Into the Light

4

"She can go to college, if she wants. Maybe see her family...I don't know if she could work that one out, but maybe. She would have choices to make, and not just about whether or not to be solid or transparent. This has to work," I replied, laying my head back against the couch. "It has too." "It will," he insisted. I didn't bother replying because we both knew that it might not. I didn't want to admit to myself what I already knew. Her body was dying, with her spirit inside of it. Whatever Lilith had her hooked up to, had kept her body alive. I had unhooked her, and caused her spirit to slam back into a dying body. One that she couldn't make wake up. If she died, I would never forgive myself. "Okay, the outside is done. I salted your windows too, for extra measure. Now, I'll do the upstairs room, then I'll come back downstairs and finish with the room that your in. Okay?" Beth said, making me jump in surprise. I hadn't heard the door. Which is weird, because we have a security system that tells us every single time the door is open. "Yeah, that's fine," Sam replied. "This is taking too long," I mumurred. "Probably because she has to do that chanting thing that she's doing right now, too. Don't worry. She'll be done soon enough," Sam replied. He sounded nervous. "Are you scared? I asked him, my voice full of disbelief. He met my gaze and chuckled, but I see the fear in his eyes. "Of course not. I'm just ready to get things over with." "Uh huh. Sure," I replied. He rolled his eyes then leaned back on the couch. "Yes, I'm scared. We've been dealing with some heavy shit lately, and it's all been terrifying. Beth is in the house, cleansing it with so many different things, you'd think we were possessed or something. I'm worried because Katrina is up there with her, and we don't know her very well. But none of that compares to watching...nevermind." He cut himself off and let out a heavy sigh. Usually I would ask what he was going to say. Now, I didn't want him to say whatever it was. I didn't want to face the reality of the possibilities. Not when that top possibility ended in Anna's death. After that, we stayed silent. There was no reason to talk because we had exhausted everything that mattered.  Now, we were just waiting to see what would happen. Still...I needed Sam to know how grateful I was for him and Katrina. If I had to do this alone, I would never have made it this far. Neither would Anna. "Hey Sam," I said, quietly, breaking the silence that weighed on us both. "Yeah," he replied. "Thank you. For always having my back. I appreciate it more than you know," I said, keeping my eyes on the ceiling. It was easier to talk about feelings when you didn't have to look the person in the eyes. "Sure thing, man. You would do it for me," he responded. I nodded, one quick jerk of my chin and let it rest at that. Again, we fell silent, and waited on Beth to return. It seemed to take hours, but when I checked my phone, it said that only 35 minutes had passed. Wow, it really felt like an eternity. At least a few hours, if nothing else. I vaguely wondered if Beth could mess with time. "Here they come," Sam said, pushing my leg to get my attention. I could hear the click clack of Beth's heels, and the soft scuff of Kat's sneakers on the tiled floor. I sat up straight when they entered the room, and watched Beth walk to her bag to return the unneeded items. "Okay," she said, turning towards us with the remaining objects that she was going to use in the living room. "This won't take long. Maybe five minutes with Ms. Katrina's help. Please practice clearing your mind of all thoughts. If you are unable to do that, then at least clear them of all negative thoughts. Think of things that make you happy." We both nodded, and watched her waft the burning sage in the middle of the room. While she finished placing crystals, candles, and whatever else she had to do, I looked down at Anna. I brushed her hair back with my fingers again, then froze. "Sam," I said, my voice coming out in a croak. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, scooting over next to me. "Am I going insane, or is that gray hair?" I asked, holding up the lock that I was speaking of. The light glinted off of it, making it shine. It wasn't just one hair. It was a chunk that I knew for a fact that hadn't been there earlier. There was no way that I had been playing with her hair this entire time and missed it. He took the lock between his fingers and looked at it. "Definitely gray hair," he murmured. "She must be aging at an accelerated pace without those machines. We'll tell Beth when she finishing all this stuff." "Damn it," I groaned. "The hits don't' stop coming. This has to work. We haven't been through all of this, SHE hasn't been through all of this, for it to end this way." "Colby, I know you're worried, but think about it. No one else knew anything about how to heal you from that bite. You were on the verge of dying. If she knew what to do with that, then she's our best shot." I nodded, and bit my lip. "You're right. I just pray that our best shot is good enough." "It will be," he answered. "Have faith. Pray, if that makes you feel better." "Trust me, I have been," I replied. I took to studying Anna's face, to see if there were wrinkles, age spots, or anything that would show me that she was aging. There was nothing, thank Gd. Her face was so smooth, she could've landed a face wash commercial. "Okay, let's get your guys cleansed, as well. I just finished with Ms. Katrina. Come on then," Beth said, her voice breaking into my morose thoughts. Sam stood first, and let Beth run the smoke from the burning bundle of herbs waft over his body. She did the same for me, and then leaned over Anna to do the same for her. "There's so much negativity surrounding and within her. I've never even heard of a case this bad," she said. "This poor girl's soul has been tortured by the Darkness."