My mindhad been opened by the new experiences that day so I felt weak andyet more knowledgeable at the same time. My emotions were all overthe place and I was glad to be alone with no shadows for the firsttime in living memory. I wished with every atom of my being thatthere was some way of having Gwen back, but I didn’t want to riskletting other spirits into this world too. Going back to work wouldbe difficult, with the absence of Gwen. I wasn’t sure I even knewhow to live without Gwen by my side, we spent so much time togetherthat our lives had become intertwined. I would have to sleep in anempty bed, wear a ring that bore no promise of forever to anyoneanymore.My mindwandered to the possibility that Seb could have been tainted when hewas touched. He had been reluctant to burn the house down, but onceall the souls had been burnt I was sure it couldn’t be possible. Hecouldn’t be tainted if the entities that were supposed to infecthim were now all gone. I pondered the meaning of “gone”. Theycouldn’t die if they were already dead, but maybe they weren’tthe normal souls of humans. They could have been shunned somewhereelse or just banned from Earth, I guessed. Whatever had happened tothem, I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I wanted them gone forever, Iwanted to see it happen and get revenge for them taking Gwen andmaking it so she would either turn into one of them or die to saveme. I needed to know she was okay before I could begin to grieve.Myentire body was devoured with tingles and suddenly I felt an urge todo a Ouija board to see if I could contact Gwen. As I stood up to goto the nearby spiritualist shop in the city centre, a cold shiver randown my spine. I realised for the first time in my life, I feltreally cold. I never left the heating on, as I usually just overheated and complained all night to Gwen who would give up, turn theheating off and pile a few extra jumpers on. There was two of herover sized jumpers on the floor at my feet. I remembered she had wornthem the night before, and I picked one up. The fabric was soft frombeing worn so much, and I lay back down to hold it in my arms andpretend it was Gwen. I put the fabric to my nose and inhaled, hopingto smell her. It had a fragrance of her talcum powder, hairspray anddeodorant. I crawled under the thick quilt I hadn’t even neededsince we’d bought it, and kept the jumper pressed to my face untilI felt my consciousness begin to slip. I let it take me, feeling safethat I wouldn’t be taken but unsure about the nightmares I wasbound to have about Gwen and her death. The murder I had been forcedto partake in. I hated the world, hated it’s ungratefulness that abeautiful young woman had been stolen from it, to save everyone. Andno one would ever even know. With that last angry thought, I sleptfitfully.
I wokewith a start a few hours later, when the bright moon had begun toilluminate the room. I felt freezing in my jeans and t-shirt so Itried to find an old hoodie I had worn during a holiday to PragueGwen and I had gone on. Tiredness was dragging my eyelids down soafter a quick visit to the bathroom I flopped back into bed, tuckingmyself in. I still hadn’t had the chance to grieve for Gwen, and Ifelt empty yet full of anger at the same time. I rolledover onto my back in the double bed I once shared with Gwen, and asmy eyes drifted and fluttered with tiredness, a shadowy figurestrolled past me. Sleep had won over though, and my millisecond ofpanic was forgotten as rest welcomed me deeply with outstretchedarms. My last conscious thought was that nothing</I>was over with yet.ByJessica Cambrook
I wokewith a start a few hours later, when the bright moon had begun toilluminate the room. I felt freezing in my jeans and t-shirt so Itried to find an old hoodie I had worn during a holiday to PragueGwen and I had gone on. Tiredness was dragging my eyelids down soafter a quick visit to the bathroom I flopped back into bed, tuckingmyself in. I still hadn’t had the chance to grieve for Gwen, and Ifelt empty yet full of anger at the same time. I rolledover onto my back in the double bed I once shared with Gwen, and asmy eyes drifted and fluttered with tiredness, a shadowy figurestrolled past me. Sleep had won over though, and my millisecond ofpanic was forgotten as rest welcomed me deeply with outstretchedarms. My last conscious thought was that nothing</I>was over with yet.ByJessica Cambrook