Life After Death

Chapter 46

Panic filled my body as darkness enveloped the Chamber.

We had entered the Chamber in hopes that we'd find the link that brought everything together - the End, Kassima and Sylvia, me and my soul power, as well as my role in the End; everything.

It was all quite terrifying, to be honest. I pretended like none of it fazed me but it really did. I could feel my muscles tense and a chill run down my spine - I was afraid of what I might encounter.

Who knew things would escalate this far? Certainly not me.

It wasn't only the darkness that bothered me. It was the silence. It was deafening. I was afraid to breathe, in fear like something like the butterfly affect would happen - a butterfly flaps its wings and a hurricane occurs - in other words, I breathe and all hell breaks loose, literally.

"Just sit in it," Topher had said. And she did. Neither of us expected Sylvia to pass out and all that lights to go out. Everyone was in panic mode, I couldn't be the only one having a panic attack.

Roman was the first to break the silence. "Okay, what just happened?" His thundering voice ricocheted through the large room, bouncing off the great contraptions created by the Devil himself - who knew he could be so handy. "What if she -" And that's about when the white wall began to blur.

3

It was a count down.

2

"It's like a movie..." Topher said, staring at the wall.

"It's her memories..." I murmured in awe.

1

Sylvia stood on the big red bridge. San Francisco wind whipped her blond hair every which way, causing it to tangle into tiny elf knots.

Sylvia had her eyes closed and she was breathing deeply. For a twelve year-old she seemed troubled and afraid. Suddenly, arms circled around her and a girl a few years older than Sylvia that had long dark hair laughed into her neck. "Mom said you'd be here. You cant just run away Syl," the girl said.

"Kassima, I don't want to worship him any longer. I don't want to do this anymore." Sylvia began to sniffle and took a glance at the water below the bridge, then back at her sister. "I'm afraid."

Kassima frowned, and took a step away from her sister. "What are you saying? Is this why you always try to run away lately? You don't want to be a part of a long line of Satanists? It's our family generation. We are the key holders of the black mass. We are the head of -"

"Something evil," Sylvia whispered. "Something despicable..."

"Have you been spending time with Matty again?" Kassima grunted.

Sylvia looked afraid again. "N-no!" She knew that if her family knew she'd been spending time with the preacher's son they'd throw her in the basement for a week - or maybe even more. Her family was strict in their religion. They did not want stray sheep and if they got a whiff that Sylvia was a stray sheep... "I just... Let's go home."

Kassima gave her little sister a sad smile and they walked back to their home a couple of a blocks away.

The girls grew up to serve Satan. Sylvia, unwillingly. Kassima became some sort of beacon of light for the Reynolds family. She was the first since great-grandmother Reynolds to have a fully activated soul power - she was a seer, she could depict the future and could see the dead. This made her valuable. Kassima loved the praise she always received and she loved using her power. She believed that Satan truly blessed her abundantly, and she would use her power to praise him even farther.

Sylvia wasn't as valuable to her parents as Kassima was. Sylvia didn't really contribute anything except forcefully help out during the occasional black mass - other than that she stayed in her room, or snuck out to visit Matthew McKenna - the preacher's son. Matty taught her about God and being a good human being and helping those in need. Sylvia found it fascinating and she wanted to help those that needed her help. When Sylvia turned sixteen she began to help out at the local pet shop and continued to work there secretly for three years until her father found out and banned her from going anywhere except home and school. But of course by then she was eighteen - practically an adult and she felt as though they couldn't stop her. Sylvia applied to a university in another state and looked forward to escaping the clutches of her family's dark history.

One night, four or five weeks before Sylvia was due to hit university and out of her family's life forever she headed downstairs to retrieve all her childhood memories from the basement - somewhere that had became the bane of her existence. She remembered being locked up in there for hours maybe even days. She was glad that soon she wouldn't have to see that basement - that house - ever again.

Under the staircase was an unmarked box, pulling it out and blowing off a layer of dust she opened it up and frowned. It wasn't her old toys, instead it was books. Ancient-looking books.

It was journals handed down from generation to generation on their family. Opening one of the books she discovered something horrible

The End begins with a single death - the death, the sacrifice of a virgin.

The End begins with a black hole, a rip in the atmosphere.

The End begins with screams - blood-curdling and horrifying screams - of women and children.

The End begins with you.

Sylvia dropped the book on the wooden ground and began shaking. That's when slender hands covered her mouth, a noose tied around her neck, and someone dragged her to the backyard through the backdoor exiting from the basement.

Sylvia kicked and let out strangled screams - but to no avail. The worst part was that it was light outside but no one seemed to be aware of the horror right in front of their affluent house, white-picket fences and pristine green grass.

The rope was thrown over the highest, strongest branch. The rope was pulled and there Sylvia hung, kicking, scratching at the rope tightly wound around her neck, in hopes that she could free herself and take gulps of fresh air. But it didn't help. It was no use. She felt the life leave her body. Her limbs went numb and she began to feel cold. So cold.

The last thing she saw before her eyes finally shut and she took het last breath was her sister Kassima smiling up at her in a sinister manner.

The lights went on, and everyone - including me - was on edge from what we had just seen.

Sylvia sat up in the chair and began screaming and crying at same time, trying to grasp the life that had seemingly left her for that moment in time. Roman was at her side in an instant and consoling her. Danny, Topher and I were still recovering from what we had seen.

Suddenly, Sylvia's breathing became normal. She looked up, her frightened eyes flitting to each and everyone in the Chamber.

She spoke in a hushed voice, "I remember everything."