Paralyzed
That night, Ollie lies in his bed. His room is dark except for the moonlight shining through his bedroom window. He stares up at the ceiling and can't stop thinking about Molly.
Is Molly okay? Did I do something wrong? I'm just so worried about her, I don't know what to do…I want to help her and I know she's going to therapy, but it seems to be making things worse. Maybe I should try talking to her again.
Ollie takes out his phone to text Molly. After seeing her so broken down today, he just needs to check on her.
Suddenly, Ollie puts his phone away when he sees a dark figure in the corner of his room right next to the door. He doesn't know what it is, but it's making him feel uneasy.
Ollie reaches to the drawer on his bedside table. He's hidden a ghost hunting weapon in there. He knows Molly would be disappointed, thinking he's changed and believes all ghosts are good. But, whatever this shadow is, he's got an eerie feeling it's bad news.
Ollie gets out his weapon, pointing it at the shadow creature.
"I don't know what you are, but I'm going to need you to stay back." Ollie said.
The shadow doesn't move, it just stays there, silent against the wall. It doesn't speak or communicate in any sort of way that Ollie can understand. It's just there.
Ollie puts down his weapon, realizing this thing may be harmless and just as scared as he is. Molly's worldview, although sometimes naive, is rubbing off on him. He starts to realize maybe that's not such a bad thing. Maybe he can trust this scary looking shadow.
So, Ollie slowly walks up to it. He's a bit nervous, but wants to give it a chance. It's what Molly would do.
Once Ollie gets close to it, he puts his hand out, feeling a bit of electric energy the closer he gets to it.
"Are you a ghost?" Ollie asked.
The shadow creature moves a bit. It doesn't have a face so it tries to communicate through movement. Creating pictures on the wall with its hands like a shadow puppet show.
Ollie watches. Fascinated by this. He may have grown up being a ghost hunter, but the paranormal has always intrigued him rather than frightened him.
The shadow creature makes a shadow puppet of what looks like a ghost, then what looks to be a demon-like creature floating above it. Eventually consuming the ghost and changing it into something dark and scary.
Ollie flinches in response to the silent shadow story.
"I understand. You were a ghost, but something dark took over you and you became a…Well, not yourself." Ollie said.
The shadow creature then goes still once again. It's scared, Ollie can tell, and he can't help but feel bad for the poor creature.
"It seems like you've been through a lot. My girlfriend showed me that not all creatures who are scary are bad. That most are just scared and lonely deep down. So, how can I help?" Ollie asked.
As soon as the shadow hears that name, it starts moving towards Ollie's window. Then, it stops and stares out at the McGee's house, right at Molly's window.
Ollie starts walking towards it cautiously, now more worried about Molly's safety than this creature. It seems to know who she is and he doesn't feel comfortable about that.
Suddenly, the shadow creature speaks in a childlike voice, sounding like a little girl who's lost and alone.
"Molly…That's Molly. I…I need her." The shadow creature said.
Ollie then starts to get protective of his girlfriend. He doesn't know if this thing has good intentions or not. Even if it does sound scared, he can't risk Molly's safety.
Ollie grabs his weapon again and aims it at the shadow creature.
"You stay away from, Molly! She's going through a lot right now and doesn't need some shadow ghost demon haunting her." Ollie said.
The shadow creature looks to Ollie. No face or expression, but he can feel its sadness and loneliness radiating. Changing the room around him blue, almost as if it changed the color of the moon's light beaming through his bedroom window.
Ollie starts to cry, feeling the shadows sadness and pain. It's too much. He drops his weapon and falls to his knees from weakness, looking up at the creature with concern.
"Is…Is this how you feel? I…I'm so sorry." Ollie said.
The shadow creature then moves away from the window and towards Ollie as it speaks.
"You're close with Molly, aren't you? That's why you're perfect for what I need to do." The shadow creature said.
Ollie looks up at the creature, desperate and afraid of what it's going to do, fearing not his own safety, but Molly's.
"Don't…Don't hurt her…" Ollie said.
In that moment, the shadow creature reaches out its hand to Ollie.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt Molly." The shadow creature said.
Hearing those words, Ollie breathes a sigh of relief while still feeling the overwhelming sadness and loneliness all around him.
"You are!" The shadow creature said.
Suddenly, the shadow creature punches its hand through Ollie's chest and it phases through. A light blue glow shines through Ollie as he feels a cold burning sensation. He can't move, feeling that sadness all around him as physical pain. So dark and lonely in his heart.
