Ghostly Plea

Poppy

He lied, and now we are all stuck here. And it's all my fault. I only agreed to this because he promised no one would get hurt. He said he wasn't like the other ghosts who inhabit this house. He was conscious of the going on around him, he said he would make sure we would all be safe. But now I know being trapped in a house for years can make your good morals go bad.

When I first arrived at this house, I knew something was off. It didn't feel right. The ambience of the house was dark, and full of anguish. I've had this gift for all my life; to sense if the place or person I was with was good. My mother always told me I was in tune with the spirit. That if I became the perfect girl that God wanted me to be I could see through the veil. And now I know it's true. I can see the spirits of the dead.

The night before...

Arthur, Ashlyn, and Bella have all fallen asleep. But this house will never sleep, so neither will I. I'm still too shocked about what I saw lurking inside of Whintle. At first I couldn't see it. But if I hold still, and really study him, I know he's no longer our Whintle. Something truly insidious has taken possession of his body. And I don't know how to stop it. The spirit is so full of revenge and malice that the evil of his aura is tangible in the air. I could feel it. But Whintle is strong, he will fight, and he will win.

Whintle's not the only one who seems different since coming to this house. Ashlyn's energy has shifted. It's not as light as before. When I try to get a closer look, her aura shifts back to how it normally is. It doesn't make sense, but this whole situation doesn't.

As the hours pass, I notice that Ash has become restless. She tosses and turns in her sleep mumbling under her breath. Her energy shifts with her, changing as one's emotion would. Arthur is sleeping deeply, thank goodness. No bad dreams are clouding his thoughts. What he is doing to keep it that way I have no idea. I wish I had that talent. I look over at Bella sleeping soundly. Worry is the most tangible thing about her aura tonight. But that is how she has always been since the first day I met her. Once she becomes attached to someone, she feels the need to play mother.

I gaze at the ceiling, willing myself to fall asleep. If I do, then I can leave this place behind. If only for a moment. As sleep begins to take me, I feel a phantom aura take place in the room. But I'm too far gone to notice it fully...

I awake with a jolt. Something is not right. The room has taken on an icy feeling. It's accompanied by the feel of loss, and self-loathing. A steady rocking has filled the silence of the room. But what has me the most scared is that Ash, and Bella have disappeared. They left me here. With Arthur as protection? After I have gotten over the sting of being left out, I start to focus on the noise, and where the negative energy is coming from.

Beside the bed Bella was sleeping in, sits an old rocking chair that moves back and forth. In that chair I see the faintest outline of something. I focus on it, trying to see what it is. Little by little, the figure becomes whole. I hold back a gasp, not wanting her to see me. A phantom woman sits in the chair, whispering to herself. Long dark curls cascade down her back, blocking her face from view. She wears a lace long sleeve top, with skirts that go all the way to her feet.

No color can be seen on her. She's black and white, like watching television back in the day. The only color that does exist is blobs of rust-colored stains on her shirt. The outline of her body glows a bright white. If you look closely, you can see the rocking chair through her. One word comes to mind.

Ghost...

Terrified, I don't move. Not wanting to draw her attention to me. If I was anybody else, I might think I was dreaming. But if I can see, and feel people's auras, then why couldn't I see ghosts? I just have to decide if she's like Casper, or Diana, from Lights Out. I try to focus on her aura, but whenever I do, it sucks the light from mine. It's like a black whole. It sucks all the good, and happiness from mine. She can't make herself happy, so she must steal it.

If I focus on the outer edges of her aura and feel the loneliness, and guilt. But there's something stronger too. Spite maybe? No, revenge. It's like a poison. It spreads its red tentacles throughout her energy, infecting it. Maybe she's the one who's causing all of this to happen to my friends and I. Maybe she needs our help. And then she'll let us go.

I take a deep breath to speak, "A-are you okay?" I try to sound calm but at the end there's a note of hysteria. A ghost! I'm speaking to a ghost!

She doesn't even look in my direction. She just keeps on rocking. Her head jerks, and hands twitch as she talks to herself. Her head jerks far enough towards my view that I spot a huge cash on her forehead. It reminds me of the one on my arm. The vicious creature inhabiting Whintles body caused it. But I have told no one who caused it. I suck in a breath at the memory. The lights went out, Whitnle went crazy, and glass from a lamp cut my arm. But the thing that wielded the glass was what was truly scary.

"Do you need h-help?" I ask, hoping she will respond, or disappear altogether.

"She can't hear you miss." A deep voice says from behind me. I freeze, and slowly turn around. A man, most likely in his 50's is sitting behind me. No, not sitting, floating. He looks exactly like the lady. No color, but glowing. His aura surrounds him, but unlike the ladies, it is lighter. Not so hung down and claustrophobic.

It shines with hope.

"W-who are you?" I whisper terrified. He's way too close for my liking.

"Someone who is asking for help. And you, my dear, seem to have a talent that can help me exceedingly."

I never should have trusted him. And look at where it has gotten me. Trapped in a haunted house with a deadly past my friends are stuck finding. We will be lucky if some of us get out alive. The spirits that live in this home are not friendly. Liam Turner will stop at nothing to kill every last one of us, and the little girl who witnessed the terrible night many years ago is missing. And it's all my fault...

I always thought that I was gifted by God himself. But now I know the truth. I'm cursed with an ability that comes from the darkest pits of hell. God wouldn't give me the power to be haunted by the dead. Only the devil himself would do that.