PART 2 - CHAPTER 5: Her Presence

Eric’s alone, sitting on a couch in the living room that was once filled with his best friend’s energetic presence: Randolph, alongside Jack’s stubbornness and Angela’s angelic smile. Now it felt like an empty hollow of the past. It’d been a long lonely week for him. Two days after the events of Angela’s kidnapping, he found Jack one night in the middle of the road all motionless and broken.

Jack had been unconscious for a couple of days until he suddenly woke up at midday screaming, but what made it seem more creepy was the fact how he started laughing the moment he stopped screaming.

The next morning, Eric found Jack in the front yard, laughing like some deranged lunatic. The strange thing was when he left in a full rage to chase his past, he was expecting Jack to be even more damaged than what he already was, but he wasn’t. His condition seemed as if he’d never taken any damage from anything, even from the intense ambush in the bar. It razzled his mind and made him feel suspicious towards Jack.

During Jack’s absence, Eric managed to collect all the money Jack threw out that night. He hid it away and had it ready for any emergencies that might suddenly pop up. With his fingers, Eric interlaced them on his chin and went deep in thought. While the clock ticked and the sounds of nature occurred outside as the sunlight emitted through the window to brighten the dark atmosphere, he looked at Jack who was laying on the other couch motionless and asleep. Eric couldn’t help but feel hopeless about the entire situation. Then, Eric started to see Jack’s fingers move, so he got up and started shaking Jack, trying to wake him out of his slumber.

“Come on boy, wake yo ass up! Please man, wake up homie!” Eric continued shaking him, hoping he’d wake up.

Jack slowly opened his eyes and spotted Eric beside him. He looked at Eric and groaned. “Ho-How did I… end up back here? In the living room.”

Eric’s eyebrows knit, showing a fierce wrinkle between them. “What had happened is that your ass has been acting fucking crazy for the past week, that’s what my guy!” Jack’s eyes were still empty and showed no sign of emotions when Eric told him that.

Jack chuckled and slowly sat up. “It was all a dream. I should have known!” He smiled, but there were no signs of happiness. Just complete hopelessness.

He got up and tried walking away, but Eric stopped him. “Jack! What happened? And where’s Angela? I’ve been trying to talk to you the entire week man!”

Jack wobbled his head out of tiredness. “Who…? My… My sister?”

Eric nodded. Jack, on the other hand, grinned like some damned fool, which made Eric uneasy.

“You can forget about her,” Jack said as he tried forcing Eric out of the way.

Eric got mad and pushed Jack. “What the hell are you talking about, son? Where the fuck is Angela?”

Jack walked around him and went towards his room while Eric stood there angrily clenching his fists. “I don’t care anymore. I’m tired, j-just…” he opened his door and didn’t look back, “...leave me alone.” Jack walked inside and closed the door gently behind him.

Eric gasped in shock, wondering if he’d heard him correctly. He doesn’t care about his sister?

He felt so angry. The entire week felt like a waste because he’d waited for Jack to come to his senses, but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Instead of waiting, he could’ve at least attempted to save her.

“Th-That’s it!” Eric punched a hole through the wall, releasing all the rage he’d held in.

All that time wasted… Eric stood there with his fist in the wall, still speechless that Jack had said such a thing.

He pulled his fist out, then slowly took a cigarette out to smoke his emotions away. Sighing, Eric walked outside to ease his mind. He sat on a chair on the front porch, lit his cigarette and smoked as he stared at the traffic going by, thinking about how much everything had changed in the past five years.

Randolph was dead, and a lot of his members have been killed, tortured, and even left out of fear from the events of the supernatural. Now the last thing that made him happy was gone too, but Eric wasn’t going to give up. He was determined to find out what had happened to Angela and where she was taken. The only way he would get answers or clues was to know what was going on with Jack, but Eric knew a broken person when he saw one. Jack was completely and utterly hopeless.

Meanwhile, Jack was lying on his bed facing upwards, staring at the ceiling. His mind was as blank as paper and the sound of static rubbed against his ear drums. All he could see was black and white. Everything around him held no more value as his mind continued basking in his growing sorrow. The feeling of emptiness and Angela’s face made him beg God to take him away from the damned world filled with corruption and selfishness.

