100 Years

It took a dead man to make Justin, Chris, Michelle and Stefanie to realize they truly want to live.

(I don't own Justin Timberlake or Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC,  nor do I own my friend Michelle or the song "100 Years" by Five For Fighting. So don't sue.)

 

 

The four lay on the living room floor, not saying a word. The boredom really sunk into their skins and now they couldn’t move off of the carpet. Heat rose anyhow- it was cooler on the ground. Justin sighed and looked over at Michelle. When Chris suggested that they spend their vacation out in Mojave, Justin opened his mouth to protest- then he saw the light in her eyes, and he forgot about it. A week out in the desert was going to kill him- it was too hot out there, then at night, it got too cold, and he didn’t find it too aesthetically pleasing to his eye. But if it meant being with her...he’d be bored any day like this.

 

Chris snuggled into the carpet and stretched out his arms to touch another hand. He saw Stefanie pull it away sharply and apologizing. She didn’t need to apologize- he touched her hand because he needed to stretch and he didn’t look where he was going. It felt nice though. He loved the feel of her skin against his. What he wouldn’t do- no, he couldn’t. He might have had feelings for her- but not until she said it first. And as talkative as she was, she remained silent where he needed it least. She relived in her mind how his hand felt. And how much she wanted to feel it again. As much as she wanted to...she couldn’t touch him. More like she wouldn’t let herself touch him. He deserved so much better than her. He deserved someone pretty, intelligent, funny, adventurous, and as crazy as him. She could love him from afar- that seemed to be the story of her life anyhow.

 

The television blared as it talked about the newest scare amongst the teenage community in the town.

 

“And in other news today, a group of teenagers say that a church on Meyer’s street is haunted- St. Francis Catholic Church, which has been abandoned since the 1970’s, frightened off a group of teenagers who came to investigate the 100 Year Ghost- that is, Jonas Walden who has since been haunting the church. Now onto other news...”

 

“Que va, it’s haunted,” Stefanie muttered to herself. Michelle lifted an eyebrow.

 

“Have you ever seen a ghost?” She shrugged.

 

“No, but I don’t honestly think that those teenagers see ghosts- I doubt ghosts show themselves to a bunch of hormonal group of kids who are trying to show they’ve got balls by trespassing into a church.” What she said next stunned the group.

 

“I’d like to see a ghost though. Just once. So I can see with my own two eyes that they exist. I bet that would be cool.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“You got all of the flashlights?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Are all of the batteries new?”

 

“They’re all batteries we bought at the store before we came out here that we haven’t already used. They’re all working perfectly.”

 

“Ok. Michelle, are you sure these flashlights work?”

 

“We just bought them. They should be fine. We just changed the light bulbs in them too so we’re good to go.”

 

“Good. Let’s get this show on the road...”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin kept switching stations, annoying his three other passengers. The church was a little further out, reaching into the outskirts of town, further and further away from civilization.

 

No wonder the church is attractive to teenagers, he thought to himself, still trying to find a good station. It’s far enough away from civilization so that it has a scary vibe to it. The less lighting and less accessible help is, the more exciting and dangerous it becomes. But most of them just come out here on dares and crap like that. We’re here to actually get to the bottom of whether or not ghosts exist or what. Not to mention this is the most fun thing we’ve done since we came out here. He groaned, stopping at a station finally. There wasn’t any hip-hop playing, and this was the only song he would listen to.

 

...there’s never a wish better than this

When you’ve only got a hundred years to live

Half the time goes by

Suddenly you’re wise

Another blink of an eye

Sixty-seven is gone-

 

At that point, the radio went dead, slightly alarming the group. The car was still moving, and all of the other instruments were working, but the radio had just gone dead out of nowhere. Justin blinked his eyes once and found his car in front of the church.

 

Everything about it looked run down and like it had been there longer than it really did. The shape of the church in the darkness looked like a giant void in the middle of time and space. There was no light anywhere except in the hands of the slightly apprehensive group. Justin steeled himself. It was just a church- a house of God. How could anything evil reside in it?

 

“Ok, let’s go,” he said, unbuckling himself. Michelle and Chris followed suit, realizing that the youngest still hadn’t moved out of her seat.

 

“Stef, we’re here, let’s go,” Michelle urged. She stayed right where she was.

 

“Guys, I don’t know about this...” Chris sighed. Typical scared response.

 

“Stef, it’s a church, what’s the worst that could happen? And you’re the one who said those kids didn’t see ghosts here, so what’s the problem?”

 

“Just because they didn’t see them, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist,” she said. “And besides, isn’t this trespassing?” Chris went to her side of the truck, unbuckled her and took her out himself as she protested.

 

“Stef, you’re Catholic, you guys have an open door policy.”

 

“For prayer and stuff like that! Not ghost hunting!”

 

“Stef, relax,” Chris said, putting her on the dusty dirt ground. “Geez, what crawled up your a*s and died?” She gave him a hard look.

 

“Probably your common sense.” Chris crossed his arms in offense. Justin pulled on Chris’s arm and tugged him towards the church.

 

“Stef, if you don’t want to go, then watch the truck.” She glared at Justin next.

 

“This is your damn car! You watch it!”

 

“Then that means you have to go inside,” Justin said.

 

“Ok, I’m not sitting here watching your damn truck!”

 

“Then shut your trap and get going with us,” Chris snapped, heading for the doors. “Unless you’re just a wuss like those teenagers that come here on a dare.” Michelle looked over and saw the only firelight in Stefanie’s eyes. Michelle put her hand on Stefanie’s shoulder.

 

“Stef, relax,” she said, hoping Stefanie wouldn’t attack her next. “Don’t listen to that. Chris didn’t mean it.” Stefanie turned hurt eyes to Michelle.

 

“How do you know that?” Michelle opened her mouth and quickly shut it. She wanted to say how Chris would never go out of his way to hurt her. She wanted so bad to tell her...that Chris loved her. But maybe this wasn’t the time to say it.

 

“C’mon Stef, let’s go,” Michelle said.

 

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The intense scent of incense mingled with the layers of dust, counting each year this church had been left abandoned. Michelle looked around. There had definitely been human presence in this church, but their intentions were far from holy. There were carvings on the walls of lovers who had defiled the church, stone pillars holding up the pitch black ceiling with faded gold stars were spray painted with gang symbols and profanity, five-pointed stars peppered the pews and walls and a crucifix that had previously been hanging from the ceiling was pulled down, left in pieces, wood splinters and ceramic pieces of Jesus Christ’s body scattered on the steps of the altar that had obviously been stomped on for years. Where there once hung bright, spring colored banners and drapes were left dark, torn pieces of cloth, hanging dead from their posts, where not even a strong wind could move them. No amount of sun or moonlight could pour through the dust caked stained glass windows, hiding their stories and lessons.

 

The four stepped through the doors, guided by the pale moonlight a foot into the church. They walked down the aisle, not sure if touching anything was a good idea. It had been a still night- so they felt their hearts jump to their throats when both of the doors slammed shut. Stefanie stood in wonder. There had been no wind, and it took a strenuous effort on all of their parts to open the doors. The doors were made of heavy oak and the handles were rusted. How they could fly shut like that was beyond them.

 

Ok, no need to panic, she told herself. I’m sure there’s an explanation for that, it can’t be ghosts. She was the worst liar, and she knew it.

 

Justin led the group down the aisle, taking in the surroundings of the church. He tried to ignore his body’s instinctual reactions to his fear. He hoped nobody noticed the way the hair on his arms were beginning to rise with the goose bumps that interrupted his smooth skin. Trying to take his mind off of his fear, he switched his flashlight on, a concentrated beam of light illuminating little spots of the church. The other three switched theirs on to get a better look at the church, though they were still clumped together in the aisle, all of them inwardly too afraid to leave each other. Chris looked down at where his flashlight was pointing when he noticed that his flashlight was starting to fade.

 

“Um...Justin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Are you sure these batteries are new?”

