Haunted House: Part Nineteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen

We headed back into town, which took a few hours since we had to walk, and I called Rita to meet us. She sounded surprised on the phone, just as I had expected her to be. It was light out again by the time we reached the center and all of the shops were just opening up. We met at the same coffee shop we had the day before.

“Hello,” I said to her as she sat down. She flashed me a quick smile, but didn’t say anything.

I stared at her and waited for her to say something. I needed to be in control of this conversation.

“Did you get rid of them?” she asked quickly and quietly.

“No,” I replied. Roy seemed a little surprised by the attitude I put behind my answer. “But you already knew that didn’t you.”

She looked scared.

“Where’s my car?” I asked her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied. It was so obvious she was lying.

“Where is it?”

She looked like she had some reservations, so I leaned forward just to put a little fear into her.

“It’s at the junk yard,” she finally answered.

“If anything is missing I am going to be really mad,” I told her. Just so you know everything was all there.

“I have no idea what is going on,” said Roy.

“Regina needed a paladin,” I started.

“Who?”

“The ghost lady.”

“Oh right.”

“Anyway, she needed a paladin. We are in a short supply as of late, which leaves just me. She could wait and hope that I would eventually show up or she could lure me in.”

“Okay?”

“William certainly can’t help with that because he is just a zombie. His wife on the other hand is more than capable of doing that.”

Roy looked back and forth between Rita and I a couple times before his brain finally figured it out.

“You’re William’s wife?” Roy asked the obvious. “How?” Rita didn’t say a word.

“Regina gave her eternal life since William had died,” I answered. “Or she was going to do it anyway.”

“So you’re not human anymore?”

“She’s something else. Ghosts can grant other’s eternal life but if the ghosts get removed from this world then so do they. And they don’t go somewhere pretty.”

“Do we kill her?”

Rita jumped at that one.

“No,” I answered him. “When she gets back to Regina I’m sure she will be a little more than displeased.”

With that little chestnut I walked away leaving Rita with her thoughts. Roy followed me out.

“We’re just going to let her go?” Roy asked me.

“Yeah,” I said. “Either Regina will take care of her or she’ll run away. Since I’m the only paladin and she can’t trick me again then she’ll have no use for her.”

“Good point. We have to get rid of that statue.”

“I know, but I’m not really equipped to destroy it. We can’t go back right now because she’d know we were coming. We’ll have to come back at some point and hope no one goes in there.”

It was the best we can do. Honestly the last disappearance was years ago because people were smart enough to stay away. I would come there some day and destroy it.

CASPER! That’s what this reminded me of. The lady hired Bill Pullman, or Paxton, whoever it was to get rid of the ghosts in the mansion…

 

Haunted House: Part Eighteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Nineteen

The man with the long coat and hat dropped down, landing in between Regina and I. That guy just kept showing up everywhere. Was he always following me?

Remarkably Regina didn’t attack him, but instead she looked like she was a little afraid.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“I cannot allow you to harm him,” he told her. “I have plans for him.”

“As do I.”

“I’m afraid that I need him alive.”

The two of them went back and forth a couple of times, so I decided to use that time to get Roy free. I felt that I had a chance to escape and I needed to act upon that.

I got over to Roy and ripped apart the straps that were holding him down.

“We need to get out of here,” he stated the obvious.

“No kidding,” I replied. “Follow me.”

I headed for the entrance to that area but I didn’t really want to head back through the maze. There had to be another way out of there.

“Where do you think you are going?” Regina asked.

“We were thinking about leaving?” I tried.

“Never!”

She flew at me ridiculously fast but before she could reach me the man jumped in between us again and knocked her to the ground. I don’t know how he was able to actually hit the ghost.

“Get out of here,” he ordered us.

“Where do I go?” I asked him.

“Over that hedge.” He pointed to the hedge on the opposite side of the area. I darted towards it.

Roy was right behind me when I reached the wall and I hoped that he would understand what I wanted to do. I put my hands down for him to step on them and he did. I then lifted and threw him high into the air so that he landed on top of the hedge. The only problem was that I couldn’t jump that high. That didn’t matter, though, because the guy in the trench coat—what was his name again—grabbed me and threw me right up next to Roy. I didn’t waste any time and just jumped down.

“Jump,” I yelled.

“Are you crazy?” Roy asked me.

“Just jump you idiot!”

He did and I caught him.

