Sarah

by Polen, Teri

  “He was stunned at first when he saw me in the rearview mirror of his car, and probably thought I was someone else. Someone alive. I was a little worried he’d have a coronary and ruin my evening. Liam didn’t want to believe it was me at first, like he thought someone was playing a joke on him. But when he heard my voice telling him he was going to die, that he would pay for what he’d done to me, Liam realized I’d returned from the dead.

  “And then he screamed! He actually screamed like a little girl!” Sarah screeched as if she’d just won the lottery, exhilarated at reliving Liam’s last moments. The obvious pleasure she’d felt at his fear made me physically ill. “He ran off the road and tried to get out of the car, but I made sure the doors stayed locked. It was fun, playing with him like that before slicing his throat. Sure, I could have broken his neck and made it quick, but I wanted him to suffer. I stayed around and watched the blood shooting out of his carotid arteries before he died. Such a satisfying evening.”

  Rage hit me like a punch in the face to know that while Liam wasn’t entirely innocent, Sarah thought so little about taking his life. “How could you do that? How could you stand there and watch him die a slow, horrific death? You deserve to burn in hell for what you did to him!”

  Sarah struggled to free herself from whatever bound her to the ceiling and if looks could kill, I’d be belly up by now.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Cain! You don’t know what they did to me. Do you think I died from falling down the stairs? If I told you I was alive when they buried me, when I needed help, and that I’d regained consciousness long enough to realize what was happening to me, would that justify killing Liam?”

  “No – they didn’t. Wouldn’t they have checked ….? How could they have….?” Finn couldn’t complete a sentence. And I understood why.

  Sarah had been buried alive. I couldn’t begin to imagine the terror and helplessness she must have felt, knowing her life was ending and she would die alone. None of it would have happened if Jacob, Nathan, and Liam hadn’t lied to her, tricked her into coming to this house. If they’d just done the responsible thing and called for help, owned up to what had happened, Sarah would still be alive and none of us would be living this hellish nightmare. Liam would still have his life and I wouldn’t be fearing for my own.

  “Do you think they’d have buried you if they’d known you were alive? They probably panicked and overlooked a pulse, assumed you were already dead and it was all an accident. I’m not defending them, what they did was beyond cruel, but you deliberately killed Liam, tortured him, and that’s different.”

  Sarah was seething, her fury almost a separate, living thing. “I knew you’d take their side, Cain, you’re just like them and that’s why I tried to get Lindsey to stay away from you. They deliberately pushed me down the stairs when they figured out no one was getting in my pants and thought they’d killed me! If they’d discovered I was still alive, they would have finished the job because they’re cowards and only worried about their own fates. You’re an idiot if you think it could have happened any other way. You can’t run from your sins, and in the end, Liam knew that. Jacob and Nathan will learn it soon enough.”

  And there it was. It was one thing to think Sarah would probably try to kill Jacob and Nathan also, but hearing her confirm it and show no remorse for Liam was another.

  “That’s not for you to decide, Sarah, don’t you see? You’ve lingered here because you believe they killed you, cheated you out of your life. But you’re doing the same thing to them. And it’s wrong.”

  “Where I am, there is no right or wrong, but knowing they suffered will at least give me some degree of peace. Don’t look for any redeeming qualities in me, Cain. There aren’t any left.”

  A feeling of calmness washed over me and in that moment, I wasn’t afraid of her. Instead, I felt sorry for her. “Then we’re done, Sarah. You used my body again, then murdered Liam. It’s time for you to get out of my house and move on to wherever you should have gone in the first place. But after what you’ve done, I wouldn’t expect a rainbow-filled afterlife.”

  At my words, Sarah glowed with hatred, her features purely demonic. “If you believe telling me to leave your house is all it takes – think again.”

  Mona had been right. It wouldn’t be as easy as commanding her to leave – it had accomplished nothing. I should be grateful the smudging had some effect on Sarah and I still had the protection amulet until we either found her body or figured out another solution.

