The Haunting (4 page)

The ethereal, grey crowd twirled past the ghostly violinist who stood near the furthest wall. The translucent females wore sweeping long dresses with corsets and flowers in their curled hair. The male ghosts wore suits with high collars. Their hair was slicked back by gel or in a ponytail.

Robin was right to sound impressed.

“A ballroom full of aristocratic ghosts,” Joel said, sounding strangely reflective.

“There’s a catch,” Phoebe said, scanning the ballroom.

I glanced behind us to see a red velvet curtain. Pushing away from the railing, I ignored the fear of what could be behind and jerked it aside. The exit had been boarded up with enough protruding nails that it would be impossible to remove without a tetanus shot.

“How do we get down?” Cody asked. Phoebe’s sharp intake of breath caught my attention.

Hurrying to the edge, I followed her gaze to color amidst the grey. Sprawled in the middle of the dance floor, what she was looking at was barely visible through the semi-solid dancers. I could make out black hair and jeans. “I bet it’s Read,” I whispered. Either that or it was Damien, but I doubted it.

The figure appeared unconscious. He lay still while greyed skirts and feet swept gracefully through him.

“How do we get down?” Cody asked again.

I checked the balcony and saw no ladder. We were at least twenty feet above the floor. Below us, rounded tables and chairs surrounded the dance floor and two large sofas, one level with the balcony.

Joel pointed to the sofa. “What about that?”

Only two of the three cushions remained, and they were torn. Springs protruded and stuffing billowed out of the cracks.

Robin shook her head. “Are you kidding?” Her slender fingers curled around the railing. “I’m not falling onto a hard sofa from up here.”

I looked from side to side. “Can you see a better way?”

Robin’s full lips pursed, almost touching her nose. “There has to be another way,” she said, determined.

Cody thoughtfully placed his hand on the sturdy wood railing. “You know, if we had a saw, we could cut the railing and use it as a ladder or something.”

Robin and Joel shook their heads. “Too rickety,” Joel said.

“You watch too many cartoons,” Robin said.

Appraising the height, Cody finally said, “I think I can make it.”

I rolled my eyes, not thinking he was serious until he crawled over the railing, long legs easily clearing it.

“Holy crap, Cody.” I grabbed his arm while Robin snatched his other one.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded in a hushed voice.

I looked to the ballroom and was grateful to see the ghosts still oblivious to our presence.

Standing above the sofa, Cody glanced back at me then to Robin. “I’ll be landing on cushions,” he argued.

“Unless your aim is off,” Joel grumbled under his breath.

“You could still hurt yourself,” Robin said.

“Cody, you don’t have to,” I assured. “I’m sure that if we looked a little harder, we could find another way down.”

Cody raised his eyebrows at me and said plainly, “I really don’t see another way down. We don’t have a lot of time. I mean, Phoebe’s been poisoned…”

Phoebe’s lip curled. “You mean dead.”

“What?!” Robin’s whisper exploded, losing all sense of secrecy.

“…and Joel needs someone to look at his hand. I’m not about to let one of you girls take the jump in case it isn’t safe,” Cody said.

He started to look back to the couch before twisting with a snap. His blood-blistered eyes focused on Phoebe. “What do you mean, dead?”

Phoebe nodded to me without looking at me. “Ask her.”

Everyone’s attention shifted, and I shrank back, letting Cody go.

“You knew all this time,” she accused.

“No,” I whispered. “I didn’t.”

“After that…” Phoebe swallowed, “…it was dark. Until I woke up to find Read and Robin.”

“By the hotel,” Robin confirmed. “We found you in the dumpster.”

“After that,” Phoebe continued, “parts of me didn’t work right.” She looked to her hands, squeezing them tight as if to make sure they were still functional.

“You died?” Joel asked, staring at Phoebe in awe. “Are you sure?”

Phoebe jutted her chin toward me. “I overheard her talking to Damien. When I leave, I’m leaving as a corpse.”

Feeling the intensity of their gazes again, I felt the warmth in my stomach churn on defense. “I don’t know what happened,” I lied. “Damien happened to tell me.” A loose lie. He told me
I
brought her back with my powers. I pressed my hand just below my breasts to calm the warmth within. Glancing from confused to accusing face, I felt my mouth go dry.

“And you didn’t say anything.” Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. “Who else is dead?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Just you, I think.”

Joel took a step forward as if to block Phoebe from me.

My eyebrows furrowed, and I felt a surge of betrayal. “It’s not like I killed you.”

“She’s right,” Robin said, her voice loud enough to get their attention. “It’s not her fault. You opened that door…CODY!”

