Whispers of Death (17 page)

    I looked over at Vanessa who stood frozen in the corner of the room. I smiled at her.  She watched her husband as he pulled one picture after another and piled them up next to me.

    "Which ones are your favorites?" I asked him.

    He looked up from his searching. "Anything that she is in."  His words were flowing with a love.  I smiled again.

    Vanessa came and stood next to the bed, her hand over her mouth.

    "What do you think Vanessa?" I asked her.

    James' head shot up.  His eyes scanned the room and then quickly came back to me.

    "Is she here?" he asked, tears filling his eyes.

    "Yes," I whispered, "she is standing just over your left shoulder."

    Vanessa shot me a look of question but didn't speak.

    "Can she hear me?" he asked.

    "Yes," Vanessa and I said together.

    "Vanessa, I love you.  I love you so much.  I have so much I want to tell you.  I want to be with you one last time, just to hold you and feel your heart beat next to mine."

    His words were full of so much love and admiration for his wife, I almost felt like being in the room was an invasion of their privacy, but I knew that James could neither see nor hear Vanessa.  Mark looked at me, a look of wonder on his face, and smiled.  Vanessa watched her husband.  Her smile grew wider as he spoke.  She reached for him and gently rubbed her hand down his cheek.  My heart broke knowing that he couldn't feel her touch, but she didn't seem to mind.

    I cleared my throat. "James," I whispered.

    He turned to look at me; his eyes were full of tears.

    "I'm sorry James, this is urgent.  I need you to pull out all your favorite memories of Vanessa and place them out next to me on the bed.  Everything from individual pictures to family ones.  I also want to make sure you pull out pictures of Mindy," I spoke quickly and urgently.

    During his interaction with Vanessa, he had fallen to his knees, but he was now at the bedside, pulling out picture after picture.  He arranged them neatly next to me.  Vanessa watched as he pulled a picture of a sweet little newborn baby from the pile and placed it on the bed.

    Vanessa gasped. "She is so beautiful."

    "Yes she is, a true little angel," I answered.

    James stopped. "What did she say?"

    "Sorry, she said that she is beautiful," I answered reverently.

    "Amelia, why do you need all these pictures?" Mark asked.

    I turned to look at him; he was staring at me intently.  I took a deep breath, then looked back at Vanessa, who was scanning each picture and smiling.  James had stopped pulling out pictures and was waiting for my answer.

    "Vanessa is stuck in Limbo.  She is forgetting everything." My voice was quiet, almost a complete whisper. "She is becoming a lost soul."

    James gasped.  His eyes filled with fear, then with anger. "What do you mean she is stuck in Limbo?"

    I looked at Mark. "You haven't told him have you?" I asked.

    He looked away from me and then looked at James, "No, I didn't know how to explain."

    "What didn't he tell me?" James asked angrily.

    "James, I have been with Death," I said, carefully watching his face for any type of reaction.

    "What does that have to do with my wife?" he said, not skipping a beat.

    I took another deep breath. "Your wife is stuck because of a Demon named Fear.  Fear has stolen the only way to relieve the pain and suffering of the souls that enter Death's care," I tried to explain quickly. "Death uses his Scythe to touch those about to enter into Limbo.  He uses it to take away their pain and show them the way to the judgment path.  Without his Scythe, Death is becoming weak, and he is no longer able to help them.  If Souls remain in Limbo for too long, they become lost and forget who they are.  Vanessa has been in Limbo for too long; she is starting to forget.  I am hoping that if she sees these pictures she will be able to hold on long enough for me to finish what I've started."

    The room was completely silent.  I realized instantly that I hadn't even told Mark all of that information.  Both men were staring at me.  Mark's face had gone white.  I reached for his hand, holding it close to me.  James snapped out of it and quickly grabbed the next set of pictures.  Each picture he put down he explained when it had been taken and who was in it, but he wasn't talking to Mark or me, he was talking to his wife.  Vanessa listened intently and smiled at every story.

    "He is coming."

    My head snapped up.  I stared at Death who had been standing quietly in the shadows.

