Whispers From the Dead

by B. L. Brunnemer

  It was a little boy. He had to be around eight years old. He had high waisted trousers with suspenders and a pin-striped long-sleeve shirt. His hair was a bowl cut and his eyes made my heart sink. They looked older than they should have.

  I walked through the grass towards him. As I moved closer he became more unsettling. I lowered my barriers just a little to figure out what it was about him. My throat burned and squeezed tight. He’d been strangled. Poor kid. I shut my barriers so I couldn’t feel him anymore.

  The rain was a light sprinkle now. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes as the rain sprinkled onto his face. A small smile teased at his lips. I focused on him.

  “I forgot that feeling,” he said quietly as he stepped further away.

  “Feels good, right?” I asked. He nodded slowly. Those unsettling eyes opened on the Way. He looked down at the muddy ground. “What’s your name?” I asked gently.

  “Dennis,” he whispered as he crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t talking, they always talked.

  “My name is Lexie,” I said in my soothing voice. “This is the Veil. It looks kind of scary right now, but that’s because it’s sick. I’m trying to make it better.”

  Dennis looked around, then met my eyes. My heart dropped. His eyes were so full of pain it was shocking. “What happened to you?” I asked before I could think.

  “A lot,” he said. It wasn’t much, but from the look in his eyes it was more than enough.

  He stepped away from me and strolled through the grass. Towards the ledge over the abyss. My heart slammed as I took a step towards him.

  “Dennis, be careful,” I told him, moving slowly through the grass. “You don’t want to go that way.”

  He reached the ledge and looked down. “Why’s that?”

  I moved a little faster. Something was wrong. I could feel it. “It’s where souls go to be unmade.”

  “That’s an option?” he asked in his deadpan voice. I reached the ledge.

  “It’s only one way,” I admitted. “But from what I’ve seen of those crossing, and those who go into the abyss, crossing over is much better.”

  He scoffed, “Sure, it is.”

  He was thinking about it. I had to reach him. I dropped my barriers further. His pain hit me like a freight train. I staggered under it; his memories, the abuse. The nightmare that his life had been. Tears fell instantly.

  “Oh, God,” I gasped as I fought to keep his memories his and not mine. My hands gripped the mud and grass, helping to ground me. He turned to me, those dark, empty eyes met mine. Because that’s what they were. Empty. Empty of hope, love, empty of anything this boy had been in life. The horror and degradation he went through… it stripped it away. Stripped him away. I tried to breathe under the weight of it.

  “Sometimes it’s better to not exist,” he told me.

  I shook my head. “There’s always a chance for a better tomorrow.” I held his gaze. “The hope that tomorrow will be better. They can’t hurt you anymore, not here. Tomorrow will be better.”

  He blinked at me, then looked back at the pit. “No, it won’t.” He stepped out onto the ledge.

  Adrenaline had me on my feet and running the last steps between us. He jumped. I grabbed his hand and pulled back. He looked up at me with pity on his face as he dangled over the darkness.

  “Zahur!” I screamed as I tried to pull him back up the side of the cliff. Dennis dangled limp against the cliff, the abyss just below him. “Zahur! I need you now!”

  Hands grabbed my arms.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Zahur shouted.

  “He jumped,” I growled through my teeth. Dennis’ eyes were dead as he waited to drop.

  “Then let him go!” Zahur snapped. I looked at her, her eyes blazing. “It’s his decision.”

  I gaped at her as she broke my hold on Dennis. The boy dropped into the abyss. I watched as he disappeared into nothing, then dropped to the ground where I sat. Staring into the pit.

  Zahur knelt beside me and forced me to look into her eyes. “You can not stop them from making this decision. You can try to talk them out of it, but you can not try to force them to cross. You bring them here, but from there, they have to choose and you have to respect it.”

  I nodded dully. I couldn’t believe what just happened.

  Zahur’s eyes softened. “This isn’t your fault, Alexis. Sometimes a soul goes through so much damage that they don’t want to exist anymore.” She let go of my chin and turned to look at the pit. “That’s why there is another option.” She turned back to me. “Go back, take it easy today.” Still in a daze, I pulled myself out of the Veil.