Looking to his right, Jack saw a photo of Angela. He wanted to cry, but he still couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing. He had no idea why he was so emotionally messed up. He just wanted his anger and sadness to be released through his eyes just like everyone else.

Jack sat up and picked up the photo and stared at her beautiful smile that was filled with hope. Now haunted by memories of his own growing failure as her brother and guardian, Jack started breathing heavily from those thoughts. He got up and threw the photo on the ground, stomping and releasing his emotions.

But sadly, reality thought differently, for he showed no emotion as he did such a thing. He stopped and grabbed his hair, shoving the glass to the side and picking the photo up after realizing what he’d done. He tucked the photo inside his pocket and chuckled as if nothing had happened. Jack lay back down on his bed and stared up at nothingness, feeling hopeless, lost, and confused. He fell asleep with a sad grin on his face, waiting to see if God would truly take him away to finally reunite him with his parents.

***

As each school day went by, Veronica and Sarah hadn’t seen Anna around too much. She was being very quiet and barely came to school. Sarah already knew why though. She presumed it must’ve been the events that had occurred last week. Even when she did come, she hardly spoke at all, let alone say “Hi!” every once in a while.

Maybe that day at the town with the girl creeped her out that much, Veronica thought.

Veronica turned to Sarah. “Have you noticed how much of a jackass Danny’s become too? He’s been rude, impatient, and a bit of an edgelord.”

While both girls stood beside their lockers, Sarah opened hers and sighed. “Sounds like someone’s trying to impress the wrong girl. If I were you, I would stop talking to that fool.”

Veronica shook her head. “I don’t know what’s become of him.”

“Why are you still friends with that dumbo anyways? Even when we were kids, Anna and I never assumed he was one.”

Veronica sighed. “You’re right, but the thing is I feel bad he’d end up alone. Remember, his sister did get killed.”

Sarah tucked her books into her bag and closed her locker. “Boo frickity hoo! Cry me a river, Veronica. That still doesn’t give him the right to act like such a dick.”

“Woah! Sarah, that language!” Veronica exclaimed as they started walking into the crowded hallway of students.

Sarah’s sinister grin widened as she got closer to Veronica’s face. “What?! You mean d-d-dick!”

Veronica turned red. “Stop saying such naughty stuff!” She pulled out the cross the woman had given her. “May the power of Christ compel you!” she said, shoving it into Sarah’s face.

Sarah laughed and playfully pushed Veronica away. “Relax with that. You might kill me with ‘the might of God.’”

Out of nowhere, Danny came around the corner and bumped into Sarah.

Sarah got mad and raised her tone. “Watch where you’re walking asshole!”

He turned his head away and looked at Veronica, trying to be all tough and macho-like by leaning against the wall. “Hey Veronica, how’s ya day been huh?”

She wasn’t impressed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I won’t answer you until you apologise to Sarah.”

He smacked his lips and looked at Sarah. His eyes turned lustful, checking Sarah out from head to toe. “Damn Sarah, I knew you were pretty, but my goodness you’re looking finer the older we get!”

Sarah wasn’t having it. She slapped him and kneed him in the crotch. “Asshole! Don’t pull that type of crap with me. I’m not some damn eyecandy!” She smiled at Veronica and winked at her. “I’ll talk to you later, Veronica. Let’s hang out after school, okay?” Sarah walked away, leaving Veronica alone with the new version of Danny.

Danny, with his hands on his crotch, tried to muffle his moaning, but it hurt too much for him to hide. “Stupid bitch! What’s wrong with you damn females? Don’t you people like compliments?” he spat, squinting his eyes while still feeling pain.

Veronica crossed her arms and looked at Danny’s pathetic nature. “Still being a jerk, I see? Sheesh, you’re a lost cause. And to think I actually felt bad for you…” She then started walking away.

“Veronica! Where are you going? VV?” Danny called back. However, she continued to ignore him and kept walking.

“Fine! Who needs you guys anyways! Bunch of crocks!” Danny limped away, holding back the tears he wanted to shed when Veronica had told him she felt bad for him.