We were in the woods somewhere behind the house. After a while of walking around we found the front of the house but my car was gone.

“Where’s the car?” Roy looked around trying to spot it.

I had no idea but before I could say anything the man appeared out of nowhere in front of us.

“Wes,” he said.

“Stalker,” I replied.

“You need to be more careful.”

“Why don’t you just kill me?”

“I’ve told you.”

“Yeah, yeah. You have plans for me.”

I suddenly realized that he might kill Roy. I decided to keep my attitude in check.

“I don’t suppose you are going to help me destroy that statue in there?” I asked him pointlessly. “To get rid of Regina.”

“Who?” he asked. I forgot I made up that name.

“The ghost lady.”

“There’s no need. She needs a paladin to be released, just like Prince Gregory would have needed. Just stay away and she cannot leave.”

“But people can still die.”

“That doesn’t matter. Soon enough none of it will matter.”

“What does that mean?”

Before he answered, he was gone.

“Who was that?” Roy asked me.

“That guy I told you about,” I said.

“Why did he help?”

“I think he does want her out but he doesn’t want me dead. Not yet at least.”

“So where’s the car?”

“We’ll get it back.”

I wasn’t 100 percent sure where the car was but I had my suspicions. Either way, we had one more thing in that town to take care of…

 

Haunted House: Part Seventeen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

The first ghost, ever. To me it just seemed like an outrageous claim but when you figure what I had been running into over the past year, who knows? I tried to keep my composure, not giving away the fear rising inside of me.

“The first ghost, huh?” I asked redundantly.

She just nodded her.

“I thought that prince guy was the first one,” I said.

“Prince Gregory?” she asked me. “He was nothing.”

“Just really old I guess.”

“I died in 5000 B.C.”

“How can you speak English then?”

“I have been around long enough to learn.”

“How are you here?”

“You see that object that your hairy, big toothed friend is stuck to over there?” She pointed to the werewolf that was stuck on the spike.

“That’s not my friend,” I pointed out.

“That was a statue made for me.”

“It’s just a spike.”

“William learned about me on a trip to Lithuania. I have been transported to many places over the years and have taken many lives for the sake of my own. I promised him the prospect of eternal life.”

“Why him?”

“Because he had the resources and the motivation. There were many before but none of them worthy.”

“I’m guessing that you need souls in order to get free?”

“Correct.”

“And he was gathering those souls?”

“Correct.”

“Then why did you kill him?”

She laughed.

“I did not kill him,” she defended herself. “One of his victims got the better of him.”

“I certainly did,” said Jonathan, who fell from the sky.

“I kept William as he is because I am tied to him, and now Jonathan is being punished.”

“No punishment for me. I enjoy it.” I could hear the sarcasm hidden in his voice.

“Right,” I said. “Now what?”

“Now I have to kill you,” said the ghost. Let’s just name her Regina. “And then I am free.”

“I don’t think so.” I spoke the words that would banish her, but she didn’t go anywhere.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?”

I knew I needed to destroy the statue that the werewolf was pegged on but there was no way I could do that, not easily. I was pretty sure that Roy and I were both going to be dead very soon.

I looked over at him, wondering if it was going to be the last time I ever saw him, or anybody for that matter.

Regina flew at me like a bat out of hell. I jumped to the side and rolled, avoiding certain death. Before I stood up she slammed into me with amazing strength. I flew into the spike and bounced off it like a super ball.

“Time to pay the price, Wes Parker,” she taunted.

I prepared for my death. But then I looked up and saw something I honestly did not expect…

 

Haunted House: Part Sixteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

There she was, the ghost with the voice that had been taunting me. She was surrounded by a bunch of other ghosts and a man that looked like a zombie. I wondered who that might be.

“You’re a woman?” I asked, confused.

“Were you expecting something else?” she asked me.

“Kind of. You sound like a man.”

“I am not.”

“You sure sound like it.”

“Silence.” Her voice boomed with an echo, making my skin crawl even worse than it already was.

I looked over at Roy who looked like he wanted to cause me some physical harm. I really can’t help it. I feel the need to mock or insult people, or in this case ghosts, at times of stress because it calms me down. Who am I kidding? I insult people all the time. It’s how I am. Deal with it.

“I am glad to see that you made it to the end of the maze,” she said.

“Well, with old Johnny Boy helping me I almost didn’t,” I pointed out. Of course she already knew that.

