Ghost hunter

i can't see the dead and i can't hear them. but i can feel them. sense the itchy coolness, the rush of chilly breath that emanates from them. and the way they smell. no they do not stink. it's like the weather on a cold winter day, like a faint minty breath. but that is enough. from the way goosebumps rose in my arms, from the way i felt the rush of cold breath falling on the side of my neck, i knew one was behind me. now. i close my eyes and swallow unable to take in the reality of my life. a reality that never failed to disappoint me. it was never easy, it never has been to be a ghost hunter because the ghosts do not care for the rules or the reasons. to be simple they don't care about life because they do not have a life. i squinch my eyes shut and reopen them. my head throbbing with the weight of numerous sleepless nights i had recently. something or someone to be exact is stirring up trouble. recently the amount of ghosts, the evil souls that roam the earth has increased drastically. and yes all ghosts are evil souls because they come from the hell. the lost souls on the other hand are a different case. they are not evil just confused. the souls who got confused and missed the chance to cross the bridge. but they have a warm aura. a comforting but not overly heated presence that tingles me to the bone unlike the ghosts. but the lost souls are easily manipulated, if misguided they can doom the earth and i can never let that happen. because i'm chosen by someone above us, to protect the earth and even though i don't like the job, there's no way i'm going to escape my responsibilities. i gulp a lungful of air searching around my jean pockets for the cross that i always bring around. unable to locate it i touch my neck relieved find my necklace intact. the crystal on it usually warns of ghosts but apparently not this one. he is too powerful though not to say his power his reduced to a certain degree because of it. i contemplate for a moment what my options are. and finally decide on wiping the slate clean with one move. better not give it a chance to get on top of the game. i turn around sensing it's presence on my face and shout out the words i have been chanting over in my head.

"prochoriste sti gi pou ercheste apo` ti gi afaire`ste tin kaki` psychi` sas apo` ti gi tou anthro`pou!"

