Val (Pt. 7)

He reaches down and pulls me up with him.

"So... What were you and your friend doing here in the first place?" Jayy crawls through the vents and I follow.

"Isn't it obvious," I sigh and roll my eyes, "it's an abandoned mental institution. I'm sure people break in all the time."

He laughs, "True," he stops crawling, "Our stop is up here."

"So, where is here." I look down through the opening in the vent.

"This is the children's ward." He jumps down and helps me out of the vent.

"Why are we in the children's ward?" He leads me down a narrow hallway. We walk past open doors, rooms filled with children toys and small beds.

"This is where Valarie used to 'live' he glances back at me."

"In the children's ward?"

"Yep. She was admitted here for her depression way before she killed her brother. There weren't enough rooms in the teen ward at the time so she was given a room here in the children's ward."

"Okay... But why are we here?"

"Let me finish. Let me finish."

"Okay, continue." He sighs and stops in front of a closed door at the end of the hallway.

"So, she was admitted here for depression reasons about five months before she killed her brother. She was forced to stay in this room right here," he points to the door in front of us, "now. The children's ward was, of course, filled with children. Noise making, nosy, and don't forget, very sick little children. She wasn't too fond of children either. You can see where this is going, right?" He looks down at me.

"Yeah." I nod and look at the door.

"Well when she was released, she was even more messed up than she was when she was admitted. And well... You already know the outcome of that." He laughs slightly and opens the door. The smell of rotting meat immediately welcomes our noses.

I walk into the small room and look around. It looks untouched. The walls look as if they were given a fresh coat of paint. The floor gleams like it was just waxed. The bed in the corner of the room is made with clean sheets. A desk sits under a window at the far right side of the room. A small lamp sits on the desk.

"Wow." I look around the small room.

"What?" he looks down at me.

"Well the rest if the building is... Yeah. But this room looks like it would actually be lived in. Except for the smell..."

He laughs, "Yeah. I've kept this room clean. Due to its... sentimental value... Valarie refuses to come here. So you're completely safe in here."

"What is the smell." I cover my nose.

"That's a story for another time."

"Well if I have to stay here—"

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"I don't understand why I can't just leave. I want to go home."

"They wont let you. You aren't even 'alive' right now."

"What?" I frown and look up at him. He sighs.

"It's kinda like possession, but she kicks you out of your body and inhabits it herself. She used you to get free," he sits down on the bed.

"Yeah... Sure. I'm supposed to believe that a ghost kicked me out of my body and kidnapped it." I roll my eyes.

"But it's true. You aren't fully alive right now. I guess you could say you're a ghost."

"Okay... If I am a ghost, then I can walk through walls and stuff? And shouldn't I be able to leave? Ghosts can do and go wherever and whatever they want right?"

"Well... Technically yes. But that isn't how it works for you. You're still half alive. You can't move through walls or anything like that. And as for the leaving thing, she was damned to spend her entire after life here in this hospital. She used you to break that curse. Now you're stuck here. The building wont let you leave." I frown and sit on the bed next to him.

"Well what am I supposed to do? A psychopathic ghost is roaming around town in my body. I can't just stay here and do nothing."

"Well. Here's the thing. She can't stay out in the world in that body forever. She'll have to come back and... rest up I guess you could stay."

"Okay, how is that going to benefit me? She's still going to be in my body and I don't know how this works. I'm not even sure if I believe any of this."

"How can you not believe any of it? You've seen it all happen." I shrug and rub my head.

"I guess it's all just too insane to be real. Maybe this is all just a bad dream that I can't wake up from."

"Well... It's not." he stands up and walks over to the door.

"So if this is all real," I scoot back on the bed and lean up against the wall, "then you're a ghost as well?"

"Yeah. I guess I am."

"Did you die here?"

"That's a story for a different time."

"Okay..." I sigh and lay my head back against the wall.

---------

"Maggie? Is that you?" My mom calls to me as I walk into my house.

"Yeah." I sigh and rub my head.

"Where is Valarie? I told you to invite her over for dinner."

"She's going out for dinner with her family."

"What? I though her parents had date night tonight."

"They probably cancelled. I'm gonna go take a shower." I frown and walk towards the bathroom.

"Okay. Dinner is almost done."