by Jake Uniacke
Mick sighed. “They’re going to be doing some work to track down Emma. They will film and record every room in the house. If they see her, they’ll be able to do something about it.”
“What will they do?”
“I’m going to explain this in less scary details. They will talk to Emma and reassure her that the afterlife is a good place to be, and she needs to go back to the angels.”
Alex laughed. “Emma is no angel. She’s some kind of demon. I heard about this thing called an exorcism. Get someone in to do that. That will teach her a lesson.”
Mick giggled nervously. “Good idea. Right, get to bed. It’s past your bedtime.”
“Okay, Dad,” said Alex. She jumped up, hugged Mick, and raced to her room.
Mick had never seen her so excited to go to her room. Not since Emma had died, anyway. The past few days had been extremely frightening for Alex, and Mick had witnessed a few occasions where Alex was so petrified to sleep in her own room that he would allow her to sleep next to him.
“Dad!” Alex called.
“Coming!” Mick replied. He made his way to Alex’s room. “What’s the matter?”
“Can you read me Felicity the Fairy?”
Mick smiled. “Of course. But go and brush your teeth first.”
***
Alex fell asleep before Mick had even finished reading to her. Mick kissed her forehead and gently closed the door as he left the room. He didn’t feel like going to bed just yet. It was too early for him. Instead, he just went downstairs. He made himself a cup of coffee and headed to the living room, where he switched the television on and put the news on. Nothing interesting was being discussed, and he changed the channel to some 1980s film. It was boring, but it was better than sitting in silence.
The wind outside blew strongly, blowing the trees from side to side. The shadows of the trees reflected all around the room, creating eerie shapes and areas of darkness on the walls. Mick sipped from his mug, taking in the taste of fresh coffee. Late night coffee just hit differently for some reason. Although it was fresh, it just didn’t taste the same as it did first thing in the morning.
Knock, knock, knock.
Mick stood up and opened the front door. No one was standing there. He shut the door, frustrated.
“Kids,” he said.
Knock, knock, knock.
Once again, he opened the door. He was about to shout at the caller, but he noticed that there was nobody there. He scowled and slammed the door shut. Mick flinched, worried he had just woken his two daughters with the loud bang of the door. Luckily, they were still asleep.
Mick went back into the living room and sat down. Whoever kept knocking on the door needed to watch themselves as he would not be responsible for his actions. The knocking occurred again. But this time, Mick didn’t answer the door. Instead, he stood in the hallway as the knocking kept going on. He followed the sound of it. It wasn’t coming from the front door—it was coming from the back door. Mick walked towards the back door and saw the silhouette of a person through the blinds. He grabbed the string and pulled the blinds up. Nobody was there.
Whoever is on my property needs to get their ass out of here before I beat it!
Mick slowly approached the door and gently peeked through a gap in the blinds. Someone was standing there. Long dark hair, a white dress, pale skin, dark eyes. He closed the gap and stumbled backwards.
What the hell was that?
The shadow began to move. A hand pressed against the window and did not move. It was stuck in place, almost like it had suddenly become paralysed. Mick grabbed the blind strings and pulled the blinds up.
No one. The garden was empty. Whatever—whoever—was there was now gone. Mick closed the blinds again. He was determined to get the paranormal investigators in sooner than they said. But no doubt, they would reject him and would not come until Saturday.
Chapter 14
The hoots of an owl from outside echoed around the room. Georgia shivered and tossed and turned in bed as she tried but failed to sleep. The spooky shadows of trees spread around the room, sprawling across the walls. Georgia closed her eyes, blocking out the environment. But it was no good. She could still hear owls, and she could still hear traffic flowing past down the road. There was even quiet chit-chat in the corridors from nurses and doctors.
She pulled the duvet from her body and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. The room was particularly warm tonight and Georgia felt like she was in the Sahara Desert, the heat burning against her skin, sweat dripping from her forehead. She sat up and took a sip of water from the paper cup sat on her bedside table, trying to make the sense of nausea disappear. The ice-cold water flowed down her throat and travelled through her body, cooling her down and eventually making the sick feeling fade away.