instead of the expected gust of wind and the bone chilling cold that comes when the portal is open i am jerked back and banged against the brick wall with such a velocity that the whole building rumbles with the sheer force of it. i wince at the sound of my creaking bones as i struggle to get up. refusing to give my opponent the satisfaction, i bite back a moan of pain as i get back on my legs. i swallow noting the rusty metallic taste of blood on my mouth and stare at the direction from which the evil soul was pulled back to the hell. i might have succeeded this time but i was not so sure about the future. this was just the beginning. the beginning of a horrible tragedy waiting to happen. something tickles down my cheek. i close my eyes and swallow hoping against hope that it is not what i think it to be. as i open my eyes and see the crimson drops falling against my new pair of sneakers, i know that i will not last long. the least i could do is to give it a halt. give a halt to the endless struggles of the fellow ghost hunters fighting so hard to keep the earth plane safe and intact that they have forgotten they have a life other than searching and banishing ghosts just like me. just like i was chosen to do all those years ago. and as i stare at the broken chairs and dusty old wooden tables of the old restaurant i now stand in, an idea begins forming on my head. i might have to revisit the lost lands. not my favorite place but it'll have to do for now. i close my eyes and imagine large iron wrought gates adorned with a pair of golden lion sculptures by each side. i imagine the feel of rust on them and the way gates creak open as i will myself to open them and enter inside. this portal is kind of a backstage pass a certain someone that i refuse to remember, has given me when we were on far better circumstances. but i don't care. i don't care that it might stir unwanted memories because i don't have the time and energy to deal with it right now. i push back the thoughts in to a far away corner in my mind allowing my mind to be filled with more pressing issues. things i have to deal with now. i gulp a lungful of air forcing my legs forward. not long after a couple of steps in the direction of the enormous iron doors, i'm met by a huge man the size of literally, a bulldozer. not at all intimidated or surprised by his presence i say, 'take me to him, Bruce.' he nods and says 'follow me.' just like that. apparently there are some advantages to being the ex-girlfriend of the king of lost lands. well who would have thought? i shrug and roll my eyes. the past is past and it will stay that way forever. i give myself a mental prep talk not to be distracted by him. by his nearness and the fact that he happens to be devastatingly handsome. we walk in silence for a few minutes until we arrive at the great halls. 'he is inside.' Bruce says, though rather grudgingly if you ask me. i leave him at it and enter and that's all it takes. one glance. one simple glance to make me relieve all the memories we shared. the good ones and the bad ones. i look away for a moment willing myself to be straight forward, to stay away from relieving the past. finally satisfied with myself i allow my self to look him over. he does the same. his eyes roaming over me as we both stare at each other for what feels like forever taking in each other. he is just as i had remembered him all those years ago. not a hair out of place on his seemingly otherworldly appearance. i swallow refusing to give in to my emotions. the price is too heavy. Jessica was a price too heavy. and that's all it take. one word. one simple word, one profound meaning. all of it comes back crashing in. the hate, the anger all of it resurfaces. he'll pay for what he did to my friend. sweet innocent Jessica who has been a clueless victim to everything that happened. he killed her! just because she found out who he was. my eyes throw draggers at him as i struggle to stay silent. 'Trizella oh Trizella! what a welcome sight you are!' he says but his tone is sarcastic. 'Derek.' i nod refusing to further acknowledge him. 'i need your help' i mutter feeling ashamed that i have come to my enemy for help. he looks at me again. his eyes both amused and questioning. 'now now Tristy this is quite an amusing though rather rare occasion don't you think? you coming to me for help... though i am elated with the prospect of helping you with... whatever that might be, may i ask for the reason that you came here instead of running around asking others for help as you usually do?' i clench my jaws shut taking a moment to contemplate what i should and should not be revealing. finally i sigh and reply, 'i need your help because some one is messing with the portals to the hell. and you and i both know what this means. i mean what this means to the lost lands' i draw out the word lost lands dramatically for emphasis noting the way his jaw clenches and unclenches. 'how do you know this?' he asks me. 'today i encountered an evil soul back at the earth plane who happens to be quite powerful that even when i used the procoriste charm it backfired on me though of course he was banished. but the point is you and i both know unless someone is messing with the portals. no ghost can withstand such a powerful and old enchantment.' i shrug. noting the way his head bobs up and down in agreement. 'fine. what do you want me to do? i'm assuming that you have something up your sleeve?' he raises an eyebrow. i nod and swallow as i reply, 'for now, nothing. let's wait for a while longer and see what their next move is.' Derek mutters something in agreement and asks me, 'any suggestions who this might be?' i look at him and then at the ceiling avoiding his gaze for a few minutes and sigh. ' my best guess is Marco.' i offer. 'though i can't be sure. haven't seen him for a while.' Derek growls in agreement. his hate obvious in the way his whole demeanor stiffens at the mere mention of that name. Marco. one single name that threatens to over throw my state of calmness that i had struggled to attain. the wounds in my heart that haven't been fully healed yet threatening to resurface the hardly forgotten painful memories. both of us struggling to keep our cool. 'believe me when i say Tristy that if i find out that scumbag is responsible for this all, i won't let him off easily.' he all but growls. 'is that wound on your head...' he moves his hand to touch my wound but i dodge to the side and looks at him as his hand falls to the side. 'it will need a dressing don't you think?' he asks. 'no need' i answer brusquely. he nods as if accepting my words and that's when i feel it. Derek gasps. his eyes wide with fear and confusion and rage. but mostly his face has become a mask of hate. unlike me Derek can hear see and feel as well as smell the dead. because he is not a mortal unlike me who happens to be a very unlucky mortal. i stay silent and calm knowing well enough rage won't do any of us any good. you have to tread carefully in these dangerous waters. and there she comes the last person on earth i expected to have come here not to say be alive. Jessica. my mind going blank refusing to accept what i clearly see before my eyes. not wanting to shatter the image i had of her as my beautiful, sweet, innocent best friend. but now as she stands before me smiling in a way so evil that i cringe on the inside, it all becomes clear to me. it has been her all along. her being my friend, and her death it all has been a facade. she has known from the beginning. i marvel at how calculating and cunning she has been. all those years when i suffered blaming myself and Derek for her death all along, she has been planning on becoming the monarch of the underworld! 'it was you from the beginning.' i say. it was not a question but a fact. a fact i now know to be true. 'well... what can i say? you chose to believe me.' she shrugs acting nonchalant. i nod accepting the truth. but still deep in my gut i know what she doesn't. that even though winning over lost lands means the end game, there still is a way out for Derek. just that he will never do that. i look at him. my eyes wetting as i whisper, 'i'm sorry' his eyes widen at my declaration and he gives me a nod so faint it's almost impossible to recognize if i haven't known him for a while. but that's enough. i look at Jessica and shake my head knowing that she had marched right in to my trap, that she has no way out now. i close my eyes and summon the god of fire appealing him to help me. to help the whole world thwart away the plans of the evil and i know he has heard my pleas when the whole place starts warming up chasing away the bone chilling coldness. i smile to myself knowing that if Jessica is a performer of evil arts, which i'm sure she is, she cannot bear the warmth and she will lose all her powers allowing her to become a mere mortal forbidden from ever performing magic. but that's enough. i don't want to kill her. it has never been my goal. on the contrary i want her to become a normal human being. Something I was unable to be. A chance at a normal life. a memory from not so long ago flashing before me.

"you have another three months maximum Trizella. your brain tumor is incurable, i'm sorry." Dr.Carl's words make my knees tremble and my whole body to shake. i swallow past the misery and the tears it bought forth as i nod my acceptance and leave the hospital room.

I swallow not wanting to go there. my thoughts are confirmed as she shouts out a blood curling scream and falls to the floor. 'what have you done?' she spats at me. her words like venom. ' i haven't done anything. but i hope in the future you'll choose differently and become a decent human being.' i swallow past my pain knowing that any moment it will be over. i look at Derek.. 'this is not your fault. i want you to know that. because my life was already fading away. i only had a few months maximum. so it's my own choice what i do with my life. do not blame yourself for it. this has been my plan all along. so don't beat yourself over it okay?' i look at his eyes. those ocean blue eyes that never failed to mesmerize me and see the way his eyes dampen. 'oh Tristy! sweetheart, what have you done sacrificing yourself to the fire god... oh god! why do you have to be so damn stubborn?' he touches my cheek. i smile at him. 'it's just one life we are talking about Derek. i will reincarnate. both of us know that. just be sure to find me when i do okay?' my eyes imploring him to leave it at that. he looks me over for a moment and nods. i touch his cheek and close my eyes noting the way his lips feel so soft on my forehead as he plants a kiss there. and as i fall deeper in to the abyss of unbearable pain, i know for sure that i don't regret a thing i did. not single one of the choices i made because even if i die right now, everyone else will be peaceful for another millennium. my sacrifice to the of god fire will ensure that. And the death is not an end, on the contrary it's a new beginning.