Mind's Echo

Shelly

Listening to Alex's discourse on the validity of their experiences during the night, using what seemed to her to be advanced medical and scientific terminology, baffled and frightened Shelly. She had stopped crying. Being stumped by Alex as well as embarrassed by her lack of control made it easy for the flow of tears to stop. She had never lost it like that, especially in front of anyone! It wasn't like her to cry over, well, anything. She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried. Plus, she hadn't even bucked at Alex insisting he take the lead. Take the lead ... What the hell? Shelly rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. She'd let a man "take the lead" over her dead body. 

What is wrong with me, she wondered, looking at Alex, her unease growing in tandem with the spark of her old self. Her behavior from a few minutes before concerned her. It was like another person had taken over her body for a second. She didn't like that and she didn't like the spacey look in Alex's eyes. She wondered if he was experiencing the same thing, a shift in his personality. A ... possession?! She shivered slightly. 

Giving herself both a mental and physical shake, she tentatively placed a hand on Alex's arm, shaking him, too. She had to bring him back from wherever it was he had drifted. She was scared and it pissed her off.

"Alex, are you alright?" She said in a low, soothing voice. 

He looked down at her, still in a trance. She asked him again, and he shook his head, his eyes finally clearing, as if he were in a fog.

"Ye ... Ye ... Yes. Um. Yeah. I'm ... uh ... fine. I'm fine." He shook his head some more, lifting a hand to his temple. "What just happened?" He asked, looking first at Shelly, then Mark. His gaze flicked back to Shelly, worry wrinkling his forehead. "Oh, hey. Is your nose okay?" He cupped her face in his hands and looked her over, grimacing. "That was a nasty fall, huh? Oh, um. We really need to, um, we need to get out of here. You need a doctor. All I know is simple first aid. You might need stitches, or maybe to have the nose set. I don't know. Sometimes in the movies people will, like, twist their nose, like, push it, you know, back into place." He shivered. "I can't do that. Ugh. I can't stand the thought of maybe hurting someone. Especially you."  

Shelly breathed a sigh of relief to have the old, flustered Alex back. She smiled as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose nervously, and bent to pick up his bag. Stepping back, he almost tripped over a loose piece of tile. 

"Be careful, Alex! You don't want to break your nose, too!" Shelly warned, grabbing his wrist to steady him. 

While she was happy he seemed normal again, she was terrified by the fact that he hadn't been normal just a few minutes ago. There really is something happening to us in the fucking place! We need to get out of here, and fast!

Shelly looked at Mark to see if he were showing any strange mannerisms, or acting weird. As far as she could tell he was fine. He was just fiddling with his camera, looking around the hallway, and very obviously avoiding the stairs. 

"Are you alright, Mark?" Shelly asked.

Before he could respond, a loud bang sounded from down the hall. All three jumped. They huddled together, peering down into the darkened recesses of the hallway. Shelly wanted to shine her light in that direction, but she also didn't want to. She guessed the guys felt the same way because neither of them were making attempts to light up the dark. 

"Um ... What the fuck was that?" She whispered, digging her nails into Alex's forearm.

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but another insistent, angry bang responded before he could. Alex dropped his camera, making his own loud banging noise. Shelly's heart leaped into her throat. She couldn't stop the sharp yelp that escaped her lips. She turned on Alex, slapping his arm.

"Why did you do that!? You nearly gave me a heart attack!!"

"Me?!" Alex shouted back. "I almost gave you a heart attack and not the noises coming from down there?" He pointed down the hall, glaring at her. 

She didn't want to admit that she was scared and lashing out at him because he was close and real and not scary. She crossed her arms defensively. She wanted to apologize, but she was suddenly distracted by shuffling, thumping noises coming from the other end of the hallway. 

What the fuck? Were the ghosts closing in on them, trapping them in the middle? She looked back and forth between the end where the bangs had come from and the end where the shuffling noises were growing louder, closer. Another scream was working its way up her throat. Before she could release it, however, lights began bobbing around the bend in the direction from which shuffling, thumping noises had come. 

"Who's there?!?" Shelly cried out.

From around the corner emerged first Quincy, then Eva. Shelly, Mark, and Alex threw up their hands when they spotted the gun leveled in their direction. 

"Whoa! Whoa!" Mark shouted. "Dude! It's just us!!"

Quincy lowered the gun and Shelly heaved a sigh. She dropped her hands. She bent over and started taking deep, calming breaths. She lifted her head, smiling shakily.

"Thank God it's you guys! We thought you might have been a ghost!"