Obsession 2

Chapter 11- Side Effects

After taking a late flight to Anaheim, California, we're on our way to Leo's house so we can pick up Mara's friend Anna. Her Aunt Roma, from what they tell me, is some kind of Romanian Gypsy and she fits all of the typical stereotypes. I could care less about what she looks like or how strange she is. I only hope she can help me locate Sammy. I've been anxious every second since he's been gone. I can't do anything but think about what he might do to Sadie.

"Okay, just a fair warning, my house is...chaotic," Leo says, pulling into the driveway of a rather nice cottage style house just outside of the city. "Life with a toddler is not clean or orderly in any way whatsoever."

"It's fine," I chuckle.

I like to hear Leo talk about Mara and his family. It gives me hope that Sammy's story can turn out like his. Sadie will be safe, Sammy will go back to normal and life as we used to know it will be restored.

We get out of the car and before we've even made to to the door, it opens and a small boy comes dashing out, running straight for Leo.

"Daddy! Daddy!" he squeals.

"Hey my little peanut! Have you been taking care of mama for me?" Leo asks, picking him up and hugging him tight.

Mara appears in the doorway and for a moment, I'm speechless. She's gorgeous. She's probably eight or nine months pregnant, but wow. Leo really hit the jackpot.

"Michael, this is my son, Eli, and this is my wife, Mara," Leo says.

"Nice to meet you, Michael. Welcome to our home," Mara smiles, shaking my hand.

A tall red haired girl comes over and stands next to Mara and smiles at us. "Leo! You're finally back!"

"And this is Anna, Mara's friend. She's the one with the...crazy aunt," Leo says.

"Hey...Aunt Roma has gotten us out of a lot of pickles," Anna smirks, shaking my hand.

"Only one pickle, but okay," Leo says.

"I've heard a lot about you," Anna says. "I'm sorry about your brother, but don't worry. We'll help you find him. We've been through this nightmare before."

"Are you ready to go?" Kai asks Anna. "Unfortunately, time is a luxury we don't have."

"Oh yes, of course. Let's do this!" Anna says, walking past us.

"Michael, I'd love to go with you guys and continue this, but Mara is due on Monday and I don't want to risk missing out on my daughter being born," Leo says.

I give them a frazzled smile. "Hey, no worries. Thank you for everything you've done. And congrats on the new baby."

"Thank you," they reply, smiling at one another.

I walk out to the car and slide into the back seat. Kai is driving and he and Anna seem to be in some kind of heated debate about the fastest route to Santa Barbara from here. While they go at each other, I take the opportunity to get some rest. I don't even remember the last time I got any real sleep.

My eyes flutter shut in no time and I finally start to doze off. But after what feels like only minutes, I start to see things. At first, it's almost like my mind is painting a picture of scenery. There's a hill with a single house at the top. It's not a house I remember going to, but something about it seems familiar. Maybe it's the roof. The corners are turned upward, indicating Asian architecture. Just as the picture becomes clearer, I hear a scream echo out, shattering the image like glass. And I'd recognize that scream from anywhere...

"Sadie!" I gasp, waking up in the back seat of Kai's car in a cold sweat.

Anna looks back at me, furrowing her brows. "You okay there, buddy?"

I nod, panting. "Yeah, must've been dreaming."

"Your brain can play some pretty cruel tricks on you when you're sleep deprived," Anna says.

She goes on talking, but my eyes shut again, tuning her and the rest of the world out. This time, it's almost as if I'm being forced into a deep sleep. I have no control over my body, but I'm aware that I'm dreaming.

And Sadie's voice...I can't stop hearing her cries for help, over and over again. It causes an agonizing pain to shoot through my chest. I want to help her, but I can't tell where her screams are coming from. I want to tell her I'm coming for her, but no matter how hard I try to speak, I can't. It's like my entire body is numb.

"Mikey, please! Hurry!" she calls out to me again, this time more clearly.

"S-sadie..." I force out. "I-I I'm coming for you..."

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Hey, Mikey, man...wake up."

When I open my eyes, both Kai and Anna are turned around and staring at me like I've grown a second head. "What?" I ask, sitting up and rubbing my tired eyes.

"We're here," Kai answers.

I hesitantly get out of the car, looking up at the outdated brick house in horror. This looks like the perfect location for the next Stephen King novel. Vines crawl up the exterior walls. Dead trees sit around the front yard like skeletal guardians. I get a chill just being here. What am I about to get myself into?

I follow Kai and Anna to the door and Anna knocks. After a few seconds, a large woman with dark hair and hundreds of bracelets up and down her arms answers.

"Ah, my sweet Anna! It's been too long!" she says, embracing Anna warmly.

"Hi Aunt Roma! I've got another friend who is in need of some help," Anna says, motioning to me. "You remember a few years back when my friend Mara got caught up with a guy who was infected with dark umbrage?"

