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CHAPTER 6
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2024-10-29 19:42:56D-Day-3
The black mist emerged, having made its way its up the apartment stairway, emerging at the very top floor. It slithered towards Suzanne Summer's front door and tried to seep in from the slot under the door only to be repelled and thrown back. Suzanne's spell was strong. The black mist slammed against the wall across from Suzanne Summer's door, seemingly to vaporize before regaining its phantom form. It tried again, this time with more force but to no avail. There was a barrier and it was preventing the black mist from charging in.
With each try, the mist seemed to grow weaker and weaker until, at one point, it gave up and retreated. The mist would find another victim to suck their lifeforce from before coming back.
It wasn't gone long before the elevator door opened, and out stepped a dripping wet little girl with red shoes. She walked soundlessly, with a little unicorn backpack swung over her shoulders. She stopped right in front of Suzanne Summer's door and went to knock on it, but upon contact with the door, the little girl quickly retracted her hand and winced in pain - it was the barrier again. Suzanne Summers had set up an endless loop of golden thread which served as a protection to those inside her apartment.
The little girl looked at her hand, it was translucent against the rays of sunlight streaming from the wall to ceiling glass panel at the corridor. But one look could tell that her ghostly hand had been charred from the contact with the door. So she waited. Ethereal water dripped onto the floor for what seemed like an eternity before the door finally opened.
***
If Tom hadn't been standing so near the door, he probably would have fallen flat on his feet. Seeing his mother's spirit had been one thing, but seeing the spirit of a 5 year old little girl was an entirely different matter. Not to mention, the little ghost in red seemed to have a thing for him.
"Awww, she likes you," Suzanne Summers bent over and shook the hands of the little ghost. Their hands never touched and the little girl's hands phased through Suzanne's, but her gesture was reassuring enough for the little girl to take another step forward. Tom consciously took a step back. He saw nothing cute about a dripping wet spirit with no facial features.
It was true that they could not see the child's face. Her features were a blur. And she wasn't saying a word. But Suzanne was a professional at this, having dealt with so many other clients before.
She knelt and asked the little girl, "How can we help you?"
We? What do you mean we? Tom shot an alarmed look at Suzanne. Yvonne came over and pulled the little girl into a warm embrace. The girl hugged back tightly before tugging at her backpack. There, at the back of her backpack was an address.
"She wants to go home," Yvonne looked at both Suzanne and Tom.
Suzanne smiled, "You want to see your mummy and daddy again."
The little girl shook her head. She pointed at Tom and made an 'X' sign with her hands. Tom didn't like the 'X' sign. 'X' signs were bad. Nope, he didn't like them at all, especially not when they were made by ghosts.
"No? Only mummy?"
The girl nodded.
Suzanne's heart went out to the little girl. "Come, I'll take you home. Yvonne, why don't you and Tom make a headstart first? I'll come for you once I bring Miss Unicorn here back to her house."
The girl seemed to pout. With outstretched arms, she walked towards Tom, who kept inching back.
Yvonne laughed. "Tom, she likes you!"
"She doesn't have to," Tom whispered.
Yvonne stood up, suddenly feeling very authoritative and motherly, "Why don't both of you bring her back? I'll head over to see William first. I don't mind some time alone with him."
Suzanne nodded and the little girl skipped and hopped around happily. She signalled for both Suzanne and Tom to follow her.
***
A subway ride and 20 minutes walk later found Suzanne and Tom standing in front of a dilapidated house smack right in the middle of the Bronx. The little ghost girl with red shoes jumped up and down excitedly, trying but failing to grab Tom by his hand. She quickly dashed right into the house, phasing through a netted door that had seen better days.
Tom had quickly grown fond of the little girl, even though he was still reeling from the fact that ghosts existed in this world. On the subway, she had pointed out things of interest like a Disneyland advert, danced around a man eating a sandwich and tried to play peekaboo with a baby in a pram. It broke his heart that she would never get to grow up. He was amazed ar how calm Suzanne was by all this. Then again, she had grown immune to seeing all kinds of ghosts hanging around.
