Finding Havers, + other Ghosts short stories

Finding Havers: Part 1

"Morning all!" Pat strolled into the dining room, endlessly enthusiastic as always. But then he stopped.

The Captain was sitting in an armchair by the fire, rocking gently, and his face was in his hands. A single tear rolled down his cheek. 

"Hey, hey, Cap. Are you alright?"

"Leave him." Julian and Robin looked up from their game of chess. "He's moping."

"Why?"

"Don't you know what day it is?"

Robin sighed. "Oh. Oohhh." Realisation dawned in Pat. "Oh, ok. I'll just leave you to it then"

The day was the 11th November. Armistice Day. It always meant a lot to the Captain. It always reminded him of... Havers. 

The grandfather clock struck 11am. It sounded 11 times, slowly and ominously. At each bong, the Captain jolted, as if struck by electricity.

Suddenly the Captain lowered his hands, trembling. The swagger stick dropped from his hands and fell with a clatter to the floor. Before any of the ghosts could stop him, he was on the floor, eyes wide with fright. 

The Captain was having a flashback. And a vivid one at that. Although what all the other ghosts could see from that angle was the ceiling, the Captain was seeing something very different. 

It was back to that event at Button House. Full of army officers. As he walked into the main room, buzzing with conversation, something suddenly felt wrong. The noise receded, and his head throbbed. He felt his heartbeat in his chest: slower, more erratic. He held his chest with his hands, doubled over in pain. He winced and stumbled, the room suddenly spinning. He soon found himself splayed out on the floor, absolutely incapacitated, chest heaving up and down, each breath hugely laboured. Dozens of heads looked down at him, murmuring and discussing. The look of sympathy and shock on their faces soon turned to disgust and disdain. With horror, he realised that he was busted. Stealing medals from another officer was an unforgivable offence. But what else could he have done in that situation?

Through his blurry vision and laboured breathing, he spotted a figure pushing through the crowd, clearing a path like an explorer in a jungle. He was young, with dark brown hair and a deep scar over his left eye. Havers. 

"Sir? Sir? Are you alright? Please don't go. Don't you dare leave me now! I just want to say one thing. I had no choice to leave for North Africa and I.. I..." Before he could finish his sentence, he was pulled away by another officer. In a last flurry of movement, Havers pressed his swagger stick into the Captain's stiffening fingers.

"Havers!" The Captain croaked, gripping the swagger stick with all his dwindling force. Then everything went black. From then on, he became a ghost in Button House, eternally separated from his love and with no chance to clear his name. 

With a start, he woke up, and immediately searched around for the swagger stick. The only thing of Havers he had left.

Alison had got up, and was half asleepedly shuffling into the living room, in a dressing gown with a mug of coffee cupped in her hands.

Her eyes quickly widened. She gasped in shock. "Oh my God! Captain are you ok?" She dropped her coffee on the floor, the mug smashing, and rushed over. Mike walked in soon after, looking confused. He gazed quizzically at Alison, frowning in concern. "It's the Captain" she mouthed, knelt on the ground beside him. Mike immediately saddened, knowing the tragic stories Alison had told him, and backed out of the room, leaving the Ghosts in privacy.

By now there was a crowd around the Captain, reminding him uncomfortably of the day he died. Alison, noticing his discomfort, shooed the rest of the Ghosts away. 

"What is it? Is it..." With the answer she expected, the Captain replied "Havers", his voice breaking with grief. Before Alison could help him up, with a creak of his knees and elbows, he sprang up and walked briskly out of the room, head bowed and eyes red. His hands shook while holding Havers' swagger stick.

"The Cap's really bad this year. It must be some sort of anniversary. He hasn't had a flashback since the first few years after he died." Julian said. Robin nodded.

Alison was shocked. The poor Captain. What could she do to help?

As if reading her mind, Lady Button walked in, brushing the grass and dew off her ruffled dress. She had just come back in from throwing herself out of the window again. A regular and reliable, if not blood-curdling, morning alarm clock. "There's not much we can do, Alison. We're stuck here. But you can go anywhere. You could do something."

Alison thought. She would. She would help the Captain. In any way she could.