 

“Yeah, you said it yourself, we bought those when we left LA. Why?”

 

“Mine’s starting to flicker.”

 

“Really? Michelle? Are you sure these flashlights are new?”

 

“Yeah. We just bought them. Maybe it’s a faulty one.” Justin looked at Stefanie, noticing how quiet she was.

 

“Stef? Did you touch the flashlights?” One look his way revealed her innocence, but she spoke anyhow.

 

“I didn’t know we were going to be using them tonight,” she said. “I never had a reason to lay a hand on them, so no, I don’t have anything to do with why our flashlights are acting like they are.”

 

“Wait, is yours acting up too?”

 

“Yeah. So is yours.” Justin looked down, feeling his heart beat faster when he saw his beginning to flicker. Chris and Michelle’s were both almost gone after a few seconds, and after a loud slam echoed through the church, Justin and Stefanie dropped theirs, all four of the flashlights going completely out. All they knew was the terror that was building up in each of them that they would never admit to each other.

 

“Does anyone have a light?” Michelle asked weakly. Stefanie looked around, seeing candles around the church and taking Justin’s lighter.

 

“Why do you need the lighter?”

 

“I want to light the candles.”

 

“Why aren’t you lighting them?” She didn’t answer him. Michelle came to her side.

 

“I’ll come with you,” she offered. Stefanie smiled a weak thanks and walked with Michelle to each candle she saw and lighted it. Soon, the soft glow of candles illuminated the previously dark church. The light gave them some comfort, only now if anything sinister was brave enough to face the light, they were going to be face-to-face with it. Chris watched Stefanie as she lit the last candle. She was scared to death, he could read it in her eyes even if her actions said otherwise. Chris balled his hand into a fist. He couldn’t do a damn thing about her fears. Mostly because she held on so tightly to them that she didn’t have the strength to hold on to something even better.

 

You sure that something isn’t a someone instead? a voice inside of him taunted. He shook it off. They were there to find out if the church was haunted, he tried to remind himself, not to criticize someone that he-

 

“Ok...we searched the main part of the church,” Justin said. “You think we should split up and check the rest of the church?” Justin regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted...was to leave the safety of the four of them and leave them at the mercy of half the protection from before.

 

“I guess,” Chris said. “We can cover more ground that way.” Justin nodded his head, his throat beginning to tighten up.

 

“Ok...who’s going with who?” He noticed the way Michelle stuck to Stefanie’s side.

 

“Let the girls go together,” Chris said. “I’ll go with you, Justin.”

 

“Let’s take candles with us,” Stefanie suggested. “Since the flashlights aren’t really useful right now.” The three of them agreed on meeting back in the aisle after fifteen minutes before splitting up to get candles. Chris and Stefanie found themselves headed for the same candle holder with three candles burning brightly. As they began to reach up for their candles, the middle one mysteriously went out. The two didn’t look at each other as they cautiously took each lit candle and held it to the middle one. They watched as the two flames danced gently, bringing one candle to life by two others. They still didn’t look at each other as they took their candles, not noticing how the middle candle thrived by their joined flames.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Where exactly are we?”

 

“We’re in the sacristy. This is where the priests put their robes on before Mass.”

 

“Oh.” Justin held his candle to look around. Some robes, one festive gold, one royal purple, one bright red, one white, and one green lay scattered on the ground, their significance forgotten. Justin shook his head. This place was supposed to be a house of worship- this was a place for people to come together and pray. How could people leave it to mistreatment all these years? How could people be so careless? He sighed. If people didn’t care enough to keep a building sacred...how could they care enough about their faith in God?

 

Maybe they don’t really have much of a faith in God to begin with, he thought to himself. Maybe it’s just a once a week obligation to them. Or that it’s such an arbitrary section of their lives that they’re too numb to feel what a real impact it’s supposed to have on them.  Justin sighed as they pressed on. Judging by the lack of care anyone had for this church, it wouldn’t be a shock at all if this place were haunted.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“This is beautiful.” Michelle and Stefanie found themselves in the bridal chamber, with a vanity and mirror set up for multiple people to look in. They stood by the vanity, admiring the silver antique brushes and hand mirrors. Stefanie ran her hand across a hand held mirror, taking its intricate design through her fingertips. Michelle jerked up instantly when she heard Stefanie make a noise of alarm.

 

“What is it?” Michelle asked, afraid of the answer.

 

“The mirror shocked me. It’s just that little electrical shock when you touch metal things sometimes, you know?”

 

“Oh. I see.”

 

Stefanie smiled, wondering about past brides that once had been there. She noticed something on the bottom of one of the hand held mirrors. It looked like initials. VNT. What did VNT stand for? She looked up. She was bedraggled. That was putting it mildly. There was a wind blowing in the image of the mirror, though Stefanie couldn’t feel a breeze. The veil danced back and forth, a sickly grey-green color instead of a pure white. A strong gust of wind blew the veil over the bride’s head, and a rotting skull of a woman with evilly burning green eyes burned at her. Her jaw only moved up and down with her voice, with no muscles, lips or tongue to aid her.

 

“Give me back what is mine,” she rasped. Stefanie let out visceral scream as she took her fingertips off of the mirror, vaguely feeling herself being pulled away from the mirror by the only other living person in the room. Michelle looked at the mirror, though afraid of what she was going to see. All she saw was their reflections in the mirror.

 

“Stefanie! What happened? What did you see?” Her eyes were shot wide open, her hands covering her mouth before she screamed again. Tears began to pour down her cheeks.

 

“It was a woman,” she sobbed. “She...oh God, Michelle, it was sick! She was rotted and dead, she didn’t have normal eyes- they were just dots of evil green light! I...oh my God, Michelle...” Stefanie’s hands moved to her chest, almost to comfort her terrified heart, still crying. Michelle’s breath began to quicken. She saw nothing in the mirror but them. But Stefanie’s reaction was enough to convince her that something was there. Something that she missed. Michelle pulled her away from the bridal chamber, heading right for the aisle again.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Girls? Are you ok?” Justin noticed the way Chris speed walked unusually fast when he saw Michelle sitting with Stefanie in a pew, with her hand on her back, whispering words of comfort. Justin blinked his eyes as Chris sat down next to her, not touching her or even trying to talk to her.

 

Chris, if you care about her so much, he thought to himself, why aren’t you helping her? Why are you so afraid of touching her? Justin sat down by Michelle, feeling himself reaching out to touch her arm, and sharply pulling back. Justin sighed, answering his own question.

 

“...are you serious? You saw one? You saw a ghost?”

 

“Yeah,” Stefanie hiccupped. “It was so disgusting guys...when I saw her at first, I just couldn’t for the life of me move. Then I saw her face and I just couldn’t stop myself from screaming.” She looked to Chris, almost trying to tell him what she saw with her eyes, but leaned on Michelle for support. Chris inwardly sighed. She was still hurting from what he said to her earlier.

 

Michelle continued to rub her back as she looked forward to the altar. The back of the church had a huge mural of a man with a white beard she assumed was God, surrounded by a chorus of angels. She grinned inside, feeling comforted by the thought of something that beautiful. She was looking at it for a few seconds when she swore one of the angels twitched. She tilted her head slightly, almost to confirm what she had just seen. The gentle smile the angel once had begun to turn somewhat seductive, his eyes slanting in purpose. Michelle’s heart beat began to quicken as the angel focused its perverted attention on her, liking too much what he was seeing. One tiny glance from the corner of her eye brought Justin into her vision. Her heart softened in relief. Justin was her angel.

 

Red filled her vision, only the slight facial build being the only reminder of the sweet painted angel she saw earlier. Its jealous heart was set on fire with hate, absorbing her, trying to destroy her for faithlessness. She fought to bring up Justin’s face in her mind again. It was only when she let her love for him fill her heart that she slipped into blackness.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Michelle! Michelle, are you ok?” After a few seconds, which seemed like hours to her, she could finally hear the alarmed voices of her friends above her. Michelle opened her eyes to see her three friends gathered around her, trying to figure out what caused her fainting spell. She almost gasped at the tears that were forming in Justin’s eyes.