“He can be difficult, but he is rather useful.”

“Who’s the stiff?” I pointed at the zombie.

“William.”

“That’s what happened to William?” She nodded her head. “Things certainly didn’t work out for him.”

“He got what I promised him.”

“And what was that?”

“Eternal life.”

I looked back and forth between the woman ghost and William.

“Something tells me this isn’t what he had in mind.” I’m sure she knew that, too.

“It does not matter what he expected,” she said matter-of-factly. “I lived up to my promise.”

“You’re not exactly alive, so you didn’t live up to anything.”

That one earned me a solid punch in the chest. She sent one of the ghosts to do it and it kind of hurt. I rolled backwards right into one of the hedges.

“Are you finished?” she asked me.

“Yeah,” I lied.

“I have been waiting for you.”

“Ah crap. Why?”

“You sound disappointed.”

“Whenever someone says they’ve been waiting for me it means something very unpleasant. Let me guess, you are a very old ghost and you are gathering a bunch of ghosts to rule the world?”

She didn’t say anything. She only smiled.

“You see what I mean?” I asked her.

“William was very critical for me being here,” she told me.

I just nodded my head.

“What is all of this?” I pointed at everything around us.

“A means to an end,” she said. “You are the last piece of the puzzle.”

“What puzzle?”

“My return.”

“Who are you?”

“The first.”

“First what?”

“Ghost.”

Yep, that was happening…

 

Haunted House: Part Fifteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

None of the ghosts actually attacked me but they were whirling around me like a tornado. Every few seconds, a werewolf’s arm would swipe at me. Sometimes they connected with me and I suffered a few more cuts. I was getting very frustrated.

One of the werewolves went to slash me across the chest, so I grabbed its arm and threw it into the other one, knocking them both over. The ghosts were still moving around me, making it almost impossible to see. I needed to get out of that little area, and fast.

“I need to get rid of you guys,” I said.

As quickly as I could I spoke the chant to expel all of the ghosts. They would be back at some point but at least they were gone for now.

I looked back and forth, searching for a good way out when one of the werewolves tried to attack me. I saw it coming at the last second. I leapt into the air and used the werewolf as a jumping point. It was exactly what I needed to get out of there. I soared through the air and above the hedges. It wasn’t quite enough to make it all the way over but I landed right on top. I didn’t waste any time and started running.

“If I stay on top, I can probably get to the end faster,” I said out loud.

“No you don’t,” someone yelled.

I turned to the left to see a ghost heading right for me. Luckily I saw her in time and just ducked. What I didn’t see was the ghost from the other side, so they knocked me right over. I didn’t get a chance to see if it was a he or she.

“This maze sucks,” I complained.

“That is a matter of opinion,” said John, showing up from out of nowhere.

“Oh yay, you’re back.”

“Of course. I’m here to guide you.”

“To where? You just led me into a trap.”

“Perhaps.”

I let out a long sigh. I wondered if this guy was once a nice person, but I got the distinctive feeling that he wasn’t. Ghosts don’t just change their personality because they are dead. They are who they are.

“Are you going to help me?” I asked Jonathan. “At all?”

“Not really,” he answered me honestly.

“You know I’m going to get rid of you, right?”

“I am honestly not sure what has taken you this long.”

I spoke the words and he was gone. I hoped it would be a long time before he ever showed back up.

I heard a howl come from behind me. I turned around and saw the two werewolves running right towards me. I wasn’t in the mood to fight them so I started running. Hold back your judgments.

As fast as I am, werewolves are much faster, so eventually they caught up to me. I had no choice but to fight. I decided to fight back with a more aggressive, powerful approach. I double punched the first werewolf, sure that I broke something, and it flew back into the other one.

We went back and forth for a little while, wasting a lot of time. I grabbed one of them by the head and then ran along the hedge, twisting its neck as I did so. The wolf fell. The other one suddenly attacked me like it was a rabid animal. I put my reflexes into overdrive to avoid being mutilated by the thing and barely came out of it alive. I did, though.

I jumped off one of the hedges and went back and forth to each side of the pathway, going higher with each jump, until I finally reached the top. I started running. I looked back and saw that the werewolf followed me up.

“You certainly are a persistent breed,” I muttered.

“Flesh,” it yelled.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I looked further up ahead and saw that there was a large opening and I knew that I had to get to it.

“Follow me, jackass,” I taunted the werewolf.