Seeing that his girlfriend had been distracted, Cody took the opportunity to drop over the side. Robin nearly flipped over the rail when she slammed into it. Phoebe took one big step and swooped one arm around Robin’s waist, as if she thought Robin might jump.

To my utter astonishment, Cody landed on the sofa, on his back. If he’d missed, he would have splattered all over the dusty hardwood. Cody bounced once on the sofa and rolled onto the floor with athletic grace, landing on his knees. He tilted his head up to see the four of us slack-jawed and shrugged. The ghosts continued their waltz, ignoring his presence as he raised both hands and gave us a thumbs-up.

“That lucky bastard,” Joel rumbled.

“Why did he just do that?” Phoebe wondered.

“To stop us from arguing,” Robin said, sounding numb. “He hates that.”

I shook my head, bewildered. Cody had always played it safe and quiet at Robin’s side. Robin could draw the attention and hold a conversation so Cody didn’t have to. For him to just leap over the edge of a balcony and trust the fall enough to land on a sofa
backwards
was insane.

Worry edged my mind. It wasn’t completely disturbing to know that this place changed us; it was just realizing how much.

Cody gestured frantically for us to follow.

Robin quivered as she lifted a curvy leg over the railing.

“Let someone else go second,” I urged her.

She didn’t look at me; her knees were shaking so hard I thought they’d collapse and send her cartwheeling over the side. Phoebe’s arm, though still around her waist, wasn’t restraining her.

“I can do this.” Robin glared at Phoebe.

Robin let go of the railing and teetered on the tiny edge outside of the railing. “Let me go, Phoebe,” she urged. “I’m not leaving him down there alone.”

Phoebe glanced at Joel.

Glanced at Joel instead of me for an answer, I realized. The stab of that ran deep, and I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling my muscles harden.

Joel nodded, giving his consent.

“No,” I whispered harshly. “What if she breaks her leg or something? We can’t risk jumping. Cody was lucky, he…”

Phoebe let her go, and Robin disappeared over the side.

I held my breath, feeling the air form a bowling ball in the center of my chest, and waited for the worst.

Like the little gymnastics instructor/ex-cheerleader that she was, Robin landed on her feet. She somersaulted off the couch and popped up on her feet in a fluid, single motion. Adjusting her tight summer dress, she wrapped Cody in a triumphant hug.

“Show off.” A half-smirk tugged at Phoebe’s mouth.

I felt ashamed; I was scared to do this, and Robin of all people volunteered. Throw Robin in a social situation and she could dazzle a room, unafraid. Throw her in the Demon’s Grave and she was a blubbering catastrophe.

It’s the height,
I reminded myself. One December, an airplane trip to my uncle’s ended with me hyperventilating, so we had to road-trip it. The thought of the plane crashing and the thousands of feet between me and the ground put my seven-year-old self on the verge of panic.

Joel grumbled and lifted a leg over the edge. I watched in horrified fascination as he jumped without a moment’s hesitation. He landed on his feet on the couch, like Robin. Though unlike her, he landed in a roll with his arm tight to his chest. Looking up, he grinned up at us and gave Phoebe the thumbs up.

Phoebe snickered. “Cocky jerk.” When she realized I wasn’t laughing, she glanced at me, swinging her favored long leg over the side. “Should I catch you if you miss, Fuller?”

Feeling the lump in my throat, I croaked, “Not if you don’t want to.”

This wasn’t the answer she expected. Phoebe dropped her eyes and licked her lips before letting go of the rail. I watched her honey blond hair fluttering before she bounced on the couch below. Like Robin, she rolled off of it. Instead of a somersault, she performed an immaculate handspring.

Joel looked impressed and said something I couldn’t hear that made her smile.

I was surrounded by athletes.
What the heck?!
Neither Read nor Aidan could have done this.

All four watched me as I gripped the railing, feeling my head drain of blood.

I hate heights, hate them
, I thought angrily.
Stupid Damien and his games
.

Lifting one leg, I crawled over the hurdle on my stomach, gripping the rail as if it were a lifeboat. The lip of the balcony balanced my toes on the side, leaving a precarious drop before me. I faced the ballroom, my clawed fingers gripping the rail behind me. I stood directly over the couch. Every muscle in my body tensed up all at once as I calculated the drop.

My first internal count down to three failed, and I gripped the railing harder.

If I gauged it wrong, I’d be broken. If I broke, I doubted I’d have a chance. Damien had helped, to a point, but a broken leg would forfeit the entire Challenge for me.

“Don’t leap. You’ll clear it. Just fall,” Phoebe called up and glanced to the ghosts. Thankfully, they were undisturbed.

