The magnificent Archangel Michael appeared before me with a gentle smile. He was so tall I only came to his waist. The Archangel placed his palms on the crown of my head and disappeared.
You have been blessed, Spiral told me.
A hundred feet or so down the street from where we stood, dozens of fire trucks, police cars and ambulances were parked. Volunteer fire fighters were trying in vain to put out the fire, even I could tell their numbers weren’t enough to stall the supernatural flames. Paramedics worked frantically on numerous party goers, doctoring their burns. Police officers milled about, interviewing the few students that had made it out unscathed. And in the midst of it all, I saw Sherriff Donny, who’d obviously been off duty when the call came, in his trademark flannel. Abel spirited forward, tapping him on the shoulder. Sherriff Donny turned around, but no one was there.
“Over here! Over here,” Malcom shouted, waving his hands over his head to get the Sherriff’s attention. Malcom and my body, still under the influence of Spiral, started walking toward Sherriff Donny just as he himself sprinted in our direction.
“What in the hell happened out here?” The Sherriff hollered as he approached us.
Spiral sat my body down on the side of the road to rest. “The portal at the Tramping Ground was opened this evening. It seems a student by the name of Missy Anne Hancock, now deceased, was under the influence of a lower level entity.”
Sheriff Donny stared at me for a moment, pressing his lips together. I had to give him credit, for other than that, he didn’t blink an eye or look at me funny. “And who exactly are you?”
“I am Krystal’s Spiritual Teacher, Spiral Spider.”
“I see. Why isn’t she speaking for herself?”
“Frankly, she is traumatized. I’m sure you recall her red haired friend. She didn’t make it.”
Sherriff Donny stared at me in thought. “Is there anything we can do to speed up the process of putting this fire out, Spiral Spider?”
“Unfortunately there’s not much you can do with a supernatural fire of this nature. You’ll have to let it burn itself out. Keep it from spreading if you can.”
“How am I going to explain that to the firefighters?”
“Tell them as you were interviewing some of the children, you discovered there was experimentation of a chemical nature taking place. The chemicals were too close to the fire and ignited. The children standing too closely were unfortunate bystanders and caught on fire. You were unable to discern in the interviews what chemicals were used.”
The Sherriff ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess that’ll have to do. Do have anything to add Mr. White?”
Malcom, who’d been staring listlessly at the white painted line of the road, looked the Sherriff in the eye. “No, sir.”
“Alright then. Let’s get you two looked at. Follow me.”
While paramedics looked Malcom and my body over to ensure we weren’t too injured to go home, Sherriff Donny spoke to the Firefighter Chief about his findings. Other than some singed hair, a few bruises and some random burns from the falling embers, Malcom and I both, other than being extremely filthy, checked out fine.
“Okay, Miss Haggart and Mr. White,” said one of the male paramedics. “The Sherriff said you were both to wait in his car when we were through. He’ll take you both home. Do you know which car to get in?”
“Yes, sir. It’s the one with Chatham County Sherriff emblazoned on the side,” I answered warily, speaking for myself for the first time since we had to leave Tammy behind. Later, I would find the time to be surprised that I had been able to find my voice while sharing my body with Spiral.
The man blinked a couple times in mild surprise, but didn’t say anything. I hadn’t uttered a word during the whole examination, and Spiral had obviously thought it was a bad idea to speak. I guess most folks don’t take a grown man’s voice speaking through a teenage girl so well, not like the Sheriff.
The scene was surreal as we searched for the right car among all of the police and rescue vehicles, their lights flashing or swirling, projecting a ghastly ambiance. The sky was lit from the fire almost as if midday, and I could still hear the roar and the screams of the firefighters over it all as they fought uselessly to get it under control.
“There it is, over that way,” Malcom pointed, and I let him lead the way.
I never thought I’d see the day when I was grateful to sit down in a Sherriff’s car, but I was. I pulled Malcom in for a hug which he returned with a watery smile.
“Okay, Spiral, time for you to hit the road.”
Gladly.
My back arched forward as Spiral began the separation from my body. A tickling began low in my stomach, moving upwards as he was expelled through my head. I was relieved to have my body back to myself. After the events earlier, it didn’t even seem to faze Malcom in the slightest.
After a few minutes, Malcom, his voice heavy with tears, asked, “Kris, what are we going to tell Tammy’s parents? What are we going to tell our parents?”
“I don’t know, Malcom,” I shook my head. “I really don’t know.” I paused for a moment trying to breathe through the sudden pain in my chest. I tried to choke back the sobs, but it was useless. She really couldn’t be gone, could she? How I could I live in a world without Tammy? It would be like living without the sun. Impossible.
Oh, Krystal, I am so, so sorry, my beloved. I felt Abel all around me as my body shook uncontrollably as my frantic cries took over my senses. I looked at Malcom, his eyes bloodshot, face soaked with his own tears and snot. Sliding across the backseat, I pulled Malcom into my chest, and we held each other rocking back and forth, Abel embracing the two of us.
