Out of the Darkness

154

 He didn't believe me. I could see the fear in his eyes, as well. Hell, I didn't believe myself, but I wasn't ready to think about that just yet. When he was finally finished fixing my arm up, he passed me another little white pill for the pain. "Here, take this. I'll get you something to eat this time so that it doesn't make you nauseous." I popped it into my mouth gratefully, then took my water bottle from Kat, to swallow it down. "Thanks," I replied. I settled back into the bed, careful not to upset my arm, and looked at Katrina. "So, I guess now would be a good time to tell you what's going on, huh?" Her eyes went wide and she shook her head. "No, not if you aren't feeling well. That can wait." I held out my good arm, and shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do, Kat. No time like the present." "Are you sure about this?" Sam asked me again. I nodded, and tried to scoot over so that they could both sit. "Stop. Don't move. We'll go around," he replied before I could. I waited for them both to get comfortable. Sam sat at the foot of my bed, while Kat sat next to me. "We are haunted," I started, holding Kat's gaze. "And it's my fault." "You took something from that house, didn't you?" she groaned out. I let out a short chuckle and nodded. "I did. I took a doll." I reached under my covers to pull out Anna's doll. Kat's eyes went wide as she stared at the doll. "It almost looks...alive?" she replied, making it sound like a question. I nodded. "That's what I thought too. I didn't intend on taking the doll. Especially with all of the crazy, terrifying things that happened at that house." She didn't take her eyes off the doll. "Then why did you?" I shrugged. "I don't know. It was like I had too...but I'm glad that I did." Finally, she took her eyes off of Anna's doll and met my gaze. She was looking at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. "Explain. Why would you be glad? It's creepy as fuck. And now you're haunted. How is any of this a good thing? You're so weird." Sam laughed, and nodded. "Shut up," I replied, grinning at them both. "It's a good thing because...well, this is the weird part. There is a ghost attached to the doll. I've seen her." Her eyes went wide again. "Huh? Really?! Her? What does she look like?" It almost seemed like she was getting excited. I didn't really expect that. "Have you seen her too?" She directed the last question to Sam. He nodded. "I have." She looked back at me and started to chew her bottom lip. "Is she...nice?" "Very," I answered. "Well, most of the time. She likes to play pranks sometimes, but that might be because of my influence." A light laugh floated on a breeze inside my room. Kat gasped and looked around. "Was that her?" I nodded. "So, she's here right now?" I saw a shimmer on the other side of her. Again, I nodded. "She is. She's standing right beside you, actually." Kat jerked her head to the side and stared at the air there. "I don't see anything." "That's because I'm trying to prepare you before she shows herself. You've actually met her already. You just didn't know, because she didn't seem very ghost like." She met my gaze again, confusion and a little fear in her eyes. "What do you mean?" I sighed, because I knew that she would never be fully prepared to 'meet' Anna. "Are you ready to meet her, without freaking out?" She bit her bottom lip again and glanced at Sam. He gave her a comforting smile and took her hand in his. "It's be okay," he said, softly. She looked back at me and nodded, slowly. "Okay. Anna?" I said, glancing past Kat to the last spot that I had seen her shimmer. "Can you show yourself?" Kat followed my gaze and stared at the same spot. "Wait...Anna?" she breathed out. I watched as Anna's form slowly came into view. A very light silhouette, becoming more and more clear, until she was standing beside Kat in a very solid form. "Hey, Katrina," she replied, holding her hand up in a half wave. Kat's mouth fell open, and her eyes went wide, but she said nothing. We all sort of held our breath, while we waited for her to process what was happening. "It's just me. I'm the same person...just not...alive?" Anna said, holding Kat's astonished gaze. Kat closed her mouth and swallowed hard. Her eyes darted around the room, meeting my gaze, then Sam's, then back to Anna. "How? You aren't a ghost. You're flesh and blood. I don't understand." Anna smiled gently at her. "I don't either really. It just happened. Now, I can kind of control it. See?" Anna faded out, until there was no sign of her anywhere. "Where'd she go?" Kat asked, looking around the room. Sam and I glanced around the room too, waiting for her to show herself again. "Anna?" I called out, starting to get a little worried that she may have slipped back in the Darkness. "BOO!" A loud yell came from right behind my shoulder, on my side of the bed, causing me to jump hard. "OH, OW...shiiiit," I groaned, cradling my arm to my chest again. Pain had seared up it, when I had jumped. "Oh my God, Colby, I'm so sorry! I forgot! It was just a joke! Are you okay?" Anna materialized right beside me, her worried green eyes staring down at me. "I'm fine," I gasped out, trying to wait for severity of the pain to pass. Everyone was quiet, while I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath again. When I opened them again, Anna was still staring down at me, twisting her hair with her fingers. "Sorry," she whispered again. "It's okay," I replied, giving her a small smile. "Maybe next time, do it to Sam." She cracked a half smile, while Sam let out a fake indignant yell. "Hey!" I laughed, just a little so as not to jostle my arm again. It felt like fire, burning me alive, while someone took a knife and just dug it around in the flaming skin. I cleared my throat, and looked at Katrina again. "You okay?" I asked. She was still staring at Anna, like she was trying to understand a very complex puzzle.