Slamming his hand on the wall and regretting what he’d become, Danny remembered one thing: Jack was still alive. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he found him and ended his life once and for all.

When Anna went to the cafeteria for lunch, she couldn’t stop thinking about all the strange things that had happened. There was the incident from last week, and the one thing that coursed through her mind the most was the girl she and Veronica had spoken to three months ago. For some reason, she felt as if she’d seen her before.

Anna sat down at the table she normally sat at and stared at her lunch while the sound of adolescence and the loudness of the cafeteria surrounded her, blocking her focused thinking. Her mind started to fog with memories of Jack again. His voice echoed inside her mind until another voice slipped in. That voice was the guy who’d killed Danny’s sister.

The childish and kind voice of Jack, and the deep scary voice of that guy started to combine and synchronize together. They both continued to echo in her mind, which gave her the slight hint of déjà vu.

Sarah walked behind Anna to try and surprise her, but to no luck. Anna didn’t even flinch. “An-Anna! Are you okay? Hellooo?” She started poking her, but she wouldn’t react to that either.

She’s still recovering from last week it seems, Sarah thought.

“Yo! Annabelly?!” Sarah exclaimed, waving her hand in front of Anna’s face.

Her eyes grew dim, which worried her best friend.

“Anna, what’s gotten into you?” Sarah asked. She had one more thing in mind, so she grabbed Anna's hand and playfully bit it.

Anna felt pain right away and retracted her hand, then turned to Sarah with a sad look on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just lost in my train of thought.”

Sarah accepted her apology and knocked on Anna’s head, but as soon as Anna could respond to her again, the entire cafeteria was engulfed in silence, almost as if time had stopped. Sarah was frozen in place, but as soon as Anna tried grabbing Sarah, she started melting in front of her.

“Sarah!” Anna screamed out in horror as her friend became a pile of mottled flesh. She turned to ash and crumbled into a large pile of darkness.

As her screams filled the cafeteria, every student stood up. Their heads jolted in her direction. They all lifted their arms and pointed at Anna. Their glowing red corneas burned through the smoldering darkness that slowly fell within the cafeteria. They dropped their mouths as they continued pointing their wicked fingers at Anna, who was paralyzed in shock. They began to drool blood as the entire sky changed to blood red, which gleamed into the cafeteria as if hell was upon Anna.

They began chanting as their mouths bled. “May God bless your soul! May he protect you from evil. The evil being the girl in the white dress!”

Anna couldn’t understand any of that, it sounded as if they spoke a mixture of Italian and Spanish. She was still left stunned as her eyes continued to expand from the terrifying experience. Students continued chanting the Latin words, and as fingers set on Anna’s eyes they suddenly stopped as soon as Sarah’s ashes rose up and started forming into something or someone. Anna was left frozen from the strange phenomena. She couldn’t even bring herself to react to such a disturbing sight.

The rising ashes finally formed into a woman in a red dress. With her hands out, she slowly approached a frozen Anna and gently grabbed her face.

The woman stared into Anna’s shaking green eyes and gently smiled. “We’ll have a proper discussion later, but for now may God bless your soul and protect you from the dangers that await you, my child.”

Suddenly, the woman in red vanished. Anna finally snapped back into reality and mumbled the words from her subconscious to help calm her down.

Sarah removed her hand from Anna’s face. She shook Anna violently, knowing something went wrong. “Anna! Wake up! Please come back. Come on!”

Sarah stopped shaking and snapped her fingers in front of her. It worked, and Anna blinked and looked up, seemingly returning to reality. “Dude! You’re worrying me. Do you need to see the nurse?” Sarah asked with a serious yet suspicious tone.

Anna shook her head, got up abruptly, and started running. “Sorry, Sarah! I’ll talk to you later!”

Sarah stood there with her hands clenched and stared at Anna’s uneaten food. She noticed her sandwich was formed into a cross. She felt angry, knowing that something wasn’t right with her from the moment she walked into the cafeteria and now she wanted to find out who was behind the phenomena. She took a black book out of her bag and began to read, mumbling some sort of mysterious chants to figure out who was the cause of last week’s events and behind the strange feeling.

