The Ghosts of RedRise House

by Caroline Clark

  There it was again, only this time he could make out the figure of a young woman. A young woman he could see right through! Then she was gone again.

  Jacob stopped. Not sure what he had really seen. It couldn’t have been... no it couldn’t have been a ghost. Maybe it was just the bang on his head, or maybe just the poor light. It didn’t matter, ghost or girl, it was all he had, even if it was just something wrong with his head he may as well follow it.

  Rushing now, he stumbled and tripped. Picking himself up he raced through the dark woodland for somehow he knew he had to hurry. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong, and he feared he had let them down in the worst way possible.

  Up ahead he could see light. This wasn’t the flash of clothing, but real light. He had made it to the edge of the woods. Letting out a cry of delight he rushed forward.

  “Emily, Noah, Sophia,” he shouted as he came out into the trees into glorious sunshine.

  How could it have been so dark under the canopy when it was still light out here? Before he could think of an answer he was stopped in his tracks once more. Terror, an overwhelming terror dropped him to his knees.

  There, on the edge of the woodland, lying preternaturally still and as pale as death, was Emily.

  Stacy, was overjoyed to see Nick as he materialized back into the world in his black suit with the dog collar at his neck. The man looked exactly the same. Short black hair and a face that was made to smile. Though part of her knew she had pulled him from somewhere she had no right to, she couldn’t help feeling happy. Only moments later he had faded and then disappeared.

  Where had he gone? Was it back to the place of peace? Or was it somewhere worse, what had she done?

  She could feel her own hold on this plane slipping. It was a strange sensation, one of being pulled somewhere. Though she didn’t know where, she knew she didn’t want to go. If Nick came back, and they had time, she needed to talk to him, to work a few things out.

  Of course, there was always Jesse and Gail to talk to or her sister, Shelly, but she still feared that they would want her to leave. Would want her to find her peace. She knew it was there, not the place she was being pulled to, somewhere nicer. Occasionally, she would see a door, surrounded by bright light. It always filled her with love and acceptance and part of her wanted to go.

  Though she wanted to go to that door, she didn’t. Somehow she knew there was something she still had to do. Maybe it was to look after Shelly. Maybe it was to find these children. Maybe it was even to find herself, but until she had done what she was here for she knew she couldn’t go. She just hoped she didn’t go to the other place in the meantime... and she hoped that she stayed who she was.

  She had heard many tales of ghosts that stayed. Of spirits that refused to cross over and how they became. Most went crazy, most became violent, most couldn’t do anything with those emotions but even so that was not what she wanted. So why was she here? What was that burning inside her that told her she was not ready to go yet?

  In the distance she heard someone shouting and even though she knew she was fading. She had used up most of her energy, maybe she could help a little bit.

  Since her first visit to RedRise house she had been pulled back here on many occasions. The place reeked of despair and darkness but she had never sensed any presence here, yet she couldn’t stay away.

  Today had been another one of those visits and when she had seen the family she had been horrified. However, it always took a lot of her energy to get here and so all she could do was watch while she rebuilt... what would you call it... her spiritual charge.

  By the time she was able to do anything the children had already been lured into the woods and the parents had followed. She tried to find them but the darkness that was RedRise house blocked her at every turn.

  That was when she reached out to Jesse and Gail. Someone else had answered, someone nice and they had helped her. They had taken her somewhere far away and she had shown Jesse and Gail a glimpse into the future it filled her with despair for it meant she had failed. Then the spirit had helped her pull Nick out, or at least she thought they had for Nick had appeared, but where was he now?

  Stacey closed her eyes, summoned as much power as she could, and searched for him. There was nothing there. No connection, no cold, no nothing.

  In the distance she heard a child scream and Jacob shouting and something else, she felt the despair of death. Someone had died, they were passing over. Turning, she scoured the field and the edge of the trees. Then she saw it. Emily was lying on the ground and yet she was standing next to her body.

  Stacey rushed over to her and Emily turned and shook her head.

  “What is that?” Emily said pointing at her body.

  Stacey felt tears at her eyes and her voice choked at the back of her throat.

  “I’m sorry, but I think you know,” Stacy said as gently as she could.

  “My family, Noah, Sophia, and Jacob... where are they? Are they safe?

  Stacey gulped back the lump in her throat and nodded.

  “I will make sure they are safe, but you have to go.”

  Emily shook her head and stared at the dark woodland.

  “I can’t leave them.”

  “You can’t help them and if you stay, you may be trapped here. Trust me, once you cross over you will understand that what happens to them today does not matter.”

  Emily opened her mouth to protest but Stacey raised her hand.

  “I understand how you feel, and I promise you I will protect them, I will keep them safe.”

  Emily nodded and an expression of peace and joy came over her face.

  Stacey saw the light appear behind her. It surrounded an oval white door that opened as Emily turned to look.

  “You can go,” Stacey said.

  Emily nodded. As she walked into the light it became brighter for a moment, so bright it was blinding, and then she was gone.