Aunt Roma nods. "You mean...the Rokusai curse?"

Anna looks to Kai and Kai nods. "Right. I was actually the one who was cursed."

Aunt Roma gives him a strange look. "But...you don't look the part."

"Trust me, I did about three years ago. I was able to get rid of it, but our friend here, his brother is now infected by the same curse. Anna thought you might be able to help."

Aunt Roma looks to me and frowns before looking back at Kai. "How much does he know?"

"We've explained everything to him. His brother has already murdered two women and a third is missing. We're trying to get to her before anything happens," Kai explains.

"Please, come in," Aunt Roma says, welcoming us into her creepy home.

The inside looks much like you would think a bewitched medicine lady's home would look. Like the inside of a medieval vampire castle. There's potions and herbs everywhere. There's books, some that look to be pretty old, scattered around on various tables.

"How long has your brother been infected?" Aunt Roma asks me.

"Um, I'm not really sure. It's been a while, I guess. I only just found out about this curse. I never even considered it could be something like...this," I answer.

"Your brother is possessed by a dark umbrage. It's an evil energy that intensifies when there is an urge to mate," Aunt Roma explains. "Over time, it can become more and more powerful, but it can also be controlled. One must be very strong to overcome it."

"Overcome it?" I ask.

"What is the opposite of darkness?" she asks.

I look between Anna and Kai in confusion. Why is she asking me this? "Uh...light, I guess?"

"Precisely!" she chirps. "The Rokusai tribe was divided after a curse was called down upon them. The ones who drove the Ainu people out of their lands were damned with black umbrage while the rest maintained their white light."

"White light?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"Leo possessed the white energy. That's how I was able to overcome the dark umbrage," Kai explains.

"Yeah, but...I don't possess this white energy. Sammy is my brother. I told you before, if he's evil, so am I."

"Unless your mom comes from both bloodlines," Anna shrugs.

"How could I possibly known that?!" I snap, starting to get frustrated.

"There's no way of knowing until you're infected with the curse," Kai answers. "But even if you don't possess white energy, you can still control your urges. You're going into this knowing what you're getting into. Your brother didn't have that advantage."

I look from Kai to Aunt Roma. I had already talked myself into doing this long before we arrived here, so I don't need any persuasion. I have to do whatever it takes to save Sadie. "Let's just do this. I'm ready."

Aunt Roma nods and walks away to another room. When she returns, she's got on a latex glove and she's holding a very old looking dagger. "This belonged to belonged to the great Rokusai warrior, Tamakushi. He was killed before the curse was called down, but his dagger, which was in possession of his son Hiroshi at the time of the curse, was one of the most cursed objects of the Rokusai. Thanks to Kai and Leo, I've learned so many things about this curse. One thing I know is it will cause you to feel very sick at first. You'll grow tired and your body will ache as if you have the flu. Then you will experience fevers. If left untreated, the fevers will begin to cause irritation, and later on violent, aggressive behavior, like that of a rabid animal. If you want to control the curse, you must not have any physical contact with anyone else. Find something with your brother's scent and follow it. That's the fastest way to locate him. However, you won't be as powerful as him. And just like wolves from different packs, fighting over the same mate, he will feel threatened by you."

"So...what do I do?" I ask.

"You'll have to become stronger. And to do that, you have to continuously fight the urge to mate," she answers.

I swallow hard.

"It's possible to fight it, trust me," Kai says. "I fought my feelings for Mara for a long time."

"I don't have a long time though."

"Right, but you don't need a long time if your urge is strong. Is there anyone in particular you have a strong attraction to? Someone that gets to you easily?" Aunt Roma asks.

I don't have to give that question much thought, but I pretend to just so I don't sound so pathetic. "Sadie."

Anna frowns, her sympathetic green eyes filling with tears. "This is just like watching Leo and Mara all over again."

Aunt Roma seems to share her same apologetic attitude. "Ah, yes. Sweet Mara. But everything turned out just fine for her. So don't lose hope."

I stare down at the dagger as Aunt Roma holds it out to me. It's hard to believe this tiny object holds so much power; power that I never knew even existed until now. I'm terrified of what might happen, but I have this strange determination that lets me know I can do this. I can be strong. I can be wise. I can save Sadie, and my brother. I can set things right.

I take the dagger from her hand and clench it in my fist. Within seconds, I can feel something I can only describe as an electrical current coursing through my body.

"How long before I start feeling bad? Oh wait... never mind. There it is," I sigh, making Kai snicker.

"Yeah, that's a pretty immediate response," Aunt Roma says. "For tonight, you should get some rest. Tomorrow, you will feel much better."

"And you can track down Sadie," Kai reminds me.

I nod, looking down at the dagger in my hand. For now, I still feel like me. Hopefully, I can stay one step ahead of this curse and keep its side effects at bay.

Sadie's life depends on it.