CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I told Luke everything I could before I felt myself go lightheaded. It was as if something was being sucked out of me and I stumbled back, fighting not to break the connection.

Both Luke and Edward called out to me with concern, but I waved them off.

"I'm fine. I might not have much longer to talk to you, but I need you to leave. That is the most important thing." I wanted so desperately to hold him. If my hands went through him, however, I'd be devastated. I'd like to pretend just a little longer. "Luke, everything that I own is now yours. I don't have any family and I really don't have any friends. All I had was you and I loved you so, so much. Please, leave now. Don't even bother taking anything with you. I'll try to keep the other spirits away, while you go."

"I love you, too. Always," he told me.

"Go," I whispered as my power disappeared and Edward caught me before I reached the floor. "No, go after him. I can't let the others take his life, too."

When I realised that he was unwilling to leave my side, I weakly stood up. "Come on! They already have a head start!" I could only hope that Luke was faster and he hadn't wasted time warning the others. He was my number one priority. I was going to handle the others as they came, but not now. I didn't have the energy to project myself anymore.

As I went as fast as I could with Edward tugging me along, I could already hear all the chatter around me. They wanted Luke. I wasn't going to allow that to happen.

I spotted one of the ghosts creeping off to pursue the blonde man, but I quickly tackled him and swallowed hard. This was for Luke. With a shaky hand, I ran my knife across his neck, feeling how easily the blade went through the flesh made me swallow the bile quickly rising up my throat. The knife fell through my hand when I lost concentration and I quickly scrambled away as the body disappeared.

"You're doing great," Edward encouraged me, pulling me up and retrieving the knife. "You can't stop, now. He needs you."

I could do this.

Luke needed me.

Taking deep breaths, I kept going. The path to Luke was full of obstacles. Even after dragging out the spirit in the car. Even after he was driving far, far away, I continued to chase after him until suddenly, I was snapped back into the house.

It was then that I knew for sure he was safe. There must've been some boundary keeping the spirits of this land contained. This meant that I was never going to see him, again, but it also meant that he was truly safe from these spirits that craved blood.

"We did it." I let out a sigh of relief. I wished that there was a way for me to contactt him, if only once. I wanted to hear him when he finally arrived at the apartment.

"You did so wonderfully." Edward kissed my temple. "Now, rest. You're still new at this and you've used up too much energy. Don't over reach too much or it'll be much harder to recover."

I nodded tiredly at him and was ready to go to bed. Since Luke had left everything behind, it felt as if he was still there.

I lay down on the soft bed. It was nothing like the lumpy mattress in the basement. Laying there beneath the covers with Edward still in the room, it was a little awkward, but he eventually left me alone with the promise to return shortly.

The clock ticked rhythmically as it faithfully counted the infinite seconds that marked how long sleep evaded me.

I tossed and turned, until I was a ball of frustration. My eyelids were heavy, but nothing eased this torment. My mind simply refused to go to sleep.

By the time Edward returned, he could see how upset I was and looked away. A sigh left his lips. "Madi… I probably should've told you this earlier, but I didn't think you'd believe me. There… After dying and becoming a spirit, there is no way to sleep, anymore. You can meditate, but that's about it. I'm sorry."

I threw the cover off me with a scream. "Is there no way to escape this madness? Is there no rest for the dead?!" Looking up at Edward, I saw how sad he looked and knew that I should stop throwing all my anger at him. It wasn't his fault. No matter how much he apologised for it, there was nothing he could've done.

Now, his wide, puppy eyes were looking at me in a way that made me feel like scum. "I'm sorry, Edward. You've done nothing wrong. You were right. If you told me that I was never going to be able to sleep again, I would've tried my hardest to prove you wrong."

He smiled softly at me. "It's alright. I understand that today must've been overwhelming for you. If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here. I mean… Of course, I'm here. Not as if I could go anywhere even if I wanted to, but – " He abruptly stopped, his face going red. "I'll stop talking, now."

I giggled. His awkwardness was showing and it was absolutely endearing. "I don't mind. Keep going if you'd like. I enjoy listening to you talk. Would you maybe… read to me?"

His eyes lit up and he grabbed the closest book, which happened to be the mystery romance I had been trying to get through. "W-Where do you want me to sit?"

I patted the spot beside me and he quickly settled in. He cracked the book open to where I left off and began to read. His voice flowed smoothly with no signs of hesitation.

My eyes fluttered closed. He could read anything to me and I'd enjoy it. There was just something about the way he spoke. It was elegant and refined, very different from the way he stuttered through his words normally and nothing like the coarse language of modern English.

I moved over a little closer, until my head was resting in his lap. His hand fell upon my hair, stroking it lightly. I was on the verge of sleeping, but I knew it was never going to come. At least this state was like floating on a cloud. It felt great just laying there against him.

