A Late Calling

"Seriously, Kate, you need to..." she stopped. Kate was looking at her wide-eyed, with that fear that was in her eyes earlier.

"It just happened again," she whispered. Her voice quivered, and she stared at Megan, her arms taught, and her hands pressing against the bed. Kate looked frigid, like a deer that is caught in cars headlights. Megan hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, or heard anything. Then she began to wonder if this was all just a big joke. If it was, it definitely wasn't funny. Okay the joke was over.

"All-right, enough is enough. I'm going home." Megan turned her back and started to leave, but stopped because she heard Kate scream, followed by a sound like a weight dropped on the floor. She turned, and could not believe her eyes. Kate was still screaming, and clawing at the carpet with her fingernails, while something was dragging her under the bed. Her legs and waist were under the bed. She was yelling at Megan to help, and as she reached for Kate, her friend vanished underneath completely. Just like that. Megan was looking under the bed and reaching underneath to feel for her, but there was nothing but air. She started screaming and ran into Kate's living room. Hot tears ran from her eyes, clouding her vision as she continued to stare past the open door into her friend's room. What the hell just happened? She was half expecting Kate to appear out of the bedroom, laughing at the joke she'd just pulled, but she never did.

Megan was dreaming. That was the only explanation for any of this. Heading toward the kitchen, she went to the sink. Turning the knob, cold water flowed from the faucet. The water flowed into her cupped hands, and was splashed on her face; once, twice, and three times. When that didn't work, she tried pinching her arm. Okay, so she wasn't dreaming, and again asked herself what the hell just happened?

She didn't know what to do. Megan thought about calling the cops, but that wouldn't be a good idea. All that would get her was a stay in the psych ward, in a straight jacket, with daily injections of some drug. The doctors would say she was a delusional, a schizophrenic. Megan wouldn't be able to convince them otherwise. Calling the cops was out of the question.

What could be done? Megan paced the living room, every now and then stealing glances toward the bedroom. The stove clock could be heard ticking in the kitchen; the time was now 3:30 am. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed deeply, trying to calm her beating heart. A thought occurred to her then, and taking fast strides, she entered the room once more. The bed was pushed aside until the shoebox was in plain view.

Megan got on her knees, and ran her hands along the blue carpet, looking for an opening, a trap door that may lead to the apartment building's basement. Kate was on the first floor. There was nothing there, though. No door that could be opened from the floor that someone could slip through. She was disappointed, and began crying again as she sat on her knees.

Come on, get it together. Quit crying, and think.

The old woman; she'd said something to Megan earlier about people vanishing. Had Kate just gone through a gateway to hell? Maybe the old woman knew what she was talking about after all. If her friend had been taken by demons, why had they not taken her, too?

She wouldn't go home tonight. Sleep would not be an option; Megan wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway. Morning would come in the next six hours; when it did, there would be a visit to Hades Books once more. Megan needed to find out exactly what was going on.

At 9 am, Megan arrived at the Michael's Center, standing in front of the Hades Book store. The morning was chilly; her nose and cheeks were becoming red, and she covered the patterned scarf over her mouth and nose, blocking out the cold air. With a gloved hand, she pushed the door ajar, and stepped inside the dim shop. The warmth of the room and the smell of candles and potions greeted her.

Megan spotted the old woman in her wheelchair facing a bookshelf, her back to Megan. She didn't acknowledge Megan entering the store; she was sitting very still. Megan took a few cautious steps forward past the liquid display table, and stopped.

"Hello?" Megan said to the woman's back

The old woman did not budge, and Megan took a few more steps toward her wheelchair. A strange feeling was starting to settle over her, and she slowly peered over the woman's shoulder. Her eyes were open, but unblinking. Megan could not tell if she was breathing. Placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, she gently shook her.

"Are you okay?"

Her balding head jerked, and she looked around as if she didn't know where she was. Recognition set in, and she took a breath. Her eyes met Megan's, and she gave a slight nod. Megan was relieved.

"You had me worried when I didn't get a response from you."

The woman gripped an old, dusty book in her arms. The volume was thick. Megan tried to make out the title, but couldn't.

