Guardian (Part
VIII - Pulse)
Finally, everything had been packed and moved,
and the house was empty. The three of us, CC, Sis and I, had finished cleaning
the house, and the only things left to do were to remove the remaining items in
the house, and paint the living room walls. This had been CC's idea, and she
was doing most of the work.
It was a sunny day outside; the whole house
looked bright and sunny and even welcoming. I believed it wouldn't take long
for the landlord to find new tenants...I already felt sorry for them. I had
considered leaving a note of warning hidden somewhere in the house, but no doubt
the landlord would go through the house herself after we had left to inspect for
damage, etc., and I couldn't think of a place to hide a letter where she would
not find and remove it.
CC painted rapidly, eager to get done and out of
the house for good. While we worked, the three of us talked. I suppose it was
inevitable that the topic would turn to discussing our experiences with the
Guardian, and speculating about it. We felt safe at that point, after all - we
were LEAVING. The painting things were in the middle of the living room. I
stood with my back to the outside door beside them, furthest away from all the
walls. Sis stood off to one side, fairly close to me, facing me, and CC
finished painting and stepped back, turning to face us. Of the three of us, she
stood nearest to a wall.
We stood there in those positions, continuing to
talk about the Guardian, when I became aware of a mass of energy in the bottom
corner of the living room, to my left. Shocked into silence, I stood there
staring at my friends, aware that they had no idea that the situation had
suddenly changed. The energy elongated, and rose to the ceiling, until there
was a band of it top to bottom. With an almost casual air, it suddenly swept
down the length of the wall CC had just painted, covering it in a shimmering
mass.
I felt my eyes grow wide as I looked from CC to
Sis, too locked in my fear to speak. Couldn't they feel it? Another
swoop, and the second wall was
covered; the one behind Sis's back. My chest felt tight as I struggled to open
my mouth, to say something, anything, to halt the terrible progression of
that energy moving to surround us. Swoop
- the third wall was now engulfed, the one to my right, the one furthest away
from all of us. CC looked more intently at me, but kept talking, still saying
things about the Guardian, speculating about what it was, etc. Unaware, Sis
also continued the conversation.
Swoop - the fourth wall,
the one behind me, the one with the door, was now encased in the energy that was
growing more and more malevolent by the second. I still stood frozen, but
forced myself to move when I realized the energy that had now surrounded us was
now beginning to pulse outwards from the walls, towards us. I had never
felt in more danger living in that house than at that moment, and CC was
standing closest to the wall.
I had known her all my life; we had been best
friends (and still are) since we were young children, with a million confidences
and experiences behind us. I counted on this as I looked her full in the face,
letting her see my expression, my fear. I knew instinctively that somehow I
would not be allowed to describe specifically what was happening, but I knew I
had to give them a warning, to stop what was happening. The main impression I
had from that horrible pulsing energy was that it didn't like what we were
saying about it, and it wanted us to stop.
I forced my mouth open, made myself get the
words out as I stared at CC. "Change the subject," I managed to tell her, as
the energy pushed it's way further into the room. I ignored Sis for the moment;
I had to. I didn't know her as well as CC, and wasn't certain if she would pick
up on what I was trying to do. There was no time to answer questions, to
explain, there was simply the growing sense of urgency as the energy distortion
moved closer by the second.
"Um," CC said, taking in my state of near panic,
"Change the subject - it's getting pissed," I told her, "Change the subject
NOW."
"Oh," Cc said, "Remind me to stop at the store
on the way home - I have to get milk and bread and figure out something for
dinner..." Following her lead, Sis went along, talking about mundane things as
we gathered up the painting equipment and odds and ends. As we talked and
worked, the energy quickly pulsed back towards the walls and then faded away.
It was completely gone when we finally finished and left that damned house for
the last time. My key to the front door was still in my pocket.