As she laid back down, Georgia froze as gentle whispers echoed around the room. Her eyes darted from left to right, trying to follow the sound of the voices.
Go to sleep.
The voice was directly against her ear. But there was nobody in the room.
Don’t wake up.
Georgia’s bottom lip trembled. She knew Emma was back. Determined to make Emma leave her alone, Georgia pulled the duvet up to her neck and turned to face the wall so Emma couldn’t see her face. But the heat of the room prevented her from being completely wrapped in the duvet for too long. Georgia threw the duvet from her body and it landed on the floor. A few seconds later, it floated back over her body, smothering her face. Georgia gasped for breath as she fought with the duvet. She eventually managed to throw the duvet back on the floor.
She jumped from her bed and grabbed the paper cup again, taking another gulp from it as she tried to cool down and catch her breath again. The urge to scream was strong. But she didn’t want to wake anyone else in the building, and she didn’t want to draw any attention to herself. She fought with Emma alone. Georgia sat back down, but she refused to lay down and go back to sleep. She needed to fight. She needed to defend herself.
Everyone hates you. No one wants you here.
“That’s not true,” Georgia whimpered. “My family love me.”
Alex hates you.
“I don’t blame her if she does. The way I treated her was horrible.”
She killed me!
“I know! Maybe it’s for the best, you’re an evil little madam now!”
You don’t mean that! How dare you!
Georgia’s hands trembled as Emma’s tone grew sharper and stronger. She pressed her back against the wall and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Emma made her presence known as she appeared in the room, not just appearing as a voice anymore. Georgia gasped as her deceased daughter appeared in front of her. She didn’t look the same anymore. Her skin was pale, her eyes were black. The bags around her eyes hung low.
“Emma, you look so different,” Georgia cried. “Please leave. I don’t want to remember you like this. I want to remember you as the beautiful little girl you were.”
I still am beautiful.
“No, you’re not!”
Emma lunged towards Georgia, pulling her from the bed and throwing her to the ground. Georgia held in her scream. Instead, she just cried. She scrambled her way across the floor and backed herself into the corner. She stood up and ran past Emma, heading for the door. The door locked and Emma smirked.
You aren’t going anywhere.
Georgia whimpered and dived onto her bed, grabbing the duvet in the hope she could trap Emma underneath it. The duvet was ripped from her hands and thrown to the other side of the room. Georgia grew short of breath. Her heart raced, and before long, she was breathing rapidly and couldn’t get it back to a healthy pace. A sly smirk slid across Emma’s face.
You’re going to Hell.
Emma darted towards Georgia and threw her off the bed, making her hit the floor with a painful thud.
“Please,” said Georgia. “Please leave me alone!”
I can’t do that. Not until you all
pay for what you did.
“I didn’t do anything!”
You forgot about me! You’ve all forgotten about me and moved on!
“We could never forget you. And how could we anyway when you’re doing this?!”
Shut up.
Georgia crawled across the floor and found herself back in the corner of the room again. Emma dragged herself towards her mother. She stood over Georgia, staring at her dead in the eyes. Crouching down to her mother’s level, Emma breathed heavily, the sound of her breathing echoing around the room. She reached out for the duvet and gently pulled it towards her. Georgia looked at her daughter in fear. She knew this was probably the end. Emma’s gaze didn’t leave Georgia’s face. She didn’t look away, not even once. The duvet came in closer, and Georgia found herself panicking again. Without thinking twice, she stomped her foot on the duvet to stop Emma from moving it any further. She leaped from the floor and raced to the cupboard where she spotted the first aid kit. At first, she was confused. The doctors hadn’t come into the room with a first aid kit. Then, it occurred to her that Emma brought it in.
“Did you bring this in?” Georgia asked.
