This was a nightmare; it had to be. The creatures I was looking at were not human. They had never been human. They were straight from the bowels of hell. Is this what he was talking about? I had met Thaddeus before, and I knew why he looked the way he did, but these things were nothing like that. Were they demons? Did demons even actually exist? And why did Tate need me for this? I can barely keep from screaming at the sight of them; how could I possibly do anything to stop them.

"I know it's terrifying, but you have to trust me," Tate said, tugging on her elbow.

She looked at him, their eyes nearly level from the height difference of the stairs. He could see the sting of tears building up as she stared at the creatures before her.

"Don't worry; they don't even know we're down here," he said reassuringly.

"That isn't much comfort Tate. What ARE they?"

"Trapped souls. Not unlike us. But they're not from this world. They're…well…demons, sort of."

I suddenly felt lightheaded and my knees grew weak. Demons? But why here? Didn't this place have enough crazy shit going on without adding to it? I was stunned, confused.

"But how…?"

"We don't know. The best anyone in the house can figure is that maybe they were dragged here every time someone died on the property. We don't know for sure, but it makes sense I suppose. Every time one of our souls was held back from passing on, there was something attached to it; one of these guys."

"Well how do we get rid of them?"

"I was kind of hoping you might have an idea or two. You're a medium, well, more or less. Aren't there chants or spells or something we can use to get rid of them?"

"You're asking a lot right now Tate. I'd have to look it up. I don't know anything about what would essentially be an exorcism. And what if, when we get rid of them, we all go too?"

Tate sat and thought it over for a minute. If it took all of them too, they might finally be free of this place. He could actually die. He wouldn't be trapped in the house anymore and neither would anybody else.

"Honestly Kat, it might be for the best. I've been trapped in a teenager's body for damn near 20 years. I know you're still new to the being 'undead' thing, but the rest of us are tired. We never have any peace. I'm sure most of us would love the chance to move on from here."

"But, what about us? Tate…I love…"

"You can't be that selfish; we want to get out of here," he cut her off without even hearing the words coming out of her mouth.

She stood there as he shoved past her on the stairs and vanished.

"You…," she said to his fading form.

Following suit, she walked back up there stairs and went back to his room. She sat on the bed, computer in her lap, reading up on all forms of demon possession and exorcisms, performed by the Church or otherwise. Her head hurt, though not as much as her heart. He didn't love her. He had wanted to fuck her and he had wanted to kill her; that was all he had wanted her for. And now he had gotten both and she was invisible to him, except when he needed something from her.

"I can't do this," she whispered to herself, skimming over paragraph after paragraph of rituals and rites.

He watched her from the doorway, remaining invisible to her.

"Tate, just leave me alone."

"You knew I was here?"

"I'm a medium, remember? I always know when you're here. Just please, leave me alone. I've got a lot of work to do."

"I just thought I could help…"

"GO AWAY TATE!"

She banished him. She could no longer feel his presence near her. It was cold, lonely. But she couldn't let herself get attached anymore than she already was. He didn't love her. He just needed her to set them all free.

He sat in the attic with Beau, rolling the ball back and forth. He couldn't believe she had told him to go away. She had never done that before. If only she knew how he really felt. He was ready to leave this place, but he didn't want to leave her. He was…falling in love with her…The thought had crept into his mind so stealthily that he hadn't even expected it. He was stunned by his own realization. But she would never believe him. Not after all he had done to her. He had to fix this; without her, there was no hope.


A/N: Sorry, I know it's kind of short, but I'm working on another chapter that I'll post ASAP. Hopefully this is will be enough of a teaser for everyone! Thanks again for the favorites and follows! Reviews are welcome!