Flee

by Caroline Clark

  “It’s certainly a little creepy,” Gail said. “Is somebody meeting us?”

  Jesse shook his head and opened the car door. “No, I have the key. Let’s get all the equipment inside and then I believe there’s a local pub. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. A good meal, and chatting with the locals sounds like the perfect way to get to know the house a little better.”

  Jesse got out of the Jeep and walked around to the back. He was already unloading equipment as Gail just sat and stared at the house. Something about it disturbed her and yet she knew she was being silly. How many of these houses had Jesse been to? There were dozens, and he had never found a thing. So why was she scared of going into this one? For a moment, tears filled her eyes, she knew it was not the fear of the house but the fear of the unknown to come that made her feel so desolate.

  Blinking back the tears, she took one more look at Seafield House. There were six windows on the top floor, and three on either side of the door on the bottom floor. Her eyes were drawn to the uppermost left window, and a gasp escaped her. Just for a moment, she had seen a child, staring from the window. The girl had long dark hair and was wearing a white dress, but then she was gone almost as quickly as she appeared.

  “Jesse, look,” Gail said and pointed towards the house.

  “What is it?” Jesse asked.

  Gail found herself staring at the empty window. The glare of the sun made it impossible to see through the glass. What had she seen? As if in answer, a shadow from the clouds passed across the window. Gail laughed.

  “I guess I’m just spooking myself, I thought I saw a girl at the window. Good company I’m gonna be.”

  Jesse had his hand's full of equipment, camera bags over his shoulders. “Don’t discount anything you see.” he said with a grin. “I want to hear everything no matter how small.”

  Gail could not help but see the little boy inside the man. Jesse was excited, and part of her hoped that this time he would find something. Another part of her didn’t know whether to laugh at such an idea or to be terrified by it. So, she grabbed a couple of bags from the back and followed him into the house.

  As she reached the door, Jesse was fumbling with the key. It was large and rusted and looked like something out of a comedy show. Eventually, he had the key ready, juggling with his bags, and she had to stifle another grin. This was typical Jesse, instead of making three trips he piled everything he could hang onto into his arms, over his shoulders, around his neck, and then he’d stumble and shuffle towards the house. Now he had so many bags, and his hands were not free enough to open the door. Gail put her own bags down and took the key from him, giving him a little smile as she did so.

  Jesse laughed. “I know, I know. Too many bags, how many times have you told me?”

  Despite her headache, Gail gave him a big smile and then turned quickly to the door. How much she loved this man, it hurt her deeply as she thought of his pain to come.

  Taking the key in her right hand, she put her left hand on the door. The wood felt rough and crumbly beneath her fingers. As she pushed, it became almost slick and moist as if she had put her fingers into a moldy goo. Every instinct told her to pull back and to run. Maybe she was letting this get to her just a little bit too much? As she tried to insert the key, the door moved away from her. The place was unlocked! For some reason that filled her with dread.

  Jesse just laughed. “I guess there’s nothing in here to steal so why would it be locked?”

  Gail nodded, she supposed that made sense.

  Her first view of the house was a little disappointing. It just looked old, dirty and run down. What had she expected?

  It took them about half an hour to unpack all of the equipment. They put most of it just inside the door in a large entrance hallway. There were four doors leading off the room and a staircase on the left. Gail watched Jesse check over some of the equipment. She did not know what most of it was. Obviously, she recognized the cameras, the video recording equipment, the tripods, et cetera. Over the years she had heard Jesse talking about much of the rest of it. There were EMF meters, temperature recording equipment, equipment to record radio waves and other waves that she just could not remember. By the time it was all unloaded, she was exhausted and the thought of spending the night in this damp and desolate house filled her with a disquiet that she could not understand. Maybe it was just the idea of being so uncomfortable, of having no electric, no hot water, and the dread of having to tell Jesse about her diagnosis. Yet, something about the place made her hair stand on end.

  There were plenty of windows. It should have been light inside, and yet a gloom hung over the place like a heavy cloud. It was also eerily silent, but maybe that was just the difference between a secluded house and living for all her life on a busy London street. There was no traffic noise, no noise from people, and no anything. There wasn't even birdsong or the sound of the wind. The house just seemed quiet. It was almost as if it was waiting for something.

  "Are you ready?" Jesse said.

  Gail nodded.

  Jesse looked more alive than he had in months. There was a constant smile on his face, a spring in his step, and a glistening desire for sheer excitement in his eyes. Watching him made her feel good. It gave her the ability to push away her gloomy thoughts. She would enjoy this night, the excitement of exploring this house together. It was an adventure and one she should relish.

