****
When Eden entered Rebecca's body, she stood in a cold, white hospital room whose single window faced an oak tree. Lizzy sat in the hospital bed staring outside. She looked tired. Dead. A skeleton with a thin layer of cool, pale skin stretched over the surface. Her friend's hand gripped the railing of the hospital bed.
"Lizzy," Rebecca said. "Oh, heavens."
The girl glanced at her with glazed eyes.
"What?" Lizzy asked.
"I knew you were thin, but sitting here like this… You look emaciated," Rebecca said. "How could I have ever let it get this bad, as a friend?"
"I'm fine," her friend said, crossing her hands in front of her. "Like I've been telling all the doctors and everybody else. I just have a cold. Honestly."
Rebecca stared down at Lizzy's hand. Her skin was the color of snow and the prominent bones underneath it, like a bird's delicate foot. With a shudder, Rebecca sat and took Lizzy's hand within her own.
"I love you, Lizzy," Rebecca said, tears blurring her eyes. "The doctor said you threw up blood and they’re going to have to send you to a special hospital for a while."
"Yeah," Lizzy said. "I keep telling them I don't need it. I hate these doctors. I hate them."
"They're just trying to help you."
Lizzy frowned. "They saw my handbag and said, 'This girl looks rich. Let's stick it to her parents.'"
"You're sick," Rebecca said.
Both of them were silent for a moment. Lizzy glared at her and then her features softened. Her face paled as she bit her lip, and the dark moons beneath her eyes appeared even more prominent in her sadness.
"Let's not fight," Lizzy said. "I've been fighting with the doctors all afternoon. They want to put a feeding tube in me, and I refuse to let it be done. Let's talk about something else."
"Wait," Rebecca said. "You're refusing to eat? Can you do that?"
"Oh, Rebbeca, you're being so silly." Lizzy patted her shriveled stomach. "Just until I lose five pounds… But the doctors are being ridiculous and won't let me near a scale. I'll tell you a secret, though. I got out yesterday and weighed myself. I am down to one hundred pounds. Isn't it great? Just five more… Five more and everything will be okay."
"One hundred pounds," Rebecca said faintly. "Lizzy, the thinnest model on our team is one hundred and five. You are tall. We are both tall. You can't weigh this little and still survive."
"Rebecca." Lizzy scowled at her.
"No, Lizzy," said Rebecca. "I love you. You're my best friend. But you're also not mentally capable right now. They have to be able to feed you."
With a huff, Rebecca stood up and stormed to the door. This isn't happening. It isn’t. She was in such a hurry she almost trampled a doctor who was on his way in. Frustrated, she had to hold herself back from grabbing onto his shirt and shaking him until his teeth clacked together.
"You," Rebecca said. "Give Lizzy a feeding tube. Do whatever you have to do. Just do it now, before she dies and I lose the only friend I've ever had."
The doctor paused. "You're her friend?"
"Yes," Rebecca said. "An angry friend who wants her well."
"We're doing everything we can for her," he said. "We're trying to get her to eat on her own without having to resort to the tube. Involuntary treatment can be counterproductive in cases like—"
"I don't care, as long as she lives," Rebecca said. "Please. Just help her."
"We are doing our best," the doctor said. "Miss… are you all right?"
Rebecca suddenly felt sick and placed her hand over her stomach. Shuddering, she whirled around and sprinted for the bathroom down the hall. After she opened the door and stumbled inside, she ran into a stall. She threw up and stared at the bright orange mish-mash inside, shivering.
Stress. It's from stress. But she couldn't get Osier's face out of her mind.
Eden was ripped from Rebecca and hovered in the darkness yet again. The darkness was all consuming, surrounding her. She felt as though she drowned in it. She began to plummet quickly toward the disk of white light, entered it and found her thoughts mingling with Rebecca's again.
Rebecca stood at the outside of Lizzy's door. A doctor and a team of nurses surrounded her. Lizzy appeared even thinner and blood splattered the sheets.
"She tried to pull out the feeding tube," one of the nurses said.
