Trapped

by Nicole Smith

  His sources informed him of the woods on the south side of the city. He called on a number of Seekers to join him there. They were out for the last battle and expressed their surprise that it wasn’t over yet. They have begun combing the city for any signs or talk of Natalie.

  ~~~

  “I’m weak Hayden,” I whispered in to the darkness. I couldn’t open my eyes. It felt like a nightmare, the kind that you can’t wake up from. No matter how hard I tried to move I couldn’t control my body.

  “Beth. Are you here?” I could barely speak. I mumbled her name a few times, hoping she might have a change of heart and help me again. I kept telling myself that she is still my friend and she’s been over powered by Stella. She is just afraid of her. I needed to believe that some one knew where to look for me and would save me from her before it is too late. I tried to calm the panic that was rising in my chest. I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes again. Miraculously I could see, although blurry, at least I could see.

  I didn’t know where she brought me to. There were no windows but at the end of the room there appeared to be a door that opened to the outside. I saw the light from the sun shine in underneath it. As I placed my hands on the floor, I felt hard dirt and stones. I stood and felt the cold stone walls. I am in a cave. Why am I in a cave? I closed my eyes again as they were stinging and my head began to throb painfully. I sank back down to the floor and leaned against the stone wall. I rested for a few minutes before I opened my eyes again. Stella stood, towering above me. I hadn’t even heard her enter. I’ve lost control of my senses.

  “Carlos, help me,” I whispered as I closed my eyes again. I could feel my body moving. I stood up and walked out into the sun. I’ve lost control over my own body movements. I thought I screamed but no sound came out of my mouth. I could feel my tears but I couldn’t wipe them. I couldn’t stop my legs from moving towards the crowd. I searched their faces for someone that looked familiar. All of them looked at me in awe. They seemed just as surprised as I was that I walked toward them, joining them. As I searched the crowd I realized that Stella looked at me differently than everyone else, she stared at me without showing any emotions, she gave me a blank but intense stare. I realized in that moment just how powerful her control over me really was. I must pull myself together and fight her.

  I have no idea what she wants from me. Maybe she only wants me dead. I tried to hide my fears deep down inside. I have to be strong. I closed my eyes and pictured Hayden smiling at me. I took a deep breath. Just as my leg lifted to take another step it halted in midair. I opened my eyes and glared back at Stella. Although it felt like I wore cement blocks on my legs, I kept trying. I noticed a flicker of a shadow cross over her face. She is losing her grip. I pulled my leg back and planted it firmly on the ground. I refused to move any closer to her. I heard her silently moan. My strength is returning. I could sense her emotions now too. I felt aware of her energy surrounding me. It is the strongest energy I have ever felt from a phantom.

  I slowly began to walk backwards, not taking my eyes off her. Her anger revealed itself on her face now. She is having trouble hiding her emotions. As I walked backward I saw Beth come into view, standing behind her. For just a moment my strength faltered slightly. I felt a quick pain of losing someone I trusted. Stella wasted no time. She reached for me quickly.

  “What do you want from me?” I shouted at her. Without her even saying a word I felt all her hopes and dreams wash over me. I knew everything instantly. She believed I could bring her back to life. I felt her arms circle around me. My heart slowed and my breathing became faint and shallow. Just as I came close to collapsing into her someone snatched me away.

  Beth grabbed my arms and she flew quicker than I have ever run before. I didn’t think Carlos would even have been able to catch her. I heard Stella’s screams in my head again. Beth didn’t falter for a second. The trees scraped me as we flew further and further away from them. I felt aware of someone following us but I couldn’t tell who. All I knew is that it isn’t Stella this time. This new pursuer somehow seemed familiar to me. Beth didn’t slow and the follower kept pace.

  I must have become unconscious at some point. I can’t remember what happened after Stella screamed in my head. When I opened my eyes again I became frighteningly aware of how alone I really was now.