  "I'm ready,” she said. "How far is this pub and what's it called?"

  Jesse laughed a little. "It's only a five-minute walk. It's actually the closest neighbor, being just on the outskirts of the village. Real cheery sounding place. It's called ‘The Hanged Man’."

  Gail couldn't help but laugh. There was a time when they used to go out for expensive meals, to fancy restaurants, and yet Jesse was more excited about the local village pub with the silly name. Something about his excitement made her feel good.

  "Let's go eat," she said and followed him out the door.

  This time Jesse did lock up. There was a lot of money's worth in their equipment and more than that, if it was to go missing then the investigation would be a waste of time.

  Gail thought back to when she first met Jesse. It had been a Halloween party, in a fake haunted house. She could still remember screaming as she ran around the building with her friends. All of them had had too much to drink, and as the fake skeletons, ghosts, and ghouls had jumped out at them, the shocks had been both frightening and exhilarating. When they made it all the way through the house, there was a big party, and Gail had gone to one side just to catch a breath of fresh air. That was where she met Jesse. They hit it off instantly, and he had told her how he had seen spirits as a child. At the time, she thought he was joking and that it was just a line, but as she got to know him, she knew he really believed it. Apparently, his grandfather had been the same. They believed they could see the souls of those poor individuals who could not cross over. Yet, when Jesse hit puberty, he stopped seeing ghosts, and he had always sought to relive those times or to find an explanation for what he saw. He was driven to know if he had really seen those things, or if it was merely the imaginings of a child driven by stories from an elderly relation.

  Gail really hoped that this house would give him answers. At 24, Jesse was in the final year of a degree in paranormal studies. When he had first chosen the degree, they had argued about it for weeks. Gail was in many ways the exact opposite of Jesse. She only believed in what she could see, touch, and measure. Maybe that was why she became an architect. It was a good job and one she really loved. Most of the time she was simply designing houses for a building company, but every now and then she got to do something really exciting. Maybe she should look at this house as a project. If there were strange goings on here, maybe they could be explained by the build of the house. It was a comforting thought.

  Jesse took her hand in his, and they started to walk down the path and away from the house. As they stepped onto the streets, Gail felt as if a
weight was lifted from her shoulders. She turned back to look at the house, and a shiver ran down her spine.

  "You feel it too, don't you?" Jesse said with a big grin on his face.

  Before she could stop herself, Gail nodded, and she watched as his grin widened.

  "I knew it," he said. "This is the place, this is where my questions are answered, and my work is validated. I cannot thank you enough for coming with me. This is gonna be great, Gail, just you wait and see."

  Gail nodded. How she hoped that he would find answers. That he would find something to keep him going through the long months ahead, and yet her stomach twisted inside of her and she suddenly felt a little sick.

  Read Trapped - The Haunting of Seafield House now just 0.99 or FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

  Also by Caroline Clark

  Here are a few books I think you might enjoy,

  Caroline

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  The Spirit Guide Series

  The Haunting of Seafield House - Gail wants to create some memories – if she survives the night in Seafield House it is something she will never forget.

  The Haunting on the Hillside - Called From Beyond – The Spirit Guide - A Woman in White Ghost Story. A non-believer, a terrible accident, a stupid mistake. Is Mark going mad or was his girlfriend Called from Beyond?

  The Haunting of Oldfield Drive - DarkMan Alone in the dark, Margie must face unimaginable terror. Is this thing that haunts her nights a ghost or is it something worse?

  * * *

  The Ghosts of RedRise House 4 book Box Set:

  Standalone Books

  The Haunting of the Old Box

  The Haunting of Brynlee House Based on a real haunted house - Brynlee House has a past, a secret, it is one that would be best left buried.

  The Haunting of Shadow Hill House A move for a better future becomes a race against the past. Something dark lurks in Shadow Hill House and it is waiting.

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  About the Author

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  Caroline Clark is a British author who has always loved the macabre, the spooky, and anything that goes bump in the night.

  She was brought up on stories from James Herbert, Shaun Hutson and many more. Even at school she was always living in her stories and was often asked to read them out in front of the class. Her teachers didn’t always appreciate her more sinister tales.

  Now she spends her time researching haunted houses or imagining what must go on in them. These tales then get written up and become her books.

  Caroline lives in Lincolnshire with her two boxer dogs. Of course, one of them is called Spooky.

  You can contact Caroline via her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CarolineClarkAuthor/

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