I cannot fathom why my parents would send me away, of course it was for my own good, or as they say “to achieve the best learning experience possible” but how was sending me to a house in the middle of nowhere going to help me, I can learn about the west in a book, I shouldn’t have to be driving down these deserted roads to find the house in which I will be staying for the next year.

Then came the moment I dreaded the most, I saw the house. I knew now it was too late to back down, so I revved the engine and drove the last few hundred yards to the unknown.

Now that I’m up close to this, I wouldn’t say house but old mansion, my heart thudded in unwanted anticipation. The curtain on the fourth floor swayed slowly, but I thought nothing of it. I hastily ran my hands through my hair and added a new coat of lip gloss, my mother always said that first impressions were important, so I tried to make it look as if I didn’t just drive 13 hours.

I made my way up to the shade of the deck and positioned myself in front of the light blue door, with chips of paint hanging precariously off. I lifted my hand to knock and show my arrival but before my fist could make contact with the door, it opened and in its place was an all-American boy with disheveled brown hair and electric blue eyes that melted in to mine. To put it simply he was gorgeous in his faded jeans, bare feet and a shirt that was carelessly thrown on, he made me catch my breath.

“Hello, I’m Shane, the house leader…you must be Blaire.” He said his voice raspy but yet smooth and full of authority.

Looking at him all I could muster up was a silly little “hi”

“Come on in?” Shane questions.

I can detect hesitancy in the way he asks me. The theory is proven when I see his eyes for the first time dart away from mine. Except the problem is I’m irrevocably drawn to him, so I venture in to the astoundingly homely house. I waited for him as he went out to fetch my luggage –what a gentleman.

“The others will join us within the next week; I believe there is rough weather up north so the planes can’t fly.”

“Oh.”

I did my best to hide my smile. The thought of saying a week alone with this mysterious and captivating boy was sure to make any normal girl excited.

“Well…uh, I guess you should settle in, and prepare yourself for bed, let me show you to your room.” He gestured to the stairway bringing my luggage along. I followed in hot pursuit.

We ended up in a room with such old beauty it was breathtaking. It was painted a yellow, with curtains draping to the floor. In the corner was a vanity and a chandelier above glowing bright as day. In the middle of the room was a wrought iron bed and a canopy cascading down above it.

“Wow- this, this is just beautiful, thank you!” I smiled at him with so much compassion running through me.

“Ah, she speaks more than a word at a time.” Shane says inquisitively, with crooked smile lighting up his face as he went on, “this was my grandmother’s room a while back; this was her house as well, before we inherited it.” He finishes up with a thoughtful look around.

“Well it was definitely built for a queen because I sure feel like a princess.”

“Anything for a princess, madam” He mimicked.


I found myself looking at Shane, well more like gazing and I couldn’t help but see his pale handsome face grow dark, something was nagging at him

“What is it Shane?” I questioned instantly worried.

“I know I am going to sound crazy…” He runs his hand through is chaotic hair leaving it sticking out in all directions and he pressed his palms to his eyes, looking shrunken and weak. “I am not supposed to tell you this, it’s already getting angry, but I want to look out for you, I think, no, I know you should know.” He finally lifts his head from his hands, he looks weak his normally bright eyes look faded and distressed like he has seen something that should have never been seen.

“Go on.”

“There is something here with us, and it’s not one of us.”

“Oh, did someone arrive before me?”

“Theoretically, yes.”

“Theoretically?”

“I’m not sure how to come out and say this so hear it goes… there is a ghost, it’s haunting me and this house and well, I can’t defeat it. I never wanted to bring others in to this, but my mother thought it would be a great opportunity and I couldn’t tell her about this.” As he went on I could see his eyes deepen with remorse. “I want to look out for you, I like you. So please just if anything happens walk away or if you don’t do that come to me I can deal with it, I’m just three doors down on the right.” With that he tucked his chin in to his neck and look down all the way out until I heard his door slam, and then I heard nothing at all.

That night I lay tucked in to my new bed, as hard as I tried my mind kept going over what Shane had said to me. Is he crazy? No, he couldn’t be there was something so whole hearted about him, but does that mean I believe him? No, I don’t believe in ghosts, do I? With that, I drifted in to a deep sleep, but only for a bit.

