Flirting with death

Cherry Hill Estate (part 2)

"G-Grim?" I asked, my voice shaking a bit. What was he doing here?

"I should ask you what you're doing here with your friends," He answered.

"Did I say that out loud?" I wondered to myself. "Well... yes." 

"But I'm absolutely positive..." I said, trailing off. 

"You should go. You're not safe here," He answered briskly, beckoning for the cat to go over to him. It willingly obeyed him. 

"He's midnight, by the way," He said, patting his head. Midnight purred. 

"Well... You live around here?" I asked, looking away. 

"Yeah. There's a neighborhood over there," He said, pointing into the distance. 

"Okay..." I trailed off. "You come here often? With your cat?"

He chuckled. "Midnight's not my cat. He's stray. He wouldn't let me take him away."

I giggled. "Cats have that cattitude, ya know?"

"Val? Did you find anything?" I heard Faith yell from outside. 

"I've got to go," Hadrian suddenly said, the warmth in his voice suddenly evaporating. "Don't tell anyone that you saw me. And don't take anything here too. Say you didn't find anything."

Without waiting for a reply, he swept out of the room. I tried to go after him, but he seemed to literally disappear. 

"Ohmygod, Val! We were so worried!" Faith said, entering the kitchen. "We were calling for your name, but you didn't answer us!" 

"Oh! I was... Petting this cat! Isn't it adorable?" I said, quickly making up an excuse and petting midnight again. It purred. 

"Awwwww! But we have to continue exploring the second floor! We're running out of time," Faith said, dragging me outside to meet the others. 

As us girls walked up the creaking stairs, the suspense in the air hung heavily once again, covering us like a blanket. 

"The flashlight, Val. Flashlight!" Jamie whispered frantically. I fumbled with the switch, and finally turned it on. I handed it over to the trembling Jamie, who quickly checked around for anyone. 

"Geezus..." I heard Faith mumble beside me. But wait... Isn't she in front of me. 

"Wait..." I heard Sarah say, her voice shaky. 

Suddenly, everyone screamed at the same time when we realized that the one who said geez wasn't anyone of us. 

Everyone took off running, leaving me standing there, confused. I tried to run, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. As if someone has holding on my arm firmly. 

"Erm... hello?" I said, unsure of myself. "You mus' be the ringleader..." The voice beside me said. 

"I'm not!!" I said, frustrated. "Just... Let go of me!" 

The mysterious force which stopped me from walking away stopped. I spun around, facing the source of the voice. 

I saw a white, blurry figure standing there. I jumped. "Wh-Who are you?" 

"Geezus! You're finally scared o' me, are ya?" The figure said, forming something solid. 

"Erm..." I wasn't exactly scared. My parents have trained me for these, just in case I do meet someone like... that. 

"That's rude!" The figure said angrily. "Sorry... I definitely didn't say that out loud."

"Yeah, yeah. Didn't your parents ever tell you abou' mind-reading ghosts?" The figure asked, annoyed. 

"It's not like they've actually met any real ghosts," I answered. "Are you actually real? You aren't, like, a hologram or something?" 

"Well, 'olograms can't read yer mind. You can pinch yourself all yer want," the figure said. 

It started to form a solid shape. I saw it's face, body, arms and legs. It was a boy who looked a bit older than me. 

"Well... I'm not scared of you..." I said, looking at him again. 

"You must'a seen some other supernatural thing a'well. Ya might not know it, but ya most definitely 'ave!" the boy said babbled on. "Sorry... I 'aven't got much company other than him lately."

"Who's him?" I asked, curious. 

"None o'ya businez! Now, I'm Malo. Malo Mercer." He said, holding out his foggy hand. 

"Hey... Malo..." I said, shaking his hand. I half expected it to fall through his arm, but I actually could shake it. I saw that Malo's face had a hint of surprise in it.

"I'm not Malo! I'm Malo. M-I-L-O!" He said, looking away. "Oh! Sorry, you said it like M-A-L-O." 

"Wha'eve" He said, marching away. 

"Wait!" I yelled. He stopped in his tracks, and turned around to stare at me.

"Where are my friends?" I asked him. He sighed and shook his head.

"Yer needa learn more abou' the realm o' the supernatural," He said to himself. Suddenly, a dusty book appeared on my hands, and I gasped. 

"Read it! It's a dummy's guide to the supernatural. I thought you migh' need it," He said. "remember 'o return it after you finish it! And if ya share the secrets with anyone who isn't supernatural, yer die. So dun do that unless ya wanna die."

"Okay..." I said, eyeing him suspiciously. I quickly stuffed the book in my backpack, and waved as he walked away. 

"Val... Val..." I heard yelling come from far away. I opened my eyes (weird, I didn't know they were closed). Sarah was leaning over me, shaking my shoulders. I abruptly sat up.

"You're okay!" Raven said, smiling. "Yeah... What happened?" I felt all weird and dizzy. 

"Well, you passed out on the floor when we all yelled at the mysterious voice," Lilith explained. 

"Told you this place wasn't safe..." Jamie said, standing up. "Come on, let's get you back to the hotel."

"Oh..." I mumbled, disappointed. Was it all a dream? I stood up, grabbing my backpack along with me. It was suddenly so heavy. 

I looked around to make sure no one was looking, and risked a peek in my bag. The dusty book that Milo handed me a few moments earlier was still there. I smiled to myself. 

It wasn't a dream.