Chapter 18: Nobody Can Save Me

It was the friday after homecoming, and the first friday of October. Morgan woke up a little late, just by twenty minutes. She was glad that she had already showered the night before. Her hair even managed to dry straight and stay straight while she slept. She brushed it back into a smooth high ponytail and put her cheer bow in before hair spraying it to make sure there were no fly-aways. She brushed her teeth and rolled on some deodorant before she put on the fitted black longsleeve that they were supposed to wear under their uniforms during the cold season. She put on her spanx and her cheer skirt before doing her make up. She waited to put on her cheer top to make sure that she didn't get anything on it while she got ready for school. She put on a sort of nude smokey eye with cat eyeliner and thick mascara.

Since it was officially fall now, she put on some dark purple lipstick that went with her cheer uniform. She put some lotion on her legs to make sure they didn't go dry in the brisk fall air before she put on her socks and cheer shoes. She carefully slipped on her cheer top and put on her varsity jacket. Morgan put all of her homework in her backpack and slung the bag over her shoulder before looping her arm through the straps on her cheer duffle. She walked out to the main room to find her dad eating a warmed blueberry scone that she had made the other night. There was a plate of them sitting on the table, a fresh pot of coffee, sweetener and creamer as well. She dropped her bags on the floor a little aggressively and stared at the coffee and scones. Dean looked at her and Sam stopped in the doorway, wondering what she was doing. Her mouth was watering and her nose was filled with that fresh coffee smell. They were waiting for whatever shoe to drop, and it was about to.

"Oh my god, I freaking love this shit!" She exclaimed as she grabbed a scone and took a huge bite out of it before pouring herself some coffee in a to-go cup so she could bring it with her to school. Dean laughed as Sam unfroze and sat down with them.

"You're the weirdest kid, I swear," Dean commented as he typed something in on his laptop. Morgan snorted.

"Yes, but I'm your kid," She told him. He laughed.

"You know it," Dean said as she started drinking her coffee and grabbed another scone. They were so good that she was going to eat this one slowly, unlike the first one she ate.

"Can we get going though? 'Cause I have morning cheerleader duties since tonight's a big game. It's senior night and we're playing a big rival…" Morgan set the scone down and grabbed her bags before grabbing the scone and the coffee again.

"...Aaaaannd you can't be late, gotchya. Lemme just grab my keys," Dean said as he stood up and grabbed them from Sam who apparently drove last, since he borrowed the car to get groceries last night.

"Thanks, dad," she told him and he froze for a second, a small smile creeping across his face before he got up and walked with her to the car.

Morgan was sitting at lunch with the Usual group. Jonah was sitting with his arm around her as she bit into the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She knew her dad packed the lunch because when Sam packs her lunch it's always either a BLT or a turkey and swiss with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. He's big on packing a healthy lunch. On the off chance that her dad packs it, it's always a peanut butter and jelly and a cookie or something along with the usual carrots, apple and pretzels. They don't pack a drink because they know she's big on just drinking water, especially since she drinks coffee every morning and that's a diuretic.

"So are you two a thing now?" Joseph asked, and Morgan looked to Jonah for the official answer.

"Yup," Jonah smiled before getting back to his lunch. Morgan could feel her face growing hot, slightly embarrassed from the attention that followed.

It was now maybe two weeks since homecoming, and just about two weeks until the big Halloween party that everyone was planning on going from seniors to freshman at Oak Hills High. Morgan was at the nearest halloween store, which was actually twenty minutes away from Lebanon via the interstate. She and Madison were looking for Halloween costumes while Sam was running errands around the area. He drove them and told them to text him when they're done shopping so he can pick them up. The two teenage girls were quietly browsing the costumes, showing the funny ones to each other when Madison decided to strike up a conversation.

"So how is it? Dating Jonah?" She asked. Morgan shrugged.

"It's nice, we've gone on a few dates. Movies, the diner, the coffee shop, the park, just about everywhere worth going in this town," Morgan told her. Madison laughed.

"You know, I've been friends with Jonah for a while now and I don't think I've ever seen him this happy," She told Morgan. The young psychic smiled.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really." Morgan couldn't stop smiling as she looked through the costumes, Madison laughing slightly.

"Hey, Madi?" she asked her friend. She glanced up from the Tinkerbell costume in her hand.

"I was making out with him the other night and things got a little heated…" Morgan began explaining. Madison started to look a little worried.

"You guys didn't do it did you?" Madison questioned, sounding concerned.

"Oh, god no. He wanted to though and I said no. He seemed a little upset by it but told me it wasn't a problem. So I guess that's just how boys are right?" Morgan asked. She had been so bothered by how much Jonah wanted her to the point where she had to tell him to stop, that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I don't think you should read into it. It was probably just the heat of the moment catching up to him when you guys stopped," Madison tried to rationalize for her. Morgan felt a little bit better about the whole thing.

"So how are things with you and Tyler?" Morgan asked her friend as she stumbled across the witch costume that she kept drifting back to, no matter where she looked in the store, it continued to catch her eye. Maybe it caught her eye because she felt kindred to fictional witches at the moment.

