Nothing To Fear ....

I'm Still Here

      The instant the amorphous gray form disappeared into the lantern, the cave erupted with movement. Jenny passed the lantern to Jake Wells, and dashed over to where Faith still lay silently on the ground, while Crane and Diana made their way toward Gregory Horton, followed by Yanni, Jesse, and Blasko. She dropped to her knees next to Hawley, casting a searching look at Ashley. Reaching up, she untied the bandanna that held back her hair and passed it to him. "Here, you can clean up the blood with this. Other than your nose, are you all right?"

      The bassist held the cloth to his face with one hand, while the other rested gently against Faith's cheek. "I feel like I just lost an MMA match, and I think I may have a mosh pit going in my skull, but other than that, I'm perfect."

      A faint smile flashed across his face as he heard CC say, in a relieved tone "Yeah, that's definitely Ash!" But it almost immediately faded as he looked down at the unconscious girl whose head rested on his thigh, her left cheekbone rapidly purpling.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "I'm not sure about her, though," he murmured, his fingers lightly tracing the bruise. "We can't get her to wake up."

      "Her pulse is good, and she's not having any trouble breathing, so she should be okay," Hawley informed him. "As soon as they finish up with him, we'll get both of you out of here and to the hospital."

      Jenny turned toward the rest of the group, saying "Somebody needs to head back up, out of the cave, and call Chief Potter, so she can hopefully have help waiting when we get out of here."

      "I'll go, if somebody will give me a light," Andy responded. Jenny reached into her pocket, and tossed a small flashlight to the singer, who caught it and quickly dashed back into the darkness.

      They all then turned their attention to the group gathered around Crane, looking down at the gaunt, trembling form of what remained of Gregory Horton. The characteristics of the demon were beginning to fade away, so Crane reached out and carefully removed the brush from his mouth, before it started to shrink back to normal. As he did, almost everyone gasped as they observed how what remained of the necklace had begun to melt into the bristles, rendered nearly unrecognizable.

      A small trickle of blood leaked from the corner of the older man's mouth, as he struggled to focus on the people surrounding him, his eyes finally settling on the bearded, blue-eyed man who knelt next to him. "Thank ... you," he croaked, his voice barely audible. "I was ... so ... wrong. Wanted ... to punish. Not to hurt ... the others."

      In spite of the damage his actions had caused, Crane felt a twinge of pity for the dying, broken figure in front of him. "And thank you as well, Master Horton, for giving us the opportunity to dismiss the creature. Your resistance prevented it from commanding its minions, and gave us valuable time to complete the ritual."

      "Couldn't ... let it ... do that ... again," he gurgled. "Made a mistake. But I ... chose. He didn't... not right," He coughed, more blood dribbling down his chin. "But ... I'm free now... finally..."

      And as they watched, he drew a final, bubbling breath, and went limp, his eyes staring sightlessly into space. Crane reached out his hand and closed them, then stood upright and moved toward Jenny and the others. As he did they all heard a faint voice say "Where is it?"

      Ashley glanced down at Faith, and saw that she was looking back at him, appearing to be slightly disoriented.

      "It's gone now, hon," he informed her. "You did good, that hurt it bad enough to keep it from fighting Crane and the others while they did their thing. How do you feel?"