Lance’s breath came in short, quick gasps. The elevator doors continued opening at an excruciatingly slow pace. Sarah began crying. “Papa leave him alone!”

The knife swung closer.

Echoing throughout the ceiling, Wick’s cruel laughter unleashed a burning rage inside Lance. Fear replaced by a dominating desire to beat his enemy, he made an impulsive (and unwise) decision.

I’m rushing into that elevator regardless of the consequences!

Springing from his frozen position against the wall, Lance slid his body sideways through the door cracks, leaving behind the tormented souls of Sarah and her father. The doors shut automatically, darkening the cold, metal hollowness of the confined space. Lance shivered quietly.

To his amazement, he was alone. Yet this didn’t stop the goose bumps from forming or the hair from rising. A chilling, empty fear gripped his heart, and Lance instantly regretted his decision. Why did I feel so certain something evil waited for me? What if it’s invisible?

Even so, what was done was done. Lance pushed the lobby button.

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

He jumped, whirling around. Nothing there.

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

Lance cautiously twisted his head to the left. Nothing, except for a small cell phone lying in the corner. A red light blinked in sync with the strange beeping. Curiosity outweighed precautions. He picked it up, pulled the antenna, and hit send.

“Hello?”

“Lance! Thank gosh I found you! Are you okay?”

“Who is this?”

“ (Pause)…It’s Gabriel.”

Lance nearly dropped the phone. “You!”

Gabriel babbled an explanation. “Listen, I’m not trying to harm you. I want to help you. Without me, you won’t survive Wick’s game.”

Lance frowned as he head began pounding. “I-I don’t know.”

“Pay attention to what I say! It’s your one ticket out.”

Lance realized time was running against him. Trust Gabriel? A Lost Soul? Or smash the cell phone while he still had a chance?

***

They sat there. Alone. In the quiet darkness. Unmoving.

Joey, or Gandor, spoke first. “Should we say something?”

“Why?” Honey, or Emerald, protested calmly.

“Makes the fight more interesting.”

“But harder.”

“Isn’t that the point? Or are you afraid of risks?”

“I have never feared a challenge,” Emerald replied irritably. In an attempt to mend her bruised ego, she suggested, “Perhaps we can.”

“Then it must be soon. The Master has to be revived tomorrow or our chances are eliminated.”

“So we allow Wick to ‘play’ with Lance awhile longer and then seize half the gem.”

“But Ramona…”

“What about her? She’s as good as dead in less than two minutes. Her, Chris, and Andrew.”

Emerald growled. “Andrew. Humph. Get back on subject. Ramona can’t die you idiot! She has the other half! When the plane crashes and they finally burn up, the gem will be burned up too.”

Gandor pursed his lips. “Yes, this does present a problem. I suppose…I suppose we need to pull those three out of their bind.”

“Wick won’t approve.”

“We are the upper hand, remember?” Gandor practically shouted. “You see, my dear, there’s another reason for my wanting to revive the Master.”

“I figured as much,” she nodded, “He did betray you back in Whispers.”

“That’s the point! I should’ve shared his place with Kujaur. Don’t forget, I still want the Master’s position.”

“Take it. He’s toast.”

“No. That’s not enough. In order to gain his power, I must defeat him in battle. Don’t you understand? When he’s revived, in the beginning he’ll be too weak to fight. Do the math. When I destroy the Master completely, not only do I get sweet revenge, but I become even more powerful than he was!”

Gandor’s eyes shined with craziness. “Soon…soon…”

Emerald chuckled. “Sure. Now, to the bigger business. Are we gonna tell Lance to make the fight fair, or leave him in the dark?”

“Tell him what?”

“You know…HIS SECRET…”

“Oh yeah. Maybe. Time will determine.”

“But we must bail Chris, Ramona, and Andrew’s butts out of the plane.”

“Right.”

Gandor shut his eyes, turning his palms upward to the ceiling. Green light misted from him. He appeared to be gazing into an invisible vision. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, full of shock. “Emerald!” he cried sharply.

“What’s the matter?”

“They’re gone!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Justin woke abruptly. He hadn’t any idea how long it’d been since he’d been unconsciousness. He vaguely remembered being trapped in the Asmodeous Dimension, but now it seemed only to be a distant, horrible nightmare. His stomach cramped. His skin grew ice cold. Hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood.

Where am I?

Darkness surrounded him. A musty smell snaked into his nostrils, forcing him to cough. His muscles, unusually stiff, were reluctant to move.

I’m sitting in a cramped confined space.

Light seeped in under the door crack, confirming Justin’s suspicions. He was imprisoned inside a closet.

