Trapped (12 page)

“But you know I am here and I’m pretty sure Natalie did too
, but she wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Some of th
e living can sense you are here
and others, like me can see and
talk to you. Natalie
is different yet, she can see you as more
, as though you are one of the
living
,
she has
recently
learned how to
decipher
the dead from the living
though
. I’m sure the only reason she
didn’t
talk to you i
s because I
told her not to talk to ghosts,
”
he sighed
, realizing he may have
been too protective of her. To the point that she felt she couldn’t confide in him
.

“I don’t think she listened to you that much. I saw her talk to a lot of ghosts
here in
school
. Maybe she hasn
’t learned as well as you think,” t
h
e boy smirked the
n walked away.

“I’ll meet you out in the field,” h
e called back. Hayden nodded and went to look for Carlos. He knew he sh
ould be angry with her but
he miss
ed her too much.

Carlos ran down to
the basement again
. He
followed
another Seek
er
that
just
waved him down
.
A young
girl’s scream could be heard coming from the basement
. She stood
in the closet
Natalie and Be
th
had hid
in. T
he
Seek
er
grabbed the girl and shook her till she stoppe
d screaming.

“What is wrong with you?” Carlos
asked her calmly, holding
his
Kris
ready
just
in
case this little ghost decided to cause chaos. H
e wanted to send her home regardless of her actions. S
he i
s too young to be trapped here.

“Carlos!” Hayden called from the top of the stairs.

“Down here Hayden.” Carlos went to great him.

“Who is screaming
?”

“It’s a ghost who I think knows something,
”
Wendy, the Seeker,
said to both of them
as she managed to hold onto the wraith
.

“
Sorry Wendy but
Beth is out in the field
, we have to go. Beth is
gathering support to face a poltergeist,
the one
she believes is purs
u
ing Natalie. We have to go now.” Hayde
n made
his way swiftly
back towards the stairs.

“Wendy, I have to go
too
. Meet us in the field
if you get anything out of her,
” C
arlos shou
ted back.

Just as he reached
the stairs the litt
le ghost jumped in front of him
and scr
eamed again. Carlos lifted his
K
r
is
and before he
stab
bed her,
she shouted out Natalie’s name
. Hayden grabbed her thin arms
and swung her around
and out of the path of Carlos’ Kris
.

“What
do you know
of
Natalie?” he demanded.
Carlos held his knife over her.

“My mother is after her. She sent me here to get Beth but I can’t. I tried but I can’t. I don’t have my mother
’
s strength. Beth
easily
escape
d
from
me
. I tried
though
. My mot
her is going to be so mad at me,
”
the little ghost
cried.

“What
is your mother
’s name
?”
Hayden demanded.

“
Abigail
. She has been wa
ndering this earth for many years. She took care of me when my f
amily died.
She searches for the white light. She
saw it in Natalie and she wants to take it from her
.” The little girl slumped down on the stairs and
whimpered
. Carlos knew he woul
d have to take care of her.

“Do you know where Natalie
is
now
?” he asked her.

“I have
see
n
her
running in the woods. Abby is close but Natalie is
still
faster
than her
.
I think
Abby i
s losing
some of her strength
, but she will not give up. S
he will
follow
her
until
she is al
one again, the
n she will attack, she’s done it
like that
before,
”
the little girl explained.

“What do
you
mean alone again
, who is Natalie with
?”
Carlos asked.

“Beth abandoned Natalie, leaving her alone and lost
,
just
before
she
entered
a house with dead people in it,
”
the girl spoke with a tremor in her voice
as she told them this new realization.
Ha
yden
wasn’t sure how she knew
all of this
. There must be some connection between A
bigail and this
girl that allows
her to see
what she
is seeing.

“Sound
s
like her,
” Carlos smiled
, picturing Natalie in the house
.
Hayden glanced at him, ignoring his comment.

“Abby approached the house cautiously,
waiting for her plan to unfold. S
he kn
ew the dead couple weren’t
discovered by the living yet.
As planned, t
he police
would be there soon for
she
left them a message
.
I watched her do it. I watched the pen hover
over the pad of paper as she scribbled
on it
.