  Stacey had made a promise and even though the woods frightened her, she knew she had to do something. The woods were surrounded by darkness it was strong, and malevolent and it wanted her to stay out. It didn’t matter, she pushed against the darkness and into the woods. The moment she passed into the trees she felt herself fading and she knew she couldn’t stay long. Then she saw him in the distance. It was Jacob and she tried to attract his attention. Before she could she was forced out of the woods.

  Catching her breath and summoning her power she pushed against the darkness and back into the evil. This time Jacob saw her and bit by bit she lured him out of the woods and to the body of his dead wife. The energy was too much and she felt the world receding, down into darkness she went, down to who knows where.

  86

  Jacob let out a wail of despair. Like a wild animal he screamed at the sky, at the heavens, at the unfairness of this awful world.

  This was his fault. He had left her and now she was... was she dead?

  Lurching to his feet he stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Feeling constantly as if he was about to fall, as if he was tipping over, he raced to Emily’s side and dropped to his knees.

  There was a branch next to her and blood was running down from her hairline and into the ground. Could this have been some freak accident?

  He knew it wasn’t, somehow deep inside a sick feeling told him this was no accident.

  “Emily, Emily... stay with me Emily.” Taking her hand, turned it over, he searched for a pulse. The skin was as cold as a frozen joint and he almost dropped her hand.

  How could she get so cold so quickly? How long was he unconscious? Quickly he looked at his watch, it had been a gift from Emily two years ago and he loved it now just as much as he had then. Tears clouded his vision that he could see it was almost 4 o’clock. He couldn’t have been out for more than 20 minutes. It can’t be more than an hour since he had last saw Emily and yet she was... almost frozen.

  Then he noticed a shimmer of light to his left and he turned. Just for a second he saw a fa
int outline of a young woman with long brown hair. She was pretty and yet she looked so sad. Only before he could make more out she faded into nothing.

  Jacob wanted to pull his hair out by the roots. He wanted to scream. He wanted to shake Emily. To hold her, to hug her, to make her well, but all he could do was cry. The tears streamed down his face for what seemed like forever but could have only been a couple of minutes.

  “The children.”

  The word was nothing but a whisper on the wind and yet he knew it came from the girl. She was right. As much as he wanted to stay here he had to find the children.

  Gently he brushed a lock of Emily’s hair away from her eyes. Then he kissed her forehead and letting go of her hand he stood up.

  Turning quickly he searched for the young woman. She was nowhere to be seen and he didn’t have the time to wait. Pulling his phone from his pocket he dialed 999 and waited.

  Nothing happened.

  He tried again.

  Still nothing happened.

  Desperation to check the bars to see there was no signal what should he do? There were only a few hours left until darkness he had a choice, search for the children, or go for help?

  Though he hated the thought of going back into the woods he knew he couldn’t just leave. Then he had an idea and quickly found the coordinates of where they were on his phone.

  Then he opened a text to 999 and hoped that it would work. That sometime during his search his phone would get a signal and the text would be sent. It wasn’t much, but it was all he had.

  I am as SE720996 and I need help. My wife is dead. I think. Hit by a tree. My children are missing. Noah is nine and Sophia is seven. I am looking for them but I need your help.

  Jacob Pitcher.

  With the text sent he felt able to relax. Either help would come or it wouldn’t but he wasn’t leaving these words until he found his children.

  Jacob took one last look at Emily before diving into the dark and dismal trees. The moment he was under the canopy the light was gone. Grinding to a halt he put his arms out in front of him and waited. Trees seem to breathe. Like some heavy beast stalking, waiting, haunting.

  Panic rose inside him but he knew he could not give in and so he did the only thing he could, he shouted, “Noah, Sophia if you can hear me move toward my voice.”

  Over and over he shouted at the same words turning in each direction until eventually his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see.

  Though he had hoped that vision would lower his heart rate and run down his fear, it didn’t. The woods looked so predatory, as if they were waiting for his every move. This had to just be nerves. Just the fear of the situation. The best thing for him to do was to move.

  Slowly he started to walk calling out over and over again the same message.

  “Noah, Sophia if you can hear me move toward my voice.”

  It was cold and damp and the darkness sapped his spirit but still he kept walking. At times he would hear something behind him.

  A whisper.

  Quickly he would turn around just to see a shadow moving. They were always just at the edge of his vision but every time he spun back, he was sure he lost his direction. When he started walking again he didn’t know if he was just walking around in a circle.

  A twig snapped behind him and he turned around.

  There was a light in the distance. Was it the ghostly woman or could it be the children?

  Without thinking, he set off in the direction of the light as fast as his legs would carry him.

  87

  Noah clung tightly to Sophia’s hands. She was crying so much now that she could hardly walk.

  “We’re going to be all right” he said. “Dad will find us... I know he will.” How he hated the tremble in his own voice. He was supposed to be the big brother. The one who looked after little Sophia, and yet here, all he wanted to do was sit down and cry. What sort of brother was that?

  “I’m so scared,” Sophia’s voice was little more than a whisper.