I woke with the sound of what sounded like screeching. My ears, they burned, the sound was piercing and it wouldn’t let up. I covered my ear and ran to the door my hand was about to clasp the old brass knob when the door launched open…
Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Was what I was seeing real, or figment of my imagination? If it was, was Shane right? Before me was a transparent lady, her eyes were holes of darkness and wrath. Her midnight black hair was splayed out behind her, like there was a wind slamming against her, but from what I feel there was nothing, no breeze at all. I looked her up and down she was wearing a dress that looked almost like a bed sheet that was fitted to her frail body, and the weirdest thing of all was that she was levitated off the ground, her feet were easily three feet off the ground making her body fill up the doorway. I was so horribly captivated by the way this ghastly creature looked that I didn’t see her lifting her pale boney finger up and directing it straight at me. I saw her lips slowly part; she was going to say something, I could tell, except I was waiting for the wrong thing. Suddenly a sound came out of her that was anything but human, it was worse than the noise that had woken me up. I backed up until my back was up against the wall, and she was hastily approaching. Where was Shane, he said he knew what to do, right?

My prayer was answered right then, I saw Shane stealthy sneak up behind her. In his hand was what looked like baby powder mixed with water in a glass bottle. My heart thudded, my breath was caught in my throat. I didn’t know weather to break down in sobs or scream, so I did nothing I just stood there emotionless looking at the only eyes I knew and holding tight to them, I just kept looking at Shane.
The inhuman ‘thing’ came towards be her eyes of darkness scanning me, I knew it at that moment this was the end that I was ordained to this fate, me facing something I never imagined, with the possibility of never surviving. As I reminisced on my short, doomed life, the extraordinary happened, the ‘thing’ hovering me faded in to mist, just floating away and all the noise dying down to nothing except the now empty glass bottle rolling aimlessly on the ground. I lifted my heads from my knees to see Shane right above of me, his eyes full of sorrow and pain. His jaw was clenched tight, and a tendon was sticking out of his neck, his fists were clenched at his sides, it almost looked like he was in pain too.
“Don’t be sad Shane, we got her right? You saved me!” I tried to rejoice but failed miserably.

“Blaire just shut up!” His voice was ragged, and sharp like glass.
My head snapped up I felt like I had just been slapped, I didn’t understand.

“I’m- I’m sorry?”
“Don’t apologize. You don’t deserve this! She was going to kill you, you knew that right? Did you? I brought you in to this, I risked you life for educational purposes!” He sneered.

“It’s my fault too, you warned me and I didn’t leave, I stayed! She’s gone now, we’re fine.”
“That’s what you think, what I threw on her was like a sleeping gas, it works for a certain amount of time, she will be up and about soon enough. I want you to know that you have to go now, that she’s not done, she has never been that bad, and she has never been able to fully show herself until now. Now she’s angry! The stupidest thing of all is I thought she was gone, but obviously not. Want to hear the worst of it?”
I didn’t respond I just stared, waiting.
“I told you my grandmother had passed away and we inherited this house, well that’s not true, this ghost killed her. I already sound crazy so here it goes…and her soul is still stuck in this house, this ‘thing’ won’t let her move on, but my grandmothers soul has been telling me to leave for quite a while now, but I haven’t listened.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I shuffled to him and gently put my arms around him in a comforting hug. He was stiff at first but slowly he gave in and wrapped his arms around me, letting me comfort him. I could feel sobs racking his shoulders but I didn’t say anything I just let him do his own thing. We were like this for a while, trying to forget about everything that happed, and it almost worked, until the windows were opening and closing and the lights flickered and the angry wind swept through the house once again. That was when we pulled apart.
“Shane no matter what you say were leaving, were not putting each other in danger.”
Surprisingly he nodded.

We made our way down the stairs, I could feel a cool gust of wind at my neck, she was coming, and I don’t know how but I could just tell that she was getting stronger. We ran out the house as fast as our feet could take us and jumped in to the car, except the problem was the keys were inside and neither of us felt obligated to run back in to the death match. We simultaneously jumped out of the car and turned to run toward the street. Except that’s when Shane stopped me and said…


“I’m coming back, I’m not letting anyone else suffer, and I’m going to defeat her.”

With that I nodded and replied coolly “And I’m coming too.”

No more words were exchanged when he grabbed my hand and we ran off, ran away from the house that was alive, we ran for our lives, we ran in to the moonlight hand and hand, and we were determined to come back together and win, hand and hand.