"Sometimes I do that...go into trances and forget where I am." The old woman took several breaths, and slowly exhaled through her cracked lips. "I guess it comes with old age." She coughed.

Megan didn't have time to chit-chat; she needed to find out where Kate had gone, and what she had to do in order to get her friend back.

"Something happened to my friend, Kate. She had called me really early this morning, and was upset wanting me to come over." Megan moved in front of the old woman so she could see her face better. "When I got there, Kate told me something had tried to pull her under the bed. I didn't believe her, but then it happened right in front of me. Kate is just gone."

The woman nodded, and wheeled her way to the right side of the room. Taking the book lying in her lap, she replaced it in the empty slot on the shelf. Her eyes scanned the books in front of her, and finding the one, reached a skinny arm forward to grab it, placing it in her lap. She rolled to the potions on the table, and stopped.

"I know."

Megan was surprised. "How do you know?"

"I have my ways, call it a gift."

"I don't know what to do, how do I get Kate back?"

The old woman looked at Megan awhile before answering. "Your friend has gone to the other side. For some reason Hell wanted her there. You can bring her back, but you have to be willing, and most of all, you have to believe that the spell and potions will work."

"I am willing."

The woman nodded. "Is there anything Kate could have done that you are aware of to bring the demons to her?"

Megan thought for a moment. She'd been friends with Kate a long time; her friend had a good heart. Apparently that did not matter, they had taken her anyway. Tears began forming in Megan's eyes. She brushed them away.

"I don't know," her voice quivered. "Tell me what needs to be done."

The woman pointed a bony finger to the potions. "You will need one small bottle of the blue liquid, and two of the yellow; one for each of you. Also, you will need this book." The woman handed Megan the book that was in her lap. The title was "Spells to the Underworld". "It is very important that you follow the instructions I'm about to give you. When arriving back at Kate's, go to where she disappeared. Then take the chalk I will give you and mark a circle around you as you kneel in the spot Kate was taken. Open the spell book to page 232, and say the words aloud while in the circle; the spell is what will make the potions work. When you are through with the chant, take the blue liquid and drink it; in the speed of light, you will then find yourself in Hell. Don't worry; the substance will not harm you. Make sure you have the other two bottles of yellow liquid; that is what will bring you and Kate back."

She wheeled to a desk by the front door that had small brown bags, and a telephone on top of it. Grabbing a bag, she made her way back and placed the potions, spell book, and a piece of white chalk inside, handing them to Megan.

"What is done once I get there?" Megan asked.

"You have to find Kate as fast as possible. The demons will know once you have entered their world, and they will try to stop you from what they know you've come for. Find Kate and give her the yellow substance, and you both will need to drink it to come back to earth. Once here, the demons can't take Kate again, she escaped them, and is unable to be taken twice. This sounds easy...but you have to be careful, the demons are going to try to stop you from taking Kate. I suggest you run like hell the minute you arrive, because they will be on your tail. You better get going, Kate needs you."

Megan took a deep breath. The bag in her hands was shaking. "How much do I owe you for this?"

The old woman winked. "It's yours."

Megan sat on her knees where the bed had been in Kate's room, a circle drawn around her. In her black pajama bottoms, she had the two bottles of yellow liquid. The spell book lay in front of her, open to page 232. Megan was afraid, but she wasn't going to let them keep her friend. She would just have to endure anything that came her way. She would fight them herself, even if losing was inevitable. Her eyes scanned the words on the page. Megan spoke them aloud, then took the tube of blue, and drank. She nearly gagged on the bitterness of the liquid, it was terrible. Then, she closed her eyes and waited.

Megan's body hurt, it felt like she'd had a long fall and every bone in her body were broken. She slowly stirred, hands lying flat on a hot, bumpy surface. Sweat was pouring from her forehead and over the closed lids of her eyes. She opened them, and found herself staring down a hole in the ground. Fire was reaching up from below as if to grab her. Remembering what the old woman had said, she pushed herself up with stiff arms. She stood there looking around, trying to spot Kate among the many people around her. They all had blisters on their faces, arms, and legs. Filth covered their bodies, which were skin and bones. Megan did not see her friend with them.