Rushing past students and teachers, Anna ran out of the school to get back home. She didn’t care if she was currently ditching school, she just wanted to know if the illusion she’d just had was real.

Just like last week, this occurrence felt more real than an illusion!

The only person she could think of even having a good explanation was her grandmother because all she did was read the bible, research about demons, and the history of christianity.

As Anna continued running, she noticed something along the road. She looked to her right momentarily.

“What’s this?” Anna asked, pointing at a single beautiful red rose in a flower bed of tulips, orchids, carnations, and daisies.

She was dazzled by its beauty and couldn’t help but to get closer to pick it up from her own curiosity. But the moment she picked it up with shaky fingers, she started to have another illusion. This time, the world around her was outstanding and beautiful. The grass was tall and healthy, there were endless flower fields of sunshine orange and the top was filled with yellow life. But there was one thing that stood out the most, a single giant, beautiful tree that blossomed life.

Where… am I? She walked towards the tree to admire its beauty even closer, then to Anna’s surprise she stopped and remembered where she was.

“I remember this tree, this field, but who else was there?” Anna continued walking towards it and spotted someone sitting below the tree. They appeared to be reading something, being distracted.

As Anna slowly approached the person she noticed it was a girl with hair as blonde as hers, wearing a sundress. The reading girl noticed the shadow that hovered over her book and covered the words in her book. She looked to her side and noticed Anna was standing there.

They stared at each other in the ambience of beauty, admiring both their looks as the peaceful winds fluttered their hair and clothing about. The girl gently closed her book and seemed surprised that someone besides her was there in a dimension of irresistible peacefulness.

“S-So… pretty,” she said beneath her breath, standing up with her book in one hand to get to Anna’s level.

Anna smiled and felt as if her beauty was superior to her own. “Thanks, but you’re prettier to be honest.”

The girl seemed to be nervous and a little shy by her mild blushing and sucking her bottom lip. “Th-Thank you. Who might you be?” Then she shook her head and got serious. “More importantly, how’d you end up here?”

“Well, I picked up this rose and ended up here, strangely enough.” Anna showed her the beautiful rose that she’d picked up and handed it to her.

The girl examined it by rotating it around to admire its glorified beauty. As she touched it, the rose started to glow a beautiful bright holy white, which left Anna dumbfounded.

“This rose is full of purity. It’s gorgeous. I’m amazed someone like you can pick things up like this...”

Anna scratched her head. “I’m really confused here, but what are you doing here all alone?”

The girl looked away and stared at the flower field. “Well, it’s hard to explain so I’ll spare you some time.” She walked from underneath the tree and glazed herself in the sunshine.

Anna nodded. “I’ve got plenty of time.”

The girl blinked. “If you say so. To answer your question, this is a place from which I like to call a second home. But ever since I had a strange dream of a particular boy, I’ve been waiting for him ever since.” She looked down at the ground.

“A boy? Boy, boy, boy… wait a second!” Anna remembered how she was with two other girls in her dream and a boy as well. “I feel like I’ve seen you before for some reason?”

The girl looked up and stared at Anna with her golden hazel eyes. “So have I… Do you remember the boy who was in your dream?”

Anna tried to remember, but she thought and thought until she finally did. Her mouth dropped in shock. “Jack…”

As soon as the girl heard his name, she dropped her book and formed a tiny smile that reached Anna’s heart. “Jack? I remember him. He’s the boy I met here,” her faint smile quickly faded, “but that isn’t the only place I’ve met him.”

Anna was so happy. She couldn’t help herself but rush at the girl and grab her shoulders out of excitement. “You’ve met him! Where?” Anna shouted with enthusiasm.

The girl politely grabbed Anna’s arms off her shoulders and placed her hands behind her back. “In his dreams, the last time I saw him he was tall, sad, and really scary looking, but the sight of him made my heart race.”

She closed her eyes and frowned. But for someone like me to have these feelings… is blasphemy.

Her eyes started shaking. Anna didn’t understand what she was saying. The girl looked at Anna with narrowed eyes filled with despair and devastation.

