Two Souls: Into the Fire # 283
Warning … adult content
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Steve went into the kitchen to see what Linda and Melody were doing. There was a rich aroma of coffee infusing the air in the little house, and he inhaled deeply. Linda was setting out mugs for everyone, and Melody was making eggs and toast. They were glad now, that they’d stopped by the little convenience store on the way to Ghost’s house this morning. Picking up a few things for breakfast was a good idea, as there was nothing much in the refrigerator to use.
“Hey…breakfast?” Steve asked.
“Yep, that’s what it is, brother,” Linda said, giving him the once-over.
“About earlier…” Steve said, a bit embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Linda said, and winked. “Here, sit down.” She handed him a full mug, of the hot coffee. She looked up, as Ghost came into the room. “You, sit down.” She poured him a mug of coffee, too, setting it in front of him. “Here’s sugar, and there’s milk, but I didn’t find any creamer. Y’all need to go to the store.”
Melody finished the eggs and toast, and set them on the table. Getting out plates and forks, she didn’t look either Steve or Ghost in the eye. It was getting awkward, and no one was saying anything, as they concentrated on eating.
Linda sighed. “Okay, enough of this. Sorry we were laughing before, and we didn’t mean to surprise you like we did, but we’re all grown-ups here, so…oops…and let’s forget about it.” They all agreed, and Ghost added, “I love him.”
Linda reached over and hugged him. “We know you do, honey.”
~
After eating, Ghost showed Melody around the house, small as it was. He pointed out the newest parts that were built after the hurricane. “My room looks just the same as before, but has new walls and stuff, ’cause they were all smashed.” He looked at the walls, touching the nearest one. He had been slowly adding to the writing on them. Looking down, he said, “It was all flooded in here, and I almost died, but Steve saved me.” He looked sad, remembering that day.
Melody looked up at the ceiling, noticing the stars painted on. “They glow in the dark, don’t they?”
When Ghost nodded, she said, “I had some on my ceiling at home, too. They were just the stick-on kind. I’d look at them every night, and dream of being somewhere else.”
“We have a song about the stars, on our CD,” Ghost said. He got up from the bed, where he’d been laying down, to get something from the dresser. “Here, you can have these,” he said, holding out a copy of their book, and the CD they made. “But, don’t listen to it now. Wait ’til it’s quiet.”
Melody nodded. “I know I’ll love it. Is this is the book y’all did?”
“Yeah,” Ghost said.
She flipped through it, stopping at a picture or two. “This is awesome. You really saw the spirits and talked to them?”
“Sure…at least I did. Steve says he can’t see them, but I think he just don’t want to. He gets freaked out a lot.” He laughed, because it was true.
“You’re not scared?”
“No, not of the spirits of the dead, cause they’re not really dead. They’re just in spirit form. They’re still who they always were.” He paused a few seconds. “The other things, yeah, I’m scared.”
Melody glanced up at him, wondering what he meant by that, and not sure she wanted to find out. She felt a chill go up her spine, leaving goose-bumps on her arms. Rubbing them away, she asked, “You’ll show me how to see them, the good ones?”
Ghost shrugged, “I’ll try, but I don’t really know how I do it. I was always seeing them…always…” he whispered the last word, as he remembered his past for a minute.
Melody saw the fleeting shadow of his thoughts cloud his face. “Ghost? What is it…something just happened. Was I feeling your thoughts, or sensing something sad?”
Ghost shook his head to clear away the thoughts, to clear his mind. “Hmm? What did you say?”
Melody was confused. Ghost was acting weird, now. She repeated her question.
“Um…yeah, you picked up on something, I guess, like how I was feeling? But, I don’t know how I was feeling. Everything just went blank or something. I don’t know…” he said, seeming a bit dazed, or confused himself.
“You looked sad, and I could feel it…in here,” Melody said, putting her hand over her heart. Coming over to the bed, she gave her brother a hug. “It’s okay, whatever it was. We’re together, now, and no bad things can stand up to us. Do you believe that?”
Ghost looked into her eyes, a mirror of his eyes. “I want to,” he whispered, “but, I can’t.”
“Now, you’re freaking me out, Ghost,” Melody said. “I wanted to see and feel things, but you’re making me scared.”
Ghost didn’t answer. He was still looking in her direction, but wasn’t really seeing her. She hadn’t known Ghost long enough to have seen him like this.
“I’m getting Steve,” she said, leaving the room. She stopped for a second, at the door, looking once more at Ghost. He’d not moved or stopped staring into space. She found Steve and Linda on the front porch.
“Steve,” she said, as she came outside.
“Hey, Melody, getting the grand tour of the house?” He laughed.
“Not any more. Ghost is acting weird, and he was scaring me. Go look at him.”
Steve jumped up from the swing and ran into the house, with Linda and Melody following. At the bedroom door, Steve was relieved to see that Ghost wasn’t having a seizure.
“Ghost?” he asked, softly, coming to sit by him on the bed. “What do you see?”
Linda started to say something, but Steve motioned for her to wait. “It’s okay, Ghost, you can say what it is.”
Ghost finally focused on Steve’s face. “Steve?”
“I’m right here…there’s just us. No one else in here. You okay?”
Ghost shuddered. “I don’t like it. I don’t…I can’t see it, yet…just a bad feeling, real strong. We need protection…” he faded off, as he began his trance, again, his eyelids fluttering. He was breathing hard. Steve knew he had to break the circuit in Ghost’s thoughts, and feelings, or he’d go into a seizure for sure.
“Ghost, come on, get up. You need to walk around, get some fresh air. Let’s go NOW.” Steve shouted, making Ghost startle.
“What? Why you yelling?”
Steve grabbed is hands, pulling him up, then guided him outside. “Linda, get some coffee. You know how he likes it.”
“But, there’s no cream,” Linda said.
“Crap, well, lots of sugar and milk, then. Hurry.”
Linda ran to the kitchen, and Melody trailed after her. “What’s going on? Why is Ghost so weird? Tell me.”
“Don’t worry, he gets like this sometimes,” Linda said. “Didn’t Steve tell you?”
“He said Ghost has seizures sometimes. Was that one in there?”
Linda looked up from heating the coffee. “You never seen anyone have one before?”
Melody shook her head. “No.”
“I’ll explain later, but that wasn’t one, or maybe a little one. I think Steve calls it Ghost’s trances. It’s where he does this psychic thing, where he can see into the future, and most times it’s bad. Anyway, he’ll be fine. It’s normal for him, and yeah, it’s spooky as hell.” Linda still looked worried, though, as she poured coffee into a mug for Ghost.
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Next part coming soon!
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Thanks for visiting! Peace 
© 2019 BS
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This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.
All songs included in this work will be solely owned by the original performers/writers and will be credited. Creative license is taken in including them in this story.
No harm is intended toward author, musicians, or people and situations to whom there may be a resemblance.
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The content herein is rated by me as being at the high end of MA (Mature Audience). It includes strong language, violence, sexual themes, including same sex pairings, religious themes, and fantasy horror.
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