When all hope seemed to be lost, a coughing sound filled the air. Everyone looked at the rubble from where the sound was coming.
Slowly an apparition could be seen in the smoke which was getting bigger and bigger every passing second.
The silhouette slowly took the shape of a girl and that was enough for everyone to know that Emily was alive.
"Look!" Ryan exclaimed pointing at a limping Emily.
John wiped his tears as he ran to be Emily's support. He helped her get away from the debris. Tom wagged his tail and jumped up and down and all around Emily seeing her alive.
When Emily reached a safe distance away from the Church where everyone stood, Rose asked, "Are you alright, Emily?"
Emily nodded in a tired state. Few seconds passed by but no sign of anyone else.
"Where's Clyde?" Ryan asked still looking at the remains.
"He... he... sac-" Emily broke down crying.
"Emily, what happened in there?" John asked quietly.
Emily wiped her tears with the cement residue hands, swallowed her saliva, and replied, "I wasn't able to move and even though I tried to break free, Diana was way too strong. The walls were slowly beginning to crumble down and the roof began shaking. I was scared.
I tried again and again to move but it was no use. To be honest, I had given up all the hopes to make it out alive.
Diana began laughing and said that any living soul or any spirit that come to save me would die, just to make sure I was once and for all out of her way. Then Helena came and teleported herself and Diana somewhere.
Suddenly, I saw Clyde in all that chaos. I begged him to leave but he was adamant. I told him about what Diana said, about how he could have his final death if he stays there any longer but he said that he can't leave me alone and that since he was already dead, he wouldn't mind dying again but I was still alive and life is worth it.
When the roof was just about to collapse, he made sure I was a few distance away so that I won't be harmed. When I was outside by jumping through the window, I told him to come outside because if the building crumbles down, it would take him away with it too.
He tried his best to move but maybe Diana put some sort of trap or spell or something that he couldn't.
I cried my eyes out, I didn't wanna lose him. But he smiled and told me to end Diana, to end this evil, to stay alive for the justice, to stay strong, to stay alive for the light.
And then he said with a smile, "Now I know what my purpose was all along." right before the building collapsed and - "
Emily broke down crying. She cried and cried. John sat on the street next to her and wiped her tears. "Clyde was indeed very brave. Even though he was mischievous, but he was a really kind soul,"
Ryan, John, and everyone around had tears in their eyes.
"But," Emily said sobbing, "why did he say that now he knows what his purpose was?"
Ryan knelt down, placed a hand on Emily's shoulder, and replied, "Clyde was your protector, Emily. He was your guardian angel. That was his purpose."
"Emily, when you were in the hospital," Ryan continued, "Helena and I told Clyde that we all, as spirits have a purpose in our lives and we were given certain gifts to fulfill that purpose. That time Clyde asked me what his purpose was, but that was for him to find out. All his life after being a spirit, all he did was to protect you right from the start without even him knowing about it.
Remember that time when you got sick from your mushroom allergy? Well, Clyde was there to make sure you don't die because of it. Or that time when Diana attacked you in the diner, you were literally on your death bed, but it was Clyde who kept you alive. The time when Diana trapped you in the pentagram, it was Clyde who saved you. And when we thought that Scarlett killed you, we believed her too but Clyde didn't. He knew that you are never this weak to give up. And it was him that helped us find you near your charred car.
Helena, I, and Clyde were with you, Hannah, and John way before you knew it. We didn't know that Clyde's purpose was your protection back then but when you told us Clyde's last words, it all made sense now."
Suddenly, bats began flying out of nowhere and made a circle. Soon after Helena appeared with a more deformed and mutilated body and there was no second-guessing who did it.
"Oh my God, Helena," John screamed, "Are you alright?"
"Don't worry about me, I had it coming but she's about to come anytime now. We only have a few more minutes." Helena said in a weak voice.
"Thank you, Helena," Emily said softly.
Helena smiled. "Where's Clyde?" She enquired. When no reply came but only tears from Emily's eyes she knew they had lost Clyde forever.
"Don't cry, Emily," Ryan said looking at her swollen eyes.
"How can I not!?" Emily fired back. "He sacrificed himself just to save me. All because of me. We lost Clyde forever! And it's all BECAUSE OF ME!" Emily sobbed loudly.
"There, there, Emily," Helena tried to calm her down. "Look at it this way, we all died once and became spirits. Some can see us, some cannot. But we never got freed. We never got peace.
For us to have that, we have to fulfill our purpose - our individual, unique purpose.
Clyde's purpose was to protect you. He was your guardian. And he got freed doing what his purpose was. He did his share of protecting - what was planned by Him for Clyde."