He snapped back to the present when Suzanne tapped him on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?", she asked softly. She seemed concerned.
"Yeah. Shall we?" Tom walked up to the house and started rapping on the door.
"Hello? Is anybody there?"
No answer. He tried again, this time louder.
"Is anybody in there?"
A bump could be heard, followed by a moan.
"Coming!" a hoarse female voice came from inside.
A few moments later, Suzanne and Tom stood face to face with a dishevelled looking woman. She had a half-burnt cigarette in her mouth, with smeared mascara over her eyes. She reeked of alcohol and it was evident that she was drunk.
A burly looking man came up from behind and groped her breasts, he started pulling down her bra but she pushed him back.
"Not now, Mike."
"You with the feds?" she asked, sobering up.
Tom opened his mouth to explain but Suzanne stopped him. "Yes, ma'am. We're here to talk about your little girl. Would you mind if we stepped in?"
Mike wasn't giving up, he grabbed her crotch this time and she kicked him in the groin. Mike doubled over, groaning.
"Get out Mike," she slapped him on the head. Mike swore at her before pushing past Suzanne and Tom. He was practically a giant and on his way out, he almost knocked Suzanne over. Tom instinctively placed a protective arm over her waist, Suzanne and Tom locked eyes.
"What do you want?" the woman asked wearily, not bothering to check their IDs. She walked back into her dimly lit living room. The curtains were closed and the place smelt of mould. The woman straightened her bra, tightened her coffee-stained robe, and sat herself down on a broken sofa. She spat out the cigarette from her mouth and lighted up another one, "What is it you guys want this time?"
The little girl peeked out from the kitchen door and signalled for them to follow her.
"You mind if we head this way? We need to uh, check something out," Tom said.
The woman waved her hand, not bothering to get up.
Suzanne followed Tom and the little girl to a room at the back of the house. They opened the door to a shabby but neat looking bedroom. It was the little girl's room. On the walls were doodles of a child, and at the corner of the room was a single bed with a broken leg and a little cupboard. There wasn't much to see but the little girl kept ushering them forward. She pointed to the cupboard and motioned for Tom to open the bottom drawer. Tom knelt down. The wooden flooring was damp and cold.
While the little girl communicated with Tom, Suzanne opened up the sole window to the girl's room to let sunlight in. At the back of the house was a pond. She had Googled the child's case on the way here. The little girl had drowned in the pond while playing there alone. Her mother had passed out on the couch from being intoxicated from alcohol at that time. By the time a neighbour spotted the little girl's floating body, it was already 3 hours too late.
"Suzanne...," Tom called out to her. Suzanne came over and crouched next to Tom. Their shoulders touched and Tom blinked awkwardly.
"Look," he pointed to the back of the drawer. "It's a secret compartment. She wants us to open it."
He reached out to the very back and with a little jerk, pulled out a hidden drawer.
