The Haunting

by E. M. MacCallum

  “What did you see?” I asked, feeling my spine tighten. If she saw me kissing Damien, it was over. The trust that they may have had was gone. I might as well write myself off as a damn sacrifice. Slap the cuffs on me now, officer.

  She tried to keep her voice low, but the anger that bubbled up with the words wasn’t nearly as soft as I’d hoped. “I saw you change the Challenge. You could have stopped Cooper from…”

  I shushed her with a hiss, the sound also halting the conversation across from us. “No,” I said to her flatly, “I couldn’t.” She hadn’t seen the kiss; she’d seen my newfound abilities. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

  How could she have possibly seen any of this? Before I could ask, Joel interrupted. “Couldn’t what?”

  “What happened with you guys?” I snapped, changing the subject. I realized that Phoebe’s accusation had crept under my skin. She accused me of letting Cooper die. The memory of him swinging from the tree, lifeless, face slack and skin paled, produced raw fire in my stomach. Curling up, I brought my knees to my chest, clinging to my legs as if I could somehow contain it.

  Phoebe leaned back in her place, glaring. Joel glanced between Phoebe and me. I could already see the wheels turning.

  “When we got lost in that darkness, we lost each other. I found Claire, but for some reason she let my hand go.” Cody’s eyes shifted towards Joel, a silent argument playing in their gazes. “Then I found Joel and Phoebe. You and Read were still missing. That’s when Gretchen found us. The same creepy kid from the basement. She told us that she was the leader of her pack of Reapers. They were demons in a way, children who had gone bad, like kill your own parents and eating them, bad.”

  I wrinkled my nose.

  “She said we could have a three-minute head start on the race.” Cody swallowed. “We split up again. We had no choice.”

  “Why?”

  “Three of us were missing!” Joel snapped. “What else could we do?”

  I fell silent. Any argument I might have had fell short. “So then you found Read?”

  “Well, Read found us,” Phoebe said, her voice cracking. She still wouldn’t look at me. “He caught Joel and me when we were heading up the corridor. Then we heard Cody say he found you.”

  I stared at them in horror, processing the details in my head.

  Neive said Phoebe had been my protector but she wasn’t needed anymore…

  My eyes rolled reluctantly to Read sitting opposite of us. He leaned back against the cushions, his grey gaze shifting from the shaded window to me, our eyes locked.

  I had to prove it. I had to prove that the man sitting opposite of me was an impostor.

  I opened my mouth to say something when the train came to an abrupt halt.

  Phoebe slammed against me. I tried to hold her up but ended up sliding down the seat under the inertia and the weight.

  Joel and Cody fell to the floor, one of the tables knocking into Joel’s injured hand. He cursed a string of nonsensical words together.

  I looked up to see Read sprawled on the bench, looking bewildered. “Everyone okay?” He looked genuinely scared as he checked himself for injuries. This could be the real Read, I thought. I could be very wrong.

  I helped Phoebe sit upright and froze as voices erupted outside in a steady cadence of notes.

  “Come and play. Come and play. Come and play.”

  “Is there a Hell?” a voice asked behind us. “Or is this Hell?”

  Gasping, I stood up, dragging Phoebe with me.

  Standing near the exit door as if they had been there the entire time were two of the silver-eyed children. The Reapers smiled, showing rows of sharpened, savage teeth.

  Outside, the chant continued.

  The one that looked like a little boy beckoned with his hand excitedly. “Come and play with us,” he said, his voice hitting the exactly same pitches as those outside.

  Together, the Reapers licked their lips. Their silvery eyes made it impossible to know who they might be looking at.

  Leaning heavily on me, Phoebe was forced to stagger with me. Twisting my head wildly from side to side for any way to get her out before the rest of us, I whispered to Joel, who was closest. “Help me get her out of here.”

  “Where?” Joel snapped. “Outside?”

  “Do not run.” The girl Reaper stepped closer. “You must play.”

  I shook my head. “There’s no way that we’re playing.”