I nodded to her in understanding and took a deep breath.
Alright, Nora, you can do this. Just do it. Don’t even count or think about it, otherwise we’ll be standing here forever.

My hands locked up around the railing, preventing my second attempt. I felt my insides curl at the thought of the landing.

“Just do it already,” I heard Joel say.

My feet teetered on the narrow edge, urging my body to get it done before it buckled my knees on me and did it for me. Gathering internal snippets of courage, I closed my eyes.
Don’t let Joel see you weak
, I thought and stepped off the ledge.

My eyes flew open mid-fall, and I felt my stomach bumper-car my heart before I hit a soft surface, feet first.

Cody and Robin were there before I could calculate my reaction. The sofa was unnaturally soft, like a trampoline. On the first bounce, Cody caught my arm and Robin latched onto my waist, steadying me as I stepped off of the couch. My heart hammered so loud I wouldn’t be surprised if the ghosts spun around and confronted us then and there. I stepped onto the firm, steady ground, my legs shaking so badly it felt like an earthquake was happening.

“No,” Robin whispered, sounding panicked.

It took me a second to realize she wasn’t talking to me.

Cody and Robin let me go and stared off into the crowd of dancers.

I looked back to see Phoebe dodging through the twisting dancers, narrowly avoiding contact.

Cody cursed under his breath as the fluid dance stopped cold.

For the first time since our arrival, we were noticed. Wispy bodies looked to the solid human-girl running amidst them.

At first, I didn’t think Phoebe noticed before she slid knees first to Read’s side.

The music stilled with one last rattling slide against violin strings. As the initial reaction faded, the offended, pinched faces turned vicious. Eyes sparked with a red hue, the only color they held. The color wafted from their eyes like cigarette smoke, circling and fading from red to grey around their heads.

I glanced at Cody, Robin, and Joel and saw they were as stunned as me. Nobody moved.

Then, all at once, the ghosts surged inward, crowding around Phoebe.

“Phoebe! Run!” I shouted, my voice ringing off the walls. “C’mon, we have to get them,” I said to the others. I didn’t bother to wait for them to join me as I burst past the tables and onto the crowded dance floor. It never occurred to me that they wouldn’t follow.

I narrowly dodged a ghost, and my skin prickled and all the hairs on my arms stood up. I could just see Read’s unseeing, open eyes as Phoebe shook him hard enough to bounce his head off the hardwood floor.

“We have to go,” I called, skimming past two men who almost stepped right in front of me.

Phoebe was shouting. “Stand up, you idiot!”

Hot white pain ripped through my mid-section, stealing my voice and dropping me to my hands and knees. Each shuddering intake of air was painful, as if hands twisted my lungs like a wet cloth, allowing less and less oxygen. Tiny black dots danced in my vision.

Read staggered to his feet. It took several dizzying seconds to realize Phoebe supported him to the edge of the crowd that were more interested in me than them.

A woman in an intricately patterned gown focused smoky red eyes on me just before she dove. Struggling to cry out, I anticipated her weight, but instead, she drove herself straight through my chest. The hot stabbing pain renewed as if tearing off a healing scab. Gasping, I felt the same shrieking pain as a man pulled himself through me from behind. His teeth bared in a fierce smile. As he pulled free, the pain eased to an ache. I fell to my side, and the deep scratches on my back distracted me enough from falling into a dizzying confusion. My insides burned and felt as if they were stretching apart, growing bigger as if to burst.

I have to get out of here
, I thought, flopping onto my belly to worm away from their gaze. I wish they’d look away.

Phoebe had left me. She took Read instead and left me here.

The woman with the beautiful dress stepped up to my hip and looked down at me. She was a pretty girl, not much younger than me. She reached down as if to pluck a flower. Instead, her hand passed straight through the back of my neck. My voice felt scratchy, making my screams raspy and foreign even to me. My voice was the only sound. None of the ghosts spoke, screamed, or shuffled on the floor.

I tried to bat her away. My hands slid straight through her wrist as I tried to twist it, to knock her grip away, but it didn’t work. Withering pain spasmed through my muscles. Each stab tightened everything in my shoulders and neck. My head swam in a sudden haze, and I thought I might be passing out. I couldn’t scream; my jaw was locked and clenched so hard my teeth hurt. It wasn’t until the young woman stood straight to look at her companions that relief flooded me. My muscles were still tensed, but I could move. I cried out at the same time, the pain releasing with it.

They were hovering over me, all around. Dozens of red eyes gauged me with either hostility or mad glee.

I tried to stand, my limbs feeling weak and encumbered all at the same time. Falling onto my back, I focused on the ceiling, trying to think in the small aching stillness.

