3AM

by Amy Cross

  “Help!” Michael screamed, reaching up to him with a flaming hand. “Help me!”

  As Ellis stared down at Michael's burning body, a faint smile crossed his lips before he turned to look toward Rose.

  “Please God,” Rose whispered, “I don't even believe in you, but I swear I'll start if you get me out of here.”

  Slowly, Ellis took a step toward her.

  Feeling a strange sensation in her mouth, she spat another tooth into her hand.

  Ellis edged closer.

  Another tooth came loose.

  Another step.

  Another tooth.

  “Leave me alone!” Rose screamed, scrambling back until she reached the far corner. With tears in her eyes, she watched as Ellis made his way toward her. “Leave me alone,” she whimpered, before breaking into a coughing fit as thick smoke continued to fill the air.

  As he reached her, Ellis stopped for a moment.

  “This is nothing personal,” he said finally, his voice as dark as night, as if he hadn't spoken for many years. “I need to return to this world. The problem with the afterlife is that there's nobody left to kill.”

  Ducking past him, Rose almost fell as she ran past the desk and then turned to look back across the room.

  “Fuck,” she whispered, starting at the door and realizing that there was no way to get there. For a moment she tried to think of some other way out, but one entire side of the room was ablaze and with the rest of the ceiling starting to creak and hang low, she knew it was only a matter of time before the smoke and the flames got to her.

  “You'll be happy in the dark place,” Ellis continued, making his way slowly toward her with slow, creaking steps. “You can comfort yourself with the knowledge that your sacrifice will allow me to remain here.”

  Closing her eyes, Rose began to mouth a silent prayer.

  And then she heard someone sobbing.

  Opening her eyes again, she looked around, trying to work out where the noise was coming from. Crawling over to a nearby table, she pulled some sheets aside and finally saw to her shock that a young girl was curled up and crying.

  “What are you doing here?” Rose shouted.

  The girl turned to her with tears in her eyes. “Can you see me?” she asked.

  “Of course I can see you,” Rose replied, looking back across the burning room.

  “I'm not dead,” Beth continued, starting to crawl out from under the table. Grabbing Beth's arm, she seemed shocked that she was still part of the physical world. “I'm really not dead, am I?”

  “Not yet,” Rose told her, “but give it a minute or two...” Pausing, she finally realized that she only had one option. Grabbing the girl, she hauled her up and began to carry her across the burning, smoke-filled room until she reached the edge of the fire. The door was somewhere on the other side, but she had no idea if she could make it through, or whether she was simply going to run into an inferno.

  “Why do you run?” Ellis asked, reaching out toward her. “There's no reason to fear death. The dark place is just the area immediately beyond the barrier. If you give up on trying to get back through, you can go further toward the light.”

  “I knew I wasn't dead,” Beth whimpered, putting her arms around Rose's neck. “I knew it!”

  “Hang on,” Rose continued, bracing herself. “Don't start celebrating just yet.”

  With that, she rushed forward, racing into the flames until she slammed into the side of the door and bounced off. Hitting the frame, she stumbled forward and finally she found herself out in the foyer. With flames having spread out from the office, she ran over to the far wall and then set Beth down before patting down a few flames that had started burning on her own clothes.

  Above, the ceiling creaked ominously, as if the entire weight of Marshall Heights was threatening to crash down.

  “Where's my mum?” Beth asked, looking back toward the office. “Is she -” Stopping, she saw a dark figure stepping out into the foyer, and finally she screamed.

  Turning, Rose saw the figure of Ellis Hathaway watching them, but after a moment he seemed to flicker out of sight. Hearing a noise nearby, she looked the other way and saw to her horror that the foyer was filled with dark, shadowy figures stumbling through the smoke. Some of them were groaning and crying out, others were simply reaching out with gray, wrinkled hands as they fought against one another, trying to be the first to make their way across the foyer.

  “The dark place,” Beth said, staring at the figures. “Toby was right. It's the people from the dark place trying to get through.”

  “My father's victims,” Jennifer added. “He killed every last one of these people.”

  “The building,” Rose whispered, frozen to the spot as she watched the stumbling, screaming figures. “The fire's changing the building. It must be weakening the barrier even more, allowing them to surge through.” Turning, she saw Ellis coming closer, but at the last moment he stopped and turned as his daughter Jennifer appeared just a few feet away.

  “You don't want them,” Jennifer told him. “You want me.”

  His face filled with anger, Ellis lunged at her.

  “Run!” she screamed at Rose.

  Hearing a deep cracking sound above, Rose looked up just in time to see that the ceiling was starting to buckle.

  “We have to get out of here,” she told Beth, grabbing her hand and leading her across the foyer. Picking up a fire extinguisher along the way, she stopped at the door and used the base of the extinguisher to smash the window. After knocking out the remainder of the glass, she grabbed Beth and lifted her through before climbing out herself and emerging – coughing and spluttering – outside the building.

  In the distance, sirens could be heard getting closer.

  “Mum!” Beth shouted suddenly, hurrying back toward the door.

