Abby opened her eyes. She looked around and guessed she was in a field of white. As
she stood up, Abby noticed that it wasn't really a field of white; it was a field of white
lilies. Strange... she was pretty sure she wasn't going to end up in heaven... Abby looked
around and it seemed like the field never ended. Maybe this was some twisted torture they
used in Hell. Torture via allergies. Dangerous to those sinners allergic to lilies...
Luckily Abby wasn't allergic to them.
She really had to wonder where her crappy humor came from. She froze when she heard
some humming. Looking around, she saw someone was sitting down in the field. Abby walked
over and as she got closer, she realized it was a little girl picking flowers... but... The
small girl had long silver hair and was wearing a white sundress. "...Tycara...?" The little
girl looked up at her before smiling. She had silver eyes. "Hi!" Tycara went back to
carefully picking out flowers, only choosing the ones she really wanted.
Abby, not really confused, sat down next to her. "...there..." Tycara murmured and
showed the bouquet of flowers to Abby. "Aren't they pretty?" The young woman nodded and was
surprised when the little girl gave the flowers to her. "They're for you." Abby gave her a
small smile. "Thank you, but... I thought I... what are we doing here?"
Tycara smiled happily. "You... you're going to take care of me, right?" Abby just
nodded. "Yes... but I think I'm not going to be around for you." The little girl pouted.
"But... you have to be there for me until I become a big girl."
"...I think you're going to be a big girl soon since you're in my body..." Abby
murmured. "But... even though I'm in your body, I need you to take care of me!" Tycara
looked to be on the verge of tears. Abby swept her up in a hug and held her close. She was
going to die and Tycara was worried sick. "Of course, I'll take care of you..." she
murmured, stroking her hair. Tycara was such a cute little girl... Abby guessed this is what
she must have looked like as an eight year old.
"Okay... that's good..." Tycara murmured, snuggling into her. "That's a promise,
right? You'll keep me safe?" Abby sighed and buried her face in Tycara's hair. She smelled
like flowers. "Yes, of course. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"Thank you Abby..."
*****
Abby was vaguely aware that there was quiet talking all around her and she wondered if
she was dead yet. She'd already been disappointed once. She was lying in her bed, she knew
that much for sure and as she slowly got up, she realized that all the people in the room
were staring at her. She took a quick look around, praying that it was all a dream, that
nobody had died, but...
Everyone was there, most of their faces tear stained and upset. Seth, Erin, Faye,
Krystal, Isaka, Mina, Eveon, Living Inferno... There was no sign of Tycara. Abby felt like a
weight was bouncing around in her stomach. "...Mommy?" Eveon called out timidly, sitting on
the chair next to the bed, her knees drawn to her chest. "...Yeah?" Abby asked and her
daughter immediately launched herself at her.
Eveon hugged her tremendously and began to sob uncontrollably. "Shh... shh... why are
you crying?" Abby asked, stroking the teenager's back. "The Living Inferno... h-he s-said
that y-you're going to die f-for Tycara a-a-and...!" Abby continued to hold her and looked
around. Isaka was obviously one of the most distraught, but maybe it was how calm Seth was
that really scared her. He was sitting in one of the chairs, staring straight down at the
floor.
As she held her daughter, she looked around. "...what happened to Tycara...?" she
murmured and it was Erin who responded with guilty eyes. "...we already buried her." It
wasn't a dream. Tycara really had saved her life, but-
Her thoughts were cut off when Isaka said, "I'm going to kill the bastard who did
this!" Krystal was trying hard to calm her down, but the demon was angry, sad and
disillusioned. The room was tense and Abby looked out of the corner of her at the Living
Inferno. Abby pulled Eveon away and started to wipe her eyes. "Eveon... I need you to be
strong, okay? Just for a little bit?" The blonde girl nodded reluctantly.
"...can I please speak with the Living Inferno alone?" Abby asked and everyone
exchanged glances before leaving. Faye came over and helped Eveon off the bed while Mina
wrapped her girlfriend in a comforting hug. Everyone shuffled out of her room and Abby let
out a long sigh as the door shut. "Why am I still here?" Abby asked and he sat down in the
chair next to the bed.
"Tycara's soul is going to take some time to absorb into your body and get situated."
