All Hope Lost (16 page)

Now how am I going to prove to her I’m real without
scaring her, and spilling that scolding hot tea all over herself?
I
pondered. Waiting for her to put her hot drink back down, I walked closer to
the TV causing it to flicker.

“Bloody reception!” Megs moaned. She grabbed the remote
next to her and started flicking channels. As she scrolled through them, I
entered the TV and made my image appear on the next channel she flicked to. She
kept going through the channels but each channel she flicked to, my image was
on the screen.

“What the hell? Is their nothing different on today?” She
hit the TV Guide button on her remote and chose the BBC One channel. My image
appeared again. “Stupid service. Digital is better than analogue they said!
HAH!” She hit the power button and the TV shut off, but my image stayed on the
screen. Megs stared at me from her sofa.

“Hello.” I said. Thinking that a one word starter might
be best, I realised I had maybe done the wrong thing as Megs stood up suddenly
screaming, and threw her cereal bowl at the TV, the bowl still containing the
contents of her cereal and milk. Luckily, the bowl couldn’t fight the gravity
and it bounced off the edge of the TV stand, missing the screen entirely.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I cried. “I didn’t mean to
frighten you! I won’t hurt you I promise!” I had to calm the situation before
it got out of hand I realised.

Megs was backed up on her
sofa, legs tucked up to her chin the remote stuck out defensively at me. “What
the hell is going on? Am I being stitched up? Is this on the air? How are you
talking to me through that?”

I waved my hands in a
placating manner. “No, no nothing like that. I can explain if you will let me?”
Letting her feel as though she had the choice and the power I decided, might
help her feel more in control of the situation. She nodded. “Ok. I think.” She
replied, uncertain, the remote still pointing at me.

“You are a member of the noisy neighbours’ forum
community aren’t you? You are Megs?”

Megs nodded in confirmation.

“I am also of that forum. Well I was. I am Sharon.” I let
her process that information for a moment, and then she spoke.

“Ain’t you dead?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. Like I put in my post, but people
did not believe me. I have already visited and spoke with Panda. You were the
next on my list to show you I was not a hoax, or someone hacking her account.”

Megs arm had dropped, the
remote still in her hand, but now resting on her sofa. “I don’t understand, why
are you here? What do you want?”

“I came because you needed help. Help that the real
people should be giving you but they won’t. It’s not they cannot, it’s just
that they won’t. I guess it’s too much work for them and the ensuing loss of
income that they don’t want. So I helped you instead. How have the neighbours
been since my last visit to them?”

“When did you visit them?”

“As I said in my first post, I haunted them with one of
the ladies dresses and floated above her bed in it. She was frightened to say
the least! That’s when she apologised to you through the wall.”

Megs recalled the incident. “Oh,
so that was you’re doing?” I nodded on screen. “Well I think whatever you did,
certainly did the trick. Me and the other half have actually been able to live
our own lives and not theirs for the last few days, and get sleep!”

I smiled. “I am glad. I will just let you know that I
have been over again today already as they were making noise again.”

Megs nodded. “Oh yes, they
still trample up and down the stairs like a herd of elephants. I honestly don’t
know how the stairs are still standing!”

“Well,” I laughed, “I am hoping they took my next
appearance into account. I will be watching them.”

I could see Megs physically
relax, her shoulders dropping and her breathing slowed. She looked about her
room then up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly she
looked back at me. “Thank you.” I waved at her.

“It is fine, honestly. Being dead isn’t so bad when I
have this sort of job.”

“But really, I do appreciate what you have done. The
stress has been horrendous these past few years, and in a matter of a couple of
hauntings, you have accomplished what no authority could. I feel sorry for the
other thousands of people who are in the same boat, I really do.”

I grimaced. “Yes me too.
Unfortunately, I am but one being, and I wouldn’t be able to help them all
myself. But those of you I have known for the last couple of years because of
my own hell, well, the least I can do is help you all get some peace and quiet,
which really is what we all should be entitled to in the end.”