I might have done.
“Why?”
Emma said nothing. Georgia snatched up the box and opened it before rummaging through it. She pulled a scalpel out and held it in front of her, pointing it towards Emma.
“You stay away from me!” Georgia cried, threatening her daughter.
I’m untouchable. You can’t hurt me.
Georgia glanced at the scalpel. Her hand was shaking. She eventually relaxed her arm and brought it back to her side. But she didn’t let go of the scalpel. She gripped it even tighter in her hand. Emma smirked.
“You need to leave me alone. You need to leave the rest of the family alone,” said Georgia. “Your behaviour is disgusting, and if you were still alive, you’d be grounded until you were thirty!”
Good thing I’m dead then! You cannot stop me. No one can. I’m unstoppable.
Georgia’s breathing became angrier. She held the scalpel out in front of her again, waving it at Emma.
“Any more of this and I’ll slice your neck!” Georgia screamed. “You are harming us for no reason! You need to forgive Alex and then rest in peace!”
I can’t do that. Not until you pay.
Georgia fell silent. She didn’t really know what else to say. Glancing at the scalpel, she could hear Emma’s breathing turn into a giggle. She looked up at her daughter. Emma’s gaze kept going from Georgia to the scalpel and then back to Georgia.
Do it.
“What?” Georgia asked.
Do it.
Georgia looked at the scalpel one more time. With no hesitation, she swung her hand to her neck and penetrated the scalpel deep into her flesh, slicing it open with one quick slash. She dropped the scalpel, and she fell to the floor, holding her neck and gasping for air. Blood poured from her body, forming dark red puddles around her head. Emma watched on, not saying a word. She just smiled as she watched her mother struggle.
“I’m sorry,” Georgia squeaked. She let out a cough. “I’m sorry for what happened.”
Emma said nothing. Instead, she found peace in her mother’s suffering. Georgia gasped for air and spluttered as more and more blood oozed from her neck. Emma watched her mother’s life slowly get taken away. She felt no guilt. She felt no pain. She just felt peaceful.
Chapter 15
The crash of thunder roared around the house, making Mick jolt awake. He stirred in his bed, groaning as he stretched his limbs and yawned. He could hear the rain hammering against the window, no light entering the room. Instead, the room was dull. Connie’s cries came from the distant room, and he immediately climbed out of bed to tend to her. He lifted her from her cot and held her close to his chest, allowing his heartbeat to sooth her. He stroked her head as her cries came to a stop. Connie played with her father’s face, giggling and grunting.
It was 8am. Mick went downstairs and switched the television on, although he kept the volume low so not to disturb Alex, who was still fast asleep upstairs. He ventured into the kitchen where he made himself a cup of coffee and then settled on the sofa, listening to the morning news. Nothing interesting—just weather reports and sport reports, followed by hospital funding and closure of businesses in the local area. Mick jumped as his mobile phone rang, its volume loud enough to wake the dead. He picked it up and swiped the green phone icon.
“Hello?” he said.
“Hello, is that Mister Winter?” said the caller.
“It is, yes.”
“Hi, Mister Winter. It’s Doctor Michaels here, calling from Oaktree Hospital. I’m calling you about a serious incident that has happened at the hospital overnight, and we need you to come in urgently.”
Mick furrowed his eyebrows as his mouth soon turned into a worried frown. “Can’t you just tell me now? You’ve got me worried now. Is Georgia okay?”
Doctor Michaels sighed and cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry to have to tell you this. Sadly, in the early hours of this morning, Georgia was found dead in her room. There was no way we would have been able to save her.”
Mick let out a roar as he collapsed to the floor, his eyes flooding with tears. His face turned a bright red, anger and devastation taking over his entire body.
“I’m really sorry,” said Doctor Michaels. “We would greatly appreciate it if you could come in as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Mick cried. He ended the call and threw his phone at the wall. “NO!”
