by Nicole Smith
“I’m sorry Beth,” I whispered.
“It’s okay. It would have happened eventually I suppose. I ran too but I couldn’t leave you. I hid until I couldn’t see anyone around you anymore. Just as I approached the tree again Hayden appeared and lifted you up onto the branch. He laid you down and began to untie you when your father shouted at him from below.
‘Don’t touch her,’ he yelled. Hayden swung around in a blur and tackled him before he even realized what happened. He fought him viciously, but your father seemed almost demon like as he shouted and swung at Hayden. I couldn’t watch I was so afraid for him. I know you would be lost without Hayden. I can see how much he means to you. Hayden eventually escaped his grasp and led him further into the woods away from you. I waited for the noises of the battle to get further away before I went to finish untying you.” I stood in shock by this tale.
“So you don’t know if Hayden is okay? I have to go back to him.” I started to run towards the woods again.
“Natalie, stop! You can’t go back. If Stella is alive she will be furious. If she catches you Natalie you will never see Hayden again. Their home is a secret, it is very well hidden. She will keep you there. Please, let Hayden come find you. I know where to take you. Please follow me.” Confusion swirled through my thoughts. I needed Hayden and Carlos. I needed to know they were safe.
“I can’t leave them Beth. What if they need my help? What if they make it back to the tree and they can’t find me? They might go back in pursuit of Stella. I have to go back Beth,” I cried hysterically. I wanted to be strong but my anger and confusion took over any rationale thought. I didn’t know what to do.
“The Seekers will win Natalie and when they see you are out of the tree they will know you have escaped. I left a clue for them,” she explained.
“What clue?”
“Your Saint Ambrose pin,” she said smiling.
“The high school pin? Is that where we are going?” I asked.
“Yes Natalie. I know all kinds of hiding places in it considering I have been living there for so long. Let’s go now. I don’t want them to catch up with us.” She grabbed my hand as we ran together through the city, ducking down alleys when people were in sight. Thankfully there weren’t too many people out in the early morning hours, the streets were fairly empty. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the cross on the top of the school.
Beth pointed towards a path that led to the back of the school. I followed after her. She appeared to be hiding us from the windows. Someone must be in there waiting for us. I quickly followed her towards a basement window. Beth went in first then opened the window from the inside for me. I climb in and quietly closed the window behind me. Every move Beth made she did with caution, which I found odd considering she’s a ghost. She listened to the spirits upstairs as we stood silently by the stairs.
“Someone is here that is not supposed to be,” she whispered as she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a closet door. I opened it and stepped inside. Beth shut it quickly behind me. She pointed to a small latch on the wall, down by feet. I pulled open a very small and narrow door. I began to crawl through it. As I crawled, I could see a dim light ahead.
“Beth, where are we going?” I whispered to her.
“Don’t worry it is just a small old janitors work room I discovered years ago.”
“But the light, did you turn it on?” I asked.
“I must have left it on. Sometimes I like to have the lights on, don’t ask me why,” she grinned. I stood up as soon as I could without hitting my head. I began to worry about Carlos and Hayden finding me again.
“I can’t stay here Beth. They won’t be able to find me down here. I have to go back upstairs. I need to watch for them. What if they get here and can’t find me? I don’t know where they’ll go next. Beth please, let me go,” I began to panic as I turned back toward the tunnel again only to find Beth blocking the entrance.
“I’m sorry Natalie, but I can’t let you act hastily. I know someone is up there. I think it might be Stella. You can’t go out there alone, especially without your weapon.” I didn’t even think about my Kris. I padded down my pockets and realized it must have been taken from me.
“Listen to me Natalie, Hayden will find you. Please try to rest. It has been an exhausting night for you,” Beth ordered. I sighed, reluctantly accepting her advice for now. I walked over to a bench in the middle of the room and laid down on it.
“Just for a minute,” I whispered.
