Gone Ghost

by Sara C. Roethle

Still no reply.

  Chase tugged on my hand until I stood, then started walking forward again. He was right. There was no use standing around in hopes that we'd find Nix and Sam. They were probably already headed in another direction, searching for a way out of the dusty fog.

  We walked on for what seemed like hours, but was actually no more than twenty minutes. I felt like I wasn't getting enough air in my lungs, yet there was little I could do about it.

  Chase suddenly jerked on my hand hard, nearly pulling my shoulder out of its socket. At first I thought he was trying to hurry me forward, but then he jerked again so violently that I lost my hold on him. I stumbled forward, reaching out with both hands to find him, but there was nothing there. I was alone in the near darkness, barely able to breath.

  Something shoved me in the chest so hard I fell onto my back. I couldn't hear anyone approach, but someone grabbed my feet and started dragging me. Realizing that the person wasn't there to help me, I began to struggle, but it's hard to free yourself with your feet lifted off the ground, and rough soil skinning your hands and elbows.

  I tried in vain to brace my hands against the ground, but whoever had my feet kept tugging and my hands fell out from underneath me. The back of my head landed on a rock, causing stars to explode behind my raw, itchy eyelids. I felt warm blood seeping into my hair. I tried to look at whoever had my feet, but my eyes were closing against my will. In a last ditch effort, I used all of my strength to summon a ball of fire, then threw it in the direction of my feet. The lower half of my body dropped to the ground, but I couldn't seem to move. As I laid prone in the dirt, my eyelids finished their slow journey downward. Once they were shut, they refused to open again.

  I woke to the sound of someone calling my name, but it was distant, like someone was calling from a far away cliff. I took a shaky breath, realizing that the dust was gone. In fact, my lungs felt fine. I sat up and looked at my surroundings. I was no longer in the slimy, dark area of the dreamworld. Instead, I was enveloped in a thick mist, but it was a pleasant mist, like being in a sauna, only it wasn't hot. It wasn't cold either. In fact, I couldn't feel the temperature at all.

  I held up my hand in front of my face, flexing my fingers hesitantly, wondering if I was dreaming. I raised the back of my head from the soft soil, then moved my hand to touch the base of my skull. No blood.

  I sat up with a start. The scrapes that I'd just incurred on my hands and elbows were gone, as were all of my previous injuries. I had to be dreaming.

  I sensed movement behind me and jumped to my feet. I felt like I should have been dizzy, but I felt fine. A dalmatian sat a few feet in front of me, panting happily. The white parts of his fur were squeaky clean, making his black spots stand out in contrast. He looked up at me, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was smiling. Since I was apparently in a dream, I really didn't know any better.

  He barked once and I jumped as the sound echoed around us. It sounded like we were in some sort of cave, though the mist was too thick to see any walls.

  Once I slowed the racing of my heart, I glared at him, at least I thought it was a him. “I really hope this isn't some sort of premonition,” I said to the dog, “because I have no idea how to interpret being in a misty cave with a dalmatian.”

  He wagged his tail and barked again, then stood and trotted off.

  “Wait!” I called as I began to jog after him.

  Though the mist obscured anything in the distance, I could see enough to tell I wasn't going to run into any walls or trip on anything. The dog was a foggy shape running ahead of me.

  I felt oddly light as I ran, and my lungs didn't burn with exertion. There was what seemed like daylight ahead of us, probably the cave opening. The dog barked again, but kept running.

  I was almost to the exit when something grabbed the back of my shirt. I had so much momentum going that my feet and arms continued forward as my upper body was held in place. Whatever held my shirt released its grasp, and I fell to the ground, landing solidly on my back, knocking the breath out of me.

  I felt the first real sensation I'd felt since waking up in the cave. I stayed on the ground motionless, slowly relearning to breathe, as I listened to the sound of the dog's toenails clicking on the stone floor, returning him to my side.

