When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Get… guys….” I barely managed before the ghost locked down on me. I couldn’t move, could only breath and watch as Trisha smiled at me.

  “Did you really think we could start over, you bitch?” Trisha sneered at me. She got up smiling as she walked away. That fucking... Then the rest of my barriers were blown apart. I gasped as my mind became raw; his energy poured through me like saltwater in an open wound. I could only breathe, and watch the puddle of blood grow. I don’t know how long I laid there, but I felt myself disappearing. That barrier I had around myself was thinning, I was watching his memories. I didn’t have a choice now. He was everywhere. I couldn’t think I could only breathe, watch, and feel. It felt like acid burning through my brain. I hated it.... please make it stop…. please… There was a noise.

  “Lexie?” I blinked and saw a purple haired girl…. I knew her…. she knew the guys…

  “Guys…” Then the fucker poured more memories through my head. These were really fucked up and horrifying. They ate away at me. I watched as the blood pool keep growing and held on by my nails to the memory of who I was. There was thunder, the ground shook.

  “Lexie...” A husky voice spoke.

  “Help or get the hell out of the way!” A rich baritone was shouting. The tile vibrated. “Ally!” A hand grabbed me, the world spun, and I was against someone’s chest. Lots of hands ran over me, hands I knew, hands I recognized. They were checking my pockets.

  “Isaac get her coat!” A gravelly voice barked. “Don’t block the door!” They were here. I closed my eyes. Just hold on, just hold on.

  “Anyone got a kit?” A smooth, smoky voice yelled.

  “Here.” The husky voice said. The fucker ground down on me. I whimpered as the world started to fade, as I began to fade. No, no, no. Hold on, hold on. Something poured into my mouth; I tasted salt water. The fucker had to pull back a bit; he wasn’t trying to possess me, but he had to give me room. The memories eased, just a bit. But it was enough for me to get a hold again.

  “She’s still fucking awake!” That baritone cursed. Hands were on my head, moving over my ears.

  “It looks like last time, prolonged exposure.” A silky-smooth voice said. “We need those beads.”

  “Here! Get ‘em on!” A smooth honey voice said. The fucker was trying to push down on me again. Hands slipped something on my wrist, and suddenly the bastard was less. They kept putting things on me, and he was forced back. The more they put on, the more I was me. And the more I remembered what that soul had done.

  “She’s fucking crying.” The gravel voice... Zeke said.

  “That’s new.” The smoky... Ethan that was Ethan.

  “Get Rory on the phone.” The smooth... Miles said. “Let's get her face clean; we need to see if the bleeding has stopped.”

  “Here, use this.” Zeke’s voice sounded angry. Something wet was wiping my face, but I didn’t care. All those poor women. All that pain, that fucker.... what he did to them. I whimpered and tried to curl into whoever held me.

  “Ally, come on honey, talk to us.” Asher’s voice came from above me. I couldn’t stop crying. Something wet wiped against my ears, and I didn’t care. It was too much; the screams were too much. The sight of those women….

  “Hey, Isaac.” Rory's friendly voice echoed through the bathroom.

  “Rory, we found her in the bathroom with a pool of blood on the floor. Ears and nose were still bleeding. She’s still conscious. But she’s not talking, just crying.” Miles said quickly.

  “Are her ears still bleeding?” Rory’s voice became hard and clipped.

  “No, we’ve got the bracelets on her now. Nose has stopped too.” Isaac answered.

  “Then you saved her ass. If she’s conscious, it wasn’t-”

  “Not alone Rory.” Ethan all but shouted. There was a sigh.

  “It sounds like an incredibly long one. Don’t fucking move her. Not until she tells you to, or you’ll start the bleeding again, and she’ll end up in the emergency room.”

  “Rory, there’s already a lot of fucking blood,” Zeke growled.

  “Send me a photo.” I started gasping as I remembered the screaming.

  “God, Red. Please...” Someone touched my leg.

  “Okay, got it. Shit!” I kept whimpering and sobbing. Asher held me against him, fingers brushing the hair from my face. “If she starts bleeding again, she’ll need the hospital. Do not move her until she tells you.”

