The Lost Son: A Supernatural Novel of Suspense

by Matt Shaw

  The shaker instantly moved across to the ‘yes’ but it didn’t stop there. It started, swiftly, moving from letter to letter until it had spelt out ‘lonely’. Jason let out a sigh of relief.

  “Thank you.” He took another deep breath and went onto explain, “My wife - Emily - is a little nervous. I’m sure you understand. Neither of us have... Well, neither of us have been in this position before and it’s all quite new to us. Sometimes, though, we’d need some privacy. Would you mind if we had a couple of rooms that were - you know - just for us? Say - the bedroom and the bathroom? Is that okay with you?”

  The shaker moved to back over to the ‘yes’ marker.

  Jason smiled, “Thank you. I appreciate it. I know it’s your house after all.” He paused, “Look, is there anything we can do for you?”

  A slight delay before the shaker started to move between the letters again - this time spelling out the word ‘attic’.

  “Attic? What’s that? You want me to look in the attic?”

  The shaker moved over to the ‘yes’ marker and moved away again, slightly, ready for the next question.

  “Okay. Sure. Now?”

  Back to ‘yes’.

  “Well, I think I’m done with the questions for now so... Sure. Besides, you’re doing me a favour - gives me a chance to put the boxes away that Emily wanted stored up there,” he laughed.

  The kitchen door opened suggesting Josh was happy to finish too. Roald was sitting on the other side of the door patiently waiting to be allowed in. He gave a little bark which, Jason presumed, was his way of saying ‘hello’. With access granted he ran over to where the letters of the alphabet were lined up. He sat, in the middle of them, and wagged his tail - accidentally knocking them out of alignment.

  “And that’s why I shut you out, boy,” said Jason with a sigh. He gave him a pat on the head as he walked on by, out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards the attic hatch to see what had caught Josh’s attention.

  The access hatch to the loft was at the top of the stairs on the landing, with the ladder stored in the spare room for ease of access as it was the closest available space which meant it wasn’t in the way or forever having to be moved.

  Jason set the ladder up and stepped halfway to the top - enough steps to ensure he could reach the hatch without having to stretch.

  “Okay,” he said as he pushed the hatch up, and twisted it around in order to fit it back down through the hole so he could leave it at the foot of the ladder, “let’s see what we’ve got in here then.”

  His heart was beating ten to the dozen, apprehensive about what he would find. The online articles he had found mentioned an accident, out on the road, but what if the spirit wasn’t Josh? What if it was some Evil force pretending to be the spirit of the young boy whilst residing in the house - the real body of the ghost busy rotting in the loft space waiting to be found by some poor unsuspecting fool who’d soon be possessed? Jason shook his head and called himself ‘stupid’. That was the problem with authors - and most creative people to be honest - they all have implausible, overactive imaginations.

  With the hatch lifted out of the way, and dropped to the bottom of the ladder, Jason stuck his head through the gap to investigate what was in the attic. All those weeks in the house and he hadn’t even thought to check what loft space they had available. Silly, really, considering the amount of boxes Emily had been storing to put up there. He spotted a light switch to the left of the hatch and flicked it on. The bulb, hanging from one of the attic beams, flickered into life illuminating the rest of the space.

  Bigger than Jason had thought and, much to his relief, near enough empty. The previous occupants had also gone to the trouble of putting some flooring down, which would prove to be a help in the days to come Jason thought. It would certainly save having to balance the boxes on the beams which you normally find running across the attic. He twisted his neck to get a good glimpse of the whole space. Left first, followed by the right.

  The only thing left in the attic were some boxes, tatty looking, which were piled in the far corner. With everything else being so clean up there, Jason couldn’t decide whether they were left there on purpose or simply forgotten about but he suspected it may well have been a conscious decision to leave them behind.

  Jason stepped to the top rung of the ladder and pulled himself up onto the wooden flooring with minimum effort - something which surprised him considering he wasn’t the most active of people by day.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got here,” he muttered to himself as he crossed the flooring, towards the boxes. As he neared he realised the boxes all had the same words scribbled upon them - Josh’s stuff.

  * * * * *

  7pm.

  The front door opened and Emily stepped in looking just as pale and tired as she had looked when she had first left the house at the start of the day.

  “Hello?” she called into the house, “I’m home!”

  There was no answer, not that this surprised her for Jason rarely shouted down when she called up. She could never decide if he didn’t hear her or whether he was so busy with his writing that he simply couldn’t possibly take the time to answer.

  Something was different this time, though.

