"Well, that's all I could find. I think we need to do something drastic to solve this," Gena said.
"Like..."
"Like break into the room." Zoë started to laugh. "And how do you propose we do that? Are we going to take a sledgehammer to the wall? I'm sure the Dean would love that."
"No. We just have to get on the balcony and break in through the window."
"The windows don't open that much for a person to fit through. Unless you were like Kate Moss or something," Zoë said. "Plus, if you're caught on the balcony, let alone breaking into the room, you'll be so busted."
"We won't get caught, Zo. I promise. Now, will you do this with me? Please?"
"What if this is all hooey? Give me another good reason," Zoë said, hoping that Gena didn't have another one.
"Gavin. He's real. I met him today. He actually helped me research all this. Not only is a real person, but we kissed today," Gena said, feeling embarrassed that she had behaved in such a way when she had another boyfriend.
"Oh my goddess. So, you really met him?" Gena nodded in reply.
"Oh, ok. That's really weird...well, I guess if she predicted that, I'm game tonight."
"Alright, now's as good a time as any. Let's move your bed out of the way and get to the window."
The two moved the bed to the middle of the room. Gena went over to the window and pushed it up all the way, bending screws and nails that were supposed to prevent it from going so high. She was the first on the balcony.
"Damn Salvatore," Zoë said in disbelief. "How the hell did you do that?"
"What can I say, I eat my wheaties," she said with a smile.
Zoë and Gena crept to the old window. Gena saw that is was opened a little on the bottom, and she forced the rest of the window open with little resistance. Mildew and musk hung in the air as the girls made their way. The two girls entered the dark room, the velvet of the fine curtains against their backs. It was dark in the room, with only the light of the moon from the outside shedding any light.
"It's too dark in here, Salvatore. We should have brought a flash..." Before Zoë could finish her sentence, a candle in the corner of the room light up the room. Both girls screamed. "We got to get out of here Gena! Right now!"
Gena caught her breath. "Relax, it's ok. Let's look around really quick and get the hell out of here." With the candles flickering a warm glow on the objects in the room, there was an eerie feel. The once elegant walls and cherry wood floors were now peeling and rotting away. The furniture that was left in the room had been covered in sheets that were once white, but now gray with dust. The only thing that looked as if it had been used in the last hundred years was the candle that was once again burning brightly. They looked around the room, hoping not stumble across Lilea, in body or spirit. Gena noticed a table that had what looked to be letters. She went in for a closer look and saw that there were three letters: one to her father, one to Jeremiah, and one that was blank.
"Zo, I think I found something," Gena said as she held up the letters for Zoë to see. "I'm going to take these back to the room; I left my window open too. Let's get out of here."
Zoë went and blew out the candle and headed out of the room. Once on the balcony, the girls closed the window to the ancient room. They stood on the balcony, looking over the campus.
"Wow, it's really beautiful out here..." Gena's hunter senses kicked in. Someone was watching them. She looked around the campus, searching for the presence. Then, she saw it. A girl. Standing in the side garden, her long hair cascading down the back of her white nightgown. But, she could see right through her.
"Oh shit, Gena," Zoë said, as her body started to shake. They both looked at each other and started to run.
"Ok, so what the hell was that?" Zoë said after she was in the safe confines of Gena's room. Gena didn't answer; she was too busy speed-reading through the letters. They were hand written by Lilea on the day of her death.
'You think I have a case of lunacy, but I assure you Father that I have not. You think to lock me up in my room will cure me. To be surrounded by four walls with no exit way is enough to drive anyone to the brink of insanity, but I can assure you by my Mother that I am sane. Someone who means to do harm to both you and I is afflicting me. The pain I feel is worse than a thousand swords. She is to blame. She, who is the devil; who sold her soul to the night world. I beg you Father; let me flee so that I may bring about an end to her hatred…'
She began to read the one addressed to Jeremiah; 'Dearest one, if you are reading this, then I have departed. My life was short, but the moments I spent with you will last all eternity. You are my heart, my soul; which I must leave behind. I can not live with the presence of evil in my home any longer. I must cleanse my soul of things I have seen. Forgive me…'
She then handed the two letters over to Zoë. Gena opened the final letter, the one with the blank envelope, and began to read; 'You, who are the devil! You, who taketh lives and giveth nothing in return! You, who tortured my soul, my body, my mind, and broke my heart into shards of glass! A curse upon you! You have not won, nor will you ever win! You take my Father's love and leave me with nothing, yet I am still here! You make my Father believe me to be insane for saying that you are an incorporeal being, but I am strong in my convictions! You take my one true love and manipulate him to fornicate, and yet I am still here and in love with that man! You can not break me, nor will you ever…'
After she finished reading, she handed the last letter over to Zoë in silence.
