Mix wakes up to the feeling of someone moving beside him, he opens his eyes slowly to see Earth's back pressed against his chest, their hands locked together in front of them embracing each other as Earth snuggles even more on the pillow, looking so relaxed and comfortable. Mix unlocks one of his hands from Earth's grip, fingers moving delicately, brushing over Earth's shoulders and tracing patterns along his golden skin, afraid to wake him up and break this moment. This bubble that they have created where it is just them, wrapped tightly together, skin touching, sharing the same space. Mix realises that in their haste yesterday, he forgot his amulet in the living room, the last thing on his mind at that moment. But it's okay Mix thinks as Earth turns in his sleep, tossing and moving in frustration until finally settling down with his head on Mix's chest, his breathing going back to normal and the crease in his eyes gone. Mix brings a hand through Earth's hair, his fingers going through every lock gently followed by a kiss on the top of his head. He feels safe. This might well be the first and only time that Mix gets to experience this after today. It hasn't sunk in yet though for Mix, call him naïve and inexperienced but in his heart of hearts he knows that they will succeed, he just feels it. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Earth had woken up, he feels his eyes being covered by a hand and Earth's torso shifting upwards, he feels Earth's breath on his ear, his senses heightened now that he can't see." What are you thinking about?" Earth whispers. He removes his hand then, bringing it to Mix's cheek. "I think you know what I'm thinking about" Mix replies softly, his arms come up and wrap around Earth's torso, snuggling into his shoulder breathing in. "Let's not think about anything, let's just stay like this for a little while longer". Earth rubs the expanse of Mix's arm as a response, he doesn't want to sleep, he wants to remember the feeling of Mix's skin and his presence for a little while longer.
The sound of the car door being shut broke the stillness that was in the air. Earth and Mix side by side walked up to where the others lay waiting in silence too. Side by side but not touching as the amulet lay securely around Mix's neck. Jan was the first one to greet them, making space for them to join in the circle they had formed. With Neo right next to him, Earth put his arm around his shoulder patting him on the back, he knew that it was up to Neo now to guide them. Neo looked one by one at everyone that was present determination in his eyes, he received a confirmatory nod from everyone before speaking, "You all know what we need to do.....let's do it". They went over the plan so many times yesterday that it was practically permanently marked in their memory. The plan was simple in theory, but things don't always go to plan in real life, this time they hoped it will. It all depended on that damn door opening for them and then they would enter, forming a tight-knit line between them, Mix their element of surprise in the middle, hoping that he goes unnoticed. Then once they were sure everyone was in their place, Mix had to remove his amulet, Earth close by just in case. If luck was on their side, the malicious spirit would manifest itself and then thanks to Boom's stroke of genius, they will hold it frozen in place using the new improved version of the Amethyst starts, giving them enough time to banish it once and for all. That's the plan, how well it was going to work out, they had to find out.
They took their time making their way to the house's porch, cautious every step of the way for anything, any slight movement and any slight rustle of a leaf. They weren't taking any chances. The house looked even more different than the last time Earth thought, where at the beginning he couldn't feel anything, now he felt a presence so strong, filled with hate, anger and malice. The last time the stones making up the house looked dark red, now they were completely black looking almost like burnt charcoal, cracks evident along the entire walls, the grappling plant once so grand and huge now was shrunken, its leaves all gone covering the lawn, black leaves...necrotic and dead only its skeleton left behind clinging to the stone. They were almost at the door and from what they could see it was still closed. Earth looked at the others before making his way up front to try to open it himself. He didn't have to, as his step neared the door, the handle started to twist by itself turning both clockwise and anticlockwise making the door shake, what followed after was the trickling of blood starting from the top and then flowing downwards in streaks, painting the door in crimson, just like in their dream but this time they were all awake to see it open. It worked whispered Neo, he was still hoping that they might have been wrong after all, but clearly, the spirit wanted them today. They all made their way past, standing close, Earth taking his position back next to Mix as they finally entered the house.