As I closed my eyes all these strange images and voices came rushing into my head. I deciphered Stella’s voice telling me she has been watching this school for weeks. She has known Beth for a long time and now she is extremely interested in our friendship. Stella told me she knew we were coming back here. She knew Beth would bring me here if she could. Stella has wanted Beth to join her for years. She felt so close to getting her until I showed up. Now she doesn’t know who she wants more. She has decided she needs us both. Stella believes my rare gifts will help her immensely. Just by being so close to a living person that can see, hear and touch ghosts amazes her. I can tell by her thoughts and the energy she’s emitting that she is becoming frantic, crazed even. With me, maybe she can learn how to affect the living, possibly even kill them. I can feel her thoughts moving, she is moving. She is walking up the stairs to the top floor. Many of the others have followed her here. They are roaming the halls, searching for us. A vision of Stella standing in the window on the top floor, looking out appeared in my mind. She is waiting for someone. I awoke, opened my eyes and sat upright on the bench. Beth watched me closely.
“Someone is coming?” she whispered. I nodded.
“I know and Stella is waiting for them upstairs,” I told her, but I could tell she already knew. I could sense Stella’s anger. She has released some of her fury on the students surrounding her.
“Come now!” she yelled to her followers. They gathered around her quickly.
“I need our visitors taken care of. I want them gone,” she screamed at them.
Stella headed for the stairs. She raced down to the basement, within seconds she appeared in the dark, listening for her pursers. I still felt her presence in my head, she is aware of Beth lingering down here with me now. A smile crossed her face. I can see through Stella’s eyes, looking around for us in the dark, growing increasingly confident that we are both down here. She approaches the closet door and walks through it. She flies through the crawl space and enters into the little room. As she looks around she believes that we have vanished. She searches for any kind of exit I may have taken. She knows Beth could have just gone through the walls but I am limited in those abilities. Just as she begins to search she hears screams from her followers upstairs.
“I have to leave Beth, but I will be back for you, both of you,” she whispers before heading quickly down the crawl space and is gone. I loosen my grip, crawl out of the vent and jump down. Beth appears in the middle of the room, beside me.
“That was too close, but what does she want with us?” I asked her, afraid of the answer.
CHAPTER THREE
Carlos and Hayden were very close to the school, they approached quickly and without caution. Hayden knew that their presence would be detected immediately. They have to hurry, he knew he had to find her before Stella does. As soon as they entered the school, Carlos ran up the stairs and Hayden went through the first floor, swiftly taking down every spirit that tried to slow him down. As Carlos reached the roof he quickly scanned the area and realized there wasn’t a trace of anyone up there now. He turned and ran down the stairs. Hayden could sense that Stella has inhabited this area recently. His heart started racing. What if he’s too late? He couldn’t think like that. He started to panic, running and opening doors.
“Natalie! Where are you?” he shouted.
“Did you hear something?” I asked Beth just as I was about to climb through a window leading out of the school.
“No. I didn’t hear an
ything. Quick, let’s go before Stella gets back,” Beth insisted as she grabbed my arm and led me quickly out. We ran across the football field, heading towards the trees.
“I think I heard Hayden. I should go back. He might be there,” I gasped, confusion overtaking my thoughts again. I have to stop letting Beth control me, but I couldn’t think straight. Could I really be this tired?
Hayden franticly raced through the first floor and down to the basement. He knew I had been down there. Carlos flew down the stairs as he picked up my trail too.
“Hayden!” he shouted.
“She isn’t here anymore.” Carlos replied back.
“I know!” he yelled back, feeling his tears start to well up behind his eyes. He quickly shook his head and tried to fight them back.
“I have to find her,” he said calmly before Carlos arrived beside him.
“I will help you find her, but you have to stay focused Hayden?” Carlos tried to reason with him, sensing his distress.
“Yes, I’m focused. My only aim right now is to find her,” Hayden told him as he looked around the basement. Unsure as to where to start, he flew around the room.
