by Amy Richie
“You mean the crackers?”
“Yep.”
“That was hours ago.”
“You'll live.”
“But I'm hungry,” I whined, fully prepared to go as far as I needed to in order for him to stop at the diner.
“Later,” he snapped.
“Aren't men from your era supposed to be considerate of women?”
“What do you know of men from my era?”
“I went to school.”
“Are you going to try and say you learned something there?”
“I did.”
“You don't know anything, Crazy. Don't pretend to. Just do what you're told and keep walking.”
This was stupid. How long did he expect me to keep walking? I was already tired and hungry. Did he forget that I was human?
We had been on the bus for days and I didn't get to eat much the entire time. Not to mention, my ankle was still throbbing from the last time I was sitting.
That one had tipped over with me still inside. Just because Toby was already dead didn't mean he could pretend I hadn't been forced to crawl out of a wrecked bus and then face Zac- one of the meanest ghost-people I had ever seen. Who did he think I was? A super human?
I continued following Toby silently down the street. I didn't see any other places that were serving food. In fact, the further we went, the less I saw of anything that looked like people were allowed to enter at all.
A door opened in front of me and a man stumbled out, reeking heavily of alcohol. “Hey there, Pretty,” he grinned stupidly, then promptly fell forward onto the sidewalk- where he stayed.
I hurried around him to get closer to Toby. He might not have been as chivalrous as I thought men of his time should be, but he was better than being completely alone.
“This is it,” he said suddenly, turning to stare at a building right in front of us.
“What are we doing here?” My eyebrows lowered on my already lined forehead. We hadn't stopped at the restaurants along the way for food, but here we were stopping to stare at an old building. “Do you have any clue where we're going?”
“We're going here.”
“Here?” My eyes glided up the side of the building. It was two stories high and looked like no one had been in it for years.
“Yeah.”
“Are we even allowed?” If we tried stepping in there, the floor would probably fall through.
“This is the place,” he insisted as if I'd suggested it wasn't.
“What's in there?” If ever a place looked like it was crawling with ghost-people, this was it.
“No idea,” he shrugged.
“Well, I can't walk through the walls like you can,” I reminded him.
“No one needs to walk through the walls,” he scowled. “We're not going in.”
“But you just said...”
“I said this is the place; I didn't say we were going in.”
I tried to keep one eye on the building as I glared at Toby. If any ghost-people came flying out at me, I at least wanted to see them coming.
“Well, if we're not going in, what are we doing?” Were we just going to stand here and stare at it? How long? “Are there ghost-people in there?”
“No,” his eyes narrowed, creating lines along his forehead. “We need to go this way.”
Toby turned away from the deserted street and started to go around the building. I only hesitated a brief moment before hurrying after him. I would have rather went into the building than around to the back of it. Who knew what was hiding back there?
“I brought her.”
I heard Toby's voice before I saw who he was talking to. Brought her? What was he talking about?
“Toby?”
It was dark in the shadow of the building. Another structure sprang up right behind it, creating a creepy looking alley where Toby was standing.
“What are we doing back here?”
He didn't answer. He didn't need to. Out of the shadows stepped a familiar woman with short spiky hair.
“Nona?” My mouth fell open. “Am I dreaming?” I had to be dreaming. “We're still on the bus, aren't we?”
“You're not dreaming,” Toby scowled.
“Why are you here?” I asked Nona.
She didn't say anything, she just smiled at me. I couldn't bring myself to return the gesture. The few times I had seen Nona hadn't been my best memories.
She was so weird.
She didn't say anything about my failed attempt at becoming a warrior. Then again- she wasn't saying anything, nothing at all. She just continued to smile at me.
I glanced at Toby, who just shrugged. Some help he was.
Without warning, Nona turned away from me and began walking further into the shadows. “Hey,” I called out. “Where are you going?”
No way was I following her. Seeing her outside of my dreams was unnerving. She could just go ahead and keep going; I wouldn't be sorry to see the last of her.
“We need to follow her,” Toby said close to my ear.
“Why would we want to do that?”
“I said nothing about wanting.” His eyes narrowed as he watched her walk away. “We need to see what she wants.”
“I'm not following her.”
“Get moving.”
“No way. She's creepy.”
Chapter Two
A thick branch swung back to slap me hard against my forehead. I ducked low, rubbing the offended mark only to trip over a hidden root and fall forward.
I flung my hands out automatically. “Ouch,” I grumbled, glaring up at the still moving back of Nona. I couldn't glide over the earth like she could, she needed to wait up.
“Why are you crawling around on the ground,” Toby asked meanly.
“I fell,” I gasped through clenched teeth.
“Well, get up.”
“Good advice,” I mumbled as he hurried off to catch up with Nona.
I already didn't want to follow her and then she decided to go on a nature hike. If I wanted to hide from people- this would be perfect. Too bad being out in the open like this without any other sign of life was just what Zac would find ideal.
