by Amy Cross
“Will she just be trapped here forever, always trying to hide from Mildred? Are we actually going to help her, or are we just trying to make it so that we don't see the problem?”
“I'm not entirely sure that we can help the child,” Ernest told her. “If we knew where to find her body, we might be able to do something, but it's hard to believe that we'd have much luck. After all, Mildred searched high and low and found nothing. That's what makes this all so difficult to understand. If the girl died on the property, then what happened to her body?”
“We can't just consign Annie to eternity being pursued by that woman,” Sally told him. “It's wrong.”
“Perhaps, but I'll say this again, I don't know how to help her. We can't win every battle, my dear.” He took a deep breath. “But we can undo what you've done tonight, and we can at least make sure that the living are protected from Mildred's anger.”
“We can't save the world,” Matt said. “Sally, let's just get this done.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him, but at the last moment she realized that he was right. Looking around, she knew that they couldn't rip the pub apart in search of the dead girl's body, and she also knew that Annie had shown no sign that she wanted to reveal the location of her final resting place. Even though she hated the idea of leaving the girl at the mercy of Mildred Weaver, Sally finally turned to Ernest as she accepted that they'd hit a dead end.
“Let's set the spirit board up,” Ernest said as he shuffled to the table and took a seat. “Just the way you did it before will be fine, there's no need for anything fancy.”
Still looking around in case she spotted any sign of Annie, Sally headed over to join him.
“I should have asked her when I had the chance,” she said, unable to hide the sense of sadness in her voice. “I should have realized.”
“Sit down, my dear,” Ernest said, patting the seat of the next chair along. “Please.”
As she and Matt took their positions, Sally looked at the spirit board and thought about how eager she'd been all those hours earlier; she'd never seriously considered the possibility that the board might be dangerous, and now her friend was dead and she'd seen final, incontrovertible proof that ghosts were real. In just a matter of hours, her entire world had been turned upside down, and she'd failed to get the one thing she'd been after in the first place. She hadn't made contact with Tommy.
“Everybody touch the marker,” Ernest said calmly.
“Have you done this before?” Matt asked.
“Maybe once or twice,” he replied with a faint smile. “Usually with more conventional boards than this one. Come on, let's get started.”
They each placed a fingertip on the marker, and then Sally and Matt waited for Ernest to take the lead.
“I can't believe we're doing this,” Matt muttered. “This has been the craziest night.”
“Spirits,” Ernest said, watching the board keenly, “I'm afraid we must take our leave of you. Whatever has transpired tonight, I hope you will understand that nobody acted with malice. Nobody sought to harm anyone. Two worlds mixed tonight, worlds that should stay separate, and -”
Before he could finish, they all heard a faint bumping sound from the far side of the room.
“Stay focused,” Ernest told Sally and Matt. “This won't work as well if you're distracted.”
“I'm focused,” Matt replied. “Believe me, I've never been more focused on anything in my entire life.”
“Spirits, we bid you farewell,” Ernest continued. “We are not -”
Suddenly a brief cry rang out from somewhere upstairs.
“That's her!” Sally gasped, getting to her feet.
“Put your finger back on the marker,” Ernest said firmly. “We're so close now.”
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Sally tried to follow them as they hurried across the floor of the room directly above.
“It's Annie,” she said cautiously. “Mildred must be close to catching her again.”
“Please,” Ernest said, “you must -”
Another bump broke the silence, and this time Sally looked over at the door to the cellar.
“I don't get it,” she said after a few seconds. “You guys are hearing this as well, aren't you?”
“I'm telling you,” Ernest said, “you must sit down immediately. Every second that passes is another second that the task becomes harder. You can't do anything to help Annie or Mildred. All you can do is close the session so that the world of the living is no long affected by these ghosts.”
“She must be terrified,” Sally said, before hearing another thud from the cellar door. She looked over, and this time she saw that a piece of wood had appeared on the floor. “What the hell is that?” she asked as she hurried over.
“Sally, get back here!” Matt called out.
Reaching down, Sally picked up the chunk of wood, which turned out to be nothing more than a rotten little lump. She reached through and switched the light on, and then she looked down the steps just in time to see another piece of wood slide into view.
“Hurry!” Ernest shouted.
“Something's happening,” she replied. “It's like -”
Before she could say another word, the piece of wood at the bottom of the stairs began to turn, until its jagged edge was pointing into the cellar itself.
“It's like a message,” she continued, as she began to realize what was happening. “I think someone's trying to tell us something about the cellar!”
“I've been down there,” Matt reminded her, as they all heard more footsteps coming from somewhere upstairs. “Sally, this isn't the time to start exploring. We need to help Ernest shut this whole thing off right now!”
“I'm going to take another look,” she replied, as she began to make her way down the stairs. “I'll only be a couple of minutes, but I have to give Annie one last chance. I think she might be trying to tell us something!”
“Sally, no!” Matt shouted, and then he sighed as he turned back to Ernest. “Sorry, I guess she's pretty stubborn. She still thinks she can help Annie before we end this madness.”
