The Nightmare Club: Part 4 (2016)

Shadows lie

In light unseen

Opened eyes

To what you dream

            The shadows danced and played across the room as Jason stood alone in the darkness. His breathing grew ragged as he listened to the sounds of the police looking for them outside the room. He did not understand how they had not discovered the room yet, unless the shadows somehow hid it from the physical world. He knew Bri, Tess, and David lay on the floor somewhere but he could not see them. After the fire from the candles died the shadows enveloped everything, leaving Jason alone and cold. The orb continued to glow but its light did not penetrate the darkness. It remained contained within itself. Ahri was nowhere to be seen and Jason wondered if he had performed the spell correctly. A few moments later, almost in answer to his unspoken question, the shadows on the far wall began to move and become solid, taking the shape of something darker than the shadows that covered the room. A glowing pair of red eyes appeared in the shadow and moved toward Jason, appearing to float, independent of a body. As the eyes grew closer, Jason could hear Ahri’s breathing and feel the coldness of his body radiating out, something he did not remember in the Nightmare Realm. Ahri took the orb from Jason’s hand and raised it up with outstretched arms. He quickly spun it and the shadows that clung to the walls rushed toward the orb, creating a black vortex. Soon all of the darkness had vanished from the room and Jason saw they were standing in a very plain room with white walls and an old, wooden floor. The half-melted candles stood on wooden tables scattered across the room like skeletons. It felt as if the magic had been sucked from the air.

“What did you do?” Jason asked.

“This is the Soul Orb,” Ahri explained as he plucked the orb from the air and held it in his hand. The shadows swirled around inside of it and vanished. “If used correctly, it gives the owner the ability to have control over body and spirit.”

“Is that how you made the shadows disappear?”

“The shadows were a spell Bri cast to protect herself and her friends. The orb merely strengthened the spell and allowed the shadows to linger even though their spirits were in the Nightmare Realm. Not that it helped much,” Ahri snickered, “I simply used the orb to return the room to its rightful, physical state.”

            Footsteps and yells from outside the door echoed through the building. They sounded louder.

“We must hurry,” Ahri said as he walked to the sleeping figures on the ground, “Now that the spell is gone, the police will find us soon.”

            Ahri whispered something into the orb and it began to glow again and float into the air. The light from the orb hit Ahri and his shadow stretched out on the floor beneath him. Ahri began to move his arms and his shadow rippled and began to rise off the floor like smoke, taking physical form and becoming claws.

“The line between body and spirit lies in shadow,” Ahri said as he ripped his hands through the air. His shadow hands followed the motion and cut long, jagged lines up Tess and David’s arms. Blood poured from their wounds and formed thick, dark pools on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Jason yelled.

“What is necessary,” Ahri said in a firm tone as he walked toward Bri, “We cannot risk them waking up and killing the men outside. They are too dangerous.”

“Why not just kill them? Why the show?”

“It needs to look like a suicide to prevent these three from becoming martyrs. Once the police find them, they will report to the media that three more kids died dabbling in black magic. I cannot risk The Nightmare Club returning because three more fools decide to take up their mantle.”

            Jason did not know what to say. He trembled violently and his stomach turned in knots. He wanted to vomit but he could not move. He just watched as Ahri crouched beside Bri’s sleeping body and whispered something in her ear. His shadow reached toward her arm but just before he could make the incision Bri’s eyes ripped open. She leapt from the ground, grabbed Ahri by the throat, and slammed him to the ground on his back. Ahri gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs. Bri jammed her knee into his chest and tightened her grip.

“Not so strong outside your realm,” Bri said violently, “This is what pain feels like in our world.”

            Bri raised her fist into the air and brought it down on to Ahri’s face. Jason heard his nose break. The orb’s light died and dropped to the ground. It rolled to Jason’s feet.

“Help me, Jason,” Ahri coughed out, blood splattering across the floor before Bri hit him again.

“Give me the orb so I can banish him back to his realm,” Bri said to Jason as she dug her knee deeper into Ahri’s chest.

