Chapter 75

She was gone in the blink of an eye. With her body still and motionless, she laid on the icy ground in front of everyone else including me. As I lifted and drew her from the floor, I hugged her body close to my chest to keep her safe. Her presence hung in the air like a ghost. Her skin and hair have a comfortable aroma about them, which I've grown to appreciate over time. But she was no longer in this world, no longer in this life. She was dead. The notion of never again hearing her voice or breathing her delicious scent sends a shudder down my spine and through my body. However, there was still a glimmer of hope in my heart for the future. If only she would open her eyes and give me that smile that makes me feel so weak, I would be able to understand what she was thinking. Didn't I have the ability to stop her, did I? What was it that turned her into a victim? It was a miserable existence that we were leading. The loss of someone as sweet and lovely as she was tragically unnecessary.

My cheeks were flushed with tears, and my eyes wet as I cried. My pulse was beating, and the intensity of the pain had taken me completely by surprise. I felt as if I had been torn apart by the experience of losing Kayla. With the suffering I'm going through, everything is conceivable. Without Kayla, I don't know what I'd do. She is a fundamental part of my self-conception and identity. Our souls were connected.

"Will you look at me, Chris?" Misty struggled to get the words out, despite the fact that she was clutching my shoulder in hers. It's possible that I was swallowed by my own suffering and didn't hear her the first time. One hand rested onto my shoulder, her nails dug into my flesh as she raised her other hand and pointed her finger to the heavens, and I followed her direction.

“The sky will turn red to mourn the dead.” When James said those words, my eyes filled up with even more tears. My throat tightened and a lump appeared in my croup. After a while, I couldn't bear to keep the pain to myself any longer. She had accomplished her goal. Possibly, the prophecy would not have allowed her to deviate from the path she was supposed to be on to begin with. The color of the sky above the horizon makes this quite obvious. What's the reason for this? What was accomplished by her death? That has eluded me to this day.

"It's time to go." It was James who spoke in hushed tones. To my mind, the truth was self-evident. I couldn't bear the thought of abandoning her. Leaving her here in this dreadful place. I pulled her closer to me and watched as her lifeless arm dangle over mine.

In a matter of seconds, we find ourselves in the foyer of Belinda's house. I pull Kayla closer to me.
'Chris, I need you to follow me,' Belinda's voice echoes. Belinda comes from the left-hand door and begins to walk away from the room. There are no words that come out of my mouth as I follow Belinda through the deafening silence. A pair of spiraling stairs brings us to a vast underground circle chamber, which Belinda shows me how to get to by following her lead.
A glass coffin sits in the center of the room, awaiting its next victim. It is supported by a huge stone foundation. As I go closer, I notice a remarkable resemblance between Kayla and the person laid inside. I gasp. The coffin isn't waiting for its next victim. It already possesses a host. I glance at Belinda with apprehension and befuddlement in my eyes.

"My daughter, if I may introduce her." My brows were raising uncontrollably.
When Belinda tapped her hand on the floor, another glass coffin rose from the ground and occupied the spot vacated by her daughter's resting spot.
“Place Kayla inside.” Belinda directs and I get the impulse to defend Kayla. Putting her in a box and then abandoning her was not an option for me.
“Chris, please place her in the box. Her soul is somewhere, and we can bring her back. But for now, she must be preserved. If not, she will be lost to us forever.” Belinda explains and my heart picks up its rhythm. Maybe there is a chance.
“How?” I mutter and Belinda gives me a smile.
“Chris, your soul is bound to hers. Therefore, you can find her and pull her back.” Belinda pauses and I hold my breathe.
“You will find her in the Land of Lost Souls.”