a cold summer

Chapter Twelve ~ Smoke and Mirrors

I sprinted home, the map in my hand. I had to know if this was true. The map outlined a series of elaborate machines and supposed instructions on how to turn my garden into a creepy winter wonderland. This would change everything.

I arrived back at my house, slightly sceptical as the last time I was here I was attacked by angry ghost kids. But if this map was correct, they were nothing more than hallucinations.

It was a bright and sunny day, pleasantly warm. I went to the first spot on the map which outlined a dry ice machine hiding in a bush next to the dark forest. But there were a lot of bushed next to the dark forest, so this could take some time.

I approached the gnarly looking bushes and inspected them closely. There weren't really any leaves on them, just dead sticks and bits of twig. I wasn't particularly keen to start poking around in them. Slowly, I reached my hand into the first bush and felt around. Nothing. I moved onto the second bush. Still nothing. It was in the third bush that I felt my hand close around something cold and metal. I pulled as hard as I could and dragged the metal heap out of the dead bush. Sure enough, it was the machine.

I followed the instructions on the map and turned it on. Suddenly, the air temperature began to drop. It felt so cold, just like before, when I first discovered Jesse and Isa's floating bodies. I then went to the next spot located in a tree which supposedly had a projector hidden inside it. I found the tree in question in the dark forest which creeped me out a little bit. That forest just has an air of eeriness. Sure enough, there was a small, circular hole with a piece of glass that caught the light. I pressed on the knob of the tree as it said to do in the instructions. The projector hummed for a bit before shining a light. I watched as the two ghostly kids materialised in front of my house, staring at the pier. That was where Xara and I had been standing. Then, just like before, they smiled and ran off into the dark woods, where I was standing. But they didnt notice me. As soon as they stepped into the woods, the projector shut off and the kids disappeared.

I turned the map over. There was another blueprint on the opposite side which showed a map of the inside of my house with other elaborate mechanisms set up. I had to check that out as well. It would explain the ghostly encounter I had experienced.

I went to the plant pot next to the kitchen and found another mini projector hiding inside. Turning it on revealed a projection of the ghost girl running down the corridor. That was what I had seen earlier. For a minute there was nothing. Then, the ghost boy materialised in front of me and stared at the corridor where I had been standing. He stood there for a long time, not moving. Eventually, he ran towards the corridor and turned the corner, before promptly disappearing.

I turned the projector off. I had seen enough. The doorknob on the bathroom door oddly didn't start violently shaking like it did before. However, the blueprint said that it would have to be done manually. That meant someone else was here. They were the one setting off all the mechanics whilst I was screaming and cowering, praying that I wouldn't die. They must have found that so funny.

So it was all a ruse.

Utter disbelief ran through my head. The ghost thing was fake, nothing more than smoke and mirrors. I suddenly wondered how Jesse and Isa had come by this information. Surely they didn't set it up. They must have stolen it from the person who did this. But who would do this?

The same person who murdered them. They staged it to look like a ghost attack. But all that research done by PIT, it covered the murder perfectly. Then I realised: it fit a little too perfectly.

They lied to me.