  * * *

  The sun was still shining and birds were still chirping. The world went on like it always had, like it always would. In the world, it didn’t matter that Dennis’ soul was gone from existence. Not to the world at least.

  The other souls frowned at me. “How many this time?” Mr. Davis demanded. I shook my head and walked away. “Hey! What about us?”

  “No more today.” I snapped over my shoulder before I climbed into the Blazer.

  “That’s not fair!” he shouted. I didn’t care, I drove off.

  I don’t remember the drive home. I just remember walking in the door. I blinked as I looked around the empty living room, then let Hades off his leash. I didn’t want to stay inside, not right now. I walked out back only to find Tara. She was in her two-piece slathering on the sunblock.

  She looked up at me and scowled. “What do you want?”

  “I’m going to sit on the dock,” I muttered. Tara turned on her iPod and put her earbuds in.

  “Yeah, well, leave me the hell alone,” she snapped.

  I ignored her as I headed out to the end of the dock and sat down. Hades followed and laid down next to me. I rubbed his ears as I watched the water and tried to deal with what I saw.

  He just… jumped. Wiped himself from existence. I pulled out my phone needing to talk to someone, then hesitated.

  I wanted to talk to Ethan. Tell him what I saw, but the way he looked at me… I closed my eyes and hung my head. It hurt. It hurt more than I ever thought it would. I put my phone back down on the dock.

  Dennis’ life ran through my mind. He’d been abused by his parents then given over to a boarding school in the 20’s. Where he was tortured, raped, beaten, and treated worse than dirt. He had fought. Every day. After everything that he had been through, he still fought when the headmaster decided to kill him. Only to let him win in the end? I knew I couldn’t really feel the hell he went through. I only felt a little and it dropped me. But I kept asking why?

  I was so engrossed in my own thoughts I didn’t notice Hades getting up, or someone coming down the dock.

  “Red.” Isaac’s voice pulled me back. I got up and all but tackled him in a hug. He didn’t seem to mind, in fact he squeezed me back just as hard.

  “I was worried about you,” I told him, my voice muffled against his shirt. He buried his face into my hair and held me tight. He took several deep breaths. I didn’t want to let go, I just wanted to stay there breathing in limes until everything went away.

  “Get a room you two!” Tara shouted from the shore. I flipped her off without letting go of him. Isaac took a deep breath then raised his head. I looked up at him and worried even more.

  He had deep bags under his eyes. I reached up and held his undamaged cheek.

  “Are you okay?” I asked lamely. Of course he wasn’t okay, look at him!

  He shook his head. “No, no I’m not.” His voice was thick as he kept an arm around my waist. His amber eyes were shadowed as they met mine.

  “I’m sorry-”

  “No.” He shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. I get why you didn’t tell us. I’m not even mad about it anymore.” He let go and stepped around me to sit at the end of the dock. I joined him, my hip and shoulder touching his. He took my hand and watched the water. “What did Sophie tell you?”

  I
squeezed his hand. “She told me she calls you two Eth and Izzy.” He kept his gaze on the water. “She’s told me about the pranks she used to pull on you two.” His jaw clenched. “And embarrassing things from your childhood. Did you really wear a Superman cape for a week straight when you were eight?”

  He sighed. “Yeah… that’s Sophie.” His voice was thick. He turned to me the shadows in his eyes turning his usual amber to a deep chocolate. “Is that all she told you?” I nodded.

  Relief filled his face. I only saw it for a second before he looked back at the water. What did he expect Sophie to tell me?

  “Asher told us about the nightmares you had in December. That they were bad.” He changed the subject, his voice still thick. I went with it.

  Expecting a lecture, I answered, “Yeah.”

  “Miles and Zeke aren’t too happy with you about that,” he told me. I snorted hard.

  “They can get in line,” I grumbled. He looked down at me, his brow furrowed.

  “Red, what’s going on?”

