by Dallas Adams
“Voodoo Eric?” she questioned. She opened the book and skimmed the pages. There were English translations written in pen all over the place. She raised an eye brow. Kat wondered if these translations about voodoo were related to Eric's strange behavior. “So this is what helped spark that split personality? I’ll poke around that,” she concluded, putting the book on the table. She sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs. She rested her hands on her knees as Eric came back with their drinks.
“Here you go Kat,” he said as he handed her the bottle of water. She took it with a nod of her head.
“Thank you darling… so I see you are into the art of Voodoo?” she asked, eyes moving to the book. Eric’s eyes followed, as well.
Eric broke into a cold sweat. He decided to try and play it off like he didn’t know much about it, which deep inside killed him to even consider.
“Not really. I was just reading it. You know I am a collector of ancient texts and grimoires but that doesn’t mean I necessarily know very much about them or believe in them.” He shrugged his shoulders as he talked.
“Oh, of course not. Then again, I never made a reference to you believing it; just that you are interested in it,” she raised her eye brow as she watched him. He went on the defense so quickly. She mused that this must be where the center of Eric's disorder pulled itself from. “You know, interestingly enough, Voodoo has been said to bring back the dead in various ways. One way bears a great resemblance to the mythology of zombies. Another way is the possession of a live person into which spirits enter,” Kat said to show off her knowledge about the religion.
“She’s on to us Eric. Your plan isn’t working out too well now is it?” Joey questioned Eric’s methods, the cold sweat now becoming warm. Not only from Joey’s comment or from Kat’s straight intelligence, but also his fever which had increased from the sudden stress he was putting on his body.
“Excuse me, I don’t feel too well,” he muttered, heading to the bathroom. Kat watched Eric lumber to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Kat sneaked over on her tip toes after a minute, hearing what sounded like two voices. She kneeled down and pressed her ear to the door.
“She is not on to us. She is just trying to make it seem like that. Calm down and relax,” Eric voice flowed with reassurance like the water that flowed from the sink once he turned it on. He splashed his face, trying to cool himself down. He looked up at the mirror as water dripped from his bangs. It was not his reflection he saw, but Joey’s. Joey wrinkled his nose at what he said.
“How isn’t she on to us?” Joey questioned Eric. Eric was more intelligent than that. He knew he was very observant. If he could see she was close to figuring them out, then Eric must know this as well. How could Eric act like it was no big deal? Joey was more freaked out than Eric. Perhaps that’s why Eric didn't feel at all nervous. The emotional and soul connection that linked the two friends together was starting to blur the lines of differentiation. The strange magic was causing the one who never lost his cool to actually begin to worry.
“She just asked if we were into Voodoo, nothing more and nothing less,” Eric’s charming words rang through the bathroom over the sound of the running water. "NOT that I had a CHOICE in the matter..." Eric added with a scowl.
“But your blunt and defensive replies have caused suspicion. Let’s add that you went directly to the bathroom to avoid her. Now she really knows something is up. Just be honest with her. Tell her what happened,” Joey suggested to Eric. Eric thought and shook the idea right off.
“She’s logical Joey. I’m sure she won’t believe that by doing some ritual, you came back to life,” he said with disdain. He imagined a few sarcastic and mocking things Kat would say if he just came out and told her.
“Then again, she studies world religions and philosophies. I’m sure that Voodoo is not going to cause her to be simple-minded and ignore all the research, time, and effort she put into her studying. You really shouldn’t make assumptions about people like that,” Joey said with hope.
“Just shut up, Joey,” Eric demanded as he turned off the water. He opened the door and blinked to see Kat sitting in front of the door.
“I heard everything,” Kat stated loudly from behind the bathroom door. Eric's eyes widened becoming the size of basketballs. No way, had she been listening this whole time. He briefly panicked.
“You were eavesdropping?” Eric growled. How dare this woman come into his house and wiggle her way into his personal life. “You know what? Get out of my house before I call the cops on you for trespassing.”