"Not cooperating at all," said the other. "She's going to hurt herself."
Rebecca shuddered and stared down at her feet. It felt like she was in a waterfall of emotion that she could not pull herself from. The waters of confusion and anxiety churned around her, and she knew that when she reached the bottom of the slide, the impact was going to be as hard as cement. And that frightened her even more.
Digging into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and glanced at the calendar. The next day was highlighted. It was the next day, the day after the highlighted square box, and it said, "Shoot in Paris!" With a quivering hand, Rebecca entered the calendar screen and hit the Delete button over the event. Hanging her head, she put her phone back into her pocket and thought, Maybe next year. Just maybe. Perhaps Lizzy's illness will all be a bad memory.
Once again, Eden was ripped from the memory. Darkness overcame her. Then she was sliding back to the light again. Eden became Rebecca sitting in a hospital, but this hospital room was different.
The room was darker. Rebecca sat at Lizzy's side, holding onto her hand. Her skin sunk in to the point it revealed every bone in her face, and every last bone could be seen through the thin tapestry of her skin. Rebecca shuddered as she stared at it. Her face appeared horrible. Rebecca was sure that death would come any moment, feeling its specter hovering just above the bed.
I can't believe she’s not gaining weight. The doctors… How could they let this happen to her? But she knew the truth. She knew Lizzy had done this to herself, despite everything.
"Lizzy, why?" Rebecca leaned over the bed and sobbed. "Why is this all happening now? You’re my best friend, practically my sister. My parents were never around, but you always were. I know your family is all gone now, but you have me. Did you have to do this to yourself? I love you. Wasn't it enough?"
There was no response. Lizzy remained unmoving. A corpse.
"I'm pregnant, you know," Rebecca said. "Pregnant."
Once again there was silence except for the sound of the monitors.
"I want to get rid of it, but the baby's father keeps trying to stop me." Rebecca shook. "The day I was going to go to the clinic, he… He found out about it from one of my friends and he actually followed me to the clinic and dragged me out of it. I almost called the police. He keeps yelling about how he'll take the baby, even if I don't want it. How would he raise a baby? He's a poor college kid. He can't even care for himself. And think about me. How will I care for a baby? I can't even take care of myself. I'd never — oh. Sorry. You probably didn't want to hear about it, huh? Well, you were always the tiny one. You'll always… always… be great."
Her breathing came in short, painful, desperate wheezes.
"Who am I kidding? I can't get rid of the baby. I can't. You know what babies are like. They have those cute fingers and little toes. Can you imagine the clothes?" Rebecca shuddered as she forced a smile on her face. "I'm going to need your help. You know I am no good with dealing with situations like this. I'll be the most horrible mother ever."
Lizzy did not respond.
"Oh, please, please, wake up," Rebecca said. "Please."
Silence was as present as oxygen, but not as easy to inhale. Rebecca stared at her friend, squeezing her thin fingers so hard her own hand ached. Her bottom lip quivered.
"I gave up my fashion show for you, Lizzy," Rebecca said. "The one thing I've always wanted more than anything else in the whole world. You understand why you have to wake up now, don't you? Don't you?"
Eden was ripped away from the memory, but while her thoughts reached out to Lizzy, she also thought on something else too. Rebecca and Osier.
"I want to get rid of it, but the baby's father won't let me." But Rebecca had decided not to abort. No matter how much her dad had pleaded with her to keep Eden, it had been Rebecca's choice in the end. The law gave him no real say in the matter, either.
"I gave up my fashion show for you, Lizzy." The words echoed in her ears.
"I gave up my fashion show for you."
Those words were true for Lizzy and Eden. Her mom had given up the one thing she wanted more than anything else in the world to raise her. Her mom may have been selfish, she may have resented her in the end, but even with her selfishness, there was love. And her love showed through even though Eden had never heard the words.
It was now, as Eden floated in darkness, that she felt the broken seams of her heart begin to mend. She had seen how much her mom would sacrifice for her, for others, in the name of love. She had never thought in somebody else's grief, she could heal herself—but she had. Her mom had shown she would be willing to keep her, even if she had to give up the one thing she loved above all others.
