Author's Note: Hello! Sorry updates are so freaking infrequent. It's been months. I'm just not disciplined enough to maintain a good update schedule, especially with school. I'm still working on it. It's a bit of a personal development project to keep my goals and remain productive. Fair warning, this one's a bit more on the violent side without the fun of Halloween to mix with. Also, sorry if the plot has stretched on, but things sometimes change as I go and I'm not the best with strictly planning out chapters, so I accidentally got off track. I'm keeping a journal of the timeline and events now (should have started long ago) so things should move along more neatly and I'll be less likely to forget things in the plot I set up for. Anyway, here's a chapter! Next weeks is done too.

Chapter 40

Minutes

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The sound of a knife ripping into wet flesh isn't what you'd expect. Hollywood was an illusion. It was far worse in person.

James eyes clouded over. His hand clenched around the knife still in his body while Jillian screamed.

Jack's voice rose as he tried to finish the exorcism. He started as soon as the boy took the knife to himself.

"Omnis imundus sprititus, omnis satanica, omnis potentia…"

The words bounced around in the air, sinking into the stolen flesh and bone like poison. For those the exorcism didn't spiritually maim, there was a pressure in the air like the moment before lightning hit.

If Annalise knew any better, she would be shocked and horrified at the power Jack injected underneath the exorcism.

"About time you showed," Azitadamus laughed over the drum of words, reveling in the pain that racked her spirit. She violently shook as Jack's words hit her ears, smoke leaking out her mouth in a mockery of blood.

"I was a little preoccupied," James-but-not-James said, the young boy's voice dark and biting. Blood dripped out of his mouth, mingling with the smoke.

"JAMES!" Jillian gasped, not even listening. She scrambled away from Ms. Northrop and tried to wrestle the knife out of her brother's hands.

The unnamed demon behind James' eyes smiled, even as a dripping smoky ooze forcibly leaked out of James' mouth. The boy fell forward, his weight pulling Jillian down with him. Black mixed with red as both colors seeped into the grass. James coughed, splattering the sickening gunk everywhere as Jillian screamed in anguish. Hot liquid stained her November chilled hands.

The demon let the boy gain consciousness as someone moved forward.

What happened…Where…was he…James was aware of someone catching him and cradling him. It wasn't Jillian as she was too small. Whatever held him felt hard and cold, but somehow…there was a warmth.

Despite the fog that sunk into his head, he heard whoever caught him shriek in rage, or were they crying? He gurgled, unable to breath as he tasted blood in his mouth and sensed a burning he couldn't place. He felt wet and sticky.

Laughing bounced around and scraped against the inside of his skull, more confusing than scary at first.

The laughing cut off. It gasped in shock before tortured screeching overtook it as a hot light enveloped everything in James' sight. Something akin to a warm wind whipped around him and the person holding him close.

He heard Ms. Northrop's voice shout in surprised and pain, and Jillian cry out as someone pulled her away from him and the bright purple fire.

He screamed too, frightened at the traumatizing high-pitched bellows of pain that sounded like it was coming from behind his eyeballs. It was like someone had put the worse recording of nails on a chalkboard on the highest volume and forced him to wear headphones. He had no idea what was going on, but he begged the screaming to stop. It ignored him. He couldn't take it! His ears were going to bleed! His fricking eyes were going to bleed!

The voice gagged to a stop as whatever was hurting it and him-no, not him. Never him. Not James. She would never hurt James. It dug its fiery claws in deeper, drawing out the torture. The invader's pain would only last longer if it continued to scream. It continued to thrash about in James' head regardless. The light wasn't hurting James, but it couldn't keep him from hearing the suffering. That in itself was sickening. It was a fainting feeling now, pain and misery and terror clawing at James like a lifeline. It clung to its dying host to save itself. It pleaded with the unrelenting fury that tore it to shreds with no mercy whatsoever.

