Chapter Three: Jake

I am initially stunned at her story. She went through so much, it makes my struggles seem small in comparison. One thing about all of it still nags at me, though.

"Who was the man controlling all of the demons?" Immediately after I ask, I regret it. Evangeline looks down and shifts her hand out from under mine, where it had been through the entire story. I probably shouldn't push further.

"You said it was a he, and that you would never love him again. Did you have a boyfriend I didn't know about or something?"

My mouth seems to have a mind of its own. When she looks back up at me, she looks less open, like a door closed in her heart. She wears a blank expression while responding.

"It's not important." She abruptly stands and looks to the street a few yards away,"We should get going." I stand, too, but get dizzy and fall back into my chair quickly. Evangeline turns to look at me but her face looks strange. My mind goes blank for a moment and I remember a moment from the past…

I was sitting cross-legged in the carpeted basement of our old home back in Tennessee. I was a curious child and had recently become enchanted by stories of ghosts and haunted places, I decided to look up how to summon a spirit. I had all the lights off except two candles on either side of me and a dim, yellow night light in the corner. I had a piece of paper in front of me that I was reading an enchantment off of. The words were weird, I couldn't read them, but when I tried to pronounce them, they came perfectly.

When I was done, nothing happened. I looked around warily,"Hello? Any ghost-es?" I was probably five when this happened.

Suddenly, a beautifully haunting voice faded in and out of my hearing. That shouldn't have been possible, the basement was small. It sounded like the voice was coming from every direction, echoing off mountains and dipping into rivers. I stumbled to my feet and gasped. Something too dark for a mere five-year-old came into view.

It was literally Hell.

My vision seems to have only gone on for a second because when my mind clears, I am back to the same moment as when I flashed-back.

Evangeline is still there,"Jake?"

I'm confused, but I paint on a smile,"Yeah, let's go." She looks at me weirdly, like she suspects something. I stand and I'm not dizzy this time, only wondering what exactly happened during the rest of my visit to Hell.

I dropped Evangeline at the door to our house about an hour ago where she told me she was going to confront Dad about her visit to the apocalyptic future. I nodded silently at her and then turned away. She could do what she wanted, but I had somewhere to be.

I sit by the riverside, pink and orange streaked across the sky. It's peaceful here, which makes it a prime spot for me. While this river is close to town and my house, it's hidden away in the thick woods that no one wants to venture into. Large green trees line the sides of the rocky, sand beach and the river stretches straight as far as the eye can see in one direction while it curves out of sight to the other direction. Not even my sister knows about this place.

I guess I come here to think sometimes. Though I love my sister, she can be a bit much sometimes. Over 30 minutes pass and my mind is still on this story of hers. All of the logic drilled into my brain from years of schooling tell me that it's not true. It can't be. On the other hand, everything going on in the world right now backs this up. I also know my sister wouldn't lie about something like this.

I recall a few incidents from our earlier childhood years. Evie was always bullied because she claimed that she could see dead people. That was back in the blissful days when no one could see them and they were ignorant about how not alone we actually are. One particular incident stands out to me, even now. That's probably the day I realized I would do anything for my sister.

The day was bright and sunny. Of course, it was summer, so it was also incredibly humid. I stood in front of the small elementary school glowering at the group of boys and girls surrounding my sister in the front yard. Our school district was one of the strong believers in playtime so though our building wasn't that big, we had a giant yard and playground around the back. She was crying while they taunted her and laughed.

Suddenly, Evangeline cried out louder than every other kid,"They are real! I don't care what you losers believe!" That definitely hit a nerve. Everyone in the play area stopped moving and looked over at her. One of the flabby-er boys stepped forward and crossed his chubby arms, narrowing his eyes.

"You'll regret that, Ghost Girl." He nodded to her and some of the other kids stepped forward, pushing Evie and hitting her around like a piece of trash. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists. I could see them too, but I didn't openly announce it around. This was enough to get me moving.

I surged forward and ripped the chubby boy off his feet, slamming him to the ground. I heard something crack in his arm as it hit and I jumped on top. Little kids shouldn't have been that violent, but here we were. I punched the dude once in the face and as he yelled at me, the other kids turned to see what was happening. Some skinny Asian kid jumped out of the crowd and rushed over to me, pleading.

"We'll stop! Just get off him!" He talked to me slowly like I was some kind of animal that wouldn't understand. I got up slowly and he nodded,"Good boy."

I slammed my fist into his face. He fell to the ground screaming. Everyone yelled and ran from me and my sister. I sighed and turned to see her staring up at me from the ground like a little lost puppy. I gathered her into my arms so I could help her walk.

"Evie, you have to stop talking about this ghost nonsense," She tensed and pulled away from me roughly.

"Don't say that. I know that you see them also. One day those bullies are going to realize that I was right and they will regret that they laid their hands on me." She crossed her arms and huffed, making a cute annoyed face.

"Hey, I love you. Don't worry about this, they won't come near us again," I smiled at her. She looked at me, annoyed for a moment. She then broke out into a toothy grin and nudged me with her shoulder playfully.

"I love you too, bro," I laughed and we continued talking until we got home.

I miss those days. Everything is frustrating and depressing and confusing these days. Now there's some looming threat of this apocalypse in a week. What happens if it comes sooner than that? And why won't Evie even tell me who causes it?

I stand, rocks crunching under my feet, and stretch. A lot of things could go wrong, it just probably has to do with what affects the timeline. Was Evangeline even supposed to come back? Or was it a mistake that will bring the apocalypse closer?

As I begin my long trek home, a whirlpool of thoughts swirls around in my mind and all I know is that I'll be damned if I let Evangaline get hurt in any way.