  “At least we know you won’t be out there trying to hurt anyone else tonight,” Finn said.

  “You know what they say about assumptions, Finn. I’m getting stronger every minute – I was here long before you could see me. Sleep well and know you’ll be watched the rest of the night.” Sarah’s sinister expression held the promise of the torture I’d receive if she was free. “And don’t even think about moving to another room. I’ll find you wherever you are and I’m sure you don’t want to endanger your family.”

  Sarah threatening Mom and Maddie was my worst nightmare, beyond any fear she’d instilled in me, and although I’d known it was a possibility, hearing her actually say it stopped me cold. Because I’d been planning to grab Finn and slip out the door underneath Sarah while she was still pinned against the ceiling, then sleep in another room. Instead, I’d be spending what was sure to be a sleepless night in my own bed as Sarah loomed overhead, never taking her dark, venomous gaze from me. Inching my way down, I lay prone in my bed, all the while staring at her blood-streaked hands and dead, ashen face, silently praying that if Sarah freed herself, my amulet would offer protection from certain death.

  Chapter 25

  “Finn, it would save time if we talked to Jacob and Nathan, warned them about Sarah, and then hope they tell us where her body is buried.”

  “After Sarah’s midnight confessional, I’m with you on telling them she’s on the loose and is probably, as we speak, googling the ten most effective torture methods she could use before murdering them, but you’re delusional if you think they’ll spill their guts about A, killing a girl, and two, where they hid the body. Then there’s the small detail they overlooked about reporting it.”

  Finn and I were exhausted this morning after our all-night vigil. We’d both fallen asleep at some point, but Sarah was nowhere in sight when we woke, and Eby’s warm body was curled up against me. Maybe the amulet had worked or Sarah had a hectic day of killing planned and couldn’t spare the time to deal with me. Or maybe Eby had scared her away. Whatever the case, I was still alive.

  “When they find out Sarah killed Liam, don’t you think they’d want to tell us where the body is to save their own lives?” I asked, watching as Finn threw a ball of aluminum foil across the room and my less than graceful cat dived after it.

  “You’re assuming they’d believe your story about a ghost killing their friend based on what? I’ll admit, those two aren’t in any danger of exceeding the maximum intellectual capacity of humans, but two weeks ago, would you have believed a ghost with earth-shattering anger issues lived in your house? And planned on leaving a trail of bodies in her wake?

  “What’s wrong with your cat? I thought they always landed on their feet,” Finn said, after Eby jumped on my desk and lost his balance, falling to the floor in a tangle of legs and paws.

  “Their agility is highly overrated. So how can we prove Sarah exists, short of getting them to spend the night and hope she shows up. Scratch that, she’d be able to take out all of us at once and make her job a lot easier.”

  “I don’t know if it’s possible to prove she exists. Maybe the best we can do is give them some details about that night only they would know, tell them their life expectancy may not be quite as long as they’d hoped, and leave it in th
eir hands to believe us or not. I’m guessing it’s a not, but it’s worth a shot. If they ‘fess up, at least we won’t have to bushwhack your back yard trying to find a body.”

  No one could ever say Finn wasn’t practical and brutally honest. Some of his previous girlfriends had learned not to ask if certain clothes made them look fat or if he liked their new hairstyle and he’d received his share of slaps across the face. His response? “Don’t ask if you can’t handle the truth, sweetheart.”

  “So, we go find Jacob and Nathan and tell them. Best case scenario, at least one of them will show us where Sarah is buried. Worst case scenario, we walk aimlessly around my yard and the woods behind and hope we trip over her grave.”

  . . . . .

  Texting a few friends about Jacob’s and Nathan’s whereabouts led us to the beach, where they were playing football with some guys from the team. No big surprise there. When we’d made plans in my bedroom, confronting them had sounded like a good idea at the time, but now that we were here, I wondered if this was the best approach. Eight of them, two of us. Depending on how things went, people could be searching for our graves in the near future.

