Vision of Shadows

by Vincent Morrone

  The door burst open. I swung around to view what looked like five guys rolled into one. He was huge, over six feet tall, and at least three hundred pounds of pure muscle. I had seen this guy around school. When he walked through the halls, people either moved or got stepped on. He had dark hair, closely cropped, and was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. His arms were bigger than my head.

  I couldn’t recall his name, but I remembered he was a McKnight. He lumbered toward me. I didn’t have to ask if it was Jay at the controls this time. I could tell by the sneer. He came at me, pausing just a moment to laugh at me.

  I took that moment to swing the wood I was holding as fast and hard as I could right toward his head. With one hand, he caught it and yanked it out of my grip, sending me flying across the room. I looked up in time to see him break the board in half like a toothpick. I was next.

  He barreled at me like a bull in a rodeo. I managed to sidestep at the last moment, and he crashed through a wall. Dust and splinters went everywhere. It didn’t take him long to get up. I looked around for a weapon but nothing that looked feasible was by me. There were a few big pieces of wood still lying at the bottom of the stairs, but I couldn’t get to them without passing Godzilla. Before I had a chance to think, he charged.

  I feinted to the left this time with unfortunately less than stellar results. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into a wall next to the one good window left in the house. I could hear him practically growl. I fell to my knees as the muscle-bound behemoth applied pressure. However, his intention wasn’t to throttle me. I watched, helpless while he held me with his left hand, and he drew back his right. He balled his meaty hand into a fist and then had the gall to wink.

  The window we stood near exploded in a shower of glass as a dirt bike burst through, smashing into the large figure. Crashing to the floor, I looked up and saw Payne rushing to my side.

  “Bristol!” Payne shouted. “Are you okay?” I felt him take me in his arms and pick me up. “We need to get out of here. The others aren’t far. We knew you came in this direction, but the rain masked your trail, and…”

  I fell to the floor hard as Payne went flying across the room thanks to the monster of a teen. I scurried away from him as fast as I could. He grabbed one of the boards and attacked. I managed to dodge the first swings as he took out what was left of the window. I looked up to see him reach over his head with the board, preparing to bring it down and crush my skull. So I leaned back and kicked him hard between his legs, watching with satisfaction as the board fell out of his hands and hit him in the head.

  Before he could recover, Payne tackled him at the legs. The giant hit the ground with a grunt. Payne flipped him over and raised his fist. “I’m sorry about this, Toby.”

  Somehow, the idea that this huge monster’s name was Toby only made everything even more surreal. I could feel the intense regret from Payne as he slammed his fist into Toby’s face. As Toby moaned, Payne punched again. Payne raised his fist to follow through once more when I grabbed his wrist. The shadow had floated out of Toby.

  “Stop,” I yelled. “He’s gone. Jay isn’t in him anymore.”

  Relief flooded through Payne. “Thank God.” He collapsed next to me. “I hated that. Toby’s such a gentle guy.”

  I looked at the fallen form of Toby now in the fetal position. “Really didn’t seem so gentle now.”

  “That was your old boyfriend, Jay,” Payne said as he helped me up. “Are you all right?”

  I fell into Payne’s arms. “I was so scared. I’m sorry I ran, but Jay said he would keep going after my family if I didn’t. We can’t stop him.” I looked into Payne’s eyes. “We can stop whoever he possesses, but we can’t really stop him. He’ll just keep coming and coming!”

  “Bristol, we’ll find a way,” Payne insisted. “Sooner or later. There has to be a way to stop him. A way to kill him.”

  “No, don’t you see,” I cried. “He’s already dead. You can’t kill the dead.”

  “We’ll exorcise him or something.”

  I pushed away from him. “It won’t work. Even if there is a way, how long until we figure out what it is? How many people like Toby or Zack have to be hurt because of me?”

  “Zack’s fine,” Payne replied.

  “Don’t lie,” I cried. “I heard someone say something about Zack’s spine. My God, Payne, do you realize if that little boy can’t walk, or run, or play football again, it’ll be my fault!”

