"Such a lovely child – so sweet, so pure... I've been waiting a long time for you. Would you like to come play with me? Come out and play, Kylie. Come out and play..."
The first night, she thought she'd imagined a voice calling in the darkness. Without even looking up, she closed her eyes again and ignored it.
"Come out and play, my child. Come and see what amazing things I have to show you. What fun we can have together. Come to me, Kylie."
She seemed to hear the words more in her mind than her ears. "Who's there?"
"Come and see, my little friend. I'm right here waiting for you. Waiting to meet you. Come, let me in, and you'll see."
Her eyes half-open, her mind still half-asleep, she sat up and looked towards where it was coming from. The window.
"Come. Come. Don't be scared, little one."
Too sleepy to be afraid, she stumbled towards the window. Towards the shadow.
"That's right. Come closer, Kylie. Come out so we can play. So we can have fun. Wouldn't you like that? Wouldn't you like to let me in?"
Now she could see a face framed by the dim moonlight. Staring down at her with a hungry grin. Two red eyes glowing in the darkness. Her immediate reaction was to gasp in horror at the sight and take a step back, but all her fear faded away as she gazed at the eyes. She started to look away and found she couldn't. She walked closer, letting the sight soothe and comfort her.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. You're not afraid me, are you?"
"No." There was no question of being frightened.
"Yes, it's all right. Everything's all right. There's nothing to be afraid of."
She wasn't afraid, just tired, but curious. She was so tired, but the eyes drew her forward. "Who... who are you?"
"A friend. I'm here to help you. I've come to set you free, Kylie."
"Free..."
"People are always telling you what to do, aren't they? Who you can play with, where you can go, what you can have. It's not fair, is it?"
Oh, how she wanted to close her eyes, to fall down and sleep, but she couldn't look away. "Not fair..."
"You shouldn't have to follow all their rules. You deserve better. You deserve more."
All of it was true. All of it was right. It felt so good to just listen. It felt so good...
"Don't you want more, Kylie? Don't you want to be free? What do you want?"
She was too tired to answer, but she had to. "I... want..." She couldn't answer, couldn't think. She didn't know. She wished someone would tell her.
"Come with me, and you can have anything you want. All you have to do is let me in, and you can go anywhere, do anything, and no one will be able to stop you. Nothing will be able to hold you back."
The words made her even more curious. "But... how?" She shook her head weakly, her drowsiness beginning to lift as her brain processed the question.
"Just let me in, and you'll see. You'll see what fun you could have, what power you could have. Just imagine – all possibilities open to you, the world yours for the taking."
No, it wasn't possible. It didn't make any sense. She shook her head more vigorously and closed her eyes, trying to focus.
"It can all be yours, if you just let me in. Let me in, Kylie. It's time for us to play."
She trembled as she stepped towards the window. "That's it, my dear. Come to me. We'll be the best of friends. You want to be friends, don't you?"
But it wasn't looking at her like a friend. Who was this? What was happening? What was she doing? It hurt to ask, but she didn't stop. Her vision was getting blurry. She couldn't see her friend anymore, only hear the voice. "You want to play with me, don't you?" She gripped her head in both hands as she shook it again. When she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw a monster.
"No!" Her head cleared at the sound of her own cry.
"Yes, you do. Don't run from me, my sweet. You don't want to run. You want to let me in. We're friends, remember?"
Friends... She fought against the cloud creeping over her mind. "No, go away!"
"Don't you want to play with your new friend? You must come out and play..."
"No! Stop!" She ran away and crouched behind the other side of her bed, quivering with pure terror.
The voice kept calling. "Come out and play, child. Come and out and play, Kylie..."
She refused to look at the window again. She kept her head down and gripped the edge of the bed. "Go away... go away..."
"Such a strong one... mmm, delicious... Don't worry, my dear. I won't leave you. I will always be here... until you're ready to come out and play... Come out and play..."