  “You and Ethan are mad at me. Now Zeke and Miles are too, and the dead…” I shook my head. He didn’t need to hear this. He had enough to deal with already.

  “Lexie, what’s happening with the ghosts?” he asked seriously.

  I looked into his eyes and finally gave in. “They’re getting stronger, and pushier. The other day when I crossed that rotting ghost? It wasn’t because I chose to. It was because they brought him to me and basically threw him at me.”

  “Shit,” he said with feeling. I nodded. “Anything else happen this week?”

  “This morning…” I shook my head and looked down at the water.

  “What happened this morning?” he asked gently.

  “A soul jumped into the pit.” I tried not to see it again but I couldn’t help it. “He unmade himself.” A fresh wave of tears started to fill my eyes. “He was just a kid.” Isaac wrapped his arm around me, I leaned against him and took deep breaths.

  “I’m sorry, Lexie,” he whispered as he held me. He let me cry on him until I was done.

  When I lifted my head from his shoulder and wiped my face he broke the silence. “You need to tell the others.”

  I looked up at him confused. “Why?”

  “Because, they need to know,” he pointed out. “Hell, they want to know what you’re dealing with. So do I.”

  “I just don’t want the ghost shit to touch you guys,” I said tiredly.

  “So what if it does? It’s our fucking choice.” He reached over and lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “You better start sharing. Or Zeke will put you on permanent probation.”

  I sighed. He gave me a small smirk then let go of my chin.

  He looked out at the water. “Tell me something good that happened this week, Red, even if it’s something ridiculous.”

  I smiled as I looked out at the water. “I told Tara that she was chasing Asher and Zeke like a bitch in heat,” I offered. He snickered. I started smiling.

  “Nice, Red,” he said. “Anything else?”

  “I hit Jessica,” I admitted.

  “I know, how’d that feel?” He wrapped his arm around me and gave me a side hug.

  “Pretty good,” I admitted. We broke into a fit of giggles.

  We sat and talked about nothing important for half an hour. I was laughing when that chill ran down my neck like a blade. I slapped my hand to my neck and hissed.

  “Red?”

  “There’s a ghost somewhere,” I whispered. I got to my feet, Isaac followed. I started down the dock then paused. Where… where was the ghost? I looked up and down the shore ignoring Tara. “I don’t see it.”

  Isaac looked down at me. “What are you talking about?”

  I gestured with both hands towards the shore. “I don’t see anything. There’s just Tara on the shore.” My stomach knotted. This wasn’t right.

  “Let’s get inside,” he suggested.

  I was mid-nod when something grabbed my pant leg and yanked. Cold water closed over my head as I was pulled under. Heart slamming, my barriers shook. I looked down. It was Mr. Davis from the cemetery. He kept dragging me down. SHIT! I reached for my will just as my barriers broke. The world disappeared as he poured in like stagnant green water. I couldn’t patch my barrier, that was gone. He slipped in and tried to take control. Oh, hell no!

  Chapter 17

  Isaac

  Lexie went into the water hard. I stood there stunned for a second. When she didn’t resurface I realized what was happening. No, no, no, no. Not again! I dove off the dock and into the cold water.

  I opened my eyes and searched for her, my heart pounding against my ribs. I searched the water until my lungs were begging for air. I came up, took a lung full and dove back under.

  I finally found the bubbles, and followed them. She was down near the bottom. Terror tore through me as I swam down towards her. She was unconscious, blood drifting off her face. By the time I reached her, the bubbles had stopped.

  I grabbed her limp body and pushed off the bottom of the lake. I brought her to the surface as fast as I could, my own lungs burning for air. Come on, Red, don’t die on me too. I broke the surface gasping. I brought her face above water. She took a big deep breath. Blood kept pouring from her nose. SHIT! I swam for the shore.

  Tara was up and had her phone in her hand by the time I reached the shallows. I lifted Lexie into my arms and ran for the house.

  “I’ll call 911!” Tara shouted.

  “No!” I shot back. As we got to the house, Tara opened the back door. “Call Rory!” I ran into the house and all but busted Rory’s bedroom door open.

