Awakening

by Karice Bolton

  The thought of Whistler made me wonder if I would be staying at my place or back at theirs. I was hoping it would be their place, not that I didn’t love my place. Maybe by then Athen would stay over at my place. It didn’t matter where I was as long as Athen was involved.

  It was getting close to mealtime, but I suddenly became exhausted. This many hours of decorating seemed to take its toll.

  “Hey, I think I’m going to go up and lay down for a little bit before dinner. I’ve gotten extremely tired all of a sudden.” I grabbed Athen’s hand as he was placing the last bit of garland around the entry mirror.

  “Yeah, no problem. Want some company?” His eyes looked hopeful.

  I didn’t want to let him down, but I really needed rest, and who knows what my emotions would want me to do if he was laying next to me.

  “No, I think I’m good. I’m gonna crash for a few. I’ll be back before you know it.” I winked at him as I moved up the stairs.

  As I turned into my bedroom, I looked at my comforter with such longing. I couldn’t wait to snuggle underneath it and rest for a few minutes, only a few minutes. I could barely keep my eyes open at this point. Hopefully, I wasn’t coming down with the flu or something. I called for Matilda to jump on up which she did without missing a beat. Before I knew it I was fast asleep welcoming more horrors into my life.

  ******

  I woke up in a sudden panic. My heart was pounding. My head was burning. I had no idea what was happening. It was dark outside so I must have slept for a little longer than I thought. It’s at least 3:45 pm or so since that is when it first gets dark. I tried to turn my head, but the pain was excruciating. I reached down for Matilda and found her with my hand. I knew I needed help but wasn’t sure yelling would do much in a house this large. This was not a dream. This was real. The pain was far more debilitating than even the reintroduction process. The pain was getting worse by the second. My fingers began to lose feeling. The numbness began to slowly creep up my hand and slowly began to spread to my wrist leaving a trail of coldness in its journey. I began to holler for Athen or anyone. Nothing would come out. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t budge. It was entirely numb. Matilda didn’t seem disturbed, which gave me a little comfort but my heart knew something was different. From my bed I stared straight ahead and saw out my window a dark reflection. I couldn’t see a clear figure. I didn’t really know what I was seeing. Was I even awake at this point? It seemed like I was in a frozen dream state. How could I be seeing a something out my second story window?

  The image was getting closer to the window, and as it did, my pain began to worsen. A sharpness was running through my veins as if someone was ripping a scalpel inside my body tearing through my veins. This was the creature who had been on our property. The black swirl was becoming a little clearer. I began with all my might to scream. I wasn’t sure what kind of noise was actually making it out, but I kept screaming with all my being. Matilda didn’t move at all, which made my heart fall with the realization that no noise was coming from me. I wouldn’t give up though. I kept yelling for help, in part, because I was in so much pain. I was certain that pure terror-filled screams were coming from me. I began to hear what sounded like a mumble coming from me, maybe a soft murmur. Even if someone happened to be walking by they wouldn’t notice. The creature was now at my window. My fingers that were numb before now burned with an intense fire that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

  The creature in front of me began to look mostly human versus the quick black streak I had seen briefly on our property. I’m sure if darkness wasn’t surrounding him he would look like any other person walking down the street except for a few strange characteristics that I was pretty sure now were common traits among these demons. Partially because my fingers were in such pain I noticed his, and they were extremely pointy and long, but the most unnerving part was how long the creatures nails were. His jaw stuck out to me as well. It looked as if a grin was coming over his face. I kept up my screaming, but apparently it was only for me to hear. His eyes were welcoming death.

  Matilda’s ears perked up. She could hear them running up the stairs. They were running down the hall. Somehow they made it to my bedroom, but in that instant, the image vanished from my bedroom’s view.

  “Ana, is everything ok?” Arie asked breathlessly. She looked around the room and saw that nothing seemed to be amiss.

  “We felt that you were in pain.” Cyril said the last to reach my bedroom.

  Athen came over to my side, gently touching my forehead.

  “Ana, you are soaked. What happened? Did you have more memories? Is it from downstairs?”

  Words weren’t coming quite yet. I could only slowly shake my head. I tried to point out the window with my fingers. Everyone looked out my window and saw the very same thing I did, nothing.

  “It’s ok, sweetheart. These things can happen. The memories can be painful. I’m so sorry.” Athen said hugging me.

  I shook my head. No words were coming. They didn’t understand. I needed words. Now was the moment to see if I could manipulate my own thoughts to make sure that they could hear them.

  I forcefully placed the thoughts in my head, their head. I attempted to give a step-by-step recap of what happened once I woke up. I looked up at them for any recognition that they intercepted my thoughts.

  “Ana”, Arie said gently, “I think that was part of a dream. The creature that we have been keeping watch on doesn’t match that description. I think somehow the image you saw is from your memories from before.”

  I was so frustrated. I could feel the despair rising in me. I knew what I saw. It wasn’t a memory. It was real. There was a creature outside my window. I looked at Athen hoping he would understand.

  “You know, Arie, if it was a memory why can’t she speak or move much?” He looked at both Arie and Cyril concerned.