 

Does that mean he cares about me more than a friend? was her first thought. She shook that out of her head. This was the absolute wrong time and place to think about that. If they wanted to get to business, she had to focus on their adventure, not whether or not Justin could ever love her. It caused more pain just thinking about it.

 

“Michelle, are you alright? We lost you there for a few minutes,” Chris said, helping her sit up.

 

“Yeah, I’m ok,” she said, mentally checking out if she was physically hurt. Not a scratch. She looked up to the mural. It looked so innocent. She turned away from it quickly before she caught the attention of another wolf in sheep’s clothing.

 

“Michelle, what happened? Did you see a ghost too?” Stefanie inquired. She shook her head.

 

“It wasn’t a ghost I saw,” she said.

 

“What happened?” She shuddered, recalling what happened.

 

“I was looking at the mural in front of us,” she said. “One of the angels...he was looking at me. And...then he was all in my face, with all of this red surrounding us, and he was so angry at me-”

 

“Why?” She crossed her arms, avoiding Justin’s gaze. She didn’t want to say it. Not when it was going to provoke more drama and pain than necessary.

 

“I don’t know,” she lied. “But it was so scary. God, scary doesn’t even come close to describing it!”

 

“Did it try to attack you? Like try to hurt you or anything?” Stefanie could see out of the corner of her eye that Justin’s blood began to boil at the mere thought of that.

 

“No,” she said. “I don’t even know what got me away from him. It was just one second he was coming at me, and the next thing I knew, I was laying here on the ground.”

 

“Alright, we’re not quite done yet,” Chris said, helping Michelle up. “There’s still the annex to look at and then the choir chamber in the back of the church. Maybe we should switch people. Guy and girl.”

 

“I’ll go with Justin,” Stefanie volunteered a little too quickly for Chris’s taste.

 

“Fine,” Chris reluctantly agreed. “Justin, stay with Stef and go to the choir chamber. I’m taking Michelle to the annex.”

 

“Alright. Be careful.” Chris saw the look Stefanie was giving him. He mentally smacked himself, trying to convince himself that the look in her eyes didn’t really mean every word she said. She didn’t like him right now- why would she care what happened to him? When they were gone from sight, Justin sighed, picking up his candle and re-igniting it.

 

“Justin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“There wasn’t anything you could do. You had no control of what happened to Michelle.”

 

“What?”

 

“I saw that look in your eyes. Like you were beating yourself up for not helping her.”

 

“How did you-”

 

“Never mind how I know,” she said, beginning to walk to the choir chamber. “Just stop beating yourself up over it.”

 

“Why, Stef? I was standing there, watching her go through that like a helpless baby!”

 

“And what could you have done? Beaten that angel in disguise up? You didn’t even know what was attacking her until after it was over.” Justin huffed and he bumped into her.

 

“Hey, Stef-”

 

“I know you’d protect her if it were in your power,” she said genuinely. “I know you’d give anything to make sure she was safe. Even your life. I can see it in your eyes, Justin, even if you don’t say it.”

 

“How do you know that?” She turned around and regarded him.

 

“Because I wear my heart on my sleeve. And so do you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Justin. It’s who we are. But if you don’t let her see it pretty soon, you could lose her.”

 

“I never had her to begin with,” Justin said bitterly, walking past her to the door that led upstairs to the choir chamber. She stood there for a second, shaking her head.

 

“You are the blindest person I know,” she whispered.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“So what was up with that?”

 

“What was up with what?”

 

“Your fainting spell.” Michelle looked at Chris seriously.

 

“Do you honestly think I’m lying about what I saw?”

 

“I’m not saying you’re lying about what you saw,” Chris defended. “I believe you when you say you saw what you did. I’m saying that I think you’re lying about why that...thing was so angry at you. I think you know why.” Michelle crossed her arms being careful not to spill the wax.

 

“And what the hell makes you think I’d lie about something like that?”

 

“Only that you had to think about it for a second.”

 

“So? I was just trying to think it out!” Chris sighed.

 

“Alright, I’ll give you that,” he said. “But I don’t know. I have this feeling like you’re holding back on something about what happened. I’m not sure what exactly it is that’s giving me that feeling, but it’s there. And I’m having a hard time ignoring it.”

 

“Chris, please, I don’t want to talk about what I saw anymore ok? It was horrible and frightening, and I don’t want to think about it anymore ok?” Chris read the urgency in her voice. He bit his lower lip. She was holding back on something and he knew it. But this might not have been the right time or place to say it. So he gave in for the moment.

 

“Alright. Did you see anything in here?”

 

“Not really, no. We’ve only been here for a minute or so.”

 

“Oh.” Chris brushed his hand on a table with a thick layer of dust. Chris swirled his finger on the table, making random lines, letting his mind drift. He sighed. Alright...so the girls had seen stuff. He tried to brush off that feeling of anger thinking about Stefanie seeing what she did. Why though? It wasn’t her fault that the ghost came to her. He highly doubted that she would go out of her way to get a ghost’s attention- she was too fearful to do that. He growled at an unwelcome thought in his mind.

 

Shut up, he told himself sharply. Quit getting all bent out of shape because you weren’t there to protect her or that she didn’t come to you for help or comfort. She needs to grow up anyhow. Chris didn’t like that residual feeling of guilt thinking that way, but he didn’t know how else to brush it off.

 

He didn’t know how long he was standing there, drawing absently at the dusty table, but when he looked down at the table again, it was clear. As if someone had come through with a cloth and wiped it completely clean of dust. He didn’t remember drawing his finger all throughout the table or using anything else but his index finger, so he found it curious that the dust had gone completely. What he saw next made his blood curdle.

 

He could see himself in the reflection of the glossy table, and he saw him standing behind him too. He had been an old man once- the wiry white hair gave him away. But his flesh had long since been rotted thin to a deathly green, and his skin had become flaky and dry. He was literally nothing but skin and bones by now. His eye sockets were empty except for some thin, hanging pieces of dead flesh and he had no nose. His mouth hung open, decorated with only a few dark yellow, rotting teeth. He could see his ribcage, which looked so fragile that if he so much as tapped it gently with a finger, it would turn to dust. He had a worn out jacket over his body, and weary khakis being held up only by suspenders. Chris knew that there was really nothing behind him, but in the reflection, he felt the bony hand reach out and take a tight grip on his shoulder. He reacted to the hand by trying to shake it off, but the more he moved, the tighter the grip got. He thought that the dead hand would crush his shoulder and he got sucked into his reflection with the corpse. The corpse pressed its dry, dead jaw to Chris’s mouth, forcing him into a kiss of death. Chris could feel life being sucked out of him. He could feel each and every one of his organs in his body being dried up. His will to survive was being torn from his soul, but there was something that just wasn’t budging, and the corpse grew increasingly frustrated and angry. Chris didn’t know what this was, but it was the only link he had to survival at this point. He could see his hands had long since turned dry and flaky like the corpse, but there was still something in Chris that was hanging on tight. He found himself torn between life and death, pain being the only thing reminding him of his life. He had no fluids left for tears. But what was left of him wept over what he was going to leave behind. His family would mourn over his loss. His friends would feel the void that he was going to leave behind. The world was going to lose yet another person to an early death. He wasn’t going to be able to keep pursuing his dreams. He wasn’t going to see where the world was going to go in time.

 

He was going to die before he could tell her that he loved her.

 

The corpse threw an angry fit, losing a futile battle. Chris felt his skin starting to gain softness and the previously congealed blood was starting to flow freely again. He didn’t realize how long his eyes had gone without moisture until he finally remembered to start blinking. Chris could feel himself being pulled back into reality, but another hand grabbed his shoulder, directing him into his subconscious.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin jumped when he heard something get knocked over. He saw Stefanie standing by a few previously standing choir stands.