  “Beth?” I whispered. I didn’t sense anyone. I am completely alone. It’s a strange feeling, when all the spirits have gone. As I stood up my head began to spin. I almost fell back. I grabbed a hold of a tree branch in front of me for balance. The sun began to rise as I walked towards the edge of a dirt road. A farm house off in the distance became my destination. As I walked towards it, the realization hit me that I could be miles away from the city. I could be anywhere at the speed Beth travelled.

  “Why did you leave me Beth?” I spoke aloud. I knew she wasn’t close or I would have been able to sense her. I couldn’t help but think of Hayden. I missed him so much. I tried to think of how many days have passed since that night I met Carlos in the coffee shop. I wished I never left the apartment. I should have listened to Hayden.

  I didn’t know what happened after Beth saved me from Stella. I hope Hayden isn’t too frantic. I need him to stay strong. He won’t quit searching for me, this I knew. He will be out, night and day until he finds me, he won’t give up. What I wouldn’t give to have his strong arms wrapped around me now. I sighed as I looked up at the sky. I have to keep moving.

  I began to run towards the house, as I tried to fight back the tears that I knew were coming. As I reached the front porch I quickly grasped the fact that the owners of this house were deceased. I’m not all alone after all, I thought. I opened the front door and immediately met Mrs. Johnston.

  “Hi! I hope you don’t mind if I come in and grab a drink of water. A coat would be nice too, especially if I don’t get home by nightfall again, if you don’t mind. I’m Natalie.” I tried to be polite but I felt really tired and chitchatting with a murdered woman did not seem like a good idea.

  “Natalie. Hi, yes please come in and help yourself to whatever you need,” she said, unsurprised by the fact that I could see and hear her. I wondered if she is one of those ghosts that haven’t realized their dead yet. Mr. Johnston made himself known as I entered. He seemed surprised. I understood instantly that he is the reason they were dead. He killed her then turned his shotgun on himself. He glared at me as I walked to the kitchen.

  “I don’t want you here Natalie. Something’s coming for you and I don’t want it to find you here in my house. Leave now,” he simply stated.

  “I’m leaving, I just need some water. Wait, what’s coming for me?” I asked, caught off guard by his warning. He didn’t answer as he turned and went outside. I walked in to the kitchen and turned the tap on. I searched the cupboards for a glass. When I finally felt my thirst quenched enough to carry on, I looked around for a phone.

  “Mrs. Johnston, do you have a phone?” I asked. She pointed to the table beside the sofa in the living room. I walked over to it and noticed it dangled off the hook. I gasped as the realization hit me that no one knew they were dead yet. Their bodies haven’t been discovered. I ran back into the kitchen and grabbed a hand towel to wash off all the cupboard handles and the tap. I grabbed the glass and washed it too. I washed the door knob leading into the house.

  “I have to get out of here,” I said aloud. I became frantic. Could someone possibly be setting me up for murder? I felt so scared I began to shake. Mr. Johnston stood by the door holding his gun. A creepy smile crossed his face as he glared at me. I think I heard him laugh.

  I took my shoes off as I ran back down their walk way. I grabbed a stick and scrapped up the dirt that showed my footprints leading to their house. I turned back quickly, staring at Mr. Johnston. I needed to know.

  “Who is coming for me?” I asked.

  “You have a few pursuers but the one you should be afraid of the most is yourself. Your demon is after you,” he said lo
oking up at the sky.

  “But you’re not dead yet,” he warned before turning away from me. I ran off the road and into the woods. I would have to find my way through the woods to another house. In my haste to get out of there I forgot to find a coat or a blanket. Panic rose in me again as I heard a car coming down the road. I ducked behind a tree as the car slowed in front of the house I just escaped from.

