Out of the Darkness

35

"No, it's NOT! That's the first sign of human interaction that I've had in such a long time. You don't understand. You CAN'T understand," she said, her voice getting thick with tears. "I don't want to let go of it." "You don't have too," I answered softly, wanting with everything in me to bring her to my chest to offer her comfort. "We have plenty of time. I told you Anna. Don't you get it? With practice, you can do so much more, but you don't want to overwork yourself. You're tired. Let yourself take a break. That was incredible progress without even meaning too." She met my gaze again, and I noticed the watery look in her transparent emerald eyes. "Just...take your time." I didn't really know what to say or do in a situation like this. Even if she did manage to learn how to control it, was that still any kind of life? She would still be dead, still be a ghost. I knew she was already emotional enough though, so I didn't bring that part up. "Come on, let's keep looking," I suggested, nodding towards the computer screen. "Wait, I just thought of something," she said, clearing her throat. "What's that?" I asked. "Why that house? What's up with that house being the place where all these people disappeared? What force is there? Is it the Dark One? If so, what is he...or it? What happens when these people disappear?" I didn't know the answer so I stayed quiet. "Did anyone ever go there besides you guys and make it out alive?" She asked. "The workers," I said quietly. "They've tried to demolish the house several times, but could never complete the job. Something always stopped them." "What about the families of the ones who disappeared? Do you think they would know anything? Like why these people went to this house?" "Oh, I know why they went," I answered, realizing again that my friends could have and probably almost did, end up like Anna and the rest. "For a thrill. For the ghost stories. Because no one actually believes that it can happen to them, until it does." She was quiet for a moment, staring at the computer screen where an old black and white photo the house was present. "I think I remember standing outside that house. I think someone was with me, but I'm not sure. I don't know exactly why I was there. It's so foggy...maybe it's not even a memory. Maybe I don't have a clue what I'm talking about at all," she said sadly. I didn't know if she would remember anymore that she already had, but maybe she would, in time. That's all we had anyways was time. We ended up narrowing her down to ten different girls that didn't have a picture. A few in each time period; the 60's, the 70's, and then the 80's. There was information on where the girl's had lived, their names, and the names of those they had left behind. The old newspaper obituaries was all we could really find. None of the names stood out to the Anna, and no one was named Anna. "Is Anna really even my name?" she asked quietly, running her finger over the list that I had made. "For now it is," I answered. "You said that the name felt comfortable for you. Maybe it's a middle or something." The girl's that had went missing didn't have their middle names listed, which I thought was strange but I guess sometimes it happened. "It's time to go for a ride," I said, standing up and grabbing my hat. "To where?" she asked. "I'm going to go see if any of these people still live in their previous homes. Maybe they can tell me something about their daughters that will help." "Oh," she said quietly, looking around my room, until her eyes rested on the doll. "Do you think...maybe I could go, if you take her?" I glanced over to the dark haired doll that was at the foot of my bed. "Maybe. That's how you got here. Let's give it a shot," I answered. I walked over and picked up the doll, then stopped in front of my door. How the hell was I going to get out of this house carrying a doll. I sighed heavily, then walked to my closet to grab the baggiest hoodie that I could find. After I shoved the doll inside of it, I walked out of my room and downstairs. "Yo, where you going?" I heard Sam call out. I waved my hand behind me but kept walking as I yelled "Out. I'll be back in a few." I grabbed my keys off the wall hanger and ducked out before anyone else could ask me anything. Just my luck, Jake was outside feeding the stray cats some tuna fish. "What's up man?" he asked, crouching down next to Moo Moo the cat as he gobbled up the tuna. "Nothing. Just going for a ride. Clear my head, ya know?" "Oh yeah, that sounds nice. I'd go but Tara is coming over in a little while," he answered, still watching the cat. "Yeah, I'll be back soon," I answered, then stepped past him and got into my car. Once I pulled away from the house, I took the doll out of my jacket and set her in the passenger seat. "Anna?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road. "Yeah, I'm here," she said, materializing in the front seat, on top of the doll. "Um, should I move her?" I asked, feeling uneasy at the sight of the doll literally going through her body. "I guess if it bothers you. I'm chill though," she answered shrugging, her eyes on the view outside her window. "Um," I said, reaching over, but not wanting to reach through her. She looked back at me, then down to the doll who looked like it was stuck inside her belly. She rolled her eyes, then smiled at me. "Such a dingus," she said before disappearing. I grabbed the doll, and set her gently in the backseat. Anna rematerialized in the seat beside me. "It's so beautiful out here. I feel like it's been so long since I've even seen buildings or trees. The sunlight even. I mean," she looked at me and smiled. "Besides what comes through your bedroom window." I chuckled, and shook my head. She went back to staring out the window and watching the cars pass by. "The cars look so strange to me. They're kind of the same, but not. You know what I mean?" I didn't, but I was guessing she meant because she was from a different time period. That was still so strange to me. "Yeah, I guess so. Every year, they are updating cars. Some types of cars aren't even made anymore. I stopped at a red light and checked the GPS app on my phone. "The closest house is 10 minutes away. I guess we'll just go in order. Let me know if anything starts to look familiar to you," I said, making a right turn. The road took me into a nice neighborhood, a small suburban area.