  The smiles disappeared, replaced with disapproving frowns.

  “You must play. You must play,” the girl insisted.

  Through gritted teeth, Phoebe said, “Run.”

  Turning, I twisted the doorknob and started to open the door when foul breath hit my face.

  Leaning half in and half out of the door, the Reaper girl we’d met before, Gretchen, offered me a calm, leering smile.

  I stumbled back, desperate to keep Phoebe away from the Reapers at either side.

  Gretchen stepped through the door, teeth bared in smug triumph.

  She looked between our two groups on either side of the doorway. With an eager over-pronunciation of every word, as if she were hiding an accent, she said, “It’s rude to keep dinner guests waiting.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  No one replied. No clever retorts or defiant noises. We were silent, staring at the Reaper, frightened.

  Read unconsciously touched his shoulder and grimaced.

  Smiling at us, closed-lipped Gretchen gestured toward the door. “Come and play,” she said and laughed. She laughed just like a little girl, her voice high and musical as she clutched her stomach in hysterics.

  No one joined in.

  The two Reapers behind us stood side by side, watching with wide, hungry eyes. I wondered if we could get past them, then remembered the Reaper’s jump onto Read’s shoulder.

  We couldn’t risk it.

  “You two. Come with me.” Gretchen managed to contain herself at last. She wiped a tear from beneath her eyelashes. It was such a human-gesture, I felt disarmed by it. She’d gestured to Phoebe and Read. I couldn’t let them go with Gretchen, especially Phoebe.

  “No!” I snapped. My voice cracked and ruined any commanding tone I was attempting, but it caught the creature’s attentions nonetheless.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Gretchen said casually. “Come, come.” She motioned Phoebe and Read forward.

  “Then let me come too,” I said. “Let the rest of us come with you.”

  Gretchen stared at me puzzled. “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “Maybe we should be asking what she wants first,” Joel said through gritted teeth. “I mean, before we just volunteer.”

  Neither Gretchen nor I paid any attention to him.

  She studied me for a long moment, gauging me for who-knew-what.

  “Well?” I asked harshly.

  “Where’s Claire?” Joel asked, sounding far more threatening than me.

  Gretchen’s serious expression cracked into a knowing smile. “She’s playing with us. Would you like to come and play?”

  The words were always the same, the same octaves and pitch, as if it was a recording.

  “Is she alive?” I asked.

  Gretchen appeared curious. “Why would we kill her right away? That’s not fair. There’s Rules, you know.”

  There it was again, Rules.

  “Will you take us to her?” I asked Gretchen.

  “Two of you,” she said.

  “No, all of us,” I insisted. “Either we all go or no one does.”

  “I could make you,” she countered, her thin skeletal face glistening with perspiration. If it were possible, the extra lights made her seem paler, her skin more translucent with the hint of blue beneath the surface.

  I shook my head at her and drew closer to my friends. “All or none.”

  “Fuller,” I heard Phoebe whisper warningly. “I know we can’t separate, but I believe her when she says she can make us.”

  “Ta
ke one,” I offered. “Take Read.”

  Phoebe pinched the back of my arm so hard I yelped.

  I couldn’t explain it to her now, not with the silvery-eyed things hanging about. I wasn’t sure if they knew my suspicion. Why ask for Read and Phoebe if they knew? Unless they wanted Phoebe alone. To take her away from us—from me.

  Or maybe it was because they were injured. Joel was injured but wasn’t nearly as affected as the other two. In fact, he’d held up the best out of anyone. As much as I didn’t like him, he was a tough bastard.

  “No,” Cody said beside me, sounding cold. “Take me instead. I’ll go.”

  Gretchen’s silvery eyes rolled up to the ceiling, looking ponderous. A shimmer of light hinted that they might be shifting from side to side.

  “I need two,” Gretchen said at last. “You two.”

  She pointed to Read then myself.

  “No!” Phoebe and Cody shouted together.

  “I said I’d go,” Cody insisted.