Why was I so comfortable around him? He was a stranger, yet all I wanted to do was stay in his arms. Was it because of the way he looked? Was I trying to recreate a life that could never be? Was he?

"I love you, he said to her. If the bullet had aimed true, she would've been lost to him forever. HE couldn't keep denying the truth any longer, not when it meant her never knowing the way he felt," Edward read on. "After the killer had been caught, they allowed the police to finish up with their questions before finally heading home together."

"Is it possible for us to still have happy endings?" I whispered.

He closed his eyes, the hand with the book fell heavily on to the bed. "It's the only thing keeping me going."

"I'm sure she's forgiven you by now, your wife," I told him. "You don't seem like a bad man. Whatever you think you have to atone for, I think you've showed it in your remorse."

"Maybe…" he mumbled. "Maybe you're my redemption."

I said nothing. My heart was pounding in my chest. He needed to stop saying things that made me feel this way.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash that shook the entire house. I quickly sat up, wondering what was happening. "What was that?"

"Probably just one of the spirits causing trouble, again," he sighed, placing the book back on the bedside table. "Don't worry about it. Let's – "

Screams and more crashes pierced through the air. There was no denying that something was wrong.

Ignoring Edward's protests, I raced down the stairs to see that the gathering had long since disbanded and chaos met me. The kitchen was empty. T he daylight shone brightly through the window, illuminating the knocked over chairs and empty cans. It was as if a small scuffle had broken out.

I looked around and saw the front door wide open. A vase by the entrance had fallen and shattered.

Another scream made me race upstairs and I phased into the room where Shelby was cowering in front of a woman – one of the actors from the previous season – Agnes. The woman was dressed in an old dress that was from a century long since passed. A large cleaver was held above her head as if she was going to butcher Shelby.

I squinted my eyes when I saw a faint shadow around her. It followed her every movement. No, I could see its grasp on her arms as if it was controlling her like a puppet.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted. I tried to tackle it away, but I only managed to distract it for a brief moment. Agnes stopped when the shadow briefly lost contact and stared at Shelby in confusion before Dominic burst in and shoved her to the side.

The shadow regained its grasp on her as I was pushed aside by the brunette nurse. "Stop being such a bitch! You're always ruining our fun!" Her knife glinted in the sun as she made to stab me, but I kicked her away.

"Maybe if you'd stop being such a psychopath!" I shouted back.

We fought in the small room, weaving in and out through the other duelling couple. "Why are you always trying to kill people?!" I didn't understand how they turned out this way. Weren't they supposed to be nurses back then? Didn't they go into the profession to help people?

"Oh, fuck off! Get off your high horse. Just you wait and see, you'll enjoy it like all the rest of us do! It'll only be a matter of time!" she spat.

Edward appeared behind her as she was about to charge and me and flung her at the wall. Where she landed, I had no clue, but together, we managed to pull the shadow away from Agnes.

The poor woman collapsed on to the floor and Dominic was finally able to tend to Shelby who was bleeding heavily from a deep shoulder wound.

"What is wrong with these spirits?! They couldn't all have been evil when they were alive." I shook my head, relieved that she was still alive, but for how long?

"It's this house or this land. There have been so many ritualistic sacrifices here that the ground is completely stained with blood." He looked sad as he spoke and I recalled that he, too, had been a sacrifice.

"You turned out alright," I said, trying to cheer him up, but it didn't seem to work despite the weak smile he sent me.

"We should head over to the others if you want to see them. I think they're trying to escape through the underground tunnel," he told me, taking my hand.

I didn't know how he could've known this, but when we arrived down in the old tunnel, I saw Monet, Lee, and Audrey scrambling around in fear. Was it just me or did they still have their cameras in their hands? Really? Things were out to kill them all and they were still trying to record everything? What was wrong with them?

"Stay here. I'll help them." He flickered and appeared before them, but before he could say anything, bullets ripped through his body and I let out a scream as he staggered back before falling over.

"Edward!" I knelt by him, not even caring that the trio had ran past us.

He let out a string of curses and touched the holes that riddled his body. "I apologise. I thought I would be able to help you, but I guess I don't quite look too trustworthy." He groaned and clenched his eyes shut in pain.

I knew first hand that just because the dead couldn't exactly die, again, didn't mean that pain became nonexistent. In fact, it was worse after death. The pain came and didn't leave until I was in that other realm of absolute darkness. From there, it was an entirely different type of pain. "Don't apologise for that." I gently touched his arm, afraid I was going to hurt him further. "You tried and that's all that matters to me."

"Thank you, Madi." His lips fell on my cheeks and I could feel my face heat up. "I'll do better, next time."

I shook my head. "We'll help them however we can, but I don't want you to get hurt in the progress. They're… They're not worth it…"

His hand touched my cheek and brought me closer. "Thank you," he repeated, but this time, there was something sensual about his words. They rolled off his touch and rumbled low.

