My Demonic Ghost #3: Hunters and Creators

by Maree, Jacinta

  I nodded, “I’m sorry for leaving you alone with them. I’ll make sure they never-”

  “No… no with you.” His brows towed upwards in his concern, “Something is wrong with you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your life line, it’s depleting at twice the normal rate. It’s not me doing it either.”

  “So, it’s Chō?”

  He nibbled on his lip, the exhaustion teasing his hair so it flicked out like the layers of a rose in bloom. “It just doesn’t make sense. It’s a Creator; it shouldn’t need to borrow life and energy so he shouldn’t be taking anything away.”

  “Let’s not worry about me for a change, okay? I’m alright. You’re the one they’re trying to fry.”

  “Yeah but I’m invincible, you’re the one who is delicate.” He mocked.

  “Strong enough to throw Nathan around like a toy.” I chuckled but quickly stopped when Evan’s face went taut in his severity, “Sorry, I shouldn’t joke…”

  “No,” He quickly shook his head, “He’s always been such a jerk… but to target you because of me - I just can’t understand.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “It has to be, otherwise why would he do it?” He twisted around to face me, “Why Nathan, out of all the Hunters? It just can’t be a coincidence. When Jordon told me about what you had said, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to.”

  I licked my lips nervously, “Gargoyle recruited him because of his hatred towards your brother. He was a torment to you too, wasn’t he?” Evan shifted uncomfortably.

  “He blamed me for his parents’ break-up; saying it was me and my mum’s fault his mum deserted him.” He sighed and propped his head against the wall, “I’m just sick and tired of always being so scared. The one thing I liked about death is that I never had to be scared of him again… well, I used to think that. Figures he’d become the one spirit that can hurt me the most.”

  “People change. The way you stood up to him was amazing.”

  “I got my ass handed to me don’t you mean? You had to swoop in and go all ultra-power just to save my sorry behind.”

  I scooted over a little closer, “I never really thanked you for coming back for me. The last time we spoke, I thought you had given up. I thought you stopped caring.”

  “The moment he took you away I knew right there and then that I can’t just shut you out. It’s not a switch I can turn on and off. Even if I wanted to, I just can’t, you’ve imprinted yourself on me and I can never get away.” He lowered his voice, the weight of his words making my heart flutter nervously. “I will always love you, even if you can’t love me back.” Heartache tore through me. My immediate reaction was to deny; to reassure him that love between us was possible, but a lingering fear kept my mouth shut.

  I gently whispered, “I never should have said those things before, I was inconsiderate. I know it might not be love just yet, but I care for you. I can see why I fell for someone like you…”

  Evan looked shocked to have heard me say that, and a bashful smile relaxed his face. “Then I’ll have to make you fall in love with me all over again…” There was a heavy knock on my cell door before it was pushed open, revealing a stern looking Doctor and two scientists at his flank. Evan immediately tensed to the point the lights in the room flickered, his tight shoulders and fierce glare radiating darkness into the space.

  The Doctor held his hand up gently, “We’re not here for you.” Not two seconds later, mum and dad came rushing through the door. I scrambled to stand before running to them, practically jumping into my mother’s arms. She pulled me close and squeezed tightly, tears I didn’t realise I was holding overspilled from my eyes.

  “Rachael my baby girl, you’re okay. We’ve been so worried! My darling daughter. Don’t you ever, EVER do that to us again.” Mum brought my head in and suffocated me with kisses. I pulled away to go hug my father, when I noticed he had dropped a lot of weight. Guilt poked me with a hot stick. What was I thinking? Not telling my parents where I was or that I was okay? They have been so miserable because of me! I’m the worst daughter ever!

  “I am so sorry. I am so sorry mum and dad. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think.” Dad’s blood shot eyes softened in relief. The stress had been horrible to him; mum looked exhausted, but dad looked seriously ill.

  “These men have been saying such bizarre things. They keep telling us about spirits and demons I just… I don’t want you to have any part of this. Come on, I’m taking you home.” Mum pulled on my arm just as dad replied with a sharp ‘No’.