 

“Stef...try not to touch anything, ok?” She rolled her eyes.

 

“Who’s going to make me pay for it? Nobody’s running this church anymore!” Justin sighed.

 

“You klutz,” he mouthed to himself.

 

“And you’re an a*****e.” Justin’s mouth dropped.

 

“How did you hear me?”

 

“It’s a church Justin. No one’s allowed to talk too loud in here.”

 

“Really? I wouldn’t know with the racket you’re making.”

 

“And like you’re doing any better?”

 

“Stef, just shut up and keep looking,” Justin said, opening a cabinet. She rolled her eyes again, and replaced the stands. Justin looked in the cabinet. It was the size of a decent walk-in closet, with tattered robes hanging off wire hangers. Justin thought he saw something move in the closet. His heart began to pound. He hoped Stefanie couldn’t hear his breathing starting to quicken and get louder as he investigated the closet. Justin yelped when something jumped out at him.

 

“Justin?! What’s wrong?!” Then she looked down on the floor.

 

“Jesus Christ, Justin,” she said, clutching her chest. “It’s a spider!”

 

“So kill it!”

 

“Just brush it away with your shoe! It won’t kill you!”

 

“Just keep it away from me!” Justin could feel his skin crawling like the spider. He sighed in relief when it disappeared underneath a crack in the wall.

 

“Thank God,” he said in relief, grabbing a broken piece of wood and swatting the stick at the robes for more spiders.

 

“See? That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Justin glared at her before setting foot in the closet. Justin coughed at the amount of dust that had been accumulating over the years. The door behind him slammed shut, dust falling off of the door, and choking Justin before he could say anything.

 

“Stef!” he coughed. “Let me out! This isn’t funny! Stefanie!” Justin began banging on the door with his fists and his feet to force it open. But the door felt heavier than before, so that his bangings were mere vibrations against the wood. Justin stopped moving for a second when he realized that there was no snickering behind the door. She didn’t know about his predicament.

 

When he turned around, the closet had become vast and infinite, yellow-green filling up the space. Nothing but silhouettes floated up into the vastness. Some were fairly humanoid, only transparency giving them away as ghosts, but some were gross shapes of animals unknown to the world. Angry tongues growled insults and curses at Justin for still being alive. Justin backed himself so much into the door that he could almost feel himself becoming a part of it. But suddenly, the door had vanished, along with the floor that he was standing on. He found himself falling through the infinity, hitting the ghosts and ghouls on the way, and being tugged on violently, as if to hasten his death so he would join them in their misery. Justin yelled for help, knowing nobody would hear him. One ghoul pulled on his right leg so hard that Justin almost felt his leg become detached from his hip socket. He kicked and fought against them, but the creatures finally stopped floating to a non-existent heaven to bring hell to the only living one. They were see-through, but they were solid enough to touch Justin and to inflict pain on him. Justin was beginning to lose consciousness as time wore on, as well as the will to keep fighting. As he was about to give in, something swooped up under him, out of the deadly infinity and he finally passed out when he found himself being flown out of the closet again.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Stefanie ran down the case of stairs, trying to find Chris and Michelle. She heard the door slam shut, knowing where Justin was, but whenever she tried to touch the handle, it turned into an inhumanly hot temperature so she couldn’t try to open the door. There wasn’t anything heavy enough in the choir chamber to try and break it open, so she had no choice but to solicit help from the other two. As she ran down the side aisle, she came across a terrified Michelle.

 

“Michelle! What’s going on?”

 

“It’s Chris,” Michelle said, shaking with fear. “He’s gone!” Stefanie stopped breathing for a moment.

 

“What do you mean he’s gone?” she said, her voice starting to abandon her. “Where did he go?”

 

“I don’t know!” Michelle said desperately. “He was right behind me, the next thing I knew, he got sucked into a table!”

 

“What?!”

 

“Exactly! I saw him get sucked in like it was a big black hole, but when I tried to go after him, the table had gone back solid and there was no trace of Chris left!” Even in the pale glow of the candles in the church, Michelle saw Stefanie’s face turn inhumanly white.

 

“So you don’t know where he is?”

 

“No,” Michelle said, tears beginning to sparkle in her eyes. “Where’s Justin? Maybe he can help us-” Michelle stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the deeply worried look on Stefanie’s face.

 

“Justin’s gone too,” she whispered so low that Michelle could barely catch what she said.

 

“What?”

 

“He was looking in a closet, and then I heard the door slam right behind him. When I tried to open the door, the handle just suddenly got really hot and I couldn’t touch it. I couldn’t find anything to break it open with so I ran down here to find one of you guys!” Stefanie’s eyes squinted in confusion when she saw Michelle’s eyes darken with rage.

 

“You just left him in there?” Stefanie felt the fear in her veins turn into illogical anger at Michelle’s tone of voice.

 

“Don’t talk to me like that,” she said defiantly to Michelle. “You’re not my mother.” Before she could blink her eyes, Michelle’s hand swiped out and struck Stefanie across the cheek. Everything had been forgotten- their friendship, their loves, and even their own names. All they knew at this moment was the burning hate the two women had for each other. Stefanie knocked her over a broken pew. Michelle picked up a decent sized wooden piece and began to dive at Stefanie while she picked up a piece of broken glass and slashed Michelle on the arm, spilling her blood. The two women had been reduced down to their animal states and instincts by irrational human hatred. The two had their arms wrapped around each other’s throats, each trying to steal the breath that neither of them had a right to. A force found itself behind each of their heads, banging them together and knocking the two unconscious, and he watched as the two endlessly feuding ghosts continued their fight into the beyond.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin was the first one to wake up in front of the first step of the altar. He took a deep breath as he sat up. He looked to his left- Stefanie and Chris were the furthest away from him, lying only feet away from each other. Just three feet to his direct left was Michelle, lying unconscious. Justin’s heart rate began to shoot up again, not understanding what brought the four of them to the front of the church with no recollection of how they got there.

 

“So you’re awake.” Justin, alarmed began to scramble away, but he found out very quickly that he lost a lot of strength and he couldn’t move that much. A gentle hand rested on his shoulder.

 

“Relax son, you’re ok,” the voice said. Justin looked up, seeing the old man. His white beard had reached the middle of his chest, and the hair on his head was at his middle back. He wore a dirty button down shirt, covered with a pair of brown suspenders holding up dark brown pants. He still looked very alive, even though he was partially transparent. The look in his eyes was gentle and reassuring, letting him know that there was no harm coming to him.

 

“Who are you?” Justin asked. “What’s going on? How did I get here? What about my friends, are they-?”

 

“Relax my boy, your friends are fine,” he said floating in front of Justin. “They might wake up a little disoriented and weak like you did, but your strengths will return very shortly. The name’s Jonas Walden. Pleasure to meet you...” Jonas reached out a hand and pulled it back.

 

“Of course, I forgot, I won’t be able to hold it,” he said, cheerfully. Justin hadn’t tried to reach up to him, not comfortable with the idea of having to touch a ghost. “What’s your name, young man?” Justin gulped.

 

“I’m Justin,” he said, his voice going dry. “Those are my friends-”

 

“Oh, I know what their names are,” he said. “I knew yours from the start too. I just wanted you to introduce yourself to me on your own. I didn’t know if you would be comfortable if I called you Justin right from the start, and it’s only polite to give someone your name when you ask for theirs, don’t you think?” Justin remained silent. Jonas sighed.

 

“I see you’re still pretty uncomfortable talking to me,” he sighed. Justin waited for him to speak up again, but he didn’t.

 

“I don’t usually talk to ghosts,” he managed to get out. He nodded his head sympathetically.

 

“Yeah, I get that a lot from those other kids who come in here to see if I’m real. But they get so yellow when they come in here, so when Vanny starts playing tricks on them, they run before I can get to them myself.”

 

“Vanny?”