“Carlos. Over here!” Hayden shouted back to him from the far end of the basement. He glanced up at the window Beth and I escaped from just minutes before he entered the school.
Hayden and Carlos ran swiftly across the field, following our path. Beth let out a cry as she reached for me.
“Please come with me. I need you Natalie. Run!” she ordered as she gripped ahold of my arm.
“Beth, let me go,” I pleaded. Fear took over me. Why did she want to take me away? Why did she feel such an urgency to escape? Who was I really in danger from?
“Please Beth, I’m really tired. Please let go of me!” I cried, hoping she would reconsider.
“I heard her. Carlos she is close.” Hayden began to run at an impossible pace, even Carlos struggled to keep up with him.
“Natalie!” Hayden shouted.
“Hayden!” I shouted back. I struggled to get out of Beth’s grip. I began to kick and scream at her. Tears poured down my cheeks as I felt my arm begin to throb from Beth’s grip. I looked up at her. Her eyes didn’t see me as she kept running or flying. I couldn’t tell anymore. I began to feel faint. The more I struggled the weaker I seemed to become.
“Beth, why are you doing this to me? Please don’t take me away from him!” I begged. She didn’t respond. She just kept running. It almost seemed as though she was in a trance.
“Where are you bringing me?” I asked weakly.
“I have to bring you to Stella. I have to save my school,” she whispered.
“Hayden!” I screamed again, feeling the futility in it. I’m too far away from him now. I didn’t even feel a part of his world anymore. I couldn’t fight her. I could barely keep my eyes open.
“What is happening to me? Am I dying?” I asked her, not really expecting an answer.
“Hayden, save me,” I whispered as I fell into the darkness.
Hayden continued to run, unfaltering. His anger made him frantic. I don’t think he has ever been so out of control in all the years he has lived.
“Hayden, we have to stop. She must be somewhere else now. They have shaken us somehow. Please Hayden stop,” Carlos panted. He is an amazing runner, but tonight proved to be too exhausting. First the battle then the race to the other side of town, now this last burst that seemed to be leading nowhere, is finally the catalyst. They were both past the point of exhaustion.
“Let me call Clive? I’ll see if he has any information. Something is not right about this,” Carlos collapsed down on the grass and began to call Clive.
“We have lost her. I swore to protect her and now she is lost to me. This is not right. I will find her. I will not stop Carlos,” Hayden warned, he was beyond reasoning with.
“Just rest for two minutes, please? I am not going to give up either. Let’s not become too exhausted. We can’t lose our heads.” As Carlos began to explain the situation to Clive, he abruptly stopped talking.
“What did he say?” Hayden turned, questioning him. Carlos looked up at Hayden with a shocked expression on his face. Hayden stared, trying to be patient. He didn’t want to interrupt. He knew Carlos would tell him any vital information. Carlos continued to nod but kept quite as he listened.
“I’ll tell him. Keep me posted of any new developments. I’ll do the same. Thanks Clive.” Carlos heaved a big sigh as he put his phone in his pocket. Hayden stood and glared at him, waiting for his response, his hesitation angered him.
“What is it?” he asked sternly.
“Clive has been told from his informants, that Stella has put the word out that she wanted Beth and Natalie. Apparently at the school, Stella knew we were headed there and wanted us taken care of as quickly as possible. She was searching for Beth and Natalie just before we arrived. As far as anyone knows Stella does not have Natalie yet but from what his informant from the school told Clive is that Beth may actually be bringing Natalie to Stella,” Carlos sighed.
“Who is Beth?” Hayden asked.
“I don’t know. I thought you might. She must have been a friend of Natalie’s from school,” Carlos thought aloud.
“She promised she wouldn’t get involved with them. I suppose she couldn’t resist. I should have watched her closer,” Hayden mumbled.