  I turned to whisper, “Trust me.”

  Cody shook his head at me. “I should be the one.”

  Phoebe stared at me hard, her mouth twitching as if she wanted to say something or maybe it was to shout at me.

  “You can’t go,” she said. “You’re both one of us.” She glanced at Read; he slouched, looking fragile and pale. A little voice of doubt flickered in the back of my mind. What if it really was Read? What if I was wrong?

  Gretchen motioned to Read as she turned the doorknob behind her and flung the door open.

  I gasped as sunlight burst through, but the windows on either side of us remained dark.

  Read stayed motionless. “Nora, what are you doing?”

  Swallowing over the lump in my throat, I touched my stomach. The warmth urged forward and churned like a ball of snakes. “Trust me,” I said.

  He returned the stare soberly, mulling it over and glancing from face to face.

  “Don’t do it,” Joel growled to Read, glaring at me.

  I nodded to Read. “We aren’t leaving you behind, Read.”

  He bit his lips together, glancing to Gretchen, who had stepped out onto the little deck behind the caboose. She leaned against the railing casually, her expression shallow and unreadable.

  Read stepped past me, only one step, breaking away from us. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded, feeling the lump in my throat as a panicky voice in the back of my head cursed. What if it’s really him? You’re sending him off with that thing. You’re lying to these people. They trust you!

  I tried to smile, failed, and nodded towards the door, inviting him to go through it first.

  Gripping his wounded shoulder, Read turned to the group, his eyes lost and sad.

  Phoebe made a soft mewling sound from behind me, a protest, but no one else voiced their disapproval. Better him than them, right? I frowned at the heartless thought and reached out to squeeze his hand reassuringly. If he could act, so could I.

  Reluctantly, he stepped away from us, his cold hand slipping from mine. It was strange, but I expected him to be warm, maybe clammy. He had lost a lot of blood, however.

  Phoebe moved forward to catch him and hugged him fiercely, her eyes glaring at me before she finally let him go. “We’re coming for you,” she whispered.

  Read nodded mournfully before turning his back to us. He didn’t turn around as he stepped through the threshold, out into the beating warm sun.

  Phoebe latched onto me in a hug as well and whispered, “You better have something good, Fuller.”

  I looked at her blazing eyes. Cody offered a brave smile, and Joel just stared, his expression guarded.

  I waved at them and slipped through the doorway with Read and Gretchen.

  The warm sun invited shivers. Rubbing the goosebumps away, I glanced at Read.

  This could have been a bad idea, but I needed to know.

  The door slammed shut behind us, causing me to jump.

  “Nervous?” Read asked me, offering a weak smile.

  I tried to return the smile before looking to Gretchen. “Where are we going?”

  The silvery-eyed Reaper smiled as warmly as the sun, as if the question delighted her. “You’re not going anywhere. He’s a sacrifice.”

  I glanced at Read. His face was ashen.

  “I’m a sacrifice too. They gave me up.” Even as I said it, I knew it held little weight.

  “You volunteered,” Gretchen corrected.

  “But no one stopped me,” I said and motioned back at the closed door.

  “No, but you volunteered,” she said again, as if this explained everything. “He, however, was sacrificed.” She motioned to Read. “You can turn back around and go inside once we’re gone, no sooner than that, though. I want a good head start,” she said sweetly.

  Twisting, she grabbed the railing. With strength that a miniature body like hers shouldn’t possess, she rolled over it and hopped to the green grass.

  The train was no longer on train tracks. It was just sitting in the middle of a lush green flat field. In the distance, I could see farmhouses and scattered trees between rolling green crops.

  I looked at Read. Please don’t let it be him, I thought.

  Read’s grey eyes met mine. “Does this mean I go alone?” he asked me.

  Gretchen was more than happy to answer from the ground. “Yes it does.”

  Read peeked over his shoulder at the caboose. “You have a plan?” he whispered, his voice wavering.

