Forever

by Rachel Maldonado

  The tears streamed down Meghan's cheeks. “I'm sorry,” she sobbed. “I tried not to love her. I tried to let go, but I couldn't. Alex has always had my heart. I swear we never did anything. You're right. She's not a cheater. She did love you. I'm sure she always will. You have to know that.”

  “I know,” said Sheryl nodding.

  Suddenly, Meghan heard stomping on the wooden floor. Someone was approaching. “Do you hear that?” she asked.

  Alex hadn't heard anything at all. She couldn't see Sheryl or hear her. And she couldn't hear the footsteps that were coming up from the cellar either.

  “Quickly! You must get out of here,” said Sheryl. “There's danger! Get out while you can! It's the devil! It's Belial!” She turned to walk down toward the cellar door and walked through it. Some loud crashing sounds ensued as she tried to stall whatever was down there from coming up.

  “We have to go!” shouted Meghan. She jumped up from the sofa and grabbed Alex's hand. Alex was confused. “What just happened? Who are you talking to? Why couldn't I hear them?”

  “I'll explain it all later. We have to get out of here. We'll walk to Willie's.” She tugged once more on Alex's arm in a haste.

  “Okay, okay. I'm coming.” Alex grabbed her bag, her other digital recorder, and the bag of melting ice that she put on her head as soon as they were out the door.

  “You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?” asked Alex. “My head is throbbing now with all the confusion and excitement.”

  Meghan had tears falling down her cheeks. “It was Sheryl.”

  “Sheryl's the one hurting us!?” asked Alex. She shook her head in a negative manner. “Can't be. I thought it was, but I don't think she'd do that.”

  “No, I think Sheryl's protecting us. I saw her as you were asking questions. She's the one who appeared in the hall. She spoke to me and offered me her blessing. She said she knew who I was from the get go. She knew I wasn't a caregiver. I wasn't Meg. She knew I was the Meghan from your past.”

  Alex shook her head. “No. I never told her. How could she have known?”

  “I don't know, Alex. She just knew. She said it was the way we looked at each other. But as she was talking, another spirit was approaching. She became frightened and demanded that we leave. She said there was danger for us.”

  “So that's why you hurried us out of there.”

  “Yes. Couldn't you hear the thundering, heavy footsteps? It sounded like someone was down in the cellar, but stomping their way up the stairs.”

  Alex shook her head. “No, I swear. I didn't hear it. Sometimes at night I hear disturbing crashing sounds and footsteps, but today I couldn't hear anything.”

  “There's more.”

  “What do you mean, there's more? It disturbs me when you say that. You said that after Jo died and you showed up here telling me that not only was she a controlling, alcoholic who drank herself to death, but there's more. What was the more? You were pregnant with Aleghany. Your there's more in any conversation has always concerned me.”

  Meghan stopped walking abruptly as they stood beside the quietude of the lake. Alex had been walking slightly behind her with her bag in one hand and her other hand holding the ice to her head. She stopped short nearly bumping into Meghan.

  “Sheryl said what was there wasn't just a demon, Alex. She said it was Belial the liar. The deceiver. The devil himself.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  When they arrived at Willie's house, she wasn't home. Alex sat down on the front porch rocking chair to rest her tired legs. It was nearly a three mile walk around the lake to the other side, and she wasn't as young as she used to be. She'd be turning fifty-one soon and she was starting to feel it. Meghan tried the door and found that it was open.

  “Come on. I'm sure Willie wouldn't want us to be out here in the heat. I say her Momma taught her better than that. She could always be a goofball, but she was a charming, southern well-mannered one.”

  Alex followed Meghan inside. They both felt relieved to be away from their own house. Alex sat down on the sofa while Meghan went to the kitchen to make some sweet tea. Instead of reaching for the remote control to the television set, Alex took advantage of the time away from home and away from Willie and Aleghany. She played her digital recorder that had been burning a hole in her bag since they'd left their house.