  Two men in dark suits stepped out. I knew it. Someone did want to have me arrested for murder? Why would Beth save me and then do this to me? It didn’t make any sense, unless it wasn’t Beth. Someone followed us when we escaped from Stella. Who could that have been? Who is following me? Did this person take Beth from me when I fell unconscious? I stepped back from the tree and ran as fast as I could into the woods. I turned to try and follow the direction of the road. I hoped I would eventually find someone that would lead me back home. I had to find Hayden.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I don’t know where to look next. I searched Stella’s lair but it has recently been abandoned. A few of her followers remained but they didn’t know where Stella went, apparently she vanished when Natalie escaped from her. They assume Stella is out looking for her too. Clive, I can’t stop looking, I have to find her,” Hayden shook with anger and frustration. He felt so close to getting her back but he let her slip through his fingers. He promised to take care of her and now he can’t even find her. He couldn’t wait around for a sign. He must keep moving.

  “I have only heard from a few Seekers recently. The rumor amongst the dead is that she has escaped from Stella but she has a new stalker now. Some are saying it’s her brother, others think it is her father and still others are actually saying it’s a demon. I have sent out an alert to everyone I know. Something is going to turn up. Someone is going to have information we can use. We have to be patient. You know she is still alive so don’t do anything rash, just wait for my call. I have told Carlos the same thing. I wish you two would work together. You both want the same thing, which is Natalie home safe. I’ll call you back in an hour.” Hayden put his phone in his pocket and took a deep breath. He wouldn’t allow himself to think the worst. She is out there alive he just has to find her.

  “Carlos, its Hayden. What do you know?” Hayden gripped his phone as he swallowed his pride, he realized he should take Clive’s advice and work with him, for Natalie’s sake.

  “Hayden, I’m on the east side. I’ve heard that Beth abandoned Natalie somewhere in the country because she is frightened by a new pursuer. I believe she may be looking for help. I think you should meet me back at the school. Beth is young and her only contacts would be at the high school. That must be where she went. I’m on my way there now.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” Hayden sighed.

  The sun began to set again as Hayden reached the school. It would be his third night without her, he thought. He scaled the wall and entered the school through a door on the roof. All of their eyes rested on him as he entered the school. He sensed them all immediately, focusing on each one individually. He just needed to hear one of them say Natalie or Beth’s name. Some of their whispers were unintelligible though. Some of them were too faint or muffled. He realized as he stood there in the long dark hallway that Natalie would have been able to hear them all. She would have been surrounded by them every time she walked these halls and sat in these classrooms. He couldn’t help but feel hurt by the fact that she never told him about them, she never shared this with him. Why did she keep this a secret? Why did she keep Beth a secret?

  “Beth has been here,” a voice spoke above the others, startling him. He turned quickly and stood face to face with a rough looking teenage boy.

  “Is she still here?” Hayden asked hopefully.

  “She wants me to help her. She needs some protection from a poltergeist. Beth is terrified of it. I told her I would help but I needed to bring some others with me. I have never fought as a ghost before. I really don’t know if I can. She is waiting for me out in the field,” he pointed out the window, toward the trees.

  “I will come with you. Bring your friends too. We may need the numbers. Normally I don’t encourage ghosts to recognize that they have unearthly strength but you need to know now that you are still strong, stronger even than when you were alive, it’s just different as you’ll discover. Just remember that the living should never know you are here,” Hayden explained. The boy seemed shocked but calm.

  “But you know I am here and I’m pretty sure Natalie did too, but she wouldn’t talk to me.”

  “Some of the living can sense you are here and others, like me can see and talk to you. Natalie is different yet, she can see you as more, as though you are one of the living, she has recently learned how to decipher the dead from the living though. I’m sure the only reason she didn’t talk to you is because I told her not to talk to ghosts,” he sighed, realizing he may have been too protective of her. To the point that she felt she couldn’t confide in him.

  “I don’t think she listened to you that much. I saw her talk to a lot of ghosts here in school. Maybe she hasn’t learned as well as you think,” the boy smirked then walked away.

  “I’ll meet you out in the field,” he called back. Hayden nodded and went to look for Carlos. He knew he should be angry with her but he missed her too much.