  “We’re in the girl's bathroom, Rory.” Miles pointed out.

  “I don’t give a fuck where you are! Do not move her! Not until she can tell you to. Got it?” Rory’s voice was furious.

  “Got it.” Everyone said at once. I was just trying to breathe through the pain and tears.

  “Miles, check her eyes,” Rory demanded. Hands were on my face, my face hurt. I didn’t like it. I whimpered.

  “She’s dodging.” Isaac’s voice bit out.

  “Someone hold her fucking head! You need to check her eyes.” Rory barked. Zeke cursed. I was still trying not to see when big hands grabbed my face.

  “Sorry Baby,” Zeke whispered. Someone touched my eyelids, light stabbed through my brain I whimpered and jerked against the hands. Then it was over, and I was crying harder than ever. It hurt so fucking much. A big hand smoothed back my hair.

  “No bleed,” Miles announced. The pain started to roll back bit by bit.

  “Good. Don’t move her until she’s ready and if someone tries to call an ambulance call me.”

  “Got it.” The room echoed with voices. Long fingers wiped my cheeks. I stayed curled up into a chest. The memories were rolling back. I tried to push, but I had nothing to do it with. I could only wait for that filth to leave.

  “Ally, come on sweetie,” Asher whispered. I slowly remembered me. Bit by bit as the sick cloud of the soul's memories began to lift. You are not me; you do not belong here. I am Lexie, I am Lexie, I am Lexie. I kept thinking it over and over. Finally, the sick cloud lifted enough for me to stop sobbing.

  “Oh, thank....” Zeke’s voice was rough.

  “She’s still crying.” Ethan’s voice pointed out.

  “But she’s not fucking sobbing. I can’t take that shit from her.” Zeke bit out.

  “None of us can take that from her.” Isaac pointed out.

  “Let’s find the janitor's closet.” Miles' voice was rough but calm. “Let’s get this cleaned up, so no one calls the police or an ambulance.” Asher began rocking me slowly; a big hand smoothed my hair back, another hand with rings was holding mine. Another was around my ankle. “Riley, will you please-”

  “I’ll guard the door.” Riley’s voice offered.

  “Thank you.” Miles’ smooth voice helped soothe me.

  “Miles, keep talking.” Isaac’s voice demanded. “She stops making noises when you talk.”

  “She said she thinks his voice is soothing.” Riley reminded them.

  “Lexie, we’re here.” Miles' silky smooth, timbre slid through my ear. Easing the ragged torn pieces left in my brain. “We’ve got you. Rory says you're going to be alright.” The voice was closer, right next to my head. He lowered his voice. “It’s just going to take some time. We’re all here. We’re not going anywhere. Take all the time you need to come back to us.” Miles kept talking. I couldn't tell what he was saying all the time, but his voice helped. It helped put back the broken pieces of me that were still bleeding inside back in place. When the last of that sick cloud was gone, and I was me again, my brain felt like it had been set on fire. My body felt like it had slammed through several brick walls, in every direction. I couldn’t move, not an inch, not a finger. I felt like death.

  “Ouch,” I managed very quietly.

  “She said ouch.” Asher’s voice was filled with relief. Relieved chuckles filled the room. I don’t know why, I really fucking hurt. I floated in a sea of pain; they couldn’t move me yet, not until it didn’t feel like I was going to be torn apart.

  “Were you
in here the whole time?” Zeke asked quietly.

  “Yeah…” My voice was barely a sound.

  “She said yes,” Asher answered for me.

  “Are you ready to move?” Ethan asked. I whimpered at just the idea. “That’s a fuck no.”

  “Was this…” Dylan’s voice asked quietly “Was this a three?”

  “No,” Miles said calmly. “Isaac, Ethan, was she sick?”

  “Yeah, she managed to grab a garbage can,” Isaac answered from somewhere.

  “Then this was a very long two,” Miles said, his smooth voice rolling over me. “She’s going to need her clothes stash. Dylan, can you get it from her truck?”

