the ground, smiling.

  Fear stared at me, and his smile widened. "What a beautiful family," he said wickedly.

  The way he looked at me sent a different kind of fear throughout my body.

  "If only you could help them when I go kill them." His wicked grin was the last thing I saw before he disappeared.

  "No!" I screamed. I ran forward, and my foot caught on something, and I sprawled to the ground. I crawled forward, hoping that there would be a way I could follow him. He was going after my family! As I searched around me, frantically looking for a way to escape the prison of my nightmare, I saw the tombstone that had been there every time I found myself here. Lying right beside it was a heap of black material.

  I ran towards Death. "Death, please wake up, please he is going after my family. I need you to take me to my family!" I grabbed hold of him and spun him around. His face was twisted in agony; his eyes were black as coal.

  "Death please, you have to help me. I can't do this without you! Please!" I shook him, hoping that would snap him out of whatever Fear had done to him. A dark black puddle was starting to pool under his side. I pulled back his cloak and found a large gash running up his side. The cut had turned black, and I could see the black lines pushing their way up inside his body. Fear had left behind a part of himself to control Death. Fear was killing him, but he’d made sure that Death would suffer an agonizing and painful end.

  I looked around, hoping to find a way to stop the bleeding, hoping to find help from someone, anyone. The scene around me was exactly like I had remembered in my nightmare the first time. A lonely tree stood in the distance; thunder rumbled overhead as the dark clouds churned and lightning filled the sky, releasing the rain down on me. The tombstone stood alone in the center of it all, like a beacon of what was to come. Another flash of lightning, more thunder. I stared at the tombstone. What had been blank in every other nightmare now had writing there. I quickly wiped the dirt away from the tombstone, and the letters stood out like light in the darkness.

  APOLLYN

  SON OF NO ONE

  I traced the letters. My heart ached for this man I had never met. A cold icy hand grabbed hold of my wrist. I gasped in surprise.

  "Me..." Death tried to say.

  "What?" I asked, leaning closer so I could hear him over the rain and thunder.

  "Apollyn," he breathed.

  Understanding washed over me. "You are Apollyn! This is your grave!"

  He nodded. I reached for him, pulling his hand into mine and smiled.

  He struggled to find the words as he spoke. "Take my memories," he whispered, "keep them close."

  My body lurched forward, and the scene around me changed. I stood on top of a cliff side that overlooked the ocean. The sky was a beautiful blue, tinted with a hint of pink, indicating that the sun was about to set. A small boy sat on the cliffs, his little legs dangling over the steep edge.

  I knelt beside him, careful not to touch him. "What's the matter?" I asked.

  The boy didn't look up at me; he continued to stare at the pounding waves below.

  The scene flickered. "This is me. I was just a boy," Death said, his voice weak.

  Death stood next to me, his face full of pain. He looked like Vanessa now.

  "How are we here?" I asked. "I thought Fear controlled you."

  "Fear does control my body, but my mind is still my own. I am only here as a memory; my body is still at my tombstone."

  "Why did you bring me here?" I asked. Death was getting weaker, as was his image. I knew I had to ask him quickly.

  "This is the day I found out I was Death. This is the day my life ended," he told me through labor
ed breath.

  "How did you find out?"

  "Watch," he said.

  The scene changed, and we now stood in an empty rundown building. The structure seemed to be falling down and was made of a material I didn't know. The grass beneath our feet was black from what seemed like mold or maybe something else, I really wasn't sure. Apollyn sat crouched in the corner of the room. He had placed several wooden planks against the walls of the building and had piled up all sorts of weeds and garbage around himself. I realized that this is where Apollyn lived.

  "Apollyn come out of there this minute!"

  "No!" the boy yelled back. "You can't make me go."

  The woman came to the door of the building; her hair was in a tight bun, and her face was dark. Her eyes sat too far apart, and she only had one ear. She looked into the dark hut, her eyes black as night.

  “Apollyn, you come out here this instant. You have to go into the box!" she said angrily.

  "No. I didn't do it!" Apollyn answered.

  The woman seemed to lose all control at this point; she ran into the building and grabbed Apollyn by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of the house. Apollyn kicked and screamed at her to let him go, but she just tightened her grip and handed the boy to a thin, scary-looking man.

  "I don't want to go with him. Why are you sending me away?" Apollyn cried.

  "Because no one wants you, and you are murderer!" the tall man said angrily.

  They threw Apollyn into a large metal box.

  "There," the man said, "he can't do anything from inside there."

  "Do you really think keeping him locked in a magical box will stop him from killing?"

  The scene changed again. My eyes had to adjust to the dim light that now surrounded me. Apollyn lay curled in a ball in the corner of the metal box. His small body shivered from the cold. My heart broke.

  "Why are you in here?" I asked.

  At first I wasn't sure Death was going to answer. "People in my village were dying. A plague of some kind. It killed my entire family except me. People took me in, and they got sick and died. The house I was in just now was my childhood home. They burned it after my mom died. They hoped it would stop the disease from spreading to everyone else. As others began to die around me, they decided that I was cursed and had been the one to kill all those people. They locked me in this box hoping that I would die." Death struggled with each word. I could tell the part of Fear that was left behind was making its way further into his body.