Jack and I got home, expecting to see Mekiah still playing Bloodborne, but she wasn't. We were immediately on guard when we walked in and saw the TV frozen on the game menu and a shattered controller on the floor, pieces scattered everywhere. I looked at Jack, and he placed a finger on his lips, making a 'shhh' gesture.
I watched Jack tilt his head trying to listen for any sounds. I listened as well, but I didn't hear anything. Jack pointed his index finger up, and whispered, almost silently, 'Mekiah is upstairs'.
We both approached the stairs and we both tiptoed up. I now heard what Jack heard. Crying. But it wasn't normal crying. We could hear Mekiah speaking as well, mostly in whispers. When we reached the top of the stairs, Jack quietly focused his attention to a corner in the hallway and approached.
I stood back, unsure of what was happening. Jack didn't seem alarmed, so I wasn't as on guard as I was when we came in. I watched him kneel down in the corner, and I listen to him as he spoke.
"Kia? Honey, what's wrong?" Jack asked softly, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair. Mekiah said nothing, just continued to weep and whisper, words that sounded like nonsense to me, probably because of the distance between us.
I stepped closer, kneeling next to Jack once I approached. I could see and hear clearly now, and I immediately thought 'this is NOT good'.
Mekiah was sitting in the corner, rocking, her knees pressed to her chest, and her hands pressed tightly to the sides of her head. There were tears shining in her eyes and they left sparkling trails down her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and glazed over, and she seemed to be focused on some object unseen by myself and Jack. She didn't blink.
I listened closely to the words her lips were forming, trying to make some sense out of what was happening. "... Took her... you all took her. SHUT UP! No, see, I can't help you. Just leave me alone... some went, some came... taking everything... but the blood stays... no! Shhhh... you will wake her up. Ha! Hahaha! No one needs to see the sounds... not yet... so just call! Call the King of the Squirrels! I will let you be the one to explain it all to him... Can he find her? Can he find me? No! How could you even think that! Can I find me? I'm upside down in the universe... hanging by a thread! You will never find me! I can hear you thinking... Hahaha... You all think too loud... SHUT UP! Get out of my head! Just go to sleep..."
I looked at Jack. He stood up and I followed suit. We walked into our bedroom, and I quietly shut the door.
I screamed in a whisper, using a lot of hand gestures for emphasis, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"
Jack pursed his lips, his eyebrows scrunching up the way they do when he is confused or thinking hard. "I think it is a mix of Sarah's death and her own abilities finally hitting her. Remember when we met them? She told us that Sarah was the only person that could help her stay sane and grounded. She is able to listen to thoughts, I think, and she hears people all the time. All the time, Mark! Could you imagine what that must be like? The only person that could keep her out of her own head is gone. And the mix of the two is driving her insane."
"So what do we do?" I asked, glancing over at her.
"I think we need to have another visit with your mom," Jack said to me.
I went downstairs and called my mom. I was scared for Mekiah. I told my mother what was happening, and asked her if we could bring Mekiah to her house. Mom was hesitant, then she told me no. She told me that I could help without even leaving the house. Then she told me how.
While I was on the phone, Jack managed to carry Mekiah downstairs and sat her on the sofa. She stopped mumbling like a raving lunatic, but she was still staring as if she were watching something with glazed over eyes. Her lips were dry and moving slightly, and every so often her right eye would twitch.
I caught Jack's attention and gestured for him to come with me into the kitchen. He looked at me hopefully. "Well, are we taking her over there?"
"No."
"... Uhh, we can't just let her sit there and drive herself insane, Babe. What are we suppose to do?" he asked, wringing his hands together.
"Well," I said, walking to the window and opening a small box I kept in the windowsill, "my mom filled me in on some very useful information. I can help her. I am going to gather some things, and I need you to do the same."
"What are you gonna do?" Jack asked me.
"I... really don't know. Mom told me what I needed, and she said I would know what I had to do when I started."
"Okay, Angel. I'll get whatever you need. Just tell me what I have to do," he said, walking to me and wrapping his arms around me from behind. I felt my body instinctively soften under his touch, and I let out a small sigh and my eyes fluttered closed when I felt his soft lips brush the back of my neck then his head rest on the back of my shoulder. I could sense that his affection was purely for comfort, and it worked. I relaxed. I felt calm.
