Ghostly Plea

Ashlyn

Geoffrey has kept a close eye on me all day. It's unnerving. I want to go look for clues, but I can't, because whenever I do, Geoffrey suddenly appears and wants me to help with the banquet. What I don't understand is why he's stopping me from snooping. It makes no sense. He's kept me here so I can figure out the truth of that night, yet he's stopping me. All of the sudden he acts like an overprotective parent, then the next thing I know, he gets so angry he could snap.

The girls seem happy about the banquet though. They all have a new hop in their step getting overly hopeful about Charlie finding the dagger. But the finding of the object only makes me feel unsettled. What could a silver dagger mean? The murder weapon perhaps? But if I was the murderer, I wouldn't leave the weapon in the house. That would be a huge mistake.

Charlie's been acting strange. She's naturally an outgoing cocky son of a gun, but since the finding of the dagger she's been quieter and more reserved. After the whole fiasco with Geoffrey at three in the morning he told us all to rest up. It took Bella and I a while to calm Danny down. When he saw the dagger, he freaked and disappeared. Thankfully Poppy helped us track him down. He was bawled up in his sister's room; where Riley, Charlie, and Audrey are staying, rocking back and forth crying. He was appearing and reappearing so fast it looked like he was glitching.

It was like he was echoing. One leg in the past, like when we found him, and one in the present trying to seek comfort from us. He was crying crocodile tears, and chanting, I didn't mean it! I swear! I didn't mean it; I didn't mean it! Repeatedly, while at the same time another version of himself was trying to hug Bella. It was terrifying. I had never seen anything like it before. What could have happened to this sweet little boy?

Now I'm in the garden surrounded by roses and sitting on the ladybug bench trying to decide if Danny was mentally stable enough for me to ask some questions. A chilly breeze flicks my hair around my face as I watch Danny looking for bugs. I pull the locket out from around my neck and try to examine it for more clues. If only I could unlock it...

"Where'd you find that?" Danny asks suddenly. He picks himself off of the muddy ground and traces a tiny pale finger over the rose in the middle.

"You have found that before. Don't you wemember?" He looks into my eyes as if willing me to know what he's talking about. And for one strange moment, I think I do.

I should not have done it. I knew from the start it was a terrible idea. But I thought mother deserved to know what father had been keeping from her. I trace the locket with my finger. This was the final piece of evidence to prove my father's terrible past. It made me sick just looking at him, but mother said she would make it right. She said she would fix everything. And I believed her.

The memory that was not my own stops. I try to think about it again but it's like it's locked deep in my mind. "I think I do remember." I say to Danny. His eyes fill with hope, and he puts a hand to my cheek.

"Is that you?" He asks, I stare at him confused. "Harper?"

My vision begins to tunnel, and all of the sudden I have no way to control my body. Is this what it's like to become paralyzed?

"Danny?" I find myself saying, but it's not me talking. It's as if I'm having an out of body experience. I'm watching myself speak to Danny, but it's not me.

"I knew it was you!" I see Danny say. I try to tell him, that's not me! What's happening?!

I see my body hug Danny and kiss him on the head. "We have to keep this between us, okay?" He nods his head enthusiastically.

"But why do you not tell evwieybody? Ashwyn said they can help us, and then we can be free."

"You can't trust them Danny, if they help us, we will not go to a good place, we will go to a terrible place full of hell fire. Do you want that?"

"No," His eyes start to rim with tears. She bends down to hug him only to let out a grunt. I feel myself pull back into my body. I can see, and hear regularly again, but Harper still has control of my body. I can feel her in it with me, trying to hold on just a little bit longer. It feels as if she's tearing my insides out. I try to scream out but all that escapes is a whimper. "Don't hurt Ashwyn, please! She helps me!" Danny yells while crying.

"I don't have much time before-'' She lets out a grunt of pain. My head starts to pound. I yelp again. "Before, she takes over a-again. Promise you won't trust t-them." We drop to the ground. Harper moves my body to brace the bench. "Promise!" Just as fast as she took over, she left me crumbling on the ground.

I try to blink, but I see nothing. Ringing echoes through my mind. I try to call out Danny's name, but nothing comes out. I can hear his cries though. And I can feel someone cradling me in their arms. Then there's nothing but black.