The Darkside

At Death's Door

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" asked the chief, "This is the first time I have seen you lost for words."

"No, chief; I know what to say. I was just waiting for your man to finish," I replied. "Oh, is that so? So why don't you enlighten us with whatever you have to say?" said the chief. "Okay, let's see. According to what he's saying, if we buried bodies, what happened to them? Didn't you guys dig up Charlie's grave in order to exhume the so-called bodies we buried? Didn't you check our houses and vehicles as well?" I said, "Tell me; what did you find? After all that, you still accuse us, you know what I think. I think this is vindication, and you will be hearing from our lawyer. So, unless you're arresting us, we are leaving," I said, looking Chief Samson in the eye. "Fine, you can leave. And Jared comes back to work, starting tomorrow," he said. "Really? I thought I was suspended?" he asked, surprised. "Well effective immediately, your suspension is lifted," he said. "Well, how about that?" I asked Jared, walking out the door.

"We got in the car, and as we were driving home, Jared said, "I don't trust him; he's up to something."

"Of course, I don't trust him either; he got scared when I mentioned the lawyer. He's worried about the lawsuit," I said. "Are we really going to sue?" Jared asked, looking confused. "No, I was just trying to scare him into dropping the case and giving you your job back," I said. "Well, that's good. I don't think I can survive a trial," he said with a sigh of relief. "Of course not, I heard your heavy breathing when I got stuck for words at the station."

"What do you expect? I am a cop, not a witch. I have no magic powers, so I panicked," he said. "Well, this could be a trap, so you need to be careful when you go back to work," I said. "Oh, I know. After all, I am a cop," he said. "Don't make any calls to me from work, and don't talk to anyone about anything related to this case," I said. "Of course, I am not stupid," he said, slightly annoyed. "I didn't say you were; it's just that you are a cop and before this case, those cops were like your family. So, it can be hard to think otherwise," I said. "That's true; it's hard to think that they think of me like a common criminal," he replied.

"Loving your family enough to cover up for them can do that to you," I said, "Now, I need to go home and summon Christen and try to explain to him that I wasn't trying to hurt him. Hopefully, he'll understand and forgive me," I said, feeling sad for what I put him through. "Didn't you know anything about his past? After all, he's your—what was that you said he was?" Jared asked. "He's my advisor; he helps me with difficult situations," I replied. "So, why didn't you call him earlier, when we had difficult situations?" Jared asked. "I call him only when I am out of options. After all, you saw how he reacted when he saw you," I said. "Well, that's true. Why is he so suspicious?" Jared asked. "It's not suspicion; he just feels that people without magical abilities would be in danger if introduced to it; and when in danger, a person would do anything to get out, including blabbing about our abilities," I said, "So, that's why he's against non-magic persons being involved."

"But I won't betray you; you do know that, right?" Jared asked. "Well, I do recall you trying to kill me," I said. "That was different; I thought you were like the witch who cursed my brother. But, yes, I did try to kill you. I'm sorry for that, and I promise never to try it again," he said. I smiled and said, "Alright, but if I ever go dark, you should kill me."

"What? Why would you go dark?" he asked, confused. "I don't plan to, but you can never know. After what I did to Christen, I am not sure about myself," I said. "You're being too hard on yourself. You didn't know," he said. "I just hope he can find it in his heart to forgive me someday," I said with regret. "I'm sure he will," Jared, said touching my shoulder.

As I turned to speak, my phone rang. "Can you answer that?" I asked Jared. "Sure," he said, picking up the phone. "Put it on speaker mode," I said, and as he answered, I heard my aunt scream out, "Octavia, hurry up there! It's an emergency!"

"What's wrong?" I asked. "It's Melissa and Charlie; they look dead," she said. "What? Just don't do anything until I get there," I said. "What does she mean? Do you think they are dead?" Jared asked with fear in his voice. "I don't know, let's go and see," I said. Before long, we reached the driveway. We got out of the car, and as we walked in, Aunt Cassie walked up to me, saying they look dead. I walked past her to the cellar and what I saw made my heart sink.