Emily wiped her tears streaming down from her burning eyes and got up. "Clyde, if you can hear me," She said looking up, "I won't let your sacrifice go to waste, I will fight. I will stay strong."
"True, Emily, we have to stay strong and before Diana comes, we have to single her out," John said looking at the pawns who looked lost without their master.
"How are we going to do that?" Helena asked.
John smiled. "Every pawn is a human - a human whose body is being manipulated. I want all the spirits to converge their powers and control the pawns. We just need to dissolve the dark with the light. I'm not saying that they will go back to normal as that will only happen when either they die or Diana dies because of the link."
John thought about how Uncle Max and Harry sacrificed themselves to bring him back. That was also a way to bring back all the humans which were trapped as Diana's pawns, but that would mean more sacrifices of the spirits.
So it was time for plan B.
"And that's why Helena," Emily said facing Helena, "I know Diana had rendered you weak but can you do one last teleportation to take the pawns and the spirits away?"
"But then," One of the spirits began, "how can we help you fight Diana if none of us are here?"
"Don't worry about it," Emily replied with a smile. She clearly had a plan in her mind. "All we need in this moment is only Diana - not her pawns - and I want every spirit to take care of the pawns while we take care of Diana."
"And trust us," John began, "by helping us with the pawns, you are helping us fight Diana."
"But what if Diana wins again?" One of the spirits asked - which was enough to cause a wave of mumblings.
"True, she is very powerful," another spirit said, "what if we never get a hold on her pawns? What if we fail? What if-"
"Don't let your 'what-if's' control your life!" John stopped the spirit from doubting themselves. "I was in your situation too where I cursed myself for re-igniting this chain of curse. But I've learned that anything can happen in our lives. Due to my stupidity, I became the reason of this gruesome mess. I lost my friends, my family, my sister and no amount of apologies or thinking over and over about it will not bring them back.
Every night I had nightmares and every time train of thoughts run in my mind over and over and over to the point that they drove me to insanity - what if we never went to the beach that day, what if I didn't touch the stone, what if I listened to Hannah, forget about the stone and went away, what if this, what if that. My one action turned our lives around for the worst.
But what was done was done. No amount of force or magic could turn the events around. And thus, I had to face the reality and do something instead of doing nothing, going nowhere, and weeping in my what-ifs.
"And it's true," Emily joined in as she adressed everyone, "Diana is powerful. There is no guarantee that we will win. There is no guarantee that the pawns will go back to being their normal selves. There's no guarantee for anything. So what?
I don't know if you will be able to control the pawns or not. I don't know if we will be able to end Diana or not. I don't know if we will be able to lift the curse or not.
But all I know is that we will never be able to do all those things if we never even try!
We have come a long way. And I believe we can do this! You all have done so much till now. You all have proved that even though you doubt yourselves, you have bravery, courage, and strength in your heart. You can do this. We all can do this!
So don't let your 'what if's' control you now, because you can do so much more."
"LIGHT. WILL. WIN!" John began chanting and soon one by one every single spirit joined him along with Emily, Rose, David, Alex, Father Murphy, and Tom - who barked enthusiastically, joining the force.
"LIGHT. WILL. WIN!
LIGHT. WILL. WIN!
LIGHT. WILL. WIN!"
"Helena," Emily continued, "teleport them away - anywhere - but far from here. Ryan, you should go along with them too."
All the spirits gathered around all the pawns which were left and controlled their minds overpowering the darkness with their light while Helena teleported all the spirits and the pawns away while one spirit sneakily and purposefully got left behind avoiding everyone.
"I just don't get one thing," John continued, "why did Diana make some people her pawns to finish off other people?"
"Well," Father Murphy began, "when Helena, Ryan, and George, had bullied her all those years, hatred began growing in her heart and when her most prized possession - the pendant which her mother gave her before her death - was broken by them, she was filled with rage. She died in that state of determination of taking vengeance. Now until that flame of hatred and vengeance doesn't die, she will continue to cause havoc.
In order to get even, she is making people who suffered from injustice or any cruelty kill those who caused them. And now I've understood that she's not evil, she's just a fallen angel. And that's why even though I or any other Father tried, Diana could easily enter the Church or bear the pain of the cross without leaving us for forever.
Those who have pure evil in their heart fear Him, but Diana's heart - even though it was eviler and darker than anyone, it wasn't pure evil. So she didn't fear Him like demons do and - "
Father Murphy got interrupted by the wind which began blowing at an abnormal speed. The sky grew darker. Everyone looked around themselves as it was no doubt that Diana was coming.
John, Emily, Alex, Father Murphy, Rose, David, and Tom braced themselves for the final showdown.