Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

BW - 10

"Claire?"

The only answer Alex got was a loud thud, as if the table had been shoved against the wall. As she sprinted to the living area, calling her niece out loud, she sensed the sudden drop of the temperature in the room.

"Claire!"

The girl's cry filled the dark room. In the dim glow coming from the parking lot, Alex saw Claire curling up on the floor against the fridge, arms up to shield her head. Beth Campbell's ghost was in front of her, reaching out and trying to grasp her throat.

Alex didn't stop to think. She just let her protective instincts kick in to join all Old Bootter had taught her many years before. In a single move, she snatched a poker from the fake fireplace and swung it at the ghost. It vanished in touch with the iron. She hurried to help Claire up to her feet.

"You okay, kiddo?"

Claire managed a nod, terrified eyes darting around. Alex grabbed the salt can from the cupboard and used it to draw a circle on the floor around the girl's feet.

"Stay inside the circle no matter what, got it?"

Beth's ghost appeared again before Claire could answer. Alex hit it with the poker and it vanished, only to show up a step away to their left. It flickered in and out of sight, showing up at different spots, shoving furniture around with furious shrieks every time it failed to catch Claire.

Alex kept swinging the poker until the ghost gripped her arms, sinking its rotten nails in her flesh. She felt the burning pain as they sliced her flesh, but Claire's muffled cries behind her made her ignore the pain and the blood running underneath the sleeves of her flannel.

Trying to yank Alex away from Claire, the ghost stepped on the salt. Beth's rotten nails got to scratch the girl's face before the salt forced it back. Alex tried to retrieve the poker, but the ghost charged again, and this time it grabbed her by the throat. She squirmed to escape the mortal clutch, choking.

Right when she felt she was passing out, the door slammed open and a loud shot ran in the room.

The ghost disappeared and Alex fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for air. Her blurry eyes recognized the figure at the doorway: Aidan, shotgun still to his face. Mark stormed in, bringing a large can of salt.

"Mark!" she called hoarsely. "Take care of Claire!"

The boy hurried to their side and helped her up. While Aidan poured salt across the doorway and on the windowpane, Alex used her phone's flashlight to find the book. The glass bowl was shattered to pieces near the wall, its contents scattered around, mixed with glass splinters. But she was managed to find the bag Claire had gotten to fill with the second set of ingredients.

"Can you read the Latin part?" she asked, handing the book over to Mark.

The boy read in a clear, fluent Latin that didn't surprise her, as she hurried to the kitchen counter with the small bag. Aidan grabbed his shotgun again and came to stand by her side, scanning the room for the slightest sign of the ghost.

Alex emptied the small bag into another bowl, forcing herself to keep from looking at Claire. The girl had curled up on the floor against the fridge again, crying quietly. Alex set her jaw and rolled up one of her sleeves, letting her blood drip on the ingredients. The book said nothing about needing blood for the spell, but she knew it would make it stronger. Aidan gave her a strip of matches before she even needed to ask.

Mark kept repeating the spell while the ingredients burned in the bowl, filling the room with a smell of spices. The other three held their breath, waiting for the mix to burn to ashes and set the spell in motion.