The Soul Of Agnes

WARNING: THIS STORY COTAINS SOME MATERIAL THAT MAY BE HARMFUL OR TRUAMATIZING TO SOME READERS.

PART 1: Why me?

"Julian? Are you alright?" Parker asked, laying a calm hand on my shoulder. I continued to look out the cold window of the bus, not saying a word. "I'm sorry, man. I wish I could help more." He said, shrugging. The bus began to slow down, and Parker and I got up from our seats. The guys in the back whispered and pointed at me, and Blake threw his jacket at me, laughing. "Just ignore them," Parker said, throwing the jacket back and walking on. We said our goodbyes and I headed home, stuffing my earbuds in my ears, and my hands in my pockets.

When I came in the old, crooked door of the house, dad was sitting on the couch, setting an empty bottle of wine on the wood table beside him. "Ugh. Can't you come in the back door, so you don't interrupt my show?" he groaned. "Nice to see you, too," I mumbled, taking my shoes off. Dad's angry feet stomped towards me, popping the lid off his new, wine bottle. "What did you say?!" He yelled in my ear, his spit flying onto my cheek. "I- I-" I stuttered, trembling from head to toe. Dad raised his wine bottle as if he was going to throw it at me. "I said you're the best dad," I whispered, gulping in fear. He lowered his hand, and walked back to the couch, sinking into the cushions.

I took a deep sigh of relief and went to my room, and shut the door behind me, locking it. I sighed and threw the bag onto my bed. I looked in the mirror and wiped away dad's spit from my cheek. I threw myself onto my bed and stared at the numerous pictures taped to the wall.

There was one specific photo that caught my attention. A woman was holding a toddler, who was chewing on the woman's hair. A boy beside the woman was laughing. I chuckled.

"Mom, I miss you," I said, laying a soft hand on the picture. I noticed my thumb was pointed to the child. "I miss you most, Agnes. You were my world." I said, snatching the picture off the wall. I grasped it in my tight fists and held the memory with all my might. "Why did you leave me like this?!" I yelled, a tear dripping down my face, and onto the picture. I quickly wiped it away, and I hung the picture back on the wall

A knock on the locked door jump scared me. The knob was turning like crazy. "Julian?! Open this door!" A familiar voice yelled. I quickly wiped away my tears, hung the picture back up, and opened the creaky door. The face of my dad revealed itself through the tiny crack in the door. He opened the door all the way, slamming me against the wall. "Eww! Why is your face so dirty?!" He shouted, pointing at my face. I didn't say anything.

Dad grabbed the collar of my shirt and pushed my body against the cold, cement wall. "Who do you think you are," he yelled. "I'm the one who pays for this house and your education!" he roared. I trembled in fear and closed my eyes. I can't believe that I lived with a family like that! I didn't even want a family at that point!

My dad was all up in my face, and then he dropped me, and I landed painfully on my back. It felt like I was getting punched in the spine. "Get into bed! You're done for the night! And no dinner!" He screamed, pointing at my bed. I began to cry. Not just from my back pain, but because my dad would not shut his stupid mouth and stop treating me like shit! A few hours later, I found myself sitting in my bed with my favorite sweatshirt, calling my best friend, Parker.

Parker's been my best friend since mom died. He's always been there for me. Even after all my friends abandoned me and started bullying me, Parker didn't. Instead, he promised me that I was always welcome at his house whenever dad was abusing me. That was a huge blessing. Man, without Parker, I don't think I would still be alive.

"So, man? How's it been with your dad?" Parker asked. I sighed. "Dude, he pushed me again the wall, and my spine hurts. It hurts like hell." I said, stretching out my back.

"Man, I'm so sorry for you. I can't even imagine what it's like with an abusive dad." Parker said. "Yeah. It's ok. I feel bad for you, too. But, having only your mom around? Man… it would be so nice if we could switch lives for a while. I'll finally get to live without a dad and only my mom. You'll finally get to live with a dad for once." I said, staring at my favorite photo on the wall. "Yeah, but I don't exactly wanna live with an abusive dad, Julian," Parker said. We laughed. 

"Hey, man? I was wondering about something. Blake is having a Halloween party at his house tomorrow, and I'm going. Are you?" He said. "Nah, Park. I wish I could, but my dad wouldn't let me, and I don't wanna go to that asshole's Halloween party!" I said.

Parker's dog, Rocky, started barking in the microphone. "Rocky, down! I get you, Julian. But come on! It's a Halloween party? Who cares if Blake is there? If you have the right costume, then he won't even notice you! See what I mean?" Parker said, trying to convince me the best I could. I shook my head.

"Park… I get your point. But still. What if he does notice me? Then he's gonna embarrass me in front of everyone! Do you want that to happen?" I said. Parker sighed. "Julian, Julian, Julian. If Blake is there, then I'll protect you, and I'll beat him up for you. Plus… Claire's gonna be there!" He said, making smooch noises into the microphone.