  She looked accusingly over at him as if he had just slapped her, “George! We’re taking our baby girl home. This is ridiculous.”

  “I want nothing more than to take her home too, but it’s not ridiculous.” He peered around the room scornfully, “He’s here… isn’t he Rachael?” I cocked my head to the side, not sure who dad was referring to. Evan inhaled sharply as he tried to melt into the shadows.

  “What are you talking about?” Mum asked.

  “Dad?”

  “Do you remember how we always had a dark spot in our memories? How for five years of my life I couldn’t remember details or events that had happened? It’s been coming back to me now piece by piece. Every night I remember more and more… I remember there was a ghost, a demon. A boy they called Lock.”

  Evan tensed upwards and I whipped my head towards him. He had guilt written all over his face. It had looked like he was attempting to explain himself, but words failed to form.

  “How on earth would you know that?” I asked dad suspiciously.

  “Because he is the one that ruined my life.”

  Oh my God…. Wait… I remember that. Images and lost moments flashed through my mind; the realization caused my face to go slack with unease. He was right. I didn’t know how or why now, but the mention of my father’s failing health had dug up all the memories I had long lost. He was sick and dying, his mind polluted with hate and his life chipped down from joyous accountant to a psych patient, house bound at the Whitehaven estate. Mum and dad’s marriage had fallen a part, he had lost his job and with it all sense of happiness and sanity. I took two steps backwards, bringing my hand to my mouth.

  “Rachael…” Evan whispered softly, “I can explain…”

  “Is it true?”

  His face paled with remorse, “It’s complicated.”

  “I love you sweetheart, but if what I think happened to me is now happening to you, we absolutely must destroy it.” Dad shook his head like the words were too painful to say.

  “George!”

  “No Dianne, I can’t have our daughter live through that hell. You remember too, don’t you? All of those fights we had, those sleepless nights never knowing where I was or what I was doing. Don’t you remember all the resentment?”

  Mum grit her teeth, fighting back tears that threatened to fall. “So, are you saying that some demon attacked you five years ago but blocked all of our memories of the incident and is now attacking our daughter?”

  Dad frowned, “How else do you explain what’s happening to us? What’s happening to me? It sounds crazy, but I truly believe so.”

  Mum shook her head, “I can’t leave her here.”

  “Dad, please just take me home.”

  “No, no; I’m sorry, but the doctors can fix you. They can fix this.”

  I fell silent as Doctor Hearth spoke up at the entrance, “You need not worry, we are doing everything we can to remove it.”

  “You’re not hurting my daughter!” Mum shrilled in panic.

  “We promise not to harm her; we’re only interested in the ghost.”

  “Mum, dad, please don’t leave me here. This man is insane. He had me tied to the bed and pumped drugs into my body.”

  “The demon was acting violently through her, we had no other choice. It would have harmed her otherwise.”

  “You’re a liar! Please don’t do this, just take me with you. I want
to go home!”

  “If you come home then you’ll die!” Dad put his foot down and I stepped back sourly. I looked over at mum and she shielded her face from me, her anger and fear rendering her speechless. Feeling outnumbered, I crossed my arms and stormed back to my bed where I sat down.

  Mum regained enough composure to speak, “If she stays, then I stay.”

  “We can set up a separate room for you. You can arrange visiting hours, but you can’t stay in here for long. These spirits are capable of host jumping. They can easily target you or your husband next.” The Doctor explained. Mum pushed past him and stormed out, her heels clicking angrily as she disappeared down the hall. Dad lingered for a moment longer, his head bowed in thought. I hadn’t noticed it, but his hair was thinning too, revealing a patch of pinkish scalp.

  “Is it here?” He asked once more.

  The Doctor nodded, “We monitor and track them through these goggles.”

  Dad held out his hand, his face scarily serious, “I want to see him.”

  I dared a glance over at Evan who stood up warily. The Doctor handed dad the goggles. He held them in his hands, his focus on his feet, before he eventually slipped them on. Evan stepped forward again, his face strong and unwavering as if he was approaching a noose. Dad glanced around the room then checked over his shoulder; making eye contact with Evan, who lingered not two steps away. He flinched as if surprised, but then quickly regained his composure. His brows quirked for a moment before he released a shaky breath.

