“I guess we’d better catch up before she ditches us,” he said. “She is our ticket in, after all.”
“I guess you’re right.” Ben was kind of cool. I could see why Erica was into him.
She stood outside the small building. Her eyes roamed the list of prices posted next to the entrance. “If we get a ticket for the boat, we won’t have any extra cash for food,” she complained.
“We don’t have to go.” Ben walked up behind her and put his arm around her neck. “We can find something else to do.”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “I’ve been looking forward to this.” She looked at Ben and smiled. “And so have you.”
Erica slipped away from Ben and walked inside the building, returning a minute later with three tickets in her hand. “Come on.” She grabbed Ben’s elbow and pulled him to the dock. “The boat’s leaving in a few minutes,” she said, her voice rushed. I had to quicken my pace to keep up with them.
At the dock, we clambered aboard and handed off our tickets. As the boat departed, I leaned up against the side and watched the water. Erica and Ben walked up and stood next me.
Erica looked out into the river. “So, something’s bugging me.”
“Okay.”
“Well, I was thinking. About Ethan.”
I sighed and pushed my body closer against the side of the boat. “What about?” I asked, staring down at the waves below to avoid eye contact with her.
“Well, you were the last one to see him.” She leaned her body casually across the railing next to me. “And you can’t deny you two had a thing for each other—”
“There’s nothing going on between us, Erica. We’re just friends.” I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the wretched knot that once again had twisted its way through my stomach.
“Don’t lie to me, Allie. There was something there. I could see it when you two looked at each other. It was like you both were connected somehow. I don’t know. I can’t explain.”
“Hardly.” I shook my head. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, I repeated to myself as the moisture collected in my eyes.
“Whatever. But you knew him better than the rest of us. He did give you a ride home from the movies.”
“Yeah, so?” My voice got snippy. I wished she would just back off.
“So he had to tell you whether he was leaving or not,” she said, pressing on.
I lifted my head and faced her, knowing there was no way she could miss the wetness shimmering in my eyes. “Well, he didn’t. Can’t you just let it be? He’s gone. And there’s nothing you or I or anyone else can do about it. So drop it.” I had never talked to Erica this way before. And it disturbed me. How could one person, a person I barely knew, affect me so much that I would snap at my friend? I didn’t understand it.
She backed away, hands thrown up in front of her, like I’d been wielding a knife. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought maybe you were on your way to getting a boyfriend. I didn’t mean—”
“Forget it,” I said, turning back to the water.
“Well, Allie, if you do need a boyfriend, you know Aaron’s still available,” Ben chimed in.
“Yeah, okay,” I mumbled sarcastically, wondering why he had to bring Aaron up.
“I’m just saying,” he answered playfully.
I wished at that precise moment that I could tell them all about their precious Aaron and what a monster he really was. But I knew I had to keep my mouth shut about him. Just like I had to keep my mouth shut about everything else in my not so perfect little life.
I had managed to calm myself down by the time the boat made it to Pea Patch Island. The three of us stepped off the ferry and walked down the wooden dock until we reached a jitney hooked to a tractor. We piled into the wooden seats and mashed our bodies together to make room for the other passengers.
The tractor took us down a narrow dirt trail, through the woods, and to the pentagon-shaped fortress. Even though I had been there many times before, the massive granite and stone structure always took my breath away. I didn’t know much about the war, since history had never interested me, but I did know that a lot of people had lost their lives here. Some had attempted to escape the misery of the island only to perish in the shark-infested waters, while others had died of diseases and harsh living conditions. Even though we were not yet in the Fort, I felt the omnipresent, heavy sadness pressing in on me. The energy was so overwhelming that my eyes began to water.
“Are you alright?” Erica asked.
I quickly swiped the tears from my eyes. “Yeah, it’s just allergies.”
“Okay, just checking. I’m really sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She threw her arm around my shoulder and squeezed.
“Don’t worry about it.” I smiled.
“Are you two done spooning over there, or what?” Ben asked. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“We’re not spooning, we’re making up.” Erica cut her eyes at him as she placed her hands on the bench.
“What? Making out?” Ben teased.
“Benjamin!” Erica whispered.
“Relax. I was just kidding,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her closer.
“Well, keep your jokes to yourself, because nobody here wants to hear them,” she scolded as the tractor pulled around in front of the Fort.
The three of us hopped off the jitney and followed a crowd of people over a small drawbridge until we walked into the sally port.
“What do you guys want to do first?” Erica asked. Her gaze swept over our surroundings.
It was as if we had stepped back into the past. Officers and soldiers, blacksmiths and laundresses, all surrounded us. There were even little boys running around the courtyard in Buster Brown suits while men in blue uniforms performed an infantry drill for a crowd of tourists.
“I think we should explore the tunnels,” Ben said.
“We can’t. Nobody’s allowed down there,” Erica argued. “Besides, we came here for info on our papers, not to go ghost hunting.”
“There are enough people here today that nobody will even notice if we slipped through the ropes. And we can always see everything else when we’re done,” Ben said, attempting to persuade her.