The voice seemed to go on all night. She could still hear it when she awoke, curled up in a tight ball under the covers, as the first rays of morning crept into her room, but there was no one there. She had just imagined it. It was all a bad dream.
"It's time to play, Kylie. Come out and play..."
The second night, she sat up with a jolt when she first heard it. She took one look at the window then instantly turned away. She lay down again with her back to it. It was just a dream. It wasn't real.
"I have so much to show you. So many things to teach you. Oh, we have so much to do together."
She pulled the covers up to her neck and squeezed her eyes shut tight. "You're not real. You're not real..."
"Look at me. Look at me, Kylie."
"No!"
"You know I'm real. You know I'm here. You can't hide from me."
She trembled and gasped for breath as she realized it wasn't a dream.
"Don't be frightened, my child. I'm your friend."
"No..."
"Yes. You must be my friend. You're just like me." She felt her body grow calmer, her limbs tremble less, the more the voice talked. "You're a rebel, aren't you? You hate following the rules. They try to change you, to force you to be like everyone else, but you're too strong for that. No, you're not like everyone else. You're different. You crave adventure. Excitement. To see the world, to explore, discover new things on your own, with no one to tell you what to do – that's what you want, isn't it? Isn't it?"
"Yes..."
"You want to be special. To do something great with your life. To become famous."
"Yes." It was easy to listen now. Easy to answer.
"You want to be loved. They don't appreciate you here. They don't care about you. They just want to keep you trapped. Make you grow up stupid and miserable like them."
"Yes." Her eyes remained closed, but an angry scowl crossed her face as she thought of her parents, always fighting, always telling her to be quiet and stay out of the way.
"You want power. Power that no one can take away from you. That nothing can stop."
She smiled.
"You want to be free. I can set you free, Kylie. I can make you special. I can make you powerful. I can give you everything you want. All you have to do is trust me... trust me... trust me..."
She tried to answer, but she was too tired. So tired. But she couldn't sleep. Couldn't stop listening.
"Join me, and you'll have powers you never dreamed of. Let me in, and you'll never have to take orders from anyone again. You'll be free. Free to do whatever you want."
She must answer. It wanted her to answer. "Whatever... I... want..."
"You understand now, don't you? You must let me in. Everything you want is right here waiting for you... if you just let me in."
"Everything..."
"Yes... Together, we will take everything we want, destroy every our obstacle in our path, destroy anyone who tries to stop us..."
But... that was wrong. No, all of this was wrong! Her eyes burst open. A second ago, she'd felt so comfortable and relaxed. Now, her heart was racing, and she felt sick to her stomach.
"You're so close, Kylie. Don't you want to be free? Powerful? Special? You can have it all. If you just come to me. You want to come to me. Come out. Join me."
She pretended she couldn't hear.
"Come to me, Kylie. Come and play..."
Her dad yelled at her at breakfast for not listening to him. When her mom felt her forehead, she almost said something but stopped herself, terrified they'd think she was crazy. Maybe she was crazy.
She couldn't sleep the third night.
"Waiting for me, my friend? I missed you, too."
She'd been sitting up in bed, leaning back against the pillows, but as soon as she heard the first word, she lay down and rolled over, just like last night.
"You're not afraid of me, are you? No, you're not afraid of anything. That's why I chose you. I know you're a brave one, my dear. You're not afraid to take what you want. You mustn't be afraid of me. You must trust me."
"No, no..." She shook her head and groaned, keeping her eyes on the opposite wall.
"Shh. Relax, my dear. Just relax. Don't try to fight me. You can't fight me. You're tired of fighting already, aren't you? Yes, you're very tired. Too tired to fight anymore. Just give up. Give into it."
She felt her eyes begin to close, her limbs growing weak. "I... I..." Just forming a word felt as exhausting as running a mile.
"Yes, don't try to think. You can't think anymore. You're so tired. So very tired..."
All she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep... she had to sleep...
"Kylie, can you hear me?"
