Grave Danger (10 page)

Richard blinked several times and realized that
Eleanor was fussing over him like a mother, touching his forehead,
his arm, turning his face this way and that to get a good look at
him. Her face was strained with concern as she brushed his hair off
his forehead now that she could touch him again. They had been
friends for awhile now and sometimes he forgot that. He wasn’t used
to having people care about him the way she did and inside where no
one could see he loved Eleanor like the sister he wished he could
have known in his living past. He might be a pain in the ass to her
most of the time, but he would do anything to protect her and the
people he considered family.

Richard looked around the room. The other ghosts
sitting in tables across from them stared down at him wondering
what the hell had happened to him. His community wasn’t a violent
bunch and they had probably never seen a ghost attach. Some might
imagine that ghosts were delicate creatures, but even their kind
had certain capabilities that could not only harm each other but
the living as well.

“
Say something, you’re scaring me,” Eleanor
pleaded. He had a faraway look in his eyes like he wasn’t quit with
them in this world, like he was slipping into the next world.
“Richard, what are you looking at?”

He turned to her, taking her hand from his forehead
and squeezing it. Breathing in deeply he blinked his eyes several
times as if he was trying to stay focused on her and not be taken
away by whatever force had knocked him down. Richard was tangible
again, but he hadn’t moved an inch except to take her hand.

His inner soul was quiet and still, his breathing
deep but soft. Eleanor was afraid she was losing him. Whatever had
happened had somehow damaged his soul and he was slipping away from
her and she had no understanding of how to help him. Should she
just let him go, move on to the next dimension or fight to keep him
with her? It was selfish on her part, but she didn’t want to lose
him, not even if it was best for Richard.

Richard tried to speak, making several attempts at
producing words, but nothing came out. His mouth opened and closed
as he tried to tell Eleanor what had happened.

“
What is it?” Eleanor’s voice rose and she was
on the verge of hysteria at the thought that this might be the last
time she saw Richard in this existence. He was such a jerk most of
the time, but he was like family to her.

He had been so lonely and lost when he had first
come to live with them in the community. She had known, even back
then, that Richard’s living existence hadn’t been ideal by anyone’s
standards and his death had been most horrific. He was gruff and
moody to most people, but underneath all that she knew that he was
a sweet boy who only needed someone to love and care for him. They
may be dysfunctional at times, but they were family and she
couldn’t imagine continuing this existence without him in it.
Eleanor chocked back a sob. Whatever Clarissa had done had damaged
Richard’s ability to keep his form intact and his soul must be
falling apart. Maybe it had been an accident on Clarissa’s part,
she didn’t know. All she knew was that Richard was leaving her.

“
Do you see a light, Richard?” Eleanor had
heard that some people saw a glow or white light before they went
forth into the next dimension. She didn’t believe such nonsense,
but she wondered now if such a thing were possible. Eleanor had
existed in her deathly state for more years than she cared to count
and as time passed she became more jaded to the hopes of ever being
complete, of finding her purpose in this existence. She didn’t even
believe anymore that there was any hope for people like
her.

“
I see,” Richard began, his voice wavering,
barely above a whisper. He breathed deeply, a kind of hissing sound
through his mouth.

“
Yes,” Eleanor encouraged. She wanted to know
what he was seeing and she wanted to be there with him so he wasn’t
afraid. “Is it the light you see? I know people are sometimes
afraid to go near it, but you shouldn’t be afraid. I don’t want to
lose you, but I think this might be the best for you. I know you’re
unhappy here with us and I only want the best for you. Maybe you
should let the light have you.” She squeezed his hand, bringing his
fingers to her mouth, kissing them. “Go into the light,
Richard.”

Richard looked off into the atmosphere, his eyes
glazed over like he was staring into a world beyond them. “I see,”
he tried to speak again, his voice louder this time. Richard’s hand
was clasped tightly around Eleanor’s. He took his hand away and
reached out, pointing at each of the other patrons in the
restaurant. Then he brought his hand back to Eleanor and smacked
her backside, a light smack on her ass before he leaned up and
kissed her on her cheek. “I see fucking dead people. What do you
think I see?”

