The sun breaks
through the windows and shines on my face. I wake up and slowly sit
up. I gaze around the light room. Nothing has changed except for the
clarity given. The details of the walls and the furniture become
visible to my waking eyes. I pay no attention. Silence dominates the
large room. I wait. Three hours pass before Emily awakes.
“What are you
going to do about it?” She asks me as we finish up our breakfast of
bacon and eggs. I wash my plate and turn around. I shrug.
“What can I do
about it?” I reply as I head back to the couch that I had slept on.
“You can
destroy her. Or you can try to defeat the Joker.” She tells me,
throwing the book in my direction. It lands flat on the couch and
bounces up lightly. I grab it and flip it open to the page with the
twisted smile on it.
“How can I
defeat him? He's not even alive. He's a ghost, a spirit.” I say
hopelessly. “I can't touch him. I can't even mess with his mind.
He'll just continue messing with mine. What use is trying to fight
back?”
“Ever heard of
a spell?” She suggests to me. “Magic?” I nod my head in
response.
“It's a shame
it doesn't exist. We could have a magician make the Joker disappear.”
I laugh lightly at my joke. She rolls her eyes at me and walks over.
She puts her finger on a piece of text on the opposite page of the
picture.
“Read it. Out
loud.” She orders. I do as she says.
“Should the
Joker's laugh fall upon my ears, Let him be banished from me, Stop
him from feeding from my fears, Force him to set me free.” I look
up at her. “Is this supposed to be a spell?”
“Yes. And it
works too.” She assures me. I look back down at the spell. “But
there's a little problem with it.”
“What?” I
ask. She shakes her head and clearly refuses to speak. I search the
page for any more information regarding the spell. I find it.
“Requires a blood sacrifice?” I exclaim in shock. “What is
this? A satanic book?”
“Not
necessarily...” She says shamefully.
“Then what is
it?” My voice begins to escalate, due to old Christian beliefs
inherited from my parents. She takes a careful step back and stares
at the floor.
“It belonged
to my mother. She thought the idea of heaven to be foolish and
preferred the heat, the passion, the power. She never meant anyone
living any harm, but sometimes a sacrifice must be made to get rid of
evil.” Her hand moves towards her left arm and rubs it carefully.
“You've done
it haven't you?” I question. My rage subsides out of pity. “That's
why you know it works. He had you before too, didn't he?”
“Yes!” She
exclaims after a moment of silence and then lifts her shirt and
reveals the scars on her arm. Etched into her skin is 'HELP'. Sadness
overwhelms me. “He was too strong. He wanted too much. I had no
other choice!” She tries to justify using the spell.
“Anything else
about the spell that I need to know?” I ask, avoiding a response.
She looks out of the windows as if she is looking into another world
entirely.
“Yes.” She
says without looking away from the other world. “You have to reveal
the evil you were tempted to do to those who you would have done it
to.”
-Zero
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