The Spirit Realm

RORY

~I am in the spirit realm but it’s not the same. It’s like a warped version of the spirit realm.~

~Everything is just slightly… off.~

~I feel like I’m being pulled somewhere but I can’t see where I’m going.~

~There is an uneasiness growing inside me as I look around this place and I wonder why I’m here.~

~There is no one around and nothing to see, just a lot of nothingness surrounds me. I start to take a step but don’t know which way to go. I feel dizzy.~

~Hopelessness washes over me and I am unable to move. Lost and alone, I am stuck with nowhere to turn.~

~Suddenly, I’m filled with panic and wonder if I’m in danger. No one is around and I don’t know which way to go or how to get back.~

~I hear a baby crying from far away. I search for where it came from but can’t find it.~

~There is some kind of ground now forming beneath my feet. I can’t see it, but I can feel it.~

~But in the distance, there’s only darkness and fog.~

~I hear the cry again and something pulls me to it. I run toward the sound, but another sound brings me to a screeching halt.~

~I can’t make it out at first, over the sounds of my panting breaths. But it’s familiar to me. I can feel that in my bones.~

~I stop and listen. I hear the sounds of the pack. They are howling, like they’re in pain.~

~The baby cries again followed by the howls. I feel myself being pulled in both directions. I don’t know where to go.~

~As I stand there frozen in my spot, I panic, my heart beating out of my chest.~

~What if I’m the reason they’re crying?~

~Even if it’s not my fault… if I can’t save them, it might as well be.~

~A crushing guilt sets in. I have to help them.~

~“You can’t save both,” a familiar voice suddenly whispers in my ear.~

~I turn my head and nothing is there, but I know it’s Nemesis’s voice.~

~The baby cries again. I run toward the sound. The pack howls. I stop, pivoting in place.~

~“What do I do?” I ask, quietly at first—murmuring it under my breath.~

~I buckle down to my knees, putting my hands over my ears, screaming it this time. “What do I do!?”~

~“You can’t save them both,” she taunts again. “You have to choose.”~

~I close my eyes, sucking in deep breaths. With each one I blow out again, I try to drown out the noise—all of it. The cries. The howls. Nemesis.~

~When they’ve faded, I stand and try to forget what direction they’re both coming from. I let everything else fade away and just focus on the feeling in my heart.~

~Trust your gut instincts.~

~But even my heart feels like it’s being torn in two.~

~The longer I stand there, the less chance I have of saving anyone. So I take off running without even thinking about which way I’m going.~

~I try to go faster but something is slowing me down. I’m being pulled away, out of the spirit realm.~

~I fight to keep going but something has a hold on me. I can’t break free from it. It pulls me back and the crying gets further away. The howling does too.~

~I’ve failed. I can’t help them.~

~No matter how hard I try to break free, it keeps pulling me until the crying is too far away.~

~I reach out my arms and scream, trying to claw my way back in.~

~I have to stay. I can’t leave now. They need me!~

I jolt up in bed, breathing heavily and disoriented. Ophelia is sitting next to the bed, reading a book.

She looks up at me and closes the book shut. My racing heart begins to slow down.

Ophelia looks concerned as I gulp water from the glass she hands me. I look around the room, unable to remember how I got there.

Part of me wants to keep running. Maybe there’s still time. Maybe I can still save both of them. The pack and the baby.

“Where am I?” I ask breathlessly.

Maybe if I hear her say it out loud, my brain will catch up with my eyes and follow suit. It was obviously a bad dream. But it felt so real.

“Rory, just calm down. You’re in your room. You’re safe,” she says in a soothing voice. I close my eyes and try to believe her.

“How did I get here?” I ask, looking for Everett.

“Everett brought you. You don’t remember? When you came in last night, you said you felt dizzy and wanted to lay down,” she tells me, but it doesn’t seem familiar.

I shake my head, trying to think of the last thing I remember. Ophelia shakes her head, looking worried. I wrack my brain for any recollection of arriving back at the pack house, but nothing’s there.

All that comes up are flashes from that awful dream. My stomach starts to turn, and I think I’m going to be sick. “Where is he? Where’s Everett?” I ask. Nothing anchors me like he does.

“Everett went to call a doctor to come see you,” Ophelia replies, taking the empty glass from my hand and returning to the bedside table.

The room is spinning and my stomach clenches. I lay back on the bed, overwhelmed by nausea and the lingering cries and howls from my dream.

Nemesis’s words sink in slowly. Was that just a dream or a glimpse into the future? It feels like my body is full of lead. I can’t move my arms or legs. I feel stuck in place, like I’m paralyzed.

I can’t even breathe. “Everett,” I manage to whisper, but nothing else will come out. I try to close my eyes and block out the noise, but I can still hear them crying out to me.