  Rose grabbed her hand to hold her back, but when she looked into the foyer she saw Charmian standing in the flames, with Ellis Hathaway right behind her. A few paces further back, Jennifer was watching them all, before all three ghosts flickered and faded from sight.

  “Mum!” Beth shouted again. She tried to climb back inside, but Rose grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back. A small crowd had gathered to watch the fire, and as Rose set Beth down on the ground, they heard a huge crashing sound nearby. Turning, they watched as the foyer's ceiling collapsed, sending a vast cloud of fire and smoke rushing up into the night sky.

  “Are you okay?” a man shouted, running over to help them.

  “Look after her until the ambulances show up,” Rose replied, stumbling to her feet and making her way back toward the building, only to be beaten back by a wall of heat. Looking up, she saw faint figures in a few of the windows, only for those figures to fade away. “Ghosts,” she whispered. “They were all ghosts.”

  “You can still save her,” a voice said suddenly.

  Turning, she saw Toby standing a few feet away.

  “You can still save the woman,” he continued, “but you have to hurry. She went through with her body, so if she comes back with her body too, she'll be whole again.”

  “What...” she started to say, before feeling a wave of weakness wash through her mind. She took a step forward, but she felt as if she might collapse at any moment. “What woman?”

  “The last one who went through,” Toby continued. “Someone helped her come back. She still has her body.”

  “But...” Rose paused for a moment, before finally she realized what he meant. “My sister?”

  “Help her,” Toby said firmly. “I told you! Help the woman on the tracks!”

  Turning and racing past the burning building, driven on by pure adrenalin, Rose ran along the alley that ran down the side of the building. Stopping at the spot where the fence was broken, she leaned through just as a train horn sounded in the distance. A moment later, she spotted a lone figure stumbling slowly along the tracks, and even though she could only see the figure from behind, she immediately realized the trut
h.

  “Megan!” she screamed, forcing her way through the broken fence and then stumbling down the embankment.

  A little further along the track, a train was rounding the corner, speeding toward them.

  “Megan!” Rose shouted, stumbling on the loose pebbles as she tried to reach her sister in time.

  Up ahead, Megan stopped and turned back, her eyes seemingly blank and empty.

  “Get off there!” Rose called out, hurrying toward the tracks as the train bore down on them both. Reaching her sister, she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the way, just as the train hurtled past with its brakes screeching.

  Falling to the ground, Rose rolled onto her side as a crippling pain shot through her chest. She looked up at Megan, who stared blankly back down at her, as the train slowed to a halt. In the distance, the driver could be heard climbing out of his cab and shouting at them.

  “Where have you been?” Rose whispered, as she felt herself starting to lose consciousness. “Megan, I was looking everywhere for you...”

  The last thing she saw, as she slipped away, was the sight of her sister standing above her, with Marshall Heights burning in the background.

  Four

  With the ruined shell of Marshall Heights still filled with smoke, firefighters and emergency crews made their way through the blackened, charred foyer. Their lights lit the gloom, but none of them noticed the pale figures standing all around them.

  “He didn't make it,” Jennifer whispered, staring at the spot where she'd last seen her father's ghost. “He's trapped on the other side now. He can't get through again.”

  “Something feels different,” Toby added. “The building doesn't sing the same way.”

  “The barrier's stronger now,” Jennifer said, turning to him as a firefighter's torch briefly lit their faces. “Marshall Heights isn't a weak-spot anymore, not after the fire. My father's ghost, and the ghosts of all his victims, are gone.”

  “Can't anyone see us?” Toby asked, turning to watch a group of firefighters making their way to the stairwell.

  Jennifer shook her head. “Maybe occasionally, someone might catch a glimpse of us, but Marshall Heights has been too badly damaged. The building can't amplify the ghosts anymore.”

  Toby paused for a moment. “We're alone. I tried to get Beth to come, but...”

  “She made it out alive,” Charmian replied, looking toward the shattered main door. “At least she has a chance.”

  ***

  Rose stood in the doorway for a few seconds, just watching as her sister rested in the hospital bed. Finally, when Megan sensed her presence and turned to look at her, they exchanged a weary smile.

  “Can't sleep?” Rose asked.

  “Do you blame me?” Looking over at the clock on the wall, Megan saw the time:

  2:50am.

  “Coming home later?” Rose asked, limping over to the bed. “I heard you're getting out when I am, first thing in the morning. For some reason, I don't fancy sticking around London for too long.”

  “There's nothing wrong with me,” Megan replied. “Can you call Mum and tell her that? Please? She's been on the phone all morning. I started trying to tell her some of the stuff that happened, but I couldn't quite get the words out. She'd just think I'm nuts.”

  “Did you tell her about this?” Rose continued, poking her belly.

  “I think I should do that in person.” Pausing for a moment, Megan put a hand on the front of her hospital gown. “It must have been the night before he died. Just a few hours before, really. We used protection, we didn't think we were ready for kids, and now suddenly a part of him is still here with me. I'm not ready to be a mother, especially not on my own.”

  “Don't stress. You can be the uptight mum and I'll be the cool aunt.”

  Megan glanced at the clock:

  2:53am.

