It was very cold. Niall had no idea where he was, but it was freezing. He also couldn't lift his limbs. Tied down by some invisible force, Niall knew whatever it was, it wasn't physical.
The effort behind trying to peel his eyelids open was extraordinary. He could just barely get some light to filter in through, that force still holding him down. He fought hard; his body shaking from effort.
"Stop trying to get free, you're only going to hurt yourself." A voice came from beside him, and Niall froze. It was the same voice from before, the one that had so softly whispered to him in the basement.
"Who are you?" Niall asked, and a giggle softly rose from the surrounding area, seeming to fall from all angles.
"My name is Willa. But that's not really what you meant, was it?"
"What do you want from me?" Niall called out, his voice cracking slightly. He would never admit it, but he was terrified. Who was this girl, and how had she so mercilessly tied him down?
"You should have listened to the stories. About the house, I mean. Didn't you pay attention?"
"What stories?" Willa laughed again, and this time, Niall shivered. Every time Willa giggled, the room temperature seemed to drop a little.
"Silly little human. Only a fool would place their foot in here." Willa said, and Niall only wished he could open his eyes.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, let me go, you psycho!"
"Not so fast. I was going to just finish you off like your friends, but it seems you're already dead." Willa's ice cold fingers brushed over Niall's wrist. His scarred wrist. Tears flooded Niall's closed eyes, and he fought against his restraints.
"Please, please let me go," Niall whimpered.
"But I haven't even told you the story yet!" Willa whimpered. She cleared her throat, and her voice drifted back to its original spot, behind Niall's head. "Once, long ago, there was a doctor, named Mr. Miller. He seemed nice, and he promised me, and many other girls, things. Things that would make us beautiful. Of course, during this time, beauty was the only thing that was worth much. I was going to be a movie star. I was going to be sought after my by millions."
But of course, Mr. Miller wasn't who he'd said he'd be. I came here, paid my $20, and sat over there, just past where your feet are now. He had promised me beauty, and love, and everlasting fame. But I got nothing. NOTHING!" Willa screamed, and it sounded as if tears streaked down her cheeks. Niall couldn't be sure, his eyes were still shut.
"I laid right where you are now, that same cold table, and I let him whisper promises in my ear. But they were lies. All lies. He restrained my hands and went to work. At first, I tried screaming, because the pain... oh the pain was like nothing I'd ever felt. But after some time, I just gave up calling for help. No one was coming for me. I could feel the blood soaking through my hospital gown. And I knew death was imminent."
"I later discovered that he'd taken features and organs from random girls that came to him, just as naïve as me. He was trying to build some sort of super human girl, someone so perfect she'd break hearts and live forever. I never found out how that went for him, but I didn't care. He had murdered hundreds of girls, for what? Some killer project?" Willa whimpered again, and Niall was sure she was crying now. Niall wasn't quite sure why someone would make up such a gruesome story, but he didn't have the time. He had to get home.
"I'm... I'm sorry, but I really can't be here. I have a test tomorrow, and I'm sort of busy. So if you could just get Zayn and Louis to come out -"
"You don't believe me?" Willa said. Niall let out a choked laugh.
"Look, Willa, or whatever, this was funny. And you scared me, really. But the joke is over now."
"YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME!" Willa screamed, and Niall flinched. Of course he didn't believe her. She was crazy, and she should probably be locked up. "Well Niall Horan, why don't I just show you just how real this situation is," And Niall felt as if a weight had been lifted off him. Carefully peeling his eyes open, Niall let himself adjust to the semi dark room. Pushing to a sitting position, Niall realized how stiff he was. How long had he been laying there? He rubbed his wrists, but as he glanced to the edges of the table, there appeared to be no restraints of any kind. Niall cracked his neck and finally took in his surroundings. The same basement he'd been in before, although the cool metal table he laid on was clean, and the jars of oddities were gone.
"This is all very real," Willa said from behind Niall, and he hopped down and turned. Only shadows presented themselves, but even they seemed to snicker and whisper, knowing they concealed something. Niall shivered involuntarily.
"C-come out!" Niall said loudly, hoping to appear braver than he really was inside. A laughed filtered through the air, and again, it got very cold. Almost silent footsteps could just barely be heard, and the first thing Niall saw were here feet, and the hem of a long white gown. As Willa stepped into the moonlight, he saw that she couldn't have been taller than 5 foot 4. Her long brown hair trailed behind her in an invisible wind, and he knew if it were straight it would hit her thighs. He noticed that her eyes were green, sea foam green, the kind of green that you only saw on plastic dolls.
He also saw the gaping hole in her chest.
"Willa, good God, you need to get to a hospital! You're bleeding everywhere!" Niall said, but Willa made no move towards the door, and only laughed.
"You think they can fix this? What are they going to do, give me a new heart?" Willa laughed even louder. "I'm so far gone, Niall. And so are you," She said, but Niall simply shook his head.
"What is wrong with you!? You're crazy, you're fucking crazy," Niall said, and turned to leave. Surprisingly, Willa didn't stop him. He rushed up the stairs and out the front door, and took a deep breath of the outdoor air. He spotted the kids trick or treating, hoping maybe one of them spotted Zayn or Louis.
"Hey, guys, did any of you see two boys leave that house over there?" Niall said, but he was met with silence. "Hello?" He waved his hand in front of a kid wearing a vampire costume, but the kid didn't even flinch.
"He can't see you, I'd give up," Willa said, and Niall jumped. She was standing right behind him.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"What do you think I mean? Only a ghost can see a ghost," Willa said, and tilted her head back laughing. Niall felt cold all over, and it wasn't just from Willa's presence.
"You mean I'm dead? YOU KILLED ME?!" Niall screeched, and gripped Willa's shoulders tightly. The skin on his hands sizzled and burned, and Niall pulled away quickly, wincing.
"You're not dead, jack ass, and don't touch me. Ever," Willa said, and stomped away. Niall had no choice but to follow her.
"Why can no one see me? See us?"
Willa whipped around to face him, Niall almost ran into her, but he stopped himself just in time. "I'm here to teach you a lesson, Niall. You so desperately want to die?" She gestured to Niall's scarred wrists. "Well I'm going to show you what it feels like to be dead." She turned, and walked away from a stunned Niall, leaving him the most alone he'd ever been.
