Haunted - Jay Mirano (ereader android .TXT) 📗

enough, can turn into something else entirely."
   "Turn into something else?"
   "A poltergeist. A spirit that feeds of fear and pain."
   I thought back to the movie Poltergeist, with the little girl in front of the TV watching static. I didn't want to become like that. I never wanted to be like that. I'd rather fade into non-existence than become a poltergeist. 
   "How to I let myself cross over?" I asked, surprising myself with the question. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mason's head snap up with shock. "I can feel the pull, but whenever I try to give into it, I feel myself fighting away from it."
   "You're still attached to the living. Normal, really. You ever heard the phrase 'unfinished business'? You need to figure out what yours is, and get it finished."
   "Easier said than done."
   Zeke nodded. "Yes, but if you don't you'll be stuck here forever."
   I felt my mouth go dry. "And there's no other way?"
   "There's no other way."
   Mason started shaking his head. "Why are we talking about this? Can we please just get Aly out of my Mom's body already?"
   Mason suddenly looked on edge. I wondered why. 
   Zeke closed his eyes, looking more sage-like than ever. "You'll need to get into the center of the pentagram please, Alyssa."
   I did as I was commanded, crossing my legs underneath myself. "Now what?"
   "Now you be quiet."
   I watched suspiciously as Zeke walked around the circle, lighting candles and muttering an intelligible chant beneath his breath. Mason stood in a corner behind me, his mouth drawn in a tight line.
   Zeke opened one of his wooden trunks, pulling out a scroll of herbs rolled up tightly in string. He lit it on one of the candles, his incantation growing in intensity as he did so.
   I could feel a scratching beneath my skin, like a thousand ants burrowing into my flesh. I shifted uncomfortably where I sat, trying not to let it show on my face. The itching started to grow hotter and more fierce, until I had to check my skin to make sure the bugs weren't trying to break free.
    Zeke danced around the outside of the circle, his beaded necklace clattering against his sweat-beaded chest. He came up behind me, and without warning, clamped his palm down on the top of my head, hard.
   I yelped out in pain and surprise, andI noticed Mason step forward a little. Zeke was shouting now, the whole room filling with smoke and nose and the deep, velvety hum of his voice.
   The scratching was almost unbearable, becoming less like ants and more like sharp-nailed fingers trying to claw their way out. A wailing sound sprung up in the room, and I was dimly aware that it was coming from me. Zeke's hand was hovering over my head, and as he raised it, my body followed. Suddenly I was on my feet, the fingers beneath my skin scratching so strongly that I was bucking and swaying with the force of it.
   Then Zeke shouted one final word, loudly and forceful, and I felt myself eject from Avery like I'd just been hit by a truck from behind. I collided with the ceiling, collapsing to the ground in a heap. Mason rushed over to my side, his face filling my vision, eyes burning bright and green and fierce.
   "Are you all right?" He whispered, leaning in close. "Are you okay?"
   Avery moaned, clutching her forehead. "Please never do that again," she said through gritted teeth. "It was an exceedinly unpleasant experience."
   Zeke laughed out loud, gripping Avery by the shoulder and pulling her in for a hug. They seemed to be locked in a deep―private―conversation for a while, and I felt myself questioning once again whether uncle Zeke was really an uncle at all.
   "I second that," Mason smiled. "Please don't do that again. Watching that happen to you was... Kind of awful."
    "You don't know the half of it," I said, my mouth pulling up at the sides. "But I'm glad to be out. I love your Mom, but I don't really agree with her eccentric fashion choices."
   Mason laughed, his hand finding mine. For a moment we didn't say anything, and then, as if a switch had been turned on, we both snatched our hands away.
   "How did you do that?" Mason asked, eyes wide.
   "I have no idea!" I scrabbled for his hand once again, squeezing tight. "I can actually touch you... I can actually feel you."

 

 

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Publication Date: 07-09-2013

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