by Gwynn White
His mouth covered hers, his kisses growing more urgent like she was an insatiable thirst. Ariel returned them eagerly, a mutual desire that neither of them could extinguish.
Suddenly, his grip was starting to hurt. It didn’t register in her brain until she realized she was gasping for air. She pulled back, for the first time since they had started kissing, she could see his face was twisted with pain.
“Let me go, Gabe, you’re hurting me,” Ariel pleaded, using her hands to try and remove his arms from around her. He wasn’t responding, if anything, his grip grew even tighter. It was like she was being squeezed into two.
He was fighting his urge, the reality of his pain finally sinking in. He knew he was hurting her and was trying to stop. But he couldn’t.
“Gabe, please.”
Ariel’s begging fell on deaf ears. Whatever was controlling Gabe was bigger than his resolve. He gritted his teeth, fighting it every way. Her breath was coming in short and sharp, she could see black spots in her vision. She knew it wouldn’t be long before she completely passed out. She had to fight it just as much as he did.
With one swift movement, her legs went from underneath her. Ariel fell to the ground, Gabe on top of her. Her head thumped against the wooden floor, sending an arrow of pain through her skull.
His arms released around her chest as she gasped for air, the fall knocking any remaining wind from them. The relief of being able to breathe again flooded over her. But it was short lived.
Gabe’s hands moved to Ariel’s throat, clamping around her neck as he sat on her hips. She looked up at him, into those impossibly black eyes. They weren’t warm anymore, instead they were as cold as ice.
“Gabe, stop, please.”
She couldn’t move, his body keeping her completely under his control. As much as she struggled against his grip, he was too strong for her. She could feel the life slowly leaving her body.
Chapter Six
Ariel tried one last time with all the energy she had left. “Gabe, I love you, please don’t do this.”
Her throat burned with pain as her airways were being crushed. She looked into his eyes, now only silently begging. He stared back at her but something had changed. He blinked several times, as if seeing her for the first time.
His jaw softened, so did his hands. He was returning from whatever had overcome him. He was coming back to her.
“Ariel, I’m so sorry,” he muttered. He stood quickly, impossibly fast for her brain to process. The relief flooded through her body but she still couldn’t move.
With one last look at her, Gabe took off running through the door. He didn’t look back as he fled. Ariel watched from the floor, trying to gather enough energy to get up. Her throat burned with pain as she continued to gasp for the air she was deprived.
She heard footsteps approaching and fear gripped her again. She worried Gabe was coming back to finish her off, even though she knew he didn’t want to. Whatever evil entity that took over his body was powerful, who knew what it was capable of.
Ariel tried to sit, using her arms to prop her up. It didn’t feel like her legs would hold her yet but at least she wasn’t as vulnerable as she was lying on the floor. Ariel waited, trying not to let panic set in.
When Cassidy appeared at the end of the porch, relief washed through her. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing then.
“Oh my God, Ariel, what happened?” She asked with concern as she crouched down to her level.
“Gabe,” she sobbed. “He’s cursed.”
She helped her over to the lounge as she tried to make sense of the situation. Ariel would have liked some sense or logic too at that point.
“Gabe did this to you?” She fetched her a glass of water for her throat so she could try to speak instead of just sobbing. “Do you want me to call the police or your parents or something?”
Ariel shook her head, nobody would understand it wasn’t really Gabe that had attacked her. “It wasn’t him, it was the curse.”
“Honey, you’re not making much sense.”
“It’s the Black Eyed People, they need to kill. But he didn’t kill me, he didn’t want to hurt me. He fought it.”
Cassidy enveloped her in a hug, probably fearing she had gone crazy. Ariel felt like she was going insane so she didn’t blame her.
When she was able to speak like a normal person again and calmed down so her breathing wasn’t so labored, Cassidy let her go.
“So let me get this straight, Gabe is one of the Black Eyed People?” Cassidy asked, examining every inch of her face for a reaction.
Ariel nodded sadly. “You know about them?”
“Only from stories my grandmother used to tell us around the campfire. They are supposed to be myths, not real people.”
“Gabe is one of them, his family too probably. His eyes are completely black.”
“I knew he was weird wearing those sunglasses all the time.” She shook her head, as if trying to shake some sense back into it. Ariel wished it was that easy. “How long have you known?”
“He told me when we ditched History class.”
“And you let him into your house? You’re lucky to be alive, nobody survives an attack from the Black Eyed People. What stopped him from killing you?”
“It wasn’t him doing it, it was the curse,” Ariel mumbled, knowing in her heart it was true. “Gabe would never hurt me. He stopped himself when he realized what he was doing. He fought the evil and he won, he can be cured.”
Cassidy wrapped her friend in her arms again. She whispered into her hair: “You can never cure evil, Honey.”
Chapter Seven
Ariel didn’t care what Cassidy said, she had seen the change in Gabe and knew he could fight against his curse. His kisses were so tender and gentle, that was the real Gabe. The one who had tried to kill her was not him, she knew it with every beat of her heart.