    "How long?" I asked aloud.

    Mark and James stared at me.

    "Not long.  Are you strong enough?" he asked me.

    I looked at Mark and back at Death. "Give me a few more minutes," I said.

    He nodded. "Quickly."

    I looked back at Mark.  He stared at me, disbelief in his eyes.

    "Mark, I promise I will be back.  Please don't give up on me." I had tears rolling down my cheeks. "Please, you are what is keeping me alive.  You help me stay strong.  Without you, I am not strong enough."

    I quickly explained how I was able to fight off Fear.  I explained that all my own fear was kept under control by remembering my family.  I told him about my ability to pull strength from my body while I was in the Spirit World and how that I had saved a woman's life.

    "Mark," I whispered, "I need you.  You are my strength. You and our beautiful children are the reasons I'm here right now.  I can't do this without you."

    He pulled me in close to him, holding me tightly. "Forever," he whispered in my ear.

    I felt like the luckiest woman in the world as he held me.  I didn't know many husbands that would let their wives 'die' to help someone.

    He kissed me softly. "I'll go get the kids so you can tell them."

    I panicked; I didn't want to have to tell them that I was leaving again.  My heart raced.  The beeping on the monitor reminding me that I was still attached to it.  The wires suddenly felt restricting, and I pushed and pulled at them to move them away from me.

    Abby came running into the room, Hunter walking behind her.

    "Mommy, are you okay now?" Abby said, her little voice bringing so much joy to my soul that I felt at peace.  I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her softly on the forehead.  I pulled Hunter in closer and gave him a big bear hug.

    "You are taking my mom again aren't you?" Hunter asked Death.

    I had forgotten that he could see him. Hunter's voice was shaky, and I could tell he was on the verge of crying.

    Death didn't answer; he just looked at me. His eyes were dark, and I could tell he was trying to get me to hurry.

    "Hunter, do you know why I came back?" I asked.

    He shook his head.

    "I had to come back because I needed you.  You, Abby, your dad, Aunt Livie, and Uncle Peter, you all give me a power that will help me come back again.  It is also your love for me that is helping me make sure Mindy's mommy won't forget her." I smiled and pulled him closer to me. "Does that make sense?"

    "Yes," he said quietly.

    "Listen," I said, turning Hunter and Abby's faces toward me, "I have to go help Mindy's mommy now as well as a lot of other people.  I will be back as soon as they are safe."

    Abby wrapped her arms around me. "I love you Mommy.  I will read to you every day," she said.

    My heart filled with joy. "Thank you my sweet. I love you both very much."

    A scream filled the air. I turned in time to see Vanessa collapse to the ground.  Chills shot through my body, and goose bumps ran the length of my body.

    "HURRY!" Death yelled.

   "I have to go! Don't forget me. I love you." I grabbed Mark and gave him a kiss. "Please forgive me.  I will be back." I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

    I felt a surge of energy run through my body, almost like a burst of electricity. The machine beeped wildly in my head as my heart pounded in my chest.  The pain increased as my soul ripped away from my now lifeless body. The sound of metal against metal rang through my ears before the wave of electricity vanished.  I opened my eyes; I stood next to Death, Vanessa was curled in a ball on the ground, her frame shaking, her face full of agony.  My family all stood next to my bed; my body lay still as the machine beeped slowly, and tears were streaming down all their faces.  Abby was holding on to my hand and had buried her face into the sheets.  Hunter was holding on to his dad, who looked at me with so much love that I gave a faint smile.

    "Mom, please hurry back," Hunter said, looking at my body, then looking back at his dad.

    "Amelia, there is no time, he is already here, we have to go now,"  Death spoke urgently.

    "What about Vanessa?" I said, looking at her.

    "She will remain here," he said. "Now come."

    Death spun his hand in the air.  As the portal formed, he jumped through.  I looked back one last time and jumped after him.

Seventeen

    As soon as I entered the portal I knew something was wrong.  It wasn't just a squeezing feeling I had felt many times before, this time it felt as though part of my soul was being ripped away.  As my feet connected with the ground on the other side of the portal, I collapsed. 