"Kate!" She screamed. There was no response. The people around her didn't even look Megan's way. There were some that were hurting themselves; pulling their hair, smacking their own faces, and beating their heads against the hard ground, but nobody said a word. Then everyone stopped, and began huddling together in a group and listening intently. Megan started to hear it, too. The sound was a high pitched squeaking that increased in volume until Megan thought her ears would explode. Her hands tried to block the noise, but it didn't help.

She began running, her slippers hitting softly against the boiling ground, her feet felt as if they were on fire. She screamed and caught her footing before she fell down a hole in the ground, sweat pouring down her hot face, and the pajamas she wore sticking to her body. The sound was becoming unbearable now, and seemed to be getting closer, somewhere from behind her.

"Kate, where are you?" Megan yelled. She tried to avoid the holes as she ran, and was lucky that she hadn't fallen down one yet. Her breath was coming in short gasps, her heart beating like a drum against her chest; her throat was parched from the heat. She was dying of thirst, but that was the least of her problems right now. Something was chasing her, but she couldn't bring herself to look behind her for fear of seeing it. Megan could hear their squeaking noises as she ran through this hot inferno, looking right and left, and trying to spot Kate and calling her name. Her friend never answered.

Megan screamed when something caught the hem of her pajama pants, and yanking on them, trying to drag her down, and then she stumbled and fell, her face nearly hitting the ground before she brought a hand out catching herself. She had to look now, and turned her head.

There had to be twenty of them standing there behind her. They were only 3 feet tall; red little creatures with black, bug eyes. Their mouths came up in a hideous smile, showing off razor sharp teeth, and blue saliva dripping from their mouths. One had Megan's ankle in a grip, its nails were 4 inches long and thick; they looked like knives that could cut right through her skin, making her bleed. It bought its mouth down and opened wide as if it were going to take a bite out of her leg.

"Get off me!" Megan screamed, and used her free leg to kick at the creatures head. The red thing fell backwards, and knocked a few of the others over with it. Some backed away, and then brought their eyes to Megan, their evil smiles growing wider as they started making that sound again.

Megan scrambled to her feet, and ran as fast as she could, the little creatures following close behind her. The bottles of yellow were clicking together inside her pocket as she moved. Her legs were weak, but she did not stop.

"Kate!"

Thank God, Megan spotted her up ahead against the wall. Kate was sitting with her arms resting on her knees, and her head down. She knew it was Kate by her pink pajamas, but they were now filthy. So was her long blond hair, the strands were tangled and matted with smoke. Kate didn't look up when Megan called her.

Megan picked up her pace, and almost beat the creatures as she made her way to where Kate was sitting. Megan immediately grabbed Kate's arm, dragging her to a standing position. She could hardly stand and Megan had to support her with her own body so Kate wouldn't fall over.

"Oh my God, look at you." Megan was horrified. Kate didn't look herself. Her pretty face was red and blistered; her eyes that were once so full of life were now emotionless. She was trying to speak to Megan, but no words came out.

"We don't have much time, Kate." Megan looked back, and the red creatures were upon them, they were holding a shiny object with their sharp claws; Megan thought they were knives. She hastily fumbled inside her pocket for the two vials, and brought them out, hands shaking violently. They were now surrounded by the creatures that were just standing there looking, then they charged, the knives raised above their heads.

Megan grabbed Kate by the chin, bringing the liquid to her mouth. "Drink it, now!" She forced it into Kate's mouth, and she swallowed. The creatures were hanging on both their legs, trapping them against the wall; one almost grabbed Megan's tube as she was drinking it down, and some were stabbing at both of them with the sharp object gripped in their monstrous hands. She had her arms wrapped tightly around Kate. Only 15 more seconds, Megan was thinking, and it will all be over.

They were back in Kate's apartment, lying inside the circle. Megan breathed a sigh of relief and started to cry. Not sad tears, but ones of happiness. She had brought her friend back from that awful place. They may never know why Kate was chosen, but it didn't matter now. They were home. Kate had her head in Megan's lap; her body was shaking, and she was sobbing softly. Megan just held her friend, and told her everything was okay now; they could never take her again.