Captain Tony shifted again in the incredibly uncomfortable metal chair in his girlfriend's hospital room. He had been there all day and now that she was finally awake they were just waiting for the final paperwork to be delivered so he could take her home. It had been an exhausting ordeal and he reveled in finally being able to go to bed and finally get some sleep. Marie was groggy and fog headed but at least was sitting up in the bed for the first time all day. Looking at her face Tony thought she looked exhausted. Heavy bags hung under her eyes and new flecks of grey speckled her dreads. Seeing this he could swear she looked like she had aged ten years since yesterday. Reaching out from his chair he grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.
"Almost ready to go home, Boo?"
Still weak from her ordeal Marie smiled and squeezed his hand back. Since waking up in the hospital her memory of the night before had been a total blank. Unable to speak for most of the day, she had been too weak to even hold her head up much less speak. Now that it was the next afternoon she finally felt her body begin to rebound. With her voice cracking and gravely, she whispered out loud.
"I love you Boo. I am definitely ready to go home!"
Hearing her speak Tony pressed the nurses call button repeatedly. Turing back to his girlfriend he said. "Oh thank GOD! Babe you had me scared. You have never gone under that deep before. I thought for a while last night I had lost you."
Smiling she again squeezed his hand and nodded. It was true, this was definitely the worst channeling session she had ever performed in her life and as she grew more and more awake she realized just how close to death she had actually come. It was not unusual at all for her to pass out or hyperventilate during a session but this was very different. Magnolia Grove was the most supernaturally active house she had ever been in and her whole body ached from the experience, like a runner recuperating the day after competing in a marathon.
Sitting up straight in bed she said "We need to get Gus have that place cleansed immediately. He can't live there like that. There are way too many powerful spirits loose in that house and I think it is only going to get worse."
"Is that who you were channeling? One of the spirits loose in the house?"
"No, that lady was just a residual. Her spirit has long sense passed on to the other side. No, there are some serious Duppy's in that house. VERY serious. I know Gus is your friend so maybe you can convince him to allow me to conduct a proper cleansing ritual."
"I don't know how he will react to that."
"Well, he seemed pretty open last night." She replied.
"Yes, but having a playful little sΓ©ance type activity at a house party is one thing. Having a full blown voodoo ritual performed in your house, with all that entails, is quite another."
Seeing her grow agitated he patted her arm. "Now Boo, you need to settle down. You had quite a spell last night so you need to recover. You are in no condition to perform a cleansing ritual now anyway."
"I know I did but we really need to warn Gus, I don't think he understands the danger he is in. My memory of what happened is still quite foggy but my sense of dread is very strong and I am never wrong about that. There is something very very wrong at Magnolia Grove and I am going to help do something about it." Starting to get out of bed, she swung her bare feet over the bed and asked Tony to hand her dress.
"Boo, I don't know if this is such a good idea. Can't this wait? That house has been there forever and surely there is nothing going on now that hasn't been going on for years. Can't we talk to Gus after you get better? I don't want you going back in that house and getting worn down again by all that spirit activity. Neither your heart nor mine can take it."
Looking across the room at a mirror above a small chest of drawers Marie shook her head loose through the neck of her dress and tried to straighten her hair. She would not listen to Tony's concerns and she was determined to go straight home and get ready for the cleansing ceremony. Smoothing the bright yellow fabric down over her body she saw that it was wrinkled and dirty but at least it meant she could leave and it was certainly more stylish than the blue hospital gown she had been wearing since being brought in. As she started to turn back towards Tony, out of the corner of her eye she saw something reflected in the mirror and she paused. Gazing more intensely she felt her heart rate raise as she saw a black mist starting to form in the glass.
Snapping her head back to look behind her she saw nothing, but when she looked into the mirror she could see the apparition clearly. From the looks of her boyfriend obviously he could not see it, but she was used to that. Being clairvoyant has its advantages and disadvantages and one of the biggest was the fact that normally she could see things that no one else could. Staring intensely into the reflection, with each second that passed it became clearer as it started to take shape. Captain Tony saw nothing, but to Marie's great horror the mist in the mirror grew larger and thicker and appeared to be standing right beside him. Feeling the temperature of the room drop, along with her stomach, she could not take her eyes off the form manifesting before her eyes. Preparing to turn and confront the spirit she suddenly froze as the image changed.
"Boo, are you ok?" Tony asked as he saw his girlfriend staring intensely into the mirror with a blank and terrified gaze.
As she opened her mouth to speak suddenly her face froze in horror as her eyes grew wide. Shrieking just as loud as she had the night before she collapsed on the hard cold floor.
"MARIE!!! MY GOD, MARIE!!" Captain Tony frantically yelled as he saw his girlfriend collapse. Rushing over to her he knelt down and stared into her eyes which now began to roll back into her head. Pushing the call button, he screamed for the nurse.
Marie began to slowly slip away as the room began melting before her eyes. Over the shoulder of her boyfriend the black mist began massing and started to hover right above her face. Sensing her body being entered by an unseen force, she tried to resist but it was futile, the force was too strong. Struggling to stand one last time before she was engulfed the mist quickly lowered itself onto her face and entered her nostrils.