The Destroyer

JC- Her Home

“Where are we going?” I asked as Caleb directed me away from the hotel.

“To the scene.” He told me. “You'll be able to connect with her and jump into the Void closer to where she is.”

“The scene?” I asked. “You mean, where she disappeared?” My friend nodded. “You mean, her house. How do you know where her house is?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look my direction. “I took it from your memories. It was easy to find.”

At a stop light, I looked over at him. “When did you go into my memories? I didn't even know you could do that.”

We traveled the rest of the distance to our destination- her house- in silence. When we got there, I parked the car right behind Selene's small blue one. He reached for the door handle, but I grabbed his elbow. I could feel fear wash through him and then quickly disappear. I let go of him. My point was made, and he it made it evident that he believed I was who my nickname suggested.

“Don't ever go into my mind again,” I growled. “Let me do all the talking with Selene's parents.”

I killed the engine, then got out of the car. I heard him follow me out of the car and up to the house. At the door, I rang the bell, waiting a long moment before the door opened. Selene's mother, Mrs. Gray, appeared in the doorway, her eyes were swollen, and she had a tissue in her hand. She sniffled, then cleared her throat.

“Sorry, boys.” She said. “We're in mourning. We're not welcoming any visitors, even those coming to offer prayers.” She looked us up and down. “You're not missionaries, though, are you?”

I almost laughed. With the way we were dressed, I doubt any church would let us in. I was in full black. Black ripped jeans, black t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and black leather combat boots. Caleb was dressed like he had just stepped out of a Sherlock Holmes novel, deerstalker hat and all. Before we left the hotel, I tried to make him change. He refused.

“No, ma'am,” I said. “We're not missionaries.”

She sighed. “Well, I don't know why you're here, but I need to ask you to leave. My daughter is missing, and we're having a rough time dealing with it.”

“I know,” I whispered. “That’s precisely why we're here.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Is that right?”

Caleb came up beside me. “We have something to tell you. It'll be hard to hear and hard to believe, but it's all true.”

After an hour of trying to convince Selene's parents that everything we said was authentic, they finally let us get to work. Her mom motioned us upstairs to where it had occurred. Caleb followed her, looking like he was taking in his surroundings bit by bit. When we got to the landing, to the exact spot where I had been standing when the wraiths took Selene, I stopped. Caleb continued to the top, then turned to look down at me.

“This is it.” He said. “This is where they took her.”

Selene's mom nodded. “That's right.”

“Do you remember exactly what step she was on when she disappeared?” Caleb asked her mom and me.

I saw her shake her head, muttering about how dark it had been in the hallway. Caleb looked down at me. I, however, remembered precisely how far she'd been from me. I pointed to the stair she had been on. Caleb moved down a few steps to where he thought I was aiming. I shook my head, motioning for him to come down more. I climbed up one more level, and he came closer. There, he was within arms reach. That's where she had been.

“Are you sure?” He asked. I nodded. “Good. This is where we need to perform the ritual. Ready?”

I nodded. “What do we need?”

“I'm going with you this time.” He said. “Everything we need has to be hers. Does she have candles? We need one of her blankets or cloths, a lock of her hair, and something that would be closest to the most important thing in the world to her.”

“I know where she keeps her candles,” I said, climbing the stairs to the hallway.

Caleb followed me down the hallway to Selene's room. When I opened the door, I found that it was how she had left it. The room was a mess like it always was. A small smile crossed my lips. I thought of the many days and nights I'd spend sitting next to her on her bed while she read or played a video game or drew.

“You really are her guardian angel, aren't you?” I heard Mrs. Gray say behind me.

I nodded, moving to Selene's storage bin. The bottom drawer was where she kept the things she didn't really want her parents knowing about. Private drawings, her journal, candles, incense, and keepsakes from over the years. I grabbed one of her candles and one of her purple cloths, heading back out to the hallway. The other two followed me, closing the door to Selene's room behind them.

“Alright,” I said, turning to Caleb. “Where do we start?”

“We need something that means the world to her.” He told me.

“I've got that covered.” I pulled my necklace out from underneath my shirt. It held three charms; my grandmother's ring, the key to my parent's house in the country, and a skeleton key. I slipped the necklace off, then took the skeleton key off and handed it to Caleb. “Will this work?”

He slowly took it. “This trinket means the world to Selene?”

I nodded. “My love had it for years before she gave it to me. Or, actually, I took her from her. She knew I had it.”

Caleb nodded. “Then let's get to work.”

I could lay me down forever in the smoky afternoon.

I stopped in my tracks, looking around. It was Selene's voice. It was her. I listened, begging her to call again.

'Cause paradise is somewhere where you and I belong.

“Selene,” I whispered.

“That happens often.” Mrs. Gray said, coming up next to me. “It's like she's trapped in the walls and she’s calling out for us. I just don't know how to reach her.”

Caleb grabbed my hand. “Come on. We don't have time to waste.”

He laid out the purple cloth on the stair where she had disappeared. I handed him my lighter for the candle. Caleb sat the candle between us. He took my hand with his left and lit the candle with his right. He sat on the step, and I followed his lead. My friend closed his eyes, so I shut mine. I could hear him mutter and say her name once. Light shone in front of me. Everything in that house faded out around us.