The Ghostly Past

Chapter 13

Clara drifted in and out of consciousness. An indeterminate amount of time passed. She remembered vaguely Mrs Barker's voice, "What kind of trouble have you got this girl in now?"

There was the heat of a fire, hands rubbing at her skin until she cried out, even barely conscious as the blood flow restarted.

Her body started shaking with shivers and she moaned, eyes flickering. "Shivering is a good sign." An unknown voice said. "Keep her warm, keep her hydrated with hot drinks if she wakes enough and make sure she rests."

"Is she going to be alright?" Leo asked anxiously.

"She's out of danger, as long as you keep her warm. Her pulse is much stronger."

She faded out again.

When she opened her eyes fully, daylight was streaming through a window. Disoriented, she gazed around, realising she was lying on the sofa in Mrs Barker's living room. There were layers of heavy blankets wrapped around her and the fire was on. She felt shivery, and achy and tired, like she had the flu.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"Hey!" Max sat up from where he'd been lying on the floor, his head on a cushion, "You're awake!" James and Leo came in from the kitchen, both of them smiling after hearing Max's voice. "About time too!"

"How are you feeling?" Max asked, brushing hair off her face.

"I could be worse." She croaked as a shiver ran through her.

"I'll make you some tea." James said. "Mrs Barker is out running errands."

The three men were surprisingly gentle with her, making jokes, helping her sit up to drink hot drinks and then coercing her to eat some soup. Surely they had better things to do with their Sunday's?

There was a gradual lull in the small talk as they all knew there were things that needed to be discussed. "Why did you run?" Leo asked finally into the silence. "When you knew what was out there?"

"I heard you." Clara's voice cracked again, "The window was open. You were talking about lying to me again. I was so angry and I felt so...humiliated."

"I'm sorry." Leo bowed his head. "We were thinking of ourselves that we didn't think how our words would affect you."

"That's alright." She whispered.

"You're far too forgiving." James shook his head wryly.

"I...We were so scared when we came back inside and realised you were gone." Max was quiet. His green eyes looked muted. She gave him a small smile, trying to wriggle out from under the blankets.

James and Max helped her upright, still wrapped up tight. She felt disgusting, sweaty and dirty beneath the blankets, still in her clothes from the day before. Her cheek felt sore and she lifted her hand out to touch it, feeling a small scrape. Her knees felt scuffed too.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Ryan searched the roads with the girls, we took the shortcut." Leo said. Ryan? She was surprised, given how much he seemed to dislike her. "We saw your phone, lying on the ground. So we knew we were close."

"Yes," her memories seemed blurred. "I dropped it, didn't I? It was after the first one."

"The first one?" James frowned.

"The little girl." It had hurt, she remembered, those icy cold sensations running through her body. "She touched me and then I kept going until the next man came."