5:4
The girl woke from her restless sleep in the deep shadow in the back of the cell. She peered out of the cold darkness, across the corridor. The one she had met the previous day, the one who was still named Elizabeth, was busy with only her hunched back showing in the dim, yellow light.
Her arms moved quickly, her elbows jerked up and down, and her head hung low over the project in front of her. The unnamed one didn’t know what Elizabeth was doing. She could only see the animated movement from behind. She scooted closer to the front of the chamber, trying to find out what her neighbor was doing. In the patch of illuminated concrete, in between the rigid shadows of the bars, she saw it reflecting like a mirror.
An ever-growing pool of blood lazily flowed around bumps in the uneven floor, searching for cracks to drain into. Elizabeth was kneeling in it.
The confused girl crawled closer. Hearing that she was awake, Elizabeth’s head swung around to greet her. Her hair matted with bloody, drying sweat, she spoke.
“Hey,” she said excitedly, “you’re awake.”
Her ears were crusted with dark, congealed blood. They weren’t bleeding anymore. They were not the source of the shiny pool below her. The edge of the crimson pond found the nearby blanket and soaked into the fibers, creating a dark stain.
Two small pieces of cloth had been recently ripped from the side of the wool. They had been rolled up into tiny little cylinders that were lying at Elizabeth’s side. They were just the right size. All of the wax in her ears had been raked out with Elizabeth’s sharp fingernails. But that wasn’t enough, not to make a good seal. More had to be done if she was going to block out the sound of tonight’s ritual.
She turned to face her unnamed friend. Looking down, the girl across the hallway could now see everything. She began to bob back and forth frantically. With her mouth wide open, a wheezing, cracked scream escaped her.
The nightly hell they experienced was no longer limited to the ritual chamber. It had made its way down to the new girl’s cell.
Her long, middle fingernail had been broken on two sides, leaving a sharp point in the center. Of course, the girl with no name couldn’t see that. It was far up inside Elizabeth’s vagina. It made for a useful tool to scrape the sticky tissue. Blood was matted throughout her pubic hair and dripped heavily into the pool on the concrete.
Elizabeth was smiling. A nervous, heaving laugh pushed through her twitching mouth. The girl with no name could see that her neighbor was happy. Of course she was. Her earplugs were almost finished.
5:5
Jack’s astral self flew hard and fast over the buildings. His energy was boiling with fear. No one could help him now.
Linda hadn’t called him. He didn’t know where to find her. He suspected that she had set him up. She was in on it somehow. For what other reason would she have given him the necklace?
But why? What did she stand to gain?
It didn’t make any sense. The thing that has possessed his body wasn’t letting go. Jack was trapped in the spiritual dimension while it used his body to terrorize the physical world. What would it do to his family?
Jesus.
He couldn’t let anything happen to them, and yet there was nothing he could do. He stopped his flight and started back to the alley. There had to be a way to stop it. He didn’t know how or what he was going to do, but one thing was sure. He couldn’t do anything if he was running away. He would have to face it head on. But he also knew that he was much weaker than the enemy. Trying to fight it was completely futile. He would need another way.
All of this started with a temptation presented to Jack in a pretty velvet box. They had tricked him with promises of knowledge and truth. Sure, he had received much knowledge along the way, but the price hadn’t been revealed until now. He had been used and manipulated. Jack’s anger burned red hot. It was time to find out what had stolen his body, and how to make it stop.
5:6
Jack was high above the dark alley now. Looking down he saw the Nissan’s headlights come on. He followed the car as it turned on Fourth Street and made a left onto the highway. Killian drove quickly past the E-Z food stop. The usual gathering of three city police cars sat in the parking lot. All of the officers were inside the convenience store talking and drinking coffee. None of them watched the black Nissan as it sped by.
Jack nervously looked in the windows as he flew. Canon City’s finest were totally occupied laughing at the latest blonde jokes. Relieved, he increased his speed to catch up to the car.
He knew that if anyone were caught for the girl’s death it would be him. His body anyway. If that happened the only way he could return to the physical world would be in prison. He would probably get the death penalty. He hoped there was no evidence pointing to him in that alley. Jack thought that no matter how much he hoped there was most likely something there that would send him to the electric chair. The FBI didn’t need much to find out criminals. A piece of hair, scraped skin under a fingernail, saliva, blood, the list went on and on.
Jack didn’t even know if they still used the electric chair. Maybe it would be the gas chamber or lethal injection. Not one of them sounded any better than the others.
He wasn’t afraid of death anymore but he couldn’t imagine missing his son growing up. He had so much more that he wanted to do.
So many things he needed to say to Stacey. In the whole world she would be the only one who believed him about tonight. When everyone else screamed murderer, she would be the only one that knew the truth. That is if he could find a way to get back into his body to tell her. Jack was beginning to think that was not going to happen, that the game was over and he’d lost.
The car pulled up in to driveway. Jack’s body ducked out of the driver’s seat and out the open door. It walked slowly. His face was pale and sweating. The spirit was vibrating.
The soul’s place in the universe had been vacant for three hours now and it was pulling him back. The bright red glow struggled against the magnetic force, but even Killien’s powerful grip was not enough. He was jerked out and up into the black sky. Searing heat boiled all around him as he shrieked in defiance.
Jack’s body dropped lifelessly to the ground and hit with a thud in the wet grass. He darted across the yard and re-entered himself. He was lying on his back looking up at the stars. Getting up quickly, he went into the house. With the necklace retrieved from the pocket of his coat, he sat down in the recliner. His shivering body sank into the soft cushions. It was warm inside and he was sure his body would be fine now.
Placing the chain around his neck, he lowered the stone bird onto his chest. His energy exited quickly and he was free of his flesh once again. He took off in the direction he’d seen the powerful spirit pulled.
copyright ©2002 Brian Holtz
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