“I’m nothing more… than just a…” She began walking backwards with a look of a person who’d experienced loneliness having her hands behind her back, a frown of despair, eyes quivering in guilt, and they dimmed for a moment, as if those same eyes have faced death numerous times.

Anna felt sorry for her, so she reached out for the girl. “Don’t say such things about yourself! I don’t know who you are, but it’s not right to have such a horrid mindset about yourself.”

The girl continued walking as if she’d lost all hope for herself. She finally stopped midway into the flowery field of gold. “There isn’t much time left, but I hope we can meet someday. You seem really kind… I bet you’re even nicer in person.”

The girl began to fade, which left Anna feeling more confused than ever. Before she could fade out of existence, she tossed Anna the rose back towards her feet.

“Tell whoever made you connect to my subconscious that I’m really grateful to meet such a kind person like you.” She looked away, seeming more sad than before.

“Wait, what?” Anna exclaimed, her eyebrows frowning with concern.

The girl faded away and the flowers started to circle around Anna, turning the sky into a beautiful bright orange. Anna’s vision went dark as she dropped into unconsciousness.

When Anna opened her eyes she noticed she was lying on the flowers where she found the rose. She noticed the rose had vanished from her grasp. She had no idea what had happened, but she felt relieved for some reason. Standing up, she smiled and admired the sunset’s beauty. She checked her watch and noticed the time, then began to run again and hopped over fences, dashed through the streets, and stomped on puddles to finally reach home.

She rushed inside, panting, trying to catch her breath. “Grandma?”

Her grandmother came out of the kitchen. “What’s with all the ruckus, Anna?” She noticed Anna was panting. “What’s wrong?”

Anna finally caught her breath. “Grandma! I need you to hear this and tell me what they mean!”

Her grandmother chuckled. “Okay okay, relax and catch your breath then tell me my sweetums.”

Anna took many deep breaths and blew air out. “Okay, I’ve been having these strange occurrences, these bizarre dreams too, oh uh experiencing supernatural, oh oh and lastly this woman in a red dress talking to me!”

Her grandmother laughed and patted her back. “My dear, all these events that you’re telling me are all signs of the Lord. It looks like you’re starting to believe in him again, I’m convinced that these are all signs of something good in the making, my sweetums.”

Anna flailed her arms and raised a brow. “Oh please, Grandma! You believe in these types of things, right? What are they really? Why do they feel so damn real?”

“There’s still so much for you to learn, sweety. This is a sign of God’s spirits trying to tell you something.”

“Then what about the woman in red? Who might she be?”

Her grandmother grabbed her jaw to think for a moment and when she did come to a conclusion she snapped her fingers. “Your guardian angel. Perhaps she wants to show herself to you and look after you?”

Anna thought really hard, wondering if everything her grandmother said was true. “I hope you’re right.” Anna checked her watch and noticed it was about to get dark. “Sorry, Grandma! I gotta go and pay a visit to an old friend. I’ll be back in an hour!”

She kissed her grandmother on the cheek and thanked her for the explanation.

Anna then ran out and sprinted towards the graveyard. She would always do this everyday before dark to visit her late friend Jack’s grave. Doing it always gave her relief, especially knowing that he might be overseeing her as her guardian angel. But from what her grandmother told her it might be this woman in red.

Anna arrived at the cemetery’s entrance, exhausted yet driven. With her hands on her knees and head down, she took the time to catch her breath, but the moment she looked up the cemetery’s atmosphere changed. The sky was a haunting orange, and every flower on every tombstone transformed into a rose. She was left amazed yet confused as she walked in, feeling fuzzy and oddly excited. The entire area around her was swarming with rose petals and beautiful orange leaves.

As Anna walked along the dirt trail that was once filled with death and agony, she continued walking with amazement. She got a look of awe and spotted Jack’s parents in the distance standing beside his resting place. They looked at her with smiles on their faces, waving for a moment before collapsing into a pile of red rose petals. Anna seemed shocked seeing that, but it was just too beautiful witnessing something bizarre like that.

