Tessa:



Is that another group of people coming to look for my dead body? That’s, like, the third this week. Usually they’ve been sending three a year. Are they that desperate to locate my withering away body?

Three boys go inside the old Chalk Mountain mansion, my house. They go inside the house where I lived at for nineteen years. It was the very same house that I was killed at.

If I could feel anger, I’d be madder than a volcano erupting. How dare they?! Of course, only a boy would do that. A girl wouldn’t dare go any where near all that dust that’s crawling around, dying to eat their pretty little dresses. One look at that house, my house, they would die of fright.

As I thought this, I found myself in the foyer, waiting for the boys to come back. Let’s just wait a little longer. Not like I’ve been waiting over a hundred years to avenge my death.

One of the boys’s shifted their weight to the opposite leg, his right leg. He brushed his long brunette hair out of his hazel green eyes. The boy muttered something, something about how he didn’t like this house.

Whatever this boy does was the easiest to detect. The other boys’ movements was easy to detect, but it wasn’t very specific. But why was this boy so different?

The stairs creaked loudly as weight was applied. I jerked my head up and saw the boy and his friends. The other two boys were staring at me, with their mouths hanging open. The other boy kept a straight face, which disappointed me greatly. However, he was violently shaking…



Andrew:



Who is this girl? Why is she here? This house is supposed to be deserted! But…I can’t tell her to go. She should stay here…with me. I mean us!

Her long silver hair that had not a hair out of place, ended at her waist. Her pale blue eyes, that looked grey, trembled violently. She was smiling, which showed her perfectly straight set of white teeth. There was something about her (Perhaps how she was twitching) that made it seem like she was forcing herself to smile…

“Hello, there.” She said, slightly bowing. Sam and Brad just stood there, starting to drool.

I nodded at her. “Andrew” I said. The girl smiled bigger.

“Tessa”, she said happily, her forehead creasing, “What’s wrong with those two?”

“Nothing” I muttered, turning around and walking away, towards the stairs.

I must get away from her, I thought. Forget that she ever came here. She’s probably not even that useful, especially since she’s a girl. Girls can’t do anything very useful.

You know you’re lying to yourself, I heard the voice in the back of my head say. You like the girl, more than you think.

I stood there, frozen at my thoughts. This thought scared me, and I had the sudden craving to rip my brain out. Why? So I can get away from all this pain…this torture…



Tessa:



How strange… I wonder why he left in such a rush, like he was in terrible pain. Did I do something wrong?

Perhaps this was just too much for him to deal with. I mean… Come on, maybe he was just freaking out. There was a lot to take in. Meeting a girl that mysteriously came into a locked mansion is not very common. At least… I think and hope so… But, I never…

There was a pain, a pain that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. This pain was exactly like a panther’s claw, pouncing and then digging into my heart. That is, if I had a heart.

I knew what this pain wanted, right off the back. It wanted me to find that man who had murdered me and my opportunity was staring at me. It happened to be drooling.

But which one would be my target, my victim? It was either the serious looking blonde with the pretty blue eyes or the dopey looking black headed with chocolate brown eyes?

Duh… the dopey one.

So while the two boys were in their trances (or whatever you want to call it), I slipped into Dopey’s body. It was very easy to take control of. Soon enough, I was able to learn the entire boy’s past. I guess I should be calling the boy by his real name, Sam.

I exited his body, having to wait several days before the effect took place and finished. I did not find the idea of being a boy very pleasant, but it was better than being a ghost, wondering around without a purpose. I can not explain how horrible it felt to be so useless when I knew being alive would come sooner than I thought. Thirteen days to be exact.

Oh, how I couldn’t wait.



Andrew:



Something was wrong with Sam, something terribly wrong. Brad and I were both sure of it. He didn’t act like this normally. Oh not at all. He acted like he was… a ghost.



Lately, Sam had been talking about how death was much better than living. To him, death was the only way to end depression (which happened to everyone). Happiness was just a feeling that made depression worse, a whole lot worse. Depression, apparently, was the true ‘happiness’ and it always will be.