  Meghan could faintly here white noise from the kitchen as she started to dig around for a pan to boil some water in and assumed that Alex had turned on the TV. She poured water into a sauce pan and turned on the stove placing the pan on the burner to heat. She then dropped several tea bags into the water and returned to the living room.

  Meghan stopped in the open doorway. The television set was off, and Alex was sitting on the wooden floor beside her duffel bag in tears. The voice recorder was still clutched in her hand as she sobbed.

  “Baby, what's going on? Are you okay?” asked Meghan. She ran toward Alex, kneeling beside her, so she could hold her.

  Alex handed the recorder to Meghan who depressed the play button. On it, clear as it was when she'd heard it herself, was Shery's voice. It was the conversation that she'd had with her in the living room right before they left the house. At the end of the recording, the stomping could be heard as well as Sheryl's voice heeding her warning that Belial was coming. The crashing sounds of Sheryl battling the devil were the last sounds that Alex heard before the recording was stopped.

  “We have to go back!” shouted Alex still sobbing. “Sheryl's there, and she's all alone. We have to go back! We have to help her!”

  Meghan shook her head. “There's no way that I'm going back to that house until we can get some experts in there to exorcise the house or whatever it is that they do.”

  Alex tried to stand from the floor, but Meghan held onto her, embracing her tightly in her arms. “I can't let you leave, Alex. You and Aleghany are all that I have in this world. Whatever is in that house is after us. Sheryl is already dead. She's trying to help us. But we have to be willing to help ourselves. She's the one that urged us to go. Do you want to put yourself in harm's way after she asked us to leave?”

  Alex only shook her head and sobbed. She was at a loss for words. All she could do was cry.

  When Willie finally arrived, Meghan had made a wonderful meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, rolls, and sweet tea. Willie walked into her home and set a backpack on the floor beside the sofa.

  “Where's Aleghany?” asked Meghan when she noticed that Willie was alone.

  “She's been staying late after school.”

  “Oh?” asked Alex with raised eyebrows. “Is she in trouble?”

  Willie shook her head. “No, not at all. She signed up for a production of The Wizard of Oz, so she's been staying late to rehearse. After that, she goes over to her new friend Sherry's to do her homework. I'll pick her up in a couple of hours. What's going on?”

  “My baby's going to be in The Wizard of Oz? What part is she?” asked Meghan. She was glad to be hearing some good news. Anything other than talking about the house and its unwelcome residents was good news to her.

  Willie grinned. “She originally wanted to be a flying monkey because they don't have any speaking roles, but I convinced her that it would look better on college applications if she was something more.”

  “College applications?” chuckled Alex. “She's only ten.”

  “I know. I just want her to have that mentality, you know? I want her to think about excelling in the things she does. It will help her in the long run. Anyway, you should be thanking me. She tried out for the part of Dorothy and got it.”

  “That's wonderful!” Meghan was elated. “Why didn't she call us to tell us?”

  Willie shrugged her shoulders. “I guess she wanted it to be a surprise.” She walked over the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Something smells good. Is it time to eat? I'm starving.”

  Meghan grinned. “I made your favorite. Fried chicken.”

&
nbsp; Willie licked her lips. “I can eat a whole chicken after the day I had. I didn't get to eat lunch.”

  Alex joined her at the table while Meghan began to serve the dinner plates with heaps of mashed potatoes and green beans, then added pieces of chicken and rolls. She made sure to load Alex's plate with dark meat while Willie had the white.

  “Did you pick up a second job?” scoffed Alex. “I know your job at the hardware store can't be that demanding.”

  Meghan shot Alex an angry glance. “That's not nice.”

  Willie chuckled. “No, it's okay, Meghan. I might as well tell you two that I'm taking classes at the local college. I've always wanted to go back to school and with the money I had from the Army, I decided to register.”

  “That's great. What are you taking?” asked Meghan as she set down Alex and Willie's plates in front of them. They both began to eat without hesitation.

