S.P.I.R.I.T (20 page)

This just gets better and better!
I answered and stood up, walking away from the path I was on and straight towards Zander. He glanced down at the flashlight I held, took it in his hand, and shook it.

“The batteries are dead,” he pointed out the obvious.

“Of course the batteries are dead,” I replied sarcastically. “It was lit when I dropped it, and it was on when it hit the dirt below me.”

“Are you sure someone didn’t pick it up and move it there?” Harris questioned as he approached.

“Yeah, the invisible man, who doesn’t leave footprints in the sand,” I growled, and then shook my head. Zander looked at me oddly, as I crossed my arms over my chest.
Why do I feel so angry?

It could be the location, or something trying to separate us,
Zander replied, as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly to his chest.

I looked at Harris and sighed. “Sorry.”

“No harm, miss,” he said, winking, and then he moved on, the M4A1 Carbine in his hands.

Zander kissed the top of my head and then stepped away, going back to combing the beach as I headed back in the direction that I wanted to follow. The sand changed as we approached the opening to the cave where we had taken refuge from the storm. It was thicker, not so much the light grainy sand of the beach, but a rocky soil dirt that would have been swept down river in the swell.

I stopped, grabbed the flashlight out of my belt and turned it on, taking a deep breath before shining it into the darkness. The feeling inside was cool and damp, but otherwise void of hostel feelings, or menacing creatures, and I stepped foreword into the darkness, with Zander at my side.

The rest of the team spread out, with Everett remaining on the outside incase anyone should happen by, which was highly unlikely, but he had his reasons. Zander and I headed for the spot where the creature had stood, sweeping the lights across the burnt remains of the foliage that covered the floor.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Harris questioned as he looked in dark crevices.

“Any place that a body could get stuck in,” I answered and watched him cringe, knowing that he was thinking about stumbling on to a scull in the dark.

I could feel the pulse before I saw where it was coming from, a faint electric pull in a certain direction, and I glanced up at Zander, who was looking around the cave. At the same moment, we both turned to a dark corner to our right, tucked in the back of the cavern. I breathed in deeply, and took a step towards that direction.

The lightening hit the sand beside me without warning, and the flash lit up the room. I could see the opening from where I stood, and my inner voice screamed at me as I took another step forward. This time I was prepared for the bolt, as it stuck once again to my left.

It’s not a warning,
I whispered, feeling Zander back off from my side, and I turned and looked at his face. He was pale white, his eyes glowing with the bright flashes of the storm within him. “Stay.”

“I couldn’t go any further if I tried,” he mumbled, looking down at his feet. I glanced where he was staring and noticed the roots that had climbed up around his calves. I turned to move in his direction but he raised a hand. “Wait.”

“I’m not going to let some overgrowth stop you from doing what you have to,” I said sternly.

“But, I don’t have to do this,” he whispered, which made me stop and look deep into his eyes. “You do, that’s why you were brought here. I couldn’t find him on my own. I would never have been able to receive what he was telling you. You have to find him, you have to bring him home.”

“I can’t do it without you,” I replied quietly, shaking my head.

He tapped on his temple and then on his heart. “I’m right here.”

I drew in as much air as I could, and turned to look at where the beam disappeared into the small hole in the cavern wall. It wasn’t much bigger than I was, but enough to easily let my body slide through. Then I noticed that at my knee level it was much wider. If the tide had come in the right way, he would have slipped though here but never been able to get out.

The small enclosure went on for a few yards before it opened into another small cavern, this one lit by the sun as it shined through a hole in the side of the stonewall. Water cascaded down the pyrite covered rocks, shimmering in the light, and fell into a small pool in the middle of the room. I walked around, able to see everything with my own sight, and found that it was very simple to connect with Zander so he could see just what I was witnessing.