 

“Vanny’s the ghost that your friend Stefanie saw in the mirror,” he explained. “Vainest creature to have ever lived, let me tell you. No one could have the spotlight but her. So of course it was a nasty shock to her on her wedding day when she was jilted at the altar by her fiancé. And by her latest rival too. She always had to make some sort of scene with the other women in town, and she thought she could pull the same thing on this new lady. Wrong she was though. Nothing like the other women living in this town. The other women were usually plain, but humble and good women. Not this one. She was every bit as pretty as Vanny was, and just as selfish as Vanny too. They were in competition for this one miner in town but apparently, Cashlin got to him first.”

 

“Cashlin?”

 

“That’s the name of the girl who stole Ethan from Vanny,” he said. “She wanted to make Vanny look like such a fool, so she told Ethan to go with the wedding as planned, but to leave early in the morning on the wedding day so he could run away with her. Ethan never made it though. He was a little too interested in snakes for his own good, and he came across a snake hole in the desert a few miles before Cashlin’s house and it bit him and killed him. Vanny killed herself when she found out and not long after Cashlin dropped dead out of nowhere. My guess is that Vanny killed her from beyond the grave. But they’re still fighting it out. That explains why Michelle and Stefanie are lying there with bruises on their heads. They’ll be alright though.” Justin sat there blinking his eyes, all of this information coming at him too fast.

 

“Wait, that doesn’t explain Michelle and Stefanie though,” Justin said. “What do Vanny and Cashlin have to do with Michelle and Stefanie?”

 

“They’re still fighting with each other. They saw the girls and figured they could try to kill each other again through the girls. They’re still fighting over Ethan, over who’s the best looking girl in town, all of this stuff that doesn’t matter anymore because they’re dead.” Justin nodded his head, looking at Michelle. Indeed, there was a nasty bruise forming on her forehead where Jonas had knocked them. Justin sighed. He felt Jonas at his side again.

 

“Why haven’t you told her?” Justin turned to look at Jonas, and saw that the expression on his face went from welcoming, to reminiscent to deeply sad. Justin squinted his eyes softly before answering.

 

“Told her what?”

 

“That you love her.” Justin’s eyes widened. And he noticed how Jonas looked sadder than before.

 

“What are you talking about?” Justin denied. Jonas sighed patiently.

 

“I know that you love Michelle,” Jonas responded. “I saw into your heart. I can do that now that I’m nothing but spirit. I don’t have a body blocking me anymore. And that made you worthy.”

 

“Worthy of what?”

 

“Being saved.”

 

“From what?”

 

“You don’t remember what happened to you in the closet? Don’t you remember when you were suddenly being flown out of there? It was me who saved you. It was me who pulled Chris out of that black hole in the annex. It was me who stopped Vanny and Cashlin from killing each other by killing Michelle and Stefanie. All of you were worthy of being saved from the wrath of the dead in here. Your love for each other was what made you worthy to be saved. Before you four walked in here, I have never seen a group of people love as much as you guys do, let alone to the depth and intensity that you guys do. I had a suspicion that you all might be worthy to be saved because of the ferocity of the attacks on you four tonight. All of the ghosts are jealous of you four. You have the keys to life, and it’s inaccessible to them because they’re dead and their hearts were rotted with selfishness and hate. I’ve never seen one person love another the way you four do. It’s so deep and real, and could bring happiness like no one’s ever known before. So I’m asking you...why haven’t you told her?” Justin gulped, not wanting to meet Jonas in the eyes.

 

“I don’t know,” he said.

 

“Yes you do, Justin. You know deep in your heart why.” Justin rubbed his hands on his arms.

 

“I’m scared,” he admitted. “I’m scared of telling her. I’m so scared of letting her know that, to hear it come from my mouth. I’ve...I’ve been hurt before trying to tell a girl that. I guess I just got sick of it after a while, and I didn’t want to deal with it after a while. Then I starting falling for Michelle, and that made it so much harder-”

 

“And you’re fighting with yourself because you don’t want to get hurt anymore,” Jonas finished. “Right?” Justin nodded. Jonas looked like he was twisting with pain at this point.

 

“You don’t want to do that,” he said, almost desperately. “You don’t want to hide that from her, Justin. She has a right to know. You have a right to be happy with the woman you love. You’ll never get it if you never take that leap of faith. Please, don’t keep it from her any longer, Justin, I’m begging you.” Justin looked into his eyes, and almost burst into tears seeing the pain in Jonas’s eyes.

 

“Why are you so bent on helping me?” Justin asked. “Why do want me and Michelle to be together so badly?” Jonas looked away for a minute before floating to the front of the altar and kneeling, almost in penance for what he hadn’t done.

 

“I’ve existed a hundred years on this earth,” he said quietly. “And I never lived one year of it.” Justin could sit up a little straighter, finding that he had plenty of strength to hold himself up.

 

“What do you mean?” Jonas sighed again, trying to get his thoughts in order before they could become scrambled by his emotions.

 

“I never took any chances, Justin,” he said. “Not once in my life. The most of a chance I ever took was going outside to work on the yard. I had a chance to go to a gold mine in northern California, but I never went- my brother did, and he became richer beyond his dreams. I was asked by my best friend to come to Los Angeles for a better life, and I never went. All sorts of job opportunities passed me by, and I never took them. It wasn’t a safe time to be alive, Justin. There was sickness, chances of dying in the desert, droughts, all sorts of stuff. You know what? I don’t care that much that I missed those opportunities. Yes, it would have made my life easier, but I was just fine without those. What I wasn’t just fine without was Amy.”

 

“Amy? That was a girl you loved?” Jonas turned heartbroken eyes to Justin.

 

“I would have given my life for her, I loved her so,” he said. “She was more beautiful than Vanny and Cashlin put together, but she was just as humble, if not more so, than the other women in town. She could have had anyone. But she chose me. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with me.”

 

“Did you ever marry her?” Jonas had a flash of fire in his eyes and knocked over a statue of an angel nearby.

 

“Marry her!” Jonas cried bitterly. “Marriage was the ultimate chance! I would have been diving head first into a commitment that required giving myself up to her! I knew that if I married her, I would get hurt even more than I’ve ever been used to in my life! I was a coward, Justin! My fear became less important to me after Amy rode off to another town to get married. I didn’t hear that she made it through the desert though, so I have no clue what happened to her! Maybe if I had married her, then she would have been alive, and I could have spent what could have been my life with her!” Before Justin could open his mouth, Jonas grabbed Justin by the shoulders.

 

“I don’t want that for you,” Jonas said. “I don’t want that for anyone. You have no idea how painful and lonely your life will be without taking chances. That’s why I’m pushing you to tell Michelle your feelings. I see what that fear has done to my life, and it’s too horrible to let anyone else go through it. Please Justin, tell her. It doesn’t have to be tonight or even tomorrow, but you can’t wait that long. You’re too young wither in the heart.” Justin could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks. Jonas was right. He didn’t want to know what that pain and loneliness was like. He had enough of that in his life as it was.

 

Most of all though, he didn’t want to see what life without Michelle was going to be like. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Michelle move. Jonas floated to her and picked her up. After a few seconds, Michelle was fully awake and kicking and screaming.

 

“What the hell?! What’s going on, let me go!!!” Michelle continued to struggle against a force she was kicking at before she found herself being lowered into Justin’s arms.

 

“It’s ok Michelle, you’re alright,” Justin said, pulling her down to him and holding her to his chest. “He won’t hurt you, I promise.”

 

“He?” Justin gestured his head towards Jonas sitting on the steps of the altar, watching with a mix of sadness and pride. Michelle jumped in Justin’s arms seeing Jonas.

 

“Don’t worry, my dear, nothing’s going to happen. Although I’d suggest to you that you put something on your head when you get out.”

 

“My head? Ow!” Michelle pulled her hand sharply away from her forehead, feeling the bruise.