Abby nodded and thought back to her dream... Tycara must have asked her that in order to
keep her new body safe until she was ready to take over. "The... transfer was a success..."
He murmured, his red eyes showing pain.
"...I'm guessing you told them everything, but please, don't spare me anything. I want
to know what's going to happen." He looked up at her and saw that she was smiling. "Your
body... you might start feeling strange, but it will be a few weeks until you cease to
exist... that's what I told them. In reality, you have a few weeks until Tycara devours your
soul and takes over."
Abby grimaced. "Ugh... Thank you. If you had told everyone that, I'm sure this little
pity party would be a lot worse off." She massaged her temples. "And here I was, ready to
die. When Tycara eats my soul, that means no afterlife, right?" He nodded solemnly. Abby
shrugged. "Ah, I was probably on my way to hell, anyways..."
The Living Inferno didn't get it. "Why are you so...nonchalant?" Abby just turned
towards him and grabbed his hand. "Well, I was supposed to die right then and there if it
weren't for Tycara. This way, I at least have a bit of time to spend with everyone before
passing on... or getting eaten, whatever. At least she's coming back, you know?"
He let out a long, depressed sigh. "...that's not the only problem. That man... he's a
demon named Eska and his target was Tycara all along. His initial plan was to kill her, just
as he accomplished today when she saved your life." Abby frowned. "Why would he do that?
Tycara didn't even know him..."
"After killing her, he wished to revive her and manipulate her. Death is a harsh thing
and upon being revived, Tycara would be easy to manipulate and twist so he could use her
powers to his advantage." The young mother was starting to catch on. "These few weeks...
while I'm carrying her soul inside of me, he's going to attack, right?" The Living Inferno
nodded. "Yes. Since you pulled her soul into your body, Eska is going to extract her soul
since killing you outright will damage Tycara. "
Abby started to massage her temples. "Ah hell... that's not good at all... I thought
she was going to take over my body right away..." The Living Inferno squeezed her hand
slightly. "...I thought so as well, but... right now, I need to protect Tycara so I'm not
going to leave your side... but... I also want to... I want to spend time with you before...
before time is gone."
"It's cool, I want to spend time with you too, but right now... I think I need to
inform everyone to stop feeling bad for me. You know how I said I didn't have purpose?" she
asked, getting out of bed. "I think I can die happy knowing that I saved Tycara." As she
turned away to walk to the door, the Living Inferno could only stare down at his feet. He
had to choose between a girl he swore to protect and gain forgiveness from and the woman
that made him feel alive again.
And how horrible of a decision it had been.
*****
"I just... don't know how to feel..." Seth murmured, looking over at the three women.
Erin and Mina had taken Eveon to the living room while Seth, Faye, Krystal and Isaka were
discussing the situation in the kitchen. "I understand..." Isaka said. "On one hand, you're
glad that Tycara is still alive, but... Abby is going to die for her."
Faye let out a long sigh. "There's nothing we can do, though. The ritual's already
been done and Abby's only got some time left." Krystal peered over into the living room.
"Eveon's a mess," the exorcist murmured and looked over at everyone else.
"...and that's why you guys had better be there to take care of her," Abby said,
startling the four adults. She was currently getting herself a glass of water. "A-Abby...!"
Isaka said, stunned. The young mother shrugged. "Don't give me those looks. We're not going
to have a pity party just because I'm due to expire in a month or less. If anything, you
guys should wait until I'm dead to mourn."
She gave them a small smile. "Let's go into the living room, alright?"
*****
"...so that's the plan of action," Seth finished, still looking quite depressed. The
young man would be accompanying Krystal and Isaka keeping lookout on one side of town, while
Erin and Faye would keep watch on the other. The Living Inferno would stay with Abby at the
house.
Everyone still looked quite down and it was starting to get on Abby's nerves. "You
know... if you guys are really feeling that down, shouldn't we be making this time I have
count? I mean, I want to party until the end so you guys can all have happy memories about
this, not the other way around."
"But Abby! How can you... how can you be so calm about this?" Krystal asked, looking
distraught. "Oh please. If we continue to dread this and drag our feet, nothing good is
going to come out of it, right? I've already conceded to the inevitable, so all we can do is
capitalize on this time we still have."
Everyone exchanged worried looks, but they said nothing else.
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