It's so cold here. It's dark and damp. I look around and try to make some shapes out. Suddenly, the door opens from right at my feet.
He climbs up the stairs and stands right in front of me. This man is so evil. How could he do this to us? I hear cries coming from below. They're screaming, calling for help. The basement is full. He moved me up here, his most precious victim.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me." I know my pleading won't get me anywhere.
His face twists in the light from downstairs. "You dirty slut. You betrayed me."
He's delusional. "I know! I messed up by marrying him! You're the one I love! This baby...we can raise it together. We'll be a family."
I don't know how else to plead. He's not having it. "No! No, it's too late. This child must die!"
He raises his ax. I don't have time to think, I lean over and protect my belly. He hits my back.
The pain, oh god, the pain. I slowly lose my strength. My upper body falls to the side. I can't protect him anymore. I'm sorry, baby. The last thing I ever see is him swinging down.
I bolt awake. My arm is stretched out in front of me, like I'm trying to reach something. "What a horrible person," I say.
I wipe the tears from my eyes. I glance at the clock, 7:30am it says. I grab my phone and shoot Naru a text. Call me, I had a dream.
No sooner than five minutes later, he calls me. "Hey," I answer.
"What did you see?" Well, he jumps right to the point, doesn't he?
I tell him about my vision. "Okay. We'll have John do an exorcism in the attic too."
I take a breath. "You think this woman's spirit is keeping him there too?"
He says yes. "Once we get them calmed, I can come home, okay?"
He seems really out of character. It sounds like he's trying to be nice. "Okay. If anything else happens, I'll call. I love you."
"Love you too," he says, and hangs up.
I don't know how it happened, but it seems like John wasn't able to convince the female spirit to leave. Ayako calls me around five and tells me this. "I need to come back. I'm the only one that can convince her."
"I know! Naru needs to stop being a worry-wort so that we can solve this case. He doesn't understand that you can take a break after this."
I grab my bags and start to pack again. "Look, I'm coming back. That ghost is suffering, and making others suffer. You guys need me."
Ayako sighs. "How exactly are you going to get here, Mai?"
I smile. "One of my college buddies lives around here. She's a foreigner, by the way. She's got mad driving skills."
"Fine. I'll be waiting for you."
I grab my things and take them to the living room. "Thanks, and Ayako? Don't tell idiot that I'm coming ."
Rose sits next to me, chating the whole way. She's got the toddler in the backseat and her pug beside Annie. "Thanks for this," I say over the radio.
"Oh, you're welcome! My husband is off in England you know, so I'm really bored most of the time. I only have these two for now. It's great to see you again! I was wondering how you and your hubby were doing! He must really care to take you home just because the case was dangerous."
I had explained everything to her over the phone a few hours earlier. She was more than happy to drive me back there. "You know, when I was a child, I could see ghosts. It was when I lived in America, of course. My grandparents house was full of spirits."
I look over at her. "I'm worried about Annie. So I brought her along for the purpose of finding out if she is like me. And for little Maya, well dogs sense spirits I think so, why not?"
I nod. "Aren't you worried about Annie getting hurt? After all, I was sent home for that reason."
The blonde changes the radio station and glances at the toddler in her mirrors. "No, she'll be fine. I know you guys are strong."
She changes topics and the time seems to fly. As we pull into the driveway of the wooden house, I spot Ayako and Monk running out to greet me. "Mai!" the older woman yells!
She embraces me tightly, not even giving me time to get my surroundings. "Thank goodness you're back. Not only do we have a pissed-off boss, but we have pissed off spirits, too!"
That's just wonderful.
Still trying to be less boring. I'm just not a very good writer. Hang in there! Please leave a review so that I know what I'm good or bad at. Thanks a bunch! :)
