Raising Echo

14

"Open the fuck up," Syrus was holding a bag of food in one hand as he tried to peek into the small window in the door. He carefully examined his surroundings, furrowing his thick eyebrows. "Since when they start locking shit up?" He scoffed, reaching into his bag, grabbing a fry. Stuffing the thin, crispy, and perfectly salted strip of potato into his mouth he looked around again, letting out an inpatient sigh. Holding his fist up, he was prepared to knock again but without warning, the door swung open and Syrus was yanked inside.

"Don't...say shit." Chris said as he locked the door.

Syrus was immediately taken aback by the appearance of the home. Everything was off. The lighting was terrible; some lights were on some weren't. It felt as though gravity was stronger once he was pulled inside. Like something under the house was pulling the house itself and everything inside down into the depths of the Earth.

"Nah, what's going on with the lights?" Syrus looked around as a strange chill blanketed the room. The temperature dropped so dramatically that their breath could be seen in the frigid air. "Why the fuck is it so cold? I'm just tryna eat my burger and y'all on some weir-"

"Boy, can't you be quiet?" Christine scolded, placing a blanket over Aeko. Her head perked up and she realized the presence was near. "It'll pass. Whoever, or whatever it is must be upset. They cannot rest and they're here now so we'll just have to wait it out."

Chris shook his head, rubbing his nose. A strange feeling came over him. Sudden sorrow engulfed him and tugged at his heart and he felt faint. Before he could fall, he extended his arm out to Syrus and placed it on his shoulder.

Instinctively, Syrus caught his friend in time and helped him to the couch. "Y'all can tell me if y'all on that stuff, y'all know that right? Cause I won't judge-"

"Syrus, you won't believe any of the shit that I'm about to tell you. But if something happens to me, I want you to know everything."Chris was visibly weaker and Christine placed her palm on his forehead and neck.

Syrus, confused and looking between the two had also had a strange feeling come over him but he brushed it off to slip in another joke. "Oh shit, you sick, boss? Kamika gave you the Coronavirus?"

"No, worse."

"What's worse the Coronavirus in 2020?" Syrus asked with his arms crossed. "Leukemia?" His nonchalantness faded and his arms dropped to his side as he looked down at Chris. Aeko hiccuped in his sleep and Syrus looked at the sleeping boy he considered his nephew, with a sad and confused expression. "Brown what's really going on?" He asked seriously.

_

The room was quiet. Everyone was now bundled up and the furnace that hadn't been use since Chris bought the house was burning. Syrus sat with goosebumps popping up his neck. "M-my Abuelita. She practices brujeria. Maybe she can help you."

"Brujeria?" Chris questioned.

"Witch craft," Christine said, pressing her lips together. " And no. I don't think that'd help. This isn't magic."

"What does it matter? Anything can help at this point. You're not doing anything to keep whatever the hell this thing is away." Chris expressed tiredly. He'd realized Aeko was too young to do what he was destined for now- whatever it was. So he needed to weigh his options.

"I'm doing what I can, I'm still learning like you!" Christine choked out. She hadn't admitted to being scared until it showed on her face. She couldn't hold back her distress now.

"Aye, Aye, calm down okay? The last thing y'all need is to be arguing. We'll figure something out." Syrus put his hand on Chris' knee but quickly retracted it when Chris snapped his head to his direction and averted his eyes to the placement of Syrus' hand. They both found it best to ignore the odd encounter.

_

Dr. Kim was a nice looking Chinese-American woman with long Sandy brown hair down her back. She didn't look much older than Desiré herself who sat on the couch in front of the psychiatrist. Desiré couldn't help but to steal glances at the woman, admiring her beauty and feeling judged by her immediately.
"So, why are you really here, Ms. Jones? You say you don't think anything's wrong with you. There has to be something that made you walk into my office today." Dr. Kim leaned forward assuring that Desiré knew she was heard. And listened to.

"I- I guess... I just needed someone to talk to. I've just been feeling conflicted. I hope that divorcing my husband is the right choice but.. I don't have a plan for afterwards. What if it isn't?" Desiré expressed scanning the room for tissues. She promised herself she wouldn't cry and the tactic of pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth had stopped working and her eyes began to sting.

"I think you'll be just fine. Reconnect with your friends and family. Make sure they know what's going on with you. Start by telling the truth to other people and then maybe it will reveal itself to you." The doctor replied wisely.

Desiré basked in the sage words of the woman and wondered how she got to be so good at reading people. And knowing what was up. She thought that if she had that gift herself then she'd never need to walk into a doctor's office and have her thoughts analyzed.

Do shrinks ever need to go to a shrink? She wondered.

_

After her session, Desiré collected herself in her car. She was happy with how things ended. Would she return for a second session, she didn't know. But she did feel progress. She knew she couldn't go back to her home with Derrick so she had rented a hotel room in the city. She pulled off and was headed that way. An eerie, chilling air brushed past her sleeveless arms causing goosebumps to pop up on them. She furrowed her eyebrows. "What?" she whispered to herself in confusion.

She strangely felt a presence in the car with her. It was like something was pulling her to the back seat. When she glanced into the rearview mirror, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she let out a piercing scream. She lost control of her vehicle and tried to press down on the breaks but she couldn't stop. Her arms felt like noodles and she cried out for someone to help her before her car rammed into a tree, a branch thrashed through the window and finally, for her, the world went dark in just a few seconds.