  Willie grinned. “I'm taking classes in theology. I want to be a pastor.”

  “Seriously?” asked Alex, taking a bite of her steaming fried chicken. “You?”

  “Why is that such a shock?” asked Willie. She had just taken a bite of a drumstick and licked her greasy lips.

  Meghan served her own plate and sat down at the head of the table. “You never struck me as the religious type.”

  “I've always had strong faith. I thought about being a clergyman while I was in the army, but I was a good shot and I guess they thought I was better suited to be a guard. Anyway, I want to serve God, help folks get married, and maybe some day I can help people like you two, that have more people living in their house than they'd like to have.” Willie took another bite of her fried chicken, then set it down as she got up to serve herself some iced tea.

  “Oh, I'm sorry,” said Meghan. “I got caught up in chatting and listening to you that I forgot to serve us drinks.”

  “It's okay. I got it,” said Willie. She served three glasses and handed one to Alex and Meghan before sitting back down at the table with her own glass.

  As they enjoyed the rest of their supper, Meghan and Alex filled Willie in on all the crazy happenings at their house. Willie sat quietly as she listened. When they were finally done telling her everything, Willie took the last sip of her tea, then said, “It sounds as if you two have had a busy and insane week. I'm glad Aleghany's been here with me.”

  “That's why we're here,” replied Meghan. “We'd like to know if it's okay if we also stay here until the end of the week. The woman from the university is hopefully going to come out to see us on Monday, but I don't think I can stay in that house one more minute.”

  Willie nodded. “Sure. That's completely understandable. I'm sure Aleghany would love to have you both here for the week.”

  “I guess we're going to have to go back home to get some clothes,” said Meghan. A sad, worried look overcame her once again.

  Alex's face remained stoic. “I can go alone, Meghan. I'll pack a suitcase with a few of our things and our toiletries. I can do it now before it gets dark.”

  Meghan shook her head. “No, I don't think you should go alone. I'll go with you. We can be twice as fast if we got together.”

  “I'll go with her,” offered Willie. “You stay here.”

  Willie grabbed her Holy Bible and a crucifix and headed out the door to her car. “Let's go. We have very little time. Spirits are more active at night.”

  Alex kissed Meghan before she headed out the door after Willie.

  Together they drove to face the unknown. It had been the home where she and Sheryl had made love, where she had helped Meghan raise Aleghany; a home filled with love. But now it was a dark, sinister abyss. It felt like a dank tunnel into the depths of hell.

  As soon as they arrived, Alex didn't waste any time. She ran straight into the house and up the stairs into the bedroom. She grabbed two suitcases and tossed them on the bed. She frantically began grabbing jeans, T-shirts, underwear, and socks. She tossed them on the bed where Willie was shoving them all in no apparent order into the bags. As soon as one suitcase was filled, she started filling another.

  Alex ran to the bathroom to get their toiletries. While she was alone, standing in from of the bathroom medicine cabinet, she got the sensation that she was being watched and the foul odor of sulfur filled the room. She felt as if two hands had wrapped themselves around her throat and were squeezing the life out of her! Alex reached up toward her neck with both hands. She was trying to fight away the hands, but she could see herself in the mirror, and she knew there was no one there. There wasn't anyone she could see! An unseen entity was choking her. She gasped for air as body was lifted from the ground and her legs were left dangling in mid-air. She began to kick and as she did so, she knocked over her bottles of cologne and other various lotions and soaps from the counter.

  Willie, hearing the commotion, ran in to the bathroom to see what was happening.

  “Alex! Oh my God! Alex!”

  As Willie shouted, whatever had a hold of Alex let her go and she dropped to the floor gasping for air and coughing. She was still trying to rub her throat.

  Willie began to pray. “I ask for your help, Dear Lord, in cleansing this home of anything that is evil. We are children of God, and we ask for your protection. We ask that all spirits return to their place whether that be toward the light in Heaven or cast back down to Hell where they belong. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.”

  “Amen,” whispered Alex.