  “Bristol, Zack is fine,” Payne insisted. “I wouldn’t lie to you. It’s a long story, but he’s okay. And none of this is your fault. It’s Jay’s.”

  I wept. Could Payne be telling the truth? Could Zack be okay? I hoped so. I looked at Payne and just knew he wouldn’t lie to me, not about this.

  “I had to run,” I told him.

  Payne shook his head. “I know you think that. Nobody will be mad at you, but we have to get back. We’re safer together.”

  “No, we’re not. Maybe I might be safer with everyone, but you won’t be. What if he hurts Simon, or Hunter, or Aunt Breanne? I could never live with that. I have to keep running.”

  “Bristol,” Payne pleaded. “This is your home. You belong here.” He pulled me close and held on like his life depended on it. “You belong with me.”

  I looked into his eyes. I was in love with him. I knew that even if I didn’t want to, but it didn’t matter.

  “Payne,” I said. “I can’t have anyone else be hurt for me. I just can’t. Please understand, Jay will kill someone. He has before. I think he killed your grandmother.”

  “What?”

  “I saw it in a dream,” I explained. “Earlier tonight. I fell asleep upstairs and dreamed about your grandmother’s car accident and…”

  “Wait, what?” Payne interrupted. “Car accident? That’s not right. Grandma died in a fire.”

  I was stunned. I was sure of what I saw, but it changed nothing. I told Payne as much.

  “Fine,” Payne said. “Then I’m coming with you. And no, don’t try and talk me out of it. It won’t work. Your leaving didn’t keep Jay from coming after you. I can still protect you. I have money.”

  “I don’t care about your damn money,” I said.

  “I know,” Payne said. “But money will help. I’m going. You can’t stop me.”

  I was speechless, but when I saw Bryan stir, I decided there wasn’t time to argue. “All right then, let’s go.”

  Payne smiled right before he kissed me.

  A ball of flame hit Payne square in the back. I felt the heat from the fire as Payne’s jacket burst into flame. I looked to the door to see the latest arrival. Blasé McKnight stepped through. He pointed at me with his left hand as he balanced a ball of flame in his right.

  “I will sear the flesh right off of your boyfriend, darling,” Jay said in Blasé’s voice. “And while he’s trying to heal, I’ll burn you alive.”

  Payne stripped off what was left of his jacket. His shirt was in tatters. I would have found the sight of him quite appealing if I wasn’t terrified for my life. Payne stepped between me and Blasé as Payne’s jacket smoldered in the corner.

  “Jay, I presume?” Payne asked.

  An all too familiar sneer crossed the face of Jay’s latest victim. “Are you ready to watch your girlfriend die?”

  Payne snorted. “You want to know what I’ve come to realize here, Jay?”

  Jay tossed a fireball from one hand to the other. “Do tell.”

  “I think it’s been a long time since you had a body of your own to walk around in,” Payne explained. “You don’t seem to like pain.”

  Payne rushed forward and tackled Jay. They went down in a blaze of dust and flames. Jay screamed as he lit Payne on fire, but Payne kept pummeling Blasé’s body. “Bristol!” he screamed. “Get out of here.”

  I watched in horror as Payne’s skin was burned off his face. It would heal within seconds, only to be set ablaze again. I should have been in agony, but somehow I wasn�
��t. In the process, the entire house was starting to catch fire. Being made of old, dry wood, I knew it wouldn’t take long before the whole place was reduced to ash.

  I cried out to Payne. How could I leave him like this? I had to do something, but Payne just kept yelling at me to run. I hated myself for it, but I ran. When I reached the door, the huge body of Toby McKnight blocked it. I was able to climb over him, but I couldn’t just leave him here to burn.

  I tried not to think about Payne as I managed to get the door open. I grabbed Toby by the ankles and pulled, but he was so large and heavy that I couldn’t get him to budge. I swung his foot over my shoulder for leverage and then forced my way forward. I made it out of the door and pulled Toby down the stairs. Unfortunately for Toby, he was lying face down as he went.