Alex came running down the stairs like a herd of elephants, almost slipping as her speed was too much for her to handle on the wooden staircase. She raced into the living room and threw her arms around her dad. His cries echoed around the room, frightening Alex and causing her to start crying.
“What’s happened, Dad?” Alex asked.
Mick couldn’t speak. He didn’t have the heart to tell her straightaway what had happened to her mother. Instead, he scrambled to his feet and trudged out of the living room, dragging his feet across the carpet. He went up the stairs, holding onto the bannister so not to fall. Collapsing onto his bed, Mick broke down again, his pillow collecting his tears. Alex listened outside the room, her father’s muffled crying scaring her. She wanted to go in. But there was nothing she could do. After all, she was just a child. She couldn’t help her father.
***
“Can you tell me what happened?” Alex asked.
Mick said nothing. He just concentrated on driving, making sure he didn’t get into an accident. Alex and Connie couldn’t lose both parents in one day. The silent journey was deafening. Alex turned the radio on, but as soon as an emotional song came on, Mick turned it straight off. Mick slowed the car as he approached the school, and he parked in a lay-by, telling Alex to go to school.
“Will you be okay?” said Alex.
“I’ll be fine,” said Mick. “Go on, get to your class before you’re late.”
Alex closed the car door and ran into the playground where she greeted her friends. To her, this was just another ordinary school day. But little did she know that her life was about to change forever.
Mick drove away from the school and arrived at his mother’s house twenty minutes later. He unbuckled Connie’s car seat and lifted her out of the car, carrying her to the front door.
“Would it be okay if you could look after Connie for a few hours today?” Mick asked.
“Of course, sweetheart. Is everything okay?” Dorothy enquired, seeing the sadness in her son’s eyes.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks Mum, I appreciate it.”
Dorothy watched in worry as her son ran back to his car and sped off without waving goodbye. She could tell something was wrong.
***
Everything was a blur. Mick dragged himself up the pathway and entered the hospital. The atmosphere made it seem as if nothing had happened. Nurses and doctors chatting away, patients leaving with broken arms and a fe
w scratches, phones ringing and families crying. No one here knew Mick’s wife had died. They all had their own problems to worry about. Mick wondered what was happening in everyone else’s lives. Were they saying goodbye to deceased relatives? Were they crying tears of joy that their sons or daughters had survived a serious accident? Mick didn’t know. And deep down, he didn’t really care. He just wanted his wife back. He wanted her to come home and to be with her family.
“Hello Mister Winter,” said Doctor Michaels, inviting Mick into his office. “Please take a seat.”
Doctor Michaels wasn’t alone in his office. There was a lady with him. Her name badge said Lily Smith. Mick had never met her before. Maybe she was Doctor Michaels’s mistress. The thought of it cheered him up a bit. An affair between hospital staff was unheard of.
“I have questions,” Mick mumbled. “I want to know everything that you know.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know any exact details,” Doctor Michaels said. “We are opening a thorough investigation into the incident which will hopefully help us learn more about it.”
“Do you have any guesses as to how she died?”
Doctor Michaels glanced over at Lily. She smiled and nodded at him, insisting that he told Mick the truth.
“We suspect Georgia took her own life,” said Doctor Michaels. “One of my colleagues found her on the floor, surrounded by blood.”
Mick covered his mouth with his hand as his eyes turned bloodshot red. “Why would she do such a thing? How could she even do it?”
Doctor Michaels pushed a box of tissues forward, offering them to Mick. “There is something else you should know.”
Mick looked at the doctor. “And what’s that?”
“Unfortunately, I accidentally left a first aid kit on the counter in her room. It had a scalpel in it.”
Anger boiled within Mick. His face glowed red. “You killed my wife?!”
“No, not at all. However, I take full responsibility for leaving her in danger. I went to check on her and took a first aid kit into her room to clean up her wound. Then, I got called out to a fight between two of the patients and I had to rush out. I stupidly left the first aid kit in her room.”