A gust of wind blew the rose petals towards her with ease, which then settled around her. For some odd reason it brought a tear to Anna’s eyes, but as she wiped that single tear it stained her hand with blood. She gasped in shock, realizing that strange occurrence. But when she looked up there she was, that woman in the red dress, who stood on Jack’s grave with a smile and a sense of calmness.

She gestured at Anna to come towards her with a pale finger coated with red nail polish. Anna swallowed and felt extremely nervous, while she slowly approached the woman. Anna noticed how the woman’s dress was astonishing And complimented her eyes that were deep blue like the gas clouds on Uranus.

“Wh-Wh-Who are you?” Anna asked cautiously.

The woman in red removed her hood, revealing her long gorgeous hair of purified darkness. “I can’t tell you who I am,” she said in a soothing tone. “You must be Jack’s childhood friend, Annabelle.”

Anna’s mouth dropped from her statement. How does she know Jack?

Feeling more nervous, Anna took a deep breath and finally stopped. “What’s happening? Why did you appear in my school? Was it you who made me talk to that mysterious girl?”

The woman in red giggled and approached Anna. “My child, there’s much I can’t tell you right now. Someday, I’ll tell you everything.”

She lifted both hands to her chest. Rose petals flew behind Anna, leaving her stunned in amazement. They fluttered her hair as they hurtled past her, then they swirled around the woman in red and arose to take the form of Anna’s friends.

Anna was in a complete state of shock. The rose friends smiled, which filled her heart with ease.

Anna couldn’t believe her eyes. What type of illusion is this?

It left her mesmerized from its sheer impact. She started crying red tears as she looked into the woman’s icy blue eyes. “Are-Are you my guardian angel?”

The woman in red elegantly walked up to Anna and placed her hand on her shoulder, then squatted down to Anna’s level to look into her dazzling green eyes. “I’m more than just a guardian angel. I’m beyond that, my child.”

Anna’s eyes glistened. She felt happy and relieved after hearing that. Her voice alone was so relaxing that she thought she was about to fall asleep from its gentleness.

She gently grabbed her soft cold hand and stared into her eyes once more. “If you’re beyond that, then how’s Jack doing? Is he happy in heaven?”

The woman looked up at the sky. Their clothes fluttered along with the chilly wind which continuously blew red petals around the graveyard.

Standing straight, she looked down at Anna and held her hand. “He’s fine… for now,” she said, her tone changing to a hint of sadness.

She gently let go of Anna and backed away, bowing to a quiet Anna. “Someday, you’ll finally be able to speak to him once again, and when that day comes…”

The winds grew stronger, blowing the red petals all over the area, and swirling them up to the sky. Those leaves that represented falls blooming hurtled past their feet, the skies above pulsed those colors of love and unity, the clouds as well moved rapidly to the direction opposite of Anna’s standpoint. Anna’s eyes glistened so much that it made her think her entire life was about to be cleansed from its sins. Rose petals stormed past from behind the woman in red as her long arms reached outward. Above, the clouds started to move rapidly as she smiled and slowly hugged herself, leaving Anna hanging in amazement.

She opened her arms out to Anna. The entire scenery erupted into red beauty. “I’ll be watching over you two!” White birds flew from above, while the rose petals and leaves of fall bombarded the entire area. Anna was left speechless and baptized.

Anna couldn’t help but drop to her knees as she shed tears of joy. Her eyes watered red and stained her cheek with bloody trails of purity. “Thank you. Th-Thank you!”

The woman in red smiled one last time before dissolving away into a gorgeous red sparkle of dust. Particles swirled around where she once stood and were blown past Anna by the chilly winds. Anna held her hands out and caught some of the dust. She closed her eyes and then clasped her hands towards her chest in mesmerized joy.

Anna prayed and thanked the woman. As she opened her eyes, she found herself suddenly on Jack’s grave. The sky had become normal. The sun had finally settled down and the entire graveyard had returned to its sad and empty nature. Anna opened her hands and the dust was still there. She smiled and blew sparkled red gems on his grave.

Anna was on her knees, staring at the sunset with a huge smile on her face. The slowly dying leaves flew past her as Anna touched Jack’s tombstone. “Goodbye Jack, hopefully someday… we can finally be together and be happy — again.”