Slow motion images of Tammy’s face passed through my memory. How she looked when I met her on her first day in second grade after she moved from Atlanta with her curly Q pig tails, sprinkles of freckles across her cheeks, and how we were instant friends. I remembered her lavish birthday parties, fancy dresses, her blowing out candles, and how she’d secretly tell me her wishes, but made me promise not to tell. Our numerous sleepovers through the years, mostly at her house, seeing how late we could stay up, watching bad late night TV. but loving every minute. How we used to pretend we were long lost sisters, now reunited, when we were small. Her futile attempts for so many years to dress me in the coolest fashions, and how she loved me anyway. I remembered how she always seemed to be smiling; so happy, so free, confident and secure, and how big and bright her smiles always were. I could see her hair billowing in the wind after she first learned to drive, all the windows down, singing out of key to Miranda Lambert. Wasn’t that only yesterday? My heart contracted in pain when I recalled how I had avoided her and Malcom the past few days because I was too much of a coward to tell them the truth. Now that time was lost.
And it was my fault. My fault that I had lost my best friend. I may as well killed Tammy myself. After all, didn’t I bring her to this God forsaken place?
My fault. My fault. MY. FAULT….
Why didn’t I listen to Cyndy Mae when she told me to watch after my friends? I should have went on my own. Made them stay behind. But I thought she was talking about Malcom, especially after Candace made me promise to bring her brother home. And he had insisted on going. After that, I never would have guessed Tammy…
The knocking on the car window made both Malcom and I jump. It was Sherriff Donny, his face was full of compassion.
“I’m going take ya’ll home now.” He looked pointedly at me. “We’ll have to talk later after this calms down. I know you’re helping take care of things now Miss Abigail’s passed on.”
Well that explained why he was nonplussed when Spiral’s voice came outta my body, but other than that mild acknowledgement, I didn’t really give a damn right now.
As we pulled away, I took a backwards glance towards the Devil’s Tramping Grounds, the blazing fire licking ever higher as if to touch Heaven itself. I promised myself that I’d never step foot there again
.
Three more days passed before the fire finally burnt itself out.
Chapter 28
I stared at the wall in my bedroom. My mom and I had just gotten back from Tammy’s funeral. Because of the burns on her face and body, her parents had decided on a closed casket. As it was, the funeral had been pushed back for a week while an autopsy was done and also had to be scheduled among the other unfortunate casualties.
I made my mom bring me straight home after the services, skipping the potluck mercy meal. I couldn’t face her parents again. They didn’t blame me. They weren’t mad at me. They believed in the story circulating in the papers and on the news-- kids experimenting with chemical mixes in an attempt to change the colors of the fire, all in good fun, threw in a bad mix, ending in a horrendous freak accident. But an accident all the same. But it wasn’t an accident.
I wanted her parents to be mad at me. I wanted them to blame me. To yell at me.
I wanted them to hate me.
Seven of my peers were lost at the Tramping Grounds on Halloween night, the three bodies of the dark trio were still missing. I had learned in the aftermath that the two girls alongside Missy Anne were named Summer Belle Hall and Grace Matthews. Seeing their pictures on the local news and across the front pages of the newspapers only made me feel worse. Like I’d failed them too, somehow.
I’d told Sherriff Donny about how they’d disappeared into nothing when Missy Anne stabbed them, and while he believed me, he could hardly tell that to his fellow authorities or their grieving families. I also shared Missy Anne’s dramatic walk into the fire, and he said with the fire being so insanely hot, her bones had probably burned clean away to nothing.
It was a small relief to be able to confide in Sherriff Donny about what really happened at the Tramping Grounds. I understood why my grandmother would have needed him to bridge the tales of what might happen and what could actually be shared with the community at large.
My fault. My fault. My. Fault.
It was all I could think about. How it was all my fault. How if anyone had to die, it should have been me.
It’s not your fault. None of it is your fault. Perhaps we should not have expected so much of you so soon. For that, I am sorry from the very depths of my soul.
Abel told me something similar every day. No, it’s not your fault, blah, blah, blah. I knew he wanted me to feel better but lying to me wasn’t going to make me feel better. I’d had a responsibility to look out for my friends and my community. I failed.
And I didn’t know what I could do to make it better—except maybe leave. I tried to shield those thoughts, from Abel, from Spiral, from all of them in Spirit. I didn’t know if I succeeded, I could hardly ask them without giving my thoughts away, but they didn’t ask me either.
In the periphery of my vision, I noticed the small dark shadow peeking out from within the corner of my room, hiding among the mess of my dirty clothes from this past week. I would have to do laundry soon or be without clean clothes to wear. But who cares about clean clothes when your best friend is gone forever?
The shadow was getting bolder with each passing day. I chose to ignore it. Abel didn’t seem to know about it either. The shadow didn’t bother me. I didn’t bother it.