Megs nodded again. “Not just the end, we should have had
it from the start.”

“That is very true. I hope you enjoy the peace and quiet,
you guys deserve it.”

Megs smiled at me then. “Thank you Sharon. Will my TV
still work once you are out of there?”

I laughed. “Oh yes, don’t worry about that. Note that
it’s not always me that causes the cut outs though!”

She laughed in reply. “Will you return?”

I shrugged. “I will keep an eye on next door now and
then, but if they start up again, just post on the forum and I will return with
a fury.”

“Ok, I’m sure I will remember. It’s not every day we see
a real ghost! I’m sure Panda feels the same doesn’t she?”

I nodded. “Her reaction was not as vicious as yours to me
I have to admit. But at least it ended amicably!”

She laughed. “Oh!” she started. “So is it true how you
died then? You were raped and killed?”

“Yes” I replied. “That is true I’m afraid.”

“You must have been so frightened!”

“I was,” I remembered recalling that night. “I think the
alcohol helped with the pain though. I dare not even think what it may have
been like if I was fully sober.”

“Still, I am really sorry that happened to you. They
caught the men though didn’t they?”

“Oh yes, they did. I’m hoping to pay them a visit, very
soon.”

“Then I wish you luck, and give them hell Sharon!” She
punched her sofa for effect.

“Thanks. And good luck with your new neighbour. Hopefully
we won’t see any more negative comments from you, at least for a while.”

“Thanks again Sharon. Come back any time!”

I smiled at her and vanished
from the TV. Megs switched it back on, collected her bowl off the floor and
went to grab a towel to clean the mess off the floor as I hopped back into her
PC. I followed the line straight back home again, and appeared in the kitchen.
They
moved the laptop.
I walked into the living room and found Steve there
watching the TV. There was no sign of Michael. Deciding not to waste my energy
on Steve, I headed back to the laptop and browsed through the forum again.

So, that’s Panda and Megs converted to believing in
ghosts. Now for Torment.
Finding his line, I hopped on and rode along it to
his house.

Torment’s house was cold when
I appeared at the other end. I searched the house for signs of life, but
finding none, I headed for the garden. No one there either. I looked about and
spotted a shed, the door slightly ajar, and so drew closer. I could hear
talking inside as I neared, and within, were three people. One was Torment, but
the other two were fiddling with some equipment. I couldn’t even start to
imagine what they were doing apart from being there because of the strange
noises that were causing hell for Torment.

I couldn’t reveal myself to
all of them, I was already overstepping my boundaries as it was showing myself
to the living on purpose. But as I hadn’t been stopped yet, I was assuming it
was OK. I wasn’t sure, however, that showing myself to people that really
didn’t need to see me would be. I wouldn’t risk it, and I didn’t want to meet
the higher ups, not for a long, long time, if I could help it. I strolled back
into the house, feeling it vibrate around me.

The EMP I had set off
obviously had only stopped the noise for a short time and was now back on,
churning out thumps, thuds, vibrations, hums, hisses, banging and whining all
day and all night since, at varying frequencies. This had caused Torment more
torture, and had now appeared to resort to bringing people in to record the
noise, as well as force him to leave his home of over a decade to find a place
to get away from the sounds.

It was making him ill. I could
sense it, the sickness in this house was stifling. And not just Torment
himself, the house felt sick too. It was like it was being shaken to its core
but so slowly it was also being tortured. I recognised the shifting in the brickwork,
minute details but I could see. The main culprit to this noise, was that same
quarry I had exploded over, and they were not only destroying a man’s life, but
also his home. If they did not stop soon, there would be nothing left, and no
one was trying to help him, apart from these two people measuring the noise
themselves.

They all walked in through the
back door at that point and sat themselves down in the living room. “I honestly
don’t know how you are living with this! It is ridiculous. Once we have the
proof I highly suggest getting your solicitor and with our evidence, we would
be happy to help you sue the pants off these bastards. It’s insane!”