Outside of the little boy's head, Jack winced and forced himself to look away. He had to shield his sockets from the scene as Anna seemed to set herself on fire as she held her brother. They were both enveloped in flames. Anna had her eyes squeezed shut as she wailed in pain and righteous rage. The human girl was too close to the fire…

Jillian cried out as the other skeleton monster appeared at her side, pinning her arms at her side as he dragged her away from her twin.

She screamed in frantic terror, kicking, "Leave him alone!"

"Shush," Jack hissed in the girl's ear, "Shush, I shan't hurt you."

She was so shocked at hearing something other than ghostly gibberish that she gasped, giving Jack the opportunity to cover her mouth.

Jack tensed as Annalise looked his way. He stared at her glowing purple sockets for a horrified second, wondering if she'd lash out in her furious stupor.

It wasn't Anna in those sockets, not entirely. Whatever it was staring back out at him relaxed as they saw Jillian was safe, though they never let up on the demon. Not for a moment.

He couldn't afford to stand in morbid awe as Anna cremated the demon from inside her fading brother. Black smoke crept from the human's skin like steam. The goo in the grass bubbled as deafening demonic screams shattered nearby lights. But they didn't matter; Anna's near-white flames cast plenty of light.

Jack watched as demons fled in terror as their colleague met a gruesome end, some of them even cursing in fear. He locked eyes with Azitadamus for a moment before the demon left, fading into a leaking black cloud. He doubted she had expected this.

It was horrible. Jack felt a sliver—a sliver mind you—of pity for the demon, though his surprise overwhelmed it. None could see what was going on inside Anna's mind, nor the demon's, as she tore it to pieces.

Its incoherent begging underneath the boy's panicked cries was enough.

Nevermore gasped as the crushing weight lifted off his neck and the demon holding him down escaped. It was only a distant scent of sulfur as the Gatekeeper pushed himself up.

"Jack…" he rasped. He was still "alive," loosely speaking. The demon cracked a few vertebrae, but he wasn't in the mood to complain, even if it was bothersome to look up at Jack.

"Watch this one," Jack ordered, no-nonsense as he set down a frightened and clueless human child. He offered the bird help to stand. "Don't let her escape. You."

Little Braid looked up with terrified glassy eyes, her hands covering her mouth.

"Help him watch her." He gestured at the human.

The Thanksgiving Citizen nodded then flinched as the cold air stung the exposed nerves of her injured hand and arm.

"Who are-" Jillian tried, voice failing as she squeaked. She looked at the bird creature and instinctively brought her hands to her face. She covered her eyes as she noted the sharp curve of Nevermore's thick beak. She trembled and backed away until her back hit a tree.

Jack turned, trusting Nevermore, and went to Sally next. He picked her up, letting her grab the detached leg she was frantically trying to sew on with unsteady hands. When had she lost it?

"Jack, what is that?" she asked, squinted at the spectacle.

Jack didn't answer as she set her down next to Helgamine. "Try to wake her up Sally. She should have something in her bag you can use."

Sally nodded and watched in worry.

Jack shielded his sockets and skirted around Anna to get to Zeldabourne's…body.

She was worse off than Jack expected. He dearly hoped Zeldabourne's second death wasn't as close as it looked.

He jumped and slapped at the flames as the heat flashed against his pants for a second. He wasn't keen on testing if this particular fire could harm him.

Anna was losing control, not discriminate in what she wanted to destroy. The grass around her, which wasn't affected a moment ago, browned and curled before drifting away as ash. A circle of ashes was spreading outward faster than Jack was comfortable with.

He could hear the heartbeat from the brother slow.

Confusion and panic wafted off the half-conscious boy.

"Anna!" he shouted as he sensed that the demon's screaming had long ceased. "Stop! It's gone!" He was sure of it. Whatever warding the demon had in place to prevent them from sensing its presence failed. The feeling was akin to a rubber band snapping as the aftershock itched Jack's teeth. Its presence faded with its tortured destruction.

The Wind tore through the trees and curled around Anna without a word to the monsters.

