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Howie shifted his attention toward the soft voice he heard calling his name. ' That canīt be..' He glanced in the direction the voice had come from, but saw nothing but darkness. Sinking back against the wall, he took one last worried glance at AJ before he closed his eyes.A loud noise brought him away from the rest he had been seeking, and when he opened his eyes, he was somewhat distressed to find AJ was gone. In fact, he wasnīt even in the same dark room he had been in just a few minutes earlier."Whatīs going on?" Howie was sure he hadnīt moved, he hand only closed his eyes to rest.Now, though, he was in an oddly familiar room by himself. He stood up and cautiously walked around the room, carefully examining his surroundings. It was like any other den, but for some reason, Howie felt like he had seen the room before. He was about to plop down on the couch when he saw a wall full of pictures in the next room.

He was careful not to move anything out of its place as he moved from one room to the other. Soon, he was standing in front of the wall covered in various photographs that seemed to span decades. Almost immediately he recognized photos of his grandparents and parents, and it only took seconds to notice that they all seemed to be placed in chronological order.The last picture was one of his family that had been taken a couple years before at a get together-Christmas, if Howie remembered correctly.

Taking the last picture off the wall, Howie looked at it closely.The date on the bottom of the frame was December 2000. Howie soon became consumed in memories and didnīt hear the footsteps as someone entered the room.He didnīt realize the person standing next to him until they gently touched his shoulder. Startled by the sudden presence, he cried out and dropped the picture, watching as the glass in the frame shattered into hundreds of pieces. "You scared the shit out of me!"his voice faded as he looked up.

Standing before him, was his sister Caroline.

Her tender smile was warm and inviting and she looked exactly the way Howie remembered her.When he finally found his voice, he stammered for the right words to say. "How...where..Ķwhat are you doing here? You canīt be real!"

"Howie,I am real," her voice came out very soft, almost melodic.

"No!" Howie cried, furiously rubbing his eyes, hoping to wake up from this dream. What kind of awful trick was this? "You canīt be real.Youīre dead!"

"Thatīs right Howie, I am dead," Carolines voice was growing harsh and her delicate features darkened dramatically."Where were you when I died?"

"What?..What are you talking about?" Howie was confused. How was he talking to his dead sister? Where was he? There were so many questions running through his mind and he didnīt know where to begin asking them. This wasnīt the same person he remembered. Caroline wasnīt easily angered, but this..this thing was growing angrier with every passing second.

"What do you want with me?"

"Howie, where were you when I died? "What were you doing when I needed you? When our family needed you?" Her once harmonious voice had now deepened to a frightening tone; she sounded almost demonic."Where were you dear brother?"

Howie began to back away from the creature before him, but he soon stopped when he felt the wall behind him. He did the only thing that he could think to do, he answered. "I was working, sissy." He thought that maybe if he explained, he could get whatever this was to calm down." There was nothing I could do for you."

"You could have been there!" she thrust her arm in his direction. Howie quickly ducked out of her reach and got out of his corner. "You were too selfish to care that I was dying..you only cared about making your fortunes. Our family meant nothing to you...I meant nothing to you."

"No!" he cried," thatīs not true, and you know it!"

Howie watched at bright flames began to dance in her eyes. "You have to pay for that, Howie. You have to pay with your life.

Wasting no time, he turned and bolted for the door.He could feel the creatures hot breath on his neck and he was sure that it almost grabbed him more than once. Howie didnīt think he would ever make it to the door, but finally, he was there. With no hesitation at all, he grabbed the knob and threw the door open; he didnīt even look as he ran through.

Suddenly, he found himself falling. His own screams seemed to be muffled by the voice of his sister. He kept falling and screaming until suddenly, there was nothing...

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Brian looked all around, suddenly unsure of what he was about to do. What if he was making a mistake; what if this wasnīt where he needed to be? "No, this is right," his voice sounded soft and almost childlike. All he had to do was step into the bright vortex of light, but for some reason, he felt like he could not move.

Becoming frightened, Brian began the chant, "With this charm I beseech thee Out of sight and out of me Blood this chant hold may Ward all harm and evil at bay." He still did not move. ' Whatīs wrong with me?' he asked himself. It was as though he was stuck to the ground; just like something was holding him in place.Then with no warning at all, he was thrown to the ground with a hard thud. He opened his mouth to speak the chant once again, but this time, nothing came out. He made no noise at all. The darkness enveloped him quickly and he began to hear the most awful moans.