Jack was trying desperately to be quiet, and I could tell it was because he didn't want to upset or disturb Mekiah. Usually it was very hard for him to stay quiet, sometimes almost looking painful for him. He is a loud guy. He can't help it, his energy just overflows. It is one of the things I love the most about him.
I broke our backwards hug and turned to face him. "I have some candles stashed in here in case of power failure. I am going to gather those up and a few other things. I need you to go upstairs, get the box my dad gave me and get the Book of Angels out of it," I said, handing him the tiny golden key I just took out of the small box.
I brushed a lock of hair out of his eye, and traced my thumb over the scar on his forehead, and he reacted by closing his eyes. I kissed his scar, then I kissed his lips. He kissed me back, resting his hand on my neck. I don't know if it was because we had been in danger since the day we met or if we just loved each other that fucking much, but it seemed that when we kissed, whether it was filled with passion during ridiculous intense sex or just a goodbye kiss while one of us runs out for milk, every time we kissed, we kissed each other like it would be our last. Not one time has he pressed his lips to mine in a way that was done out of habit or routine. Not one time has he kissed me without me feeling like the world could end and I wouldn't care.
He grinned at me as he backed up, then turned around and did a little dance, then spun around on his now healed leg. He whipped his head around and looked at me dramatically, his mouth open in a wide smile, and started laughing. His eyes lit up and glittered, and he said, "Damn, it FEELS SO GOOD to be able to walk on me own two feet... LIKE A BOSS!" He crinkled up his face when he said it, and I couldn't stop the roar of laughter that came... the same laugh Jack teases me about. I shook my head, still laughing, and turned back to gather what I needed. I heard him sprint off, mumbling something about running, and I heard him getting louder... I caught 'hell yeah!', 'that's a bouncy Jackaboy!', 'BOOPER DOOPER!' and laughter as he ran up the stairs.
Even with all of the tragic, scary, painful and insane things that have happened to us, we can still manage to laugh and have fun. I think we both subconsciously decided months ago that death could come at any time, so we may as well try to enjoy every moment with each other and love each other with ferocity.
If we didn't, we both would surely be dead or insane by now.
Jack and I got back to Mekiah at the same time. She looked exactly the same, and had not moved. I placed the white candles around us in no particular order, and asked Jack to light them as I handed him a lighter.
I opened the Book of Angels, and skimmed through it. Just as my mom said, I could sense what I had to read. It was an odd feeling, much like the 'brain magnet' that led me to Mekiah. My mom explained to me that my angelic bloodline would allow me to see farther into the Book of Angels than a human that wasn't nephilitic. I would be able to read things that Jack couldn't see.
Mom told me that Dad would read to her from the book, and she would focus on words and phrases, writing down things that 'called out to her'. Over the years, she and my father studied the book, specifically for me and the events that are happening in the here and now, because she knew the day would come when I called and asked her for help with my psychic and possibly insane friend.
When I found out I had the nephilitic gene, I initially thought it would be dormant and unimportant, much like someone discussing ethnicity, something along the lines of 'yeah, I am part Korean, part German and part Nephilim'. As I watched new words and symbols form right before my eyes, I discovered how wrong I was.
I found what I needed, and once Jack had all the candles lit, I began to read to Mekiah. My voice changed a little, becoming deeper (if that is possible) and more soothing. I read slowly, in a language I didn't know, but was able to read without a problem. I could feel Jack watching me intensely. As soon as I started reading I could sense something change in Mekiah.
After about ten minutes I finished reading the section. I was focused on the book, on the words, on watching the phrases and symbols unfold before my eyes, so I wasn't able to see Mekiah's reaction. Once the last word escaped my lips, I closed the book and looked up at her. Tears were flowing down her face like a river, and she was smiling, no longer locked in her glazed over tunnel vision. She turned her head and met my eyes.
I looked at Jack, and I watched his eyes dart back and forth from Mekiah to me and back to her. His hands were covering his face, and I could see his huge, gorgeous blue eyes swimming in tears.
I looked back at Mekiah, and she smiled as a single tear escaped her eye.
"Thank you, Mark..." she whispered, and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly.