I had to admit, the tunnels sounded a little more enticing than doing research for our essays. And anything had to be better than standing in the middle of the entrance, looking like a bunch of idiots who didn’t know which way to go. “I vote for the tunnels,” I whispered.
“See, you’re out-voted two to one,” Ben said, gloating.
“Fine. But if I get arrested—”
“You’re not going to get arrested,” Ben interrupted Erica. “I told you that nobody would even realize we’ve slipped away. There’s way too much going on here.”
Erica closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Fine. Let’s go.” She opened her eyes and slipped her arm through Ben’s, who curled his other hand around mine, so Erica ended up towing the both of us through the grounds toward the entrance to one of the lookout points over the river. We resembled a train, with me as the caboose. As usual.
I always felt like I was tagging along when I went out with Erica. Jeremy said it was her take-charge personality. When they were still together he would frequently say, “I’m just here for the ride.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Once we were inside and after making sure we were alone, Ben pulled his backpack off his shoulder and set it on the concrete floor next to a set of steps, which disappeared into a pitch-black darkness. He unzipped the bag and withdrew three flashlights. He handed one to Erica, one to me, and kept the last for himself. He’d obviously had this adventure planned in advance. Then he zipped up his bag, tossed it over his shoulder, and turned to both of us, excitement sparkling in his eyes. “Ready?”
Erica sighed. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, lifting her brows.
“Yes, now come on,” he urged, placing his hand on the rope—the rope which was meant to keep us out.
Ben held it down so we could cross. Erica stepped over and started down the steps. I flicked on my light and followed behind her.
“Ben, it’s creepy down here. What if there are spiders?” Erica whined.
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Ben asked.
“I guess it forgot to tag along today.”
Ben chuckled. I concentrated on making it down the slippery steps without causing a domino effect.
I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or my nerves, but the air felt as if it became heavier, damper, as we closed in on the tunnel. My steady breath switched to short gasps as we approached the unknown darkness. Anything or anyone could be lurking around in these tunnels.
I wasn’t worried about the ghosts Ben was searching for; I worried more about wild animals, or the three of us not being able to find our way out. Or even a murderer hiding out in the shadows. Stuff that could physically hurt you. The island was accessible to anyone with a boat. Okay, so maybe my imagination was spiraling out of control. But if anything did happen to any of us, how would anyone locate us? I was sure there was no cell phone signal down here. No one would be able to hear our screams. And worse, nobody would ever think to look for us in the tunnels because we weren’t supposed to be there in the first place.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, why?” I whispered.
“Because your hand is shaking,” he whispered back.
I glanced in front of me to see the beam of light from my flashlight jerking back and forth in the darkness, like I was running down the steps instead of moving at the pace of a snail. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, it’s kind of chilly down here.” I chuckled nervously.
“It’s not chilly,” Erica cut in. “It’s freezing! How did I get suckered into going down first?”
“If I’m not mistaken, I think you’re the one who decided to go first,” Ben answered. I could tell he was smiling.
“Shut up!” Erica snapped.
I had never seen Erica so miserable before. I wondered if it was because she was as terrified as I was. Not that she would ever admit it.
Ben laughed as the three of us stepped into the tunnel. We stood there, shining our lights down the seemingly endless passageway, wondering if it really did end.
“Wow.” Ben’s voice echoed off the walls. He scuffed his way down the tunnel first.
Clouds of dust funneled in and out of our beams of light. They looked like little tornadoes, spinning and spinning and spinning.
“This is insane,” Erica said as she walked after him. Every few seconds she would stop to brush off her shorts and run her fingers through her hair, like she was attempting to shake off something that was crawling on her.
Something just didn’t feel right to me, and the odd sensation caused me to lag behind. The energy felt different. Threatening. I shook away the overwhelming dread and sprinted after Ben and Erica. They were already a good distance in front of me. Ben sure wasn’t wasting any time venturing for ghosts.
When I finally caught up with them, Ben was holding onto a pocket-sized tape recorder, attempting to pick up EVPs. As we walked deeper into the tunnel, I grew dizzy. Breathing became difficult. I stopped and bent over, then placed my hands on my knees as I struggled to catch my breath.
“Are you okay?” Erica asked, sounding concerned.
“I just need a break,” I wheezed.
“Here.” Ben tossed his bag on the dirt. “Sit on this.”
I sat on his bag and wrapped my arms around my knees. I drew my knees up to my chest and lowered my head. “You guys go ahead. I’m fine. I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” I told them.
“We’re not leaving you here alone,” Erica whispered, her voice full of frustration.
“I’m fine. I have a flashlight. I just need to rest for a minute.”
She sighed deeply. “Fine. We’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Just scream if you need us.”
“We’ll be right around that corner,” Ben added, shining his light a short distance down the tunnel.
“Okay,” I whispered, trying to conserve as much air as possible.
I closed my eyes and listened as they walked away. I had no idea what came over me. It felt as if someone had placed their hands around my lungs, squeezing the air out of them.
“Allie,” a deep, ghastly voice called to me. The voice caused little bumps to appear over my arms.