 

“What happened? Why do I have a bruise?” Justin noticed a cut on Michelle’s arm and tore a piece of his shirt off to dress it. Michelle looked down in horror at the cut.

 

“Where did that come from?” Jonas came over to Michelle and Justin, and she held onto Justin for dear life. Justin held her tighter against him, just so he could enjoy having her in his arms.

 

“You and Stefanie were possessed by some ghosts haunting this church,” he explained. “You guys weren’t doing the fighting so you two will have no memory of what happened. Your bodies were involved though, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to live with what Vanny and Cashlin did to you guys.”

 

“Vanny and Cashlin?”

 

“Those are the names of the ghosts that possessed you two. It’s a long story Michelle.” Michelle sat and listened to Jonas talking about the two rival women, and then she felt Justin nuzzle his nose against her neck. She sank a little deeper into Justin’s arms, not knowing where all of this affection was coming from, but not complaining about it either. Justin wanted to turn her head so he could kiss her, but he heard some moaning a few feet away. He saw the smaller body move and sit up with great difficulty. Jonas turned to regard her.

 

“Well, hello, young lady.” Stefanie’s eyes widened in terror and screamed so loud that the three swore that a layer of dust was shaken off by the vibrations of her voice. She groped behind her for something to hold onto and held onto the sleeping body of the man she loved. Jonas rolled his eyes.

 

“Good, at least you’re more scared of a ghost than you are of loving someone.” Her eyes squinted in confusion.

 

“What?”

 

“Never mind. How are you feeling?” She looked Jonas up and down.

 

“I’ve been better,” she said cautiously. “Why am I having trouble moving?”

 

“You were knocked out for several minutes. I’m afraid you were possessed for a little bit, and I gave you and Michelle pretty good concussions, so I don’t expect you or Michelle to be able to be moving that much in the next few minutes.” Jonas explained the whole story again to Stefanie, knowing he’d have to do it again when Chris woke up. Justin noticed that Jonas didn’t seem to mind at all.

 

This must be the most company he’s had in God knows how long, he thought to himself. Stefanie nodded as he finished the story.

 

“I see. So they wanted to keep the fight going after death? And they were going to kill us to kill each other?”

 

“Precisely.”

 

“Wow. That sucks.” Jonas laughed.

 

“That’s putting it mildly,” he said. She turned around to look at Chris, who was still out. She blinked her eyes, noticing how peaceful he was.

 

Oh now he’s peaceful, she moaned to herself.

 

“Oh you love him, crazy or not.” She turned her head sharply and was about to defend herself.

 

“You said it yourself, Stefanie, you wear your heart on your sleeve,” he said, stopping her in her vocal box. “Even the fact that you’re responding to me the way you are says it. Don’t deny it.” Jonas came over to Stefanie, seeing how she was freezing up in fear.

 

“Just rest a little longer, ok? Don’t fall asleep, just lie here with him ok? He’ll want someone to hold onto when he wakes up.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because of what happened to him. You’ll see when he wakes up.” Stefanie laid down on Chris’s chest, watching Jonas, but soon getting lost in feeling his heart beat against her ear for the first time. She waited for what seemed like an eternity before she felt his hand move up her back. Chris tossed and turned a little bit and then he began to mutter urgently, but not coherently. The muttering began to get clearer as he got closer to his consciousness, but it wasn’t enough for her to understand. Suddenly, Chris’s body jerked to an upright position, his eyes snapped wide open, and the first clear thing he was trying to say finally got out.

 

“I want to tell her that I love her!” Stefanie’s eyes popped open even wider than it ever had before hearing the words coming from Chris’s mouth. Her heart began to race as she stared at him. He finally felt the arms that were wrapped around him and turned to look at her, staring in shock. At first, he shared the shock, but it gave way to a look that revealed thankfulness and happiness. They didn’t have a chance to talk- suddenly Stefanie felt something scratch her behind her neck through her hair.

 

“Ow! What the-?!” The church began to fill with silhouettes of the dead, nothing but dark shapes dripping on the walls of the church. There was high pitched squealing and screeching, and the thought that they might be threatening their lives forced the four to hold onto each other for dear lives. The shadows began to twirl together, turning themselves into a cyclone of death heading for the four living and the one spirit. They began to flee, but the cyclone was moving too fast for them to get enough time to escape. The cyclone began to suck the four up, and they choked on the physical material of the cyclone- ashes. All the silhouettes had left of bodies were just burned ashes from the fiery hell that they belonged to that wouldn’t allow them to resurrect again on Judgment Day. The four reached for a hand- any hand, just to find human solace in human touch. Each time they were able to touch a hand, they were just as soon pulled apart, and more and more ashes found their way into their throats, punishing them for wanting love from another person and being able to get it. The candles that had been previously been lit had all been blown out. All but one. Some of the shadows left the cyclone, weakening it, to blow out the last light of hope that cut through the darkness of their evil. They couldn’t understand why this one candlelight would not go out. They couldn’t breathe anymore, so they couldn’t blow it out. They no longer had bodies that craved water, so they couldn’t drown it. They tried to cover the light up with their shadowy forms, but all it did was illuminate their ugliness and burn their tortured souls. Soon, in their screeching dialect, they called all of the shadows to cover up this burning light, dropping the four onto the ground of the church. They saw Jonas struggling to pick up a piece of wood, small enough to burn, but big enough to hold and not to burn too fast and fought through the shadows for the only light left in the church.

 

“Go on, get out of here! Get out while you have a chance!”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I can’t leave- I’m trapped in this church. Just get out! And don’t forget anything I told you guys! Go on while you’re still alive!” Jonas finally got the end of the wood on fire, and began to stab at the shadows with it as it began to glow. The shadows began to flee in their corners, where Jonas would have to fight to get them. The four ran, getting ready to have to break down the heavy oak doors, but the doors flew open as they approached. They turned around and saw some of the shadows beginning to fly towards them, but as they ran out into the dusty parking lot, they saw the doors fly shut as it did earlier that night, trapping the shadows. Justin jumped into the driver’s seat, praying that the others were already buckled in and turned on the truck engine with a vengeance. When it was ready, he put it into gear and began to drive north from the church on the road, not caring if he was driving even further away from town. Justin looked in the rearview mirror as they drove away. There was an orange glow from the dusty windows, so he assumed that the church might have been on fire. Suddenly, there was an explosion of whitish-blue light from the church as well as a sound of screaming that wasn’t heard but felt through their ears and souls. Just as soon as it began, it was over. The lights were all gone. They could still see a dark profile shaped like a church. They didn’t quite understand what had just happened, but a feeling of peace ran through their souls- they knew the danger was over. Justin had no idea how long he had been driving, but after a while, he realized that he had driven several miles away from the town. Then the truck began to sputter and Justin barely had enough time to turn the truck onto the left side of the divided highway and into the median before the truck finally gave out. Justin blinked his eyes before cursing sharply.

 

“S**t! What in the hell happened?!” The other three looked at each other in fear.

 

“You don’t think,” Stefanie started, “that it’s something that the ghosts did?” Justin shook his head.

 

“I don’t think so. I don’t know. God damnit, what the hell’s wrong with my truck?! I had everything checked out before I left LA! I had the oil changed, I had the transmission looked at, the spark plugs were changed-”

 

“Did you gas up the truck today like I told you to?” Chris asked. An embarrassed silence followed.

 

“...So the oldest IS the wisest after all!” Chris had no idea that the cup holder had a plastic removable lining until Justin hit him in the head with it.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin moved around in the driver’s seat as he tried to relax. There wasn’t anything the four could do at the moment but sleep until daylight. Justin tilted his head and looked out the window. He lifted an eyebrow and a smile slowly reached across his face. He looked at Michelle, who had found herself comfortable in the passenger’s seat. He grabbed his jacket and opened his door. He walked to the passenger’s side of the truck and opened Michelle’s door. He draped his jacket over her and carried her out of her seat, closing the door with his foot. She stirred and began to panic until she realized that the man she loved was carrying her to the truck bed.