“Yes Eric, that is the best way to solve this problem,” Joey ran his mouth with disappointment. He always thought Eric would handle problems better than this. Kat raised a single eye brow at his reaction. She caught him red-handed, though she guessed she shouldn’t have expected anything else.
“So instead of explaining it to me, you kick me out? Is this why you been so nice and so sweet to Christen, lately?” she asked walking to the door.
“Originally, no. Joey asked me to take care of his girl, and that is why I have been so nice to her. I promised Joey this, so I intended to keep that promise,” Eric revealed. He got in front of Kat and opened the door, tapping his foot while waiting for her to leave.
“Hmm, well, if you listened to ‘Joey’; it was correct that I indeed would have understood if you explained the ritual and Voodoo things. Now it is too late for that, and you know that promise? Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.” Her words were like a knife plunging into his heart.
“What do you mean-” Eric started but Kat had already walked out the door shutting it behind her. She left Eric standing there at the door with Joey buzzing in his ear.
“Dangerous and a cruel one, that girl is,” he chimed. Eric let his hand hit the wall next to the door taking a deep breath in.
“Don’t keep promises you can’t keep. What the fuck does she mean? I have been giving her everything. I have been trying to raise her up. What has Kat done for her?” He spat the words like bullets before collapsing back on the couch.
First thing that evening, Christen and Kat went out for dinner. Kat really needed to speak to her about what happened with her and Eric. They sat across from each other at the table. They looked at the menus in awkward silence. Soon, they both open their mouths to speak.
“So I want to talk about Eric,” they both blinked as they said the same thing. They both knew something was off, and Kat was taken by surprise. She wasn’t the only one that saw that something was wrong. It could not be a coincidence.
“You noticed something was strange?” Kat asked with surprise. Christen nodded her head slowly with a small look of disbelief. Apparently, the change was obvious. Kat must have seen it, as well. She sighed.
“It is hard to miss when he sneaks into your apartment,” Christen muttered. She wasn’t able to get it out of her head. How did he know the name of Mr. SnugglePaws? How did he know she always forgets to lock her apartment? She was confused. She never was that close to Eric. She knew they were friends through Joey, but other than that, they were strangers. How could he have known this? Her head was swimming with questions.
“He what!?” Kat exclaimed, but Christen put a finger to her own lips to sign to her that she needed to quiet down. She wanted to see her best friends’ opinion on this, but she wanted to keep it quiet.
“It’s exactly as I said, and it was beyond creepy. Then, he said something…that was…well rather odd,” she sighed. She was getting tongue tied. She was also slightly scared Kat would laugh at her. She glanced up as Kat reached out, putting a hand on hers. Would she believe that she thought that Joey was trapped within Eric, or that Eric could have taken Joey’s place in the war, or something? There were multiple possibilities she realized but… her Joey was still alive. She could feel him closer than ever.
“Sweetheart, just tell me. It can’t be anything that bad,” Kat stated calmly. In her mind though, she was not as relaxed as she made i
t seem. She knew there was something wrong with this man. She just was not as unrealistic as Christen. The only thing she could honestly believe was that Eric was showing signs of a split personality. Maybe the trauma of losing Joey was starting to surface. He seemed unaffected by it from a distance, but no one could remain that calm after losing someone that meant so much.
“He said something that only Joey would have known,” Christen stated quietly. It probably sounded funny, but it was true.
“Oh really now?” Kat looked out the window with a pondering expression. That was extremely odd. First she heard him ‘arguing’ with Joey, and now he was telling Christen things that apparently, only Joey knew. She could have laughed out loud at how unrealistic it sounded. Eric and Joey were best friends. She was nearly positive Joey must have told him these things.
“You don’t seem very surprised about this, Kat,” Christen pointed out. “What was it you were going to say about Eric?” she asked in a curious tone. What was it Kat had seen or heard? She wondered.
