Chapter 8

Mrs. Tannell worked her way out of my bedroom, reminding me to call her again if I needed anything.  She was going to send the Paranormal Specialists over this weekend when my parents went to the Yankee Gifted School football game. 

That would buy them a three-hour window.

As she bounced down the stairs with the youthful exuberance of a teenager, Mrs. Tannell locked eyes with Jennifer and then Jackson.  She recoiled ever so slightly as to not frighten anyone.  The dual set of gray eyes peered questioningly back at my English teacher.  She hugged Jennifer and whispered something in her ear.  Next, she high fived Jackson and carefully examined him, careful not to draw attention but she did note the offset his tongue now had.

My mother gleefully smiled at Mrs. Tannell, something most mothers do when they are trying to impress a guest.  Considering I always maintained an A average, she had no ulterior motive to win Mrs. Tannell over.  She was just a very loving people person.  It was rather cute.

Jennifer, gray eyes and all, and I escorted Mrs.Tannell to the door and proceeded to watch with unsettled eyes as she left our lives for now.  Our only protection was the necklace with the pendant, the ghost boy could not harm us as long as I wore it.  

“Jen, what did she say to you?”  I said.

After the heavy front door closed, she turned to me with those dull, dead eyes.  Her face was smattered with confusion as she searched her brain for the words that Mrs. Tannell had said to her.  Her brain was an engine without gasoline, a kite without a breeze, it was just functioning enough to put a smile on a face and operate a human body but that was about it.

She said, “Tannell told me everything was going to be alright.  Whatever that means.”

The feeling of sinking encompassed my body, my heart was ravished by her gray eyes, her dissolved soul.  She had no idea.  Jennifer was the living dead and it was all my fault.  I would never forgive myself until I rectified this situation.  Jennifer, Jackson, mother,

and father, they would be avenged at all costs.

“I love you Jennifer.  I will make everything alright.  I promise this to you,” I said.

No one knew the difference, not a living soul would be able to spot the fact that the four closest people in my life were missing the mythical key to their eternal happiness.  I had no choice but to forge a plan to obtain these stolen souls from the demon boy that haunted me.  With this necklace and pendant, it just may be possible.

It was getting late, like well past bedtime for school late, so it was time to get settled down, settled in, and settled on a plan.  I grabbed Jennifer by the hand and quickly withdrew.  She was

freezing.  Body in the morgue freezing.  This only fed into my desire to bring her back among the living and ensure her death would not remain on my hands for long.

I said, “Mom, we’re going to bed.  See you in the morning.”

With that, off to my room Jennifer and I retreated.  Her cold, stiff body mummy walked up the stairs while I followed behind her just in case she fell over.  The two of us made it without any dramatics but I knew that would not last long.  Jennifer needed to understand what was

happening and that I still needed her to help me figure out how to destroy this demon boy, so we had a chance at getting things back to normal.

“Jenn, do you trust me?  I need to know that you trust me, but I also need to know that you have my back because we have a battle to win,” I said.

Her head tilted sideways while she stared back at me with those gray dead eyes.  The star shaped scars on her neck pulsed out as if something were being birthed from them.  Then she slowly put on a smile, a very wide alarming smile.  She brushed her hair from her face and took my hands into her’s.

She said, “I always have your back Naomi.  I would follow you to hell and back if that’s what was needed.”

Little did she know, I truly believed hell was our destination and we would be running a very high chance of not making it back.  Sacrificing my life for those around me was a small price to pay in my mind.  We would fight to the very end and let the cards fall where they may.

My neckline began to warm, emitting a great amount of heat.  It was not painful, but it sure did raise the alarms.  Jennifer focused her dull eyes on my pendant and let the tension fall from her jaw as it dropped to the floor.

She said, “That thing is gorgeous.  May I try it on?  Just for a second.”

Without even the slightest of logic comprehension, I took the necklace off and passed it over to Jennifer.  It was glowing, warm to the touch.  Mrs. Tannell did not say what type of stone was in the middle of the pendant but maybe it contained some sort of spirit, good or evil.

The room went instantly black as soon as the necklace left my touch.  Wind fluttered my posters and papers creating a tornado that skated the perimeter and a growl rumbled from the corner of the room.  The darkness was deep, deeper than any black I had ever seen.  I could not even see my hand in front of my face.  

Sensing the terrible mistake I had made, I lunged toward the spot that Jennifer was in hopes that I could at least make contact with the necklace and restore some order to the room and stop whatever the hell was happening.  Jennifer was gone, at least gone from the floor where she was seconds before.  The growl from the corner grew louder and louder, it rumbled the floorboards until I could feel hot air flicking at my face.

It said, “See how easy that was little Naomi?  Now it is time for you to decide.  I can take your soul right now and all will be restored to the world or I can still take your soul, but you will live in terror for all of eternity.  What will it be?”

The feeling of something sharp and polished pressed against my neck further pushed the demon’s agenda.  He left me little choice as to what my options were.  Death seemed to be the answer, but I fear the rest of the proposal was a trap.  My eyes widened as if that would help me pierce the darkness, but it only showed the level of my fear to the little demon boy.

“You will bring Jennifer and Jackson back?  My mom and dad too?  What does the fine print say?” I said.

The demon lit his face with an archaic looking match and held it close.  He had transformed into some sort of tormented soul, eyes of a cat, mouth of a wolf.  My heart rate rose to an unhealthy level, heart attack borderline.  He sniffed the air, pulsing his split nostrils and reared back his jaw.

It said, “Is that fear I smell?  How delectable an aroma it is.  My favorite to be precise.”

His speared tongue outlined his thin black lips.  Tears rained down my cheeks and made hissing sounds upon striking the ground.  My tears had turned to an acidic solution and burned the floor below me.  This gave me an idea, a brilliant idea.

Playing up my fear and increasing my crying, I wailed out as if I had given up, I had resigned myself to this hellish fate.  With each whimper, more tears fell.  The floor was eroding away beneath my feet.  The pressure of the metallic object was still very apparent but hopefully when my plan came to fruition my head would not be lopped off.

Creaking and popping, the wooden planks beneath my weight began to sag and splinter.  I shook my head as if in shock of what was happening but in reality, I was making sure my termiting tears were spread to the few portions of the floor that needed more time to melt away.

Finally, with a loud bang and a rush of cool fresh air, the floor crumbled and I fell through into the garage, landing very hard on the concrete floor and narrowly missing the tool rack that housed rusty saws, dented chisels, and sharp screwdrivers.  

While the fall was not as bad as it could have been, I did slam my head on the floor very hard.  My sight had blurred and distorted my surroundings.  Along with that, the fact that no one came running when I crashed through the second story floor was astounding.  

The hole I had created was large, larger than I needed but it did the job.  The demon boy hissed and shrieked as he poked his wolfish head through the floor to see me moaning in pain.  Those eyes, those cat-like eyes pierced through my body, stabbing me with every second he glared down.  

It said, “How lucky you are that I wasn’t paying attention to the details.  You gotta come back sometime.  See you soon Naomi.”

Light was restored to my room; a load had been lifted from my shoulders.  The demon boy was gone for now, but I had to find Jennifer and get my necklace back.  I did not stand a chance without Mrs. Tannell or the necklace she gave me. 

I have not heard many ghost stories but how many can you remember that have turned out as successful escapes? 

Not many.

“Does it burn in the dark?”

― D.M. Siciliano, Inside