How did I get here? What happened to my hotel bed in Philly?

Muffled whispers echoed throughout the closet. Strange whispers. Evil whispers. Justin dared not breathe. Fear rose to a higher level. Afraid to make a sound, Justin listened closely. Funny, the building was silent yet loud with sounds of terror. Unusual creaks. Groans. Screams. Talking. Then silence. Occasionally, the light mildly changed colors.

Justin recognized one of the screams, which seemed to be above.

LANCE! HE’S HERE TOO!

Senses still dull from his experience, Justin continued to hear the whispering. Compared to what was going on outside (and he had no idea what it could be) and the danger that lay near (Gosh he prayed Lance was okay), the whispering didn’t sound so evil anymore.

He listened.

“Lance, please. I can help you.”

A small light clicked on. Someone had reached up and turned on the bulb. Justin’s jaw dropped. A Lost Soul next to him. Although not in its Lost Soul form (in other words it looked like a normal human), Justin simply knew it.

Gabriel put his hand over Justin’s mouth. “Hush. I’m hiding for a reason, and so are you.” Justin noticed Gabriel was holding a cell phone.

“What the…”

“I’ll explain. Justin, you are in this closet cuz after Gandor sent your soul to the Asmodeous Dimension, Feather and I dragged your body with us to this hotel. You’re in New Orleans. I’m in this closet cuz I’m hiding from Wick, Gandor, Emerald, and Feather.”

“Who ya talking to?” Justin asked carefully.

“Lance.” Gabriel reverted his attention to the phone conversation. “Lance, will you believe me?”

After a long pause, Justin heard Gabriel say, “Great. You’ve made a wise decision. Let me tell you how the game is set up. First of all, keep the cell phone with you at all times. Don’t lose it.

Now, remember those ghosts you saw? They come from a piece of New Orleans’s history. When I’m not talking to you, I’ll be talking to JC and Johnny. I’m going to put them in the library.

Lance, whenever you see a ghost, look around at the hall you’re in. Look at the room numbers. Are they in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. Then call me immediately. The number’s taped to the cell. Describe the ghosts and tell me what set of numbers are on the doors.

Next, I’ll call JC. He’ll be looking through the microfilm. I’ll tell him to locate a New Orleans newspaper. Then I’ll tell him to find the ones that were printed in whatever number was on the doors. For example, if the door numbers were in the 50s, JC will look up the 1950s editions of the newspapers. Then I’ll describe the ghosts to him. Let’s say the ghost was Sarah. JC will briefly scan the crimes sections of the papers for a crime that involved a little girl named Sarah being stabbed to death by her father.

I know it is time consuming, but that’s how it works. When JC finds the article, he looks at the date when it happened. If it was 1953, I’ll hang up, call you, and tell you to run to room #53.

In the room will be a clue that will lead to your escape.

Got it?”

Gabriel hung up. “Now comes the hard part. Waiting.”

***

Lance stuffed the cell phone in his jean pocket. It bothered him how even though he pushed the button, the elevator was moving so slowly. In fact, it wasn’t moving.

Lance suddenly realized how hot it was. Sweat beaded down his forehead. A loud groan escaped. The sound of metal splintering rang in his ears.

Fear gripped his heart. He willed himself not to panic, but hysteria seemed almost unstoppable.

Something growled. The menacing snarls metamorphosed into a piercing roar. Metal bent and snapped. Lance covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. “What’s happening?!”

When he opened his eyes, terror took hold. The elevator walls were moving inward.

Lance rushed to the doors, banging on them. Nothing. The interior grew smaller and smaller. Lance ran from wall the wall, pushing. They kept moving.

Wick’s voice broke through the havoc. “Hope you aren’t claustrophobic Lance. Things may get a little cramped…”

“No!” The walls were now only four or five feet from Lance. The space between was diminishing rapidly.

Lance couldn’t breathe. The lights went out. Lance pressed against the walls. The small space was suffocating.

Terrified of being squished alive, Lance tried to tune out the roaring of the metal. Yet, his hyperventilating grew worse. Drenched in cold sweat and feverish all at once, Lance felt the walls pressing his arms together. Enormous weight smashed his chest.

By then he had no room to reach for the cell phone.

Lance’s throat closed up. Pain exploded in his chest. His bones felt as if they were going to shatter. No more room to breathe.

The elevator’s eating me!

“H…help…” The cool metal of evil’s heartlessness as Wick made walls move closer muffled Lance’s feeble gasps. He became light-headed.

So this is what he feared. This was the invisible evil that had been waiting for him, like a tiger stalking its oblivious prey.

continued