  “I thought… I thought it was the same ghost that had haunted me. It’s not him…” He went to take the glasses off and Evan stepped forward again.

  “No, wait!” He shot one last fleeting glance in my direction before his image flickered. He kept his eyes on me, gaging my reaction before lowering his gaze while ash started to foam around his body, billowing up from his toes to his head before dispersing and floating away. Remaining behind was the young boy in his school uniform. Evan was soft in his youth, his gentle cheeks and large, sparkling eyes tight with fear. He looked back to my father and gulped loudly, “It’s me.”

  Dad’s breathing tightened, “Wait…Aren’t you…. Aren’t you Ray’s boy?” He looked over at me for confirmation that he wasn’t crazy. Dad had to support himself on the wall, the surprise more than he could handle. He had never met Evan, none of us had; but looking at Evan now he was identical to the photo in the newspaper. It was unsettling how we didn’t make the connection earlier.

  I nodded my head gently as Dad’s lower lip trembled, “What happened? How… why? No, no it’s a trick. It has to be. I don’t know what happened to you, but this isn’t the answer. You have to let go, Evan. You can’t be here anymore!”

  “Dad!” I mumbled but he put his hand up, his voice rising.

  “I understand, Rachael. I understand that you sympathise with this boy, but he isn’t your cousin. He isn’t my nephew or Ray’s son. Not anymore. He’s just an evil entity that has to be destroyed.”

  My chest swelled, “He may be Banished, but he is still Evan, dad; they were all people before they became Banished.” I argued.

  “They are the filth left from a human life and they are no longer human.” He shouted, and I stepped backwards. Evan glared furiously, his lips drawn into a frown. “You have to let go of my daughter. Just let go!”

  Evan’s voice quivered as he spoke, “No.”

  Flinging himself forward, dad punched his fist through Evan’s body. Evan didn’t even flinch as dad went straight through him, landing on the far wall. I scrambled up and ran over, and helped him stand. He had his hand to his heart as each cough ripped through his chest. He pushed me away with one hand and eased himself upright with the other. When he looked back, Evan had reverted back to his older appearance, his fists held tightly at his side, and eyes glaring an open challenge.

  “You are not Evan; you are not a part of our family. We will destroy you.” He promised before turning to me, “Do the right thing, Rachael. I know you’re a bright girl, do the right thing.” He then followed the Doctor out of the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine:

  With my arms crossed and my mind racing all I could do was pace, so I walked back and forth from wall to wall. Evan followed me with his eyes, the familiar caress of cold green sticking to my skin. Eventually I slowed and Evan sighed.

  “Rachael… let’s talk.”

  “I’m having a bit of difficulty understanding all of this. I feel like I’m going crazy. There are two realties and I don’t know which one is real.”

  He sighed gently again, “George was my host before you. Banished need hosts, it was never my intention to harm him. I needed a soul to survive…”

  “So you took his?” I pressed my back against the wall and slid down. “Why him?”

  Evan walked over and squatted so he faced me eye-to-eye, “I didn’t pick. It was just unfortunate timing for him. A minute or two later and we may have never crossed paths. Back then Banished cannot survive on their own and I was desperate. I didn’t know any better.”

  I inhaled a harsh breath. “You make it hard to love you. Every time I feel myself growing closer you just go ahead and sabotage it.” Evan fiddled with the hem of his shirt, letting my words sink in. He was painfully silent for few moments, like he was trying to build up the courage to raise his head.

  Then he nodded and said quietly, “You’re right. I’ve done terrible things that I’m not proud of. Most people would hate me for the rest of their lives, but you didn’t. Back then, no matter what I did, you never looked at me with hatred. You always saw the good in me, even when I couldn’t.”

  I bit my lip, looking away, “How can I forgive this? What did you do to make me love you even when you tormented my father? Is this why you wiped my memory? Were you trying to hide this part of you from me?”