Eden saw white light and knew she headed back to Purgatory. And her mom.
Chapter Eight
When Eden opened her eyes, she lay on the ground bedded with twigs and stared up into her mother's eyes. She sat up and a smile crossed her face for the first time in what felt like years.
"Eden." Yuri's voice was soft and awed.
She saw her mom's companion, Henry, hovering over her too. He was tall and thin, too young for her mom.
"W-we," Eden said, then began again. "We need to go to Gabriel, Yuri. My mom is my fifth soul. We've done it. We've done it."
The woman stared at her with wide, confused eyes.
"I don't understand," Rebecca said. "What have we done? What's going on? And Eden, what happened to you?"
Eden exchanged glances with her friends and then began to speak. When she was finally done with her story about her and her five souls, her mother’s mouth hung open. Henry hung back, his hands in his pockets.
"You… What did you see about me?" her mom asked.
"I saw you and Lizzy and… me, Mom," Eden said, frowning. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around her mom's waist. "Thank you and I'm sorry about your best friend."
Everything went still. Her mom shuddered and tried to push her daughter away, but Eden held on strong. Rebecca smelled the same way she had on Earth, of coconuts and citrus fruit. She released a shaky sigh and then finally stepped back.
"If you saw Lizzy…" Her mom shook her head. "It's impossible. I know you said you can go into my head, but there are things in there nobody was ever meant to see. Things about you…"
"Trust me, I know," Yuri said. "She's done it to all of us. I don't think anything you did can be worse than what I did."
"It's different," her mom snapped. "It's about her. It's about me, her, and her dad. How does it even work? How can a soul share memories with somebody else?"
"I don't know. Our souls connect and meld for a moment," Eden said. "But I… I saw good things too. You gave up everything for Lizzy, and you gave up everything for me."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Aaron placed his hand on Eden's shoulder and gazed at Rebecca with a frown.
"I hate to break up the family love fest, but I think we should get to the Blood Stone chapel before Satan discovers you've figured out how to break the curse," Aaron said. "I'm nervous, standing out here. Pazuzu stopped screaming a while ago, which means you've got a herd of thoroughly angry demons looking for you."
Rebecca frowned at them, then glanced at Aaron and nodded. Turning her head, she gazed at Yuri with more interest than Eden liked. Eden reached forward and linked hands with Yuri. The two of them walked. Her mom and her friend walked behind her.
****
Eden approached the outskirts of Gabriel. Her mom stuck so close behind her she kept stepping on her sneakers. Yuri had his arm draped over her shoulder and his free hand on the sheath of his sword at his side. He glanced around nervously as he walked into town. As far as Eden could see there weren’t any shadow demons. Then again, they were stealthy. Far stealthier than the Raiders who clung to her shoes in a fine white mist. A shaky sigh left her throat.
As Eden strode forward, she began to feel nervous and chilled. She heard distant growling and went rigid, then heard the sound of shuffling feet. Was it Agares? She laid eyes on the Blood Stone chapel and felt her soul fill with dread. The chapel had a high steeple and was made from dark brown cobblestone. The roof was black. A wrought iron fence surrounded it that had an open gate in the front. A wave of red light shot up from it and into the sky. Soon, Eden thought. Soon the world will be free from this darkness and we will never have to worry about it again. Natalia said so, and she's an angel. She wouldn't lie.
She swore foreign eyes watched her every move. It was like being stalked. . She felt sicker than she had with Agares, sicker than she had when she was being pursued by Asag. There was something wrong, and she knew it.
Eden saw in the distance something strange was happening. At the main square of Gabriel, a broken-down white fence met swirling clouds. The clouds became the color of rust. The crimson began to infiltrate the Raiders' fog and soon she looked down and saw the mist which surrounded them was all red. The smell of copper filled the air. A sea of blood. I'm standing in a sea of blood.