  “That kid went home a few hours ago,” Rose continued. “The little girl, Beth. Her grandparents from Bristol drove down and picked her up. The look in her eyes, though... She lost both her parents to that place. I don't know how someone ever gets over something like that, but hopefully she'll get all the help she needs.”

  “You saved her life,” Megan pointed out.

  Rose bit her bottom lip for a moment, watching the concern in her sister's eyes. “They pulled down the rest of Marshall Heights this morning,” she said finally.

  “Good,” Megan replied.

  “There's no money to repair or rebuild,” Rose continued, sitting on the side of the bed, “so it's probably just going to become a park or something like that.”

  “What about the ghosts? Are they still there?”

  “Fire doesn't kill ghosts,” Rose replied, “so... Yeah, they'll still be there. But I spoke to my friend Ben about this a few times. With the building gone, all the infrasonic whaddya-call-it is out of the picture, so the barrier isn't weak in that location anymore. The ghosts of Ellis Hathaway and all the others are still gonna be there, but no-one will be able to see or hear them. Ben says there are ghosts everywhere, but people only notice them when the barrier is weak. Some of them might not even realize they are ghosts, can you believe that? Still, I don't think I'd fancy walking through that area at three in the morning, just in case.”

  She paused for a moment.

  “What was it like?” she asked eventually.

  “What was what like?” Megan replied.

  “Being on the other side?”

  “I don't...” Megan took a deep breath. “I don't really remember. I just remember... fear, and pain. The whole thing feels like a dream now, but at the time I was just panicking. There were voices all around me, screaming to get out, but one of them was trying to help me. Do you think that could have been Patricia?”

  “I don't see who else it could have been,” Rose replied. “She managed to push you back through just before the barrier strengthened again. Shame she couldn't come too, but I guess maybe she'd been there too long. Ben has this theory that if you'd been there more than a few days, your body would've been broken down and you'd have been trapped.” She reached out and took her sister's hand. “At least you're here now. I spoke to the cops and found out why they wouldn't investigate the building.”

  “Laziness?” Megan asked.

  “Pride. Turns out, the head of the local police force realized Ellis Hathaway had been killing people right under his nose without getting caught. By the time he was ready to arrest him, Ellis had been killed by his daughter. To avoid being embarrassed, the local cops basically decided to blank the place. They also found several bodies in the trash behind Marshall Heights, so it's pretty clear Michael Powers was carrying on the work Ellis started. He was killing people and sending them through the barrier to the dark place, hoping to make Ellis notice him. It worked eventually.”

  “And one cop sunk the investigation because he was too proud to admit that he'd been wrong before?” Megan asked.

  “I made a stink on the phone,” Rose continued, “and I think the head of the local force is soon going to be the ex head, if you know what I mean.”

  Again, Megan looked at the clock:

  2:57am.

  “A lot of people must have died in this hospital,” she said after a moment. “Do you think -”

  “That way, madness lies,” Rose replied, interrupting her. “Not every place is like Marshall Heights.”

  “But some are. There must be other buildings that are like that, maybe some that are even worse. There are probably other places where the barrier between this world and the next is even weaker.”

  “Let's hope we never, ever go near one,” Rose continued, before glancing around the room. “I guess there are ghosts everywhere, but they can only be seen in certain places where the barrier is weakened. I think it would be a really good idea to just try not to think about it too much, 'cause otherwise you're gonna go nuts. I don't know about you, but I'm already close enough to nuts.” She eased herself off the bed. “Speaking of which, I have to ge
t back to my room. The shiny metal toilet awaits. I don't know what they've been pumping into me, but my body's pumping it out as fast as is can manage.” Leaning over, she kissed Megan on the forehead. “Good night, Sis.”

  “Thank you for coming to find me,” Megan whispered, before putting a hand on her belly. “For coming to find us.”

  “Someone's gotta keep an eye on you,” Rose replied, limping to the door and then out into the corridor. “You can repay me by holding my hand at the dentist's next week. You know how much I hate those assholes. Oh, and -”

  Stopping, she reached into her hospital gown and took something out, before heading back to the bed and dropping the moon necklace into Megan's hand.

  “I found this while I was getting free,” she explained. “Somehow I hung onto it. I know Scott gave it to you, so...”

  “Thank you,” Megan replied softly, staring at the necklace for a moment. “I saw the other side, you know.”

  “Maybe we shouldn't talk about this now.”

  “It was like a dark place,” she continued. “I wasn't in my body, but I could see my body below and it was in a big crowd, stumbling around with all the others. It's like they were waiting for the barrier to weaken so they could get through. They were fighting each other, pushing each other back, and the sound of their moans was deafening. I don't know what that place is called, or where it is, but there's a place where people go when they die, and I was there for a few days.” She took a deep breath. “I think I just saw one corner of that place, though. I think there were other parts, better parts. I remember seeing somewhere in the distance. The miserable ones were the ones who refused to leave the barrier, the ones who were trying to break through and wouldn't accept what had happened.”

  “I'm glad you didn't accept it,” Rose replied.

  “Patricia helped me.”

  “Do you think she's at peace?”