Jack felt his coattails slap and Zelda's hat almost flew away from his hand.

The Wind created a funnel of darkening purple flames and ashes as it helped Anna put the fire out, knowing what to do it seemed. The effort plunged them into darkness under the night sky as the flames blew out like a candle. The small tornado dissipated, ashes twisting up to the sky.

Jack couldn't pick out the words from the frantic whispers of the Wind as leaves rustled, but he could hear the remorse in the near unperceivable voice. "I'm sure you would have helped earlier if you could," Jack said, guessing the appropriate response, and grateful the Wind had shown itself at all. He worried about its blithe silence to the situation.

Anna stilled, curled over the human boy's messily damaged vessel.

Jillian felt like she had been stabbed. Her heart…hurt. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She moaned and held her chest, trying to tear the phantom pain away. James!

She still had no idea what was going on, or what the hell these strange monsters were. She never saw anything sentient besides another human before that night (that she could remember), but she could give a damn as she ran past them all.

"What did you do?!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "What did you do?!"

She felt her legs go out from under her as she ran to the quietly shaking monster that held her twin, their bony arms and shirt stained a deep crimson.

So much blood. The fire didn't harm him at all, but that meant nothing with the dark red gaping slash down from his neck to where his appendix would be. She could see more than she'd ever want to. She felt sick.

The skeleton holding James gently tilted him away from her before the girl could see any more.

"Give him back!" Jillian demanded hysterically, too terrified at losing another sibling to fear the monster. She pulled at the creature's arms frantically, the slick blood making her hands slip from the hard yet slightly porous surface. "He's my brother. You can't have him. James. James! You promised. You promised you wouldn't leave too. Remember? I promised I wouldn't hurt myself if you promised you wouldn't leave."

James' face fell toward Jillian for a second. All she could see was his glassy open eyes. She broke, hitting the skeleton arms as if they were a door keeping her from him.

"JAMES!" she screamed. "He promised! He promised! He's my brother you…you…"

"Anna," Jack whispered, crouching behind the silent younger skeleton after he set Zelda down. "You need to let go. We...can't stay here."

Jack stiffened as Anna's angry eyes flashed up to meet him, betrayed grief and anger in her eyes.

Sally gasped and looked at Jack, standing on her reattached leg as she helped a groggy Helgamine to her feet.

The witch stared at the Anna and humans for a second before her eyes drifted to the form set beside Jack. She stumbled against Nevermore, who caught her. "Zelda…" She faintly heard Trouble and Jasper caterwaul in the distance. They ran away the moment things calmed, and they saw.

Cats don't find comfort in community.

Jack stiffened and bowed his head at the utterance, turning to check Zeldabourne closer… hoping.

"Anna…?"

That one word felt the most dangerous to the monsters.

They looked up, all but Helgamine, at the small voice.

Jillian stared, pale. "No…"

"Jelly Bean…" Anna tried, mumbling.

"No!" Jillian wrapped her arms around her head, blood smearing on her face. "NO! JAMES, WAKE UP YOU IDIOT! I can't…" she sobbed. "I can't…. I can't be alone."

Anna didn't react to the girl's violent denial; she just stared emotionlessly, still cradling her baby brother. Slowly her sockets lifted to stare at something in empty air behind Jillian.

Chakis.

The Reaper stood behind Jillian. The death spirit seemed…strange. Weak, if that was possible. She looked barely able to stand. She looked at James with a tired expression and her hands unseen, tucked away in her sleeves. Her eyes lifted as Anna's did. There was a strange light in her gray eyes, faded but noticeable like the reflective lens of a nocturnal creature.

They stared at each other for a moment. The Reaper didn't say anything.

Anna's pleading look twisted to a defiant glare. "No. Don't you dare."

Jillian caught her breath, startled at the abrupt words.

Everyone stared at Anna, her tone completely different than a moment before. She stared at the space behind the human girl, half pleading, half demanding.

"I always tend to have my way, Light," Chakis said gently. Her eyes shifted. "It isn't the witch's time yet."

