Keeping Secrets (Book 1)

Chapter 15: Run

"So how do we get out of here?" I asked Jenny, looking around the small area we were trapped in.

She shook her head. "We can't. There is no way out."

Well that was just great. There was supposed to be a way out and all the ghosts would be freed from this prison. Now what was I going to do? If I couldn't get out, I might be trapped here forever and my body will die.

"Hey," Jenny said. "That doesn't mean we can't make one."

"How so?"

Instead of answering me, she smirked and said, "Just follow my lead."

Those four words were not what I had wanted to hear. They had gotten us into so much trouble when we were younger, but, of course, I always seemed to go along with her plans, no matter how bad I thought they'd turn out to be, simply because I was curious - she was always more creative with coming up with plans than I ever would be. This time, however, I had no other choice but to follow her.

So I followed as she took off at a run, dodging the other ghosts like a pro. I easily kept up, having used to run track back in high school. It's been a while since then, but I had still kept up running, at least until the accident. This was the first time I've run since then. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as out of shape as I should have been, maybe that was because I wasn't technically alive here.

It only took a few seconds before we made it to the fence on the other side of our little area. At this point, we had gained the attention of all the other ghosts, even some from the other areas. I could feel them staring at us as Jenny made a sharp right at the fence, now running along the side of the enclosure. I followed, barely keeping myself from running straight into the fence. That wouldn't have been very good.

I wanted to ask Jenny what she was doing; running in circles around this area seemed like a waste of time to me. I knew, though, that there'd be no use in asking. She'd either ignore me or tell me that she wasn't going to tell me. That's just who she was, as annoying as it was.

It wasn't long before I noticed some of the other ghosts following me. At first, it was just one. Then two. Soon, just about all of them were running after us - even Grandma, although not nearly as quickly as me, Jenny, or some of the more seemingly athletic ones.

I still couldn't see the point of all this running. I was starting to get tired, my breathing - did I even have to breathe? - coming in ragged huffs. I was definitely feeling how out of shape I was now.

"What is going on in here?" a voice boomed.

Jenny didn't stop running, so neither did I. Even when we rounded another corner and saw Death standing outside the fence on the opposite side of the enclosure, scythe in hand and his arms crossed over his chest. He looked angry. I didn't have an answer for him, so I stayed quiet, hoping Jenny would answer.

And she did. "Just doing some exercising!" she called out to him, cheerfully. It didn't seem like she was out of breath at all. Lucky her.

I kept my eyes on Death, even as we rounded the next corner. This side of the fence was the closest to him. I didn't want to admit to myself that I was scared to be that close right now, but I couldn't stop running, not until Jenny does. This plan of hers better work.

He shook his head slowly. "You Fletchers just keep causing problems for me, don't you?" Then I watched as a gate appeared in the fence, only a few feet in front of us.

That's when time seemed to move in slow motion. There was too much time to think about everything going on. I shouldn't have that much time, not at the speeds we were running.

I could only assume Death had meant to come in here, to maybe force Jenny and I out for starting this nonsense. We were a foot away from the gate, he could easily grab us and drag us out, but Jenny, of course, had other ideas.

She changed course slightly, heading straight for the gate. Within seconds, which seemed to last forever, she had it open and charged at Death. I hesitated only slightly before following her through, the other ghosts still on my tail. We were making a break for it. I only hoped this would work.

I watched as Jenny skidded to a stop in front of Death. At this point, he actually looked a bit scared himself. The look was one I never expected to see on his face.

"Let us all go," Jenny demanded, time returning to a normal pace. "Let us back into the world. We weren't causing any problems out there!"

Death immediately gained his composure back. "Maybe not you, Jennifer Fletcher, but others, yes. I can't make the mistake of letting you wander freely again."

I stepped up next to my sister. "Then keep the ones who did cause problems here. I'm sure most of these people never did anything wrong. Why would you lock them all away because of a couple of trouble makers?"

It seemed like sound logic to me. Why punish the ones who never did anything bad? It just wasn't right.

Death nodded his head. "That was my plan, but then I realized something very important: ghosts will continue messing up, even if I take the bad ones out of the world. It would be easier to keep everyone contained, starting from the moment they died. A few days of extra work for a lifetime of bliss? How could I think of anything else?"

I still couldn't see how he thought this was all a good idea. "But torturing these people for all eternity because you wanted to make your job easier?" I asked. "How is that any better than the ones who were causing problems for you in the first place?"

Death thought about it for a moment. I could tell the wheels were spinning in that head of his. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

And I then I suddenly found myself back in Nina's shop, sitting up and gasping for air.