  “Yeah, yeah, no problem.”

  “It’s behind the driver side seat. It’s just a black backpack.” Miles' voice was getting colder. “The keys should be in the right-hand pocket of her coat.” A door closed.

  “He fucking froze,” Zeke growled. Calloused fingers wiped my face. Was I still crying? I needed to stop, or Zeke would flip out. “Did you see his face?”

  “I saw.” Asher’s voice was firm, unhappy. I tried to stop crying. I tried to think of something happy but I couldn’t right now. Any thought hurt my head.

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” Miles said his voice cold. “We just need to get her cleaned up and out the door when she’s ready.”

  “I propose a motion; if she goes out alone with Dylan, she has to wear her fucking beads.” Isaac’s voice was boiling.

  “No vote needed. Motion passed.” Zeke snapped.

  “Brother, can you get her hair out of the blood.” Ethan’s voice wasn’t calm. I felt hands moving my hair. The world was slowly coming back.

  “Shit, her hair is soaked with it.” Isaac bit out.

  “There should be some towels in the bag too.” Miles' voice said. “We’ll need to get her to sit up, or it’ll just keep soaking.

  “Ally, can we shift you, honey? Just sit up a bit more so we can get your hair out of the puddle?” I thought about it. It took some time, everything fucking hurt.

  “Real... slow….” My voice again, was weak, barely there.

  “We’ve got to do this slowly. Zeke take your side and help me, very slowly, sit her up. Miles get her head. I’ll keep her; I’m already covered.” Asher’s voice was calm, like when I was freezing. “One, two, three.” I was moved very slowly. The world didn’t explode, I didn’t want to die completely at least, it still sounded really fucking good, though. Then I was almost sitting up and limp in Asher’s arms, laying against his chest.

  “Ally, are you good there?”

  “Uh-huh...”

  “She’s good,” Asher told them. Someone was wiping my face again. And I still didn’t give a fuck. I was still twitching; each little jerk threw my body into a sharp pain. Chemicals smell burned my nose.

  “Lexie, I need to clean your neck.” Miles' voice was calm and soothing. I felt something wet on my neck, wiping the blood away. I kept twitching. Hands moved in my hair.

  “What’s taking him so long?” Miles cold voice was by my head. “Someone pass me some more paper towels, please.” I knew when I finally stopped crying. There were sighs of relief around me.

  “Asher, honey, let someone else take her. You're covered in blood.” Trisha’s voice made my insides jerk; pain exploded through me. I whimpered. Miles started talking softly to me again, something about a rabbit, a turtle, and a fishing trip? I couldn’t really understand. But I remembered something, I remembered her.

  “Ash...”

  “Yeah, Ally?”

  “Trish…. left... me...” I had to concentrate to get that many words out. It was fucking hard; my brain felt like pureed meat. But I needed him to know not to trust the bitch, just in case... Asher’s body grew tense against me. Lips brushed my ear.

  “She saw you on the floor? The blood? And left you here?” He whispered softly.

  “Yeah....” My voice was still almost non-existent. Asher took deep breaths.

  “Can I hand you to someone?” Asher whispered.

  “Slow...”

  “Someone take her, I need to fucking handle something.” Asher’s voice was hard.

  “Here, my clothes will hide the blood,” Ethan said. There was silence. “Sitting, I can hold her guys, come on.”

  “Slow.” Asher’s voice was sharp now. Lots of hands were moving me this time, More than two people at least. When they went too fast I whimpered, they froze. When I stopped, they moved slower, until I smelled Ethan’s spicy cologne and my head was on his shoulder.

  “Hey Beautiful, I’ve got you,” Ethan whispered to me.

  “Snoopy….”

  “She said Snoopy.” Asher’s voice was hard and moving away.

  “That’s me, honey.” Soft lips rested on my forehead. “Your Snoopy.”

  “You knew she was in here?” Asher’s voice threw the room into silence. I struggled to pay attention.

  “No, of course not.” Trisha lied.