“Well I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but when Eric returned the ring to you, he really was acting creepy. He was unusually nice to me. I overheard him talking in the bathroom at the Gallery. It sounded like he was in an ‘argument’ with Joey.” Kat sighed, placing her hands under her chin and rested her elbows on the table.
Christen was dumbfounded. He was arguing with Joey? She wondered if it was possible that Joey really was somehow with them. The thought of him being at a distance that she could touch him made her heart jump.
“Something isn’t right with that boy", Kat continued. "Eric’s got some serious problems. I would be wary of you spending any more time with him,” Kat suggested, shaking out her hair. Christen's insides screamed with questions that were about to make her head explode. The possibilities would not stop pulsing through her mind, no matter how irrational they seemed.
“Not spend time with Eric anymore?” Christen felt a sudden heart-breaking sensation inside her chest. It was becoming more and more clear. Eric was the only way to reach Joey, to get the closest she could to him. How could she just throw that all away casually? “You really think that would be for the best?” she asked. Kat gave her a detestable look, sitting up straight. Yes, she really did; but, Christen didn't seem to be on board.
“Are you really asking me that?” Kat questioned her with a raised eye brow. "He snuck into your apartment because the door was unlocked. He’s obviously delusional! He suffers from a split personality. He brought this all on by studying concepts of Voodoo that escalated into full-blown psychosis!” Kat exclaimed loudly with a disappointed look. She couldn’t believe this. Kat started to wonder what was going through Christen’s mind. “Don’t tell me that you think talking to him still is a good idea, Christen. He’s obviously going to drag you into this craziness if you get involved,” she stated in a low, cautious tone.
“Kat… he knew things that only Joey knows,” Christen started but Kat coughed, cutting her off.
“Knows?” Kat asked with narrow eyes. “Firstly, Joey is not around anymore. And there is nothing that says Joey didn't share this 'private knowledge' with Eric before he died.” Christen shut her eyes. There was no way, though; she was convinced that it couldn't be Eric. It had to be Joey.
“Voodoo involves bringing people back from the dead… doesn’t it?” Christen asked.
Kat's hand covered her face as she let out a long sigh. “To understand what I am saying I need to explain a few things. In Voodoo there is only one god. Next there are three other important spiritual beings which are the lwa, the twins, and the dead. Iwa interact with the living and even mount people during religious ceremonies, in which they can either cause good or bad things to happen to people. The twins are sets of contradictories like good and evil, happy and sad. The dead are mainly souls of one’s own family members who died, and had yet to be reclaimed. These are dangerous when they are not claimed within a certain time."
Kat continued, "There are two primary sorts of Voodoo; Rada is a family spirit of Voodoo. It relates to the relatively peaceful and happy lwa. Then there is Petro, which is black magic Voodoo. It relates to angry, mean, and nasty lwa. In both though, the lwa mount a person’s body for a time. The body is still seen as the person’s, but the soul is not. The person’s soul is gone, or rather, sent away for a time so the lwa may control and speak through their body. You got me so far?” Kat asked. Christen’s head stirred with millions of questions.
“Yeah, I got you, but I have so many questions. Like how does this even matter?” she asked with a sour expression. Kat sighed softly.
“I guess you really aren’t interested then are you?” Kat sighed.
“I just want to know why this is important Kat,” Christen said softly.
“Because this is all of Eric’s thinking. I honestly do not believe in these things, though I will not argue against someone who does. It does make you wonder. Religion has such a heavy impact on people. It’s so interesting to see that most religions have that same thing in common. They impact people. Not only that, but all religions center on at least one absolute theory; that 'something', that 'someone', some spirit, some big bang. There is some general 'unknown' that many people will flock to in hope, and sometimes, desperation."
