MAX

8

It wasn't hard for Emily to find the third ghost, the one who had left that scratch on Emily's arm. The ghost was in the kitchen, standing there, staring at the hallway.

Emily slowly approached her. She was afraid that the ghost would hurt her again, and she clutched the towel she was holding harder until her knuckles turned white. The first two ghosts didn't mean harm, but this one definitely did.

The ghost took a step toward Emily, and Emily took a step backward. "I'm not going to hurt you." She said, her voice quivering.

The ghost stopped and cocked her head to the side at an abnormal angle. Chills ran down Emily's spine. "I want to help you."

The ghost opened her mouth, as if she was going to speak. Instead, a pool of blood dropped from her mouth and splattered on the ground. Emily wanted to scream.

The ghost turned around and stared at the wall of the kitchen. Emily bit her tongue. She slowly took another step toward the ghost. "You were in an accident." Emily said, remembering what Max had told her. "You're mad. Your husband lived, and you didn't."

The ghost turned around. She opened her mouth, and a horrible scream came out and echoed through Emily's ears.

Emily winced and shouted over the scream. "You can rest! Your husband would want you to be at peace!"

The scream continued, and the ghost stepped toward Emily.

"You can rest!" Emily said. She held out her arms in front of her as the ghost stepped closer. She closed her eyes, waiting for the ghost to attack.

After a moment had passed, Emily opened her eyes. The scream had stopped, and the ghost had also stopped walking. She was in front of Emily, and Emily found that the towel she was holding had touched the ghost's arm. Emily was holding her breath. Maybe her method was working. Emily moved the towel to where she saw a horrible red mark near the ghost's shoulder. She knew it was a seatbelt burn, and she rubbed the towel over it. The mark began to disappear.

The woman closed her mouth, and a tear ran down her face. Slowly she nodded at Emily, and her body began to disappear.

Emily took a shaky deep breath. Three ghosts were gone. She wondered how Max was doing at getting rid of the others, and she started back down the hallway. She dropped the towel and practically ran into the hallway. She approached her sister's room, the only room aside from the living room that she hadn't searched. She poked her head into the doorway and found Max cleaning the man's face who had had a bullet in his head. She could see his face, and it was as if he had never been shot. Slowly his form disappeared, and Max took a deep breath. He glanced at Emily with no smile on his face. Emily understood why. The demon-ghost was the last one left.

Max held out his hand to Emily. He wasn't welcoming her into the room. He was telling her to stop. He didn't want her to get rid of the ghost. Emily's eyes widened. Max knew that this ghost was the most harmful, and there was no reasoning with him.

Max began to speak. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

The ghost did not move. He just stood with his back facing the wall, his long nails threatening Max and Emily. Blood dropped from various cuts on his back. Emily cocked her head to the side. None of the ghosts had seemed to know what happened to this man. He wasn't shot. He was tortured.

"I'm here to help." Max said. "I know how it hurts, when you die. I know how alone it can be here. It's only been a week and I feel like I'm losing my mind." Max looked to the ground. "But I do know that when I rest for good, it will be better. You should get some rest."

The ghost turned around so quickly that Emily didn't even have one to blink. He grabbed Max's throat by one hand and threw him to the ground. Emily screamed and covered her mouth in horror. This ghost was far more scarier than the melting Young Age.

The ghost got down on his hands and knees and hovered over Max threateningly. It was as if he was preparing to eat Max right then and there. Emily's stomach dropped. This ghost wasn't a ghost, so what would prevent him from doing just that?

"Justin Lewis! Your name is Justin Lewis!" Max said in desperation.

Emily frowned. Max was already dead. She didn't think that other ghosts could kill ghosts. Her mind wandered over to the pile of what once was a walking human being. That pile was a ghost that had been torn apart in her own home. The thing that scared Emily was that that pile of ghost remains was still alive.

The ghost paused momentarily as the ghost heard Max sat his name. Using this distraction, Max grabbed a lighter from his pocket and lit the flesh on the deformed ghost's face. The ghost reeled back in confusion and let out a blood-curdling scream. Max crawled away from the man as quickly as he could, but the ghost managed to grab onto Max's ankle. Max was thrown against the wall and he crumpled to the ground as the ghost slowly burned.

Emily couldn't watch anymore. She rushed into the room and grabbed a pile of books that lie on the ground. Emily saw the ghost writhing in pain, and for a moment she felt sympathy for him. Then she saw Max still lying on the ground, and she took no hesitation. She slammed the books over the ghost's burning head, and he fell to the ground. The ghosts as not unconscious. He screamed again and crawled toward Emily. That was not a ghost. She screamed and took a step back.

The ghost reached out for Emily with his burning hand, and she closed her eyes.

Max grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her away from the ghost. The ghosts creamed again, but Emily watched as it dissolved into a pile of black ash.

Emily turned around and looked at Max. He was out of breath, staring at the dissolving ash.

"Max, are you okay?"

He did not respond. For a moment, he looked as if he was in pain, and his wound started bleeding again.

Emily's eyes widened. Max held up his hand to stop her and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the look of pain on his face had vanished.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked slowly.

Max nodded. "I just... the feeling came again." He said slowly. He took a deep breath.

Emily frowned. She knew Max was talking about his wound. "Are you okay?" She asked more directly.

Max took another deep breath. "I'm as good as I'll ever be."