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Tom dug in. There was a ragged doll that had lost an eye, a chocolate wrapper, a pink bow tie, a photo of the little girl and her mother, and a little plastic piggy bank. The girl crouched next to Tom and pointed at the piggy bank.Tom pulled it out. The purple piggy bank was semi-transparent and Suzanne could see that there were some dollar notes and coins in them.You want to give this to your mommy?” she asked.The little ghost girl nodded in excitement. Suzanne's heart broke. She recalled begging for her own mother to stay, in exchange for all the money in her piggy bank.Oh, God. She came back here just to give her mother her savings.The little girl had travelled all the way to Suzanne's apartment just so she could give her mother her savings.The ghost pointed to the photo too. In it, the little girl was sti
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Tom stood at the door of Suzanne’s apartment, seemingly not wanting to leave. He held onto the door, faked a cough and asked her one more time, “You sure you’ll be okay with little missy here?”Suzanne laughed. Surely he wasn’t that attached to the little ghost girl?“We’ll be fine. Her time has come. I’ll need to send her on her way.”Tom scratched the back of his head, “Well, alright then.”He bent down and looked at the little girl. He couldn’t see her face still, her features were all a blur, probably due to the drowning, but he smiled at her nonetheless. “You take care okay? You’re in good hands.”The little ghost nodded her head silently. He looked back up at Suzanne who stood right next to them.“Yvonne’s waiting for you, Tom,” Suzanne reminded h
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It was nightfall, the moon shone brightly in a cloudless night and Tom stood in front of the Banks’ residence. Unbeknownst to Yvonne and Suzanne, he had been here before. But only as a guest. He had been invited to the Mayor’s ball the last Christmas as a guest and speaker. He had even chatted with William Banks that night and had found the man to be as charming as the media had made him out to be.“You look like someone I used to know,” William had laughed as they stood by the firewall, sipping Chardonnay while a violinist strode past them playing Last Christmas.Did I remind you of Yvonne? He thought to himself. Life would certainly have been vastly different had he grown up a member of the Banks family, and not just someone who bore the same surname.But what’s past is past. I’m here to say goodbye to him.Tom stepped up to th
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The dawn of a new day did not make way for the glory of the morning sun. Instead, what greeted Suzanne was a heavy downpour. One she had never witnessed before. The sky flashed with lightning and roared with thunder. If she hadn’t glanced at the clock on the wall, she would have thought that it was still midnight. But the shorthand of the clock had already reached 9.She groaned and sat up, only to see a sleeping Tom on the floor. He was curled up in a catlike position, the blanket had been kicked off sometime during the night. Suzanne smiled and bent down from the comfort of her bed to cover him with the blanket gently.They had kissed and touched each other the night before but did not progress further. Instead, Tom had held her in his arms as they talked. She wished Tom hadn’t been such a gentleman.She rose from the bed and tiptoed over to her office and almost let out a scream when she saw Yv
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Yvonne waved to both Tom and Suzanne before she disappeared into the rainbow with the bearded man in white. And when the last of the light from the rainbow disappeared, Tom closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.Suzanne placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?” she asked.He nodded, “That was beautiful.”He turned to Suzanne and pulled her into a warm embrace. He rested his chin on top of her curly dark hair as she nuzzled her face in his chest. “Will it be the same for everyone in the end?”Suzanne nodded, “Usually, yes.”Tom twirled a lock of her hair with his finger, “Usually?”Suzanne looked up, tiptoed, and kissed his cheek. “Some don’t get to go over the rainbow bridge. Some get sucked into the abyss.” She shuddered, suddenly feeling a sense of Deja Vu. Lightni
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D-DAYIt was past midnight when Suzanne finally opened her eyes. She quickly sat up only to see Tom lying next to her, snoring softly. Lightning flashed, followed by the deafening sound of thunder. The protective seal she had weaved earlier was gone.Something’s out there, her eyes narrowed as she tried to adjust to seeing in the dark. She gripped her wand, Tom had not removed it from her grasp during her sleep. Good old Tom. She patted his head softly.She crossed her living room and went towards her front door. But before she could reach for the doorknob, the door started to rattle. The black mist started to seep in from underneath the door. It had finally come for Suzanne.What in the heavens? Suzanne had never seen nor felt such evil before.She quickly pointed the wand at the door and recited an ancient chant. The wand ext
