Crossing Over

Chapter 6

Andra pulled her comforter up tight under her chin and rolled over to face the wall. The moonlight coming through the trees outside danced across the room leaving long shadows in its wake. As the tree branches swayed in the breeze the shadows moved and twisted forming unnatural shapes that climbed the walls like outstretched arms.

As Andra watched them she shivered and rolled onto her back throwing an arm over her eyes. Lack of sleep the last few nights were beginning to catch up with her and the excitement of the day was making it even harder to relax. A million thoughts were running through her head, keeping her on edge.

She couldn't wait to dive into the story surrounding this house. Ever since the first time she had seen it, she had felt drawn to the place. The more she learned the more certain she became that something there needed her. Andra would never have admitted this to Cameron in a million years, however. If he had any idea how involved she was he would pull the plug on this whole operation and she desperately needed his help.

Cameron was the other part of the equation that Andra had yet to work out. He had told her he liked her and of course, Andra had suspected as much. Considering she felt the same way about him she should have been happy but instead, it just amplified her stress.

Andra was all too aware of the fact that Cameron was uncomfortable with this entire ghost hunt She knew too that he wouldn't say no to her. She couldn't deny that she felt guilty about it like she was using him. If Andra was being honest with herself, she knew the right thing to do would be to call off the investigation, but Andra wasn't sure she could be that noble. The need to do this was quickly becoming a compulsion.

Glancing over at her bedside clock she saw that it was 2:30 a.m. She toyed briefly with the idea of texting Cameron to see if he was up but decided against it. That would just make matters worse and she desperately needed to sleep.

Rolling over onto her stomach she closed her eyes and began to take deep breaths. Trying to calm her mind, she focused on nothing but the breath entering and leaving her body. As she cleared her head her body began to relax and within a few, moments she could feel herself floating on the edge of sleep.

Andra wasn't sure exactly how long she had been out when she heard someone calling her name. The voice was familiar to her and she tried to respond but her body felt heavy as if it had been weighted down. She fought her way slowly toward consciousness every movement taking an immense effort as if she were swimming through mud. 

After struggling into a sitting position, she glanced toward the open window. The light filtering through the thin curtains above her bed was gray and forbidding. She sat quietly watching it for a moment the way the curtains fluttered slowly in the breeze and the slight movement of the tree branches changed the quality of the dingy gray light casting portions of the room into shadow. The very sight of it caused a tickle of unease at the back of her mind. 

Getting slowly to her feet she padded across the room toward the closed door. Gooseflesh crawled up her arms and an anxiousness she didn't understand formed a tight lead ball in her stomach as she gripped the cold metal of the doorknob. Her palm slick with sweat almost slipped off the handle as she turned it and let the door swing slowly inward. What she saw on the other side sent shards of ice down her spine.

She had woken in her bed, in her room, but she didn't recognize the house just outside her door. Glancing back to assure herself that she wasn't losing her mind, she stepped cautiously across the threshold and called for her mother. There was no answer.

As she looked around, Andra felt panic begin to overwhelm her. She was standing on the second floor of a house she didn't recognize. Instead of her house's soft carpeted landing, she was standing on light-colored hardwood floors. To the right, where her bathroom should have been, was just a plain white wall. A little farther down were two wooden doors the same color as the floor. To the left, was a large staircase with ornate wooden banisters that led down to, what Andra assumed, was the house's main entryway. At the other end of the landing, directly across from her room, was a third door standing open. There were no lights on in this room but just enough outside light slipped in for Andra to see the silhouette of a standing lamp and the headboard of what looked to be a large bed. One of the doors on the right was closed but the other stood ajar just a bit and soft pink light poured through the opening.

Andra headed in that direction but there was a knot of dread building in her stomach. Her mind was screaming at her to run but her body no longer felt like it belonged to her.

Just outside the door, she could hear a girl's voice singing.  The sound weaved itself around her heart until it held it in an iron vise grip. With her pulse pounding out a wild drumbeat in her ears she called in a trembling voice. "Hello?" But still, there was no answer. Standing there, paralyzed with dread, she felt herself reaching for the door. There was the odd sensation of watching this happen to herself, as if she were outside of her body, while somewhere in the darkness around her the singing continued. 

Stepping hesitantly forward, she found herself standing in a small room with a thick tan carpet that felt soft and warm on her bare feet. Andra could smell vanilla and something floral she didn't recognize as she entered. The walls were painted a light pink and adorned with different band posters including, Oasis, Soundgarden, and Counting Crows. A white daybed stood against the wall covered with a rumpled black comforter and several different stuffed animals. A large white teddy bear in a top hat sat in a place of prominence at the head of the bed. A white nightstand sat just beside the bed and sitting in the center of it beside a dog-eared copy of The Giver stood a black lamp with a black glittery lamp shade. Against the far wall was a wooden desk, the top of which was littered with papers and an American History book. The desk chair was pushed back as if someone had just stepped out.

Then from somewhere below her, she heard her name being called. "Mom!" She called out. "Mom! I'm here!" She ran out onto the landing and leaned over the railing, looking down into the rooms below, but she could only make out faint shapes in the dim light. Turning back towards the end of the hall, and what she thought was her room, she started forward into the darkness. As she neared the door she noticed something moving in the shadows. Andra pulled up short. "Hello? Who's there?" She said quietly, terrified to go any further.

There was a quiet shuffling sound from beside the door and then the shape began to move. It rose slowly and Andra heard a low moan escape it as if moving took real effort. It began to take on a human form as it twisted and flexed and Andra could see that it stood a little taller than she did. As the figure turned to face Andra, she realized with horror that she was staring into the face of a girl, not much older than herself. The girl's long brown hair hung in tangled strands around her face and down her back and it clung to the pale gray skin of her cheeks. The color of her skin was a drastic contrast to the purple bruises that covered almost every inch of her body. She was wearing a tattered Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt and thin shorts and Andra could just make out a long jagged cut that ran from the corner of her forehead down to her cheek. Her head was bent at an odd angle and as the girl's brilliant blue eyes met her dark green ones, Andra began to scream.

Raising one arm slowly the girl extended one delicate pale hand toward her. "Andra." The girl whispered as she took a shambling step forward. Moving backward slowly, Andra began feeling her way along the banister. "What do you want?" She screamed still scrambling backward. "Andra." The girl said louder this time, her voice sounding gravelly and broken. She was moving steadily forward with lurching wooden steps. Andra was moving faster now. She was afraid if the girl put her dead pale hands on her that she would quite literally lose her mind.

Turning, she started to run for the stairs but they were farther away than she had first realized. She could hear the girl behind her, the lumbering dragging footsteps getting closer with every passing second. As Andra reached the top of the staircase and started down, she turned to see where the girl was. As she did her feet tangled together and Andra felt herself falling her body seemingly weightless as her feet left the ground. The last thing she saw as she tumbled backward was the girl, standing, staring at her with those cold blue eyes, both arms reaching, still calling her name.