Into the Light

156

There was a small cloud of smoke coming from a shiny, mirror looking thing that was in front of them. Only it was like water, but had more pearlescence lustor to it. I gasped when I saw someone step out of it. It was a blonde guy, around my age probably, with older clothes. I couldn't tell which era but it couldn't have been that long ago. Maybe the 80's, like Anna. His hair reminded me of some old pictures that my Mom had shown me when I was little. More people piled through the...was it a portal? It had to be. More people piled through it, looking around timidly, before promptly disappearing. Except the blonde guy. He was talking to Anna, with a small flirty smile on his face. I felt anger rise up inside of me, but shook my head to clear it. Why should I be mad about that? I trusted her. Besides, with the way the others had disappeared, I was almost positive that these people were ghosts. I couldn't be jealous of a ghost. The fact that I had fallen in love with a ghost wasn't relevant here. Were these the extra ghosts that Ash said they had sent for? If so, why did they disappear? Come to think of it, I didn't see any ghosts around. Maybe they disappeared for a reason. The Darkness couldn't see them unless they wanted her too, so that made sense. I turned back the way I was supposed to face and shook my head. I had to concentrate. This was probably the most important moment in my life. I had to be ready. I played a few scenarios through my head about how to face the Darkness. Should I just go for it? No, she'd probably kill me on the spot, unsure of what I was doing. I should probably start talking to her, as soon as I started walking towards her...but what would I say? That was going to be my main problem. I was nervous talking to regular girls, or as regular as they got in LA. Trying to lie and convince an all powerful witch that I was in love with her was going to be quite a challenge. Isn't that what I lived for though? The challenges? The things that others thought they could, or would, never do. That's what Sam and I did. We pushed each other to do extraordinary things. This would be the most extraordinary thing of all. The one that we could never tell anyone about. The nagging thought that I wouldn't be around to tell anyone anyway, passed through my mind. I shook it from my head, just as Ash yelled "Get ready!" A wind, so cold that it could cut through bone, blew through the clearing. My hair lifted and snatched with the force of it, as my clothes stuck to my body. It seemed like it lasted forever, with no reprieve, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand it. My body was shaking, frozen. I thought I might actually be getting frostbite. Somehow, it got stronger, blowing with much more force, as the witches voices melded together and grew louder than the noise of the wind. It started twirling, whipping around me from every direction. I heard tree limbs snapping and popping, then saw them lifted into the air, along with anything else that wasn't physically rooted down. It was like a tornado full of leaves, dirt, and limbs. "IS THIS SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN?" I yelled, looking over at Sam. "WHAT?" he yelled back. His blonde hair was standing straight up, being pulled into the gusts of wind. Katrina was clinging to him, while trying to keep her hair pulled back at the same time. I couldn't even see Anna anymore. The debris flying all around us was blocking my vision from that side of the clearing. Suddenly, I saw a bright white circle appear in front of me. Almost directly in front of me. If I took a few more steps and reached my hand out, I could touch it. It grew in size, giving off the same pearlescent hue as the portal that I had seen earlier. Then, the wind howled, seeming to tear at my clothes, as the white light dimmed and turned a murky black color. I didn't like the feeling that the thing was giving me. It was way too close to me. I could almost feel the evil coming out of it. There was another loud bang, much louder than the last one. My ears started ringing, blocking out all other sounds, but I could still see. Lilith, the Darkness, stood right where the portal had been. I guess it didn't matter if we thought or said her name now. Fury was pouring out of her very skin, as she surveyed all of us. "You DARE to call ME here? To FORCE me from MY home, to face you tiny insignificant gnats? You WISH for DEATH?!" I knew that I didn't have any time to waste. My feet didn't want to move, but I forced them forwards at what felt like a sluggish pace. Lilith had her hands raised, ready to attack, but my movements caught her eyes. She regarded me with a wariness that wasn't unwarranted, but a small smile flitted across her deadly beautiful face. I held her gaze, hoping that mine didn't portray the fact that I wanted to throw up all over the forest floor, and kept walking towards her. "Colby, the wannabe savior of my my dear Anna. Why are you here? Do you wish me death, like these fools?" I stepped right in front of her, swallowed hard, and shook my head. "Never," I replied, hearing the slight waver in my voice. "I could never hurt you." She furrowed her brow and pursed her bright red lips. "Is that so? Hmm, pardon me if I don't quite believe you. What brought on this change?" I reached out and took her hand in mine. Her skin felt soft, but too soft. Like it wasn't real. "I'm not sure," I murmured, stepping closer to her and staring deep into her eyes. "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind, since we spoke in the Demon Realm. There's just something about you that I can't let go. Like maybe we are meant to be together." I thought of Anna while I said these words, praying with everything in me that it sounded like the truth. My acting debut really was a life or death situation. I was hoping that, since I was a little taller than her, she wouldn't be able to see the others behind me.