Tom Residence

Kassie Tom screamed as the house continued the shake. She could clearly see Patrick Donavon’s body cascading of the edge of the stairs. Like a Slinky, he toppled over and began a rocky descent. His body thumped on the hard wooden steps, his head hitting loosely.

Kassie crawled on her stomach to see what had happened.

The house still shaking, she screamed as she saw Patrick’s motionless body lying lifelessly at the bottom of the stairs.

Then, silence. No more shaking.

“Patrick!” she called out, getting up. “You all right?”

With that, Robert Carlyle came bursting into the room. “Your mother… she’s going to give birth!” He stopped with Patrick at his feet. “Oh my God…”

Kassie rushed down the stairs. “Is he alive?”

Robert kneeled down beside his body and felt for a pulse. “I… I can’t seem to get it…”

“C’mon!” Kassie pleaded, kneeling down across from Robert. She took Patrick head and put her ear to his mouth.

Still feeling, Robert asked, “Is he breathing?”

Kassie shook her head, her eyes watering. “He’s alive. I just know he is.” She tried to take a pulse. “Where to you put the finger?”

Robert got up. “I need to get Darla to her hospital… she’s going into contractions…”

Kassie also got up. “Patrick needs to go, too… we need to bring him. He needs to start breathing…”

“I don’t think you should move him,” Robert insisted. “He could have damaged his spine. We have to keep him still, so to not damage it further.”

With that, Darla came into the hallway. “The contractions are about a minute apart and…” She stopped when she saw Patrick. “Oh…”

Robert rushed up to her. “I’ll go get the car.”

Kassie felt Patrick chest. “How do you do CPR?”

“I don’t know!” Robert replied.

“It is five, or two compression?”

“I don’t know.”

“How hard?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it over his heart?”

Robert sighed, “Yes.”

“Really?”

Exasperated, “I don’t know!”

Kassie started the compression over Patrick’s heart as both Patrick and Darla left the house. They closed the door behind them.

“Please…” Kassie muttered. “Breathe… Why don’t you breathe?”

No breath.

“C’mon!” she yelled. “You were here to protect me! You have to finish your job… You can’t leave me like this. Not here on the floor… No…” She sighed, and continued, “You can’t die. Not before I tell that I lo—”

“Kassie!” Robert screamed as he entered the house. “I think I might need to lend our car to someone else.”

“H… who?” Kassie sputtered.

“Your friend, Gillian.”

“Why?”

“My the looks of it,” he said, “her car crashed into another one. And it doesn’t look pretty…”

An Abandoned Building on Mystique Road

“What’s happening?! This isn’t any construction I know!” Wyle Torres said as he fumbled across the ground. “This third shake has lasted at least twenty seconds!”

Iris Torres didn’t know. She wanted to think it was construction, but something in her knew that something wasn’t right. She knew the building was going to collapse. The building wasn’t being hit by anything. She continued to hit the lock.

“We’re going to be crushed!” Wyle cried out, almost gleefully.

Iris wasn’t going to give up. “She pounded the lead pipe on the lock again and again and again and…

Crack!

“Yes!” Iris cried as she removed the metal lock. “Freedom.”

Suddenly, the steel roof of the building made a cracking sound and unhinged itself. Iris threw all her weight against the door and it blew open!

“NO!” Wyle cried, seeing his captive leave.

Iris took a deep breath. She slammed the door behind her, sealing her brother’s fate inside.

Seconds later, she heard pounding at the door. She couldn’t do anything; not after what he had done to everyone she had loved or cared for.

The shaking had stopped, but she noticed the roof beginning to collapse as Wyle continued the pound.

As the building collapsed, Iris has to cover her ears to block out her brother’s final, terrified screams.

Presence Beach

Skye Lore’s floating body was slowing making it was to the ocean. She remained still as she was carried away.

“Oh my God!”

Mateo Consuelos turned around. “Who’s there?”

Her footing wobbly, Brianna Huber made her way into his sight.

“What are you doing here?” Mateo demanded. “Wait, don’t tell me… You’re following us, right?”

Brianna nodded, pushing her pitch-black hair. “Yes… yes I did…”

“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Brianna made no gesture, but was shocked to see Skye in the position she was in. “It isn’t like I lied. Look!”

