The Haunting

Nineteen (the final chapter)

"Hey, Vicky!"

A confident voice yelled and turning my head to take a look, I was stunned to see who it was.

The girl who helped me earlier.

"Remember me?" She said, smirking. The creature looked back at her and loosened its grip on April. The creature groaned loudly as it began running toward the girl but was immediately stopped by an unseen force. The girl started snickering as she shook her head. "No no, you can't overpower me, Vicky. Your source of power is gone and you have nothing to do other than give up."

The creature let out another loud groan, but this time it was softer and full of powerlessness and vulnerability. The creature peered at the ground helplessly as it let out a few soft howls. The girl's smirk turned into a sad smile as she gazed at the defenseless creature.

"I know she was your dear friend, but she's gone, and you have to accept that. She's not going to come back, nor me or you. I'm sorry, Vicky, but Laura's dead."

The creature, who was probably Vicky, let out a vociferous screech as its skin began to melt and peel off of its large body. The black-haired girl watched with an emotionless face as the creature's size diminished. As the skin was completely peeled off, a small body of a blonde-haired girl was uncovered. Tears were streaming down her eyes, as she hugged herself firmly. She sobbed quietly as she had her own arms in a taut clasp, tearing her skin. Her skin was slowly amputating, and blood incessantly oozed out from underneath.When her skin was completely torn and her blood was drained, she was momentarily just a skeleton that transformed into a pile of ash. The girl sighed and approached April.

"I'm Linda," the girl introduced herself as she outstretched her hand to April to help her up. April took her hand and Linda pulled her up. "I see that you both came here to rescue Judy, right? She's locked in that room, and she has been there ever since her spirit came here. That was the safest space for her, though. I'm glad that you came here before Vicky demolished her."

The door with the letters JS automatically opened itself, and I didn't hesitate to sprint towards it. Running into the room, my eyes glistened when they landed on Judy's stiff body laying on a bed. "Judy..."

I galloped toward her and lifted her unconscious body. Tears of joy escaped my eyes as I embraced her for the first time in months, but this time there wasn't any negative energy radiating from her. I sobbed in pleasure as I gawked at Judy's innocent face. I still couldn't believe that she was finally back; it felt like a dream but I hoped it wasn't.

"Come on, Quinn, you both have to get out of here before anyone decides to show up," Linda said, smiling faintly. I could see the sadness behind her smile, but I didn't want to ask why. I trudged out of the room, still holding Judy's unconscious body. Linda took the lead and led us to our destination. We walked through the long, darkened hallway, still hearing distant pleading voices. I carried on glancing behind me, ensuring that no other monster had shown up, and fortunately, there was no monsters, but instead, a few spirits that all smiled victoriously at us. I smiled back happily.

We walked until we reached to the door where Linda first came from. As she was about to enter, I stopped her. "Hey!" She stopped in her tracks and looked back at me, confused.

"Thank you for everything, we wouldn't have done it without you," I said, making her smile shyly.

"I should thank you, because you both were the ones who freed me from those monsters," she said, shaking her head as she smiled slightly. I went in for a hug but my arms went straight through her body, making her chuckle.

"No no, we don't do that here," she giggled and we all started cackling. "Okay okay, you both have to leave now, bye!"

We waved goodbye at Linda and walked through the exit pathway that led to the real world. April walked in first, but I stood there for a brief moment, breathing deeply before I stepped through the pathway. There I could see our motionless bodies laying where we had left them. I placed Judy in her body and then sat in my own body. I closed my eyes and when I re-opened them, I found myself in the real world again. They all didn't notice that I was back yet until I moved my head; Alex's eyes gleamed with joy as they landed on me.

"Quinn!" Doris and Lisa both shouted in unison, enthusiastically sprinting towards me to give me a small hug. Mom and dad both smiled thankfully when they noticed I was alright. Glancing at Judy, I could see her start to move as she lifted her arm and clutched her head. It took mom and dad a few seconds to notice her movements.

"Ugh, what happened?" Judy asked, her voice full of confusion. She looked like a small baby that has just woken up from a five-hour nap. Mom broke into tears as she ran and engulfed Judy in a huge hug. Judy seemed bewildered as to why mom was hugging her tightly, and she seemed clueless about the fact that it has been a long time since we had seen her ordinary state. I couldn't believe that she is finally back, after all these months of being possessed by a malicious spirit.

"Oh my dear daughter," Mom cried as she and dad hugged Judy. Doris and Lisa both ran toward Judy, overjoyed to finally see their sister again. I smiled genuinely as I watched our family reunite; the moment I have always been waiting for ever since this paranormal journey began. Glancing at Alex, I noticed that he was approaching me with a small smile plastered across his lips. Before he could say anything, I got up and hugged him. His body went stiff and I could tell he was at first taken aback by my sudden courage but then hugged back.

"Thank you for everything you and April have done to me. I could've never overcome these evil spirits without you. I don't know how to repay you, 'thank you' isn't enough."

As we pulled away, I could see his cheeks turning red, and it was so cute. As I glanced at April, I could see her smirking and crossing her arms. Everyone was watching us as if we were in a romantic movie; mom and dad were smiling and Judy was winking at me. I was glad that we have finally retrieved her, and all I hope now is that we would never lose her again.

"You don't have to thank us, that was our job," He said, scratching the back of his head nervously. I giggled at his adorable shy face. After all, I may consider myself lucky to undergo this paranormal journey because there's one thing I have earned, and it was Alex.