My Nightmare Just Became Real

Chapter 13 - When the Dead Talk

Author’s Note: Thank you everyone for reading. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, it’s a little more exciting than the previous one :)

There was darkness and only darkness. Nothing more and nothing less. There was no forest, no blood and no Lewis. There was just...nothing. I wasn’t walking or floating or sitting or standing...I just was. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t shout. Was I even breathing? You might be thinking that this wasn’t scary. Wasn’t scary compared to my dream. But it was. Oh, it was worse. The human mind will never be able to comprehend, so don’t even try. I was somewhere in between alive and dead.  Somewhere between sleeping and waking. You don’t feel and you don’t know, you just exist and existing isn’t much fun without feelings. Wake up now. Wake up, wake up, wake-what was that? A sound. A small sound in the distance. It was a beeping. A steady beeping. Beep. Beep. Beep-

My eyes snapped open and I drew in a great breath. I sat there gasping for a moment or two before reaching for my glass of water.  Well that was different, I thought, lying back on my bed. Is that what it’s like to be lost? It probably was. If they just took away my ability to be scared, it wouldn’t be so bad. It was just sort of being suspended...yes, Lily, suspended in time for all eternity somewhere between life and death. Somewhere where you are completely helpless, in someone else’s control. Somewhere you can hurt but not cry to show your pain. Somewhere you wouldn’t be alive. Never again would you live. But nor would you die...

I began to shake and tears ran down my face. Why was it me? Why did I have to have some stupid soul that everyone wanted? Why me? I didn’t need this. I didn’t need the pain, the fear. I didn’t want the sleepless nights.  But who did? Who would ask for this? “So many stupid questions,” I muttered under my breath “so many stupid questions and not enough good answers. Too many stupid answers...”

A few days later I knocked on the door at Charlie’s house, having come out of hospital. Charlie opened it and I said “you’ve been crying. Why have you been crying?” I knew that if I didn’t come out with it now, Charlie would avoid it later and he knew how to do that as well. He always did. “I haven’t been-“

“Charlie, I always know when you’ve been crying. You get this look on your face and your eyes are still red even if you have washed them with water.” I said, stepping inside.

“It’s him.”

“Who?”

“Him in the cellar. The ghost who won’t leave me alone. Who’ll never leave me alone. I don’t know how to get rid of him.”

“Oh, Charlie. I’m so sorry. With all this happening, I completely forgot-“

“You don’t need to apologize for anything. It isn’t your fault.”

“Well, we’re going to sort this. Come on,”

“Where?” Said Charlie

“To the cellar, of course.”

“Oh, no.” Charlie said, pulling me back “No, you don’t. We are not, going down into that cellar.”

“Fine then. I’ll go.” I said, pulling away from his grip.

“Lily, wait-“

“What?”

“What if he...does something to you?”

“Then you’d better come too then.” Charlie chewed his lip, obviously torn so I said “look, Charlie, you don’t have to come. He won’t do anything to me. I can’t even see him.”

“Then what are you going-“ I tapped the side of my nose and Charlie just sighed and went to sit down.

“If you’re not back in ten minutes I’m coming down to get you.”

“I won’t be that long.”

“Good.” Said Charlie, probably thinking of going down to the cellar.

I made my way down the steps, shining the torch I’d taken off the side onto the floor. I went over to the mirror that had ‘HELP’ written on it. I wrote with my finger in the dust ‘I’ll help’ and waited.  People say that you feel cold when a ghost comes near you, well, it’s true.  I shivered and I felt something pass me. Not physically but...I could tell there was someone – something – there.  A word appeared in the dust, drawn by an unseen hand ‘REVENGE’.  I took a deep breath and wrote ‘why’.  ‘HE KILLED ME’ appeared in the mirror and then a moment later ‘LOOK AT MY FACE’.  Then the dust seemed to disappear from the mirror and I saw my reflection and behind me...a face.

At least, I think it was a face. I’d seen the ghost before, but never like I did now. It was horrible, torn to shreds with blood...blood everywhere. I heard it dripping on the floor. The ghost smiled at me, grinned to show he had broken teeth and his eyes...his eyes were mad with fury. Hungry for revenge. I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and look, I just kept on staring, horrified, in the mirror. Then a shredded hand came and touched my shoulder, I didn’t feel it but I could see it was there. I put my hands over my mouth and let out a muffled scream, turning around to see...

Nothing.

There was nobody there.

I turned back to the mirror to see that it was covered in dust again and a new message was there in the middle. ‘YOU SEE. MY FACE. I WANT REVENGE. THE MAN WHO DID THIS SHOULD BE DEAD’. I couldn’t help agree with this in my head but I had no intention of telling the ghost that. ‘I WILL NEVER REST UNTIL THERE IS JUSTICE. UNTIL I SEE HIM HERE WITH ME.”

Author’s Note: I wonder what you think about the ghost in the cellar. I wonder, what do you think they need to do to get rid of him and if he’ll ever leave? I wonder, do you think he has a part to play in all of this? Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this and I’d love to hear what you think :)