Mateo turned to see Skye floating weightlessly over the ocean. “I don’t know what I’m seeing right now. I don’t trust my judgment after that earthquake. I could have hit my head.”

“What about when she started to bleed from her mouth… isn’t that odd?” She paused, then, “Yes I was spying on you…”

“Yes…” Mateo agreed. “I don’t know what’s wrong… All I know is that she needs a doctor.”

“Doctor?!” Brianna exclaimed. “Do you read my articles?”

Mateo nodded. “Sadly, when my brother’s face is plastered on the front, I take a look.”

“Then you’ll know a doctor isn’t what she needs…”

“What, then?”

Brianna’s face winced. “An exorcist!”

Mystique Road

Gillian Evans and Giovanni Pike raced down the street to the site of her mother’s car crash. It didn’t look good, and Gillian was almost hesitant to go near.

“Help!” came a familiar voice.

“It’s Brooke!” Gillian cried as she saw her at the site. Gillian and Giovanni got to the accident scene and observed.

Addy’s red car had smashed into Brooke’s blue Sedan. Brooke had gotten out, and her front was dented badly. Addy, on the other hand, had spun out of control and smashed on a telephone pole.

“Mom!” Gillian called out. “Are you all right?”

No answer.

The sound of a car was heard approaching. A man got out, holding the key. “Will you need to go to the hospital?” Robert asked. “You are free to use my car… it looks bad.”

Brooke rushed to him. “Thanks you so much, sir!” She got the key, and, “We’ll return it as soon as we can!”

He ran back to his house, and to Darla, Kassie and Patrick.

Gillian was pounding on the window, but Addy was unconscious on the steering wheel. Gillian could see blood on her forehead. “Mom! Get up!”

Giovanni pushed Gillian gently out of the way. He pulled on the handle, but it was bent and jammed in. “It’s jammed!”

“I know!” Brooke announced, running to the side of the road. She came back with a large stone. “Try this.”

Giovanni grabbed the stone and moved to the window. “Everybody back…”

He threw it and it smashed the window!

Gillian pushed her head through. Meanwhile, Giovanni broke of pieces with his elbow to increase the size of the hole.

Gillian got out, and had a grim look on her face. “Something’s wrong…” she said.

Giovanni started pulling on the door. “What?”

“The smell…”

Giovanni was confused. “What smell?”

“Gas!” she exclaimed. “It smell like gasoline!”

An Abandoned Building on Mystique Road

Iris covered her ears till she knew it was all over. Once she opened them, the building had been completely demolished. Many walls still stood, but the top area had caved in.

She turned away, her brother’s screams still fresh in her mind. She fell to her knees, tears in her eyes.

She felt free, but something was missing.

The pain in her side resurfaced. Iris looked at her blouse and blood had soaked through it.

“No…” she moaned, and she lifted the side of her blouse up to look at the wound. “It’s not took bad,” she reassured herself. “The knife practically missed me.”

As she rested, she heard footsteps. Someone had seen what had happened?

“Hi,” she said as she turned around to greet the person. “I wanted to –”

It was Adam King!

The man who Wyle had drugged to hate her. To make him hunt her down like an animal and kill her. He was right in front of her.

“Stay away!” Iris cried out, backing away.

Adam approached her, but he looked drunk, or as if he had a hangover.

“You all right?” she demanded.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Presence Beach

“An exorcist?” Mateo questioned. “You mean…?”

“Just look! She’s possessed by demons if I ever saw it!” Brianna moved past Mateo and stood right on the edge of the beach. “This is great.”

“What?” Mateo exclaimed.

Brianna turned to Mateo, and smiled. “C’mon… face it. Do you really know anything about this woman except she’s a bit weird?”

Mateo couldn’t. She was pretty much foreign to him.

“I’ll take no sound as ‘No,’ ” she stated. “So what better time to get this town on the map?”

“What?” Mateo exclaimed again, sounding like a broken record.

“How often do you get a real exorcism to happen in your own town?” Brianna said. “We get the town some publicity, and Skye – if that’s her name – gets her old life back.”

Mateo was unsure. “Have these things been done before?”

Brianna shrugged. “Maybe? There’s always a first time.” She looked out to the water and saw Skye slowly being drawn to the water.

