MISTER WHY?

Chapter 8

When she awoke later that day, she had slept in well past noon and the grey sky promised lots of rain soon. She got up and realized that  Alistair was nowhere to be found so Hannah wanted to go out and get some fresh air and tried the door, but it was locked.  She panicked and then had to talk herself down, "He's only gone out for a while and forgotten to leave me a key. That's all." She repeatedly told herself,  as she sat down to watch TV.  

It was getting dark when she heard the door unlock and she left the sofa to see who it was, expecting to see Alistair just entering, but the door was open and no one was there. she slipped on the new trainers that Alistair had bought her, grabbed the coat hanging behind the door, and walked out into the darkness of the countryside. Hannah could make out a silhouette in the distance on the dirt track. "Alistair," she called out not wanting to leave the comfort of the light from the cottage windows. There was no reply only wisps of fog drifting across the small gravel roadway. Hannah not hearing a reply grew concerned and decided to approach the shadowy figure, "Perhaps he had drunk too much or it was someone lost."  she thought to herself as she hurried up to meet the person. The night breeze blew through the grass and the sounds of whispering could be heard all around her. Hannah stopped scared to move on rooted to the spot the silhouette hadn't moved it only stood there silently in the darkness. Hannah wanted to scream but couldn't as she felt hands reaching out from the long grass on the verges. "Why?" the disembodied voices breathlessly whispered from the darkness, some with what sounded like eastern European accents and using languages she didn't understand. Hannah then felt drops of rain hit her face it took her a moment to realise the rain smelt and tasted of blood. She used her hand to wipe some off her face and saw that it was indeed blood and she tried to run but the invisible hands beneath her tripped her up and as she turned, she somehow managed to turn around and tried to kick the invisible hands off of her so she could get away, all the while the blood rain was now pouring from the sky and covering Hannah. The shadow then swooped down screaming in the darkness causing Hannah to scream and bolt upright and now awake in the chair she had fallen asleep in a while watching TV. Alistair looked across from where he was sat. he frowned but said nothing and went back to watching his show on TV. 

Hannah saw he was unhappy and disappeared upstairs to get out of his way. Alistair then followed her up the stairs and into her room. His footsteps were heavy and slow, he opened the door and stared at her from the doorway.  "You screamed." He pointed out.

"It was a bad dream." She replied quietly from where she sat on the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed next to her. Hannah began to feel uncomfortable with him so close. "I'm OK."  She told him hoping he would back off tonight.

"I see." He smiled and put his hand on her leg. "Do you feel up to dealing some cards tomorrow?"

"Yes." She said. "Have your cousin's turned up early?"

"We will go to the main house tomorrow and you can see my ancestor's home."

"Am I going to meet your ancestors as well?" She asked wanting some kind of ghost story to explain the strange dream and encounters, but all he did was stand up walk out and slam the door and walked down the stairs. Hannah decided to leave him and let him cool down.

Sometime later he walked up the stairs and into bed next to her. Hannah turned around and looked at him with his head resting on the pillow. "She was an ex." He told her,

"The ghost?"

"She disappeared and then the ghost appeared,"  Alistair told her.

"Is she jealous of us having fun?"

"Nope, she is trying to guilt me."  He told.  "It was good and then she had to go do that..."

"What?"

"Disappear." He said to Hannah. "I came in here for a distraction." He told her and took hold of her around the waist. "Now distract me, woman."