Trapped (11 page)

I must have become unconscious at some point. I can’t remember what happened after
Stella screamed in my head. When
I opened my eyes
again
I became frighten
ingly aware of how alone I really was now
.

“Beth?” I whispered. I didn’t sense anyone
. I am
completely alone. It’s a
s
trange feeling
, when all the spirits have gone
. As I stood up my head
began to spin
. I almost fell back. I grabbed a hold of
a tree branch in fron
t
of me for balance. The sun bega
n
to
rise as
I walked towards the ed
ge of a
dirt road. A
farm
house off in the distance
became my destination
.
As I
walk
ed to
wards
it, t
he realization hit me that I could be miles away fro
m the city. I could be anywhere
at the speed Beth travelled
.

“Why did you leave me Beth?” I spoke aloud. I knew she wasn’t close or I would have been able to sense her. I couldn’t help but think
of
Hayden. I missed him so much. I tried to
think of how many days have
passed
since that night I met Carlos in the coffee
shop. I wished I never left the
apartment. I should have listened to Hayden
.

I didn’t know
what happened
after Be
th saved me from Stella. I hope
Hayden
isn’t too frantic. I need
him to stay strong
. H
e won’t quit searching for me, this I knew. He will
be out,
night and day
until he finds me, he won’t
give up
. What I would
n’t
give to have hi
s strong arms wrapped around me now.
I sighed
as I looked up at the sky. I have
to keep moving.

I began to run towards the house, as I tried to fig
ht back the tears that I knew w
ere coming.
As I reached the front porch I
quickly grasped the fact
that the owners of
this house were deceased. I’m
not all alone after all
, I thought
.
I opened the front door and
immediately
met
Mrs. Johnston.

“Hi! I hope you don’t mind if I come in and grab a drink of water. A coat would be nice too, especially if I don’t get home by nightfall again
, if you don’t mind
. I’m Natalie.” I trie
d to be polite but I felt really
tired
and chitchatting with a murdered woman did not seem like a good idea.

“Natalie. Hi, yes please come in and help yourself to whatever you
need
,
” she said,
unsurprised by the fact that I could see and
hear her. I wondered if she is
one
of those ghosts that haven’t realized their
dead
yet
. Mr. Johnst
on made himself known as I entered
. He seemed surprised
. I understood
instantly that he i
s the reason they were dead. He killed her then turned his shotg
un on himself. He glared at me
as I walked to the kitchen
.

“I don’t want you here
Natalie
.
Something’s coming for you and I don’t want
it to find you here
in my house
. Leave now,” h
e
simply stated.

“I’m leaving
, I just need some water
. Wait, what’s coming for me?
”
I asked,
caught off guard by his warning. He didn’t answer as he turned and went
outside.
I walked in
to the kitchen and turned the tap on. I searched the cupboards for a glass. When I finally felt
my thirst
quench
ed
enough to carry on,
I looked around for a phone.

“Mrs. Johnston, do you have a phone?” I asked. She pointed to the table beside the sofa in the living room. I walk
ed over to it and noticed it dangled
off the hook.
I gasped as the realization hit me that no one knew they were dead yet. Their bodies haven’t been discovered. I ran back into the kitchen and grabbed a
hand towel
to wash off all the cupboard handles and the tap. I grabbed the glass and washed it
too
. I washed the door kn
ob leading into the house.

“I have
to get
out of here
,” I said aloud
. I became
frantic. Could someone possibly be setting me up
for
murder?
I felt
s
o scared I began to shake
. Mr. Johnston stood by
the door holding his gun. A
creepy smile cross
ed
his face
as he glared at me
.
I think I heard him laugh.

I took my shoes off as
I ran back down
their walk way. I grabbed a stick and scrapped up the dirt that showed my footprints leading to their house.
I turned back quickly, staring at Mr. Johnston. I needed to know.

“Who is coming for me?” I asked.

“You have a few pursuers but the one you should be afraid of the most is yourself. Your demon is after you,” he said looking up at the sky.

“But you’re not dead yet,” he warned before turning away from me.
I ran off the road and into the woods. I would have to find my way through the woods to another house. In my haste to get out of there I forgot to find a coat or
a
blanket. Panic ro
se in me again as I heard a car coming down the road. I ducked behind a tree as the car slo
wed in front of the house I just escaped from.