Stunned was the first reaction Eleanor felt and then
humiliation and finally rage. He had been acting the whole time.
And the worst part was that he had been good. The punk had made her
believe he was expiring for good and she had nearly cried all over
him.

Richard stood up, swaying a bit for a moment then
holding out his arms for everyone in the restaurant to see. He
bowed to his audience. Eleanor had flopped down on her butt,
looking up at him as he made a great show of thanking his spectral
spectators; several people actually clapped.

“
Thank you, everyone, but I couldn’t have done
it without my leading costar.” Richard leaned down and pulled
Eleanor up, putting his hands under her arm pits and hoisting her
onto her feet. He steadied her. Then he took her hand, bowing again
and bringing her into a bow with him. He stepped off to the side,
letting Eleanor have her moment to receive congratulations. More
people clapped and all she could manage was to blink her eyes
several times.

Richard brought Eleanor back to the table where he
pushed her into the booth next to Clarissa. Clarissa had almost the
same stunned expression on as Eleanor. Both women looked at each
other, holding eye contact for several seconds. Clarissa nodded her
head at the other woman as if she were responding to some inner
conversation the two of them were having. Touching Eleanor’s hand,
she leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Richard took a sip of his soda, taking his seat
across from the two women. He could see the fire burning behind
Eleanor’s eyes and it was just a waiting game before she pulled
herself together enough to lash out at him. Upon reflection, his
little stunt might not have been as funny as he had planned. It was
likely that this time he had gone too far and really hurt her.

Eleanor took several breaths as Clarissa rubbed her
arm in understanding. What Richard had done was beyond any little
prank he had pulled before. Maybe she was getting too old for his
antics, but she had really believed him this time. It had been
cruel to force her to think that she was losing him only to have
him smack her on the ass and find out he was just playing at
crossing over. That was not just a slap on the ass, but a slap in
the face. Her emotions were all over the place and she couldn’t
think straight enough to even begin to form a coherent sentence.
Eleanor wanted to strangle the kid, then hug him so tight and never
let him go. And she was totally embarrassed that this had all
played out in front of an audience.

“
Alright, I’m waiting,” Richard grumbled. “You
want to knock me on my ass like Clarissa too?”

“
I want to strangle you then hang you upside
down until all your ectoplasm runs into your head and your head
bursts from the pressure. And that is just to start with.” Eleanor
had found her voice and she was totally pissed. “I swear to God, if
you ever do something like that again I will tie you to one of the
trolleys and let it drag you down the street until your nothing but
spectral goo.”

“
Ok, I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
Richard drawled. He swiped his hands through his hair. It was
something he did either when he was embarrassed or confused. Pretty
much any time he was faced with a situation he couldn’t handle he
messed with his hair. “You played a pretty believable ghost
whisperer. That whole ‘go into the light’ and trying to comfort me;
it was some really good stuff.”

Eleanor lunged across the table and would have
grabbed and strangled Richard if Clarissa hadn’t caught her in time
and restrained her. Holding the older women by her arms, she pushed
soothing thoughts into her mind, holding Eleanor’s soul as she
tried to comfort the turmoil inside her form. She knew Eleanor
didn’t really want to hurt Richard, she was simply angry. It had
been a terrible experience for all of them. Clarissa had really
thought she had damaged Richard. He had pushed at her soul and she
had retaliated without realizing it. It had been a reflexive action
and even though Richard seemed to have shaken it off she knew that
she could have really injured him. In that moment Clarissa realized
that there was something about her that was dangerous.

“
I’m sorry, Richard.” Clarissa said. “I didn’t
mean to do that to you. You pushed me and I guess I reacted without
thinking. I hope you are all right and that I didn’t injure you
permanently.”