“Natalie does what she wants. She does what comes naturally to her, and it just happens to be making friends with ghosts. I just wish she wasn’t so attracted to the wrong ones,” Carlos explained, mostly for his own benefit. He realized than that he loved her too. He loved her wild and adventurous side. He loved the way she followed her heart and not her head. He loved her energy. Carlos almost lost himself in his thoughts when it all began to make sense to him.
“That’s it!” he shouted.
“What’s it?” Hayden could feel his annoyance with Carlos growing. He didn’t like feeling so dependent on him.
“I know why Stella wants Natalie. I just don’t understand why her friend, Beth, is taking her to Stella.”
“What does Stella want Natalie for?” Hayden tried to keep his voice steady.
“She wants her energy. She wants to feel alive again and she believes Natalie is the closest she can get to it. I have heard of this happening before.”
“If that is true, although I don’t see how it is possible, but if she does, won’t it kill her?” Hayden’s anxiety rose again.
“If Stella tries to keep her captive and take all she can from her, I’ve heard it can be incredibly draining,” Carlos sighed.
“We have to find Stella’s coven in the woods. I know that she keeps away from the living as much as possible. She lives with a very large group of followers in the woods on the outskirts of the city. We just have to find this hideout. I am going to call a few Seekers who might have an idea as to where it may be,” Carlos said, turning to start calling his contacts. Hayden decided to go visit Millicent and Joshua. They might know something more from the other side. They may have heard what’s going on and where he can find Stella.
Hayden glanced over at Carlos, involved in a conversation with someone. His back turned away from him, Hayden grinned and took off. He must find her as quickly as possible. Hayden recently began to think that Carlos may have ulterior motives for finding her and it made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t sit still and he definitely wouldn’t let Carlos find her first. He knew that time wasn’t on his side either. Once Stella had a hold of Natalie, there wouldn’t be any time left. If it is some fragment of Natalie’s energy that she wants she will take it like a starving dog.
As Hayden ran downtown, he wished he had his car, but he knew that would take even more time. He would have to back track. At his speed and his ability to go over buildings and down alleys he would probably make it there faster without it. Once he turned onto their street, he saw them standing side by side, like they were expecting him.
“What happened to Natalie?”
Millicent shouted as soon as Hayden appeared out front Ava’s house. If she could have cried she would have.
“I don’t know for sure Millie, but I have to find Stella,” Hayden held his arms out to her. She ran to him, throwing her thin arms around his neck.
“I know that there are a number of the others that meet behind the old railway station regularly. They are apparently followers of Stella’s. I just don’t know where her hideout is. I wish I knew more but I never cared about them before,” she said as she struggled to hold onto Hayden. It was so much easier to hold Natalie, she thought.
“Stella’s followers will do anything she says. They depend on her. I have heard that after they meet they usually disappear south, into the woods. Possibly that is where she lives. I will come with you,” Joshua told him. He appeared shaken by Natalie’s abduction too. They could both see Hayden’s exhaustion on his face but they also understood his determination. Millicent could sense Hayden’s despair growing no matter how much he tried to hold it back. She could feel his thoughts, his vision of Natalie all alone, surrounded by wicked spirits, it tormented him. Millicent sighed as she thought of how tired and frightened Natalie must be. She hasn’t stopped to rest since being taken last night.
“We have to go now. The sun will be setting again soon, that will make it difficult to see them,” Hayden shouted as he ran towards the old station. Joshua and Millicent would wait for him there.
Carlos didn’t seem surprised that Hayden left him. He actually seemed pleased by it. He preferred to hunt alone, he worked better that way. He could think clearer when he hunted alone, without voices interfering with his concentration. He knew Natalie belonged to Hayden but he couldn’t deny his love for her, regardless of the fact that he’ll never have her. He at least had to have her back safe. He cherished their friendship and if that’s all they’ll ever be than he’ll take it, he just needed her back. He promised to take her out hunting ghosts and he was determined to keep that promise.