Anna's eyes flicked to Zeldabourne, and she nodded before looking back, her grip on James tightening. "You can't have him either. Bring him back."

Jack tensed as Anna listened to someone only she could hear.

Anna was silent for a second. "I don't care."

"Anna, whatever bargain you're trying to make. It isn't…" Jack trailed off. "Anna, she won't make exceptions." It's a dangerous path.

"Who are you talking to?" Nevermore said before Jack wrapped a hand around his beak, skeletal fingers clamping the gatekeepers mouth shut.

Anna continued to stare at the empty air for another long second. "Please," she pleaded, her voice catching. Her faced suddenly twisted from grief to confusion.

"What did she say?" Jack hissed, taking Anna's arm tightly.

Anna blinked and stared at him. "She just…" she glanced back at whoever she was talking to. "She just said '10'."

"10," Chakis repeated. "You have ten minutes." She seemed to hesitate. "Life will halt if you bring him out of this world long enough to save him. However you do that."

"Ten minutes," Jack said, understanding without Chakis' words. "Everyone, move."

"The portal…" Helgamine whispered, her voice cracking as she held Zeldabourne's hand.

There was a shout.

Jillian stared at the human teen in a suede dress with turkey feathers in her hair. She seemed in pain, but her eyes were wide, and she spoke frantically.

"Me! I'm here! I know where the portal is. Follow me."

Jillian, clearly not thinking straight in her grief, lunged for the nearest person. She happened to grip the skeleton's blood-soaked sleeve. "Wherever you…whatever the hell you are…wherever you're taking him…I'm going too."

"Oh no you're…" Anna cut off abruptly as she stood holding James and looked to the side as Chakis whispered, "Nine."

"No time to argue!" Jack said inappropriately cheery as he carefully picked up Zeldabourne. "Anna, decide about the girl now."

"We shouldn't split them up," Anna blurted, immediately wincing, well-aware of the implications. But she was right.

Jillian yelped as the bird grabbed her arm and pulled her into a run.

I'm being kidnapped by monsters and my brother's dying and my sister's…. Jillian's thoughts stalled as she tried to process everything. I'm being kidnapped…My brother is…James is…

Little Braid groaned. She took the girl from the monster, holding the human's wrist with professional firmness, "I…I got it. Oh, girl? Take a deep breath."

"Why…" she cut off her question with a scream.

The world spun and Jillian couldn't even breath as the air knocked out of her lungs. She had a faint memory of almost getting dragged off by a strong gust of wind while kite flying when she was very little. Whatever was happening reminded her of that trauma.

When she could see straight, she hit the ground, falling headfirst into a pile of leaves and sneezed.

"I didn't know we could pull humans along when fading," Helgamine muttered.

Little Braid looked confused, "Is there anything saying we can't?"

"You didn't know?!" Anna snapped.

"No?"

"Are you telling me you just disintegrated my little sister and you weren't sure if she'd get put back together?" Anna said, panicking a little.

"I'm going to puke," Jillian muttered, stumbling to her feet. Right on cue, her lunch came up. She hadn't eaten in a while, so there wasn't much. There was a peculiar buzzing in her ears and teeth.

The spirits grimaced.

Little Braid muttered something, probably a curse, as she pulled a leaf out of her bag. "Hold this."

"What is…?" Jillian took the leaf on reflex.

"Just hold on to it tight." Without any warning, Little Braid shoved the poor eleven-year-old at the space between two large trees.

She heard people talking. The air felt different. She didn't have time to grasp what happened. The strange girl took her hand and pulled her up and along. She picked Jillian up when sneakered feet couldn't follow through the blanket of leaves any faster.

Jillian watched as strange old-fashioned houses blurred by. Strange people in old fashioned clothes called out in distressed voices but were ignored. She wasn't sure all what happened next. The scenes changed to fast; it was like her mind couldn't quite keep up. Wood, then more woods. Then falling! Her stomach dropped in terror-She landed in dirt before being picked up and more woods, but these were different. Darker, less inviting. Twisting.