"We're good," Madison explained. "He doesn't communicate well but he at least communicates when it matters the most." Morgan laughed.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, you just sound like an adult in a real relationship," Morgan explained. This was when Madison began laughing as well.

"I really do, don't I?" Madison laughed as she came across a cat costume that she liked.

"Hey, should I do this witch costume? I kinda like it," Morgan asked.

"You know what? I think you should go for it. It would look really good on you. I think I'm gonna do this black cat costume. Gives me a good excuse to wear a skin tight outfit for Tyler," Madison said. The two girls started laughing as they grabbed the costumes in two sizes each and went to go try on. As soon as they determined which sizes the two of them should get, they walked up to the checkout counter and waited in line.

It was late, Morgan had a lot of homework and still needed to get some training in so she did only an hours work instead of three. As soon as she was done, Morgan sat down at the table in the main room, as sweaty as can be as her father placed a burger a homemade fries down in front of her. It was one of those rare nights that her dad actually cooked dinner. Usually because it was easier to order something when you have hunting research to do. She horked down the food and drifted back to her room to take a shower. She couldn't stop yawning as she washed herself in the shower. She could barely keep her eyes open as she carefully shaved her legs to make sure they were smooth for cheerleading the next day. She always felt self conscious about having bristly legs in front of the other girls on the squad. When she got out of the shower, she wrung out her hair with a towel and put lotion on her body before putting on her pajamas and crawling into bed with her dog Zoey. Sam had taken the dog out while she was taking a shower so she didn't have to take the dog out until morning. She set the alarm on her phone before letting her eyes drift close as she slipped away. Slowly, and then all at once.

It was dark. A dreamless sleep, until it wasn't. Morgan looked upon the dark, run down room as the night poured through the windows like a mixture of black ink and moonlight. There were old fissures running across the walls and the ceiling like an old house. The wood floors were warped but still holding. It was an empty room, until it wasn't. There was a girl in the middle of the room with long chestnut hair, perfectly straightened. Her face was hidden under the brim of a witch's hat. It was one of the classic hats that come with a costume for halloween. Her skin was lightly tanned with freckles everywhere. She seemed so familiar, her 5'1 stature, slightly slouched as her head looked at the ground. There was a gust of wind, coming through the open windows, making the hat sway slightly in the breeze as her hair blew about.

The girl looked up and Morgan realized she was looking at herself. She was spectating herself. Morgan saw the look of fear on her own face as she realized that among the freckles on her body, there was blood, spattered all over her. It was in her hair, her black witch's dress that's fabric matched the hat, it was all over her skin, and it was all under her fingernails. At her feet, Morgan saw her familiar black combat boots, which were covered in a mix of blood and mud. It was in that moment, that Morgan was no longer the spectator. Out of nowhere, something crept out of the shadows and dragged her through the door as she screamed and clawed at the wood. Her hands bled as they repeatedly scraped against the wood.

"Help me!" Morgan screamed as she watched herself grow smaller and smaller as she was dragged into the darkness. The feeling of the large hands dragging her by her ankles changed as the grip traveled up her body. They grabbed her ankles, then her knees, her hips, her hands, her elbows as her chest was lifted from the ground, then she was being pulled backward by her hair. This time, the dream didn't stop. She was turned over and grabbed by the neck. All she could look at was his black eyes and how they were burning a hole through her mind. Her whole body felt like it was on fire when his chilling voice rolled out of his cold lips before the demon's laughter rang in her ears.

"He's coming."

Morgan was suffocating. She was coughing and sputtering as the hand grew tighter around her neck. The worst part was when he let go of her, yet she was still suspended in the air with her throat closed, unable breathe. In that moment she saw his face, one so frighteningly familiar. One that once she saw, she felt equally as betrayed as she felt scared for her own life. It felt like she was growing cold, her veins coming closer to the surface of her skin as they flowed with black like ink being pumped out of her racing heart beat. She couldn't hear a single sound as her vision slowly darkened. She could feel the black blood pouring out of her mouth as she sputtered. She tried everything to get free. Morgan wiggled and fought him. She pushed against him and clawed at his wrists. She even tried using her powers to escape. But she couldn't save herself. She was going to die.

Instead of the release of death, her eyes shot open to the darkness of her bedroom. She couldn't stop coughing and hyperventilating, trying to catch her breath through the tears spawned out of pure fear. She felt like her esophagus had been shredded. Her hand felt wet as she coughed into it, so she climbed out of bed and walked to her bathroom, turning on the light. There was blood all over her palm, spattered across her skin. Morgan felt her body being to shake as she quickly washed her hands in the sink, doing her best to get the blood off as fast as she could. When she was done, she dried her hands and gripped the bathroom counter as tightly as she could, staring into her reflection as she tried to calm herself down, deeply breathing in and out, in and out, until she could finally stop shaking.

"I'm going to die," she whispered to herself as her eyes became bloodshot as tears filled her eyes.

Author's Note: Thank you to those who have made it this far with my on my journey writing this story. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!