JC numbly went through the cycles of CPR. He couldn’t believe this was happening. If Lance dies I’ll never forgive myself, he thought. His arms started to grow tired and he slowly realized that he’d been at it for at least five minutes.

Justin had been watching JC perform CPR on Lance feeling useless because there was nothing he could do to help. JC never faltered and Justin desperately hoped that Lance would start breathing again, but JC had been at it for six minutes and Lance still wasn’t breathing. Justin unwillingly gave into the realization that Lance was gone and knew it was time for JC to realize it as well.

Justin walked over to JC and put a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, Jayce. You’ve done everything you can do. He’s gone.”

“No, I don’t believe it. He wouldn’t leave us,” JC told him while he was doing the compressions on Lance’s chest.

“Jayce…” Justin started, but JC interrupted him.

“Just let me do one more cycle.”

Justin looked into JC’s pleading eyes and nodded. It couldn’t hurt, but after this cycle Justin was pulling JC away.

JC completed his last cycle and sat back on his heels as he watched to see if there was any sign of life in Lance. JC sighed sadly and cast his eyes downward. He had failed his best friend.

Justin went over to JC and put an arm around his shoulders. They could draw strength from each other. Justin had just helped JC up from the ground when they heard a shaky intake of breath. They turned, saw Lance’s eyelashes fluttering, and jumped back down to the ground.

JC sat on Lance’s right, while Justin sat on his left. Lance slowly opened his eyes and saw JC staring down at him with tears running down his face. Not noticing the tears, JC gave Lance a small, watery smile.

“Are you okay?” Justin asked Lance seeing that JC wasn’t able to find the words.

Lance turned his head to Justin and answered, “I will be. How are Joey and Chris?”

JC jerked up. “Shit! I totally forgot about them,” JC said as he helped Lance sit up slowly.

Justin walked over to where Joey and Chris were laying. “Hear that, Joe? They forgot about us. We’re not appreciated. Damn kids,” Chris mumbled trying to make a joke out of the very stressful situation. He understood that Justin and JC had been more focused on Lance than them. Lance did almost die after all.

Justin helped Chris up while JC had gone over and helped Joey sit up when they heard Katrina speak.

“I’m so glad you guys are okay.” The five of them all whipped their heads in her direction. Katrina had just gotten back from hell. However, they had been so caught up in what was going on that they didn’t notice.

“Don’t do that,” Chris huffed. “What are you trying to do give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry, Christopher,” Katrina apologized though she didn’t look very sorry at all. She was just happy that her son and his friends were still alive.

Mandy went over to Lance and hugged him. She had been afraid that he had died. She wanted nothing more than to be with her older brother, but she knew now was not the time.

Lance was still engulfed with her warm feeling as she pulled away from them. “How can you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Hug me without falling through me. Not to mention it’s warm when you hug me, not cold,” Lance said.

“Oh, that. It’s something that we ghosts learn. We can touch solid objects, but it takes lots of concentration. And the warmth you feel is from the bond that you and I have. I transfer any heat energy I have to you,” Mandy explained.

Lance nodded his head in understanding. It made sense and explained why Joey and Chris had fallen through Katrina a year ago when she tried suffocating JC with a pillow. She didn’t want them to touch her, so they just fell right through her. She would’ve had to want to touch them for them not to fall through her.

“Katrina, can I ask you something?” Joey asked.

Katrina turned toward him. “Ask away. I’m sure you all have questions that you would like answered.”

“Where did those ghosts come from? They couldn’t have come from heaven.”

“You’re right, Joseph. They didn’t come from heaven. They came from hell. They work for the devil and were to recruit souls for damnation in hell,” Katrina answered.

“Are you saying that if you were set to go to heaven, but those things got to you first, you’d be doomed to an eternity in hell?” Chris questioned. It was such a foreign concept to all of them and there were so many questions that needed to be answered.

“Yes, that is exactly right. That is why the devil sent out those two in particular. They were able to suck the soul of any person and carry it down to hell. You see the devil can’t live without souls in hell and so he sends out what he likes to call minions to help him. There is no need to worry though because they are back to where they belong and they won’t be able to make it back to earth ever again,” Katrina explained.

“So we’re safe?” Joey asked.

“Yes, you’re safe. Nothing like this will ever happen again. I assure you.”

“What took you so long to help us though?” Chris voiced the question that had been floating around in his head since the conversation started.