Ollie screams internally, unable to move or speak on the outside. Then, he falls to the ground. Holding his hands to his chest as the blue light radiating from it begins to fade.
Ollie looks around, panicking as he realizes the shadow creature is gone. He feels all of the intense emotions that the shadow creature was burying deep inside, the fear, the sadness, the pain, the anger, the loneliness…All swirling around inside his heart and forming into thoughts in his mind that scare him even more.
"What…What's happening to me?" Ollie asked.
Tears fall as Ollie lies on the ground, cold and alone. He doesn't know what to do or who to call for help. He can barely speak and can't move.
How…How did this happen? Why did I trust that shadow creature to begin with? I should've ran or used my weapon against it…I wasn't brave or strong enough. I wasn't enough…
The intense emotions start to change into intrusive thoughts of worthlessness as Ollie starts to feel that crippling loneliness eat away at him from the inside out. It hurts. Deep down in his heart both physically and emotionally. Now he knows how Molly feels.
Ollie thinks about Molly, the abandonment trauma she was talking about and how deeply she feels things. He understands now. It's something deep. A hurt that will stay with her forever. And yet, she still works towards healing herself and staying positive.
Ollie smiles, realizing how strong Molly is to have survived this pain of losing the people she cares about over and over again. Her bright golden joy energy still shines and that's why he loves her.
Suddenly, Ollie starts to get a craving for that joy energy. He tries to fight it, but he feels it's what he needs to survive.
Confused, Ollie tries to fight the instinct to hunt the joy and take it for himself. He uses all of his strength to hold back, to keep Molly safe, but it starts to become too much.
"What did that shadow creature do to me?" Ollie asked.
Suddenly, Ollie gains a sense of strength. He uses it to pick himself up off the ground, wipe his tears away, and focus on one thing. The one person he swore to protect is now the life force he needs to survive.
Ollie stares out his window, looking at Molly's window with fear and longing. He's conflicted, wanting to protect her but needing her joyful energy to survive.
Ollie then looks away from the window and holds himself back.
"No. You can't take Molly's joy away! That's her ghost, her soul…You'd hurt her! Or worse…I…I have to stay away from her. I know it's going to break her heart, but it's to save her life. I'm so sorry, Molly." Ollie said.
Molly lies in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She hasn't been able to sleep. After what happened with Ollie, she can't help but feel embarrassed about her outburst.
What if he hates me now or thinks I'm some kind of freak? I know I'm different…Maybe that's why everyone ends up leaving me…I get too emotional, I can be controlling and obsessive, and that scares people. Maybe I'm just too much for anyone…
Molly snaps out of her thoughts when she sees the light from her phone fill the dark room. She's scared to pick it up, thinking the worst has happened and Ollie is actually leaving her.
So, Molly lies there for a while. She lets her abandonment trauma take over and feels whatever she's feeling in that moment. Fear, sadness, pain, anger, and loneliness all overwhelming her senses. Then, she lets herself cry.
Through the tears, Molly lets herself go through her emotions and it hurts. But, in all of the emotional overwhelm, she feels a sense of hope.
Molly smiles, knowing if she can make it through this fear of heartbreak, she can survive anything.
"I'm okay…No matter what happens, I'm going to be okay." Molly said.
With that, Molly picks up her phone, feeling a bit more confident in herself.
Molly reads the text. At first, she's surprised. Then smiles, knowing the world hasn't come to an end and the person she loves hasn't left her, he actually wants to see her.
Molly blushes, a big smile on her face as she remembers her dance in the rain with Ollie the other night. It was so romantic and fun. Her heart bursts with joyful energy as she relives that magical night in her mind.
Molly then responds to Ollie's text, letting him know she'll meet up with him.
"Meeting in the graveyard at night is odd, but ghosts are both a big part of our lives so I guess that could be romantic!" Molly said.
Molly then changes into her sparkly purple dress with a bright pink jacket over it. Then she slowly and quietly sneaks out of the house yet again. She doesn't know what Ollie has planned, but after the wonderful dance they had, she can't resist that feeling of love.
Molly walks down the trail towards the graveyard, a smile on her face as she looks up at the midnight blue sky full of stars. The moonlight shining bright, a beautiful blue color. She's never seen this before, but it reminds her of Scratch and that makes her feel safe.
Molly looks on ahead, seeing the graveyard in the distance and smiles and starts to feel her bright joy energy radiating.
"Alright, Ollie. Here's to a magical night." Molly said.