Halfway around the pool, I noticed a spot where the water seemed a different shade of blue, and slowly, I moved closer to the water’s edge. My eyes focused through the clear water and I heard myself gasp. There he was, resting on the bottom of a nearly translucent hole, exactly how I had seen him the night he died in my memories. His clothing was still intact, his hair waved and swirled with the droplets from the fountain above, and he had a soft, peaceful look on his pale face. His eyes were closed and his hands rested beside him.

“Oh, my God,” I whispered, my eyes filling up with tears as I sat on my knees beside the edge. I wanted to reach in, to caress his face, to know that he was real, but I held back, knowing that I wasn’t to be the one to take him out. “I’m going to take you to her.”

You came,
a voice picked up, echoing around me. I turned to find it and caught the faintest shimmer of mist in the corner of the room. He wasn’t whole, to the point where I could make out features, but he was there and I smiled.

“I’m not your Sam,” I replied to the spirit before me.

I know, she’s waiting for me, I can hear her calling.

“How did you get here, why can’t you leave?” I questioned, maybe going too fast, for he shushed me into silence, almost laughing, as Zander would do.

It’s not finished, Sam.
His voice sighed.
It’s not going to let me go. It wants to keep me here. So long as I’m here, he can be out there.

“I’m not going to let him keep you from where you need to be any longer,” I said sternly and stood. “That isn’t you letting off those bolts in the other room, is it?”

I have no control over my powers here. They put me here to keep me safe, to keep him from completely taking over, it’s why they moved me.

“Who moved you, Zander?” I whispered, and then felt the rush of the wind around me, and the sounds of drums in my ears.

Suddenly, I understood. Whatever was unleashed from the burial ground wasn’t what the Ute Indians had buried there. They were the butterflies, they were the spirits that moved him into the water to begin with, to keep the demon from completely taking over. I looked up at him once more, before glancing into the pool.

“I have your ring, and your necklace,” I told him softly, then listened to him sigh in relief. “You left them purposely, didn’t you?”

Items we hold closest to our hearts can be used to ward off evil intent,
he whispered and I felt the caress of a gentle touch on my cheek.
Your Zander waits for you. He’s worried because they keep my communication secret, and he is unable to contact you.

“What happens if I take you out of here?”

Than he can take control of my power.

“I made a promise to my father, to Sam’s father, that I was going to bring you back to her and set things right,” I told him as I backed away from the pool and stopped in the entrance of the cave. “I’ll be back very shortly, and when I do come back, you’re going home.”

With that, I ducked into the passageway and headed for the other side.

20

They were all watching as I stepped out into view, five flashlights trained on me as I blocked my eyes from the brightness. Zander, who had been released from the holds of his captors, rushed to me and took me in his arms. I felt the tears run down my cheeks before I could stop them and I gripped his coat tightly in my fists.

“He’s there,” I whispered, my voice mumbled by his jacket. “His soul is trapped there by whatever the hell this demon is. He says that it won’t let him go over, that it’s keeping him here for his power.”

“Shh, baby, we’ll figure it out.” He sighed.

“No, listen, we need the ring and the necklace, they’ll help. But we have to move him, no, I have to move him,” I said, stepping back to look at him.

“You’re not going to be able to move a frozen body out of a pond full of water by yourself,” he scolded and looked down into my eyes.

“I’m not going to be doing this by myself.” I smiled.

With the black bag in hand, the ring securely on my finger and the cross necklace tucked in my pocket, I turned and looked at Zander, as he stood, M4A1 in hand, looking as much the soldier as I had ever seen him and I smiled.

He winked, flicking the safety off the gun, and with a deep breath, I ducked into the tunnel once again.

Once inside the hidden cavern, I observed the strange little orbs that floated around the room as the sun reflected off from them and smiled. I could hear the whispers of the spirits as they floated past and watched as they gathered around the pool. With a deep breath, I knelt down and placed my hand within the water, reaching down towards the frozen form beneath. The liquid was freezing, cramping up my fingers as I held them in the water, and after a few moments, I couldn’t take the pain, and pulled it out.

