“Yeah. It would make for some quality dad and daughter time,” Mia agreed, a little envious.
Mia handed the photo of the Union soldier back to Kaylie. “What would you say if I told you that I’ve seen a ghost?”
“I would say that’s awesome. Where did you see it?”
“Chickamauga Battlefield.”
“A soldier?”
“Yep.”
“Confederate or Union?”
“Confederate.”
Kaylie sat down beside Mia. “When did you see it?”
“You remember the night we were all at the park?”
“Of course.”
“I was taking photographs of Wilder Tower. Later, after I had downloaded them to my computer, I noticed an image standing near the wrought iron door.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone moving in the photo? Sometimes that comes across blurred, and it can look ghostly.”
Mia grabbed Kaylie’s arm. “I’m sure. I went to the park after I took the photo, and I actually talked to him.”
“You talked to a ghost?”
“Yes. Crazy, isn’t it?” Mia asked, watching Kaylie’s face for disbelief.
“No, I don’t think it’s crazy at all. I think you’re extremely lucky.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Do you know how long my father has searched for such a moment?” Excitement filled Kaylie’s eyes and her voice. “What did he say to you?”
Mia recounted her first experience of meeting Benjamin, when she had fallen in the woods.
“So he was actually there the night we were all at the park?” Kaylie asked enthusiastically.
“Yes.”
“This is huge,” Kaylie announced.
“Please don’t tell anyone, Kaylie.” Mia envisioned all the kids at school whispering behind her back, gossiping about the crazy girl who saw ghosts.
“Not even my father?”
“Well, you can tell your father if he will keep it between the two of you. I just don’t want everyone at school to think I’m nuts,” Mia explained. “You know how they are. I mentioned it to Jennie. I even took her to the battlefield to meet Benjamin, but he didn’t show up. Jennie didn’t say much, but I know she thought I was crazy.”
“I promise. I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone, but my dad.”
“He told me later that it was better if he didn’t show himself to too many people.”
“You saw him again?” Kaylie asked in amazement.
“Yes. I have seen him four times so far, not counting the night that we were all at the park and he showed up in my photo.”
“Four times? You actually sit and have conversations with him?”
“I do. He’s actually very nice. It’s not at all what I would have expected. Except for the fact that I can’t touch him, he seems as real as you and me.”
“I wish that I could see him,” Kaylie said.
Mia groaned. “It didn’t go very well when I tried to introduce Jennie to him.”
“Maybe once he gets to know you a little better, he won’t mind if you bring your friends around.”
“Maybe,” Mia agreed.
“Did he say anything to you about why he’s here?” Kaylie asked.
“Just that he wasn’t through living.”
“So he’s searching for something? There’s some task that he feels is left undone?”
“I don’t know,” Mia said. “He died during the Civil War. Everyone he knew has been dead for a long time. What task could possibly be left undone?”
“Good point. I have no idea, but I can’t help but wonder why some people who die cross over to the other side and why some seem to be trapped on Earth.” Kaylie picked up another stack of photos and flipped through them. “Maybe that’s a point I should include in my senior project.”
Mia picked up a photo dotted with orbs. “How would you investigate that?”
“Talking to a ghost would be helpful,” Kaylie answered, looking at Mia expectantly. “What do you say? Do you think you could get me an interview?”
Mia bit her bottom lip. “Kaylie, I don’t know. I can’t control whether he shows himself or not.”
“But you could ask him.”
“Yeah, I guess I could, but he seems hesitant to let people see him for some reason.” Mia tossed the photo into the box. “I don’t know. It’s really strange dealing with all this. I mean just a couple of months ago, I would have sworn that I didn’t believe in ghosts. And now….”
“And now, you’ve seen one with your own eyes. It’s like discovering the lost city of Atlantis or something. People don’t believe it exists until someone can prove it. What if we could unlock the secret to why ghosts exist?”
“Unlock the secret? Don’t you think that’s a bit unrealistic?” Mia asked. “None of my friends have even seen him. At this point, most people wouldn’t even believe my story.”
“That’s because most people choose to believe what’s safe and familiar. The thought of living among ghosts puts them outside of their comfort zone. If we can’t unlock the secret, maybe we could just shed a little light on it.
“There was a point in time when people believed that the Earth was flat and that if someone sailed across the ocean, they would fall off the edge of the world,” Kaylie continued. “And not too many years ago, no one would have believed that man could go to the moon. The realm of ghosts is just another unfamiliar territory.”
“Are you suggesting that someday, we might have tea with the ghost of some long lost family member?” Mia asked, thinking that if she was crazy, then Kaylie was even crazier than she.
“Something like that,” Kaylie conceded.
“Well, it’s an interesting concept, to be sure, but I think right now, I can only focus on one ghost at a time.”
“I understand. Talk to him. See if he’ll show himself to me,” Kaylie urged.
“I will.”