“Rory, dear? Are you all right?” I suck in a deep breath and try to calm my nerves. I focus on the sound of Ophelia’s voice. I’m safe. There’s nothing here to harm me.

With my eyes clenched tightly shut, I don’t see who comes in the room. But the touch of a hand on mine makes me jump.

“Shhh, little one. Open your eyes.” Everett’s voice washes over me like a welcomed flood. It fills me with warmth, and finally, I feel safe again. Like I can believe myself when I say everything’s okay.

EVERETT

Aurora is in a cold sweat. I brush the back of my hand across her forehead.

My heart speeds to match the beating of hers. As I work to slow it down again, I see the rise and fall of her chest slow too.

“How are you feeling, Aurora?” I ask, sitting down beside her.

“I don’t feel right,” she croaks. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Her eyes meet mine. She looks lost and scared, but she relaxes the longer she focuses on me. I wonder if she had another vision, another nightmare. I wish I could keep her safe from them.

“The doctor is going to examine you. We will figure out what’s wrong. Don’t worry,” I say to her, praying she will be okay.

I kiss her softly on her lips and then on her forehead before I get up and walk out. The doctor is waiting for me in the hall.

Ace is there too, his expression is full of concern, but I brush it off. I need to stay calm and in control. I want to keep my feelings reigned in, not talk about them.

“She’s ready for you,” I tell the doctor, my jaw set. I wish I could be in there with her.

He nods and steps toward the room, but I hold out a hand to stop him. “You’ll tell me as soon as you’re done?” I ask, hating how desperate my voice sounds.

“Of course. I need to run some tests,” he replies with a sympathetic look in his eyes, patting me on the shoulder.

Ace puts a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you take a walk? Get some fresh air? Ophelia is with her. And this could take a while.”

“Sure,” I mutter. “Thanks.”

The doctor goes in and shuts the door behind him. I instinctively want to go in after him, but I stop myself.

It’s always hard to be away from her when something’s wrong—when she’s afraid. But this time…it’s different.

I feel this intense need not to let her out of my sight, even more so than usual, but I try and talk some sense into myself. We’re in the pack house. We’re safe.

Ace heads out of the pack house, and I follow, Chaos whining that this is wrong. I don’t want to leave her, but I need something to keep me busy so I don’t do something stupid like punch a wall.

I hate feeling so helpless when something is wrong with her.

“Why don’t we go try to talk to Andy?” I suggest. “Maybe he can give some answers.”

Ace nods his head, but I see the fear in his eyes. He’s scared, not just for Aurora or the pack, but for Freya. Staying busy is good for us both.

Knowing that the possessed person has to die to get the soul fragment out of them wasn’t the outcome we were hoping for.

It means putting a lot of people in danger. There has to be another way to do this, without having to hurt so many innocent people.

When we enter the room, we see Andy sitting on a chair, staring at the wall. He doesn’t hear us or see us, like he’s in a trance.

The room is completely silent other than the noise from the clock on the wall. The walls are bare, and there are no windows. Except for a few chairs, the room is empty.

There is only one way in and out, and Ace has the only key. It’s the safest place for Andy to stay until we figure out what to do.

We need to find a way to get the soul shard out without having to kill anyone. I was hoping Andy could help with that.

We move closer to him, but he still doesn’t acknowledge our presence. I look at Ace, who shrugs his shoulders.

We sit down on some chairs near him and wait for him to snap out of it, hoping it will be soon.

I’m thankful for the distraction, but I don’t want to be gone from Aurora for too long. I want to be there when the doctor is done.

The sound of a ticking clock on the wall threatens to drive me insane. The seconds tick away so painfully slow as we sit and stare at Andy.

Ace is getting restless just sitting still and starts fidgeting with his phone. I glance over and see text after text to Freya that have gone unanswered.

Still no word from Freya. I know it is driving him crazy. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be able to stay so calm.

Andy starts to move a little. I sit forward in my chair, watching him. He starts to mumble something, but I don’t understand it.

Ace and I both stand up. Andy starts to mumble again. The only word we understand is Nemesis, but what about her?

Andy’s eyes are still fixed on the wall in front of him, vacant and cold. His body is stiff, like it is frozen in fear.

He mumbles Nemesis’s name once more, this time a little more clearly. We both step forward, waiting to hear more.

Blankly, he stares, still not moving at all. His face is expressionless. I’m not sure whether to ask questions or not. I don’t know if he can hear me.

He stays silent for a moment and then mumbles again, incoherent and under his breath.

“Soon she will be whole,” he says, clearly and unmistakably.

“Whole?” Ace asks, turning to me.

“Nemesis,” I reply in disbelief.

“Soon, she will be whole,” Andy repeats, “Then you’ll never be able to stop her.