She also knew she would never be able to get Gabe out of her head. Some people you could never forget and Ariel was certain he was one of them.
The entire day at school she had looked out for him. Ariel had hoped with everything she had that he would just casually walk down the corridor like nothing had happened. If things just went back to normal, they could figure out a way to be together. She needed him to know that she understood and forgave him.
But he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. The day was impossibly long waiting for the afternoon bell to ring. She considered ditching and leaving early but her babysitter Cassidy wouldn’t let her out of her sight. She thought Ariel would do something stupid like go to Gabe. She guessed Cassidy knew her better than anyone else because she was right.
Ariel couldn’t even fault her on the stupid part, it was stupid wanting to see Gabe again. It was dangerous and idiotic, and something she had to do. He needed to come back to school so they could move on with their lives and find a cure for his curse.
Finally the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Cassidy was waiting for Ariel at her locker.
“Are you going home?” She asked, fishing for information. She was a good friend.
“Yeah. You?” She lied.
“I’ve got track. Do you want to come with me?” Not once before had Cassidy asked her to go and exercise with her. She knew it was her thing and not Ariel’s.
“No, I’ll just wait for my mom to pick me up. Thank you, though.”
She studied Ariel’s face, probably trying to work out if she was lying or not. She probably knew she was but didn’t know what else she could do to stop her.
“Be careful,” she sighed.
“What? I’m just going home,” Ariel said innocently. “I’ll be fine.”
She gave her a hug before leaving, resigned to the fact she had done all she could. She really was a good friend. Ariel left her books in her locker and hurried away in the opposite direction to home.
She stood outside his house again, this time in daylight. There was no way of telling if anyone was home. There was no ca
r parked in the driveway or noticeable lights on inside. Ariel just hoped Gabe was home and ready to talk to her.
She didn’t hesitate as she walked to the front door and knocked. Her waiting wasn’t so patient this time but she stood there anyway as the minutes ticked by. After an interminably long amount of time, she decided nobody was going to answer – again. If Gabe was inside and ignoring her again, she was going to kill him.
Ariel looked around at the street, nobody was around to see what she was about to do. She tried the door handle – it was locked. Going around the side of the house, she peeked in through the windows. She had never even seen inside Gabe’s house before, she couldn’t even imagine what it would be like. They hadn’t long moved in, there were probably still boxes that needed unpacking.
When her eyes adjusted to the inside, Ariel could see there were no boxes. There wasn’t anything, nothing at all. She continued around to the back of the house, her panic growing with each step.
No matter how many windows she looked in, the rooms were all empty. Gabe and his family had gone, disappeared, vanished. He had left. He had left her. Probably because of her.
Ariel sat on the back steps, her head in her hands. She felt an emptiness that she had never felt before. Her heart was contracting in her chest. She loved Gabe, he made her feel things she could only dream of before.
And now he was gone. He didn’t even say goodbye. She didn’t get a chance to tell him of her forgiveness. He was off to his tenth school in only a handful of years. He didn’t deserve to live like that, this could have been his opportunity to stop running. They could have broken the curse, she knew there had to be a way.
She wiped at her tears and took one last look through the windows – he hadn’t magically reappeared. This time he wouldn’t turn up at her house, knocking on the door and looking impossibly cute. He was gone.
But Ariel didn’t have to accept that. She could find him, she could track down Gabe and make him listen. He didn’t have to do it alone anymore. He hadn’t killed her, he had fought the evil inside of him. He could do it again and this time, she knew he would win for good.
II
The Search
2 Months Later
* * *
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
* * *
Lao Tzu
Chapter Eight
Every sense in Ariel’s body told her to turn around and run as fast as she could. There was nothing logical or smart about coming there, it was stupid and probably dangerous. But she wasn’t going to turn around and flee now, not when she had come so far already.
“Should we be doing this?” Cassidy asked, experiencing the same concerns herself.
“Probably not, but we have to,” Ariel replied, fighting the instinct to get out of there. Instead, she knocked on the door and waited.
The blood pumping through her veins throbbed in her ears as she waited, every sense on high alert for danger. Never in a million years did she expect to be standing in the middle of nowhere knocking on an old woman’s trailer.
The door swung open suddenly, startling them both. A woman stood there, staring at them with nothing but contempt in her eyes. She was hunched over, her long white hair draped over her shoulders. Her wrinkled mouth was set in a grimace, annoyed at the unexpected disruption to her peace.
“What do you want? Who are you?” Her voice was raspy and no more friendly than her face.
“I’m Ariel and this is my best friend Cassidy,” she started, trying to swallow her fear. “I heard you can help people.”
“I can’t help nobody.”
“But you’re a witch,” Ariel stated bluntly, for a moment forgetting her apprehension. Cassidy’s eyes were wide at her side, just waiting to incur the woman’s wrath.
