Sarah's Solace

by Sarah's Solace (epub)

  He laughed, but I knew it was fake.

  “Right now you have complete control of yourself, and you control your followers,” I continued as I looked at his friends. “And you want to control Dylan and me, because you’re still so angry that you couldn’t control Carla. But if you go into the light, you lose all control. You give yourself up to the unknown, and that scares you more than anything.”

  He was humiliated, and I realized that I pushed him too far as he stood up quickly and clenched his jaw. “Leave us, please,” he told his friends, who quickly followed his orders and headed toward the door. Angela looked at him, not wanting to leave. “Go,” he told her, with no signs of affection.

  I started to panic again as I wondered what he had up his sleeve, or what he would do to me, but he seemed to stay calm.

  Once his friends were gone, he pulled a chair over and sat in front of me. We were now equal distance from the bed, giving me more of an opportunity to grab the rifle that was underneath it, although I had no idea if it was even loaded.

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve, you smart-ass bitch,” he said, keeping his cool. “You embarrass me in front of my friends with your idiotic psychoanalysis. Are you trying to be like your friend Monica now?” He chuckled. “I know everything about your pathetic life, Sarah. But don’t you think for a moment that you can understand what I’ve been through.”

  He continued sternly, “I take control because somebody has to. Those souls would be lost without me, misguided like Carla was, because Ethan had no clue what he was talking about. You think I’m scared? I chose to be a spirit. I was brave enough to choose that existence and make it happen. Ethan became a spirit because he was too afraid to shoot a deer.”

  “What you did was not brave. It was a cop out.”

  He squinted his eyes, and then he pointed outside. “They are scared and confused, and they need my guidance. Do you really think that every spirit who goes into the light will be reincarnated, have a wonderful life, and find loved ones again? What happened to Ethan was miraculous, and you know that.”

  “I know,” I admitted.

  “Anyway, the light, the darkness…I’m tired of discussing it. If you could go into the light right now, would you?”

  “No.”

  “OK then. Let’s drop that subject. You’re right about one thing, though,” he said, moving his face close to mine. “I’m also a leader because I like control.”

  He cupped my face in his hands. I tried to pull them away, but I wasn‘t strong enough. He held me firmly as he forced his lips to touch mine. I showed my disgust as I protested, making a face and saying no. I tried to hit him, but he quickly grabbed my hands so that I couldn’t.

  “Too bad you won’t kiss me like you did this morning,” he said seductively. “I could have had you so easily then, but I wasn’t feeling it. Carla was a lot more fun.”

  He held on to my hands as he pulled his duffle bag over to him with his other hand and retrieved a piece of rope.

  I gasped. “No!”

  “Quiet down,” he said.

  Within seconds he had my hands tied behind my back and then pulled out a switch blade knife. Tears filled my eyes, and it became difficult to breathe. He jerked me out of the chair and over to the bed. He sat down close to me and pushed my hair out of my eyes as he held the knife in front of my face, and then he glided it over my breast while a tear rolled down my cheek.

  “Just cooperate and everything will be fine,” he whispered, “I want a taste of what Ethan’s been enjoying.”

  “Please don’t,” I cried.

  He took the knife and began cutting open the top of my blouse. I couldn’t look. I had to try to remove myself mentally from what he was doing. Whatever he would do to my body, I wouldn’t let him break me, and he could never have my soul.

  I scanned the room again, looking for anything else I could quickly use as a weapon if I had a chance. I saw something move on the right side of the room. It was a broom. Amazingly, it slowly glided across the room toward us. I gasped at the sight, but Sawyer continued removing my blouse, not noticing what was going on behind him. Suddenly, with a quick motion, the handle hit Sawyer on his head and knocked him over. He yelled out in pain and dropped his knife on the floor. I kicked it away as I watched the broom continue to hit him a few more times until it also fell to the floor.

  I stood up and then felt a strange sensation on my hands as I could feel the rope being untied until I was free. I turned around and saw nothing. I was sure that it was a spirit, but my mind focused on protecting myself from Sawyer, who began to sit up again, still moaning with pain. I quickly pulled the rifle out from under the bed and pointed it at him. I would no longer let him be in control.

  He got up slowly while I backed away. He kept his hands up as he spoke, “So, you found a gun. You got me on that one, but do you know if it’s even loaded?”

  My father often took me and Alexis to turkey shoots when we were young, so I knew a little about guns. I opened the bolt slightly and peeked in the chamber. “You tell me,” I told him. “What do you believe?”