The opening was 10 feet in front of me and the werewolf was five feet behind. I leapt in the air and twisted around so I could see the monsters. It had jumped right after me and was flying right for my face. As it hit me I grabbed it, spun in the air and whipped it toward the ground. Luck was on my side because there was a spike in the middle of the ground.

I landed on the ground with a soft thud.

“Ha!” I shouted at the dead wolf.

I looked around and saw where I was. It was like some sort of alter for the son of the devil. The feeling I mentioned earlier washed over me like a 40-foot wave. I almost fell over backwards. Then I saw Roy, strapped up to a pole like some offering.

“We’ve been waiting,” said the voice. I turned around, but I wish I hadn’t…

 

Haunted House: Part Fourteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

I only had a second to think before the werewolves attacked me. Jonathan was gone—no surprise there. Luckily I had my axes by my side. Oh, wait a minute, no I didn’t. I didn’t even have a gun on me either. Did I walk into that house unarmed or did I lose them at some point? I felt so incredibly stupid. They would have been useless against the ghosts but I could have really used them at that moment.

The first one jumped in. Relying completely on my hand to hand, I darted to the right, grabbed the werewolf by the head and slammed it into one of the hedges. I could have sworn that I heard something crack but that didn’t put the werewolf down. It came at me again.

Another one of the werewolves went to attack me from behind. I did a backflip right over the beast so that the two werewolves collided together. They both fell to the ground. There was still another one, though. If I hadn’t known before I would have certainly known after it slashed me across the back. I yelled in pain and did a somersault to avoid another gash.

“I hate you hairy monsters,” I spat. One of the werewolves responded by taking a quick, strong swing at my head. I ducked and let its massive paw narrowly miss my skull.

While the werewolf was vulnerable I drove my fist into its kidney. It yelped in pain and hunched over a little. I jumped up as quickly as I could and wrapped arms around its oversized neck. I was about to snapped its neck like a ninja but one of the other werewolves grabbed me and threw me into the hedges. They must have had steel behind all of the growth because it was very, very solid.

I wasn’t so sure how much longer I was going to last without my axes. Before you start judging me, yes I can take on three werewolves. But, it is very difficult to fight them in a space only ten feet wide with no weapons. Not exactly an easy thing to do.

While I was on the ground one of the werewolves dove at me with its mouth open, itching to eat my face.

“Flesh,” it breathed. I told you it wanted to eat my face.

“That’s what I am made of, yes,” I said, stating the obvious.

“Hungry.”

“I can imagine.”

“Hungry.”

“Yes you said that.” I was having trouble holding the thing back. Why were none of the other ones attacking me yet?

“Flesh.”

These monsters must of have been locked up for a long time. They had completely lost their minds.

“I really don’t want you to eat me,” I said.

With quick hands and a twist of my body I was next to the giant wolf with my hands prying its mouth apart. A werewolf’s mouth is stronger than a shark but I was doing well enough. I put an extra effort and pulled as hard as I could. I could tell you the next part but I think can figure out what happened. Let’s just say the werewolf was definitely dead.

“Okay,” I began, “who’s next?”

“Hungry,” one of them said.

“Flesh,” said the other.

“I’ll just pick one then,” I stated.

“Or we’ll pick,” said a voice.

Just then a large group of ghosts swarmed me, giving me no chance at leaving. That’s right ladies and gentlemen; I was in big trouble…

 

Haunted House: Part Thirteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

Okay, so I was in a bit of bind. I could be wandering around the maze for days, months even, and never even realize it. It had been over eight hours but it only felt like 30 minutes. I had to find the end of this place as quickly as I could. Who knows how long that was going to take?

“Has anyone ever gone through this place before?” I asked my useless guide.

“Only a few,” he replied.

“I’m going to guess that it didn’t end very well for them.”

“They died.”

“That was very blunt.”

“Why dance around the point?”

“You’re joking, right?”

“No.”

“All you are doing is dancing around the point. If you got straight to it I would be at the end of this maze already.”

Jonathan didn’t bother responding to me.

I started to think about Roy and hoped that he was okay. It was very plausible that he was being tortured as I was navigating the labyrinth made of hedges. I assumed that the voice that had spoken to me was William. I wasn’t really sure how he was doing it but more than likely I was going to find out.

I came up to a crossing that split in three different directions. I had no idea where to go, of course.

