Haunted (Book #1)✔️

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔉𝔦𝔳𝔢

It didn't take long until the Uber driver arrived, and Mark climbed in. He handed the driver his phone and told him where he needed to go. The driver nodded his head and turned his car and drove to the archives. Mark stared out the window watching the house that he and his fiancé had bought, up in the house he could see Sean watching from the office window. However, when Mark looked up at the attic he saw the shadow figure watch the car leave. It stared at him like it was judging him. It tilted it's head down and disappeared from view; chills went down Mark's spine as he turned away from the car window.

"So, you live in that house sir?" asked the woman in the drivers seat.

"Yeah," says Mark. "Why?"

"That house you bought has an interesting history," responds the driver.

"I know," Mark Said. "I did a little research on it, I read somewhere that the McLoughlin's owned it?"

"Ah yes," answered the driver. "The McLoughlin's, that's a tragic story," the driver turned off the dirt path and got on the concrete road where she began driving into town.

"Why's that?" asked Mark intrigued by what the driver had to say.

"You didn't read that their youngest son had died?" the driver questioned unsure as she looked into the rearview mirror at Mark.

"I read that he disappeared, I didn't know he passed away," Mark lied, he already knew that Sean had been killed but he couldn't reveal what he could do. Not many people believed in the spiritual realm, nor any ghosts. It was easier to play dumb than to be labeled a crazy person.

"He did die sir," says the Uber driver.

"How?" questioned Mark. "Do you know?"

"There are different stories that I've heard," she continued. "One was that he drowned at a lake, another was that he had been kidnapped, but the one that is the most popular around these parts is that he was murdered," Mark listened intrigued by what the driver was saying. He hadn't known that there were multiple stories that linked to Sean's death.

"Do you know by whom?" asks Mark.

"No sir," says the driver. "That part of the story is a mystery, some say that it was a jealous person who knew how much the McLoughlin's made; others say that it was a relative," she continued. "However, that case has gone cold, the police tried everything to find the killer," she kept going. "Whoever murdered him did everything in their power to hide the evidence," Mark was about to ask more questions when the driver arrived at the archives, a large brick building with a sign on the property that said, "California Archives,"

"Here we are sir!" says the driver as Mark politely took his phone. "The Californian Archives, enjoy yourself,"

"Thank you," says Mark as he got out of the car and made his way over to the door. The driver started her car and drove off probably going to pick up another customer. While Mark was going into the Archives, Sean had been walking around the house trying his best to think about everything that happened to him.

"Do you really want to go into the light Sean?" said a voice causing Sean to look around and wonder who was talking.

"Who's there?" asked Sean.

"How could a man like Mark help you?" it questioned. Sean looked over at the closet and he could have sworn he saw a man that was almost the same height as Mark.

"Who are you?" yelled Sean.

"Now why would I tell you that?" says the shadow. "Why listen to what he has to say? You should come with me, I could help you see your family again,"

"How about no!" says Sean as he backed away. The shadow stepped out from the closet and walked toward Sean, it was the same height as Mark and the energy around it was darker than he had ever felt before. Sean was scared, which he hadn't felt since the night he had died and realized he was a ghost.

"I can give you something more than he could ever give you," it says, shockingly enough, he sounded strangely like Mark. "All he can do is tell you what happened, why would you think so much about your death Sean? Don't you see that being a spirit on this plain of existence is much better than going into the light?"

"What do you mean?" says Sean as he had forgotten to turn intangible and tripped over his own feet. He landed on the floor with a loud thud and backed away. "What light?"

"He's kept secrets from you hasn't he?" asked the shadow. "Don't listen to him, come with me and I will give you everything you ever wanted, even a choice," it continued. "I can make you human again," Before Sean could say anything a man appeared before him and stood between him and the shadow.

"You will not touch him!" exclaimed the man. "My son will help him because it's who he is,"

"Bah!" exclaims the shadow. "You again?! How many times do I have to get rid of you before I could do what I wanted!"

"My son is a lot stronger than you think!" exclaims Mark's father. "You are nothing but a weakling," suddenly, Mark's father attacked the shadow and the two had gone through a wall. Sean stood and disappeared from the room. He was scared and he couldn't believe what he had witnessed. That shadow had been part of the house for a while and it needed to go, though he wasn't sure what to do about it. Mostly since it had been taunting him for years, always telling him that he should go with it like there was something better. Sean wanted to believe that there was something better, but he couldn't do much of anything, Sean was trapped, Earthbound, and he needed Mark's help to figure out the truth. Sean hoped that Mark was okay and searching for as much evidence as possible.

"Mark," Sean said to himself. "I hope your having better luck than I am,"