I opened my eyes, but everything seemed dark. I shook the flashlight, but either the thing had broken, or whatever it was that had come over me in the woods was happening again. I couldn’t see a thing.
“Allie,” the whisper came again. This time it was right behind me.
Where were Ben and Erica when I really needed them? A cold burst of air hit my face.
“Go away!” I finally said, hoping that my voice was loud enough for my ghost-hunting friends to hear as I scurried to my feet.
“I need you,” the voice taunted me. Its energy began to merge with mine. I’d never felt an energy as powerful or as negative as the force now consuming me. It was cold and heavy and damp. And it was entering me. Actually coming into my body. Into me.
I concentrated on pushing it away, the same way I try to stop my own energy when it got out of control. I felt strength surge through me. Light leaked in around the edges of my vision and then pulsed; my flashlight was dimming and brightening. As I beat the flashlight against my hand, I struggled to keep the invisible presence from entering my body. It was slipping through my defenses.
“No!” I dropped my flashlight to the ground and threw my hands up over my ears. The light exploded as the force shoved me backward against the stone wall, leaving me in complete darkness to fight whatever was determined to take hold of my body.
The force pinned me to the wall. It was then that I noticed two orbs of light appear down the tunnel. They were heading my way. Ben and Erica.
“Get off me!” I lunged forward, using every bit of muscle I had to separate myself from the wall.
“Allie!” Erica and Ben’s frantic voices bounced through the tunnel as the force suddenly let go and sent me tumbling to the ground.
“Omigosh!” Erica gasped. Their footsteps pounded closer.
“What happened?” Ben grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
“I think one of the ghosts you were hunting found me.” I laughed nervously, attempting to mask my fear.
“No way,” he said. I couldn’t tell if his “no way” meant that he didn’t believe me or if he was amazed that I’d found a ghost.
“Yes, way. And let me tell you, it wasn’t very nice. We need to get out of here,” I said, hoping they didn’t pick up on the fact that my voice was shaking and my knees were bleeding.
“I agree.” Erica walked over to Ben’s bag and slipped something in. Then she zipped the bag up and swung it over her shoulder.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“We found something inside the loose rocks in the tunnel wall. It looks like some sort of old book that recorded the deaths in the Fort. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.
“Shouldn’t we give it to someone? Like, a tour guide or somebody?” I asked.
“Are you crazy? Do you know how much information is in here for our papers? Besides,” she shrugged, “the staff here doesn’t even know it exists.”
“Whatever. Let’s get out of here.” I wrapped my hand around her arm as Ben led us back to the steps.
Once at the surface, it took awhile for our eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. We walked through the courtyard, jumped on the jitney, and headed back to the dock and the car.
“How did we end up with some dumb book while Allie had the chance to encounter a real ghost?” Ben asked Erica on the way home.
She glanced in her mirror and smiled at me. “I guess she’s just lucky.”
“Lucky? Yeah, right,” I snorted. “If you think lucky is being pinned to a wall in an already creepy tunnel while some unknown thing whispers your name in your ear, then you
can have it.”
“It knew your name?” Ben asked. His face lit up like the night sky on the Fourth of July.
“Yeah,” I answered sarcastically.
“That is so cool!”
“Whatever,” I said, turning to the window in an attempt to avoid him.
When Erica dropped me off in front of my house, she handed me the book. “Ben and I are busy tomorrow, so you get first dibs. Just bring it to school with you on Monday.”
I grabbed the book and made my way into the house. As soon as I entered the living room, I collapsed on the sofa. My body felt drained. Exhausted after the battle I’d had with whatever had been looming in the tunnel. I’d never encountered an energy as strong as that before.
I opened up the book and began skimming through the aged, yellowed pages, trying to figure out if any of the information would be helpful for my essay. Inside were pictures and profiles of soldiers who had perished from diseases and those who had died while attempting to escape the prison. As I ran my finger over each picture, trying to get a feeling of what they must have endured, I suddenly stopped over one particular photograph.
“It can’t be,” I gasped. I sat there. Shocked. Biting down on my lower lip while my gaze locked onto a picture of a young man dressed in a gray Confederate uniform.
“Ethan,” I whispered.
In my head, I went over every conversation I’d ever had with Ethan or about him, trying to remember whether he’d been referred to as “junior,” or “Ethan Bradley the third,” or anything besides just Ethan Bradley. Because not only did the boy in the picture look exactly like the Ethan I knew, but Ethan James Bradley, whose body was never recovered after attempting to escape the prison by boat in November of 1863, was also from Savannah, Georgia. Too many coincidences.
Someway, somehow, I needed to find out the truth. And the only way to do that was to find Ethan.
Chapter 8
I drove down a road that ran parallel to the woods behind my house. I never realized the line of trees extended for miles. After driving back and forth for about an hour, I almost gave up. There were no houses visible from the road. Then, on my last loop, I noticed a path wide enough for a car, obscured by three Douglas firs. If I hadn’t been searching, I would have missed it.
Other Side Of Forever (Other Side Of Forever Series Book 1) Page 7