  The bathroom window began to rattle, and the rest of the items on the bathroom sink were shaking as if an earthquake was occurring. A horrible stench filled the room of death and rotting flesh combined with the smell of rotten eggs. Willie knew the egg smell was sulfur. Just then a giant beast showed itself. It stood in the corner of the bathroom near the window. It was so large that it blocked out what little light was shining in from the window. It roared in anger and the sound was deafening! Both Willie and Alex covered their ears. Alex, who had been on the ground unaware of its presence, turned to see where the sound was coming from. But as soon as she turned to see what it was that was making the sound, it vanished.

  “We need to get your things and leave now,” said Willie. “I saw it. It had legs of a beast and hooves and giant horns. Sheryl was right. It's the devil. I'm going to need more help.”

  Alex finished getting her and Meghan's toiletries and she and Willie exited the bathroom. They hurried into the bedroom where Willie had left the suitcases. Alex helped to zip them closed and they sprinted downstairs toward the front door.

  “Where are we going?” asked Alex when she realized they were going toward town instead of back to Willie's house.

  “To get your truck. You think I'm just going to leave it out there?” asked Willie.

  “To be honest, I hadn't even given it too much thought. I've been preoccupied with everything else going on.”

  “I'll help you tow it to my house and I can help you get it running. It'll keep us busy.”

  “Since when do you know anything about cars?” questioned Alex surprised.

  Willie chuckled. “I guess I was good for shooting, guarding stuff, praying, and mechanics. Who knew?”

  “No kidding?” Alex laughed.

  “Yeah, I used to just think I was good at goofing off and skipping class on test days.”

  “Okay, well that's the Willie that Meghan knows. The goofy, sidekick.”

  “Sidekick? No way. I'm the goofy rebel hero type like Spiderman. He didn't quite fit in, but he got the girl and was the hero. Meghan was my sidekick. I was like Batman and she was Robin.”

  Alex laughed. “I thought you just said you were Spiderman.”

  Willie pulled up to the truck to inspect for damages. She placed her car in park and turned off the ignition. She and Alex both exited the car and walked over to the front.

  “Ouch. It looks worse than it is, I think,” said Willie. “I got a chain in my trunk. Let me get it.” She walked over to the trunk to retrieve her chain and hooked it to the back
of Alex's truck. She hopped back into her vehicle and Alex watched as she pulled it away from the tree. “Are you going to get in or walk back three miles to my house?” teased Willie.

  Alex grinned as she hopped into the car. “I'll agree that you're Batman if you can agree that you're the Batman from the Lego Batman movie.”

  Willie laughed. “You got me there.” She knew the Lego Batman was more comical than any other portrayal of any Batman she had ever seen. She found that she couldn't stop laughing, and she and Alex laughed about it most of the drive back.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  A few days passed and things in Willie's home seemed to be uneventful. Meghan felt as if she could finally breath a sigh of relief. Alex, too, began to feel more at home and at ease.

  Since Meghan and Alex hadn't yet returned to work, they took care of the home while Willie was at work, and Aleghany was in school. Meghan took great pleasure in cooking for the family just like she did when Sheryl was still alive.

  Midweek, late Thursday night in fact, Meghan began to have a dream that Jo had paid her a visit. In the dream, Jo had led her outside for a walk. She beckoned her.

  “Please, Meghan. I'm sorry. I just want your forgiveness. Please, believe me when I say that I loved you. I did love you. I still do. I always will.”

  But Meghan was angry, and she finally took the opportunity to voice her frustration. “Why didn't you tell me that Alex loved me? That she was the one that sent me letters and flowers? How could you do that to me?”

  “I thought you would fall for me if you gave me a chance, Meghan. I thought that maybe once you fell in love with me, that I could later tell you about what I'd done and you'd forgive me because you would realize that we were meant to be together. But that never happened! You never once loved me. I felt you resented me or hated me, and if I had told you that I had sabotaged your relationship with Alex, that you'd only hate me even more.”