I curled my legs underneath me, and lay my head on my pillow. All I wanted to do was disappear into blissful sleep. Tammy was there, in my dreams, smiling and as vibrant as ever.
My lids were blinking heavily, open, close, open. The little shadow had slinked next to my bed, watching me. “Go away,” I whispered, making a shooing motion with my hand. It scuttled back to its corner, and I relaxed once more.
The sun sat high in the sky—midday, and not a cloud in sight. The rays were warm, and the gentle breeze off the ocean felt delicious as it caressed my tan skin. I waited for the next wave to wash up on the shore. I laughed as my feet were tickled by the sand being washed away from underneath my feet.
“Come on, you slow poke!” I called. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you,” I laughed, eagerly jumping over the gentle wave rolling onto shore.
Tammy strolled over the sand dunes, a beach towel covered in hibiscus flowers slung over her shoulder. “Got here as soon as I could. It wasn’t as easy today.” Tammy’s towel fell to the sand at her feet, just out of reach of the waves.
I turned around, the sea at my back. “I wonder why?” A wave hit me from behind, and I stumbled.
Tammy came to stand in front of me, her blue eyes glowing and her skin sparkling in the sunlight. She reached up and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Because you’re so sad. You’re falling out of reach.”
“Oh.”
With her other hand she pointed to the perfect sky. “Look.”
I turned around to see what she was pointing at. A black circle covered the middle of the sun. Before my eyes, the shadow grew larger and larger, all but eclipsing the sun’s radiant brightness. From nowhere stormy clouds began to build into existence bringing the rumbling of thunder, flashes of lightning coursing through their inky darkness. I jumped from the reach of the ocean, the waves beginning to churn, forming frothy white caps.
“Don’t be sad for me. I had to leave because it was for time for me to do so,” Tammy shouted over the growing wind.
“How can I not be sad, when I miss you every second of every day?” I beseeched her.
Tammy pulled me further from the grasp of the greedy sea, her forgotten towel swept away. “But you don’t need to miss me. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“But it’s not the same!”
“Listen,” Tammy grabbed my arms, giving me a gentle shake. “The further you fall into sadness the further you fall out of reach, out of all of our reach.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“This isn’t the only storm that’s brewing, Krystal. You can’t keep hiding here.” She removed a hand from my arm and motioned to my library on the beach, my special place. The lamp was blown on its side. One of the book shelves blew over, spewing books across the sand, the pages flapping wildly in the wind.
The force of the wind began to drag Tammy away, and we grasped at each other’s fingers. “If you find yourself lost in the dark, all you need to do is feel the Love, and you will find your way out of the darkness!” Tammy yelled, her hair falling free of its bun flew out behind her face.
Our fingers finally lost hold of each other, and the invisible force of the winds blew Tammy ever farther away. “Remember, Krystal!” And then she was blown out of my sight.
I fell to my knees in the sand, “Please don’t leave! Tammy, don’t leave me again!”
Thunder rumbled; lightning shook the earth, and I as looked upward at the stormy sky, the clouds started churning in a circular motion, forming a funnel over the ocean.
I rose to my feet, trying to run, but my feet kept sinking in the sand slowing my progress. If I could just make it to the other side of the dunes, I’d be okay.
The funnel cloud spewed sea spray and sand in all directions seemingly hell bent on reaching me. Ever closer it came, rushing from over the ocean and onto the beach.
My body began to lift, the sensation of being pulled backwards. Frantically, I looked behind me into the eye of the monstrosity. I tried to dive away, my fists grabbing onto wiry sea grass that cut into my palms. And as the funnel pulled me within, I pulled the grass along with me, my grasp was so tight.
My limbs felt as if they were being wrenched from my body, pulling in opposite directions as I was tossed around the cloud. Debris stung every inch of uncovered skin.
I’m going to die here.
But it’s not real, Abel whispered, his voice seemed to come from everywhere.
Wake up, wake up…It’s not real.
“It’s not real?” I began. “It’s not real?”
“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” I chanted.
The funnel spit me out. Falling, I was falling through the air. I flayed my arms and legs out, spinning
head over heels. I landed with a final thud; the impact vibrating throughout my body.
“Am I still alive?” I kept my eyes squeezed shut, afraid to look.
Oh, yes, darling. You are very much alive.
My eyes flew open at the sound of the scratchy, cracking voice, so similar to the one I’d heard that awful night only a week ago. I was back in my bed, the little shadow crouched on the end, but it didn’t look so harmless anymore. I could make out a hint of a smile within the shadow, and my heart raced in my chest. It crept closer.
Oh, yes, you and I are going to have so much fun together. The shadow grinned wider, leaning forward as if to pounce on me.
I flinched back from the thing, “Abel!”
Snarling, the shadow sprung towards me, stretching out long in the air, ejecting metallic black claws from within itself. I dove off the side of my bed, landing heavy on the floor.
The Spirit Who Loved Me: Spirit Whispers Book One Page 22