Sam even looked different. His skin color was as white as a sheet. There was a lock of silver hair where it had once been pure black. Even his normal chocolate brown eyes were slowly coming to a pale blue, the same color as Tessa’s eyes.

“Listen, Andrew,” Brad said, scaring me down to the bone, “Are we going to look for this dead body or are we going to sit there, half dead, worrying about Sam?

Oh yes, the body we were supposed to be looking for. Some hundred years ago or so, a girl was murdered in her bedroom and her body was hidden. John Alcove, the man who killed the girl, was found dead, out by Granbury, Texas. Still can’t find the stinking body.

“So you’re looking for a corpse?” Tessa asked curiously, appearing out of no where, “Maybe I could help.” She smiled at this thought. Her left eye was twitching.

So that was that. By noon, we were looking under every rock that could conceal a dead person’s body… with Tessa.

Strangely, that didn’t bother me. I had slowly grown to liking Tessa, more than just a friend. It also seemed like Tessa was showing the same affection.

“Andrew!” Brad yelled, “Come over here, please.”

I came over to where Brad was, followed by a nervous Tessa and a zombie Sam. There was something wrong with Tessa, especially her eyes that had turned blood red.

“Found the body, Andrew.” Brad said, his voice a little shaken.

Sure enough, there was a dead body on the ground, about a nineteen year old girl, who looked a lot like Tessa.

We were in a small cave on the side of Chalk Mountain. I had passed by it earlier, thinking it was just a wall that was part of this ghost town’s mountain. Apparently, the cave had been covered by a piece of tarp.

“Tessa” I said angrily, turning to face her, “Why does this girl look like you?”

Tessa jerked back, worried written on her face, but said, “She doesn’t look like me. Oh no sir, not at all.”

“So, Tessa”, I said as calmly as can be, “What’s your last name?”

“My last name?” Tessa asked, snorting in the process, “What does my name have to do with this?”

“Just answer the question,” I demanded, losing my patience, “And while you’re at it, today’s date too.”













Tessa:



How was this happening? My body couldn’t have been found. Sam’s body wouldn’t be strong enough to take me in. Only three days have passed since I started the process. Let the secret out or lie to Andrew?

“May” I said sullenly. Andrew scribbled something down.

“Today’s date, Miss. May?” Andrew asked, half smiling.

I glared at him, not believing this was happening, but also because I couldn’t remember what year we were in. Was it 1736 or 1836?

“1736, February 9.”

Andrew looked at me as if I was a child that had just been caught stealing candy. He wrote something else down, while nodding toward Brad.

“You should be aware that the year is 1837, January 21.” Brad said, trying to hold back a chuckle.

“You can’t be over a hundred years old and have such a pretty face.” Andrew told me, sounding disappointed.

If you blinked, you missed the smile I gave to Andrew.



Ex Sergeant Nicholas ‘Nick’ Patel



Such a pity for a girl like Tessa, to be dragged away, especially since she’s one that does not give up. Never has under my account. Well, at least she can finally rest in peace. Hope they give her a tombstone and burry her body after they’re done using it for whatever they need with it.

It’s so sad trying to see a ghost go after their murderer, when they don’t know if he is dead or not. So sad. Again, such a pity.

I even still have the letter with Tessa’s instructions”



1736, FEBRUARY 9



A scream was heard and not a single person is around that can help, not even a single living soul. Blood was splattered throughout a pretty young girl’s room. A pale white corpse hit the ground with a thud. A very loud thud actually, if only someone was around to hear it.



What a horrible way to end, some might say. Because we take pity of people (even though we really shouldn’t) we give them a chance. Not a very fair chance, but hey, that’s what we’re supposed to do. Who said life was ever fair?



Find a boy about your age to steal. Steal his soul and merge with his. Using his body as a host, find your murderer and let him know what it feels like to be you.







Signed,

John Alcove