I paused, and my cheeks began to blush. Parker always rolls his eyes when I talk about Claire, but I'm not exaggerating! Claire is the most beautiful girl in school, and I still get butterflies when I see her. But then, my palms get sweaty, and my heart starts pounding like a race car. 

"Man, I know you're blushing without even seeing ya!" He said, laughing. I giggled. "Ugh, fine. But I'm only going because you won't leave me alone about it!" I yelled, chuckling. "Or maybe because Claire is gonna be there!" Parker laughed, making more smooch noises. I rolled my eyes. 

"Ok, ok! Enough with the smooches! I'll meet you at Blake's house tomorrow morning." I said, saying my goodbyes to Parker. "Ok, man. See ya, and good luck with your dad. If it gets too rough, just call the cops." He said. "I will. Thanks." I said. Parker hung up. I sighed.

Hours later, I found myself asleep in my bed. I yawned and woke up in the middle of the night. I looked at my alarm clock, and it read, "2:13 AM". I turned and tried to fall asleep, but I kept thinking of the Halloween party… if Claire was genuinely going to be there, and if Blake was going to beat me up.

PART 2: The Truth

The photo of my mom and Agnes fell from the wall. I picked it up and hung it up again. When I turned to go back to bed, the picture fell again. "What the…" I whispered. 

Suddenly, I heard a young voice whisper in my ear. "Come, brother. Come, brother." The voice said. I thought I just heard things, so I continued to sleep. But the voice also continued. "Come, brother. Come, brother." It softly said. My lights continued to flicker until it completely burned out, and my room was pitch black.

Suddenly, a glowing blue light showed itself through the crack under my closet doors. I wondered if I put any sort of light in there, but I couldn't think of anything. I walked towards my closet and opened it. There stood a blue, faded, ghostly figure. I screamed and fell on my back, stinging my back again. I backed away as fast as I could. "W- w- what the hell?!" I screamed. 

The short figure continued to whisper in my ear, "Come, brother. Come, brother." I suddenly realized something. I looked at the picture of my mom and Agnes, and the ghost looked an awful lot like the toddler. I gasped. "A- A-" I studdered, not being able to speak. "Agnes. It's only Agnes." The ghost whispered, her voice echoing through my room. I began to cry. "W- what happened to you?" I cried, running to hug her.

My body went right through the ghost, and I ended up hugging myself. I cried even harder because I couldn't hug my long-lost sister. "Come, brother," She began. "Come and find out." She said, reaching out her hand. My eyes got wide. Should I? I hesitated to follow her. She was my little sister, after all… and I needed to figure out the truth. I slowly took her hand.

I closed my eyes in fear. When I opened my eyes, we were standing in front of an old barn. Just an abandoned, old barn. "What are we doing here?" I asked her. Agnes ignored me and floated through the doors. I followed her, and she pointed to 2 people in front of us.

One was short and small, and the other was big and strong. The 2 people walked towards us, and I tried to get out of the way, but the big and strong boy walked right through me. It was like I was a ghost. I looked at my body, confused. "Brother. Watch… and find out the truth." Agnes said, pointing to the boy and girl.

"What are we doing here, Blake?" Asked the young, small girl. The boy crossed his arms. "Your stupid brother is sick. He told me to take you here." He said. I gasped. "The girl… the boy…" I said. Agnes nodded, and we continued to watch them. I shook my head in anger. I specifically remember that day. My friends would drive Agnes home when I was sick, and that day when Blake took her… I clearly remember looking around town for hours. I was so worried, and I thought she ran away.

"Julian is sick?" The girl said, bowing her head. I gazed at the 2 people in wonder. "I'm sorry, Agnes," Blake said, reaching his hand for a shovel in the corner. "NO!!" I cried, running towards the boy.

I only went right through him. I began to sob and scream. The boy beat the small girl with the shovel, hitting her numerous times. "STOP!! PLEASE!!" I screamed, trying to block the boy from beating the girl.

The ghost of Agnes just stood there, completely calm. Then, suddenly, the boy accidentally pushed the girl into a pitchfork, stabbing her in the back. "AHHHH!!" I screamed, running to the girl. "No! You bitch!" I yelled, falling to my knees.

Agnes nodded her head. "I want you to do something for me, Julian," She said, kneeling to me. "What?!" I yelled, sniffing. There was a long pause as I stared at Agnes in wonder. "I want you to kill Blake." I paused. I backed away. "Please, brother. Finish him off for me." She said, putting her hand on my cheek.

I bowed my head. I... I hated Blake, but I never wished death upon him. "I- I- I don't think I can do that," I said, taking her hand off my cheek. A tear dripped down her face. "People like him deserve to die, and you know it." she said, pointing at the boy. I nodded.

