Things had been running so smoothly. Until the gas leak.
‘And can you explain what happened?’ asked the policeman after Tom had calmed a little.
‘I told you already,’ said Tom quietly. ‘A few days ago we found a gas leak. I meant to fix it but V told me to just put tape over it until I had more time.’
‘Tape?’ said the police officer. He looked at his colleague in disbelief and then returned to Tom. ‘Things like that should be repaired immediately.’
‘I know, I know,’ said Tom. He was now trying not to make eye contact with the policeman. ‘We thought it’d be alright.’
‘And now, because of your silly mistake, your girlfriend has lost her life.’
‘She fell asleep in the bath,’ said Tom through gritted teeth. ‘She couldn’t have smelt the gas.’
‘It still doesn’t clear you of any blame,’ said the officer forcefully.
‘I know that!’ shouted Tom.
His councillor put a calming hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged the woman off.
Tom pointed to the officers. ‘I’ve lost the girl that I love. The girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.’ He seemed to deflate and fall back in his chair, looking into the distance with lost eyes. ‘It’s because of me that she’s dead. So, if you want, you can lock me away. Someone has to pay for what happened.’ His eyes flicked back to the officers. ‘Just remember, though, that it was a stupid mistake.’
The councillor looked at the two police officers. ‘I think Tom should be left alone for a while.’
The two officers nodded and then got up. ‘We’ll be in touch, and I suggest you stay in the area, Mr Howard.’
‘Yeah,’ mumbled Tom distantly.
‘I’m sorry Thomas, but what you are asking is utterly impossible.’
‘That’s not what Finky said,’ protested Tom.
‘And what exactly did Mr Finklin say to you?’
‘He said you’d brought his old lady back from the dead. He said you’d brought her back as a ghost.’
Father Tremond sighed. ‘Shane Finklin was having disturbances in his home. I allowed him, and his family, to be able to speak, through a medium, to his mother once again.’
‘Exactly,’ said Tom excitedly.
‘You are not being haunted by Vanessa,’ said Tremond with a huge sigh.
‘But I want to be.’ Tom’s eyes blazed with a light that Father Tremond could not make out. ‘I want her to be back with me.’
‘No, Tom,’ said Tremond defiantly. ‘I can’t participate in such an act, and even if I could, then I don’t know if I’d be able to.’
‘But you must-’
Tremond raised his voice. ‘No Tom! And that is the last word on the matter. I am so very sorry for your loss, but dwelling on it will not help the pain.’
Tom looked the old vicar in the eyes. ‘Fine. I’ll get someone else to do it.’
He stormed out of the church. Tremond sat down and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He felt sure that Tom would have to learn the hard way.
Tom literally pushed Jay into the room. Jay kept his balance and then cracked his knuckles. ‘Stay cool, man.’
‘I just want you to do it,’ said Tom angrily.
‘I said I’d check it out, alright,’ said Jay. He straightened up his jacket and then wandered around the dark front room of Tom and Vanessa’s apartment. ‘Hmmm,’ he mumbled, ‘I can’t pick up anything.’
‘You’re just saying that,’ said Tom from the doorway. ‘You’ve gotta find her.’
Jay rolled his eyes and turned back to his brother. ‘Look, I told you that it might be difficult. You know it’s just a hobby. You should’ve got old Tremond to do it.’
‘I asked him but he said no.’
‘Then maybe it’s for the best.’
‘No!’ shouted Tom. ‘I want to be able to speak with Vanessa again.’
‘I’m not a professional. I don’t know what I’d be doing.’
‘Get your friends in, Jay. You can bring her back to me. I know you can,’ pleaded Tom.
Jay sighed and shrugged his shoulders. ‘What the hell. Just don’t blame me for the consequences.’
Tom clasped Jay’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. He would see Vanessa again. He was sure of it.
Things hadn’t gone as planned. Jay and his four other friends sat around the kitchen table whilst Tom stood at the side. Candles and incense sticks had been lit and Tom was looking around himself nervously. Jay and the four other people had held hands to create an unbroken link and Jay was talking very slowly and very carefully.
‘We call unto you, Vanessa. Come back to us. Come back to your love, Tom, and let him speak with you again.’
There was a rumble of thunder from beyond the flat which made Tom even more nervous.
‘Come back to us, Vanessa!’ shouted Jay. He opened his eyes and gripped his friends hands tightly. ‘Come back to us now!’
