Haunted

Chapter Five

"Enough!"

Laura and I turn, our head snapping to the doorway. A man stands there, replacing Katia, who has moved farther into the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demands,  stepping forward. He's tall, probably one of the tallest men I've ever seen in my life. His hair is jet black, falling straight to his shoulders, and there's an aura about him --- I can sense to my very bones that he's not human, but that he's powerful, and very, very displeased.

"Kole," Gavin rasps, Ian helping him stand. "She's possessed."

"I can see that. Why is she kicking your ass? How did this escalate to such a point? I was only thirty minutes out!" he sounds irritated, as if he's discussing why someone let the dog into the trash.

Everyone is silent, and I lean back on my heels, my vision darkening again.

I'm so cold.

"Well? Is anyone going to speak?" the man demands, and everyone looks down, quelled by his tone.

Hmph.

"When I kill the demon, I will go." Laura says in the calmest voice I've heard so far. "I will take his life for the ones he took from me."

"Which demon do you speak of, spirit?" the man asks, his hands slipping into the pockets of his slacks as he steps around, not looking in the least bit perturbed. Katia sweeps out of his way, standing now in a corner.

"That one." Laura points at Gavin as he wipes at the blood on his face. "The one who killed us."

"Us, you say? I see only one spirit here." the man counters, circling until he's completely between us and the others.

"We both died. I and her. I made her live, her death was my fault." Laura says, and I can hear the remorse in her voice. She made me live? What does that mean? No, no I don't want this! I don't want to be the one who lived, not when she had so much to offer!

I can feel the tears well in my eyes, burning my cold skin as they seep from my lashes.

"The vessel is your friend then. She died with you."

"Yes."

"How did Gavin cause your death?"

"He tried to wipe my memory. He failed. He messed me up. I caused a wreck, and it killed us."

"Gavin did this?"

"Yes. He doesn't get to live while I die. He doesn't get to live and this go unpunished!" Laura nearly hisses again, her fury returning with a vengeance. I squeeze my eyes shut, finding for the briefest second, I have some control. I try to strain back, I don't want anyone else to die, but it's impossible.

Laura is intent that he will die.

Laura, no! Please! No more of this!

"I will punish Gavin, will that satisfy you?" the man suddenly asks, and my eyes pop open of their own accord.

"No."

"Why will his death satisfy you, then? What does it give you?"

"Satisfaction. Justice."

"How is this justice? How is this not vengeance?" the man asks, so eerily calm. It's like he does this every day.

"You don't know what he did to me, how awful it was." Laura hesitates, her eyes --- no, my eyes --- searching the room. "How he held me down, how he ripped my mind away from me. I didn't know who I was for hours, I wandered the woods where he dumped me. I was so lost for so long. I still remembered, he failed, but I didn't realize the damage done. I was driving the car, I was going too fast. I kept seeing him attacking me, over and over, the pain of my mind being toyed with. I missed a curve, the car flipped --- Amelia nearly died on impact, the pressure from the airbags hit her chest and caused her heart to stop. I was thrown from the car, my body was mangled."