Poltergeist II - The Other Side (19 page)
In fact, all the spirits were gone—passed beyond.
And the Light itself was beginning to fade.
Steve, Diane, and Robbie were alone. Tears streamed down their cheeks as they hugged one another, burying their faces in one another, lost in grief, shrouded by twilight.
“My baby’s gone,” wept Diane. “She’s gone.”
But then another spark appeared, like a distant, burning star. It grew rapidly brighter, a benevolent coruscation blasting away the darkness . . .
And at its center, two figures appeared.
They moved toward the family, wafting down on the heavenly glow, closer and closer until it was quite apparent that one of the figures was Carol Anne.
Diane gasped. “Baby . . .”
They held hands, these two spirit forms; and then at some point the one released Carol Anne’s hand, and the child drifted purposefully into Steve’s and Diane’s outstretched arms.
They hugged, all of them, tenderly and mightily.
And then Carol Anne pointed back out at the other figure, the spirit who’d guided and released her. “Look, Mom!” she said.
And the others could see—it was Gramma Jess floating before them, smiling with the peace that surpasses understanding.
“I must go now,” said Jess. “I love you all.”
At which she receded into the light and was no more.
“It’s time,” said Taylor. Tangina watched him intently as he pulled the rope delicately through the fire.
Above them, the air began to take on a dull red glow, seeming to draw its energy from the surrounding dark.
The rope burst into flame in Taylor’s hands; he pulled tighter, ensnaring the flames, meeting resistance, setting the strength of his weight and spirit against the winds of the ether.
The glowing red spot grew brighter; it contained the figures of four people, darkly outlined, insubstantial . . . and then the red scintillated, and the family burst forth in a rush, tumbling to the muddy cave floor beside the fire, where they looked up to see Taylor and Tangina staring at them.
“Thank God! It’s a miracle!” Tangina’s lips trembled.
Taylor clapped Steve on the back. “Some battle, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Steve, still too stunned to comprehend.
It was over.
And in another dimension that surrounded their own, there were mists; there was shadow; there was a Light that sometimes grew bright but now was quiet; there was the soft clay of dreams.
But there were no spirits weeping or waiting. For all therein had passed to another place.
They climbed from the caverns at daybreak and walked past the fenced-in area to the street, to fresh air, to life without fear, to the growing up of children.
Tangina hugged them all good-bye, though they protested her going. She’d faced her fear, though, and accepted it about herself; things of the spirit were beyond her power to control. So be it, and so it was. She owned that knowledge of who she was, owned her self. She could go on with her life. And she would.
And she did.
She walked off into the wilderness of the ghost town and beyond. To find the rest of her life.
A noble goal for all of them.
As they approached the half-demolished station wagon Taylor touched Steve’s shoulder. “Uh . . . your car . . .”
Steve smiled. “It’s happy?”
“Not yet.” Taylor frowned.
“How’re we gonna make it happy?” Steve asked. He wanted everyone and everything to be as happy as he was. He was in control of his life once more.
Taylor paused, uncertain how best to tell him. “It wants to go home with me,” he said.
“You asked it?”
“Yes.” Taylor left no room for doubt.
“It’s sure?” Steve pressed. If there was ever a car that could have an identity crisis, this was certainly the one.
Taylor nodded his certainty.
Well, I came into the world with nothing, thought Steve. “Okay, take it,” he said, handing Taylor the keys.
Taylor nodded acceptance, got in the car, and drove slowly toward the main road.
Diane tapped Steve on the arm. “Steven—we need a ride home.”
“Hey, Taylor,” Steve called out.
Diane hung back a few steps, just to look at her family.
The kids were whispering excited stories to each other.
Steve was trotting after the car with more vigor than she’d seen in years.
The dawn was blossoming warmly into day.
J
AMES
K
AHN
is a physician specializing in Emergency Room medicine in a Los Angeles hospital. He has written two science fiction novels for Del Rey books—WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME and TIME’S DARK LAUGHTER—as well as the novelizations of POLTERGEIST, RETURN OF THE JEDI, and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.
