Falling Capricorn (17 page)

“We both are sorry it’s come to this,” Eric added. "He loves you, Christen. Go to him." Joey suddenly woke up and reacted furiously at the sight of a gun to Christen’s head. What the fuck happened while he was resting in limbo?

“Eric! What is the meaning of this!?” Joey screeched in his mind. Eric started to slowly straighten up. His body shook as Joey tried to make him move forward to stop Roxie from shooting Christen. Eric fought to stay where he was at, but the trembling just got harder. Eric and Joey were fighting for control over the body.

“Roxie…I can’t hold Joey back for long…” he groaned from the feeling of burning in his veins and muscles. He felt like there was a wild forest fire raging throughout his body. It was extremely hot inside his lungs, making it hard to breath. His eyes were starting to bleed, creating pain and hot tears that seared his face. Roxie looked back at Christen with a sad expression. She struggled with pulling the trigger.

“I understand now,” Christen said as Roxie was fighting with herself to end Christen’s life. Roxie blinked as she looked at the smiling girl. She was caught off guard by the sudden change in attitude of her victim. The fear and sadness had disappeared. Christen seemed composed and happy. “You only want to help us. You know you really are much nicer than you try to appear to be. You want to save Eric from all this. I can understand doing things for the person you love; even the craziest things. I understand all of this.” She nodded to Roxie. She listened to the waves washing ashore as memories of Joey flooded back into her brain. The realization started to sink in of the consequences. Christen missed Joey so much, though. She was almost able to taste and smell him now. With the thought of them being together, she opened up to receive death's embrace. Roxie couldn’t help but gape at her. She was so open to it now, as if it didn’t even phase her. Christen put her arms out with a nod of her head. “I’m okay with this. I accept the fact that you are going to relieve me of the pain of losing Joey. Now I can rejoin him so, by all means, shoot.” She was completely reassuring Roxie and it was rather confusing to Eric, Joey, and Roxie. 

“She wants to die?” Joey's strength that had been overpowering Eric lightened up. Joey couldn’t believe his ears. Did she really want to die? He wondered. Did she know what that meant? Did she know that she would be leaving life behind? How would her family feel? How would Kat feel? He couldn’t believe what Christen was doing. “Stop her Eric!” He yelled in his mind, though Eric did nothing to try and stop it. He hissed at his lack of listening, but the longer Eric didn’t listen, the longer Joey could think. If they were to kill her now, he would be able to hold her again, to love her again without the interference of both Roxie and Eric. The longer he was allowed to think, the more he thought it became a good idea.

Roxie got past her surprise and focused her energy on the trigger. Her finger made the movements and Christen whispered a “thank you” just before the shot’s bang rang down the beach. Roxie dropped the gun with clenched eyes. She turned as she heard Christen’s body thud to the ground. Eric stared at the sand that was gaining a red hue to it. There was one of his friends, killed right before his eyes.

“It is finished,” Eric whispered. Roxie nodded her head with shut eyes. They had done it, yes, but was it the right thing to do? She still wasn’t one hundred percent on that question and she realized she probably never would be. It stayed quiet until Eric gasped, calling Roxie’s attention. She whipped around quickly.

A white glow pulled itself from Christen's body. Shimmering lights burst out from Christen’s back as two hands of white glowing light gripped each of her sides. The hands pushed the arms up and the head with long flowing hair appeared in sight. A woman’s figure was pushed out. As she flipped her hair back, lights were sent into the air. The beautiful form finished getting her legs and feet out of the body, wearing the same thing Christen was wearing. The woman took a step away from the body, the silver and white colors turned to the color of Christen’s skin. Soon, Christen was standing there next to her dead body. She eyed it before sadly smiling at Roxie and Eric.

“Christen.” Eric gripped his head and soon a rush of golden lights escaped from his back. Eric fell on his hands and knees coughing as Roxie ran over to him.

“Eric! Are  you alright?” She kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his back. She looked up at the two glowing angelic figures with eyes widened in awe. Eric looked up weakly, as well.

Joey placed his hands on her cheeks, holding her face in them. “My beautiful Christen,” he said tenderly, tears rolling down his face as he caressed her. “I can finally touch you.”  It wasn’t him using Eric’s body anymore, but rather Joey’s very own soul.

“I have missed you so much,” Christen said softly, tears of joy rolling down her face now as well. She placed her hands to his. “We are able to be together now,” continued. He leaned into her and kissed her lips. The air was electrified. Roxie and Eric saw a small red spark pop from the kiss and float into the air like a firework. They watched in awe, the red sparks increased, swarming together to form multiple glows which looked like long-lasting fireworks without the noise. It nearly filled the sky around them, vanishing away from Roxie’s hand as she reached for one.