“I can feel Mildred's presence,” Ernest replied, looking around the room for a moment before glancing up at the ceiling. “She's close, and she knows that we're here. Most likely, she also knows exactly what we're trying to do. If she thinks that we're threatening her in any way, she'll try to stop us, so it would be wise to proceed with haste.”
“Exactly how many times have you done this, again?” Matt asked.
Ernest turned to him.
“Too many times,” he said firmly. “That doesn't matter now. What matters is that we end this session with the spirit board before anyone else gets hurt.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Come on, Annie,” Sally whispered, standing in the cellar and looking around, waiting for another sign, “you wanted me to come down here. Why?”
Hearing a bumping sound, she turned to her left. Several kegs were piled up in the corner, and for a moment Sally felt as if – out of the corner of her eye – she'd spotted a hint of movement.
Cautiously, she made her way across the cellar, approaching the kegs and keeping an eye out for the ghostly little girl.
“It's okay,” she continued. “You met me before. You remember that, don't you? We were upstairs, and you gave me a message. I didn't understand it at the time, but I think I do now. Annie, are you trying to show me where your body's hidden? Is that what you want? Do you want it to be found after all these years?”
Reaching the corner, she looked behind the kegs, but all she saw was an empty space. A moment later, however, a spade fell down against the floor. Startled, Sally turned, just in time to see the spade spin around until it was pointing toward the opposite corner.
“Over there?” she said out loud, still hoping to get Annie to actually speak. “Is that where you want me to look?”
She waited for a moment, in case she heard an answer, and then she walked over to the other
corner. All she saw was a bare wall, with a few bricks missing near the top. She looked down at the floor and saw a large crack, but there was nowhere for anybody to hide. Frustrated, she realized that the little girl was probably still terrified of attracting Mildred's attention.
“You know,” she continued, “if you want me to do something, you could just say it, instead of offering me all these vague clues.”
Suddenly something bumped against her from behind, pushing her into the corner. She immediately turned to look, and for a fraction of a second she thought she could hear footsteps, but silence quickly fell again.
“Annie, is this where I'm supposed to look? I don't see anything, but is this where your body's hidden?”
Realizing that she wasn't going to get a proper reply, she turned to look at the corner again. There was really nowhere to search, although after a few seconds she looked up at the missing bricks and tried to figure out whether a child could ever have fitted through that space. The idea seemed improbable, but after a moment she realized that there might just be a chance. She looked around and spotted a chair over by some of the kegs; after pulling the chair closer, she climbed up and began to examine the gap in the wall. Cobwebs covered the empty space, but after moving those aside she peered a little closer.
All she saw, however, was darkness.
Remembering the flashlight at the top of the steps, she climbed off the chair and hurried back across the room.
***
“What's taking her so long?” Matt muttered, looking toward the cellar door again but quickly realizing that there was no point calling out to Sally. “She's never going to find anything.”
He turned to Ernest.
“It's getting really late now,” he pointed out. “Do we need to get this done by the time the sun comes up, or something like that?”
“Ideally, yes,” Ernest replied, staring at him with a curiously calm expression.
“That still gives us about an hour,” Matt said, although he couldn't help looking over his shoulder again, still waiting for Sally to return. “She's wasting time down there. Do you think I should go and make her come back up?”
“You certainly could.”
Matt looked back over at him. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but at that moment he realized that Ernest suddenly seemed different somehow, a little stilted, as if he'd become more troubled than before.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked.
“Me?” Ernest hesitated. “I'm fine, although I must confess that I'm a little startled by the sight of Annie Ashton.”
“By the...”
Matt's voice trailed off for a moment.
“Where?” he asked.
“Right next to you.”
Matt opened his mouth to ask again what he meant, but then – turning to his left – he realized that someone was indeed standing just beyond his shoulder. He turned all the way, and then he let out a shocked gasp as he found himself face-to-face with the dead little girl.
Suddenly a thud hit the floor of the room above, causing Annie to turn and run. Matt watched as she raced around the fireplace and dropped down to hide behind the brick edge, and then he looked back over at Ernest.
“She's truly remarkable,” Ernest said, his voice filled with wonder. “I've seen ghosts before, but never one that's quite as clear and vivid as this one. There's so much I want to ask her, although I know that this isn't exactly the right moment. She's astonishing, though. She's so... present.”
Another thud hit the floor above.
“She's not the only one,” Matt pointed out as he looked up toward the ceiling, and a moment later he heard the unmistakable sound of somebody stepping out onto the landing. “I think Mildred knows that something's up.”
As those words left his lips, he heard a series of creaks coming from the hallway, and he realized that Mildred was slowly making her way down the stairs.
“Sally?” he called out, looking over toward the cellar door again. “I don't mean to rush you, but now would be a really good time to think about coming back up!”
He turned to Ernest again.
“I don't even know if she can hear me down there.”
“Be a good sport,” Ernest replied, “and go and fetch her, will you?” The footsteps were still moving down the stairs, getting closer. “I've never been much of a one for panicking, but I must admit that this is cutting things rather fine.”
