Grim Echoes

Chapter 86 - Maeve

They'd insisted she wait in the SUV while they did their perimeter check for people or cameras. She'd argued they hadn't done it the other night, but Ander explained whenever they returned to a location more than once it was necessary. If they made a mistake and left evidence on their first visit, this gave them the ability to fix it. When she'd ask what that meant, Ander explained when they were younger it'd happened, and they'd almost got arrested.

When they returned, she thought they were hiding something, but didn't want to argue about it. She kept her lips pressed together on the way to the outbuildings. When the shed fell into view, longing, anger, dread and sadness mixed into one and overwhelmed her senses. She dropped her chin to her chest and blinked to clear the moisture from her eyes.

"You see anything?" Will scanned the yard.

But to her relief, his posture was right. He just looked like Will, on high alert. She shook her head no, didn't want to go back into the shed. Ander opened the padlock and checked his equipment before he opened the door. The plan was to start with the shed and search for the tea set. If it wasn't there, they'd move to the next building. Their presence might stir the shade up, and if it did, Will would fight the spirit. She and Ander's job was to find the tea set and where the burial spot was.

Maeve argued she should stay outside with Will to watch for the entity, but he'd insisted she stay with Ander. He told her they had two things to find, and it took less time if they both searched. If the shade got upset by their rooting around, Ander would need her to tell him where the shade was because he'd be focused on finding the tea set or the burial spot, and would get surprised without her. Will claimed he had a sixth sense with monsters and always knew when they were near, even if he couldn't see them. She'd relented, but still didn't want to go into the shed.

Ander directed her to the corner nearest the door and walked back to where she and Will had been. Maeve wanted to thank him for not making her go back there. He'd shown her what the tea set should look like, but with all the junk surrounding her, it seemed impossible to find. Ander would also search for the tea set but would be more focused on the burial spot. She'd agreed that was best, since as Will pointed out; she couldn't distinguish where a burial area might be.

She poked around in pile after pile for any tarnished silver or anything that resembled a tea set. It was noisy. They'd warned her because of the noise, they had to move fast. Even though the neighbors were far off, they might hear them ransacking the outbuildings and call the cops. As fast as possible, without tearing the shed apart, she searched. But there was so much jagged and rusty junk.

Cold against her back made her shiver. She checked to see if the door was open. It wasn't. Ander cleared his throat behind her. She froze and swallowed before she forced herself to look behind her. It took all her willpower not to pee her pants. Staring her in the face was the ghostly child from the night before. The dated clothing and hairstyle made it obvious the child was not of this time. Its ethereal form almost see through.

Viewed through the apparition, Maeve watched Ander's jaw set. His eyes intense before his hands moved around and reminded her of when they were in the tunnels at Mason's. The girl moved her face closer and almost touched Maeve's.

"Bitch!" Will's booming voice cut through the now quiet shed.

In blurred motion, the child shade phased through the door. Maeve gasped to catch her breath as Ander ran past her and burst out of the shed. She followed him, but then stopped in her tracks. Not only the ghost child but also the mother from the photograph surrounded them.

The mother appeared crazed and inhuman. She flew down at Will, who fended her off with an iron pipe. As the pipe sailed through her body, the mother spirit shrieked. Will's arm bled. Had the shade done that? Ander threw something at the mother, which drew her attention to him. Where was the child? The child had moved behind Will, poised to attack him, but he didn't seem to sense her.