They pulled to a halt and Jillian winced as the strange girl's grip tightened.

Little Braid's eyes darted around, taking in the sky and the ground. She stared in shock before Jack and the others rushed by, knowing where to go from there.

Annalise harshly tugged Braid's sleeve as she passed, leaving a smudge of blood.

The Thanks Spirit couldn't move for a moment. She tugged the human after her, following the monsters now, expecting something to attack her any moment.

Jillian took a shaky breath, staring at a haphazard graveyard as she half-tripped on a root. Where...

Was it a graveyard? She…Jillian couldn't quite remember. They ran, not giving her a moment to process anything. She was too distracted by trying not to trip to focus on the scenery for longer than a second. What little she saw confused her even further.

"Jack! W-what in Halloween is that!"

Jillian gasped out a squeak as she looked at the thing that spoke as her head managed to stop swimming for a moment.

Then suddenly….

Was she in a room?

Jillian bolted awake with a breathless scream, immediately falling out of the unfamiliar bed. Where was she?! She didn't remember falling asleep.

She looked around in panic and sprung from the hard floor, trying to piece together what happened. Her vision swam from standing up too fast.

00000

She screamed. Jillian shot upright out of bed, for a second time according to her memory, slick with sweat, her heart hammering in her chest and her ears.

She flailed for a moment, falling out of bed as her arm banged against her dresser. She lay there for a second, neck at an odd angle as she hung halfway off her bed as the panic gradually fading while her eyes adjusted.

A moment later she gasped and scrambled to her feet, kicking off the sheet tangles. She ran. She didn't care who she woke up.

"James!" she screamed, throwing open her brother's bedroom door, leaving a sizable dent in the wall.

She barely saw the groggy shape move before she launched herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck as she sobbed.

James blinked in shock, images and feelings he couldn't explain flashing behind his eyes even as he forgot them. He winced at a pressure on his chest.

"Jillian, what the heck!" He looked at her weird as she wordlessly cried.

The hall lights flicked on as his parents' panicked faces appeared in the doorway.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Harold demanded, his loud voice startling and aggressive at the possibility of danger. He faintly heard the sounds of the extended family waking up downstairs and in the guest room in response to the noise.

Thim took his arm to calm him. "Shh." She approached the bed as James blushed and struggled to shift in Jillian's awkward embrace. Eventually, he just settled for hugging her back in confusion.

"Shh..shh…baby, what's wrong?" Thim murmured, easing onto James bed.

Jillian didn't say anything for a long time. She vaguely heard one of her uncles inquire from the hallway before her dad muttered something and shooed him away to keep the rest of the family downstairs and out of the way.

"I had a dream…" Jillian sobbed, "I don't remember most of it, but there was blood and voices, and there were these…these…people, but they didn't look like people…and…and." She hiccupped and felt someone rub her back.

"It's okay, Jillian," Harold said, much softer now that the only threat was a nightmare. "Everything's okay." He frowned. Jillian was much too old to fear bad dreams, but it wasn't unexpected. Dr. Ramsey had told them what could happen with the trauma their children went through.

"James died," Jillian sobbed, burying her face in her brother's shirt.

James coughed in shock, something itching in the back of his mind. "What?"

"You died, a-and I…I couldn't do anything…"

"How did I…" James trailed off.

Jillian shook her head and cried harder, "I don't…I don't know…I just…" She took a breath. "I think Anna was there. She was…I don't know…she was…angry…"

"Jillian…" her mother cooed.

"She was…" Jillian shuddered, something terrifying rearing its ugly head. "I…I was scared of her…" She sobbed harder out of shame and guilt.

"Jilly, ya know Anna would never want to scare you," James muttered, "And look, I'm fine. See?"

Jillian nodded.

James shuddered. He wasn't sure why, but he glanced toward his window and tensed for a moment. He could have sworn he saw a shadow shift from the tree.