"Ed-Edward…" I breathed.

His body shuddered and suddenly, he was gone.

I waited in the same spot for him to come back. I was afraid to wander this house by myself. It was as if I was a lost child waiting for someone to come find me, again.

When two arms wrapped around me, I finally relaxed my still body. I tilted my head to face him, watching a smile spread across his lips.

"There's something else being dead does to you." His fingers trailed down my neck and down the valley of my breasts. "It lowers your inhibitions." His breath caressed my ear and I let out a soft gasp. "You don't know how hard I've been trying to keep it together, but everything about you calls to me, Madi."

He pressed himself closer against me and I could feel the bulge grind into the small of my back.

"I… I…" My own desire flared up. I couldn't tell whether this was because of what he said or if I was just naturally attracted to him, but I allowed him to move his hands up and down my body.

"Let me have you, even if it's just once." He tugged at the nightie I had on. The material easily gave under his aggression.

He pressed me into the rocky surface and I finally snapped out of it. "Stop! Please, not here." Not here? I shouldn't let him do this anywhere, but my desire was bubbling quickly to the surface. I wanted him and I couldn't even convince myself otherwise.

His heavy breaths puffed along my skin, until he finally straightened up and cleared his throat. "S-Sorry… I should've had better control. I swear, I won't touch you again unless you've given me permission."

I readjusted the thin fabric and took his hand in mine. "It's just not the right time, but we'll talk about it later. Let's just deal with… whatever this situation is." No, no, no… What was I saying? I wanted him touching every part of me. I wanted –

His eyes brightened up and he kissed my lips. It lasted only a split second, but I could still feel the sensation lingering. It tingled and heated. It fuelled the desire that was already simmering to the top.

"Alright… Help these people and then, we talk about us and this connection that we have," I told him.

He nodded, squeezing my hand. As I turned around, I slammed right into another body. Angry brown eyes seared into my own.

"What are you still doing with him?" Rory growled, glaring over at Edward who only drew closer to me in defiance. "He's probably one of the spirits who conspired to get us all killed!"

"I would never do that," Edward argued. "I have no desire to kill anyone. I've seen enough bloodshed to know that it leads nowhere."

"That's what you're saying now…" Rory muttered. "If you two are going to fuck, at least, get a room. He just got himself shot and then, the two of you were going to go at it, while our friends run for their lives. Talk about priorities…"

I frowned at him. "Obviously, you know everything about priority and we weren't going to fuck. Even if these people are no friends of mine, I still don't want anything to happen to them. Besides, if you were here to watch Edward get shot, maybe you could've helped."

He looked away. "Let's just go after them, then."

We ran out of the tunnel and followed the path, straight to Sidney's trailer where bodies were laying haphazardly on the ground with blood splattered everywhere. The production crew was all dead.

I covered my mouth with my hands. "Oh, no…" Had it been Agnes? Had she gone on a killing spree before going into the house? When had they died?

"What's going on?" I heard a confused voice. "Rory? Why are there two of you?"

Sidney, appearing exactly like his dead, intestine-spilling body, was looking at us with a frown on his face. "Is that… Is that my body?" He knelt by the corpse and tried to touch it, but his hand kept going through. "What's going on?!" he shouted at us.

We all looked at each other.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thank you Vivi H88, Brookie Twiling, guests (Guest, anonymouscsifan, Guest) for reviewing!

Vivi H88: Thank you so much!

Guest: Hehe… Rory wasn't a very likeable character in Roanoke. Well… No one was xD I'm really hoping that I could capture that and keep them all in character. Aww… Luke… I like Luke too, but he just has to go because this isn't about him! Maybe he'll make an appearance elsewhere. Who knows?

In terms of Apocalypse, I'm still thinking of how I can put Madi into it. The entire story was so scattered that it didn't really have a clear storyline to me. If I end up writing it, I'm not sure if I'll be able to follow anything other than the very core details. I'm also playing with the idea of Cult, right now, because I love Kai Anderson, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that either.. Urk… But I'll be doing one if not both after this!

anonymouscifan: Would they do a continuation of this story next season? Maybe the kid will end up being the complete opposite of Michael or even worse MUAHAHAHAHA! Or maybe they'll just do something completely different before connecting everything again.

Brookie Twiling: Noooo… My list of goofing is getting longer and longer! Thanks for helping me, though! Do it as long as you like! I really appreciate it!

I think seeing Madi's dead body and then, seeing her spirit, it probably unnerved him quite a bit. Besides, who was he to deny her of her "last" request?

Hmm… did Guinness die on the property? Is he actually dead? :OO Will he ever appear again? Hehe… Who knows?

Guest: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter, too!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!

Please, leave a review if you enjoyed this!