A Phantom Passion

by Jon Athan

  “No,” Lee murmured as he peeked in, “This can't be happening...”

  Gina's dead and partly-dismembered body sat up in the bloody tub. A shirtless Doug sat on the toilet nearby, sobbing with an angry expression.

  “You think you can just cheat on me,” Doug said, “You think... You think I'm a joke, huh? A big joke? I told you I wasn't playing with you... I told you I wasn't playing with you!”

  Immediately, Doug placed the gun in his mouth and shot himself. Lee stared as the event restarted before his eyes, like a video looping. Doug was trying to saw off Gina's right arm with a kitchen knife. As he became frustrated from his failure, he violently threw the kitchen knife to the floor, sobbing and grunting loudly in the process. Lee shook his head and began limping down the small hall. I've got to get out of here, he thought as he stared at the front door.

  Lee wept as he heard Doug repeating himself in the bathroom, “You think you can just cheat on me...”

  Limping towards his exit, Lee tripped in the living room. He felt his leg being yanked back. Lee looked back to find the police officer's dead body gripping his ankle – a dead, piercing stare in his eyes. Lee kicked and squirmed as he immediately thought, a zombie! As the dead body lost its grip, Lee stood up quickly – his face scrunched from the sharp pain in his back and head.

  Lee stared in shock as he saw the household appliances levitating around him. The appliances slowly circled him, floating majestically in the air. Am I going crazy, Lee thought, I must be going crazy. Lee shook his head in disbelief as the household objects surrounded him.

  “Gina, Doug, or... or, whoever,” Lee began to plead, “Please, let me go. I'll find a way to free all of you, okay? I'll be back for you, Gina, let me go get help... We can still be together.”

  As he spoke, a stainless-steel toaster quickly flew through the room and collided with Lee's cranium. Lee struggled to keep his balance, he was dazed by the devastating blow.

  “I'm sorry...” Lee tried to continue.

  A plate suddenly smashed the back of Lee's head. Before Lee could continue, another plate flew by him – it missed his head by an inch. Lee held his arms up and tried to protect himself as he realized the inevitable was coming. Lee started limping towards the door again, attempting to dodge and ignore the projectiles – plates, remotes, forks, spoons, picture frames, and even a chair. He was being hit with everything that wasn't nailed down. Lee could feel the sharp pain of a knife as it stabbed into his elbow – the warm blood quickly dribbled down his forearm like lava flowing out of a volcano. The apartment had become an unpredictable circus – a violent madhouse.

  As Lee approached his exit, the front door opened.

  “What the hell happened to you,” Georgie exclaimed.

  Chapter 12 – A Broken Bond

  Georgie stood at the entrance of Gina's apartment, his arms wide open like if he were welcoming a hug. He wore a black crew neck shirt, skinny black pants, and regular black sneakers. The crust from his eyes was removed, but he still looked exhausted.

  “Wh–Where have you been...” Lee murmured.

  “What did you do to yourself,” Georgie continued, utterly shocked by Lee's bloodied appearance.

  Lee smirked as he moved forward, inch-by-inch, until he stumbled into Georgie's arms. Georgie held onto Lee, baffled by the situation. Slowly but surely, Georgie began to drag Lee back into Gina's apartment and towards the sofa nearby. Every step they took towards the sofa, they'd shuffled through the trash and appliances scattered across the floor. Georgie contemplatively looked at the mess as he carried Lee – the apartment was clearly in worse condition than his last visit.

  Lee, drifting in-and-out of consciousness, stuttered, “D–Don't take me back... Don't take me back in there. Please, don't...”

  Georgie sat Lee on the sofa, where Lee immediately fell over to his side. Lee was croaking and grunting loudly, he was barely able to stay awake.

  “Lee, stay with me, okay? Help is on the way,” Georgie said, “You need to tell me who did this to you, okay?”

  Lee coughed loudly and spit a blob of blood on the floor nearby. Despite the agonizing pain, he forced himself to sit up. He smirked and stared blankly at the mess that surrounded the pair.

  “Why is everything on the floor?” Lee asked.

  “What? What do you mean?” Georgie asked.