  “She just told me you knew she was in here, on the floor, bleeding. And you fucking left her here!” Asher was furious.

  “I just thought she was puking up that snack bar food,” Trisha said trying to placate him.

  “Yeah, with blood on the floor and coming out her ears.” Isaac’s voice was boiling.

  “Get out of here Trisha. We are way beyond fucking done. You’ll stay the fuck away from me if you know what’s good for you.” He paused. “No that’s wrong. You’ll stay the fuck away from Lexie if you want to avoid a beating from her.”

  “What’s the fucking big deal? She’s fine.” Trisha snapped sounding snotty. Curses went around the room.

  “What’s the big deal?” Asher growled. “You left her here to die. You knew she had a seizure disorder, and you knew it could kill her.” Asher's voice was shaking. “Get the fuck out of here! Stay far away from us, or I’ll let Lexie kick your ass.”

  “What is with you guys and this skank?” Trisha shot out. “How many of you is she fucking?”

  “Riley, would you-” Isaac began his voice hard. The sound of a slap rang out. Trisha made a startled sound, then started crying, I wish I saw the hit.

  “Get the fuck out!” Riley shouted. A door opened and shut.

  “Thank you, Riley.” Isaac's voice was sweet now.

  “My fucking pleasure,” Riley growled back. Ethan’s lips were against my forehead, just resting there. His hand cupped my neck, his thumb in front of my ear. He started humming a quiet song. It helped the pain roll back some more. I could think now. The world was back more.

  “Sorry guys... night ruined...” Again, my voice was barely a whisper.

  “Screw our night Ally, you be okay, and it’ll be the best night in the world.”

  “She apologizing?” Isaac asked.

  “As usual.” A door open.

  “What did I miss?” Dylan's husky voice was back.

  “A lot. Where’s the bag?” Zeke’s voice was hard and sharp. Feet moved across the tile. A bag opened.

  “I’ll start drying her hair,” Dylan said. I heard movement then felt hands in my hair. I didn’t care; I was almost ready to go home. I just couldn’t fucking move.

  “Tell me she brought a loose button up?” Isaac asked. There was a sigh.

  “No. Pull over,” Miles said. “Lexie, you really need to pack several different shirts.”

  “Not exactly the time to lecture her man.” Isaac chided Miles. Ethan just kept humming to me. It was soothing, comforting.

  “Okay, taking off or pulling over?” Miles asked everyone.

  “How loose is it?” Asher asked. The hands in my hair stopped moving.

  “I don’t know….” Miles trailed off.

  “Riley, come tell us if this shirt will be loose on Lexie.” Zeke’s voice was hard.

  “Not too much. It looks a size bigger, but that’s not a lot of extra room.” Riley’s voice was closer.

  “Guys, you don’t need to change her shirt. Just cover her with
her coat. That should hide everything.” Dylan pointed out.

  “If blood gets on that coat she’ll be pissed.” Isaac pointed out.

  “We need a button up, or we’re taking off and pulling on,” Asher announced. There was silence.

  “Miles, what are you doing?” Isaac asked.

  “I’ve got an undershirt. She can have my button up. Taking her shirt off and pulling on the other one would probably be too much movement for her.” Miles said, his voice silky to my ears. “Besides, she loves that coat, and I doubt she’d let me get her a new one.”

  “Beautiful, we’re putting Miles shirt on you, but we need to shift you. Is that okay right now?” Ethan asked softly. I thought about it.

  “Slow... can’t move.”

  “She says do it slow, but she can’t help. She can’t move.” Asher’s rich baritone was calm again.

  “Ethan, you keep her sitting up, I’ll get the shirt on this side. Then we’ll switch.” Miles said.

  “We’re moving you a bit now, Beautiful. Make a noise if we’re going too fast for you.” Ethan said gently. Hands were on me, pulling the big shirt on one side and around my back. “Take her Miles.” Gentle hands moved me slowly against another chest. He held me gently, but he made sure he wasn’t going to lose me. Wintergreen filled my nose as hands pulled the shirt onto my other side. The gentle arms stayed around me.