He shuddered as the stench of death entered his nostrils. He immediately covered his nose and coughed a little to cover up his seemingly rude gesture. The master of the house immediately turned to him with a faint look of disgust.
"Pardon, Madam, I'm feeling a wee bit under the weather today," he reasoned out politely while fishing out a handkerchief from his chest pocket.
The old woman just sighed and continued walking towards the grand staircase.
"When are you going to deal with that infestation?", Cassandra whispered. Whispering wasn't really necessary because even if she shouted, no one could hear her—but they may feel her if they're sensitive enough.
"Just wait, Cass... I'm still gauging on how strong it will be, so stop bothering me. Let me handle this by myself," he said under his breath.
"What—Mr. Wilson? Are you saying something to me?", the old woman asked after abruptly turning around.
'This old woman seemed to have a keen ear... but why wouldn't she notice?'
"Nothing, Madam. Maybe it's just the wind whispering," he joked while smiling amicably.
The woman just frowned. She turned her back on him and continued walking. They've reached the staircase and started walking when he felt that the temperature had dropped. They're almost at the last steps of the grand staircase when Benjamin noticed something. Something's odd with the staircase. He looked down and noticed that the floor beneath it changed.
"Damn—we've fallen into trap," he sputtered as he whirled around, facing the enormous phantom sluggishly crawling toward them.
"What trap?!", the woman asked fearfully while clutching her chest.
"Get behind me, Madam!", he ordered hastily. As if summoning an inner strength, he took a deep breath, and then he stretched his left arm.
"Cass!", he shouted as if commanding somebody.
"Gahhh! I hate it when you ordered me like that, bastard!", she shouted back as her spectral form gradually dissipated.
"Now!"
Her whole spectral form transformed into a stark smoke that enveloped his outstretched arm. As the smoke cleared out, a black cylinder was seen in his hands.
"Good," he said quietly while staring at the dark cylinder in his hands.
"What's happening! Tell me, Mr. Wilson? Tell me—what's that?!", the old woman screamed as she gripped tightly on Benjamin's sleeve.
He looked over his shoulder and saw that the old woman was badly trembling. He felt a pang of pity for her, but he couldn't just escape from that creature and bring her to a safe place now. He needs to exorcise it first before it could grow into something he can't handle anymore.
A loud piercing shriek echoed throughout the house as the enormous phantom lunged forward.
He let out a sharp breath and gently peeled off the old woman's trembling hands that were gripping his sleeve.
"Stay here, Madam... I'll finish this in a jiffy," he mumbled quickly as he sprinted his way towards the humongous phantom that was approaching them.
The phantom saw him, and it immediately howled in anger as it saw the black cylinder in his hands. This time it let out a louder shriek that broke the glasses and windows inside the house.
He grimaced at the sight of the angered phantom. He abruptly stopped running at the middle of the staircase and jumped on the midair.
He closed his eyes and chanted a prayer.
"... Let the heavenly light shine upon you! May you rest in peace...", he calmly chanted while falling down the thrashing phantom.
He gripped the cylinder tighter, and the moment he came face to face with the phantom, the cylinder shone brightly. The darkness in it disappeared and it was replaced with a bright white light that radiated fiercely. The phantom staggered back dazely, and with that, he immediately shoved the cylinder deep inside its massive, stark body.
The phantom continued howling until the light from the cylinder consumed all of his dark phantasmic body. It writhed in pain, and with a last loud cry, its humongous body disintegrated into a pile of dust. Little voices were heard from it—mostly pleading to be saved.
Benjamin hated this part.
A harsh wind blew in and it swept through the pile of dust. As if sweeping the remnants of the past, the dust flew out of the house, leaving them with nothingness and destruction.
He turned around and saw the old woman was now sitting at the end of the staircase. She was bowing her head, and her shoulder shook.
Benjamin looked around and saw the destruction of the once grand house. He certainly knew he couldn't blame the old woman for feeling upset.
He cautiously approached her, but as he got closer, he felt that something was wrong. He expected to hear soft sobbing, but what he heard wasn't it. Instead, it is akin to quiet laughter. His hair rose as he realized something.
"So the elephant's out," Cassandra said amusingly while slowly reverting to her spectral form.
"What do you mean by that?", he asked while still gazing at the old woman.
"You didn't get it, aren't you? The infestation that I said earlier wasn't the house; rather, it's the—"
She was suddenly cut off when a loud, malicious laughter echoed throughout the house. The old woman slowly looked up, and Benjamin gasped in shock as he saw the old woman's face. Gone was the fearful expression he saw earlier. It now contorted into something that's to be feared. Her lips stretched out into a sickly grin while her eyes turned white.
"So you're really that boy?", the old woman asked in a baritone voice.
Cassandra sighed heavily. "It's another casualty. There's no saving for her body now that she's fully infested."
'Yeah... There's no saving now. It's no longer the older woman,' he thought sadly.
It already became something that he doubted he could handle, but there's no way he could just abandon it.
'But I can still save her soul'
"Tell me, boy, who are you and who's that measly ghost hovering beside you?", it ordered, but this time, its voice is more piercing.
"Measly?! Don't you know that I'm a hundred-year-old phantom Ca—"
"Don't fall for it!" Benjamin shouted. "She's trying to know our names so that she can steal it! I've already read this malady before—
Before he could finish what he's saying, it immediately lunged towards them. Fortunately, his reflexes were faster, so he dodged her and sprinted his way towards the nearest windows. He extended his left arm again.
"Now!", he shouted as Cassandra transformed again into a black cylinder.
'I can't exorcise here in the dark, so I'll need some light', he thought grimly. 'I need a natural source of light, an open space, and—'
He looked around and saw the broken window. He gazed below and saw the yawning lawn.
'This is a bad idea,' he pondered silently. He turned his head and saw it was already nearing him. He took a long breath in, and without a second thought, he jumped out of the window.
It unconsciously jumped and followed him. The moment it realized what it had done, it was too late. Benjamin threw the black cylinder towards the old woman's body, and it shone again when it hit it. It gave a one-last cry before the blinding lights consumed its whole body. It disintegrated in the midair, and the dust was carried effortlessly by the twilight breeze.
"Thank you...", a feeble voice whispered.
He smiled and closed his eyes. He waited for a loud thud to follow his fall, but instead a hard arm slap awoke him from reverie.
"Ouch!", he exclaimed while dramatically massaging his arm. "What's your deal, Cass?!"
"That's for you for being a fool," she said irritatedly.
"Wait—I know there's an infestation earlier, but I didn't know that the infestation you were talking about was the old lady! Why didn't you tell me?", he asked while grinning at her.
"Fool, I thought you knew... I thought you'd just be acting cool and ignoring that elephant in the room, but it turns out you can't still survive without me...", she said pensively.
"Don't worry, Cass, when that time comes—I'll be the one to set you free... but for now just be with me...", he mumbled while staring at her mysteriously. "Movie date?"
She rolled her eyes and suppressed a curving smile that's starting to form in her lips.
"Fool... Date yourself," she snorted as she walked ahead of him.
"Hey! What do you want? A rom-com movie? A horror—no, we just experience that one...", he prattled as he followed her.
As the last ray of the setting sun passed through her spectral form, he smiled melancholy and quietly wished something.
'I hoped that time wouldn't come...'