Matt turned and looked at Annie for a moment, watching as she tried to squeeze herself further out of sight. Then, realizing that the footsteps had reached the hallway, he got to his feet and turned to go over to the cellar door. Before he managed to get any further, however, he saw Mildred Weaver's ghostly figure step into view over by the far end of the bar.
In an instant, he remembered the sensation of her cold, dead hands wrapped around his throat. Pulling back against the wall, he felt the fear starting to tighten in his chest.
“There she is,” Ernest said, before swallowing hard. “I have to say, she really hasn't changed much.” He turned to Matt. “Would you mind hurrying up, young man?”
For a few seconds, Matt was frozen in place by the sight of Mildred's ghost. Finally, however, he began to edge toward the cellar door, just as Mildred took another step forward. The air all around her became noticeably colder.
Suddenly Annie raced out from behind the bricks and ducked down behind one of the tables in the far corner of the room, desperately trying to stay out of sight.
“Sally!” Matt yelled. “Hurry!”
“There's no time,” Ernest said, as he re-positioned the board. “Get back here, I have another idea!”
Matt hesitated, before making his way over to the table, where Ernest had already placed a fingertip on the marker.
“You said two people wouldn't be enough,” Matt reminded him.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Ernest pointed out. “It might work. Or it might at least slow her down.”
Matt reached out and touched the marker.
“Spirit, it's time to say goodbye,” Ernest said firmly as Mildred made her way closer. “Let's get this over with.”
He and Matt moved the marker over to the word Farewell and waited. Mildred walked calmly to the board and looked down, her expression filled with the most pitiful degree of contempt. For a moment the only sound in the room came from logs crackling in the fireplace.
“Is... is it working?” Matt asked, staring at the marker, too terrified to look up at Mildred's face. “Why isn't anything happening?”
He glanced at Ernest, hoping that the old man knew what he was doing.
“Spirit,” Ernest said again. “Goodbye.”
“At least it's not a definite no this time,” Matt pointed out, allowing himself a glimmer of hope. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Goodbye,” Ernest continued. “Spirit, this can go on no longer. We're leaving now. Goodbye.”
Again, they waited. The air all around the table was so cold now, and Matt couldn't help looking over at the far corner and watching as Annie Ashton's ghost tried to hide behind some of the chairs. He wanted to help her, but he knew that their only hope was to use the spirit board and end the session forever.
“Okay,” Matt said, “maybe -”
Suddenly the entire board flew off the table, breaking free and crashing into the fireplace, where it landed in the flames.
“Is that bad?” Matt asked, waiting for Ernest to say something, before finally looking up at Mildred Weaver's ghost, just as she looked toward the cellar door and then faded from sight. “What are we supposed to do now?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“How could you ever fit through here?” Sally muttered, standing on the chair and aiming the flashlight through the hole at the top of the wall. “How could you even climb up?”
As she reached her right arm further through the gap and tilted the flashlight, she began to realize that while it seemed improbable that Annie might have squeezed her way
into the space behind the wall, she might actually have been able to manage. The space would have been a good hiding place, and it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that Mildred would never have thought to look in such an unlikely spot.
Standing on tiptoes, Sally craned her neck to get a better view. Finally, just as she was about to give up, she realized she could just about see something white down in the gap.
“Is that you?” she whispered, adjusting the flashlight again. “Annie, is -”
Suddenly she let out a gasp as she realized that she could see one side of a skull, with wisps of pale hair still clinging to some patches on the top. Shocked, she almost stepped straight back off the chair, but she forced herself to keep looking as she tilted the flashlight again and saw that the bottom of the skull seemed to be caught on something.
Hearing a shuffling sound, she looked over her shoulder.
“I think I found you,” she said, even though she couldn't see Annie anywhere. “I'm not going to leave you trapped here forever with that woman, I just...”
Looking over at the far end of the cellar, she spotted various tools.
“I'm going to get you out of here,” she continued, before climbing down from the chair and hurrying over to take a look. “I just need to figure out how.”
Pulling various spades and trowels aside, she finally found a sledgehammer. She hauled it onto her shoulder and rushed back to the corner, and then she stared at the wall for a moment as she tried to figure out how she was going to break through. She knew that even if she succeeded, she'd still have to get the girl's body out, but she told herself that there'd be time to come up with the next part of the plan later. She briefly considered calling for Matt's help, although as she looked at the wall she realized that it seemed to be crumbling in places, which gave her hope.
“Here goes nothing.”
After raising the sledgehammer, she swung it with all her strength, sending the head crashing against the wall.
Immediately, several bricks cracked and some small chunks crumbled and fell to the floor. Realizing that she actually had a chance, Sally swung again, and this time she was able to dislodge an even larger section of the wall. She swung the sledgehammer several more times, until finally she was able to see a section of the skeleton, at which point – worried that she might smash the girl's body – she leaned the sledgehammer against the wall and used her bare hands to start pulling some more of the loose bricks aside.