  I glared up at him as he panted above me. “You better not have had anything to do with that,” I rasped.

  He barked again.

  “Get out of here, you mongrel,” a voice said from my other side.

  I recognized the voice that I hoped was speaking to the dog and not me. This strange dream suddenly had me experiencing a whole new range of emotions.

  “Dad?” I questioned weakly.

  He came to stand over me, looking just like he had when he was alive with his blond hair pushed back, and his bright green eyes staring at me intently.

  I would have previously thought that it was impossible to pass out when you were already dreaming, but that's exactly what I did.

  15

  Something warm was on top of my lap. I reached a hand out blindly to find soft fur and little, floppy ears. I was leaning against something hard, and I felt cold. Extremely cold. I forced my eyes open to find I was still in the cave, with the dalmatian resting his head in my lap. The mist seemed to have subsided somewhat, but I still couldn't see the other end of the cavern.

  I looked to my left at the presence I felt there. My dad looked back at me sadly, sitting with his back against the wall next to me.

  “Are you real?” I asked. “I had a dream about you before, and I still wonder whether or not I really spoke to you.”

  “Both were real,” he replied as he let out a shaky breath, “but only one was a dream.”

  I scrunched my eyebrows at him in confusion. “I don't understand.”

  He put his hand on top of mine, yet resting on the dog's head. “You're dead, Xoe.”

  I looked around the cavern in confusion, then back to his worried face. “No, that doesn't make sense.”

  “You were killed in the dreamworld,” he explained. “That demon girl shoved you, and you hit your head on a rock. The blow cracked your skull.”

  “Nix?” I questioned, still not fully grasping the situation. “Why would she shove me?”

  My dad scowled. “She's been working for your grandmother, terrorizing those witches to make them leave town. I don't think the girl intended to kill you though.”

  I wasn't so sure about that. “This wasn't the first time she attacked me,” I explained, “and Alexandria has tried to kill me a few times as well. That was obviously her goal.”

  My dad shook his head. “I don't think the girl knew that. She's a particularly viscous specimen, and I've no doubt she would have killed you right away if she thought that's what she was supposed to do. My guess is your grandmother hasn't been able to communicate with her, so she assumed you were to remain alive until your grandmother could enact whatever she had in store for you.”

  “So Alexandria had some sort of plan in motion before she died?” I questioned. “Like a backup plan?”

  He nodded. “That would be my guess. All I can tell for sure, is that she wanted you in the dreamworld. The stunt with the sink was to taunt you.”

  I took in what my dad was saying. “But Nix claimed Alexandria tortured her. She said that she knew information that Alexandria wanted.”

  My dad smiled softly. “Nix is a compulsive liar. There are many things about her and your grandmother that you are not aware of, but now is not the time for that.”

  I sighed. I felt like I should have been sad, or angry, or . . . something. I should have at least wanted more information about Nix, but it seemed oddly inconsequential. I shook my head, feeling numb. “Alexandria wanted me to die in the dreamworld, didn't she? I played right into her plan, twice.”

  He patted my shoulder. “I believe so. I was able to help you the first few times, but I have little power left. In the end, I couldn't save you.”

  “You w
ere watching the entire time?”

  He nodded. “I've been trying to protect you from her, but she's somehow connected herself to you. That connection gave her more power.”

  I shivered as I tried to come to terms with what he was telling me, and I for some reason remembered the voice that had called out to me. I felt a single tear slip down my face. “Chase found my body, didn't he? I heard him calling out.”

  My dad nodded again. “He's still with you now. I fear what your grandmother, or even Nix, might do.”

  “The witches will pull him out of the dreamworld soon,” I commented, glad that at least Chase was still alive. “Why did you stop me from running into the light?” I added.

  My dad gave me a half smile, but still looked sad. “If you had gone through that gateway, you would have moved on. I wanted to speak with you first.”

  “It's cold in here now,” I observed. “It wasn't before.”