  “Why... why is everything on the floor? It was...” Lee paused and coughed before continuing, “It was all floating earlier.”

  “Lee, did you take anything? Did you take any psychedelics? I mean, are you on something?”

  “No. No, man. I'm... I'm telling you, everything was levitating. These things were hitting me.”

  The pair locked eyes and stared deeply into each other. Lee looked lost, he looked as if he were in another world. Georgie looked frustrated and concerned, his jaw was clenched and he hardly blinked.

  “I'm going to ask you one more time,” Georgie broke the silence as he spoke sternly, “Tell me who did this? Was it you? Huh? Did you do all of this? Did you do this to yourself?”

  “No...” Lee chuckled, “It was Doug.”

  “Doug? Doug who?”

  “Doug. You know, Doug Gruseld. Gina's ex-boyfriend.”

  “Dougie? Dougie is here? Right now?”

  Lee began to laugh hysterically as Georgie gripped his holster. Georgie looked towards the hall behind them and back at Lee.

  “Where is he?” Georgie asked, “Is he in the back?”

  “Georgie, you... you can't see him. He's like Gina, but a little more aggressive,” Lee laughed as he looked at his injuries.

  Georgie stared deeply into Lee and shook his head, “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me? You're still going on with this? Let's go, come on.”

  Lee slowly shook his head and stared down to the floor. Georgie shook his head, as well, scratching his beard and staring at the ceiling in the process. For a brief moment, the apartment was completely silent. Lee sighed and looked towards the living room window. The sunrise that momentarily illuminated the apartment was shrouded by a dense fog bank. The fog, Lee thought, the fog is here, Gina is here.

  “Lee,” Georgie whispered, “I told you, help is on the way. I have a friend waiting for us at his shop. He can help you, I promise.”

  Lee continued to stare blankly at the fog.

  “You have to snap out of it. The cops will be here soon. They're going to seal up this apartment and lock you up if you don't take my help.”

  Georgie extended his hand – a sincere and helping hand. Lee angrily stared at Georgie, he was infuriated. Lee quickly hit Georgie's hand away as his breathing intensified.

  “You called the cops? You called the cops on your best friend?” Lee shouted, “I'm not going anywhere, I'm not leaving this apartment.”

  “Lee, listen to me...”

  Lee quickly interrupted as he continued his impassioned speech, “Gina is here, Doug is here, the cop is here. I can talk to all of them. I can still talk to Gina, I can still be with her. You–You don't understand us.”

  “Wait, wait,” Georgie waved his arms and furrowed his brow as he continued to ask, “Cop? What cop?”

  Lee looked towards the living room and bedroom hallway – the cop's dead body had vanished. He leaned back in his seat and laughed uncontrollably as he stared at the ceiling. This isn't going to help, he thought, even I know it sounds insane. Georgie raised his arms and shrugged as he awaited a response.

  Lee continued, “The dead cop, the zombie cop. He grabbed me earlier, but I think he probably crawled back under Gina's bed. I'm not really sure.”

  “We're leaving. Now!” Georgie shouted as he grabbed Lee from the sofa and began dragging him through the chaotic living room.

  “No!” Lee cried as he tried to wrestle Georgie's enormous body off of him, “I'm not going, I can't go! I need to stay with Gina. I can't be alone anymore, I need her!”

  Georgie ignored Lee's frantic and sincere cries as he dragged him toward
s the front door. Lee was kicking and screaming as he tried to loosen Georgie's powerful grip. Miraculously, Lee found himself capable of using his body weight as leverage against Georgie. Lee tossed his body against him, causing Georgie to astonishingly lose his balance and smash his head on the wall nearby. Lee and Georgie simultaneously stumbled to the floor.

  “What the hell,” Georgie whispered as he stared back at Lee, frightened and baffled, “How did you do that?”

  Georgie struggled to recompose himself, he was dazed by the devastating blow. His head left a large hole in the dry wall – droplets of blood were scattered near the hole. Despite his injuries, Lee stood on his knees as he looked through the clutter in the living room.

  Georgie continued to murmur, “Why'd you do that? Why...”