            Jason stood paralyzed with the orb in his hands. He could hear the police pounding on the door to the room. He did not know what to do.

“He is evil, Jason! Give me the orb!”

            Jason stared into Bri’s eyes. He could see the fire in her eyes. He looked at the bodies of Tess and David on the floor, bleeding out, then at Ahri with his bloodied face. Before he could respond the door behind him broke open and police flooded the room. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The police chief yelled something but Jason could not hear it. His ears were ringing and everything seemed to slip into darkness. Darkness dripped from the ceiling down the walls and all of the sound drained from the room. He saw Bri yelling at the police officers. Ahri’s body went limp. A flash of light filled the room, blood flew from Bri’s chest, and her body hit the ground. Jason closed his eyes and whispered into the orb. It began to glow intensely. There was a flash of white light followed by a vortex of shadows and light. Jason fell into the rushing sound of wind. Then there was nothing.

            Jason opened his eyes in darkness. There was no sound and no light. Ahri stood in front of him. His wounds were gone. Jason knew it was because they were back in the Nightmare Realm and he was looking at Ahri’s spirit, which had not been beaten by Bri’s fist.

“Thank you for saving me,” Ahri said with a smile.

            Jason smiled back and then dropped to his knees. His chest felt as if it was on fire. It felt like something deep inside of him was being ripped out. The orb dropped from his hand and rolled to Ahri who picked it up.

“You are no doubt feeling the effects of this realm on your physical body. The physical was not meant to dwell with the spiritual. The orb was created to circumvent that.”

            Jason could not move. His heart beat faster and it felt like the skin was being cut from his body.

“This world is rejecting your body since you brought it with you using the Soul Orb. There is a spell that can save you but it must be uttered by the one whose body is being rejected.”

            Ahri rolled the orb toward Jason. It touched his hand and began to glow. Jason tried to grab the orb but every time he tried to move it felt like needles were stabbing into him. He collapsed to the ground and everything went black. Jason felt his body die. His spirit floated into the air and as he looked down he saw his body laying in the darkness with the orb just out of reach. Suddenly a haze surrounded Jason and light ripped the darkness above his head and enveloped him. He felt himself float into a white abyss and he saw his limp body appear before him. A pulsing black ball appeared between them. A ring of shadow shot out from it and grabbed Jason’s body and his spirit. It spun them around as if they were caught in its gravitational pull. It spun faster and faster until it suddenly contracted and Jason’s body and spirit crashed together. Jason was blinded by light and darkness. He opened his eyes and saw Ahri standing before him, awestruck.

“Interesting,” he said with a smile.

            Jason looked down at himself. His body glowed with pure shadow, rimmed with light. It pulsed and then he returned to normal. He hit the ground and stumbled. His body felt different, somehow lighter and heavier at the same time. He looked around. His body was gone.

“What happened to me?” Jason asked. His voice sounded different. It was more commanding. It echoed as if being spoken by two people.

“It appears you are the chosen one,” Ahri said, “You are the one who will bring balance to light and shadow.”

            Jason looked into Ahri’s eyes. He could not believe what he was hearing. His thoughts were interrupted by a ball of fire that shot between them. He looked over and saw Bri, Tess, and David flying toward them.

“I thought you killed them,” Jason said in disbelief.

“I killed their bodies,” Ahri said, “Their spirits remain trapped in this realm.”

“What do we do?” Jason asked.

“We purify this realm,” Ahri said in a cold voice, “That is your destiny.”

            Jason nodded and readied himself for the oncoming attack. The three warriors launched their three-pronged assault at Ahri. Jason leapt in front of it. He felt the force of all three elements hit him. His body absorbed it and Jason felt all of the energy rush through his veins. It shot from his fingertips in a pulse of light that cut through the air and exploded in the middle of the three attackers. The force of the blast scattered them in different directions. Jason looked down at his hand. It crackled with electricity. He thought of Tess and suddenly he appeared next to her.

“Snap out of it, Jason!” She yelled as she punched at him.