“We didn’t know you were in trouble. Normally I watch over Lance as his guardian angel, but I had another person who was in need of some guidance. As for Mandy, she was with a friend of mine who was teaching her all the ins and outs of being a guardian angel. She’s wanted to learn ever since she saw me do it. Anyway, as soon as she saw what was going on, she alerted me immediately and here we are,” Katrina explained.

The guys nodded slowly letting what she said become comprehendible. It did make sense though. They had always believed in guardian angels and now they knew for certain that guardian angels do exist. 

Katrina smiled at them and then looked at the sky. The sun was starting to rise in the east. “You boys better go. You probably have a whole bunch of people worried about you.”

“You’re right. Thank you for everything. You’ve been a big help,” Justin said to Katrina and Mandy.

“It was our pleasure. Now you boys get a move on. You’re all dead on your feet,” Katrina commanded. They all agreed, said their goodbyes, and walked down the trail with JC helping Lance and Justin helping both Joey and Chris. They made it to the car and piled in with Justin driving, JC in the passenger seat, and the rest in the backseat.

The ride to the hotel was very quiet and Justin was sticking to the speed limit. He didn’t want to lose control of the car now that he got all of his friends back. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Joey, Chris, and Lance fast asleep. However, he looked to his right and saw that JC was still awake. This fact amazed him since JC got about as much sleep as Lance probably did.

“Why don’t you go to sleep?” Justin suggested. “We still have a few more hours until we reach the hotel.”

JC shook his head. “I’m not tired. I can take over driving if you want.”

“No I’m good. You just relax.” The car again went silent after that. It was obvious that the recent events were still bogging down JC’s mind, but Justin knew that all would be discussed tomorrow or tonight since it was 6:00 a.m. and everyone would probably be sleeping all day.

True to Justin’s word, the car pulled into the hotel parking lot at 9:00 a.m. JC hadn’t slept the whole ride, so he woke up Lance, Joey, and Chris when Justin reached the hotel. The three of them sleepily got out of the car. Justin and JC led them up to their rooms. Once they were tucked into their beds, Justin and JC found Johnny out in the hall with a relieved look on his face.

“Thank God you guys are alright. That was very irresponsible of you to just up and leave without a word to anyone,” Johnny rambled until Justin stopped him.

“Do you think we can get lectured after we get some sleep? We’re all pretty wiped,” Justin said.

Johnny nodded his consent. “Good night, guys, but we will talk about this later.”

Justin and JC nodded knowing that they would get chewed out later. They said their good night’s and left for their rooms.

Justin fell asleep after a little difficulty, but it was a whole other story for JC. He got into pajama bottoms and lay in bed, but he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. There were a bunch of different scenarios scattered throughout his brain about what could’ve happened. Eventually he tired himself out and fell into an exhausted sleep.

It wasn’t a peaceful sleep though because he woke up an hour later drenched in sweat. He tried to clear his head of the unpleasant thoughts, but the more he shook his head, the more they seemed to linger. JC didn’t know if he’d be able to go back to sleep after watching Lance die in his dream, so he went out onto his balcony.

“What are you thinking about?”

JC whirled around at the voice to find Lance leaning in the doorway behind him. “What are you doing up? I thought you were sleeping?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you,” Lance replied.

“I couldn’t sleep,” JC admitted.

“I know. You were having a nightmare.”

JC turned to Lance. “How did you know?”

Lance lightly smacked JC on the forehead. “Our connection, duh!”

 JC blushed slightly because he had forgotten. “So what was it about?” Lance asked ignoring JC’s discomfort.

“Nothing,” JC dismissed.

“If it was nothing, you’d still be sleeping,” Lance replied.

It took JC a few minutes to organize his thoughts before he said, “You died.”

Lance nodded not at all surprised that was what JC had dreamt. “I didn’t though. I’m right here and you know that.”

“Yes, I do, but you scared the shit out of me tonight, Lance. I thought you were dead for sure. You weren’t breathing at all.” The memories of just hours ago began to play in his mind over and over again like someone was constantly rewinding his memories to that part.

“Now you know how I felt last year when I had to perform CPR on you. It’s a scary thing, but we both came out of it fine. Take your own advice from before and live in the present,” Lance suggested.

“I will. I’m just going to have to get over it first,” JC replied.

“We’ll help each other. I’m sure I’ll have nightmares for a while, but there’s no doubt in my mind that everything will turn out alright in the end.”

JC looked up and met Lance’s eyes. “You’re right. Thank you.”

“C’mon, let’s get some sleep. Is it alright if I crash in your bed?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, good night, Lance.”

“Night, JC.”