“I don’t suppose that you are going to tell me where to go?” I tried.

“Go down the middle row,” he answered.

“Really?”

“What?”

“You actually told me where to go.”

“I figured I would take another approach.”

“I appreciate that.” I should have known that he wasn’t helping at all, but given the situation I was in, I followed his lead.

After about 100 feet down the path there was an open circle with nothing in it. It was a dead end.

“You’ve screwed me,” I stated.

“It depends on your prospective in the situation,” he replied.

All of a sudden the ground started to shake and there was a loud grinding noise. A giant hedge now blocked the entranceway that I had just walked through.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Things are going to get hairy,” Jonathan taunted me with a smile.

Three hedges that formed part of the circle dropped, revealing three werewolves. How were there three werewolves locked in this maze alive? They all stalked toward me, hunger in their eyes. We were in a very tight space, so this was not going to be easy…

 

Haunted House: Part Twelve

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

Luckily the ghost warned me with plenty of time to spare. As the giant ball made of stone flew toward me like a cannon ball I jumped in the air doing a barrel roll right over it. What surprised me was that when the ball hit the hedges it didn’t go right through. Instead it bounced off and rolled right back towards me. It was going a lot slower this time so I just moved out of the way and let it roll by. I looked around and tried to find out where the ball came from. There was no obvious source.

“Do try to watch out,” Jonathan suggested. “There are plenty more surprises.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said with so much fake enthusiasm.

I walked through the maze making left turns and right turns, not really sure where I was going and receiving no help from the ghost sent to help me.

“So what’s your story?” I asked him.

“It is such a long one,” he exclaimed.

“Something tells me that we are going to have plenty of time.”

“I was once a respected man of the community, from upstate New York. But now I am dead.”

“I thought you said your story was a long one?”

“Ha. I guess not. One can never really tell, can they?”

“You are a real pain in the ass. Do you think you could just leave and let me go through this on my own?”

Jonathan stopped walking and looked at me. “I don’t think I can do that.”

“I was afraid you would say that. Will you at least tell me where to go?”

“Wherever you feel is best.”

I grunted in anger and walked right through him.

“I never!” he shouted.

I had no idea where to go, and I had no idea how far I had even gotten into the maze. Jonathan followed right next to me and didn’t say a word but he kept humming a melody that I couldn’t quite recognize. Either way I hated this ghost with every fiber of my being.

I wanted to find Roy and get the heck out of the house because I suspected that whatever was waiting for me at the end of this labyrinth was not pretty. Of course it wasn’t going to be pretty. When were the things I faced ever not ugly? Never. That’s when.

“I’ve always liked this maze,” Jonathan told me.

“How long have you been here?” I asked him.

“Who really has the time? Mmmm?”

“Has the time to do what? Keep time? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?”

“It sounds pretty normal to me.”

“Well, maybe because you’re an idiot.”

“Name calling is beneath you, Wes.”

“No. Not really.”

“Touché.”

When I first left the house I could have sworn that the sun was out, but now I realized that dusk was upon us.

“When did it get dark out?” I asked him.

“Just now,” he replied.

“Wasn’t it light out when we first walked out here?”

“Yes.”

“What time was it?”

“Around 11 am.”

I stopped, not really believing what he just said.

“What time is it now?” I dared to ask.

“Seven at night,” he answered me.

“What? We’ve been walking around for eight hours?”

“Yes.”

“But how?”

“That’s the beauty of this maze. It will feel like minutes but it has really been hours. You could be in here for a very long time…”

 

Haunted House: Part Eleven

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

So mazes are fun right? You start at the beginning, try to work your way through and solve the puzzle, and then you reach the end. Ta da! You have accomplished something. Wrong. They are not fun because they make you feel stupid that you can’t just get from A to B without jumping through hoops and running into walls. To top it off the maze I was about to walk through was full of fun surprises.

I headed through the entrance of the maze, which was a giant metal gate. Each side of the walkway leading to the maze from the house to the gate was lined with hedges that were almost as high as the house. Right at the entrance, the maze split to the left and to the right.

“Awesome,” I muttered to myself.

“Most definitely,” said a ghost, who appeared right in front of me.

Instinct kicked in and I roundhouse kicked the guy in the head, but my foot went right through.

“’Ello,” he said.

I looked at him for a second. “Did you just seriously say ‘ello’?”

“Yes, sorry. My voice gave out for a second there. Hello.”

