Shrell's body stiffened as the pain came again and she thrashed on the ground, trying so hard to bear it and fight back. She had fought so much already, though, and she was tired, so tired. She relaxed just the tiniest bit inside out of exhaustion, but the Ghost-Within knew right away and attacked her with renewed strength and intensity. She cried out in desperation as she felt it pushing her back, taking over ever so slowly.
"Shrell, you can win, you are stronger. Fight it, dominate it!" Andonis was commanding from somewhere nearby. Shrell turned towards where she thought Andonis was, but could make out nothing in the blur that surrounded her.
"I'm trying, Aunt, but it is so strong and it never tires." Shrell gasped, forcing the Ghost-Within back again for the ump-teenth time.
Aunt Andonis did not appreciate what it was like to have a ghost inside that wanted so much to take over. She never relented in her commands to dominate it. It just wasn't as simple as that, though. Every time Shrell fought the Ghost-Within, she felt like she was tearing out her own insides. The pain was horrendous and Shrell wanted so much just to leave the Ghost-Within alone for a little while, but Andonis did not appreciate that kind of thinking.
"How will you dominate it and destroy it if you don't have the will to finish the battle?" She demanded scornfully.
"It's not like that - " Shrell would try to say, but Andonis would not listen.
"Do what she says, Sweeting." Shrell's mother would tell her gently, "She is wise and she wants you to win."
"What does she know about it, anyway?" Shrell would ask bitterly.
"She spent many days with old Martha when she was still alive and Martha knew many things that she was happy to share. She told Andonis of an ancient affliction that was like a ghost wolf inside. She is the only one that can help you, Shrell. Please do what she says."
"Shrell, you are not fighting!" Andonis shouted now, "You have to fight until you win."
"I have been fighting forever, Aunt, I am so tired."
She almost wanted the Ghost-Within to win so that at least she could finally rest. As if in response to that thought, the Ghost-Within rose for another brutal attack and she writhed and gasped. Would letting the Ghost-Within win really be all that bad?
"It would be the most awful thing in the world!" Andonis barked, and Shrell realised she had spoken her wonderings aloud. It did not bode well for her battle if she didn't even have control of what she said and what she kept to herself anymore.
"I would be free." She heard herself say, and she knew that it wasn't her thought, or at least it wasn't all her thought. She was too tired to think about it.
"Shrell, you're slipping!" Andonis snarled.
The Ghost-Within swelled in anger and growled warningly at Andonis. How dare she interfere? Shrell wasn't sure if that thought was her own or the ghost's. The pain was fading and she didn't want to disturb the temporary peace by questioning too deeply.
"Shrell! Wake up and fight!"
"Shrell is asleep, leave us alone." Shrell was dimly aware of the words coming out of her mouth, but they couldn't be hers. They sounded strange.
"Leave Shrell alone, you beast!" Andonis hissed.
"I am Shrell."
"No you're not! You are a weak, bodiless ghost that would pick on helpless cubs." Andonis growled.
Shrell felt her body rise and the pain returned again for a moment, then ebbed away. She was so tired, but something urgent needed to be done and she didn't know what it was.
"Aunt?" She whispered, "Do you know what it is?"
Andonis' face softened for a moment in terrible sadness. So she did have a heart. "Shrell, you are still there. Please, fight, please. I'm begging you to fight just a little longer."
Shrell didn't hear her. She thought she must be underwater or buried in something warm and comforting. She didn't want to hear her Aunt anymore. She could see and hear, but everything seemed to be a very long way away and she was happy to float and let someone else worry about all that. She felt herself slipping farther away, but the urgency was still there, growing stronger.
"I do not need to fight." Shrell's body said in that strange voice.
"I am talking to Shrell!" Andonis said angrily, "Leave her!"
"I am Shrell." Shrell's vision swung around and she could see the darkness of the night outside the cave, now. That was it! She had to go out there. The night beckoned her and she drifted towards it.
"Shrell! Come back, Shrell!" Andonis shrieked from another world, "You have lost the battle!"
"Not I or Shrell, but thou hast lost." The strange voice said.
Shrell's desire to be outside with the night suddenly intensified to the kind of painful yearning that usually heralded the stirring of the Ghost-Within. This time, though, she would go. She would run free like the wind and no one would stop her. She wondered briefly where this thought had come from, but it brought pain and so she stopped wondering and just walked out into the night. Instantly the yearning became everything and with a wild howl, Shrell fled into the darkness where finally she would be free, free after all this time.
"Thank thou, Shrell." The strange voice said with a quiver, "Thou hast given up much this night, but thou will be happy in the freedom I will bring thou."
Shrell laughed, but it was a reaction powered by no thought. Thought was something she did not have anymore. The strange voice laughed crazily with her and they tore off into the night.