  Before he could finish, Lee smashed the stainless-steel toaster on Georgie's head. A loud Ting! sound echoed through the room as the innards of the toaster continued to vibrate and emit the insufferable sound. Ting! Lee smashed the toaster on Georgie's head once more for good measure.

  The stainless-steel toaster was stained by Georgie's bloody cranium. Georgie's head continued to leak blood like an open faucet. Lee sighed and grunted as he caught his breath, exhausted from the wrestling and his own injuries.

  “Georgie, you okay?” Lee asked as he breathed heavily.

  Lee checked Georgie's pulse, his body was face down near the apartment entrance – he was still alive and breathing. Lee continued to stare at Georgie's bloody head as he contemplated – his mind racing as he planned his next move. Suddenly, he noticed the strap of Georgie's holster – he remembered Georgie's gun.

  “I'm going to take this, okay?” Lee said as he patted Georgie's back and retrieved the gun, “You don't need it, right? You don't need it...”

  Lee didn't know much about guns. He couldn't precisely identify Georgie's handgun if he tried. But, he had seen Georgie shoot it off at empty beer cans dozens of times, so he knew for certain it was a semi-automatic handgun and it was black – that's all. Lee inspected every inch of the firearm, occasionally looking over at Georgie's unconscious body. If you die by suicide, you become a ghost, he thought.

  “No,” Lee whispered aloud, “If you die in this apartment, you become a ghost, right? Is that right?”

  Lee looked up to the ceiling, like if he were awaiting a response. There was no response, though – only the sound of Georgie's erratic breathing, almost like snoring. Lee sighed and placed the barrel to his right temple, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He contemplated suicide, but he was frightened – the uncertainty was overwhelming.

  “Gina, please talk to me before I do something I'll regret,” Lee said as a tear gently rolled down his cheek.

  At that moment, Lee turned his attention to Georgie. Lee sobbed wildly as he stopped aiming the firearm at himself. He crawled forward and leaned on Georgie's back.

  “I'm sorry, Georgie, you wanted me to take more risks... so I'm going to take a big one,” Lee cried as he placed the gun to Georgie's head, “I'll talk to you in a little bit.”

  The firearm's loud bang echoed through the apartment. Blood and bits of skin and brain were scattered near the front door. Lee sat up and stared in awe at what he had done. He wiped the tears and blood splatter from his face. After a moment, Lee's breathing intensified as he checked Georgie's jugular for a pulse – Georgie was dead. Lee fell to his back and dragged himself into the living room. He cried nonstop for a minute until he finally started to wipe his face.

  “Georgie, I know you're here. You believe me now, right? You believe in the ghosts and everything?” Lee loudly swallowed the lump of anxiety in his throat before continuing, “Give me a sign, show me something. Tell me I'm right.”

  Lee waited for a response, frantically tapping his fingers on the floor like if he were playing the drums. Aside from his frantic finger tapping, the apartment was shrouded in silence. Not a single creak, croak or howl.

  “What about you, Gina? You can talk to me, too. All three of us, we can have a discussion,” Lee continued, “The four us, right? Doug can join, if he wants. There are no hard feelings, Doug, there are...”

  Lee bellowed loudly before he could finish. He croaked and barked as he uncontrollably sobbed. The excruciatingly painful truth was too much to endure – it was too much to accept.

  Lee repeatedly cried out, “I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone...”

  Chapter 13 – An Uncertain Finale

  Lee sat in the cluttered living room as he continued to cry. His once roaring bellows had become gentle whimpers, like a puppy after being punished. He stared blankly at the floor, lost in the uncertainty of his actions – lost in his own denial.

  “Something must have gone wrong,” he murmured, “Wh–What did I do wrong?”

  An immense amount of saliva built up in his mouth and bloody mucus dripped down to his lip as he continued to sob. His words became less distinct as his voice cracked and slurred. As he continued to mumble to himself, sirens approached.

  The blaring emergency sirens only grew louder as they presumably reached the Hill Apartment Complex vicinity. Lee continued to sob as he shambled towards the large kitchen window. He could see the blue-and-red lights seeping through the once impenetrable fog – the police were rapidly approaching.