“What’s happening?” Mateo asked.

Brianna’s eyed popped open. “No… they’re going to drown her. Maybe she’s outlasted their purpose! No! Stop! We need to save her!”

Mateo watched helplessly as Skye was pulled underwater. Pulled under the bubbly, frothy surface…

Presence Jail

Bo Torres was waiting patiently in his cell. Several officers had left earlier that day for some evidence that would convict Wyle Torres of the crime Bo “committed.”

Suddenly, he heard the police rush through the door.

“We got it!” one of the officers declared. “We found the bottle of blood used by Wyle to frame you. Finger prints match.”

Bo got up eagerly, but slowed. “What was that shaking a while back?”

An officer started to unlock the cell. “An earthquake… Caused some damage, but was otherwise pretty harmless.”

“What blood was it?” Bo asked, as he was let out.

“Pig blood.”

With that, Bo was escorted out of the station, and into freedom.

Tom Residence

Robert came back into the house. “They’re going to use my car to bring her to the hospital once she gets out.”

Darla was lying on the couch, breathing deeply. “I can’t do this!” she called out.

Robert passed Kassie and Patrick and turned briskly into living room. “Why not?”

“I… I’ll need doctors…” she moaned. “I was only into going through this if I had medical help. When you told me that people my age go through births, did you realize that they needed constant medical supervision?”

Robert placed his hand on her forehead. “You’re strong… you’ll get through this…”

“I hope so,” Darla sighed. “I don’t want to leave my daughter.” She breathed deeply, and, “Has she managed to revive Patrick?”

“I don’t know.”

“Could you go check on her? Please, do everything you can for him.” Darla continued feeling her contractions, the time between them decreasing.

Robert did so. He slipped into the hallways and kneeled down beside Kassie. She was desperately trying to revive him with chest compressions.

“Have you broken through the ribcage?” Robert asked, feeling Patrick’s hand.

Kassie turned to him briskly. “What?”

“The ribcage. The purpose of compression – my old knowledge – is that you use the rib to try and get the heart starting.”

Kassie flung her hands in the air. “News to me.”

Robert felt for a pulse.

“I can’t believe this…” Kassie sniffled. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” She took her head and laid it on his chest. “I… this can’t be happening!”

Robert tried to calm Kassie down. “Calm down…”

“No! I won’t calm down. This man was one of the most gentle, kindhearted men I’ve met in a while. He was here to protect me, but he died. Don’t tell me to calm down.”

“You shouldn’t…”

“Forget it…” she said, turning to Patrick’s body. “I need to do something.”

Kassie leaned down over Patrick’s body and gently kissed him on the lips.

Mystique Road

“Gas?” Giovanni exclaimed. “We need to get her out!”

Giovanni got a burst of strength and the door screeched open. He quickly got up to Addy’s head, and felt for a pulse. “We have a pulse.”

“Is she alright?” Gillian asked.

Giovanni nodded. “She’s just out of it.”

“Lets get her out of there!” Brooke decided.

Giovanni wrapped his armed under Addy’s. He tried to move her, but she wouldn’t budge.

“Her legs are caught…” Giovanni gasped.

They were wedged tightly between crushed metal and pedals.

Without warning, a spark shot from the stereo system. The front of the car had push up into the car and cut several wires.

“Careful!” Brooke squealed. “There’s gas leaking somewhere…”

Giovanni and Gillian worked tirelessly. Gillian pulled on her foot, and Giovanni monitored vitals and the stereo.

A second spark shocked Giovanni and he fell to the street. “Ow,” he called out.

Gillian screamed as several more sparks shot out. Brooke screamed once a small fire started with a few pamphlets on the passenger seat.

“Hurry!” Gillian cried out. “Fire!”

Giovanni pushed Gillian out of his way and he started to pull at Addy’s feet. He pulled on a brake pedal that pinned her foot down.

The fire quickly spread to the upholstery, licking it’s way up the seat.

“It’s spreading…” Brooke breathed nervously.

Gillian could smell the gas, stronger than before. “She needs to get out, or she’ll die. This car could catch on fire really quickly!”

Giovanni continued to work, the light of the flames eating at the car dancing on his face.