  Carlos ran down to the basement again. He followed another Seeker that just waved him down. A young girl’s scream could be heard coming from the basement. She stood in the closet Natalie and Beth had hid in. The Seeker grabbed the girl and shook her till she stopped screaming.

  “What is wrong with you?” Carlos asked her calmly, holding his Kris ready just in case this little ghost decided to cause chaos. He wanted to send her home regardless of her actions. She is too young to be trapped here.

  “Carlos!” Hayden called from the top of the stairs.

  “Down here Hayden.” Carlos went to great him.

  “Who is screaming?”

  “It’s a ghost who I think knows something,” Wendy, the Seeker, said to both of them as she managed to hold onto the wraith.

  “Sorry Wendy but Beth is out in the field, we have to go. Beth is gathering support to face a poltergeist, the one she believes is pursuing Natalie. We have to go now.” Hayden made his way swiftly back towards the stairs.

  “Wendy, I have to go too. Meet us in the field if you get anything out of her,” Carlos shouted back.

  Just as he reached the stairs the little ghost jumped in front of him and screamed again. Carlos lifted his Kris and before he stabbed her, she shouted out Natalie’s name. Hayden grabbed her thin arms and swung her around and out of the path of Carlos’ Kris.

  “What do you know of Natalie?” he demanded. Carlos held his knife over her.

  “My mother is after her. She sent me here to get Beth but I can’t. I tried but I can’t. I don’t have my mother’s strength. Beth easily escaped from me. I tried though. My mother is going to be so mad at me,” the little ghost cried.

  “What is your mother’s name?” Hayden demanded.

  “Abigail. She has been wandering this earth for many years. She took care of me when my family died. She searches for the white light. She saw it in Natalie and she wants to take it from her.” The little girl slumped down on the stairs and whimpered. Carlos knew he would have to take care of her.

  “Do you know where Natalie is now?” he asked her.

  “I have seen her running in the woods. Abby is close but Natalie is still faster than her. I think Abby is losing some of her strength, but she will not give up. She will follow her until she is alone again, then she will attack, she’s done it like that before,” the little girl explained.

  “What do you mean alone again, who is Natalie with?” Carlos asked.

  “Beth abandoned Natalie, leaving her alone and lost, just before she entered a house with dead people in it,” the girl spoke with a tremor in her voice as she told them this new realization. Hayden wasn’t sure how she knew all of thi
s. There must be some connection between Abigail and this girl that allows her to see what she is seeing.

  “Sounds like her,” Carlos smiled, picturing Natalie in the house. Hayden glanced at him, ignoring his comment.

  “Abby approached the house cautiously, waiting for her plan to unfold. She knew the dead couple weren’t discovered by the living yet. As planned, the police would be there soon for she left them a message. I watched her do it. I watched the pen hover over the pad of paper as she scribbled on it.

  Help

  Someone is threatening to kill me

  Route 64 #2678 Johnston farm house

  Abby hoped they would capture Natalie for her. She thought it would be easier to take her if she was confined, but Natalie didn’t stay long enough for her plan to work,” the little girl gasped as she tried to squirm free of Hayden’s hold on her.

  “Let’s go Carlos, find me route 64,” Hayden ordered impatiently.

  “She is being hunted my something even more threatening than my mother now, it will consume her,” the girl shouted. Hayden glared at her as he released her, knowing he should heed her warning and calm his anger. The little girl writhed in pain then vanished before him.

  He ran up the stairs and out to the football field. Carlos quickly caught up to him when he saw Beth surrounded by a dozen big school boys. These boys will be her protection when she ventures away from the school again. For some of them, it will be the first time since they died that they have left the familiar grounds. Beth stared at Hayden and smiled quickly then was off. She knew Hayden was going to follower her. That’s what she wanted. She just hoped Hayden realized that this battle is only just beginning. Natalie is going to need him more than he could possibly know.