 

“Hey, what are you-?”

 

“Shh,” he said softly. He put her on the truck bed before climbing up with her. He pulled her to a corner of the truck bed and just cuddled her close to him.

 

“Justin, why are we out here?” she whispered. He just smiled and gestured his head to the sky.

 

“I thought you might appreciate lying under the stars with me,” he said softly with a big smile on his face when he saw the look of awe on her face.

 

“Oh God, they’re beautiful! And look, the moon’s out! It’s a full moon! Isn’t it beautiful?” Michelle stared up at the sky, spellbound.

 

“Yeah. Beautiful.” She looked down at him to see that he was staring right at her with a soft look in his eyes. She blushed at his gaze and turned away. But he reached under her chin and turned her to look at him.

 

“Crazy night, huh?” She shook her head with an amused smile.

 

“If you want to put it that way, yes.” Justin held her closer than he ever did in his life, and closed his eyes. She laid her head on his chest, wondering where this was all coming from.

 

“Justin...why are you doing this? I mean...” She looked into his eyes, seeing worry.

 

“I’m not complaining at all,” she said, bringing some relief to him. “It’s just...you’ve never been this affectionate with me before. And lately, you’ve been kind of closed off from me too. I felt like I couldn’t reach you when I needed you most. What happened?” Justin closed his eyes to get his thoughts in order. But when he began to speak from his heart, the words were already there.

 

“Because I love you, Michelle,” he said, barely audible. “I didn’t want to say anything until Jonas talked to me tonight. He lost someone he really loved. And I didn’t want that to happen to me. To us. I know I wasn’t always there when you needed me to be, but I was scared of letting my feelings show because I didn’t know if you would understand or care about the way I felt. So I kept my feelings to myself. I’m so sorry if I hurt you, but I just didn’t have the courage to tell you until now.” He bent his head, waiting for her to crush him with one word. She tilted his head up to meet his gaze.

 

“Say that again.” Justin steeled himself.

 

“I’m sorry that I hurt you-”

 

“No,” she said, tears falling from her eyes. “That part where you said you loved me.” Justin’s eyes began to fill with hope.

 

“I love you, Michelle,” he said, much more sure of it then than ever. “I love you so much it hurts. And I want to be with you. I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you, but I can always promise that I’ll love you. I love you baby...that’s what I wanted to tell you.” Justin was scared of asking her how she felt, but he didn’t have to- the tight hug she wrapped him in said everything.

 

“I love you too, Justin,” she wept with joy. “I’ve loved you since the minute I laid eyes on you. Oh God, Justin...” Justin held her back, fighting a losing battle with his emotions. When they pulled away, they found themselves being drawn into each other. They waited anxiously as their lips slowly came closer to touching. They both wanted this for so long that these last few seconds seemed like the eternity they were going to spend together. The second their lips touched, the truck began to rock from side to side. Their eyes popped open in fear, wondering what was causing the truck to move so violently. They did a quick look around the truck- it wasn’t an earthquake. It was just the frame of the truck really moving, so there wasn’t internally wrong with it. So what the hell was making the truck move? They heard muffled sounds from the cabin. Then they put two and two together, and realized that the rocking felt like two becoming one.

 

Justin was going to have to call an old priest and a young priest to exorcise his now desecrated truck!

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Stefanie snapped awake when she heard the truck door close. She lay awake on the cushions of the bench in the back seat of the truck then he saw Michelle’s door being opened, and the familiar head of Justin’s moving away as the other door closed. She sighed in relief. Nobody was getting kidnapped tonight. She sighed and looked on the floor of the cabin. Chris was sound asleep. She blinked her eyes, watching him. She could have lost him. He felt so good when she was lying on him earlier. She loved the feel of his heart beat next to her ear. She didn’t want to go down there in fear that he might wake up.

 

Oh to hell with my fear! she thought fiercely to herself. I want to be with him! She slid off of the bench and lay next to Chris on the floor.

 

I’ll worry about him waking up if he actually wakes up, she thought to herself, snuggling against his chest. Her breathing evened out and she found herself sound asleep again within seconds. Chris stirred, feeling the difference on his chest. He turned to see that Stefanie had come down during the night to be with him. He pulled her closer before turning onto his side and supporting her head with his arm. She was sound asleep. Surely, she wouldn’t feel it if he planted a few kisses on her unsuspecting self?

 

Guess we’ll find out, he thought to himself, leaning down and planting the first soft kiss on her cheek. She didn’t move. He pressed his forehead against her forehead and kissed her lips. Then she shot awake. Chris and Stefanie pulled back away from each other. They stared at each other. Even in the darkness, they could feel the burning of each other’s gazes.

 

“How’d you wake up?”

 

“Why were you kissing me?”

 

“Why’d you slide down on the floor with me?”

 

“...I asked you first.” Chris shook his head.

 

“You don’t like it when I kiss you?” She was stunned to silence.

 

“Ok...I asked you two questions...answer number one?” He giggled, almost seeing her scowl.

 

“I still have that bruise on my head,” she said. “You touched it and it woke me up. And I don’t know why I slid down on the floor to be with you.” Chris smiled, listening to the last part of her answer.

 

“You slid down on the floor to be with me,” he said confidently. She didn’t try to argue with him. She pushed against the bench until she felt Chris pull her to him. She began to fight against him but he put his hand on her head to calm her.

 

“Do you want to be with me, Stef?” She looked into his eyes and the pale moonlight showed her the fire that burned for her and her alone. She knew that he didn’t mean lying there with him.

 

“Yes,” she whispered almost against her will. “I do.” Chris looked into her eyes, easing her soul.

 

“Then say it, Stef,” he whispered. She blinked her eyes, her heart beating a hole in her chest.

 

“Say what?” Chris looked into her eyes.

 

“I love you, Stefanie,” he whispered. “I love you so much.” She blinked her eyes, at first believing him but withdrawing.

 

“Is that what you wanted me to say to you?” she asked. He closed his eyes, feeling the rejection.

 

“You don’t love me?” He was shocked to feel himself being pulled against her body.

 

“No! That isn’t what I meant Chris, I’m sorry,” she said. “No, I wanted to know if what you were saying to me earlier is exactly what you wanted me to say. I didn’t know you were telling me that you loved me.” Chris begged her through his eyes. She caressed his face so gently, preparing him for the sentence that was going to change his life.

 

“I love you, Chris,” she whispered, letting him see the infinity that was the love she had for him. “You’re the one who owns my heart. I don’t want anyone else to have it but you. Would...would it be too much if I could have yours too? I wouldn’t do anything to break it, Chris, I’d never go out of my way to-” Chris silenced her with a passionate kiss. He pulled away after a moment.

 

“That’s all I wanted to hear, Stef,” he said, tears falling down his face as she thumbed them away. “All I wanted was for you to love me. And you’ve done that.”

 

“I do that,” she corrected. “I loved you then. I’ll love you beyond tonight. And more importantly, I love you right now.” She began to cry as she pulled Chris to her again. He found her lips in a blind search on her face and they met again in a sweet kiss. They could feel where it was going at this point.

 

“Hey Chris...I’ve got an idea...” she leaned to his ear and whispered to him what exactly she wanted to do. Chris looked at her, with a sly look on his face.

 

“That’s the most daring idea you’ve had all night,” Chris said.

 

“And Justin is SO going to kill us for this,” Stefanie giggled.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin stared at the window opening of the cabin, his face growing red with anger and disgust.

 

“I can’t believe those two perverts are having sex in my truck!” Justin hissed. “I don’t give a rat’s a*s how in love they are, that is disgusting!” He turned to Michelle, who was laughing despite the nastiness of the situation.

 

“And you think this is funny?”

 

“Well...not Chris and Stef in there, that’s gross,” she said. Her face erupted into a big smile.

 

“What?”

 

“It’s just...I think you’re really sexy when you’re mad.” Justin’s anger and disgust dissipated and pulled her in for a very intense kiss.