  “She is probably worn out still from earlier. That was a pretty big influx of memories she experienced.”

  I finally was able to shake my head and did as fast as I could. I began to describe the creature that I saw in my mind with hopes that it would prove something to them. Maybe they would be able to see it. I thought as hard as I could, ‘The black bulbous, image became larger and larger as it got to the window. Once the creature was at the window, I could tell it was in human form. It had long, wrinkled, almost leathery fingers. Its fingernails were wretchedly long, tinged with brown. I could tell it was a male. It wore a burgundy shirt and black pants. The more pain it caused me, the more it would smile. Its eyes were cold and black, almost hollow. When it would open its mouth, all I could see was a dark cavern that seemed to go on forever. I didn’t want to look at its mouth or into its eyes. It was as if I would get sucked in. Please believe me. It was after me. It wasn’t a memory from earlier. I was worn out from trying to think my thoughts so loud.’ I was drained from forcing those words to them all.

  Athen grabbed my hand and turned to Cyril.

  “It’s not a minion. It’s Azazel. He must have gotten to her from her window. This could be a bit more serious than we thought. We need to be prepared for a fight. I don’t know why we are so interesting all of a sudden, but this is the real thing, again.”

  “Or there could be two of them.” Arie finally got on board.

  “You probably hit it on the head, sis. The first one probably was the minion. It looks like we will need to be a bit more cautious than we realized until we take care of this. Apparently, someone decided to leave the desert.”

  “Well, if what you guys are saying is true, that means she was cast. We need to get her back to her old self. It’s not going to happen on its own. Ana, I’m so sorry for not believing you. I never expected this.”

  I knew they would never want to cause me pain or hurt, but I certainly hoped that going forward they would begin to trust my instincts a bit more than up to this point. I gently shook my head and attempted a smile. I had no idea what was next but hoped we could get this chapter ov
er with.

  “We will.” Athen kissed me on my head. Arie went downstairs to the kitchen to grab something. What, I had no idea, but I suddenly realized that the turkey didn’t quite have the same level of intrigue as pre-nap. However, I didn’t want to ruin Thanksgiving dinner for everyone.

  CHAPTER 22

  I made my way down for the holiday dinner and knew that there was going to be a much different tone than at a typical holiday meal. I could tell everyone was attempting to make it as normal as possible without throwing me over the edge, but somehow I had to convey to them that I needed the details to stay sane and in control. Athen was cutting the turkey, and Cyril was finishing up the mashed potatoes.

  “Where’s Arie?” I asked.

  “She’s in contact with some of the others explaining the situation. We haven’t had this level of persistence for quite some time. She is hoping to find out something that may be floating through the channels. So far no one has heard of anything that would make us more of a target than usual.”

  “This is pretty intense. I had no idea how involved all of this would get.” I mumbled a bit under my breath as I grabbed the breadbasket for the table.

  “None of us could have predicted this one. We’ll take care of it though. It or they will be a thing of the past by Christmas, guaranteed.” Cyril boasted from behind the mashed potatoes.

  “I do admire your confidence, Cy.” I said grinning. I could feel my level of confidence brimming over the cup being back down here with my family.

  Everyone began bringing the wonderful holiday delicacies to the table, spreading them out in between the plentiful holiday decorations. I could hear Arie bounding in from behind us, probably coming from the study.

  “So what’s the scoop, sis?” Athen asked hopeful that she had uncovered the answers we needed to end it immediately.

  “Well, it sounds like it might not be Azazel or maybe not only Azazel. Apparently the demon we took care of in Whistler might be a minion of Asmodeus. He is here strictly for revenge. Possibly because we disturbed one of the minions or his master, Asmodeus. Only time will tell.”

  “Why does that make a difference?” I asked clueless.

  “Well, if he were sent to end one of us, and we ended him first another one would come and then another one, etc. If we end him, his memories will be cleared and we are done. He won’t come back after us. He’ll go back to what he does once he re-introduces, which is preying on humans.”

  “So what is the history on Asmodeus?”

  “We seem to be talking about all of the big guns of evil. He is an arch demon, and one of his specialties is revenge, along with jealousy and lechery.”

  “Geez, well I guess it’s better to know than not. Hopefully, there is no connection between any of this, and these occurrences aren’t connected.” I said trying to put everything out of my mind.

  “But the question we are kind of not answering here is why was the one in Whistler after her? Let’s hope he wasn’t sent.” Cyril and Athen traded glances while Arie lit the candles on the table.

  “Alright, guys, enough shop talk.” Arie said bringing us all back to the innocence that only she seemed to be able to.

  The calm had settled over the dining room, and the dancing shadows from the fire in the family room added a nice touch. There were so many things laid out in front of me, I didn’t even know where to begin. The sweet potato casserole was calling out to me though, and I dug into that first. Cyril grabbed the Bose stereo remote and turned on some wonderful holiday music. Nothing like Bing Crosby singing White Christmas to lift the mood instantly, I was truly in my element.

