The Ghosts of the Woods

Chapter 10

I close my eyes again. 'Okay, Alea. I am ready', I tell her. She is still standing there the same way I left her, when I opened my eyes, as if she is a statue or a painting inside my head. But now she moves again. 'Thank god for that', I mutter to myself. 

'Don't worry Kathy. You are far from crazy. And why would you think of me as a statue or a painting?' She must have seen my confused face somehow, because she starts laughing. 'Forgot I could read your mind, did you?'

'Well, anyway. We should focus. The time is running out. I need you now to listen. Let go of Johnny's hand', she instructs.

'What? And why would I do that?' I ask her, shocked that she would even demand such a thing from me.

'Because you will need both hands for this to work. Now do as I say', she answers, her smile gone, although her voice is still as soft as it was before.

So, I do as she orders me to do and let go of Johnny's hand. He is probably panicking right now, and I would love to say something to him to tell him that I am fine, but Alea told me to stay focused, so that is what I will do.

'Now spread your hands out with your palms facing upwards. Good, now I need you to focus your thoughts and emotions but keep them separate. Once you have done that, I will need you to find the energy within you, you will have to dig.'

I do as Alea asks of me. First, I focus on my thoughts and my emotions. Then I separate them, just as Alea asked of me. And I am now focusing on my energy, well, I am trying to find it anyway.

I am just concentrating on the energy that could be inside of me somewhere.

'Come on, you can do this', I hear Alea saying to me. 

This gives me the boost I need and suddenly I can feel some energy coming out of my heart. I have no idea where it has come from or how I triggered it, all I know is that I cannot lose it, whatever I do.

'Well done. Keep focusing on it and once you have all the energy, transport it through your blood to your hands. And then keep it there, until I say otherwise', Alea carries on explaining.

So, I carry on focusing on the energy. It keeps getting stronger and stronger. I have the feeling that it is all the energy I have inside of me, which seems to be a lot. It is exhausting me. But I decide to stay strong. It's our only way to get out of here alive and to save Lucy, wherever she might be.

'Focus Kathy. Focus on the energy', Alea warns me. 'And get ready.'

Without asking what she is planning on doing, I do as she tells me and focus everything in-side of me onto the energy.

Slowly, I make it find its way through my blood towards my outstretched hands. My hands start to tingle as soon as the energy hits them, but I try and stay focused.

Inside my head I hear Alea whispering something, like a spell or a charm. Her hands are also outstretched, and her eyes are closed.

'I am Alea Olozeiros, elf of conscience. Naamin Alea Olozeiros, edhel tel' concientiam. Wise ones of the Twilight Valley I command you. Strength and energy from Kathy give to me! Hodoerea tel' Uiatlum amin naille! Ama poldora ar'templa tuulo' Kathy onamin!' she whispers her spell.

Suddenly I feel the energy in my hands move, like there is a bubble of light in my hands. I see a bubble of light appear in front of Alea and seconds later Alea has disappeared. 'Alea? Where are you', I am worried that something happened to her.

But suddenly I hear somebody close to my ear and it is not Johnny, it is a woman's voice, but not just any woman's voice, but Alea's voice. "Open your eyes, Kathy. You did it", she whispers.

My eyes tear open and the place we are standing in that was dark a few seconds ago, has now been lit up. I look to where Johnny was standing in the dark a few moments ago, hoping to see him still standing there. I sigh with relief, as I see him there.

But he looks shocked past me. I turn to see a woman standing in front of me. She is only a little smaller than me and she is wearing a violet dress that goes all the way to the floor and she has long black hair.

'But it can't be', I think to myself. She smiles at me and takes me into a hug. "Yes, it's me, Kathy. You did it. You set me free", she says happily.

Now it is me who has a confused expression on my face. "What do you mean I saved you?" I ask irritated.

"You saved me by setting me free and I will be forever grateful", she smiles at me. "Now, would you like to introduce us?" she asks me, laughing as she points at Johnny, who is still standing there, shocked and hasn't said a single word.

"Oh, yeah, right. Johnny, this is Alea Olozeiros, elf of conscience and Alea, this is Johnny, my best friend", I introduce them.

Now Johnny finally talks again. "An elf? And where did you come from and how come you two know each other?"

"I was stuck in Kathy's mind. I was her conscience, until she freed me. And that is where I came from... from inside Kathy's head", Alea says with a soft voice and smiles at Johnny. He is again speechless.

So Alea turns to me and whispers into my ear. 

"And I am pretty sure that you two are more than just friends." "How would you know?" I ask her, not wanting to admit that I kind of liked Johnny as more than just a friend.

"I was in your head, remember? I know", she winks at me.

Okay, so this is the second to last chapter guys. I really hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know in the comments below, what you think will happen in the last chapter. Will it be a happy ending or rather a tragic ending? And let me know what you think of Alea. Do you like her or rather not so much?

I look forward to your feedback, especially after you've read the last chapter! ;)