Someone
is threatening to kill me

Route 64 #2678 Johnston farm house

Abby
hoped
they
would capture Natalie for her. She thought it
would
be easier
to take her
if she
was confined, but
Natalie didn’t stay long enough
for her plan to work
,
”
the little girl gasped as
she tried to squirm free of Hayden’s
hold
on her
.

“Let’s go Carlos, find me route 64
,
”
Hayden ordered
impatiently.

“She is being hunted my something even more threatening than
my mother
now
, it will consume her
,
”
the girl
shouted.
Hayden glared at her
as he released her
, knowing he should heed
her warning and calm his anger. The little girl writhed in pain then vanished before him.

He ran up the stairs and out to the
football
field.
Carlos quickly caught up
to
him when
he
saw Beth surrounded by a do
zen big school boys. These boys will
be her
protection when she
venture
s
away from the school
again. For some of them, it will be the first time since they died that they have left the familiar grounds
.
Beth stared at Hayden and smiled quickly then was off. She knew Hayden was going to follower her. That’s what she wanted.
She just hoped Hayden realized that this
battle i
s on
ly just beginning. Natalie i
s going to
need him
more than he could possibly know.

“Hayden, something about this doesn’t seem right. Why does Beth believe
that this band of boys will be able to help her? They haven’t even reached their potential yet. Some of them don’t even know they are dead. I’m w
orried Beth may be diverting us,
” Carlos didn’t take his
eyes
off Beth as he spoke.

“I was thinking the same thing
. As soon as she spotted
us with her I felt like she may have
an
ulterior
motive for collect
ing us together. W
e have to try and talk to her. I really don’t
think we have any other choice
at the moment
but to follow her
.
S
he is headed in the same direction we are going, to
the Johnston farm
.
No
one
else seems to know
what has happened. It’s like Natalie vanished,
” Hayden held back tears as he looked ahead.
His heart was breaking as each moment passed knowing Natalie was out there alone. He would not rest until she was in his arms again. He couldn’t lose Beth since s
he was the last one to see her.

“You stay
at the
back, I’m going to
try and talk to Beth. If she bol
ts
,
follow her. I’ll be tactful. She knows who you are and will
become immediately defensive.
I t
hink she might give me a chance,
” Carlos explained as he walked
toward the front of the group.

Hayden stayed back but he
didn’t take his eyes off Beth. He was furious with her for all her actions. He was trying to understand why she would help Stella then hav
e a change of heart and help Natalie
escape,
only to abandon her again when
she is in
even
more
danger
than before
.
Is she trying to help her again or is she trying to give Natalie’s
pursuers
mo
re time.

Hayden was trembling as
he
walked
beside the group. They were quiet
as they walked. Hayden couldn’t focus on all of them. Some of them were harder for him to see
than others
. They appeared blurry
at times
. He wondered how well Natalie would have been
able to see them. He could get glimpses of
their thoughts
at time
. He knew they were uncomfortable
leaving the school. It’s
the only place they have inhabited since they died. A number of them died toge
ther on a
school
bus headi
ng to a football
match. The bus was hit head on by a transport truck that lost control. Another died after falling out of a boat while fishing in cold, windy weather.
The stories were keeping Hayden distracted
as Carlos talked to Beth.

“Beth, can I walk with you?” Carlos asked calmly as he strolled up to her. She was moving quickly, but controlled her pace
so the group wouldn’t separate.

“Sure,” s
he mumbled. Carlos was using his strength to try and gage her emotions. He could tell she wan
ted to run but her fear of not completing this mission she is on
frightened
her more. Why i
s she doing thi
s? Something has terrified her.

“Is Natalie sa
fe? The last time you saw her, i
s she
safe, is she
unharmed?” Carlos
needed
to know this first
, before he asked her anything more
. He tried
to hide his fears fr
om Hayden, but he needed some kind of reassurance that she is still okay
.