  Jacob saw us approaching and called out. “Are you two taking a romantic walk on the beach together or did you come here to learn how to play a real sport?”

  “We’ll talk about a real sport when you can run nonstop for a forty-five minute half. They don’t have huddles and time-outs in soccer, Jacob,” Finn smirked. When it came to football versus soccer, friendly rivalry was just code for battling testosterone levels. We meant every word we said, just as they did.

  “Can we talk to you and Nathan?” I asked. Jacob nodded and declared a break, while the other players jogged down to the water.

  Jacob and Nathan trudged through the sand, Jacob kicking some in Finn’s direction as he sat down. I doubted it was an accident, but Finn chose not to retaliate, settling for glowering at Jacob instead. I’m not a fan of having sand up my shorts, but when you live by the beach, it’s a part of life and you learn to live with it.

  “Sorry about Liam. I know you guys have been friends for a while,” I said, offering condolences in hopes of starting off in a neutral zone. But I really was sorry about what had happened to Liam. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

  “Yeah, thanks, Cain. That was really screwed up what happened to him,” Jacob said, although he seemed to be more interested in three girls wearing swimsuits walking along the shoreline.

  “The cops questioned all of us to see if we had any ideas about who could have done that to him, but none of us were any help. Liam didn’t have any enemies, so I’m thinking it was some random psycho,” Nathan added. “He’d just dropped us off about ten minutes earlier and was nearly home.”

  At least Nathan seemed a little more human and showed genuine concern for Liam. Jacob was still watching the girls, but at Nathan’s words, he jumped in the conversation.

  “Hey, it wasn’t our fault he couldn’t fight off some serial killer or whoever did that to him. No way would someone have taken me out like that. There might have been a dead body, but I guarantee it wouldn’t have been mine,” Jacob said, leaning back and puffing out his well-defined chest.

  “I’m sensing you’re not deep in the throes of grief, Jacob. Don’t you give a crap about what happened to Liam?” Finn and I agreed Jacob had the emotional capacity of a gummy bear, but Finn wasn’t making this any easier by calling him on it.

  Jacob’s hands clenched as he leaned into Finn’s personal space. “You don’t know anything about how I feel, Finn. Did you come here to start something with me? You need to put a muzzle on your friend, Cain.”

  Finn’s whole body tensed as if he was ready to spring. This wasn’t going at all like I’d planned. “Look, Jacob, Finn doesn’t mean anything by it. We came here to tell you something and want to help you.”

  Nathan had been silent during the exchange between Jacob and Finn, but his forehead creased at that comment. “Do you know something about what happened to Liam?”

  Taking a deep breath, I began. “Yeah, I know who killed Liam, but you probably won’t believe me and should try to keep an open mind. Finn and I don’t agree with what you did, but don’t want to see either of you end up like Liam.”

  “Well, thanks for not wishing us dead, Cain, but get to the point and tell us what you’re yapping about,” Jacob snapped.

  “We know what happened with the three of you and Sarah Butler.” Nathan’s head jerked toward Jacob, who’d probably make an excellent poker player, because the only tell on him was the flaring of his nostrils. “We know it happened at my house while it was being built, and somehow Sarah didn’t come out alive. Her ghost is there and she’s responsible for killing Liam.”

  For several moments, the only sounds were the seagulls overhead, the crashing of the waves, and laughter from the other guys as they body surfed. I wondered if Jacob and Nathan had heard me, or even understood what I’d said.

  And then Jacob barked out a laugh that sounded more like a donkey braying. “Come on, Cain. Is this some stupid joke you made up to get back at me for going out with Erin? She traded up for me when she dumped you, dude, get over it.”

  Jacob might have been cracking jokes, but Nathan’s face was whiter than the sand we sat on and his lips trembled slightly.