“Thank you so much for doing this!” Torment was nearly in
tears. “I don’t know how much longer I can cope. Even my doctor says it’s
damaging my health. He wants me to move, but why should I? I was here first,
long before they turned up. They shouldn’t be using their machinery if this is
what it’s doing.”

“We agree. Let’s stay a few more days and get more
recordings, plus we can triangulate the noise and get a good position of its
source, even though we think we know where it’s coming from, we still need the
proof for court.”

Torment nodded. “Sure. Would you like a drink?”

The two men nodded and opted
for a tea and coffee. They relaxed into the sofa, as Torment left and headed
into the kitchen. I followed, and watched as he set the kettle on the hob. I
watched fascinated. I had never seen the old style kettles in action, where
they whistled once they had boiled enough. As he left the kettle to grab and
ready the mugs, I spoke. “Torment? Torment?”

He looked around. “Who was that?” he spoke. “Guys did you
call me?” he shouted.

A “No” resounded from the other room.

“Torment, do not be scared, I am not here to hurt you.”

Torment looked confused and
frightened, mug in one hand tea bag in another. “Who are you and what do you
want? Do you want money? Stuff? Take what you want!”

I laughed automatically which
chilled the room. “No Torment. I want to help you. I caused that EMP a few
months ago, remember?”

Torment shook his head. “I
don’t know who you are. I know there was an EM pulse but why would that have
been you, whoever you are?”

“Are you ok in there?” a voice sounded from the living
room.

“YES” Torment replied. “Everything’s fine.”

“Just we could hear you talking to someone.”

Torment grabbed the phone
handset off the wall and peered around the corner at them, waving the phone.
“It’s ok, just got a friend on the line. I’ll be there shortly.” This seemed to
satisfy the men, and they went back to chatting.

“Now where are you and who are you, and why are you in my
house?” he insisted, trying to find me in the room.

I grabbed a chair and pulled it away from the kitchen
table. Torment, shocked in seeing a chair move on its own, froze.

“Sorry. Even dead, I feel the need to sit after a while.
This whole talking thing to a living being is draining. Even after training.”

Torment was now staring at
where I should be sitting. “Who are you?” he managed.

“I’m Sharon Hartman. From the noisy neighbour forum. You
replied to my post, insisting on proof that I was really dead. So here I am.”

“You’re dead.” He spoke flatly. “Right. This is some kind
of trick.”

“I can assure you I am not. I can prove it to you if you
like.”

Torment crossed his arms. “Fine.”

“Ok what would you like me to do?”

Torment thought a few moments,
the kettle whistled though before he could speak, and he began to make up the
hot drinks. “I know,” he said, as he tapped a tea bag out onto the kitchen drainer,
“if it was really you, do another EM Pulse.”

I halted a moment. “But that would cause myself to
explode and drain all my energy. I don’t know when I would return if I did
that?”

Torment laughed. “Hah, excuses. You can’t do it because
you didn’t do it in the first place!” He grabbed two mugs, and waltzed back in
to the other room.

I felt mortified. I had had no
idea that this might end up going in this direction.
If I did this again,
would I come back quickly? Would it be months, years later? Would I ever
return? Shit, I can’t do it can I?
I held my head in my hands, conflicted.
I knew I had to prove myself to him, but if not by an EMP, then how? I couldn’t
start moving things around whilst he had visitors, and it sounded as if they
would be around for a few more days recording.
Maybe I could alter his mind
to just accept me?
I thought, but I immediately knew that would be wrong. I
knew I had done worse things, but he was innocent, I couldn’t do that. I needed
him to trust me.

Torment returned into the kitchen
for his own drink. “So?” he asked.

“I’m sorry Torment. As much as I want to, I cannot risk
causing myself to disappear indefinitely just to prove myself that way for you.
I just can’t.”