There was a loud blast of thunder and the candles flicked out. Tom, Jay and Jay’s friends sat in the darkness none of them daring to move. There was a scuttling sound beside the kitchen door and Tom crossed over to Jay. ‘Have you done it?’
‘I don’t know, man,’ said Jay quietly. ‘I told you we weren’t experienced and we’ve never done this before.’
The door creaked on it’s hinges and everybody tensed. Tom looked at each of them and then back to the door. Stealing his nerve he crossed over to the door and flung it open. Standing there was Vanessa. Tom stumbled towards her but then stopped himself and looked her up and down. She was the same Vanessa he had fallen in love with, but now she looked even more perfect. A halo of golden light seemed to illuminate her in the darkness.
She opened her mouth to speak and Tom caught the smell of gas. ‘Why Tom? Why have you brought me here?’
‘I-,’ Tom could hardly contain the emotion that had built up. ‘I wanted to say - to say…sorry.’
She extended a hand and touched his face. The tears burst from Tom’s eyes. ‘There was no reason. I don’t blame you for what happened.’
‘But if I’d fixed the gas leak-’
‘I should have never allowed myself to fall asleep in the bath. You were always telling me not to do that. If I hadn’t then I’d have smelt the gas and gotten out.’
‘But I can’t get over it, V, I can’t...’ sobbed Tom
Before either of them could utter another word the scuttling sound came from near the fridge making all of the astonished onlookers look around in alarm.
‘No,’ said Vanessa quietly. ‘You must send me back.’
‘What is it?’ asked Tom.
‘Tom,’ said Jay carefully, ‘look down there.’
Jay was pointing beside one of the cupboard units. The door was slightly open and what looked like a little black hand was feeling around the edge. ‘What the hell’s that?!’
‘Send me back,’ said Vanessa urgently.
Jay panicked and urged people to hold hands around the table again. Tom refused and got closer to Vanessa.
‘Please, Tom!’ shouted Jay as the scuttling got louder. ‘We have to send her back before it’s too late.’
‘I don’t understand!’ yelled Tom over the scuttling, which was becoming increasingly louder.
‘I’ve read about this, man,’ called back Jay. ‘Get over here now.’
But it was too late. The door of the cupboard was flung open and hundreds of little black scuttling figures flooded out of the cupboard doors. One of them leapt onto Tom’s face and he caught glimpse of what it looked like. The thing was like a cat, but it had black horns and scuttled on its back two legs. Its face was completely devoid of any features apart from two glowing, tiny grey eyes. Tom tried to knock the thing off as the other creatures scuttled into the shadows.
People screamed, the scuttling grew louder and the commotion was more than anyone could take. Through the torrent of creatures stood Vanessa with her head in her hands and crying tears onto the carpet.
A great booming voice came from beyond the kitchen wall. Tom looked up and before his very eyes a shape began to form from the wall. It was a face. A huge, stone face cracking through the wall. The face appeared to have a beard and was talking, but the words were jumbled and the voice muffled. The things continued to wreck havoc and Tom couldn’t take anymore.
He ran for the door.
Father Tremond hesitated as he touched the door handle to Tom’s flat. It had been two hours since Tom and his friends had made a run for it. At first Tremond was reluctant to help, but he could see Tom and Jay were desperate. Now he stood in front of the door with his bible in his right hand. Jay and Tom stood behind him nervously.
Tremond turned to face the two men. ‘I warned you, Tom, but you wouldn’t listen. Now we have to face the consequences.’
‘What consequences?’ asked Tom, a little puzzled.
‘You can’t just bring back someone’s spirit and then put them back again like a bottle of ketchup. If the process had been done properly,’ he glared at Jay, ‘then it would have been a simple thing to do, but you have unearthed other monsters.’
‘Then just put them back,’ said Tom desperately.
‘It’s not that easy, Thomas,’ scolded Tremond. ‘They won’t go back. They have to be destroyed and in destroying them I shall have to destroy all spirits within the flat.’
‘But that means…’
‘Yes,’ said Tremond quietly. ‘That means destroying Vanessa.’
‘But there has to be some other way!,’ pleaded Tom.
‘There isn’t,’ replied Tremond sadly. ‘I shall be some time.’
Tom was frozen in the spot as he watched Tremond open the door and disappear into the darkness of the flat. His eyes quivered and he stood there, waiting…
He waited a long, long time.
