Worthy (Complete)

Chapter 7

Katelyn wiped away the moisture forming on her brow and tossed the covers to the side, watching as they slid off the bed and onto the floor. "Ugh. Why can't I sleep? Is that too much to ask for?"

She flopped her long legs over the edge of the bed, stood up, made her way to the bathroom and picked up the washcloth that she had laid on the edge of the sink a couple hours earlier. She stuck it under the faucet, interrupting the water's smooth flow. She noted the difference, as slight as it was, in the weight as the semi-dry towel soaked up the cold liquid. "Much like life I guess. The more you take in the heavier your burdens get."

She twisted the water-filled cloth, wringing out every last drop, then placed it on the nap of her neck and headed to the kitchen. "Here I am trying to get my aunt's affairs in order and from the moment I walked into this house I've been nothing but a mess."

She filled a cup with some ice-cold sweet tea and gulped it down. "And here I am talking to myself again. Just great. Maybe I need to consider staying at my place for a while; get away from the loneliness of being here."

She set the cup down and rubbed the cloth over her face, resting it for a moment on her forehead before placing it back on her neck. A loud thump came from her aunt's room, disrupting her contemplation. She turned her head and stood motionless, heart pounding. "Great, just great. Nice to know you pick the fear instead of flight response," she mumbled. "It's an old house, though. They come with all kinds of strange noises, right? Yeah, that's what I'm going to go with. Strange noises."

Having finally convinced herself that was the truth, she ignored the sound that had caused a brief moment of anxiety to rush through her, and decided to go back to bed. That lasted until she made it half way across the kitchen when she heard it again. No matter how hard she tried to move, nothing would budge, thanks in part to the unseen spirit of fear that entangled itself around her feet and latched onto her legs, freezing her into place. She was like a deer caught in the headlights, knowing impending doom was only seconds away, yet not being able to move out of its path.

She dug deep. Deep into her inner most being and grabbed onto what she thought was for sure her last ounce of courage and forcefully scooted her foot across the floor. Inch by inch she closed the distance between her and the door. Dragging the demon along with her.

Her hand reached the knob just as another thump rang out – louder, closer.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice growled. The hot breath from the unknown thing behind her rushed up against her neck, accompanied by the foul smell of rotten eggs.

"Well?"

Katelyn couldn't have answered if she wanted to. Every part of her was paralyzed.

Ackmen commanded the spirit of fear to release her, "She'll be back," he said.

Reluctantly the tiny demon slowly removed his claws from Katelyn's legs and unwrapped himself from her. "You're no fun," the spirit complained.

"You can have all the fun you want later. We cannot push the issue right now."

Katelyn counted to three, flung the door open, and ran. The gravel cut into her bare feet, leaving small smudges of blood on the sharp rocks underneath them. She winced for a moment at the pain but kept running, staying focused on the soft green grass a few feet ahead of her.

Evil laughter filled the darkness as the door slammed shut, sending a sudden jerk throughout her body. For a brief moment she wanted to turn around and confront whatever disgusting thing that was. What right did it have anyway? Taking over her aunt's house like that. It wasn't invited – was it?

Reaching the tree line she ran behind the first big, solid tree she found and leaned up against it. The rough bark scratched against her skin through the thin T-shirt. She fought to catch her breath, clutching at the searing pain in her side. Doubled over, she propped herself up with one hand on her knee and pulled her hair out of the way with the other one. She knew what was coming. As much as she'd try and fight against it, she'd lose. She always did. Her body shook as a salty taste filled her mouth. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the dinner she'd eaten only hours before now lying on the ground in front of her.