She was so tired, so weak, but she must obey. "Y-yes."
"You want to be free, don't you?"
She must answer. "Yes."
"You want to be powerful... special..."
She couldn't think, only listen. It was right. "Yes."
"You don't want to fight me, do you?"
"No."
"You want to come to me. You must come to me. You will come to me. Come, and all you want is yours. Come, and let me in." She sat up. "Yes... see, isn't it much better when you give in?" She began walking over. "No more fighting, no more struggling, no need to think..."
She hesitated as she got closer, held back by some instinct that got stronger the closer she got to it. What was it? It hurt to ask, to wonder, to try to think. She shouldn't think, she should just give up... but she didn't want to. Why am I doing this? she asked herself. It hurt so much! She froze in her tracks.
"You're almost there." She couldn't see anything outside. "Come, and I'll show you what real power is. Just a little further, and you'll be free. Free to have all the fun you want."
What power? What fun? She had to know. The questions forced her to think in spite of the pain. She stopped ignoring her fear. What was she so frightened of? She forced herself to remember, and, with an exhausting mental effort, she was able to recall who she was, where she was, what it was, and what she was doing. The face of the monster came into focus outside the window, and she jumped back.
"We could have so much fun together. Don't you want to have fun? Why do you refuse me? You're confused, my sweet. You don't want to resist me. You want to be friends. You want to come out and play. Come and out play, little Kylie..."
She left her room and didn't return until the sun came up, but she could still hear it whispering in her mind all night.
She was terrified to go back to her room the fourth night, but, eventually, they reached an hour when her parents refused to let her stay up any later. She had no choice.
It started that night with a cold, taunting laugh. "Are we playing hide-and-seek tonight? That's my favorite – I can always find you, wherever you go. I will never leave you, my friend."
She refused to answer it anymore. Don't listen, don't listen. She groaned as she tried with all her might to ignore it.
"What's wrong, my dear? Aren't you brave enough to let me in? Are you afraid to come out and play?" The laughter continued. "So disappointing. You're too weak to take what you want after all, aren't you? You're just a scared, little girl, hiding in the dark. Why don't you come out and face me? Come out, Kylie. Show me how strong you are."
She didn't react.
"That's right. Go to bed like a good little girl."
She finally told her parents the next day and ended up getting sent to her room the fifth night no matter how much she begged them to take her with them or stay with her – anything but leave her alone.
"They didn't believe you, did they? They'll never understand. I'm the only one who understands you. I'm the only one who can help you. Are you ready to come where you belong? Why should you stay with them? What have they ever done for you? I can give you so much more than they can. Come with me, Kylie. You don't belong here. Your place is by my side. Come home, Kylie. Come home with me..."
By the sixth night, she'd given up trying to escape, but she didn't give in.
"You see? You do want to join me. Just admit it and stop pretending. You'll join me soon enough. Why delay the inevitable?"
She didn't know what it wanted from her (not in words), but she knew she mustn't surrender.
"It's so hard, isn't it? Fighting this battle, night after night? And it would be so simple to end it. Once you join me, none of it will matter. You won't care about any of this nonsense holding you back anymore. Nothing will matter. Nothing but what you want. You'll never worry about anything again, never fear anything again, never have to hold back. Wouldn't that be wonderful, Kylie? No more worries, no more responsibilities, no more rules – just peace and pleasure for the rest of your life. What fool would turn that down? You're not a fool, my girl. What's the logical choice? Tell me – why shouldn't you just come out and play?"
The seventh night, she was angry.
"Leave me alone!"
"Why? Who else do you have? Your parents? Your one friend? Yes, I know everything about you. I know how lonely you are. If you came with me, you'd never be lonely again."
"I don't want anything to do with you! You're a monster!"
"No, they're the monsters. The ones who are holding you back. The ones who tell you, No. I want to give you everything you want. Let you do whatever you want. I would be the best friend you ever had if you only let me. Let me in, Kylie. Let me be your friend. Let me save you from this life of boredom they've condemned you to."
