After-Life

Chapter 19. Eric's Loss

Kristoph, Mabel, and Eric fell back and landed in a heap in the middle of the hotel room. Eric and Kris barely had a moment to process any of what had just taken place, before Mabel jumped up and began to anxiously pace around them, muttering. They watched on, puzzled, as she started to tug nervously at her hair, chew at her nails and jump each time a door shut further down the corridor from their room.
"Um, Mab?" Eric asked, cautiously. "Is everything alright?"
Mabel shook her head, her eyes wide with terror, "he knows, he knows, he knows!" Her voice shook with emotion and her breathing had become erratic.

Kristoph jumped up and stalled her pacing, "easy now, Mab. Who knows what?" He asked, softly.
Mabel shook her head; her eyes were stinging, and her head was swimming with sensations. Everything was overwhelming and chaotic! With a groan she slumped forward into a heap on the floor and grasped at her head, "it hurts," she whispered faintly, shutting her eyes tightly; "why does my head hurt so much?"
"Maybe it's the astral hopping?" Eric suggested, his voice thick with concern as he cautiously approached them.
Kris shook his head, "I dunno – she seems to be in a lot of pain. I don't think it's just the astral hopping that's doing it."

Mabel looked up through strained eyes. The room around her shimmered before her, as a deep red hue descended over her vision.
"Everything is red!" She yelped out, in panic.
Eric crouched down in front of Mabel and looked into her eyes, "there's nothing wrong with your eyes Mab, you're not bleeding. There are no burst blood vessels..."
Mabel shook her head, "NO!" She turned to look up at Kris with a wild expression on her face, before shouting out in desperation, "Kris! EVERYTHING is RED!"
The colour in Kristoph's face drained completely, and he sank slowly down to the ground beside her. Eric however, looked lost, "I don't understand," he said, helplessly.
Kristoph shook his head, "it's part of the deal that was made with Thet but;" he paused, "I thought the traffic light system went out of action when we agreed to go under Thet and Asmodeus's employment?"
Eric still looked completely baffled, "traffic lights?"

Mabel took a steadying breath, "the sole purpose of being reincarnated into this world, was so that I could live as full a life as I could, without it being cut short. Any decisions or encounters that I made would offer a traffic light system. If I always opted for the green light, my life would continue safely. Amber, my life would be in jeopardy. Red, I've made a wrong choice, and my life is forfeit," she explained with a forced calm.
Eric stared, petrified; "but how?"
"He knows," Mabel choked. "The last thing I saw before we returned to the here and now... was the piper, Pan; he looked up at the window, and smiled at me. It was unlike any other smile. It was wicked, vicious. He knows."
"I don't get it," Kris's voice croaked; "why is it affecting you and not me?"
Mabel took another deep and steadying breath, "I think... it has something to do with you playing host to Asmodeus," she spoke slowly, as her mind worked overtime. "I noticed him ignore you in the hall, during the first memory. He sniffed around Eric, he tried to scope me out – but he ignored you. When you mentioned his scent and that Asmodeus smelled similar, it makes sense. He doesn't know you're there Kris; he can't see or smell you as you are another possessed being. It just so happens that the being you're possessed by has a similar odour. As such, I'm certain he cannot discern between his own scent and that of a similar supernatural entity, who has a similar smell, that is."
Eric frowned, "so, why am I not seeing red?" He asked, nervously.
Mabel sighed, "Because you're not a reincarnated being, Eric. You're a living, breathing, never been dead before human."

Kristoph stood up, his face flushed with anger, "I'm calling this off! Thet and Asmodeus want to get Limbo sorted? They can do it themselves! I cannot and will not see you die Mab. I don't want to lose you! I can't..." he slumped down on to the bed heavily, "I can't lose you Mab."
He heaved a sigh that was weighted with raw emotions as Mabel stared up at him, her eyes wide in shock at this sudden outburst of emotion.
Eric cleared his throat awkwardly, "and I think that's my cue to step outside for a cigarette," he mumbled, before slowly backing out of the doorway.