  “No,” Evan shook his head vigorously, “I didn’t mean for you to forget...”

  “Then why am I remembering now?”

  Evan looked around for the answer. A thought dawned on him which caused his eyes to widen in realization. “It must be because of Chō. Your memories are blocked by the Blue Spirit’s magic; something of equal power must be taking the magic away. Chō is the only thing more powerful than the Blue Spirit. That also explains why it’s not only changing you but also your mum and dad.”

  “What are you talking…?” I started, but he turned away, consumed with his thoughts.

  “The whole reason why Chō is with you… is because of my wish. He must’ve been attracted to you because of the Blue Spirit’s presence blocking your memory. Every time Chō channels strength through you it counteracts with the Blue Spirit’s magic, making it chip away and undo her spell.”

  I sat down, cupping my forehead, “What are you on about? What wish?”

  Evan sat down next to me and took a deep breath, “Five years ago, I wished for you to have your old life back… before I came into the picture. But to make that wish possible, you had to forget everything about us. That’s why your memory was hidden.”

  “You wanted me to forget you?” I weakly asked.

  “No, no of course not. I didn’t want you to live in fear or sadness anymore; if that meant losing you for a while then it was worth it. I always knew that you’d come back to me. To remove the Blue Spirit’s power doesn’t just return the memories, it removes my wish completely.”

  I turned my face away, letting my thoughts scatter. My time with Evan, whatever it was that happened five years ago was linked to the blank slate in my family’s memories. Something horrible had happened, bad enough that he wanted to repent and undo whatever it was that he had done to me and to my dad.

  “What about my father?”

  Evan nodded softly. “With his memories returning his health will fade. Everything will be back to what it was beforehand…”

  “If I had to choose between remembering the old you and saving my father…” I said as Evan nodded in agreement.

  “Your choice
is obvious. But unless we get Chō off, you won’t even get a choice.”

  “But how are we going to do that?”

  Evan grit his teeth, glancing back over to the cameras. “I can’t break his hold and neither can any of the Hunters or Reapers. Maybe if we tell the scientists everything, their advanced technology can help. Once Chō is off, then I’ll leave you and your family alone, I promise.”

  ***

  Every night I had impossible dreams. Some were terrifying; others were disjointed conversations that I could only vaguely remember. The dreams I had of Evan were… I don’t know even if I could admit it to myself let alone say it out loud. They were fragmented and out of order, but somehow also made perfect sense. I couldn’t remember much about my father, but I could remember Whitehaven; living there by myself and how the crooked walls scared me. I remember a grotesque creature with seven arms and weeping liquefied black hair. We called her Mother, and she had attacked me one night, leaving a scar along my ankle. I remember walking along the park near my house with Evan.

  Back then I was able to hold his hand and nothing terrified me more than having to let him go. He was also younger and smaller than I was; a complete opposite to his now adult physique. Back then I felt waves of sadness pour into me, thinking about our future and how it was impossible for us to be together. I could never be with him and that had felt like poison to my soul. I smiled bashfully remembering how he tried to kiss me in the alleyway, missing his target in his inexperienced eagerness. I also remember how he frustrated me and scared me with his wicked temper and intensity; but more often than not, I remembered being inspired by his courage and strength, and how I felt protected with him, like he was never going to let anything horrible ever happen to me. He was just a boy back then, no older than fourteen. Although I had just turned sixteen, I knew that he was meant for me. That he was my soul mate.

  The longer they kept me here the more I understood they weren’t going to release me. It seemed our only choice was to cooperate with them, so I told them what I knew about Chō. We came to an understanding that I wouldn’t resist if they ensured not to target Evan in anyway in their trials. They ran all sorts of experiments, testing out their different theories, but nothing worked. I was put under hypnosis so they could communicate with Chō one on one, without the aid of extreme emotions triggering his appearance. Chō, from what I was told, didn’t respond to words, but to music. Even so, his visits were extremely short and useless. In their sessions with him, they came to understand Chō and his capabilities. They feared him more than they feared any Banished. They were no longer concerned with Evan - for the time being.