Jay was sitting on the wall outside, whilst Tom stood in the same position, watching and waiting for the priest to emerge from the flat. It had been almost an hour and he hadn’t moved an inch. All the guilt and sorrow had been too much and he had been unable to let out anymore emotions. He blamed himself, he blamed Jay and he blamed those evil little creatures in his flat.
Just when he thought Tremond had disappeared for good, the door clicked open. Standing in the doorway was the old vicar looking very drained, tired and withered. He looked as though he hadn’t had any sleep for days, and yet he still managed to hold his dignity. Tom looked at him hopefully.
Tremond walked slowly over to the young man and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Your home has been cleared of all spirits.’
‘All?’ called Jay from behind.
‘All,’ confirmed Tremond.
Tom nodded slowly as Tremond patted him on the shoulder and walked past him. ‘Vanessa,’ said Tom making Tremond jump. ‘Will I see Vanessa again. You know, when I die?’
Tremond sighed heavily and looked down to the ground. ‘I may follow the church, Tom, but even I am unable to predict what happens beyond this life. I believe that we all join together in the kingdom of Heaven and we see our loved ones once more.’
‘Vanessa?’ asked Tom, although he already knew the answer.
‘Thomas, Vanessa has gone. She has been totally destroyed. Her spirit, her memory, her entire being has been lost forever.’
When Tremond had walked away and Tom was sure he had disappeared, he stepped up to the flat door and placed his hand on the doorknob.
Jay got off the wall and touched him on the shoulder.
Tom rounded on his friend and his eyes bore deep into the smaller man.
‘I’m sorry, man,’ said Jay. ‘I wish I had-’
SMACK! Tom floored Jay before he could finish. Then, without another look back, he stepped into the doorway and slowly closed it shut.
Across the quiet suburban road, the images of Vrezan and Tom stood, watching the scene that had just unfolded before their eyes.
Tom turned to Harold, his eyes full of anger and sadness. ‘Why did you show me that? I didn’t need to see it.’
‘You did need to see it,’ said Harold calmly. ‘You needed to be made to see that you are definitely dead.’
Tom stepped in front of the killer and pressed his face close to him. ‘But why show me this?’ he said through gritted teeth.
Vrezan simply smirked and shrugged. ‘Just thought it’d be fun to see why you hated the spirit world so much.’
‘You see this as “fun”, do you?’ growled Tom.
‘For me, yes.’ He grinned.
Tom snapped. His fist drew back and he thrust it straight at Vrezan’s stomach. His arm, to Tom’s horror, had simply gone straight through his body making an odd swishing sound. Tom frowned in confusion and retracted his fist. Vrezan laughed and Tom decided to aim for his head. The same thing happened. Then, as if something had suddenly plugged his good humour, Vrezan slammed his fist into Tom’s face. Tom was taken aback and collapsed to the floor.
‘How did you do that?’ he stuttered.
‘Psychic power,’ replied Vrezan, his disgusting grin now back on his face.
Soon they were standing back in the dark prison. Vrezan had regained the control of his bodily remains and Tom was crouching once again over his body.
‘Are ghosts and spirits real then?’
‘Why are you asking me that?’ chuckled Vrezan.
‘What was that that I saw in my flat. Venessa. What was it all?’
‘I don’t know. There are many mysteries in this universe, kid. Perhaps you opened the door to another dimension. I really don’t know.’
The young man pinched the end of his nose. ‘What can I do now?’
Vrezan lumbered over to Tom and put a withered and rotten hand on his shoulder. ‘You say you want to take revenge on the spirit world for taking Vanessa away? I suggest you take it out on the person responsible for your death.’
‘You?’ queried Tom.
Vrezan smiled and levitated a very real iron bar and dangled it in front of Tom. ‘True, I may have killed you with this object, but I am not the one responsible for your being here.’
‘Then who?’
‘Your friends.’ Vrezan sighed when he saw Tom frown. ‘Your friends who are in the prison grounds at this very moment. If it weren’t for them you would have never joined their stupid ghost hunting group in the first place. You wouldn’t be here crouching over your dead body.’
‘But why? What’s your reason for all of this? Don’t you want to go back to your own people.’
‘They abandoned me. This planet is my playground now. I want to expand myself outside of these prison walls. I want to experience more of your kind.’
There was a sound from towards the entrance to the main prison building. Tom looked towards Vrezan and frowned.
‘It’s the Doctor,’ he said, his rotten tongue licking his yellow teeth. ‘Kill him.’
‘Kill him?’ said Tom uncertainly.
‘I will help you,’ said Vrezan. ‘I will help you through this.’
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