"Whoa…what were these letters all about? Especially that last one. Who is the 'evil one' she keeps referring to," Zoë asked after she finished the unmarked latter.
"I don't know, but what I read from that last letter, she was a real bitch."
"Hey, G, what does 'incorporeal being' mean," Zoë asked.
"It means like a spook. It was used in the old days as another word for demon, ghost, zombie, poltergeist …and vampires," Gena said, trying to educate Zoë.
"Vampires? Give me a break! Vamps aren't real," Zoë said, looking a bit nervous. "Do you believe in vampires, Salvatore?" A slight grin came across Gena's face.
"In this world, anything is possible."
Gena noticed that her hands were dirty so she went to her pedestal sink to rinse them of the old dust. She turned the hot water on slightly. Steaming hot water spewed out of the faucet, causing Gena to jump back.
'I really need to get that fixed. I wish the maintenance was a little better around here,' she thought.
"Um, G…Look at your mirror," Zoë said, with a tone in her voice that personified fright. Gena looked up at her mirror and stared at it in disbelief. The fogged up glass was slowing showing a message, as if someone had rubbed his or her fingers against it. Slowly, the entire message formed; 'come to me'. They both knew whom it was from.
"Should we go back inside?" Zoë asked. She was shaking from head to toe.
"I'm going to go. You can stay here if you want to, Zo. I'll be fine."
"The hell you will…if you are going, I'm going to go." The two friends went back out the window and to the old room. As they entered, they could feel that the atmosphere had changed. It was much colder, so cold that the two could see their breath. Then, in the corner, they saw something appear and walk forward. It was Lilea. All three looked at each other, frightened and dumbfounded at the same time.
"H-Hello…Lilea," Gena began. "I'm Gena. I want to help you. To find out what happened. I read your letters." Lilea responded with a look of satisfaction, as if she had waited so long for someone to know her story. "I know about the woman, who you said was evil. What did she do to you, how did she harm you?"
Lilea nodded with a sense of understanding, as she gliding over to an end table. On the table was a box, which she opened and pulled out what looked to be a doll. She picked up the doll and pulled out what looked to be a pin; she held the pin high and pierced the doll. Gena fell over with a moan, grabbing her stomach, which felt as if they were being pulled out with out an incision. Then she saw it, the whole thing. Lilea was at the table, finishing the letters and she was about to make her escape out the window. She knew she could survive the jump. As she was about to jump off the balcony, she felt a pain that threw her off balance and made her fall on her back. The pain in her neck and spine swelled and her eyesight went darker. The last thing she saw was a figure on the balcony with the voodoo doll in her hand.
"Gena!" Zoë screamed, as she tried to lift her friend back up to her feet. Gena looked up at Lilea, who pulled the pin out of the soft, worn doll. She placed it back in the box. Gena regained her composure and stood up. Lilea walked over to her and started to cry. Her sobs sounded as if they echoed not just through the hall, but also through time itself. She looked at Gena, and Gena could feel that she was sorry she had used the doll on her, but it was the only way to show what Lilea had really gone through. Gena sent Lilea a thought telepathically.
'It's ok, Lilea. I understand now; I'm not mad. I'm going to let everyone know what happened to you.' Lilea looked at her, with a slight smile. She then glided over to the window and pointed out towards the garden. Lilea's form then began to fade, and then disappeared before the stunned girls' eyes.
"Ok, Salvatore, let's get the HELL out of here," Zoë said, as she pushed her way towards the door. The two girls made their way to the safety of Zo's room, when Gena stopped them.
"Wait, she pointed to the garden. Let's go," She said to Zo, who looked absolutely terrified. "I need to know what she wanted down there, Zoë." Zoë nodded in agreement, and they made there way through the school and down to the garden. After an hour, they found what they were looking for. A small, unmarked headstone was barely visible through the lilac bushes. It was Lilea's headstone; her final resting place. Lilea didn't want to hurt or scare anyone; she had only wanted to be known. Gena could sympathize.