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The mist had finally won. It had entered the body of the strongest host. There was no stopping it now. The mist began to take over Suzanne’s body. First the body. It immobilized Suzanne. The mist could feel Suzanne struggling, willing herself to move, her every nerve demanding that her muscles react. Then the consciousness. The mist began to enter Suzanne’s consciousness as Suzanne lost hers. It went into Suzanne’s consciousness and saw flashes of Suzanne’s memories.There was Tom, his mouth grazing the base of Suzanne’s neck as his hand squeezed her breasts provocatively through her satin robe. Suzanne had moaned as Tom pulled back the edge of the robe to expose one side of her breast. Suzanne had gyrated her thigh against Tom, wishing for him to take her there and then. Such pleasure. Such ecstasy.Another memory appeared. This was of Suzanne and her grandmother at the nursing home. Suzanne was peeling a
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The dark figure was cunning. Yes, even in its weakened state, it knew that Suzanne and her friends were no match for it. It had been plunged with the ancient dagger; but alas, the dagger was not as powerful as the one Vlad had yielded.It rose from the ground once more, looming over them as the remaining strands of mist swirled voraciously around it, much to Suzanne’s horror.Through its veil of darkness, it could see Suzanne’s eyes widen in disbelief, as confusion glided across her face.From behind the being, the golden-haired woman crept up, ready to strike. Her reflexes were tremendous and her moves instantaneous but without the dagger, she was no match for it.It raised its hands and with an invisible force, it dragged the woman across the marbled floor towards it before she could even counter herself. She was savagely pulled into the enemy’s grasp and it crushed her by the shoulder before flinging her across the foyer and crashing
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The voices were calling out to Suzanne. She couldn’t be sure if they originated from the abyss or from the hooded figure hovering at the door. But there was nothing soothing about the voices. Every sound that they made sickened her, making her feel as if maggots were crawling over the top of her skull and into her ears. She shook her head furiously but the sensation refused to go away.Focus damnit….“Suzanne….” the voice called out again. It was the same voice that had called out to her from the garden. And the airport. And in her nightmares.The voices were awful. She couldn’t comprehend what they were saying save for the calling of her name but she was pretty sure they were some kind of distorted incantation. All of a sudden, she had an avalanche of dark and alien thoughts. She did not like them, not one bit.She looked over to Tom who stood slightly hunched over, ready to pounce on the figure if need be.
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Misty snakes slithered from the remaining figure’s cloak even as it screamed bloody murder. And the swarm of snakes began to crawl toward Vlad.He could have fled then, he could have abandoned Suzanne and her friends for the sake of his own life. But he was brave, even as the recognition of impending doom stared at him in the face.One of the misty snakes slithered up to Vlad and drove its fangs deep into his ankle. Immediately his skin seethed with pain as the venom began to travel to his heart. He tried to fight it off, but the dagger had gone up in flames and he had no tricks left to pull on this particular demon of the dark.Then another snake came forward, and still another, until soon Vlad could no longer stand. He crumpled to the ground, his body failing as a numb wave of a million daggers pierced his body and his head. With every breath he took, he heaved and coughed up blood.He never stood a chance. The vampire from the ancient of times began to die
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Vlad the vampire had come.Suzanne immediately tensed up, “What are you doing here?” There was no welcome in her voice.Hans and Marcelino immediately whipped out their wands, surprising Tom. He was still not used to the idea that the metallic sticks could act as a weapon for clairvoyants.The snow crunched softly under Vlad’s feet as he strode across the lawn, his face in mocked sadness, “You hurt my feelings, Suzanne. I merely came to offer you my service, but I can see that I am not welcomed at your wedding.”Suzanne frowned, “What do you mean?” Her heart was thumping.A forever pause. Vlad had always loved a good audience.“I’m here to join you for the fight.”Tom blinked, “Excuse me?”From the side, Thomas whispered to the twins, “Is THAT the vampire Suzanne told us about?”One of the twins gushed, “He’s sooooo handsome!&
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D-Day-3There would be no grand wedding. But it was fine with Suzanne and Tom. They had in fact opposed to having one. It did not seem right for them to celebrate when countless lives were lost by the minute.But the twins and Thomas were adamant about having a celebration.“Everything’s so bleak now, we can at least look forward to a joyous occasion with your wedding!” Thomas had pleaded, blinking at them like a little doe through his glasses.So Suzanne and Tom relented. The twins and Thomas spent one whole day yesterday just to create the perfect wedding arch out of dried flowers and twigs. They roped in everyone for a scavenger hunt around Hans’ mansion, looking for everything and anything that could be put to good use and to Suzanne’s delight, they all ended up having a snowball fight like little children.Thomas was right, the wedding did bring forth smiles on their faces.The twins fashioned a simple bouq