  Finn snorted. “You’re with Erin now? There’s a certain symmetry in that, I guess, since you both deserve each other. Oh, and Erin didn’t dump Cain. YouTube doesn’t lie.”

  “Whatever, Finn. If you guys are finished, I’ve got better things to do. Sorry if I disappointed you by not playing along with your joke, but I’m smarter than that,” Jacob said, standing and dusting the sand off his shorts.

  “Don’t kid yourself, Jacob. You’re really not.”

  Jacob’s jaw clenched and the muscles in his forearms flexed. I jumped to my feet to head off Jacob and Finn before they started something. “Come on, guys, just stop for a minute. Nathan, you alright?” His arms were wrapped tightly around his knees, chin resting of top of them, and he flinched when I touched his shoulder to get his attention.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Which was the exact opposite of how he appeared.

  “Look, I know you may not believe in ghosts, but I’ve spoken to Sarah and she’s been scaring the crap out of me almost daily for the past few weeks. She told me how the three of you invited her to some fake party at my house to win a bet. Once she figured it out, she tried to leave and thinks one of you pushed her down the stairs.

  “You thought she was dead, so you panicked and buried her somewhere. There are so many things wrong about that, I don’t know where to begin, but the biggest problem is that Sarah wasn’t dead when you buried her. She was still alive.”

  “And now she’s back, completely deranged, with a temper of epic proportions, and you two are the next items on her to-do list, so you might want to listen to us,” Finn added.

  Nathan didn’t seem to be breathing and had a wild air about him, like he was ready to bolt. If there had been any doubt in my mind about Sarah’s story being true, Nathan’s reaction ruled it out. Jacob would deny everything until the end because he’d only ever been concerned about number one.

  “Are you two freaks serious? Not only are you accusing us of murdering some girl I’ve never heard of, but you’re saying a ghost told you all of this? And she’s coming to kill us? I think you’d better take this wacked out story and get out of my sight before I hurt you both.”

  “But Jacob, what if she…”

  “Not another word, Nathan!” Jacob snapped.

  “Think about it, Jacob. How would Cain and I know anything about what happened between the four of you?”

  Nathan grabbe
d Jacob’s arm, his knuckles white as he pleaded. “Jacob, I think we should listen…”

  Jacob tugged his arm from Nathan’s grip. “Nathan, I said not another word! We’re leaving. I don’t want to hear any more of this crap. Get up and let’s go.” Jacob grasped Nathan’s upper arm, jerked him to a standing position and shoved him in the direction of their other friends, who were now watching us from a distance, interested in the cause of Jacob’s shouting. Jacob stalked away and Nathan stumbled through the sand following him, but cast a backwards glance at us.

  “When she comes for you, you’ll wish you’d listened to us!” Finn yelled. Jacob’s reply was carried away in the ocean breeze, but I read lips well enough to get the gist of it - and he wasn’t thanking us. “Not that I’m condoning murder in any way, but you can kind of see how Jacob’s attitude could make even a sane person lean in that direction, you know?”

  “Yeah. But I think we’ve found our weak link in Nathan,” I replied, sliding in the passenger seat of Finn’s car. “Maybe if we got him away from Jacob, he’d help us. When I mentioned Sarah’s name, he looked like her ghost had sat down in the sand beside him.”

  “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about trying to get Nathan away from Jacob. I’ll bet you a triple bacon cheeseburger he comes to us on his own. The guy looked scared out of his mind,” Finn said, pulling into traffic.

  “That should make things a little easier for a change.”

  Chapter 26

  With Mom and Maddie home this evening, I wasn’t able to trek through the house with the smudge stick, but that didn’t stop me from lighting it in my room. I just hoped Mom didn’t smell anything and accuse me of smoking weed. But I was pretty sure she knew the difference between burning herbs, wood, and pot. Despite her assurances she’d never given her parents any problems when growing up, grandma had told me Mom was no angel.