“How did you find me?” The woman asked, no less grumpy than she was before.
“A Shaman told me about you.” Ariel remembered the warning she had received from him: Go at your own risk, she’s powerful. What had seemed melodramatic was now ringing more real than she had expected.
“Who?”
Ariel wasn’t aware there was more than one Shaman in Central Heights. “Foxfire.”
The woman’s gaze pierced them with its intensity. Both of the girls wanted to look away but couldn’t. Finally, she shuffled to the side, gesturing them to come inside.
If someone had accidently stumbled inside her trailer, they wouldn’t have thought twice about the old woman. It was neat and tidy, housing all the creature comforts. However, look closer and one could see the pentacles, the dried herbs, and symbols of the earth. This was definitely no ordinary woman.
They sat at the end of the trailer in a booth barely big enough to hold the three of them.
“What do you want?” The woman repeated, making it clear she would not have the teenagers wasting her time.
Cassidy kept quiet, not daring to utter one word. Ariel, however, had a lot to say. This might be her only chance to save the one person she was in love with. “My friend is cursed, he’s one of the Black Eyed People. Foxfire said you might know how to release him.”
Her expression changed for the first time since they had arrived. The old woman showed surprise at hearing the reason for their visit. “The Black Eyed People have been cursed for centuries. Their burden goes way back in history. What makes you think you can change it now?”
Ariel suddenly felt like a silly little girl as she let doubt creep into her mind. Perhaps she was naïve to think she could do anything about Gabe? But even as she thought his name, his image appeared in her mind and she knew she had to do everything she could to see him again.
“I need to try,” she answered, not having anything more she could say.
The woman finally nodded, sensing there was much more to the girl than she first thought. “The legend says it was the Morbose people that cursed them. One of the most powerful witches in history had a beautiful daughter – loved and cherished by the entire tribe. She was found dead one day, murdered in the most grisly way. The witch accused the leader of the rival tribe. She said they wanted to destroy their entire people. She vowed they would suffer an even worse fate and cursed them with the compulsion to kill. She wanted them to always know how horrible it felt to have blood on their hands, so they wouldn’t forget what they did to her daughter.”
“So can you reverse the curse?”
The woman laughed, her entire body shaking with the effort. Her crystal blue eyes started watering as she wiped at them. “I can’t do anything about the curse. Only one of the Morbose people can lift it. I’m definitely not one of them.”
“They still exist?” Cassidy asked, her intrigue overcoming her discomfort.
“They do. Just like the Black Eyed People, they have had families that have survived the generations. They overcame their tragedy.”
“How do I find one?” Ariel pulled out a pen and piece of paper, ready to hear the magical words she needed.
“The hard way,” the woman said bluntly. “You will have to trace their family tree. They don’t stick together like the Black Eyed People do. They probably don’t even know of their heritage.”
Cassidy’s face wrinkled with confusion. “Then how will they know how to lift the curse if they don’t even know about it?”
“They will have a pendant from their ancestors. These talismans have been used for centuries to perform rituals by their people. You’ll have to convince them to use their pendant.”
“What will they do with it?” Ariel asked, wondering if there was anything simple anymore.
“It will be clear. That’s all I can tell you, please leave me in peace now and tell nobody of me.” The woman stood, not waiting around for an answer. The girls followed as they were led back outside and the door firmly closed behind them. They started their walk back into town.
“Well I’m glad we cleared that up,” Cassidy said sarcastically. “What are you going t
o do?”
“Exactly what she said,” Ariel said stubbornly.
Chapter Nine
The chat button started to flash into action. Ariel grinned as she answered the call on her laptop. Her heart pounded with anticipation as she waited for the caller to appear on the screen. She quickly smoothed her hair, making sure she looked as good as possible for the camera.
“Hey, Ariel,” Gabe greeted, grinning from ear to ear at seeing her. It might only be a virtual meeting, but it was better than nothing.
“Gabe, you’re late. I thought you might have forgotten about me.”
“I couldn’t forget you, my parents were being annoying. I had to sneak out to call you. They don’t think I should be staying in contact.”
Ariel could relate. She hadn’t even told her parents how Gabe had almost killed her and they still wouldn’t allow her to have a long-distance relationship. It was now a need to know basis type of thing where they were concerned. And they didn’t need to know much at all.
“What do they know?” Ariel joked, knowing they were probably right. “How’s your new school going?”
“Just like all the others. I wish you were here.”
“Tell me where you are and I will be.” She smiled, knowing there was no chance of that happening if it were up to him. He had been super secretive about where his family had moved to and outright refused to tell her.
“You know I can’t do that, it’s for your own safety,” Gabe replied. “So how was your day? Do anything exciting?”
Ariel desperately wanted to tell him all about her visit to the witch but she couldn’t. She had promised herself she would lift the curse but she hadn’t shared it with Gabe yet. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, just in case she couldn’t do it after all.