I had two options. I could live a life knowing that my little sister died without justice, or I could finish the job for her, continuing to live a life knowing that she's happy. I knew exactly what I was going to choose.

Part 3: Revenge

I woke up in my bedroom. I looked around and stood up. I looked into the mirror. "Am I capable of killing Blake?" I asked myself. I thought of what Agnes said last night, and I can't let Blake get away with this. But yet again, Blake is so much stronger and bigger than me. He'll kick my ass if I even tried to throw a punch.

I changed my clothes, and walked downstairs. I didn't see dad. That's strange. Dad's usually sleeping on the couch with a couple of wine bottles beside him. "Dad?!" I yelled. I looked in the cold garade, and his beat up truck wasn't there.

I continued to look for him, until I saw blood stains on the creaky basement steps. I followed the patches of red to the basement door. "Dad…?" I asked myself with confusion. I opened the basement door, and there stood the old furnace. "Um… dad?" I asked, following the blood stains.

The puddles of blood led to the back of the furnace, and I saw the dead body of- "DAD!" I yelled, backing away. His body was covered in bruises and scars, and there was a large, bloody hole in the side of his head.

My eyes got wide, frightened of the sight I had seen. My heart was pounding faster than it's ever gone, and it felt like my head was throbbing. In his right hand, he held a gun.

I cried for hours on end. After I calmed down, I put his body in our backyard shed to one day bury him, I grabbed a knife from the sink and put it in my back pocket. I texted Parker to meet me at Blake's house, and Parker responded with, "K".

When I got to Blake's driveway, Parker was there talking to other kids. There were so many people there. We walked inside, and people were dancing in costumes. Their house was huge. Parker smiled. "This is going to be fun." He said, joining the other kids on the dance floor.

I just stood there and watched him. Minutes later Claire was walking towards me, talking with her friends. A smile streaked across my face.

As Claire was getting fruit punch, Blake walked right up to her and held her hand. My eyes got wide. He took her drink and set it on the table… then he kissed her. Right on the lips. My jaw dropped. Blake walked away, smirking at me. Meanwhile, Claire stood in shock as her friends surrounded her, asking her questions.

I stared at Blake in anger. Parker walked towards me. "What's wrong, dude? Your face is red," said Parker, wrapping his arm around me. I pointed to Claire and Blake. Blake looked at me and flicked me off. "Oh… I'm sorry, man." Park said, tapping my chest. "I'm sorry, dude. I need some alone time." I said, walking into the bathroom.

I closed the door and locked it. I looked at my face in the mirror. I punched the mirror in anger, and it shattered to the floor. "Ugh!" I yelled, running out of the bathroom with a bleeding hand. There were people on the dance floor, including Blake and his twin sister, Bethany. They had some sort of costume on, but I couldn't see from where I was standing, so I moved closer, and... Blake was dressed as a murderer and his sister has dressed as a young girl. Blake was pretending to kill her with a shovel. I gasped.

Blake looked at me and laughed. Parker looked at me, confused. "Who are they supposed to be?" he asked. I gulped. "A murder and Agnes." I said, a tear running down my face. Parker's jaw dropped.

I stomped towards Blake and pushed him. The music stopped playing, and Blake looked at me with confusion. "What's wrong, man? We're just partying!" He said, laughing with Bethany. "YOU FREAK!" I yelled, punching him in the face. Everyone gasped. Blake grabbed the collar of my shirt and lifted me. He was about to punch me until the lights of the room flickered.

Everyone looked around in confusion, whispering to each other. Then suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared in the middle of the dance floor, and everyone laughed. "Wow, Blake! Nice special effects!" Bethany said, pointing at Agnes. Agnes looked at her and lifted her hand in Bethany's direction. Bethany started to gag, clutching her throat with her hands. 

Everyone in the room screamed and tried to run out of the room, and Blake dropped me. I saw Claire in the corner, crying. She was holding a phone in her hands, calling 911. I would run and comfort her, but Agnes looked at me, and suddenly I heard her voice inside my head. "Go to his room!" She yelled.

I ran out of the main room and hid under Blake's bed in his bedroom. A few seconds later, Blake walked inside, locking the door behind him. "It's not a special effect!" He yelled, kicking his drawers.

I got up from under his bed and pulled out the knife. I was going to swing it at him, but he caught it. "What the hell is wrong with you, you FREAK?" He yelled. I kicked Blake in the nuts and raised the knife.

Then the door busted open, and a cop pointed a flashlight at me, making me drop the knife. "Help! He's trying to kill me!" yelled Blake. The cop shined the flashlight in my eyes and pointed a tazer at me. "Hands in the air!" The police shouted. I was speechless.