            Everything appeared to move in slow motion. Jason grabbed her hand and reversed the flow of electricity so it exploded toward her, sending her flying into the darkness. Then he appeared beside David. He grabbed him and he could feel himself absorb his energy. David screamed out in pain and dropped to his knees. Before Jason could kill him, a blast of fire hit him in the back. The unexpected attack caused him to stumble. He turned to face Bri. She released another fireball. Jason caught it and absorbed the energy into himself. The fireball disappeared into a puff of smoke.

“I won’t let you destroy this world,” Jason said in his new voice.

“What are you talking about?” Bri said in return.

“Ahri told me all about your plans to destroy his world.”

“And you believed him? He’s a liar, Jason! Darkness always lies!”

“But there is truth in it,” Jason said.

“There is truth in everything,” Bri yelled back, “but the darkness covers it and distorts it into something different. Look around! Ahri abandoned you!”

“Don’t listen to her, Jason,” Jason heard Ahri’s voice whispering in his head, “Kill her!”

            Jason looked into Bri’s eyes. They burned with fire, somehow both intense but warm and loving. He looked at David who lay unconscious at his feet. He stepped over him toward Bri and suddenly everything disappeared in a puff of smoke. He now stood in the room with the police again. They were standing over the bodies of Bri, Tess, and David. They looked up as he appeared in the room and drew their guns. They demanded for him to raise his hands over his head. As he did, darkness dripped over everything and he was standing before Bri again.

“What’s happening to me?” He asked in confusion.

“You are the chosen one,” Bri said in a soft voice, “You will bring balance to light and darkness. To do that you must live in both but belong to neither. That is why you can see the Twilight.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Ahri’s voice echoed in Jason’s mind again.

            Jason’s mind raced. He did not know what to believe. He looked to Bri, who looked back at him. Her eyes were filled with sadness.

“It will not be easy, but I trust you will find truth in the light,” she said.

            Bri lunged forward and grabbed Jason’s head. He felt fire rush from her hand and cover him. His body absorbed it and he felt himself fall into a swirling vortex of light. He spun through it, his body being whipped like a rag doll. Voices echoed around him. Jason felt himself fall and darkness enveloped him. He wanted to be back in the world he knew. The nightmares were too much. He wanted the police to be gone and he wanted to be safe again.

            Jason opened his eyes and found himself laying on the ground of the room he fell into when he first met Bri, Tess, and David but there were no policemen and there was no door. The walls were completely blank and the room was empty except for the bodies of the members of The Nightmare Club on the floor.

“Where am I?” Jason whispered to himself.

“You transported the room into the Twilight. There is no way in. You created the safe place you wished for in your mind. It is neither body nor spirit.”

“Where are you?” Jason asked aloud.

“I am speaking to you across the void. You can hear me because you always exist in both worlds. I have a mental link with you because you allow it.”

            Bri’s voice echoed in Jason’s mind. It soothed him. He did not understand what happened but the light had brought clarity to his mind. He now understood everything. Ahri had lied to him and he had allowed his friends to die. He desperately wanted to undo what he had done. He wished he had not been so easily deceived.

“You cannot undo the past,” Bri whispered, “but you can fix the present and bring hope to the future.”

“How?” Jason called out to the empty room.

“You already know,” Bri replied.

            Jason looked down at his hands. They glowed with light. He felt his spirit and body co-mingling within himself. He was both light and shadow and he had power over each. Jason stood in the middle of the bodies and stretched out his arms. He whispered a four-line poem to the air. There was a crash of light followed by silence. Jason watched as Bri, Tess, and David gasped as their lungs sucked in air and they opened their eyes. He smiled as they rose to their feet. He had returned their spirits to their bodies.

“Thanks!” Tess said, slapping Jason’s back, “sorry about earlier with the punching.”

“I’m sure all is forgiven,” David said calmly as he wrapped his arm around Jason.

“What do we do now?” Jason asked Bri.

“Now we kill the Prince and Princess of Darkness,” Bri said.

            A chill ran down Jason’s spine at the gravity of the statement but he knew that together they could accomplish it.