'I wonder if thatīs how they sound in Hell?' All of a sudden, Brians body felt like it was on fire. He looked around to see if he was in fact, burning, but to his alarm, he saw nothing.

He was blind.

Brian couldnīt scream or see, and now he was even loosing the feeling in his body. The only part he could still feel burning was his heart. After a few more minutes of darkness, Brian began to see a speck of light again. As he grew more aware of his surroundings, he saw that he was lying on a table in a bright white room. There were people buzzing around busily, heading back and forth from various places. He still could not feel anything in any part of his body except his heart.And the pain he felt was excruciating; he felt like his heart would explode at any moment.

Brian looked down at his chest to see what was wrong and suddenly felt as though he was going to pass out. He found himself looking at his open chest. He didnīt know what was going on, but now he was more terrified than he had ever been in his life. 'What were they doing to him?Why on earth did they have his chest split open?' He had already had surgery almost five years prior, and he still remembered clearly. Brian tried his best to say something..anything, his attempts, however, proved to be in vain. He still could not speak or move.

A deafening noise filled the air and ever machine that was hooked up to him seemed to be going crazy.He had to let these doctors know that he was awake. Every time he felt his heart beat, there was terrible pain,just like a knife being plunged deep into his heart. "I have to do something." Brian felt as though something was lying on top of him that kept him from moving; he felt like his arms and legs were being restrained by some unseen force.

Brian looked around the room, frantically searching for something that could help him get out of this. Someone standing at the window caught his eye.

It was Leighanne.

She was holding Baylee and staring into the operating room with a horrified expression on her face. The doctors had not even asked her to be seated somewhere away from the operating room so she would not have to see what was happening to her husband. 'Leigh, donīt stay here.',he thought, desperately trying to focus all of his energy into getting himself out of this situation.

' With this charm I beseech thee Out of sight and out of me Blood this chant hold may Ward all harm and evil at bay' He recited the chant in his head, but nothing happened.

A nurse finally made her way back over to Brian. She seemed calm and composed, unlike the doctors and other nurses who were still rushing about. Instead of running around grabbing different objects for the doctors, this nurse came over and placed her hand in the gaping wound in Brians chest. He was sure that if he had his voice, he would have caused everyone to be deaf. Looking up into the nurses eyes, he was petrified so see flaming blue eyes.

Desdemona.

She appeared to be doing what any caring nurse would do, but in reality, she was slowly killing Brian. As Desdemona continued to "massage" his heart, Brian could feel the fire spreading throughout his entire body.He suddenly found himself calling for death to come quickly. His sight was once again fading and all he could hear was the pain rushing through his veins.

"No, you canīt let yourself be taken, Brian," he heard a faint voice call from somewhere far away." If she is able to take you, there’s no hope for any of you.None of this is real, Brian..you just have to believe.

"Chaucer?" he was surprised to hear the chocked whisper escape his lips.

"Donīt give up yet, Brian. Concentrate! You have to focus all of your attention on the chantâ€Ķthat is the only way you can break free of Desdemonas spell. You donīt have to speak the chant vocally, but unless you concentrate completely on it and nothing else, it will not work. Do you understand?"

"Yes,"he managed to say a little more clearly than before.

"Focus, Brian." Concentrate on nothing else." Doing as Chaucer instructed, Brian cleared his mind and began the chant.' With this charm beseech thee Out of sight and out of me Blood this chant hold may Ward all harm and evil at bay.'

He kept repeating it over and over until he found himself saying it aloud.With every word, he felt stronger and more confident that he was going to get out of this nightmare. The pain he felt was now subsiding and he could see clearly.

'With this charm I beseech thee Out of sight and out of me Blood this chant hold may Ward all harm and evil at bay.'

He watched as Desdemona withdrew her hands from his chest and backed away from him. All of a sudden, she disappeared and he was back where he had been; staring into the vortex of light. He knew he had gotten past that obstacle, but that was just the beginning. He was well aware that Desdemona would stop at nothing to keep him from his brothers.

He just had to believe.