"I can't hear you!"
"But you can."
"Go away!"
It just laughed.
On the eighth and ninth nights, there were no whispers. It just sat outside the window until sunup, smiling at her, watching her, waiting for her to go mad, reminding her she was powerless to stop him.
She lost count after that.
"Come out and play, child. Come out and play..."
Tossing, turning, and moaning through the long, sleepless hours of imprisonment by the voice from dusk to dawn.
Then came the night she'd gotten so used to it that she slept almost through the whole night. It was a mundane clap of thunder that woke her up. She already knew storms were no deterrent, but she looked anyway, her heart pounding with foolish hope. It was immediately dashed – there were the same eyes looking down at her, only their near-constant look of calm amusement was replaced by a glare of pure rage. She instantly knew it was because it didn't like her ignoring it so easily.
"Someone needs to teach you a lesson in respect, my dear."
For several torturous, unbearably tantalizing nights, it was gone.
"Come back! Don't open the window!"
The last night, tears were quietly streaming down her face before it came much later than before.
"Yes, it hurts doesn't it? You'd like it to stop, wouldn't you? No more tears, no more pain. Nothing could ever hurt you again. Would you like that, my dear? Come, let me help you. Let me set you free from all this pain. Don't worry. Everything will be all right. It will all be over soon."
It was the first time she laughed at him.
There were no whispers the next night. Or the next – just the sound of sirens in the streets.
After that, she only heard it in her nightmares. Until she learned to block them out.
"It didn't have to be this way. It should have been you."
No, no...
"You made me do this."
No...
"It's all your fault."
"NO!"
After being buried for almost ten years, they broke out. They lasted until the day she fell asleep on the couch in the rec room and Janine, instead of waking her and sending her home, threw a blanket over her and had a cup of tea ready for her when she woke up, crying and mumbling, "I'm sorry, Jack, I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault, Kylie," Janine said softly as she sat down next to her.
"I let it take him away." It was the first time she'd spoken of it since it happened.
"You were a child. There was nothing you could have done when no one believed you."
"I'm not a child now. I let it go! I was stupid and crazy and... because of me, there might've been..."
Janine finally gave into the urge she'd been restraining and took the young girl in her arms. Kylie didn't push her away. "It's over now. Everything's fine, and everyone's safe. Thanks to you and your refusal to give up."
Kylie let her friend hold her for a moment before pulling away, Janine's hand still resting on her shoulder. "Don't try to tell me I did the right thing."
"The rightness of an action is determined by its results." The two women looked up at the words to see Egon coming up the stairs.
Kylie blushed at him finding her in such a state and straightened up and collected herself as much as she could. "If you say so, boss."
Egon sat down on the other side of her and tried to help her the best way he knew how: by helping her look at the picture logically. "You can't blame yourself for another's actions, Kylie. The only one responsible for what happened to Jack is the Grundel. You knew that before I did, and you did exactly what I would have done had I known it was possible."
"Really?"
"Truly."
Janine smiled at Egon's sweet concern for his protégé, but frowned with worry when Kylie asked, "How can you forgive me for going behind your back and disobeying you like that?" Having a pretty good idea of the answer, she wondered how he would react.
To her pleasant surprise, although Egon flinched at the question (nobody but Janine would have noticed it) and had to turn to face forward away from Kylie, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly but evenly: "I can't judge you for that because... I know what it's like to be confronted by a ghost from your past that you know must be stopped at all costs, no matter what the risk."
Kylie gasped in surprise but didn't press her mentor for details, knowing how uncomfortable it would have made him; Janine, however, could see that the confession had had the desired effect of assuring her that she was not alone. Before things could get awkward, Janine cleared her throat and held out a cup from the tray on the table in front of them to their leader. "Tea, Egon?"
"Thank you, Janine."
Sitting there between them, Kylie felt safer and more at peace than she had for ten years.