  “So speaking of a White Christmas, what do you say once we get done with this little issue we head back up to Whistler. Do we want to spend Christmas up there or down here? We could go up there at least to get some skiing in.” Cyril looked so excited at the mere thought of gliding down the powder. Everyone looked at me immediately.

  “Whoa, guys, I don’t want to be the one to choose. I’m cool with anything. I do love it down here, but I would love to see Whistler during the holidays for a little bit at least, since it has been my home for so long.”

  “Alright, we will take care of the situation down here, spend a couple days more and then head up there for a couple weeks maybe? We could probably get back down here by the 20th and have plenty of time to enjoy things. Maybe your friend would want to come down for New Years Eve?” Athen offered up.

  So much had happened since we left Whistler, I hadn’t even thought about Karen. I felt like such a horrible friend. Truthfully I probably was never that great of one anyway. I knew the right thing to do would be to invite her. I’m glad he mentioned it.

  “Yeah, that would be good idea. Thanks, Athen. I tend to forget about life outside of our little circle lately.” I said as I plowed through the turkey and cranberry sauce that I had piled on my plate. This was the best tasting Thanksgiving without a doubt. I was having a bit of trouble understanding my appetite. One minute I think I’m about to die, and the next, I’m ravenous. Athen started to chuckle.

  “You’ve always been like that, Ana.” He said smiling.

  “So Arie, when are you going to teach me that tip to keep some of my thoughts to myself?” I barked.

  “Tonight! I promise.” She exclaimed throwing her napkin at Athen. “The fun will be over soon, Athen.”

  Everyone began on their second round of food, and I wondered how I would ever be able to fit in any of the desserts that we had made. I knew the pecan pie would win, but I wondered how many of the others would too.

  I was dreaming about the desserts when a flash of the snowboarder came into my mind. I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t shake it. I knew it was the same guy as I saw in the picture back when I was with Athen at the grocery store. I saw the snowboarder walking to what looked like a yurt in the snow. There were people waiting for him inside the yurt.

  “Ana? What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost!” Arie put the pie dish down and stared intently.

  “Athen, do you remember the missing snowboarder? Images of him are flashing in my head. Why would that be? I don’t even know him? It’s like a home movie is playing in my head only I don’t know the ending.”

  “Ana, you’ve got to be kidding me. What do you see? I can’t believe you are able to see things clearly.”

  “He’s in the snow, looks like out in the wilderness. There is a yurt with a chimney that he is entering. He isn’t alone. The inside of the yurt is pretty bare. There are about 3 people that I can see in there with him - except that their eyes…”

  “What do you see, Ana?” Cyril pried.

  “Their eyes are black. There is no essence of any human spirit within them. They are like the one that tried to attack me. They look like humans but must be demons.”

  “Can you see the snowboarder’s eyes?” Athen asked.

  “Not yet, they seem to all be heading to the table. There are maps, and all sorts of trinkets spread out on the table. It’s like they are giving instructions.”

  “Keep focused on the his eyes, Ana.”

  “I am, I am… It looks like he is sitting down now, listening. I got it! His eyes, they aren’t like the others.”

  Everyone began shrieking. I wasn’t exactly sure why. Arie began running to the other room to make a call.

  “What’s going on? How do you know what I saw was accurate?” I asked emphatically.

  “That was one of your true talents, Ana. You could find the missing and endangered. You could scope out the poor victims, and in many cases, we could get to them before it was too late. You can see visions just like the one with Karen and the guy texting her. It’s like seeing the future, but rather it’s the present. You can see what’s happening in the moment. I didn’t expect this to come back so early.” Athen grabbed my hand. “Are you doing ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine, but how can you be certain that I really saw him, and it wasn’t just my imagination?”

&nbs
p; “I just know. You used to get this look of concentration, and it appeared tonight while it was happening. I can guarantee what you told us tonight is happening at this very moment. Arie is calling some of our friends in Whistler to help since we are down here and have to deal with this other mess first. We’ve got to try to get him back. Go tell Arie everything you saw - the more detail the better. We’ve got to track this kid down before it’s too late.”

  “Alright. I’ll go fill her in as best as I can.” The thought that this all occurred while I was awake brought a wave of relief. Maybe those nightmares were just that – bad dreams, figments of my imagination, nothing more than that. Maybe my visions only happen when I’m awake. I hoped with all of my heart that it was the case. My stomach became ill at the thought of the nightmares trying to make their way back into my conscious. I have fought to keep the images of Athen escaping into thin air a thousand times, and this gave me hope beyond all that maybe it was just a bad dream. Maybe the demon with the serpentine eyes was only my subconscious reflecting my worst nightmares. Those images must be nothing more than tried and true nightmares, not premonitions. I followed after Arie to help her in any way I could.

  *****

  It was pretty late in the evening, probably close to midnight, and we were all huddled around the fireplace in the family room. I had changed into my pjs and had my favorite fuzzy robe covering me up for extra warmth. Athen was near the fireplace, which was throwing a warm glow onto his skin, highlighting his yellow-green eyes. He was so hard to resist. He had changed into some flannel bottoms and a t-shirt, looking absolutely perfect.