“How could your voice give out? You’re a ghost.”

“I am a ghost, but I am not dead, you know?” He seemed very offended.

“Yes you are.”

“Tomayto, tomahto. I will be your guide through this maze.”

I was a little confused.

“That creepy voice sent a guide to help me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The ghost simply shrugged his shoulders.

“I am Jonathan,” he informed me.

“Wes,” I offered.

“I know.”

I wasn’t really sure why the voice, who was more than likely trying to kill me, sent someone who could help me get through this maze. It didn’t make that much sense to me.

“Okay,” I said. “You are my guide, so guide me. Where do I go?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Where do I go?”

“Where do you think you should go?”

“I’m starting to understand why the voice sent you.”

I didn’t bother to answer Jonathan’s question and went to the right.

“I wouldn’t go that way,” he said. This ghost was really going to make this walk even more miserable.

“Would you say that I should never go that way?” I asked him. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.

“I wouldn’t say never. I would just say that right now, this time, I wouldn’t go that way.”

“If I could punch you in the face I would.”

“That would be counterproductive. Let us move on.”

“Oh please.”

“That’s the spirit.” Obviously, sarcasm was lost on this guy. Or maybe he was ignoring it.

I headed to the left, going the direction that the ghost implied I go down. I stopped for a second to make sure Jonathan wasn’t going to say anything but he just smiled at me.

When I reached the end of the pathway I turned to the right. The ghost was in front of me.

“Look out,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

He moved to the right and a large, stone ball headed straight for me…

 

Haunted House: Part Ten

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen

It felt kind of stupid. I have a large group of ghosts standing in front of me and I say hi. I’m sure there were a bunch of other things that I could have said instead but that was the only thing that I could think of. Think of me what you want but you face off against a bunch of ghosts and see what you say.

They all just stood there and stared at me, like a bunch of creeps. I didn’t see the little girl that first appeared but I’m sure that she was hiding in the group somewhere.

“So you guys all look a little angry,” I said.

They remained silent.

“Does anyone feel like sharing why you are here?” I asked them.

They still remained silent.

“This is extremely awkward,” I pointed out. “If any of you want to do anything; speak, attack me, moved one step, that would be great.”

Nothing.

“Tough crowd.”

“Be silent, Wes,” the voice from before whispered.

“Who said that?” I asked.

“I said, be silent.”

In interest of staying alive I listened.

“I am glad to have finally met you,” the voice continued. “I have heard so much about you.”

That was very encouraging.

“I have your friend,” he informed me. “If you wish to keep him alive then you will follow my instructions.”

“What if I don’t wish to keep him alive?” I asked.

One of the ghosts darted out at me and knocked me into the wall. It took a few seconds for me to start breathing again.

“Anything else you want to say?” the voice asked me.

“I’m good,” I choked.

“In the room in which you stand lay a pathway. Find that pathway and it will guide you further on your journey.”

“Seriously?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My ‘journey’? I’ll get right on that Gandalf.”

I don’t know why I open my mouth, knowing that I will pay for it. Another ghost threw me up into the ceiling. Hitting the floor definitely didn’t feel all that great.

“Time is of the essence,” the voice warned me.

All of the ghosts disappeared. Who was the voice? Was it William or something else? Either way I could feel the shivers running up my spine with each syllable he spoke.

I looked around the room a hundred times—maybe more like three—and couldn’t find anything of importance. It was just an ordinary room with an ordinary arrangement of bookshelves. I thought back to Roy’s original thought when we were in that room. Maybe there was some way to open a doorway behind one of the bookshelves.

I walked over to the one that we were at before because if there was a moving bookcase this is the one that would make the most sense. It wasn’t against a wall where I knew there was another room behind. I scanned through the books to see if any of them seemed out of the ordinary but none of them did. There had to be one. I tore all the books off but all of them just fell off. There was nothing obvious, but there had to be something in that room otherwise the voice wouldn’t have said so.

That’s when it caught my attention. On one of the other bookshelves one of them look out of place. It was very subtle but it was made out of wood. Sure enough when I pulled on it the bookshelf swung open, revealing a tunnel behind.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said to myself.

I followed the tunnel for a good mile. It twisted and turned, and went up and down, until it finally led me outside. I was standing at the beginning of the biggest hedge maze I had ever seen. I was about to embark on the most un-fun maze of terror ever…