Two men in dark
suits stepped out. I knew it. Someone d
id want to have me arr
ested for murder? Why would Beth
save me and then do this to me? It didn’t make
any sense, unless i
t wasn’t Beth. Some
one followed
us when we escaped
from
Stella. Who
could that have been
?
Who is following me?
Did this person take
Beth
from me when I fell
unconscious? I stepped back from the tree and ran as fast as I could into the woods. I turned to try and follow the direction of the road. I hoped I woul
d eventually find someone that w
ould lead me b
ack home. I had to find Hayden.

“I
don’t know where to look next
. I searched Stella’s
lair
but it has recently
been abandoned. A few of her
followers remained but they didn
’t
know where Stella went, apparently she
vanished when Natal
ie escaped
from her
. They assume
Stella
i
s
out looking for her
too
. Clive
,
I can’t s
top looking, I have to find her,
” Hayden shook
with anger
and frustration. H
e felt
so
close
to getting her back but he
let
her
slip through his fingers. He
promised to take care of
her
and now he
can’
t even find her
. H
e couldn’t wait around for
a sign. He must
keep moving.

“I hav
e only heard from a few Seekers
recently. The rumor amongst the dead is that she
has escaped from Stella but she has a new stalker
now
. Some are saying it
’
s her brother, others think it is her father and
still others are actually saying it’s a
de
mon.
I have sen
t out an alert to everyone I know. S
ome
thing is going to turn up. Someone is going to have
information we can use. We
have to be patient. You know she
is
still alive so d
on’t do anything rash, just w
ait for my call. I have told Carlos the same thing. I wish you two would work together. You both want the same thing,
which is
Natalie home safe. I’ll call
you back in an hour.” Hayden put his phone in his pocket
and took a deep breath. He wouldn’t allow himself to
think the worst. She is out there alive h
e
just has
to find her
.

“Carlos, its
Hayden. What do you know?”
Hayden gripped hi
s phone as he swallow
ed his pride, he realized he should
take Clive’s advice and
work with him, for Natalie’s sake.

“Hayden, I’m on the east side
. I’ve heard that Beth
abandoned Natalie somewhere in the country because she is frightened by a new purs
uer.
I believe she may be looking for help.
I think you should meet me back at the school. Beth is young and her only contacts would be at the
high
school. That must be where she went. I’m on my way there now.”

“I’ll meet you there,
”
Hayden sighed.

The sun began to set
again as Hayden reached the school. It would be
his
third night without her, he thought
. He scaled the wall and entered the school throu
gh a door on the ro
of. A
ll
of
the
ir
eyes rested on
him
as he entered
the school
. He
sense
d
them all
immediately, focusing
on each one
individually
. He
just needed
to hear one of them
say Natalie or Beth’s
name. Some of the
ir
whispers
were unintelligible though
. Some of them were too
faint
or muffled
. He realized as he stood there in the long dark hallway that N
atalie would have been able to hear them
all
. S
he
would have been
surrounded by the
m
every
time
she walked these halls and sat in these classrooms
.
He
couldn’t help but feel
hurt by the fact that she
never told him about them
, she never shared this with him
.
Why did she keep this a secret? Why did she keep Beth a secret?

“Beth has been
here,
”
a voice spoke above the others, startling him.
He turned quickly
and stood
fac
e to face wi
th a rough looking teenage boy.

“
Is she still here?”
Hayden asked hopefully.

“She wants me to help her. She needs some protection from a poltergeist. Beth is terrified
of it
. I told her I would help but I needed to bring some others wi
th me. I have never fought
as a ghost
before
. I really don’t know if I can. She is w
aiting for me out in the field,” he pointed out the window, toward the trees.

“I will come with you. Bring your friends too. We may ne
ed the numbers. Normally I do
n’t encourage ghosts to
recognize
that they have
unearthly strength but you need to know now that you are still strong
, stronger even than when you were alive, it’s just different as you’ll discover.
Just remember that the
living should never
know you are here
,
”
Hayden explained.
The boy
s
eemed
shocked
but calm
.