  My dad nodded. “When you don't move on, you slowly begin to fade. The cold is an unfortunate side effect of that. I've been losing my grasp ever since I arrived in this place. Each time I helped you, I faded a bit more.”

  I began to cry. “So we're both just going to sit here and fade? Alexandria will win?” I looked down at the dog resting comfortably in my lap. “Did this dog die too, or what?”

  “The dog is your guide,” he answered, ignoring my first two questions. “He's here to lead you out when you're ready. My guide left me long ago.”

  I wiped the tears from my face. “Well I'm not going,” I stated. “If I'm still real in some way, I can still help my friends. If I'm going down, I'm taking Alexandria with me.”

  My dad offered me a genuine smile. “You always were stubborn beyond belief.”

  He stood and offered me a hand up. I gently shoved the dog out of my lap, then took his hand. It felt very real, but also cold, just like mine. I stood and was once again overcome with a feeling of lightness.

  “First, show me how to help Chase,” I requested. “The witches were going to give us several hours. I don't want anything to happen to him before they pull him out. After that, we'll get Alexandria.”

  My dad nodded, then closed his eyes. We began to fade out of existence in a cloud of gray smoke. At the last moment, the dog trotted over and butted his head against my free hand. He dissipated with us, then reappeared by my side in the dreamworld.

  We stood behind Chase as he shook my dead body, crying and begging me to wake up. I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to see us like we could see him. I went to crouch beside him anyway, placing my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

  He whipped around, looking confused, but when his eyes roved over the space I occupied, he looked right through me, then looked back to my dead body.

  I followed his gaze. It was strange seeing myself like that. It didn't really bother me for some reason, probably because the whole situation felt somehow fake. Maybe it would feel different once I came to terms with being dead.

  The dust in the area had lessened, but still obscured most of the scenery around us. I jumped back as green smoke came into existence near the head of my corpse.

  I calmed myself and stood straight as my grandmother appeared before us. My dad came to stand beside me, followed by the dalmatian. The dog let out a low growl as it eyed my grandmother.

  She looked down at it with a sneer. Her face was so startlingly similar to my own that it was strange to see her in comparison to my dead body. She wore the same emerald trench coat I'd seen her in when we were both alive.

  “You know,” she began smugly as she turned her green eyes up to me, “every moment you hang on to this life is another moment I have to hurt the ones you care about.”

  “I would think in this case you'd want to keep her around,” my dad answered for me. “Your hold on her is the only thing giving you power here.”

  Chase looked over his shoulder directly at us, almost as if he could hear us speaking.

  “Xoe?” he questioned.

  “Chase!” I exclaimed, elated that perhaps he'd heard or sensed us.

  My elation soon subsided as he shook his head and turned back to my body. “I won't leave you here,” he whispered. “When the witches pull you out, I'll take you with me.”

  I felt like I wanted to cry, but wasn't about to give my grandmother the satisfaction. I looked up to see her holding a glowing green sphere of energy in one hand. Her stance was cocky, with her hips jutted to the side and a taunting smile on her face. “He won't be leaving here,” she said as her smile turned into a grin.

  “Why are you so intent on hurting me?” I asked quickly, trying to delay whatever action she might take.

  She rolled her eyes. “You killed me.”

  “Actually I didn't,” I corrected, “and even if I did, you tried to kill me first.”

  She huffed in annoyance. “If you don't move on soon, I will kill him.”

  My dad stepped a little bit in front of me. “Why are you so intent on her moving on?” he asked suspiciously. “She's already dead. What would you stand to gain?”

  “Revenge,” she said simply, though a nervous shift in her gaze gave away the lie.

  “I know you better than that,” my dad countered. “You don't waste time on revenge. The only reason you would have gone to all of this trouble is if you had something to gain.”

  She glanced down at Chase again, then at my body. She held up the glowing sphere in threat, but I almost didn't notice. I was still hung up on the way she'd looked at my body. Almost . . . longingly. I suddenly understood her plan.