  “No, no, no...” Lee repeatedly cried.

  Lee turned and quickly stumbled towards the middle of the living room, landing face first in the pile of bloodied junk scattered in the room. His face wrinkled and creased as he thought about the consequences. Not the consequences of his unfortunate actions, but the consequences of losing Gina. Loneliness, he thought, eternal loneliness. The immense anxiety and unbearable dread blended to create the most uncomfortable feeling. His body and his eyes consequently twitched uncontrollably.

  “Gina!” Lee roared with his face to the floor, “Please answer me. Please, Gina, we're running out of time...”

  Except for the rapidly approaching sirens, the apartment was eerily silent. Gina's soft and gentle chuckle was no more. Doug's aggressive and violent presence had vanished. The police officer had seemingly returned to the bedroom. Georgie's dead body lay in a puddle of blood near the opened front door. Lee stood up on his knees as he overlooked the bloody massacre.

  As Lee contemplated, he could hear the elevator bang as it opened. A barrage of footsteps immediately followed until they slowed down near Gina's front door. A police officer slowly creeped into the room, his weapon drawn and aimed forward. Without a thought, Lee placed Georgie's gun up to his own head.

  “Put the gun down! Put it down!” the officers shouted simultaneously.

  Two officers in police uniforms aimed their firearms directly at Lee as they shouted – their fingers on their triggers. The third officer, also in a regular police uniform, kept his gun aimed forward as he knelt down to check Georgie's pulse.

  Lee's lips quivered and his hands trembled violently as he tried to speak, but he couldn't produce the words – he only echoed a nervous croak, a hiccup of a word.

  “Let me through, let me through,” Daemon's voice echoed from the hall.

  The man in the long brown overcoat finally made his way through – one hand on his holster, the other floating cautiously ahead. He scrunched his face as he cautiously stepped over Georgie's dead body. Daemon faced the police officers and motioned downward with his arm. Lower your weapons, I'll handle this, he said without a word. He turned his attention to Lee with a nervous smile and a gentle head nod.

  “Come on, buddy, put the gun down. Let's talk it out,” Daemon said as softly as possible, “We can go word-for-word. It's better than bullet-for-bullet, right?”

  Lee carefully inspected Daemon's every word and motion. His eyes and speech showed sincerity, the hand on the gun showed hostility.

  “N–No,” Lee murmured as he shook his head – finger on the trigger.

  “Lee, this isn't necessary. We don't have to talk like this, you don't have to do this. I get it, okay?
I understand everything.”

  “No, you don't. You don't understand anything. Don't bullshit me.”

  Daemon sighed and smiled, “I do, though. I get it. Your buddy called us earlier and told us everything. I know about you, I know about Gina, I know about the apartment...”

  “So you know I can't leave, right? You know I still... I still need to see Gina. I still have to find her and bring her back. I need my camera back, though, I see her through the flash of the camera. You know that, right? You have my camera, right?”

  “Yeah,” Daemon gulped loudly and bit his lower lip before continuing, “I know about Gina and the camera. Maybe I can help you find her. Let's talk about it. I don't know about you, but I don't like talking with all of these guns pointed at us. I prefer not to get shot on duty, especially by my own officers.”

  Daemon shrugged and chuckled. Lee continued to aim the gun to his head. There were now four officers in the living room and another at the doorway. Each officer had a vantage point over Daemon and Lee – each officer was prepared to fire.

  Lee anxiously smirked, “You don't know everything. You don't know about Doug. Georgie couldn't have told you about that.”

  “I know Doug is dead. His body is at the morgue, like I told you. But, you're right, your friend didn't mention Doug.”

  “Yeah... You don't know about the cop, either, right? Your cop...”

  Daemon's grin quickly vanished as he clenched his jaw. He anxiously looked over at his officers. The officers returned a confused shrug. We don't anything about that, their motions said.

  Daemon continued, “No, you're right about that, too. I don't know about Doug or the cop. Tell me about it.”

  A tear rolled down with every blink as Lee said, “They're here. They're all here. Gina's here, she loves me. She told me so. Doug's here, too. They're ghosts. I can prove it...”