  For an instant, I saw Read. My Read. The one I had grown up with. That little kid who liked to draw and climb trees. I felt the pain in my chest twist. I’ve made a mistake, I thought.

  Read reached out and, without warning, hugged me tightly.

  Wheezing out a breath of air, I wrapped my arms around him, careful to avoid his shoulder. What had I done? I shouldn’t have gambled like this. I should have confronted him first.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  He stiffened. “You don’t have a plan?” he asked cautiously.

  I debated telling the truth, which was a big gluttonous nuh-uh. Instead, I lied. “Yes. You won’t be with her long.” I didn’t dare say, “I promise,” though it was at the tip of my tongue. If I lied, I might as well make it a good one, right?

  My guilty conscience was already booting me in the ribs.

  Leaning back but not letting go, he stared at me, grey eyes wide with wonder. “You do have a plan, right?”

  Of course he wouldn’t believe me. I was a terrible liar. I nodded, hoping that it gave off the facade of reassurance.

  Leaning forward, Read kissed the corner of my mouth. “See you soon?” he asked.

  Seeing the hurt in his eyes, this close, knotted every muscle in my stomach, churning the warmth I held back.

  I couldn’t do this. Wow, could I ever not do this. I stared at him, numbing the pain that threatened to spring tears into my eyes. “See you soon, Read,” I said hoarsely and turned away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  I stepped back through the door in a daze.

  My friends all stood together, arguing amongst themselves. They froze when they saw me.

  “Where’s Read?” Phoebe asked immediately.

  I shook my head. “He’s safe for now,” I lied. If I kept it up, I might get good at lying. I didn’t want to tell her that I might have just sent our friend off to his death. I could have just volunteered someone to take my fall. I felt my chest tighten as tears threatened to invade my eyes. Closing them, I lowered my chin to hide my face and took a few deep breaths.

  “Where’s safe?” Joel asked.

  “Somewhere out there,” I said, my voice cracking, betraying me.

  “Why did you get to come back and he didn’t?” Phoebe demanded.

  “Hey,” Joel said, but Phoebe drowned him out. “That was our friend, and you just fed him and yourself to the wolves. What are you thinking? Don’t the rest of us have an opinion?”

  I felt my face redden. “He’
s not—”

  “Hey!” Joel’s booming voice shocked both us into silence.

  Joel pointed to the window. “The Reapers are gone.”

  Phoebe and I pivoted to see the doorway empty.

  “Let’s go,” Phoebe breathed. “We have to catch up with them.”

  Before I could step forward, Phoebe shoved past me. For being sick with poison, she still had a firm shoulder check.

  I caught my balance and rubbed my arm. I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know yet. Hell, I was going on a guess really.

  I could have just condemned my friend to death, I thought uneasily. She had every right to be mad at me. I tucked the guilt away for later, well tried to.

  “Phoebe,” I protested as she approached the door, “what if…”

  Before I could finish, she swung it open.

  I froze and stared into the dark. The car ahead of us was dim.

  Phoebe stepped outside, onto the hitch, and frowned. “We’re in the tunnels again.”

  “What about this door?” Joel asked, already moving to the one where Read disappeared. He jerked it open, and we were stuck with the same scenario. The darkened tunnels surrounded the motionless train.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Joel said. “Claire could still be out here.”

  One by one, we jumped down from the train hitch and looked around us for any clue where to go. There was a 50% chance we’d wander the wrong way.

  “Pick,” Phoebe said to me, her voice acidic.

  I glanced back at them and saw all eyes on me. “Um,” I tugged at my shirt, “right?”

  “Are you sure?” Joel asked.

  “No,” I said and started walking to avoid their stares.

  I could only hope that they’d follow. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t, though.

  “So why did you come back?” Phoebe asked, her voice bouncing off the walls.

  I shrugged, not looking back, and twisted my shirt in my fist. “They said I was a willing sacrifice, and it didn’t work that way.”

  “But she picked people,” Phoebe protested.

  Joel interrupted. “Yeah, but Nora wasn’t picked, remember? You were.”