  “You want my body, don't you? You latched onto it when you died, but you couldn't take it over until I was out of it. You're still trying to complete what you started when we were all alive.”

  My dad gave me a look of respect for coming to the conclusion before he did, then turned his gaze back to Alexandria. “You need Xoe to move on before you can take over her body, and you're worried that the witches will take that chance away once they summon Chase.”

  My grandmother's face crumpled, but the moment of weakness was soon washed away by rage. “What does it matter!” she shouted. “You are both dead. The body is no good to either of you, and I will kill the boy if you do not let me have it.”

  Not ruffled by her outburst in the slightest, my dad went on. “How could you even do this? Possession is only temporary, and should only work on the living.”

  Alexandria's nerves seemed ready to snap. She glanced down at my body again, and I wouldn't have caught what she was looking at, except for the fact that it was shimmering with red light. The ring. There was something about the ring on my finger that we didn't know.

  My dad caught it at the same time that I did. “What did you do?” he asked slowly.

  Her lips snapped shut in a tight line. “She was wearing a broken ring,” she growled. “I fixed it.”

  “You attached yourself to that ring long before you died, didn't you?” my dad accused.

  Alexandria looked smug again as she pushed her long, white-blonde hair behind her shoulder. “One must plan for all contingencies. I knew there was a chance that one of you might kill me. I needed a backup plan.”

  “Could someone please explain to me what's going on?” I interrupted.

  My dad kept his gaze on my grandmother as he replied, “When she fixed your ring, she placed a piece of her soul, or being, or whatever you want to call it into the stone. That's what's keeping her in this form, not you. When you summoned a flame in the dust storm, you used her magic. That's how it worked. The magic in the ring was too small for you to do anything else.”

  I attempted to summon a flame into my palm then, and was pleased to see that I still could, even without the ring or my body. I smirked at my grandmother. “And here I'd thought you actually did something nice for me.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked nervously, glancing at the flame in my palm.

  Not wanting to give her a chance to stop me, I threw a ball of fi
re at my corpse, not caring if I destroyed it as long as I destroyed the ring as well. Alexandria might spare Chase now, but she'd probably kill everyone once she had a body again.

  I wasn't even sure if I had the power to burn my corpse, but my dad had more power when he'd first died, maybe I would still have some of mine.

  My grandmother threw her energy ball a split second later. The two forces collided mid-air, and ricocheted off each other. Chase ducked, shielding my corpse from harm. He couldn't see me, but he could see my magic.

  “Xoe!” he shouted as he sat up, looking around frantically for the source of what had exploded above him.

  I looked at my corpse and the offending ring again, then summoned another fireball. This time, Alexandria beat me to the punch and threw a ball of energy directly at Chase.

  Not really thinking about my actions, I did the only thing I could think of and threw myself at Chase's crouched form, just as he noticed the energy ball speeding toward him. I kind of went through him, but the momentum of my impact was enough to knock him out of the way.

  I crouched beside him and thought of the wall of fire I'd summoned the last time we were in the dreamworld. Orange and red flames shot from my upheld palms to envelope us in a fiery bubble.

  My grandmother screamed in frustration while my dad stood by helplessly. He'd obviously faded too much to use his magic. “Destroy the ring!” he shouted.

  The dalmatian barked furiously outside of the bubble, adding to the chaos of the moment.

  I looked around for my corpse, though maintaining our shield took most of my concentration. My eyes finally landed on it, only to find that it was only half inside our bubble. Where my flames met with my skin, they were repelled.

  Chase was panting and looking directly at me. “Xoe? How are you here?” he asked in disbelief.

  My eyes widened, but I didn't have the concentration to look at him fully. “You can see me?”

  I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

  “Chase,” I began trying to keep my voice level and encouraging. “You need to destroy the ring on my body's hand. It's what's keeping my grandmother here.”