  Noah stopped and pulled her to him.

  “Me too, Little Sis, but dad will find us I know he will.”

  Sophia was shaking against him, and he realized how tired he felt. How much his legs ached and how he really needed to sit down. If his legs hurt this much what must Sophia’s smaller ones be feeling. It wouldn’t hurt if they sat down for a few minutes... would it?

  They could only just make out the shapes directly in front of them and he could see a large tree just to the right. For some reason he wanted to have his back to something and that seemed like the best bet.

  Gently he led Sophia across and then pulled her to the ground. Putting his arm around her he held her close and let her cry. She stopped and shook and tears ran down his neck and seemed to freeze against his skin.

  It was hard to breathe, hard to think, and every crack of a twig or whisper of a leaf sent him into a panic.

  Then he saw something in the distance. A glow.

  Could it be a torch? Or the car? Had he finally found their way out of here?

  Excitement closed his throat and when he first tried to speak all he did was make strange squawking sounds.

  “What is it?” Sophia asked as her fists tightened against his shirt.

  “I think we’re safe... look, I see light.”

  Sophia peered into the darkness and he felt her body relax. Her hands unclenched and the sobbing stopped.

  “Is it daddy?” she asked.

  “I don’t know... but I don’t care... its light.”

  Once more Nick was falling, faster and faster, spinning as he fell until he was sure he would lose his stomach. That it would flip up his gullet and come right out of his mouth. The dizzying sensation crushed his spirit even more for he knew that he was falling down. This was not a journey back to the peace, he was being pulled to some other place. One where he wouldn’t be able to help, one he may never escape.

  Blackness surrounded him as he spun and fell. Tossed like a toy ship in a storm. At the mercy of something stronger than him and unable to affect anything around him. Head aching, stomach heaving he tumbled down and down.

  Then he landed so hard on his back that he was sure his spine would come out through his chest. Only he didn’t have a spine. He was a spirit, so why did it feel like he had fallen one hundred feet and broken every bone in his body?

  It was dark and cold, but sticky and there was a mumbling coming from all around him. Eyes shone in the blackness and the air stank of death and corruption.

  Where was he?

  A sick sensation of fear washed over him. He had heard mention of this place from other spirits over the years. It had always seemed like a tale, a rumor, a scary story.

  As his eyes tried to adjust he realized that he was corporeal. The sensations he had felt when he came back just moments before were nothing to what he felt now. It was both amazing and terrible. The sensation of skin and life was like a dream come true but the pain from the fall threatened to drive his mind to insanity. How could something feel so good and so bad all in the same breath?

  Movement behind him. A growl in the darkness.

  Somehow he knew this wouldn’t be your average household pet. Something was stalking him and he had to find cover.

  A stick broke in the darkness, as loud as a gunshot behind him and Nick pulled himself to his feet. Holding his breath he tried to ascertain from what direction the noise had come. Slowly, he spun around and could see red eyes glowing in the coal blackness.

  There was no time for thought he just ran and ran as fast as he could. Stumbling and tripping as he hurtled away from what to who knows where.

  Jacob walked and called until his voice was hoarse and his legs were aching. Forgotten tears dried on his face as he stumbled on and on in the semi-darkness. The woods felt wrong, too dark, too cold, and there was a presence that made him feel as if someone was always watching him. Stalking him. Once he even called out to them but the only reply was a rustle of leaves th
at rose as if in challenge.

  Shouting for the children he wondered what was following him. What had found them? Would they ever see the light again? For even though his eyes had become accustomed to the gloom it filled him with despondency. All he could make out were vague shapes of things that were close. The darkness surrounded him and pressed down like a coffin lid. The further he walked the more convinced he was that he would never see light again.

  How he longed to see the flash of white from the girl, or to hear the children. They must be terrified and he couldn’t bear them being alone in here. Every time he thought of Emily his mind would crack and force him back to the children and their fate.

  How long had it been? Where could they be?

  “Noah, Sophia!” he shouted into the darkness. “Hold on kids I’m coming for you.”

  The sense of foreboding grew and something stroked across his neck.

  Lashing out he spun around. There was nothing there and yet he could still feel the cold damp on his skin.

  Leaves crackled on the ground behind him and to the left. The sound of footsteps, of someone creeping.

  “Noah, Sophia?”

  A harsh laugh echoed through the trees way to his right.

  The terror inside was like a living thing, driving him crazy as he sought to keep his mind on the children. Then he saw it and let out a gasp of air. There was light ahead, just a faint glimmer but it was all he had and he rushed toward it.

  Nick burst out of the woods into blinding light and dropped to his knees sobbing. The ground was warm beneath his knees and the touch of the sun on his back was like an elixir. Fear lifted off his shoulders and for a moment he was clear of guilt and he laughed at the joy of being free. It was the strangest sensation, euphoric almost.

  Something grabbed him by the shoulder and Jacob lashed out with all he had. It was so bright he could hardly focus but he could see dark shapes all around him. An irrational fear of being pulled back into the woods took over and he knew that he was snarling and shouting.