Somewhere In-Between ~ An Adventure in the Afterlife

CHAPTER 7 - INTERVENTION

It took a while for Lizzie to get back to sleep that night. First her disturbing Lindsey Stirling dream, and then waking up to find "Max the Ghost" in her room. What a night! Luckily she slept soundly when she finally was able to drift off.

It was a Friday morning. She awoke to her alarm and the room was still dark. School starts way too early, she thought. Because of the midnight disturbances, she barely got any real sleep. She pressed the snooze button, needing just a few more minutes under the covers.

Maybe I won't take a shower today, she thought. I need the extra time to just lie in bed. Getting out of bed was always hard for her, but even harder without a good night's sleep.

"Hey, Lizzie!" She heard. Her eyelids sprung open. She let out a whimper. It wasn't her mom's voice. Oh, no! He's still here!

"Hey, Lizzie! Your alarm went off. Don't you need to get up for school?"

Lizzie sneered, and pulled her covers over her head.

"Oh, c'mon! You gotta get up, Lizzie, right? Come on!"

She felt a tug on her blanket and she shrieked. "Aack! Max! Stop it! What are you doing?"

"Jeez, sorry! I'm just trying to help you."

"Max," her voice was muffled from under her blanket, "the last thing I need is your help, okay? I don't need a freaky, stupid dead kid telling me it's time to get up!" She yanked the blanket off to sit up and yell at him. "Now, leave me alo—"

Lizzie found herself in a predicament. Her mom stood in the doorway, staring at her with a very confused expression. Max was standing beside Lizzie's bed, hands on his hips, irritated, apparently unaware that her mother had just entered the room. Oh, boy, she thought, I need to improvise. She leaned over and pounded the alarm clock with her fist, and yelled at it. "Now, leave me alone, you stupid dead thingy! You dumb, inanimate object!" Lizzie winced, hoping her mom fell for it.

Mom turned to leave. "I'm making you some toast, honey. Come to the kitchen when you're dressed, okay?"

"Okay, sure, mom!" Lizzie called after her in a lilted voice. She returned to her scowl and turned to look directly at Max, speaking through clenched teeth. "Max, you go away now. I mean it."

"I can't Lizzie! I need to stay and help you. I promised I would."

Lizzie fell back down on her pillow with a thud. "Ugh! What are you talking about? Help me with what? I already have an alarm clock, Max. And a mom who won't let me sleep in! I don't need one more person – or dead person – bothering me! Especially in the morning!"

"Lizzie, this is not what I want to be doing either, okay? I made a promise to a crazy rag lady that I would help you out, because she says you're in danger. All I really want to do is ask for your help, but she said maybe if I helped you first, you might be willing to finally help me. Now stop freakin' complaining, Lizzie, and let's get this whole thing over with! I don't exactly like you either, you know!"

Lizzie sat up slowly. Her eyes were wide. How did Max know about the colorfully rag-dressed woman in her dreams? This black woman showed up randomly, and always seemed to have a message for her, but Lizzie never wanted to listen. Lizzie always wondered why this same woman kept popping up in her dreams. She thought it must be some character her subconscious created. But how does Max know about her? And now this new message... "Wait," she asked, "what do you mean, 'I'm in danger?'"

Max stammered. "Oh, um... Well, I'm not really sure how to tell you about this without scaring you too badly." Max thought for a second of the most delicate way he could put it. "But, there's a creepy shadow guy that likes to watch you sleep. He doesn't seem all that friendly. I think maybe he's the devil or something."