A white stucco-like ceiling arched upward and was stained yellow in patchy cigarette residue.

Before I could focus again, my body convulsed with a burning, internal laceration. It took me a second to notice the ghost kneeling over me, arms lodged elbows-deep in my guts. Shrieking, I curled up to try and push him away. Didn’t people pass out from pain? Why wasn’t I blacking out?
Please, let me pass out
, I thought through blinding tears.

Pulling his hands free, the ghost flung his hands as if ridding his fingers of grime and looked back to the others.

Instant relief flooded through me; I was aching, but it was not nearly as bad as the knife that seared me each time they touched me.

Get up Nora, get up! No one is coming for you. They all left you
.

I rolled, or rather flopped, onto my stomach, using my hands to pull me along the hardwood.

Ahead, I could see Phoebe; she had neared the edge of the ballroom unharmed with Read in tow. Just as she flung him to Joel, she turned to drive her way back into the crowd.

Growing up, Phoebe was the kid no one wanted to fight. She took several Tae-Kwon-Do lessons or any form of karate that could keep her entertained. She also liked to practice on some of the bullies—which I suppose made her the bully from time to time. That was until she reached a high level and quit all together. “What’s the point?” I remembered her asking. “They say we can’t touch other people unless they throw the first punch, otherwise it’s jail time.
I
want to throw the first punch.”

I saw the determination on her face wipe clean when that first punch swung straight through a man with the cane. Her mouth gaped as she collapsed to one knee, stunned. Another walked through her, then flew through her. It took three before she dropped, face first.

Cody started towards Phoebe when Robin pulled him back with the help of Joel, who looked conflicted. He was poised to run into the crowd but didn’t budge; his eyes drifted from Phoebe to me, and then back to Phoebe.

I could see Cody and Robin arguing, their expressions angry and their volume loud, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. They hadn’t interrupted the dance floor, and no ghost paid the four of them any attention.

Phoebe raised her head, her forest green eyes meeting mine. Raising a shaking hand, she pointed to the far wall, behind the violinist.

I turned my head; the swelling ache within me began to subside.

Behind the violinist, who watched the chaos with bright red eyes, was a door, a red door.

“The door!” I shouted. My voice screeched like an alley-cat’s.

Joel heard me first and followed my pointed finger to see it.

Managing to get to my hands and knees, I crawled toward Phoebe as Joel bolted for the door, careful to stay outside of the dance floor.

Robin tugged at Cody, who stared at Phoebe and me helplessly.

“Go!” I urged, crawling faster towards the blonde body.
Don’t let her be dead this time. Not for real.

As I drew closer, a metaphysical hand tugged at my hair. Peeking back, I saw the woman reaching for my head, though she couldn’t seem to grab my hair, which appeared to frustrate her. Huffing, she reeled back and slammed that same hand into my head. At first, I was blinded, and panicked. I touched my face, and the world eased itself back together, bit by bit, color by color.

You cannot get her,
a woman’s voice whispered.

It sounded from everywhere.

Eyes focusing, in the corner of my eye, I saw the grey arm protruding. She was in my head. Actually, in my head!

You can be more like us
, she said.
Dance with us
. The statement was innocent. As if she didn’t know she were hurting me.

“My friend…” I said.

She’ll dance too, but not like us.

A male apparition ahead stood over Phoebe’s body.

“Phoebe? If you can hear me, move!”

To my horror, she was disturbingly still.

“Phoebe,” I pleaded and tried to crawl forward. The unnatural weight in my head made the process excruciating and slow. I’d never get to her in time.

The male ghost tilted his head to the side and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His face was sunken, drawn tight except for protruding, overly large lips. On the hand he held to his chin, I saw color. A ring. Could it be? Before I could squint and analyze further, the wraith-like creature flopped down onto Phoebe’s limp form. He fell onto her, disappearing.

Phoebe’s body quaked to life. Her head jerked up, but it wasn’t her face. It was, but Phoebe never grinned that wide. Her large teeth and gums were all exposed and made her look insane.

The woman pulled her hand out of my head. My head dropped as if it housed a brick and collided with the floor. The world numbed for just a second. I didn’t dare move at first as I rolled my eyes up to the grinning face of my friend. “This one should be with us,” Phoebe’s voice said, Phoebe’s mouth moved, but it wasn’t Phoebe who said it.

Without a word, I crawled forward on my stomach, moving as quickly as my leaden limbs would allow. They didn’t stop me at first, allowing me even to get to my hands and knees before one shot through me again. The blinding reminder seized my body, freezing me in place. In my peripheral vision, I could see Robin, Read, and Joel already through the red door. Cody stood in the doorway, staring at us.