  “Sorry, Toby,” I said as his face smashed down, one step at a time. “But you don’t want to be in there right now.” After I managed to tug Toby to a safe distance, I ran back in.

  I was hit in the face with a wall of heat. I felt like I had just dived head first into a barbecue. I searched for Payne and Blasé. All I saw were mountains of flames. I didn’t know what that meant, but I ignored it and ran for Bryan. He was much lighter than Toby but still heavy enough to be a burden. Still, I was able to swing his arm around my shoulder and drag him to the door. I made it to the front steps. A few more feet and I could drop Bryan off and search for Payne.

  When Payne put his hand on my shoulder, I felt like my heart had stopped. I dropped Bryan, who fell to the bottom of the stairs and settled by Toby’s giant feet. Catching my breath, I went to give Payne a hug.

  Instead of returning it, I felt the wind knocked out of me as Payne grabbed me and threw me across the room. I landed hard on something lumpy. Blasé. Payne had managed to knock him unconscious.

  I looked up at Payne. He was standing across the room, partially hidden by flames. But even through the licks of fire that whipped between us, I could see enough.

  I got up and looked for a way to escape. I couldn’t get to the front door without getting past Payne, and I couldn’t get to the back door because of the fire. I didn’t know what to do. What I did know was he wasn’t my Payne.

  If it had been, he would have dashed through the flames to get to me. He would have gotten me to safety, annoyed me by ordering me to stay put, and then gone back to get his cousin. Instead, this monstrosity took its time making his way through the flames. I realized Payne must have been knocked out as well. The candle chandelier, now in the middle of the floor, must have fallen on him, and that was all Jay needed to take him over.

  I looked around for something, anything, that I could use as a weapon. I picked up a piece of wood that had fallen, but it was so burned it fell apart in my hands. I took a moment to look at Blasé, who was still unconscious at my feet. The fire seemed to not affect him, which was to be expected. But how long could he last before he died of smoke inhalation, or until the whole house came down on us?

  “Darling,” Jay said through Payne, “you should have known it would end this way. You dreamed it. You knew it would end here, with these hands”—he paused to sneer at me—“around your pretty little throat.”

  I tried to run to the left, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. I felt the burns of hot ash as it fell on me. I punched at Payne, knowing he’d want me to do whatever was possible. Jay, using Payne’s body, slapped my face.

  I was crying. I was terrified. I was going to die, and the worst part about it was that Payne would know it was by his hand. He would never forgive himself.

  “Bristol, darling,” Jay said. “What do you think your little boyfriend will do when he realizes what happened? Will he try and kill himself, over and over again? I think I’ll enjoy watching that.”

  “Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t. If you ever loved me…Please.”

  Payne responded to my plea by reaching out and grabbing my throat. “Of course I loved you. And that is why you have to die.”

  His grip tightened as I watched the flames grow closer. I tried to scream, but I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t breathe. I fought against his grip, but it was too strong. I looked into Payne’s eyes, eyes that had looked at me with love, and saw only the hatred from Jay pouring out. It seemed impossible to deny. My vision was getting blurry. My chest felt like it was going to explode. I was going to die. Jay was going to kill me with Payne’s hands.

  That’s when I decided I wasn’t going to go without a fight.

  I grabbed Payne’s face and drew him to me. I kissed him. Jay was stunned. Then I kneed him in the groin.

  I collapsed as I tried to suck in a breath. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but I was alive.

  Payne rushed at me, the madness of Jay shining in his eyes. I prepared myself for the blow, but it never came. Opening my eyes, I saw something I didn’t expect.

  Payne was fighting back. I could see his face contorted in anguish. He stumbled back and fell to the floor. I started to move closer.

  “No, get away,” Payne yelled. “I need you to run. I need you to get Blasé and get out of here.”

  “Payne,” I screamed. He was on his knees and shaking all over. “We can get him out of you.”

  “No,” Payne yelled. “I don’t want him out of me.”

  I was shocked. What was Payne up to? Why would he be holding onto Jay? But that’s what he was doing. I could see the distinct shadow mist try and float away from Payne, only to be willed back in. Payne struggled to get to his feet. Each inch looked like torture.