  He chuckled. “I believe that you wouldn’t shoot Dylan,” he said smugly, to remind me that it was Dylan’s body I would be hurting.

  He took a step toward me, but before I could make a quick decision, the invisible spirit took me by surprise by jerking the gun out of my hand. I was afraid that Sawyer would grab it, but instead, I watched his spirit jump out of Dylan’s body, causing Dylan to fall to the floor. I felt a gust of air behind me as the cabin door flew open.

  “She’s not getting away from me this time!” said Sawyer, and then he ran out the door and into the woods.

  I got on my hands and knees and pulled Dylan to me. He was so weak and still grunting with pain, but he squeezed me tight.

  “Sarah, are you OK?”

  “I’m more worried about you.”

  “I’m gonna kill him!” he said with pure anger as he started to get up.

  “You can’t.”

  “I’m going after him,” he insisted, getting back on his feet.

  I pulled on his arm. “No! I don’t want you to get hurt. What if he enters your body again?”

  “I’m going! You stay here!”

  “No!” I yelled defiantly.

  He picked up the piece of rope that was on the floor and grabbed my hands.

  “What are you doing?” I asked with panic.

  He forced me onto the chair and tied my hands to the back legs. I couldn’t believe he was tying me up. Had he gone crazy?

  “You have to stay here. I love you,” he said quickly and then kissed me.

  Before he left, he picked up the rifle and opened the bolt to look in the chamber. “It was loaded,” he said with disbelief.

  “I wouldn’t have killed you,” I explained.

  He let the bullets fall out and then smiled at me before he put them in his pocket and set down the rifle.

  “I’m sorry I have to do this, but I will be back. I promise.”

  He rushed out the door.

  “Dylan!” I screamed, but it did no good.

  51. Surrender

  I wouldn’t let him get away. I knew I couldn’t harm him, but I couldn’t just let him go. He took over my body and forced me to watch what he was doing to Sarah. For that he had to pay. I had to do something.

  I ran fast through the woods, my anger giving me more energy than I had ever felt. I could sense that he was still near. He wouldn’t give us the satisfaction of leaving us alone so soon, not after he had waited this long.

  I stopped abruptly when I heard a movement to my right. It might have been the wind, but I listened closely. It seemed to have stopped until it quickly picked up again, getting stronger and stronger. Something was happening. The rain had stopped, and it was as if Mother Nature was not causing the big gusts. I felt compelled to go toward the wind, so that I could discover the source. I fought my way through the tree branches that kept slapping me in the face, and I had to sq
uint my eyes to keep the leaves and dirt from flying into them.

  Eventually, I came to a clearing that I remembered well. I opened my eyes, but had to squint again from the brightness. The entire field was lit up, and I could see the silhouette of a figure standing in front of the light. I walked forward with hesitation, not wanting to disturb what was taking place, but I knew that I had to go to the person. Once I got close enough, I saw that it was Sawyer, and his demeanor told me that I needed to stay calm. He didn’t turn around, but he knew that I was there too.

  “She’s gone,” he said quietly.

  “Who?”

  “Alexis. She was always working against me.”

  I wondered where she went. Did she run away, or did she go into the light that he was staring into? Sawyer began speaking again before I could ask.

  “My so-called friends are gone too. Sarah’s little speech made them doubt me,” he said.

  I didn’t comment, expecting him to continue. He turned around and looked at me with a crooked smile.

  “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I just wanted to make you suffer, and I like to push things past the limit. You know that.”

  I still wanted to attack him, and I never believed what he said.

  “Aren’t you tired, Sawyer?” I asked.

  He knew exactly what I meant, and he chuckled lightly. “It does get boring…and it’s obviously useless.” He was silent for a moment and then said sadly, “I wish I never met her.”

  I knew that he was talking about Carla. I always believed in love and following one’s heart, but there were limits. Sarah and I always understood that. For Sawyer and Carla to end their lives was tragically the wrong decision.

  He looked away from me and then into the light. “Maybe I’ll see her again.”

  “I hope so.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing, and I held my breath, knowing how close he was to finally surrendering. He held his hand out, as if trying to touch the light to see what it felt like. It attached to his hand, beaming off his fingertips and making his whole body glow warmly.

  He turned around slowly to look at me again and said, “I guess it’s time to take a chance again.” Then he smiled at me. “I’ll see you later, Ethan.”