Maybe she was trying to help him. Being a seer must go against the laws of Fate or something.
“We're almost there,” she called back to me.
Rolling my eyes, I hurried to catch up.
Suddenly and without warning, the trees thinned out and opened up to a small run down cabin.
“Do you live out here?” I looked over at Nona, confusion twisting up my face. “This isn't your place.”
“We'll be safe here,” she said instead of answering me.
“You think Zac won't be able to find this place?” I didn't buy that; he had found me beside a half rotting picnic table, a cabin wouldn't be too hard for him.
“He won't be able to get to you.”
Tristan said I wouldn't be able to hide from him for long. “So we're staying here? Do you have a key?”
Before I'd finished asking, the front door swung open.
“It's open,” she grinned wide.
“Who lives here?” I tried to demand. “Are they home?” My heart raced away underneath my ribs.
Nona and Toby might not be too worried about breaking and entering, but I wasn't keen to meet the cabin owners. Calling the police would be the nicest thing they could do to me- toting a gun seemed more likely out here.
“It's empty,” Nona assured me. “Go in.”
Judging by the outside, the inside of the cabin must have been disgusting. I could just imagine all the spiders clinging to the walls and ceiling.
“Maybe I could sleep out here,” I suggested softly.
“Go in,” Toby barked out.
Grudgingly, I made my way inside the old cabin.
My mouth fell open as I slowly took in the interior of the cabin. My negative assumptions couldn't have been more wrong about the smal
l shelter in the middle of nowhere.
As far as I could tell, there wasn't a cobweb in sight. If any spiders made their home inside, they were well hidden. The walls were dry-walled smooth and painted a dull brown to imitate the nature right outside the front door.
A comfortable looking couch and matching chair were arranged around a large TV. Even the kitchen came equipped with a wide table, which was fully set for a dinner party of one.
This wasn't at all what I had expected.
“This place is amazing,” I blurted out, trying to suck back in my wide smile.
“Beats a bus.” Toby bent low to check out the inside of the fireplace. No fire was needed now, but it would come in handy later tonight if we were still there.
“And Zac can't find us here?” I glanced at Nona for confirmation but Toby answered.
“The necklace keeps him from finding you.”
“No matter where I am?”
“That's the idea.”
Then why come clear out here? This place was nice and all, but why not stay somewhere a little more populated?
“Are you hungry, Ren?” Nona asked, suddenly directly behind me and way too close.
“Not really,” I lied.
Could Nona cook? I didn't even think she was real.
“There is food here for you.”
“Yeah?” I leaned around her, trying to see what was sputtering on the stove.
“Potato soup.”
My head jerked back. “Potato soup?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “I was told you would like it.”
“Did you talk to Tristan?” I fired out. “Is he here?”
“Tristan is not here.” She kept her eyes on me, narrowing them slightly. “And I did not talk to him about which foods you like to eat.”
“Then how did you know?” How did she know that Tristan and I had talked about eating that very thing?
“Toby informed me of your taste preferences.”
“Toby?” In my shock, I relaxed my stance. “How would he know?”
“He's observed you for many years- he knows a lot.”
Toby glared at me, but didn't add anything.
Weird. Toby had told Nona what I liked to eat- and he told her the truth. I was half surprised he hadn't requested something disgusting- like sea food.
Taking the offered seat, I pulled the full bowl closer and took a tentative bite. For a ghost, Nona wasn't a bad cook.
“Was it to your liking?”
I blinked and Nona was sitting across from me- smiling.
“Umm... yeah, it was okay.”
“Better than crackers?”
I shot a quick glance to Toby before nodding.
“Good.” She settled back in her chair, as though she were relieved that I had liked the soup.
It was pretty good soup though, especially for someone who couldn't taste: or maybe she could.
“I've worked hard to prepare a place for you, Ren.”
“Why?”
Why should Nona go through so much trouble for me? What did she want from me? Would I be able to give it to her?
“You're special.”
“Because I can see the ghost-people?” I pressed my lips together. “Tristan said I was a seer.”
“You are.”
“And not the only one.”
“True,” she conceded again.
“So I don't think I'm as special as you think I am.”
She sat back and stared at me- stared at me for so long that it became uncomfortable. I picked up my spoon and scraped it against the bottom of the almost empty bowl.
“I think,” she finally said, “that there will be time later to discuss that.”
“Umm... okay.” I looked up and back down quickly.
“You can use these,” Nona softly patted two yellow towels that were stacked in front of her.
“For what?” I mumbled around a mouth full of half chewed food.
“I thought you'd like a shower.”
“I can't take a shower here.”
“Why not?”
“Do I look like Goldilocks to you?”
Her perfectly shaped brows dipped low on her porcelain skin. “I don't know this person.”
“The three bears? You don't know the story?” I pushed the towels back to her when she tried to move them closer to me.