***
Over the next two weeks, Mia spent as much time as she could with Benjamin, walking through the forest away from the eyes of the park’s visitors during the day and having long conversations under a blanket of stars at night. She hadn’t broached the subject of Kaylie meeting him, and for now, she was content just getting to know him. She found that her time with Benjamin was much different than time that she had spent with other guys. With Benjamin being an apparition, their time was not spent with other friends or at the movies. Their only entertainment was listening to each other, and she found that she had gotten to know him better during the last few weeks than she had ever known Matt during their many months of dating.
She had to admit that she was a little scared. Benjamin consumed her thoughts. He had a Southern charm that had all but been forgotten in today’s world. But what could come of it? A nagging crept forward in her mind ever so often that warned her that she couldn’t spend her life chasing ghosts, yet she couldn’t deny that there was nowhere that she’d rather be than with him.
“Mia?”
Mia pushed her thoughts aside and looked at Benjamin’s face.
“Are you well? You seem very quiet.”
She smiled in the darkness and glanced up at the evening sky littered with glowing stars. A full moon showered the park in moonlight, silhouetting Wilder Tower as it stood tall and silent in front of them. “I’ve never been better.”
His face was somewhat obscured by shadows, but she could tell he was smiling. “I’m glad. You are much too pretty to be unhappy.”
“Does that mean you don’t care if ugly people are unhappy?”
Benjamin laughed. “Of course not. I would not will unhappiness on anyone. It only means that I think you are beautiful and kind, and I take great pleasure in being in your company. It would pain me greatly to see you unhappy.”
Touched by his words, Mia sat motionless, eyes on his face, searching her brain for a response that would return his compliment in kind.
A twig snapped, and she watched as Benjamin jerked his head tow
ard the noise and stood up abruptly.
“What is it, Benjamin?” she said softly, startled by his odd behavior.
“Run, Mia,” he whispered urgently as he turned to face her.
Mia stood and stared at him, dumbfounded, but he had turned once again to the source of the noise.
She could see nothing in the darkness.
All was silent.
She heard it again. The sound of twigs. But it didn’t stop this time.
“Go, Mia!” Benjamin yelled.
She felt like she was standing in mud, her feet unwilling to take the first step. She didn’t know where she was running to or what she was running from.
“Mia!”
A blood curdling scream reverberated through the woods. Not the scream of a frightened woman, but the high pitched warning of a war cry. The twigs. Something was coming. Faster now.
“Mia, please.” Benjamin turned to face her, a horrified look on his face. He took two steps past her, as if he wanted her to follow him.
That was when she saw it.
Nothing could have prepared her for the sight. A creature that must have been seven feet tall. Its body was human like, but its long, gnarled, fingers were appointed with sharp talons, gleaming in the moonlight. Its well-muscled torso was bare, the ridges of each muscle clearly defined. Its only clothing was a loincloth made of fur. Long legs, bulked with sinew, ended in large human-like feet. But it was the head that caused a scream to bubble up from her depths and lodge in her throat.
Long, matted hair hung past the creature’s shoulders. A wolf-like muzzle protruded from its wrinkled face. It opened its mouth, revealing long, treacherous fangs as another mind-numbing scream escaped its jaws.
Mia released her own scream. Feet frozen. Heart pounding. Glowing green eyes emanating with evil glared at her. Then the realization hit her. She was face to face with Old Green Eyes.
“Mia!” Benjamin shouted.
She was entranced by those eyes. Never had she felt such malevolence.
Feeling a forceful shove from her left side, she jerked her head around to see Benjamin burning brightly, urgency etched on his face. He was expending a tremendous amount of energy, trying to get her to focus on him and not the creature.
“Run, Mia!” he shouted.
Mia turned and ran, never had she feared for her life as she did now. She sprinted across the open field. Her heart raced. She could hear her own labored breathing. But it was the low, deep growls and the thundering footfalls behind her that pushed her to run faster. Her legs grew numb. Her lungs ached. And still she ran.
“Faster, Mia.” She was relieved to hear Benjamin’s voice. She couldn’t see him and she dared not turn around, but knowing that he was near comforted her.
A menacing growl echoed from behind her. She willed her legs to move faster, ignoring the pain in her lungs.
Benjamin was beside her now in a transparent state. “Follow me.”
Benjamin neared the tree line on the opposite side of the field. He darted through a small opening between two oaks. A shrill war cry pierced Mia’s ears. She could feel her legs slowing down, despite the fact that she was silently urging them to keep moving.
“Benjamin.” It came out little more than a whisper between gulps of air.
He slowed until he was beside her. “You have to keep moving, Mia. Straight ahead.”
It was darker in the woods. The moonlight that lit her path across the field had difficulty penetrating the greenery overhead. She followed Benjamin’s soft glow.
Twigs snapped violently behind her. The ground shook.
Benjamin slowed, falling behind her.
“Benjamin?”
“Keep running.”
A bright light from behind her lit the path. She knew Benjamin was using a lot of energy, and she knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long.
Her legs were slowing. Her lungs felt like they would explode. She could run no farther.
The light behind her still burned brightly. Soon, Mia was surrounded by it. Being shoved from behind, her body catapulted through the air. The light blinded her. She landed with a soft thud on the ground and rolled to a stop.