  He walked into the brightness that was calling for him so loudly. It was always meant to be, and as much as I wanted to hate him, I was happy for him in this moment. It was a beautiful sight.

  “Goodbye, Sawyer,” I said, hoping that he could still hear me.

  I watched him fade away gradually, and then the light disappeared in one quick motion. I stood still, surrounded by complete darkness, and then I felt a hand gently take mine. It was Sarah.

  “You don’t tie a very good knot,” she said quietly.

  I smiled and pulled her close to me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, you’ll pay for that,” she said. She was definitely angry with me, but there was forgiveness in her voice too. “I can’t believe he went into the light.”

  “I knew he would one day,” I said with satisfaction. “You were very brave.” My eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and I could see Sarah’s beautiful face. She was smiling at me, and I kissed her softly on the lips. “Let’s go home,” I whispered.

  52. Visitor

  My eyes were closing from complete exhaustion, but I smiled and giggled when I felt Dylan tracing the words on the bare skin of my lower back.

  “I love you too,” I said.

  I snuggled up to him, putting my head on his chest and giving him a squeeze.

  “I’m glad we’re back in my bed,” I told him.

  “Me too.”

  Before we came home, we fixed the cabin door and cleaned it up, not wanting to alarm his former family when they returned. Only we both agreed never to go there again.

  “No more trips for a while,” he continued. “I want to be a boring homebody.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, smiling and sighing. “And promise me you’ll never get out of bed and chase after people in the dark.”

  He told me that he saw a girl standing outside, and that she looked scared and upset. He wanted to see what was wrong with her and if he could help. He went on the lawn to talk to her, and that’s when Sawyer took him by surprise. I still had the feeling that he was holding something back, or maybe he didn’t remember clearly. But there was another question that I couldn’t get out of my head. One that would forever make me wonder.

  “You don’t know who saved us in the cabin?” I asked him again, hoping he would remember something. “Sawyer said that ‘she’ wouldn’t get away from him again. Before that, he said that Alexis was there, but I didn’t believe him.”

  Dylan thought before he answered. “I didn’t see. But if Alexis is still a wandering spirit, then maybe she’ll reveal herself when she’s ready. Whoever it was, I’ll forever be grateful.”

  I leaned my head up to kiss him again. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it right away that you were possessed. I thought you were just being a jerk. I should have known better.”

  “Well, if I ever do act like a jerk, don’t just assume I’m possessed and pull a gun out on me. I can’t believe you were going to shoot me!”

  “Maybe just your leg,” I joked. “So you can’t run off again.”

  “I never will.”

  “I still can’t believe you tied me up!”

  “Not very well,” he said with a smile.

  “We’ll just call it even then.”

  I held him tight and drifted off to sleep while listening to the sound of his breathing. It was the sound that I always wanted to hear.

  Sometime during the night I woke up suddenly, and I was overwhelmed by a strong, delicious smell that seemed to be coming from the kitchen. It smelled like sweet bread baking in the oven. I had a bread machine, so I wondered if Dylan had set the timer so we could have it in the morning. He had a habit of doing that, so we wouldn’t burn our rolls in the oven again.

  “Dylan,” I whispered, but he moaned and rolled over, not wanting to wake up.

  The smell was so strong that it was intoxicating, and I had to find out if it was my imagination. I got out of the bed and slipped on my robe, feeling very hungry. I didn’t want to turn on the light, so I grabbed a candle that was still burning in our bedroom and used it to light my way. I walked quietly, until Priscilla jumped in front of me, making me jump and almost drop the candle.

  “Priscilla!” I yelled with a whisper, and then continued walking while she ran to the bedroom as if she were scared.

  When I got to the kitchen, I gasped when I saw a figure standing there. It was a spirit, and I knew who she was immediately. I remembered her dress, her hair, and her beautiful face as if it were yesterday. My heart jumped out of my chest while my eyes filled with tears. I don’t know how I managed to speak, and I wondered for a second if I was dreaming, but I wasn’t. She was really standing before me, and her glowing spirit was full of emotion.

  She walked closer to me, giving me her biggest smile that I missed so much.

  “Alexis,” I said softly.

  “Hello, Sarah.”

  Wendy Risher lives with her husband and miniature dachshund. She enjoys camping, hiking, reading, writing, and spending time at her cabin in the woods. Sarah's Solace is the first paranormal romance novel she's written, and she will be releasing more books based on characters in this story.

  To learn more about Wendy, visit her Facebook Author Page or follow her on Twitter.