  “I figured it out.” Payne shouted over the roar of the fire. “I know how to kill him. You’ve got to kill him while he’s inside of someone. That someone is me.”

  “What?” I screamed. “Payne, no. We can find another way.”

  “No,” Payne shouted. “There’s no other way. Get out of here, Bristol. I love you. Go now.”

  I watched in horror as Payne ran into the heart of the inferno. I tried to get to him, but I couldn’t. He was on fire and screaming. His face contorted, and for a moment, it looked more like Jay than Payne. His body seemed to lunge for the doorway in a panic.

  Payne reasserted and threw himself backward on the broken banister of the stairway. A sharp piece of wood that had caught on fire plunged through Payne’s back and came out through his chest. Fire continued to burn his skin. All I could do was watch and cry.

  I was overcome with the tide of torment and agony mixed with panic and fear. I knew which feelings belonged to Payne and which belonged to Jay. I could barely move from the pain, but I forced myself. I made my way over to Blasé and pulled at his arm. Blasé seemed to stir just enough to work with me.

  “Where are we?” he asked in a slurred voice. If he wasn’t so close to my ear, I never would have heard him. “Gotta find Payne’s girlfriend. Promised. Gotta find…”

  “Blasé,” I screamed. “I’m here. We got to move!”

  He kept babbling, but I ignored him, just as I tried to ignore the screams coming from the great ball of fire. I knew Payne was in there, burning alive. Killing himself over and over again to save me.

  I made it to the doorway and tripped down the stairs. I landed on top of Bryan. I heard him “oof” as I landed. He seemed to be starting to stir, and he didn’t seem too pleased that I was on him. Or that he was on Toby. Toby, however, had the biggest problem with it all.

  “Why is everyone on top of me?” Toby said.

  I slid off the top of the pile, ignoring his question. Instead, I was focused on the house that was now completely engulfed in flame. I barely registered the voices and movement behind me as I screamed for Payne. I tried to launch myself into the house, but I was being held back. I started to fight to get to the inferno and then watched in abject terror as it collapsed in on itself.

  I fell to my knees and wept. I felt somebody’s arms around me, and I felt the heat from the fire, but that was it. I didn’t feel the agony from Payne anymore. I couldn’t sense him anymore. I wasn’t sure
what that meant. I didn’t want to think of what that meant. I just wanted Payne.

  “What’s happened?” Varick McKnight asked as he appeared by my side. “Where’s my grandson?” He looked at me and knelt down to take my hand. “Where’s Payne?”

  I couldn’t answer him. Following my gaze, he understood.

  I watched as he ran to the wreckage of the house. I was ordered by Uncle Mark to wait there as he joined Varick. I realized it was raining when I couldn’t feel my tears. More and more people arrived and ran around the house. I didn’t know which ones were Blackburns and which were McKnights. I didn’t care. I just wanted Payne back.

  With no one left to stop me, I ran to the remains of the house. The wood and ash was still hot to the touch. I could barely breathe for all the smoke I’d inhaled, but I needed to try and find him. For my entire life, I wondered if the nameless boy from my dreams would murder me. Instead, he may have died a thousand times over just to save me.

  “I found him,” Uncle Mark yelled. I looked around until I saw Uncle Mark carrying Payne’s body out of the wreckage. I ran to his side. Varick got there just before me.

  “Dear God, boy,” Varick cried. “What have you done?”

  Payne was burnt beyond recognition, the wooden stake still protruding through his chest. It looked like it may have gone through his heart. He wasn’t breathing.

  I watched and waited, but he didn’t heal. I prayed with all my heart, but he just lay there, motionless. Varick reached down and grabbed the board. “Hold him down,” Varick told my uncle.

  “Varick,” Uncle Mark said. “He’s gone. There’s nothing we can…”

  “You just hold him, dammit!” Varick shouted. Then without waiting for further protest, he pulled the stake out of Payne’s chest. Throwing it to the side, Varick leaned in to Payne. “You come back to me now. You hear me. Come back to me now. Payne!”