Ghosts in My Mind Part 2

Ghosts In My Mind: Part II

Review: At this point, the main character and her family have moved to the property with the mansion. Her mother is still missing.

Chapter 3: The House

The following day, I awoke from my usual fitful sleep, to find myself in a real nightmare. I awoke to a spectral form floating over my bed, my face just inches from it. In that second I completely froze with terror. A blast of cold air overcame me, knocking me briefly unconscious. When I regained my senses, it was gone. Whatever it was, the only physical features of it I could remember was that it had long dark hair, and was covered in white.

It was then that I registered the sounds coming from outside. I recognized the distinct, shrill whine of power tools. Dad was already at it. I looked at the clock. It was only seven in the morning! I decided that it was useless to try to go back to sleep with the racket coming from the yard. I slipped out of bed, and tried not to cry out when my feet touched the ice cold floor. I would have to wear slippers from now on.

As I was rummaging through my clothes to find something to wear for the day, I could not help but wonder at the vision that I’d had that morning. It had felt too real to be a dream, but too fantastic to be real. I wondered if maybe it had something to with the main house? Maybe reading all those ghost stories about it went to my head.

Dressed in my favorite jeans and Lilo and Stitch t-shirt, I skipped down the stairs to find my tennis shoes. I decided that I could not wait another second to explore the creepy house. I ran out the door and almost tripped over the extension cord Dad was using for his tools.

“Whoops! Sorry Dad.”

“It's fine, where are you off too in such a hurry?”

“I just thought I’d go for a walk and look around some.” I answered. I was not going to tell him that I was going to go in the old house.

“Do not go in that old house.” He said, as though he had read my mind. “It's dangerous. There are weak spots in the floorboards and walls.”

“Ok, I won’t,” I lied, as I took off down the driveway.

As I walked, the image from the morning plagued my mind. The dark, wild hair. The shroud of white. I could not remember seeing any facial features. I kicked at a loose stone on the gravel driveway as I walked. It skipped about a good twenty feet in front of me, tripping over other rocks, and went into the grass. It was then that I heard a very loud clanging sound, coming from where the stone had landed. Up ahead, there was a steep hill, so steep that you could not see the bottom from the road. Curious as to what the sound was, I approached the spot very carefully. As I inched down the hill, a tree root caught my foot and sent me tumbling down the steep, rocky surface.

The next thing I knew, I was at the bottom of the hill surrounded by large, aged trees on either side of me. When I stood up, I felt a little dizzy. I probably whacked my head on a rock or something when I fell. I thought to myself. I turned around to properly observe my surroundings. The ground was muddy. Red mud now caked my clothes and shoes. The trees were all very old and covered in deep green moss.

The hill is too steep for me to climb back up. Dang it! Dad is going to kill me.

I walked a few feet to my right to see if I could find a spot to climb back up. To my astonishment, I found the opening of what looked like a small, well lit tunnel. With no other choice of action, I decided to risk going in, in the hopes that it would lead me back to where I needed to be.

The tunnel was very small. I had to crouch down to walk through it. The floor was very damp and slippery. Whatever this tunnel was for, it was obviously very old. The wetness had created a very damp, almost nauseating smell. As I walked farther, the light started to fade. Before I knew it, I was in pitch darkness. The darkness pressed in around me as I inched my way along, using the wall to guide me. I felt as though I would be crushed by the weight of the blackness, I found it harder and harder to breath.

Suddenly, out of the silence, there came a voice. It was as faint as a whisper, “She’s here.”

The words sent chills down my spine. It sounded as though someone had been expecting me.

“Hello?” I called back. The voice did not answer me, instead it kept whispering, “She’s here. She’s here.”

Over and over again, getting louder as I walked farther.

Eventually, I came to what looked like a set of stairs, with a door at the top. The voice was now so loud, it sounded as if the woman was standing right next to my ear. The stairs were rotten in places, and very very old. I took great care walking up them. I did not want to be in this God-forsaken tunnel anymore. The door hinges were covered in rust. I had to slam my whole body against the door to get it to open.

I stumbled into what looked like a small kitchen. The room had obviously not been used in years, as the floor tiles were faded to a disgusting shade of yellow, the periwinkle blue paint on the walls was chipped and falling off. The appliances were outdated, and covered in dust and rat scat. The smell of death permeated the room. I went through a small, white door on my left and entered what looked like a parlor. This house had obviously belonged to a very wealthy family. However the wallpaper and carpeting — which had been expensive and very good quality no doubt — had been torn up, to leave the bare skeleton of the room. It was then that I recognized this room as the one that I had seen in the online photos. The tunnel had led me to the mansion.

Chapter 4: Resolutions

A gust of wind swept through the room, sending chills over my whole body. Someone was here in the room with me. I turned slowly back toward where I had come, to see a terrifying spectre floating in the doorway. I recognized the dark hair and white shroud as the woman I had seen in my room that morning. What I saw now made all the color drain from my face in fear. Her face. Tear stained make-up dripped down from her eyes. Her eyes were a striking, ice cold blue. She had wanted me to come. I could sense that. It felt like she had answers for me, but I was not going to like them. I was terrified by this.

It was then that I had the deep, primal urge to run. Run away. I took off through the room and up a flight of stairs that must have been the grand staircase at one time. I briefly pictured how grand it may have been, however I could not linger admire what once was. I could hear her heavy footsteps on the dusty floor behind me. I turned down a long hallway. I could still hear her coming after me, getting closer. It was then I realized that this was my nightmare that had been plaguing me for weeks. I wanted to find a way out of the hallway, but all of the doors I passed were locked. I ran and ran and ran down the endless hallway. Dust puffed up around my feet with each step. The only sounds I could hear were the pounding of my heart, and the sound of her. Getting ever closer behind me.

It was then that I heard a voice coming up ahead of me.

“Help! Is someone there?”

Mom! I wanted to call out to her, but I was so terrified I could not make a sound.

I was running in a blind panic now. I was so blind and wild with fear that I slammed into the end of the hallway, without even seeing it. I had reached a door. I could not hear my mother’s voice any more. I tried to open the door to no avail. I started to turn away, when the door opened with a long, ominous creak. The room inside was poorly lit, but I could just barely make out the silhouette of a body on the floor. Then I realized that I did not hear footsteps behind me anymore. I turned slowly around, in complete and utter terror, and there she was. Her face inches from mine. The spectre screamed that horrible, supernatural scream that makes you feel hollow with fear, and grabbed my throat. The last thing I ever saw was the face of my mother, and a flash of bright light.