  Then I had her in the bathroom. I sat on the toilet lid and started to strip her shirt off, tearing it in the rush.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Tara shouted, horrified.

  “Call Rory!” I snapped. Tara was gaping at me with the phone in her hand. I reached over and started the shower with hot water. Then I lifted Lexie in my arms again and laid her down in the bottom of the tub under the spray. My hands went to her pants and peeled the denim off her legs. I threw them over my shoulder, then went to the cabinet under the sink and pulled out the large tub of salt that Rory had stored there since last time.

  Tara was yelling names at me, calling me a pervert as I poured salt over Red’s skin. I knelt down next to the tub and started frantically rubbing it into her arms, legs and shoulders. “Come on Lexie, don’t do this to me. I can’t lose you.” My voice shook but I kept talking to her while I scrubbed. “Wake up Lexie, please...”

  “Isaac! Lexie!” Rory shouted. I kept scrubbing.

  “Bathroom!” I shouted back, my voice cracking. Come on, I can’t lose you too. Come on, Red.

  “Dad! He took off her clothes!” Tara screamed.

  “It’s fine! Move, Tara!” Rory growled as he shoved past her to get into the bathroom. “What happened?”

  “Ghost pulled her into the lake and jumped her. She hasn’t woken up yet,” I answered quickly. Rory moved away then came back with a blue Lexie kit.

  The kit! I forgot about the fucking kit! Rory pulled out the vial of salted holy water and poured it into her mouth then went back to working the salt into her arms. I kept scrubbing her legs.

  “Come on Kid, wake up for us,” Rory chanted as we worked. A few more heart pounding moments and finally, her lips moved. I couldn’t hear her. But her lips were moving.

  “She’s awake,” I announced with relief that left me limp against the side of the tub.

  Rory held her face and pulled out a pen light. “Lexie, open your eyes!” Her eyes fluttered but they didn’t open. Rory didn’t wait. He forced her eyelid open and shined the light into each eye. She was crying by the time he was done. “No bleed.” He leaned against the wall in relief.

  Lexie curled up in a ball in the bottom of the tub, still crying. In only her bra and underwear, it killed me. I pulled a towel out from under the sink and covered her. It was soaked in seconds but it
made me feel better now that she was covered.

  Rory brought his hand down on my shoulder. “Go grab some of my sweats and a shirt to wear while we dry your clothes.” I shook my head, my eyes still on Lexie.

  “I’m not moving,” I muttered, my voice thick. The bathroom was silent except for the shower.

  “What the hell is going on?” Tara asked.

  Rory hung his head and cursed. “Lexie almost died. So, let us take care of her, call the guys and then I’ll tell you what’s going on. Go to your room until then.”

  Tara leaned against the door jamb and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not asking, Tara.” Rory snapped.

  Tara stormed off. I ignored them, my entire focus on Lexie. She was completely limp, she must have passed out. It had been too close, way too close.

  After a while, Rory got an ear thermometer out of the medicine cabinet. I moved the shower head so it wasn’t hitting her in the face anymore.

  Rory took her temp. “Okay, we can move her.” I shut off the water, grabbed a fresh towel and switched it with the soaked one.

  “Your room?” I asked as I lifted her out of the tub and cradled her against my chest. Shit, she always felt so small…

  “Yeah, Hades is going ape shit out there. He’ll be able to stay with her in my bed,” Rory decided as he led me into his room. He pulled back the covers. I carefully put her in the bed, took the towel and covered her immediately with the blankets. I used the towel to start blotting the water from her hair.

  Rory opened his bedroom door. Hades came charging in, jumped onto the bed and sniffed her body and face until he was satisfied. Then he nosed his way under the covers and disappeared. From the lumps under the blankets it looked like he had laid along her side like a living heater. It made the vice in my chest ease a little.

  “Good boy. You take care of Red,” I said. He thumped his tail once under the covers.

  “Go change, and we’ll call the guys,” Rory said. I shook my head before sitting down on the bed.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him, still watching her chest rise and fall. She’s alive. I kept reminding myself as Rory moved around the room.