 

“Oh you think I’m sexy, huh,” he said, his voice getting lower. Michelle giggled.

 

“Always and forever.” Michelle’s giggles melted when she felt his lips on her neck.

 

“Well...you’re a nice distraction from whatever the hell those two are doing...”

 

Morning eventually came, and the tow truck driver arrived to find four lovers very content in where they were sleeping. The driver got the truck hooked up and piled the four into his cabin. Justin glared at Stefanie and Chris while they giggled madly. The driver shrugged and turned on the radio as they drove back to town.

 

...the sun is getting high

We’re moving on...

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fifty-five years later

 

Justin closed his eyes as the priest continued to speak. He wanted to scream. The pain was too much. His three brothers from his musical adventures early in life sat in another pew, watching Justin sit with his pain. Amongst the four of them...Justin was going to be the last to die. He wanted to forget the heartbreak written on Chris’s face when he got the news that his wife had died in a horrible car accident ten years ago. Another five years passed, and Chris finally met his wife again in heaven. Now Justin was sitting here, understanding just what Chris had felt when he lost Stefanie.

 

He ordered the coffin to stay open so he could look at the body of his wife one more time. Love did interesting things to the eyes and the mind. Most people would have passed by the coffin to see a dead, elderly woman. Justin saw a beautiful woman who gave his life the dimension nobody else could. She gave him the opportunity to grow as a person by loving him and letting him love her in return. She always stayed by his side, supporting him when he needed it most, but most of all, she was the home he came to when the rest of the world let him down. She was the only person in the world who was really there for him. She never let him down. Until her heart let her down.

 

Justin let himself weep before he crossed himself and left for the back of the church. James began to get up to stop his godfather, but his wife stopped him. Justin had to deal with whatever was hurting him because nothing anyone could say would bring her back. Justin found himself in the back of the church, facing the heavy oak doors again, desert sunlight pouring through. He remembered falling in love with the desert sunlight, but it was replaced by when he fell in love with Michelle.

 

“It’s painful, isn’t it?” Justin turned his still crystal blue eyes to his left. He hadn’t changed a bit. Except he seemed a little more transparent in the sunlight.

 

“I guess I know how you felt,” he said, sniffling. “When you lost Amy.” Jonas nodded his head.

 

“You know, Justin, I don’t remember too well what she sounded like,” he said. “I don’t remember much about the clothes she wore or that perfume she wore. I can’t even really remember what she looked like anymore.” Justin looked at him, stunned.

 

“What? How could you forget all of that? She was the woman you loved-”

 

“Because it doesn’t really matter, Justin,” he said. “It doesn’t matter about the details. What matters is that I remember her. That she still owns my heart, wherever it is. And that I love her anyhow. I’m not so limited in how I can love her because whatever she looks like, sounds like, feels like...I still love her. You still love Michelle. Love does conquer death- it didn’t die when her body gave out on her. And you’re an old man, Justin. You’re nearing the end of life yourself so you don’t have forever or even that long to wait. I don’t know how long it’ll be, but it won’t be that much longer ok?” Justin nodded his head.

 

“I just wish I could have told her that before she died,” he said. “I wish I had been in the room when she died.”

 

“But she knew, Justin. She knew you loved her. But I understand that you wanted to get it off your chest. Don’t worry, when you die, you’ve got all eternity to tell her that. Justin chuckled.

 

“Yeah...I wish I could get it off my chest that I would have loved to have kicked Chris’s a*s for what he and Stefanie did in my car that night,” he said, a smile returning. “Guess I can spend all eternity telling Chris that, huh?” Jonas made a face.

 

“What?”

 

“Um...you might not want to do that Justin...”

 

“Why not?” Jonas sighed.

 

“Well...oh alright, I’ll show you what happened. I don’t want you paying for revenge when you get upstairs.” Before Justin could protest or ask what he was going to show him, the vision explained itself to him.

 

“Chris, lean your back against your side of the truck, and I’ll do the same on mine. Ok...start rocking!” Chris began to giggle like mad rocking his side of the truck. Stefanie pushed her hardest against her side, waiting for it to come back from her pushing and let Chris start pushing on his side. Together, they rocked the truck from side to side, as if they were making very wild love in his truck.

 

“Chris, stop giggling so loud before Justin hears you!”

 

“You’re giggling too!”

 

“I’m not doing it that loud!”

 

“Should we start moaning too?”

 

“Nah, that’s too much. I think we’re grossing them out enough as it is. Did you hear that? He actually thinks we’re having sex!”

 

“How long are we going to go?”

 

“Let’s keep going for a few more minutes and just stop all of a sudden. Then we’ll go back to sleep like nothing happened.”

 

“I don’t know if I’m going to fall asleep tonight baby...I’ll probably spend the rest of the night praying in case Justin really DOES come in here to kill me!”

 

Justin stared wide eyed at Jonas.

 

“So...Stefanie WAS serious when she said she was a virgin till marriage!” Jonas slapped his knee and laughed.

 

“I’m afraid so, Justin. So...you want to rethink about the time you egged his house?” Justin’s eyes shifted back and forth.

 

“Crap...”

 

“You’re lucky this is a Catholic church,” Jonas said shaking his head. “You can go to confession later on today.” Justin put his hands in his pockets.

 

“What’s wrong?” Justin looked Jonas in the eyes.

 

“What’s going to happen to you Jonas?” he asked quietly. “Will you ever be able to leave? If you can’t...I’ll stay here with you.” Jonas shook his head.

 

“No, Justin. I won’t always be here. I’m going to be free of this place one day. God and I made a deal...since I never really lived life on earth, I wasted all those years of life he gave me so I could really live. So...to make up for lost time, I’m staying here to help others. The way I helped you guys. I have something to be judged when Judgment Day comes. So I’ll put something on my record by helping others as they pass through this church. Every year I spend helping someone is one more year closer for me to be released. I’m over half way done, Justin. Ever since I helped you four, I began to help countless people as they walked through those doors when you started asking for help around town to fix this place up. It’s more than just getting out of here now, Justin. I didn’t give my life on earth any meaning, but I’m giving my afterlife great meaning. You four squeezed way more life into your years than I ever did in my hundred. It all started with you four. I can’t thank you guys enough.” Justin and Jonas shared a peaceful silence.

 

“The pain will be over one day, Justin,” he said. “Count on it. You made your time count here. So I’m going to see you upstairs one day. For now...you need to bring your wife to her final resting place until you two meet again.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Justin drove the truck from town that night. He didn’t start counting the minutes until he passed the church. He lost count after fifteen minutes, but then he felt a tugging at his heart. He found the place where his truck had broken down, fifty-five years ago. He turned his truck off the highway and shut the truck off. He got out, taking his jacket, worn down from fifty-five years and walked to the truck bed. It was a lot harder to climb into the truck bed in his old age, but he managed. Then he just lay there. Not saying a word, just getting lost in the constellations and in the desert night. He did this when Stefanie died and took Michelle and Chris with him. Then he drove Michelle out alone when Chris died. Now he was here alone. No he wasn’t. They were watching over him at this very moment. He sighed in content. He couldn’t confirm with any of his five senses that they were there- he just knew. When he closed his eyes, he saw their young faces (though Chris wasn’t really that young anymore when this all started). He did that so many times, only being able to imagine what Michelle’s soft cheek felt like against his hand.

 

This time when he reached out, he touched her for real.

Author's Note

I still don't own Justin Timberlake or Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC, nor do I own my friend Michelle or the song "100 Years" by Five For Fighting. Please get a life and leave me alone.

Reviews

[Drew Wade]

I love this story!!!! what if you could get Justin and Chris to star in this movie? wouldn't that be awesome? oh god. this is so sad. sometimes I think about this. I think about growing old and losing people. you're only young once, and you have to make the most of it. and you make mistakes, but you move on, and hope that people forgive you for those mistakes. what a sad sad story. but good sad. well done. awesome job.