With a sigh, I looked around the room, and watched as the mist gathered in the back corner once again.

“How am I going to get you out of there?” I questioned. “The water is too cold for me to touch.”

Ask for help,
Zander’s voice replied, laughing.

“All right,” I sighed, and then glanced up at the orbs. “I want to take him home to be with the woman who loves him. Can you help me get him out of the pool?”

I watched as they gathered, circling the water, and slowly, his body rose to the surface, perfectly preserved in the icy cold water. He moved, as if on his own, and came to rest on the ground where I had laid out the body bag. I shivered as I watched this, disbelief in the back of my head, but I keep an open mind, knowing that I had dealt with the unknown my whole life. What made this any different?

Gently I reached out and touched his cold cheek. His skin was stiff, but warmed with a certain fire as I brushed the back of my hand against it. His ghost giggled, knowing that a human hadn’t touched him in three years, that the sensation would have tickled him, I didn’t react to him.

“Are you ready to go?” I whispered, glancing up at the mist that moved closer to me.

I’ve been ready for so long, Sam, but are you prepared?
his voice asked with concern.

“Trust me, the troops are waiting.” I smiled and slowly zippered him up, and began to pull him through the tunnel and out of his makeshift tomb. The spirits helped, though they couldn’t be seen, and I tossed out a glow stick before exiting the tunnel so they would know it was me.

Just as I cleared the entranceway, I felt the assistance I had slip away and it took a lot to pull the black bag along with me.
Daniels, who was closest to me at that point, grabbed the other end and helped me bring him across the line of burnt leaves and twigs. It was then, the instant we crossed that barrier, that the ghoul came after me, lightening striking close to my feet.

“SAM!” Zander yelled as he moved over to guard me. He grabbed my hand as I moved under his protection but tried to get back to the body. “Leave him, Sam!”

“No, I can’t,” I pleaded, turning to stare into the dark pools of emotion that I had fallen in love with. “Listen, he’s our past, and our future. We have to close this chapter or we won’t be able to finish anything we start.”

Zander waited a minute, shook his head, and as the storm grew dangerously strong in his eyes, he nodded. The two of us moved towards the bag and watched as the ghoul manifested before us, his bright red eyes blazed as he glared at me. He bared his fangs, stretching ligaments. I heard the snarl as his power trained on me.

You will not take what belongs to me!
He growled, staring directly at me.

“He doesn’t belong to you anymore!” I answered back, holding my ground as my insides shook with fear.

His bright red eyes flashed with the power of electricity, like two balls of lightening in his skeletal head. He opened his mouth, as wide as he could, exposing the tendons that pulled against the stress, and he released a shriek that nearly doubled over the others in pain. He glared, lightening bolts descended from the high, arched ceiling above us, striking around the body and on the floor closest to us.

Sam, you won’t be able to survive if one of those hit you,
Zander spoke up, his voice filled with fear.

I don’t intend to be hit!
I replied, and felt the heat flare up in my chest. I glanced at him, taking in the features of his face, and prayed that when this was over, I would still be able to look upon it.

With a deep breath, I reached out my hand, gathering the heat and fire within me into that one spot and sent out a large ball of flames towards the monster. He screamed as it hit him, catching the dry, gray skin of his arm on fire, and he retaliated with a lightening strike that made me jump back a foot. Zander raised his arms to the sky, gathering the lightening to do his bidding, and he sent half a dozen bolts in the direction of the beast.

I leaned over and grabbed the body bag, turned my back on the monster and pulled with all I had to get it out of the way. It was then that I felt it, an electrical shock that made my body numb, and I couldn’t shake the tingle that touched every nerve. Zander looked at me, horror in his eyes as he glanced at the smoking spot on the ground by my foot where the shock had traveled from, and he was standing in front of me instantly, his arms around me.

I went limp in his arms, only his strength was supporting me, and I stared up into his eyes.

You little brat, I thought I told you to be careful.
His voice whispered, trying not to sound terrified.