“What does a story about bears have to do with you taking a shower? Are you afraid a bear will come here?”
“Just go take a shower,” Toby interrupted before I could tell Nona the story.
“Are you sure it's safe?”
“I'll be right out here,” he gruffly reminded me.
“No one can see you.”
“No one is coming here.” He snatched the towels up from the table and smashed them into my chest. “Go shower- you stink.”
*****
The bathroom door was at the end of a short hallway. It still felt strange to be taking a shower out here. Surely Nona couldn't live here; what if the owners came home while I didn't have any clothes on?
They wouldn't be able to see Toby and Nona, they would think I was some crazy person who had broken into their house to use the bathroom.
This wasn't a good idea.
I pushed the faded brown door open and stepped into a small but efficient bathroom. Setting the two fluffy towels beside the sink, I pulled back the cheap plastic curtain of the shower.
Two silver knobs stared harmlessly up at me. There were no ghost-people waiting for me; and no bears. I turned the knobs and watched the clear water pool up on the bottom of the tub before spiraling down the drain.
Everything seemed legit.
I stripped off my filthy clothes while the water heated up, then eased myself under the hot stream.
The water cascaded slowly over my aching body. It had been too long since I had a good shower. At Nine Crosses, we were barely allowed to have warm water and these last few weeks on the road had only offered a handful of very bad showers in equally bad hotels.
This was amazing, exactly what I needed.
I twisted my body so the water could wash away what was left of the dirt and dried up blood on my hip and down my leg. Thick bruises covered most of the area along my hip but I couldn't bring myself to be bothered by it.
Bending my head so the water could massage my sore neck made me moan out loud. Only when the water turned luke warm did I grab the shampoo and make quick work of cleaning the matted mess my hair had become.
The bathroom was filled with smokey steam by the time I was forced from the completely cold water. Just when I was dreading putting my dirty clothes back on, I found a neatly folded pile of clean clothes.
Nona really did think of everything.
Chapter Three
With a shaky hand, I wiped the thick coat of steam from the mirror. How had Nona come into the bathroom to put the clean clothes in here without me hearing the door open and close? And how did she know my size?
I shook out the plain blue jeans until the perfectly hemmed bottoms rested on the floor. The material was stiff, as if it had been folded for a very long time- but at least they were clean.
A tee shirt was folded underneath the pants- white and heavily creased. The v-neck fit snugly but not too tight. There was even a thin pair of slip on shoes laying on the floor by my feet.
“Huh,” I grunted as I looked in the mirror at the finished product. Besides the purple rings under my eyes, which were more than likely permanent by now, I didn't look half bad.
My almost blonde hair that hang below my shoulders looked darker when they were heavy with water. Already, half circle wet spots were growing on my shirt from not drying my hair very well.
Was there a blow dryer here?
Just as I bent low to check the door under the sink, a high pitched shriek pierced the silence of the bathroom. I froze, still in front of the mirror, straining to hear the noise again.
/> After several minutes of creepy silence, I crept to the door and peered down the hallway. No one was there.
The floor in the short hall wasn't carpeted, it was a faded wood that I was sure would creak as soon as I stepped on it. With a hammering heart, I left the false safety of the bathroom and stepped out onto the hard wood.
Everything was quiet.
Whatever I had heard just minutes before in the bathroom was gone now. Or maybe just hiding. The ghost-people had never hid from me before. Did that mean something else was in the cabin?
Was it the owners of the cabin? What would they do to me if they came home and found me standing in their hallway?
I was just trying to decide if I should call out and make myself known or hide when I heard voices coming from the front room. It was Toby and Nona and they seemed to be having a pretty serious conversation.
I couldn't make out any of the words, but it was definitely more than just a simple awkward conversation about the weather.
Trying to talk my heart into quieting down, I pressed my back into the wall and attempted to hear better. It was no good though- I would have to get closer.
I moved forward silently, each step tiny so I wouldn't make any noise. Was it even possible to sneak up on a ghost? Anyways, why did I want to sneak up on Toby and Nona?
To hear what they were saying, I answered myself. Were these two friends? I had not seen None before that night at Nine Crosses, but that didn't mean Toby didn't see her.
Finally, after several tense steps, I reached the end of the hall. I leaned carefully around the plain white wall to see Nona sitting on the couch with her legs twisted up underneath her. Toby sat beside her; they were facing each other.
I had rarely seen such a serious expression on Toby's face. Normally his face was all twisted up in disgust or making fun of me. It was strange to see a different side of him.
“How did you find her?” Nona's soft voice carried to me.
“She was with Tristan,” Toby answered.
“Yes,” she nodded, “he was keeping her clouded.”
“She met Zac,” Toby admitted after a moment of hesitation.
“Ren met Zac?” I couldn't see Nona's eyes widen, but I heard the chock in her voice.