Eidolon

Chapter 30: We Keep On Living

It was the day after Thanksgiving when Alex and her friends went to visit Professor Richter in the hospital. The holiday had been awkward, and her father seemed distant. Although Spooky Jay had seemed to remember what had happened to him while he was possessed, Thomas Gray did not. He had been semi-conscious by the time they had gotten him back home, but he had never asked what had happened, or how he had gotten the long, thin cut across his neck. She couldn't help but wonder if he had simply repressed the memories, convincing himself that they were not real the way he had convinced Alex and her mother that the things they had seen were not.

Spooky Jay was a different story. Over the following days, he had recalled most of what the wraith of Thaddeus Richter had done in his body, and it had traumatized him. She hadn't heard from him in weeks. He had stopped responding to Alex's calls and texts altogether. She hoped he was doing okay.

"How are you feeling?" Juliette asked politely. The question was obligatory, but Professor Richter smiled in response.

"I can't say it's been pleasant," he admitted. It seemed very strange, seeing him laid out in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm and dressed in one of those dreadful, dull blue hospital gowns. He was always so dignified, it just looked wrong. "But it could be far worse. They expect to be releasing me within the next few days. What about you girls?"

"We're fine, for the most part," Alex replied. The bruises on her arms and chest were nearly gone now, and the gash on her forehead had healed. If her father had ever noticed them, he had said nothing. Cynthia's stitches were out, although she would probably have a nasty scar on that leg.

"What did the police say?" Cynthia asked.

"Well, I didn't give them much to go on," Professor Richter replied. "I don't think there's any chance they'll trace it back to your friend, Jay. I trust you disposed of the firearm?"
"Eventually," Juliette replied, sharing a knowing look with Cynthia.

"I guess they'll just attribute that to another case of gang violence," Alex commented. She looked towards Lucas, and he smiled back at her. Without words, she let her hand brush up against his, and their fingers interlocked.

"I just wish there was something I could have done for Detective Prescott and the other victims," she continued. "At least they are at peace now, though. It's more than I can say for all the spirits still trapped in Blackhaven."

Professor Richter sat up in his bed, shifting uncomfortably. "The fact that Thaddeus was able to escape may be a sign that the curse is weakening. Perhaps one day we can find a way to lift it entirely."

"...we?"

"Well, if you'd be interested in assisting me," he relented. "It is entirely up to you, of course."

Alex did not answer. It was something she would have to think about.

"Looks like we have another visitor," Cynthia interjected. Everyone followed her gaze to the door. A skull-faced man in all black had entered the room from behind them.

"Grim?"

"That's gotta be comforting," Cynthia joked, cocking an eyebrow at Professor Richter. "Literally getting visited by the grim reaper in the hospital."

I am not here to pay a visit, Grim responded. I have come to escort your friend through the Black Gate.

Alex stiffened, and her head jerked quickly to the side to meet Lucas's eyes. She squeezed his hand. "Lucas...?"

He nodded sadly. "It's time, Alex," he said. "I can't stick around here forever. I have to move on... and so do you."

"But..." Alex began, but she knew it was pointless. Lucas was right. She had to let go.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

Alex grabbed him tightly. She felt the strange electric tingle as she had before, but he seemed somehow more solid than before. She could feel the muscles of his arms as he wrapped them around her, his chin as it rested on her shoulder. She placed a hand gently on his cheek and stared into his eyes. They were dark, almost black, edged with a silvery gray.

She pressed her lips against his, and they felt warm. For one brief instant, she forgot about her friends standing around her, forgot about the hospital room and the events that had led her to this moment. She even forgot the boy that she was sharing the moment with was dead. For just a second, it was like none of it had ever happened, like it was Halloween and they had met in the park as they had planned, and her life had gone in an entirely different direction.

And then the moment was over. She let go of Lucas, both physically and metaphorically, and stepped back.

"Lucas..." Juliette whispered, her voice a quiet, painful hiss. He gave her a hug, too, and an apologetic smile.

"Take care of each other, okay?" he said. Juliette nodded numbly, but did not let go. After a moment, he gently pushed her away.

"Maybe we'll meet again someday, on the other side," he offered. A dark shape was beginning to materialize between him and Grim, something large and flat and strange. "Whatever that is."

"I hope so," Alex said, and let that be her parting words, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

Cynthia and Professor Richter said nothing. Juliette whispered "Goodbye, Lucas," but couldn't seem to bring herself to watch, staring down at the floor. The Black Gate had formed now, appearing as a set of massive doors set in a stone archway, like the entrance to a mausoleum. It shouldn't have been able to fit in such a small room. Space seemed to warp around it somehow, as if their location had been brought to the Black Gate, and not the other way around. The doors opened, but Alex could not see what was on the other side. It wasn't just darkness—it was like a void, like the complete absence of anything. Lucas stepped through, and Grim pulled the doors shut behind him. The Black Gate faded almost immediately, like the memories of a distant dream after waking.

Alex watched as the psychopomp turned wordlessly and left the room, which had rather abruptly returned to its normal proportions. She then turned back to her friends. Cynthia was silent, biting her lip awkwardly. Juliette was still staring at the floor and visibly fighting back tears. Even Professor Richter had a distant look in his eyes.

"So... what now?" Cynthia finally asked.

Alex walked over to the window and looked out at the city below. It was getting colder in Arcadia City now. Winter was settling in. What had been heavy rain only a few days ago had given way to light flurries, and there was a thin dusting of snow across the rooftops.

"Now... we keep on living," she replied, finally. It was all they could really do.