Mix heard a lot of ghost stories from his father back when he was a child, many of them about houses that were haunted, he watched movies too with his friends going to the cinema. The houses inside were either depicted as normal and unsuspecting or else as looking from a century ago with cobwebs covering the white covers of furniture, a dramatic staircase in the middle with grand chandeliers lighted with candles. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined the inside of the house to look like this. Red. So much red, like a bull, was butchered and left to bleed onto the floor, panicking as it was being ripped open causing it to stain the walls with red too. The smell of blood both old and new mingled in the air almost causing you to choke and gag. Almost no light was inside, the windows were open, but it looked as if the sun itself didn't want to enter and shine a light on what was inside. Mix had to bring an arm up to shield his nose, the wretched smell turning his stomach upside down. The furniture, what little there was, was all pushed towards one side clearly planned, to make the entire floor they were on completely bare. Now that they were taking a closer look Mix realised that it wasn't just random splatters of blood lining the walls, but rather there were other markings too. Claw and hand marks smudged on some of the surfaces, looking like someone was gripping the corners of the wall so tight and holding on until they were yanked out leaving behind indents and a crack in the stone. Whatever happened here was bad, really bad. The others were clearly on the same plane as him as they looked around bewildered too.
Besides the door opening nothing else happened, nothing to confirm that the spirit heard them entering. Neo whispered to keep close and not to get distracted and wander off, leaving a vulnerable space between them. Milliseconds, seconds, turning to minutes and the house remained still. Earth signalling to the others, showing the number three with his fingers. If it didn't want to show itself then they'll make it. Mix nodded going dead in the centre with the others surrounding him, never looking away from Earth's gaze as he made to remove his amulet. Here we go he thought.
Wind. The strongest gust of wind, feeling like the blast of a bomb. Mix looked on shocked as everyone was thrown feet away from him landing on their backs. Phuwin hitting the side of the stairs affecting him more than the others as he cried out. Earth immediately gets back to his feet before the others follow suit, looking at Mix with shock and an expression of fear. He winces as he steps, almost breaking into a run to get close to Mix again. Mix sees him approach him and he feels a gust of cold wind over his shoulder again. He looks behind him and sees nothing, the screams of the others making him turn quickly around again. They are being dragged, Mix thought horrified, dragged by their legs and their arms across the floor, all of them Boom, Phuwin, Luke, Neo and Earth. Even Jan with her eyes glowing is powerless to stop from being almost smashed against one of the wall pillars. Earth grunting and holding on with all his might with one arm against the staircase railing, almost tearing him in half. Mix screams, almost tearing his vocal cords out, he stands rooted to the ground petrified, his legs won't move. He hears the sound of smashing hoping it's not them, please not them. Why aren't his legs moving, why isn't the spirit targeting him? Why? Why? Why?
He needs to get a hold of himself, he needs to move, he needs to do something. Why won't his legs move!!! He screams again in frustration looking down at the ground, it's getting hard to see clearly with all the tears in his eyes. He kooks down gasping in shock. His amulet. His amulet is glowing so brightly it's practically glowing. Of course, Mix realises, his amulet!!! The spirit can't feel him or do anything to him while he is wearing it, that's why he is the only one not affected. While he remains wearing it, he goes unnoticed. He looks at Earth still holding on to one of the railings, his knuckles are dripping with blood from how tightly he is gripping it. Mix looks at him and shouts his name, willing him to look at him. Earth knows what Mix is about to do now, he feels it, he's terrified but this is their only chance. He just hopes that the spirit would be distracted enough to allow them to gather again. He doesn't want to think about how the others are doing, he hopes that they are still alive.
Taking a deep breath in, Mix closes his eyes, hands coming up to his neck. He unclasps the lock sure in his movements, this is the only way to stop this running through his mind. The amulet falls landing hard on the ground, the impact of it still heard even through all the chaos. And then the wind stops.
Everything stops. Earth landing on his knees, their impact heard as the wind stopped. He rises immediately, wincing in pain and limping all the way next to Mix waiting. The others gather slowly, Phuwin and Boom the ones affected the most, fresh blood oozing from their scalp unable to stand up from the pain. Jan was the first one to get to them and try to stop the bleeding. On the other hand, Luke and Neo join next to Earth and Mix, the former holding his arm tightly to his chest after it had slammed hard into one of the walls. While Neo wasn't any better, cuts on his forehead still bleeding and getting into his eye. He blinks rapidly in an effort to dislodge some of the clots clinging to the bottom of his lashes, on high alert for anything coming. Mix looks around him, confused, why is nothing happening now? Did it leave?
Earth feels it then. A change in the air, he has never felt this before at the house, he hears steps, heavy and loud as well as the sound of droplets as they splatter on the ground. He turns to the others, nodding his head to alert them and sees Mix looking at a particular door, the one right in front of them under the staircase. Earth noticed that Mix hadn't blinked even once since he looked at him, staring fixedly at that door. He must feel its presence too. It's coming.