11 . Blood Line

                                          

James checked himself in the mirror one last time. He was ready for the final presentation. He smiled to himself as he recalled Sue's smiling face wishing him good luck . It had been just 3 days away from home but it felt as if they had been apart for years. His smile grew wider as he realized that he would be in a plane flying back home in about 4 hours,back to where he truly belonged, in the arms of his love. He picked up his phone from the dresser and dialed Sue's number hoping to hear her voice before his final presentation . The line clicked , signalling that that the call had been received.
"Hello lov- "
Before he could complete his sentence , the connection went dead with a loud beep sound at the end. Maybe it was some network error .... he assumed. He was about to redial her number when he heard a faint faint knock on his door.
" Excuse me Sir, the CEO is already here."
" I'll be out in a minute !" James answered as he switched off his phone and shoved it into his pocket, grabbing his coat on the way out.
" Let's nail this deal!" he said enthusiastically as he patted his assistant's back.

Sue was down on her knees ,tired from pulling at the chains. The chains were made up of something even stronger than metal and they got even more tight when she pulled at them. The phantom had already finished drawing some weird symbols on the wall and was now preparing for the next step. Sue felt helpless as she knelt on the bloody floor. Her whole life flashed before her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks . Her tears traveled down her cheeks and made their way to the floor mixing with the blood instantly. Another shackle appeared around her neck , as she gave up her last hope of being able to see James once again. The sound of her tears dripping echoed in the room. Her skin had turned pale almost ghost white and her clothes were all drenched in blood. If her previous self saw her in this state , she would not even recognize herself. The room had turned pitch black with the windows gone . Her body had closed her eyes and was now chanting something she could not understand.

 

Suddenly a little ball of golden light appeared in in her sight . The ball turned into a blurry figure as it moved towards her. The light grew brighter as it kept coming closer . Soon the figure turned into a familiar form....... the form of a human. The figure came to a halt as it came right in front of her. Sue could see it's golden feet as she hung her head down. Those  were the feet of a female , there was no mistake in that. She tilted her head upwards to see who it was or to be more precise what it was. Sue gasped as she stared at the lady in front of her. It was herself ! She could not believe her own eyes as she kept staring at her illuminated self. The lady gently touched her cheek but Sue cowered back in fear. It could be the phantom's assistant or worse it could be the phantom's himself...

"Fear not my dear , as I'm no different from you. I'm your love , your courage , your joy , your hope..."
The lady said as she embraced Sue dissolving all the shackles that had bound her to the ground. For the shackles made up of fear, despair and darkness could not stand the positive energy.

Sue felt warmth spread across her body as the lady embraced her filling her with strength and hope.
She felt a strange sensation in her heart as she regained the control of her body. The Crucifix was in her right hand pressed against her heart. She quickly set it down on the floor and scanned the room for the phantom. But there was no sight of him. But it was too soon to get to any conclusion. Suddenly out of the blue she heard the phantom scream. But he was nowhere to be seen . Where could he possibly be ? Then it dawned upon her that even though she had gained control of her body , the phantom was still inside her.

Sue collapsed on the floor unable to bear the pain in her chest caused by the phantom's scream. As her head hit the ground , she spotted something under the bed. The vial of holy water !
She quickly grabbed it and opened it's cap. But where was she supposed to use it ?
It was the only hope of her survival. She could not afford to waste even a single drop of it. The phantom now began laughing loudly which made her dizzy.In order to defeat him, she needed to get him out of her body........ Not sure what to do, Sue poured half of the vial on herself.
The phantom was immediately thrown out of her body, who was now fuming with rage. His body was a bit burnt which meant that the holy water did work ! Before Sue could sprinkle the remaining contents of the water on him, he slapped her hand sending the vial flying into the air. Sue dived after it trying to save it but could not reach it in time.
The vial shattered into tiny shards spilling the remaining holy water on the floor. With Sue on the floor the phantom seized the opportunity and kicked her hard in her guts. Sue coughed up some blood as she glared at him.

" YOU BITCH ! I was being nice to you before but now, I'll tear you apart. My Lord wouldn't mind getting an immobilized sacrifice . As far as he is concerned he just wants you alive ." The phantom yelled, his eyes red with anger.
With the phantom distracted with anger , Sue grabbed the opportunity and picked up some shards of the vial which were still wet with holy water. With the agility of a panther , Sue darted the shards towards him which caught him off guard. The shards sunk into his skin as he let out agonizing scream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"  he yelled.
"No matter what you do , as long as you have that blood running through your body , I'll be back ..... no matter how many generations I'll have to kill , your ancestors, you  and your upcoming generation all share the same fate. I won't stop until I avenge my lord ! I'LL BE BACK !!!"
He yelled disappearing into black mist .
" I'LL BE BACK !!!" His voice echoed as the black mist disappeared.

Sue fell on her knees weeping with happiness ........................................ She'd fought with the devil and emerged out alive. But there was no time to celebrate. The phantom would return someday and all of this might happen once again. Her eyes widened  as she realized that the phantom was related to her blood line. The phantom had said that her ancestors , her upcoming generation and herself share the same fate. As she thought more about it her past started making more sense. The sudden death of her parents , the murder of her grandma and then the demise of her grandpa ......all were linked. All of this meant that the original members of  Acton family were cursed with this undeniable fate. But now with her family gone she was the only member of Acton family so, if there was anyone who could continue this bloodline it was none other than her. Even though her life was spared for now , the same nightmare would someday befall on her family. She could not let that happen . She did not want anyone else to go through all the pain and suffering she had experienced even if it meant ending herself and the cursed bloodline along with it. True there could be other options but she did not want to harm James in any way possible way. Determined ,she picked up the Crucifix lying on the floor . Her hands trembled at the thought but she had to do it.
" I'm sorry James" she said as she thrust the Crucifix into her heart mouthing the words,
" I love you..........James........."