Richard was staring across the table at Eleanor, her
eyes focused intently on his face. What he saw in them shamed him.
She cared about him, more than he even realized and it had taken a
stupid goof to make him see that. When she thought he was passing
into the next world she had cried over him, wanting him to stay
with her, but knowing that if it was better to let him go then she
wouldn’t stand in his way. That humbled him on so many levels.

He touched his ears, wondering if they were growing
into donkey ears because he certainly felt like a real ass right
now. “I know you didn’t and no I’m not injured. It was just an
overloud to my senses. You were just reacting to my push.”

“
Don’t bother checking for a tail. I’ll save
you the trouble. You are such an ass.” Eleanor’s chest rose and
fell as she tried to calm her emotions. Clarissa was helping,
soothing her soul with words in her head and her touch. There was
something extremely dangerous about Clarissa, but something
exquisite and beautiful about her as well. She had almost harmed
Richard, yet she was sure that she could heal a soul just as
easily. Eleanor wasn’t certain whether she should be afraid of
Clarissa or afraid for her.

“
Eleanor,” he said. “It was just a joke. I
didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m not crossing over anytime soon, okay?
If you want to hit me, just do it already. I’d rather have that
than you looking at me like you are right now.”

“
You deserve much more than me hitting you
over the head even though that’s exactly what I want to do. But
you’re not worth my time.” Eleanor stood up from the booth, looking
to Clarissa and inclining her head before turning away from them
both. She walked out of the restaurant, her head held high as she
ignored the other patrons in the restaurant who were watching her
leave.

Richard’s focus followed Eleanor out the door. He
knew he deserved that. The little woman was tough on the outside,
but extremely fragile on the inside. It might have been a reason
they connected so well. And the fact that she was stubborn might be
another reason. She wouldn’t let him forget this anytime soon.
Maybe she might start speaking to him some time in the next century
if he was lucky.

“
You’re not an ass, Richard. But you could
have fooled her.” Clarissa watched Richard as he watched Eleanor
walk down the street toward her home, her back stiff. Once she was
out of sight of them she would most likely crumble. Eleanor had
projected her thoughts to Clarissa, telling her she needed some
time to herself, but that she would meet up with her this evening
so they could go to the town meeting together. “You’re walking on
egg shells with her now. I would start being nicer to her for
awhile; at least until she cools down from this. You really hurt
her this time.”

“
Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”
Richard sighed. “I don’t think I can find my way out of this one so
easily. I saw her face; she’s really pissed at me this time. Maybe
in a few hundred years though.”

“
She cares a lot about you Richard. I get the
impression that you can’t accept the idea that someone might
actually like you for yourself. I know it’s not really my place to
say this, but here it goes. You need to move on, whatever happened
in your living past it’s not the same anymore. You’re not that
person anymore.”

Richard frowned, looking down at his plate. “That’s
easy to say to someone when you can’t even remember your own past.”
He looked up, giving her an unfriendly smile. “And don’t think I
don’t know that. You might have flashes of memories, but it’s
nothing concrete. Do you even know how you died, Clarissa?”

“
No, I don’t. I don’t even know what I did for
a living when I was alive, or remember anything about my family. As
far as I know they could all be dead as well. I don’t have a past.”
Clarissa fidgeted with her napkin on the table. It was true. She
had no memories to haunt her. However, it was the lack of a past
that haunted her, just as Richards past haunted him now.

“
Then don’t try to tell me how to handle my
afterlife when you can’t even begin to figure out yours. I know
you’re just trying to help, but don’t. Some things aren’t worth
fixing and I’m not worth the trouble.”

Richard stabbed the steak on his plate in
aggression. He could feel the other ghost’s interest in their
conversation. He had made a spectacle out of himself trying to turn
a potential dangerous situation into a farce. And he would be lying
to himself if he believed he hadn’t been scared there for a few
moments. If Clarissa had actually known her own strength she would
have done more than knock the proverbial wind out of him.