She knew the creature would be upon her momentarily. Sprawled on her back, she closed her eyes, dragging each ragged breath painfully in her lungs. The night was eerily quiet—no sound except her own breathing.
Death would be imminent.
“It’s a crescent moon. Thank you, Lord,” Benjamin whispered softly.
Mia barely heard him, his voice was so soft and her breathing so loud. He was mistaken. The light of the full moon was the only thing that had made every frightening detail of the hideous monster clearly outlined. Why hadn’t the creature caught up with them yet?
She cracked her eyes open and saw a sliver of moon partially hidden in haze. That was weird. She opened her eyes, her chest heaving, and glared at a crescent moon. “It’s a crescent moon,” she mumbled breathlessly. “How is that possible?” Her breath was coming a little easier now. She filled her lungs. “It was a full moon, but now it’s a crescent moon.”
Mia drew up on her elbows. Where was Old Green Eyes? Had they lost him in the forest? She wouldn’t have expected him to give up so easily. Though she had never dared to slow long enough to look behind her, he had sounded like he was close enough to reach out with his claws and carve the flesh off her back.
“Benjamin, how is that possible? Where is Old Green Eyes?”
“You know about Old Green Eyes?”
“Well, I can’t say that I’ve ever met him before and I never want to see him again, but I have heard of him. Of course, I never believed in ghosts…until I met you. But that doesn’t explain how the moon changed.”
“We are safe for now.”
The night was dark and inky, and although she could see the faint outlines of trees, she could see nothing else. She reached for her cell phone thinking the light from it might come in handy. Feeling nothing in her pockets, she realized that she had left it in the car. “Benjamin, where are you? What’s happening?”
She could faintly see his outline as he walked toward her. Pulling up into a sitting position, Mia watched him intently, waiting for an explanation.
“Let me help you up,” he spoke softly. He held out his hand to her, and she took it. Gently, he pulled her to her feet.
A soft intake of breath filled the silence as Mia realized what had just happened. “Benjamin,” she said, “your hand. You touched me.”
“I’ll explain in a moment, but first, there is something that I must do.”
Mia stood in stunned silence.
Benjamin took her face in his palms. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with a combination of gentleness and urgency combined. Mia’s arms instinctively wrapped around him, pulling him closer. Her hands were firmly touching his back. She stood on her tiptoes, fervently returning his kiss. When he stepped away, they were both breathless. Mia’s hand went to her lips. Her heart pounded. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Dropping her hand back to her side, she whispered, “Benjamin, you’re not a ghost.”
“No, I’m not,” he agreed, “and I have never felt more alive than I do at this moment.”
“Neither have I.” Finally, she would have something worthy of writing in her diary.
She couldn’t see his expression, but she could hear his low chuckle.
“But how is it possible?” she asked.
Chapter 6
Benjamin closed his eyes and wondered how he would explain the situation to her. He had selfishly desired this moment since the first day he had seen her in the park, her golden brown hair shining like silk in the last hour of the evening sunlight. Over the past century and a half, he had dreamt of this moment. He hadn’t known that it was Mia Randall who would hold his heart in the palm of her slender hand, but he had desperately wanted someone to share his life with, someone to share his secrets, his dreams.
He had drifted aimlessly for so long, and now he
stood with the girl with which he could spend eternity. Mixed emotions twisted through his gut. His fingertips traced the curve of her cheek. His dream was within his grasp, but at what cost to her?
“Mia, I confess that I wanted this more than you can imagine.”
“Me, too, Benjamin. I thought I would go insane not being able to touch you. You’re real! Can you believe it?”
“Mia,” he said stoically.
“Aren’t you excited?” He could hear the confusion in the soft lilt of her voice.
“I am excited to be here with you, but I must ask your forgiveness for I have done you a great injustice.”
“I don’t understand.”
He hated himself for what he was about to tell her, but he couldn’t honestly say that he wished it to be otherwise.
“Benjamin?” She touched his arm.
“Mia, it was the only way that I knew to keep you safe from Old Green Eyes.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
He breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the warm air. Nothing could be done, but tell her the truth. “On the night of the full moon, there is a portal. I led you through the portal.”
“A portal?”
“Yes.”
“A portal to where?”
“That’s a little more difficult to explain.”
She surveyed her surroundings. “Judging by the field, we’re still somewhere in the park. Maybe we’ve come out on the other side or something.”
He swallowed hard. She still didn’t understand, and he dreaded the explanation that would clarify it.
“It’s not a matter of being on the other side of the park. The portal is linked to….”
“Linked to what? If it’s linked to another battlefield and we’re in Gettysburg or something, I’m going to have a very difficult time explaining to my mother why I’m late getting home. Can we pass back through the portal to get to Chickamauga?”
“It’s a one way ride, Mia.”
“This is just great,” Mia mumbled. “Where are we and how long will it take me to get home?”
Ghostly Encounter (Ghostly #1) (Ghostly Series) Page 7