Kat blinked from the realization that she went a bit off topic. “Sorry about that. I was only telling that to describe what I think Eric is thinking. Eric did a Voodoo ritual in hopes to contact Joey. Through this, I feel he has created a split personality. He, in turn, thinks he is Joey; or at least has Joey living within him. The stress of avoiding the ultimate truth has brought this to him. Now I know a therapist that I was going to have him see, but he made me leave before I got a chance to tell him about her. Do you understand what I’m trying to get at?” Kat asked, hopeful that Christen would get what she was saying.
“Kat, can we just eat now? Let me think about all of this. We can discuss it some more later, okay?” Christen asked. She was hopeful Kat would drop it until she could wrap her mind around everything Kat was saying a bit more.
“Fine. Oh, here comes the waiter anyways,” Kat said as she faked a smile for the sake of her friend.
Chapter 8
The next night Christen stayed planted on her sofa watching some romantic comedies by herself. She wasn’t really watching the shows. It was just a provider of background noise. She was stuck in her thoughts with what she and Kat had talked about. Possession? Voodoo? Spirits? How was any of this possible? Before, she never believed in that sort of thing, but it all made sense when it came out of Kat’s mouth. A split-personality did seem possible; very likely even. Still, it was Eric who had always been so composed and strong. The idea of him even falling into a mental disorder just seemed so, not natural. Plus, that still didn’t explain how he knew things only Joey had known. This was getting a bit too crazy for her; but then again, didn’t Kat say there was something off about Eric? She knew she should probably listen to Kat more. Her cell phone buzzed from a text message which pulled her back to reality.
Coming up Chris. Get your dancing shoes on. We are going clubbing.
Christen groaned. All she wanted to do was continue her thoughts and maybe sleep in a little, but no. Kat wasn’t about to let her do that. She knew very well there was no escaping Kat when she had decided to do something. It wasn’t long until Christen pulled herself up to open the door before Kat slammed it open. She stood there with a giant, cheesy smile on her face. Her red tight dress shined in the light, and her hair was up in a ponytail. She looked like the devil himself with red and black makeup putting the entire dress and the fishnets that covered her legs together.
“Hello there beautiful.” Her smile faded as she looked Christen up and down. “You are not dressed yet? Now don’t tell me I need to dress you, Chris.” Kat said with an unamused expression. Her arm moved up, and she pointed her finger towards Christen’s room.
“What?” Christen asked her, but already knew what she was going
to say.
“Go get dressed!” She pushed Christen into her room and closed the door right behind her. “Wear something sexy!” she called from behind the door. Christen stood in her room. Perhaps she could lock the door and take a nap? She would if it wasn’t for the fact that she would feel bad for doing that to Kat. Why must she be so kind? She headed to her dresser and pulled out a tight fitting, lime green dress that showed off her curves. She took a deep breath in, remembering when she and Joey went shopping. He had picked it out for her. She indeed thought it was a good pick on his part. He even bought it for her. He always got a stupid smile on his face when she wore it. She removed her lounging clothes and put the dress on over her strapless bra and panties.
Her heart felt heavy when she looked at herself in the mirror. It reached her mid-thigh showing off her smooth and silky looking legs. “Joey, I’m wearing your dress. It is still as lovely as it was before,” she said quietly, not knowing if he could even hear her or not. If Joey was in Eric… could she get him back again? She wondered as she started on her makeup.
“Hurry up!” Kat knocked a few times on the door, tapping her foot on the ground. Christen put her make up on in a rush. It was simple but still made her glow in beauty. Her lips and the look in her eyes disrupted this, showing not a lick of happiness. She looked miserable, and in some people’s eyes, pathetic. She could even see it. She tried to smile, but it looked wrong as she tried to force it. She gave up with a sigh, opening the door.
“I’m ready to go,” she said, walking past Kat. She grabbed her purse that was hanging off the chair, turning to look back at Kat. The smile that tried to return to Kat's face faded, yet again. She looked pretty, but the look Christen had was depressing.