    I looked around; Death was in a heap next to me, his own body shaking, his cloak torn more than it had been before.

    "What happened?" I asked. "Where are we?"

    The ground around me was soft dirt. A heavy fog surrounded us, and thunder clapped somewhere in the distance.  Rain had started to fall, but it wasn't the rain that caused the chill to rise up my spine.  Darkness seeped from under Death, twisting and turning.  The darkness formed into a man.  His dark smile looked down at me; a long silver blade was in his hand.

    "You don't recognize your own tomb?" His voice sounded horse.  It cracked as he spoke.

    I gasped as the fog lifted.  I stood in the graveyard from my nightmares.  Fear stood in front of me.  The blade he held was dripping with a black liquid.  I looked from him to Death and back to Fear again.

    "What have you done?" I said, anger building in my chest.

    "Ah ah ah" he said, "you mustn't let your anger take control, or he will die." Fear looked at Death and swirled the blade over his body.  Death screamed in agony.  I looked at Fear's hand; the dark black liquid was moving slowly along the blade, turning it from silver to black.  I realized that Fear had stabbed Death with his own Scythe.

    I gasped. "You killed him!"  I moved quickly to try and get to Death.

    Fear moved faster; he used his darkness and wrapped himself around my throat.  The darkness inched closer to my mouth and eyes.  I squeezed them both shut.

    "He isn't dead yet, I have taken the last of Death's power.  He is no longer Death, just a pawn for me to play with.  At least until his blood works through the blade of the Scythe, and then he will die."

    I felt lightheaded as he picked me up off the ground.  His voice sent pain throughout my body.  It filled me with despair and filled my mind with fear.  I struggled against his grip, trying desperately to free myself.  I felt Fear's dark wisps of darkness enter my body.  I fought back.  I grabbed hold of his cold dead fingers and pulled.  His body tensed at my touch, but he just tightened his grip.  He was going to kill me; I wasn't going to get back to my babies, to my husband.  My mind turned dark as the blackness took hold.  I could feel the pain, the unbearable pain as it forced its way into my thoughts.

    "
Do you see it mommy, her skin is white, and her lips are bright red.  It looks like you when you put on your pretty lipstick."

    Fear flinched. "Stop fighting me, you will never win." He seethed.

    I searched my memories, trying desperately to find the happy memory that I had just heard.  Fear pushed against my mind, trying to overpower my thoughts.

    Abby sat on my lap; her little hand traced the picture of Snow White as we read our nightly bedtime story together.

    "I see her, she is very pretty isn't she?" I said, smiling at her.

    "You look like her mommy, but your hair is not this color," she said, pointing to Snow White's jet-black hair. "It’s more like this." She pointed at the tall golden grass in the next picture.

    "Yes, my hair is blonde, just like that." I tickled her side.  She giggled and threw herself onto her pillow, hiding herself in the covers.

    "Don't tickle me Mommy!" she squealed with joy.

    "No!" Fear yelled, and his grip tightened further, but I felt his strength leaving him.

    I searched my memories, trying to find more that filled me with so much happiness. After a few seconds, Hunter’s face came to my mind.  His face was set in a look of determination as his pencil moved across his paper.  His tongue stuck out, his hands were black from rubbing against the papers.  He grabbed another pencil and quickly changed directions.

   
"What are you drawing?" I asked him, holding back a chuckle as I watched him concentrating.

    "I saw a beautiful bird today," he told me, not looking up from his paper.

    "What kind of bird?" I questioned him, trying to peer over his shoulder to see his drawing.

    "Don't look Mom, it's a surprise!" he said, covering his drawing with his body.

    "Okay, okay," I said, "come show me when you are done." I walked out of the room and started folding the laundry.

    "I'm done!" Hunter called down the hall. "Close your eyes."

    I did as I was told. "Okay, they are closed," I said, smiling.

    I heard his little three-year-old feet shuffling quickly down the hall. "Don't look!" He scolded me as I tried to sneak a peak.

    "I'm sorry," I said