Something warm hit the ground next to her and she heard Thema shriek from behind her. Which was bad. Very, very bad. If Thema could see what she was seeing, then this meant it was real and maybe Agares wasn't doing it. Eden couldn't close her eyes and wish away the illusion. Worse yet, she knew of only one being strong enough to physically change surroundings to this degree. Satan.
"Oh no," Eden said.
"Oh no?" Thema said. "Eden, ‘oh no’ does not inspire a lot of confidence here. What's going on? You've faced tons of demons. Which one is doing this? Which one?"
"Eden," Rebecca said, a needy edge to her voice. Eden didn't ask what her mom expected her to do.
Thunder boomed throughout the sky, and Thema, Aaron, and Rebecca all jumped. Edward and Yuri gazed at the clouds with worried expressions. Eden shut her eyes and heard the sound of pitter-pattering. For the second time, Thema screamed.
"Ew, ew, ew!" Thema danced to avoid the splatter of blood even though it was impossible and clapped her hands to her cheeks.
"Eden," said a dark, deep demonic voice which she recognized. The voice was the boom of the thunder cutting across the sky. It was so loud it caused the ground to shake. Her friends all screamed, grasping their heads. "I can feel you. I can taste your fear. And you're scared."
Her friends all cowered along the ground, including her mom. Eden shut her eyes again and shuddered. As she stood there, she realized there was a reason why she was not one of the five, why she was chosen for this. Satan wanted her now. She loved her mom, her friends, and her world enough to face him. She was going to have to fight him on her own while her friends entered the Blood Stone chapel. There was a reason why all the demons wanted her. God had intended her to distract the demons while her friends saved the world. All they had to do was reach the chapel to end it.
Eden turned her head toward the blazing sky with the lightening shooting across it. God had given her the weapons to fight Satan, but it was not the sword at her hip or the holy water in her pocket. It was love. She would fight for Adanna, who had never stopped thinking of her sister. She would fight for Edward, who had taken care of his dad. She would fight for Aaron, who had died for his country. She would fight for Yuri, the man who had given everything for the mother who kept betraying him. And she would fight for Rebecca, even though she had abandoned her. She would fight for her mom because she was brave and because she could. She girded her loins, prepared to go to the clearing where Satan awaited her.
"Eden, I can sense your fear," Satan said again. "If you don't come out to face me, then I will come find you. And I will punish you. I will punish you until there is nothing left."
"Eden," Yuri said; she heard the tremble in his voice and knew they were on the same wavelength yet again. Somehow he knew what she had to do. "Eden, no. Don't do this."
"Wait," Thema said. "What is she going to do?"
She gazed at her friends' faces and gave them a shaky smile.
"Go to the Blood Stone chapel. Use the back way. There is a route through the basement. It should still be unlocked from when I used it. I doubt anybody would go in there of their own free will," Eden said. "When you get there, the Blood Stone will not be able to function because of the love which is within your hearts. Good luck."
"Eden, wait," Aaron said. "I don't understand. Why aren't you coming?"
"I was never meant to be in there," Eden said. "I was meant to face him until the end."
Their eyes widened in understanding.
"No," Edward said.
"Eden," her mom said, reaching for her arm as if to stop her.
"I won't let you do this," Yuri said, seizing her arm. "There has got to be another way."
"Yeah," Thema said. "Make your mom's boyfriend stay with you. And me too. I'll stay with you. I'm not one of the five."
"Go with your sister, Thema, and protect her. It's more important than protecting me. And Henry, you go with my mom." Eden pulled her arm from Yuri's grip. "There is no other way. He's waiting for me out there. He can feel me. The only way to save me will be to finish this and open up the gates of heaven again. You can't keep me from him if he wants me. He knows where I am at all times. But God can save me, so you must help Him."
"Eden," Yuri said weakly, stepping toward her.
"Eden," Rebecca said. "I… I love you."
"I love you too."
Eden held onto her mom so hard her arms ached. As she clung to Rebecca, she received a wash of memories of all of the things they had done together while they were alive before her mom left her. One memory in particular swept her up in its embrace.
Where All Souls Meet Page 8