“Beautiful.” Roxie looked at Eric with a small smile. He returned it tiredly. Christen broke the kiss and smiled. It was true they were together. Now, they would stay together, forever.

“Thank you.” Christen looked at Roxie and Eric as she held Joey tightly. “Thank you so much.”

“We are free now. The peace can finally be returned,” Joey stated happily. He pulled Christen close to him as they started to fade away. Roxie held Eric closer as they watched the lights fading away with them, as well. Soon they disappeared altogether.

“What are we going to do with the body?” Eric asked, after a while of processing what just happened. Roxie shook to clear her head, getting up while helping him up.

“We will burn her body with our house” Roxie told him. Eric eyes widened.

“We are going to be burning our house down!?” He didn’t get why she would even say such a thing. Did it really need to be something so dramatic, something that would be so suspicious?

“Eric.” Roxie's tone was almost childish. She took his hands in hers, making direct eye contact with him. “Let’s run away. Start over again,” she said softly. “Let’s start brand new. I've done it once; I swear it’s not that hard,” she told him with a small smile.

Eric would have said no. He knew he could come up with a better plan but staring directly into her eyes made the already exhausted Eric feel even more weak in her gaze. He didn’t want to black out right then and there. He didn’t know what he was thinking when he said, “Fine, let’s run away together. It’s going to be hard to restart anew, but I’m sure we’ll figure out something.”

Roxie kissed him passionately before breaking the kiss and heading back to the house with him as they carried Christen’s limp body. Once they returned to the house, they packed what they needed and the special items they wanted to keep before pouring lighter fluid all over the inside the house and over Christen’s body. They poured it all out until nothing was left, even opened the door and put some right in the front door. They threw the match into the doorway, getting in Roxie’s car. She backed out of the driveway as the house caught up in flames.

“Starting over. Maybe this is a good idea,” Eric said to Roxie as she peeled onto the road.

“Maybe?” She questioned him with a giggle. “It is totally a good idea, just you and me.” She winked at him. Never again would another person get in the way of their relationship, she mused. Never ever again.

“You and I, being free like Joey and Christen,” he smiled, looking up to the sky. “Free. I like the sound of that.”

Kat watched the flames from her car, eyes turning rather dull. She had a bad feeling when she pulled away from the house. She couldn’t shake it off. Once she saw that Christen forgot her cell phone, she decided to use that as an excuse to go back and check on her. Horror filled her when she came back to see the building on fire and Roxie zooming down the road past her. Kat instantly ran out of her car in a panic.

“CHRISTEN!?” She ran to the door but had to cover her eyes from the heat and flames that licked from the inside at her. She ran around the house, looking for a way in. She got to the sliders, which burned her hand as she tried to get through one. She gasped. Through the smoke she could make out a woman’s body, laying there on fire. “CHRIS!?” she screeched, but there was no response. She couldn’t get to her, but she could tell from the smell and from the look of the figure, it was too late.

Kat’s eyes watered with tears before her fists tightened. She took off for her car, getting into it. She pulled out her phone in one hand dialing nine-one-one while her other hand cranked the ignition.

“Hello?” the operator answered as Kat slammed the gas pedal down to the floor.

“Hello! There’s been a murder!” she said as the car took off down the road. She shook off her tears. Sadness and anger boiled inside of her. There was no way she was letting them get away with this.

After fading away with Joey, Christen awoke to find herself in the purple and black-hued limbo. She sat up quickly and looked around confused. “Where am I?” A sudden panic sent her scrambling to her feet, looking around. “Where is Joey!?”Christen found herself running through the black forest after the realization she was alone. “Joey!” she called before she slammed into him. She looked at him, feeling a ton of relief.

“We are in limbo Christen. Hurry, love. It’s time to go,” he told her softly next to the pillar of purple that shined from the moon. He held his hand out to her and she reached for his hand, taking it gently. She took a step forward, but the blackness from below gripped her ankles, pulling her back. She tried again and again, but she couldn’t move.

“I can’t Joey! I can’t!!” Christen said in a panic as he let her hand go. He took a step back and looked at her sadly. “We still aren’t free," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry love. I'm not going anywhere without you."

Kat bolted up in a sweat. She had been following after trails for months, chasing after Roxie and Eric. She hadn’t been able to get a good night's sleep in this time, having the same dream over and over again. She placed a hand to her forehead; Christen’s cries still ringing in her ears. She got up and headed to the hotel bathroom. She turned on the water in the darkness, cupping her hands to splash the water onto her face. She turned the water off and reached for the towel. She dried her face but froze at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Why Kat?”

 Kat slowly pulled the towel from her face, to see Christen with Joey behind her. Her eyes widened in horror, and her scream echoed into the night.

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