  Emily knew it was as soon as she closed the door - shutting out the outside world.

  A noise.

  Whirring?

  A metal noise. As though it were dragging on plastic? It was coming from upstairs.

  “Jason?” she called up. A little nervous energy coursed through her body.

  “I’m up here!” he called down eventually. “Come on up!” he invited her.

  Emily dropped her bag by the wall and walked up the stairs, following the sound of the noise, “What is that noise?” she asked.

  “Come see,” said Jason. His voice sounded as though he was excited.

  At the top of the stairs, Emily took a moment to pause trying to decide which direction the noise was coming from. It was coming from the spare room - the one which overlooked the front garden. She crossed the landing, stepping past the ladder which was still set up underneath the open loft hatch, and walked into the bedroom. “What’s this?” she asked.

  It was a rhetorical question. She knew what it was. Tiny little cars racing around an oval race circuit, controlled by two handheld controllers - one of which was in Jason’s hand and the other which was on the floor as though no one was playing with it, despite the fact that the switch was firmly pressed down and the car was going round and round the track.

  “Isn’t it great?” Jason’s eyes were wild with excitement. “It was in the loft. A whole load of toy boxes - Josh’s toys. He wanted me to set them up...So we could play I guess.”

  Emily looked around the room. The boxes that were in the corner of the attic were now in the corner of the room - just not piled as neatly as they had been in the attic. Roald sitting amongst the clutter. Even the homemade Ouija board had made it into the spare room too - a room which seemed to have morphed into Josh’s room since Emily had left the house in the morning.

  “You’re joking, right?” she mumbled.

  “We were chatting, in the kitchen like I said we would...We’ve set some ground rules up which I’ll explain in a bit...I asked him if there was anything we could do for him and...Well, he directed me to the attic and hey presto. You know, considering the lack of body - he isn’t half bad. He’s the red car, by the way, mine’s the blue one.”

  Emily didn’t say anything, she just sat on the floor leaning against the wall. Jason took his finger off the trigger and looked at her, sensing she wasn’t happy with what she had walked into.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Jason’s finger pressed down on the trigger once more and his car shot off the tracks.

  12.

  Emily and Jason were standing in the bedroom, either side of the bed. The bedroom door was closed. Both of them had their arms crossed as though putti
ng up defensive barriers.

  “Yeah but how?”

  “Normally through sexual intercourse,” said Emily sarcastically. She was annoyed that Jason’s reaction had been less than favourable towards her news - even though she, herself, wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

  “I know that but...We’re always careful.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay - we’re nearly always careful.”

  “It only takes the one time, you know!” Emily pointed out.

  “So what do we do now?” he asked after a slight pause.

  “What do you want to do?” she threw the ball back in his court.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

  “Ever?”

  “Ever. It’s never crossed my mind.”

  “You’ve never thought about being a dad?”

  “I am a dad - I’ve got Roald.”

  “To a human,” Emily sighed.

  “No. I’ve never thought about it. It’s never been on my list of things to do. I mean...I suppose it could be nice, at times...But...The expense...We’ve just spent our money on this place. Can we really afford a baby?”

  “Can anyone really afford a baby? It doesn’t mean they don’t have them. They work with what they have to make things work okay.”

  “I just...It’s just...Fuck.”

  “I’m so glad you’re happy though. Seriously. Thank you for making this easy on me,” she started to sob.

  “I’m sorry.” He walked over to her and put his arms around her, “I’m sorry,” he said again. “It just came as a bit of a shock.”

  “How do you think I feel? It’s a shock for me too!” she said.

  “I’m sorry. And you’re sure? It’s definite?”

  “I took four tests today. All different brands. All for detecting early pregnancy but yes...I’m sure.”

  “They were all positive?”

  “Three of them.”

  “So there’s a chance...”

  “Don’t even say it,” she jumped in. “I’ve made an appointment with the new doctor tomorrow. He’s going to sign me onto their books and do the necessary tests.”

  “Scan? A baby scan?”

  She shook her head, “Blood test, you idiot.”

  “I’m sorry, this is all new to me.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  She sat on the bed next to him, “What are we doing about the house?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Casper the friendly ghost?”

  “His name is Josh. And what can we do? I said - the money is tied up here now. We move and we’ll most likely take a hit. It’s our dream house. We put off our honeymoon to buy this place. Besides, I was communicating with him earlier. The bathroom...And this room...They’re out of bounds. They’re ours. He can go in the other rooms. I’ve set his stuff up in his room...”

  “His room?”

  “It used to be his bedroom,” he said. “Seems fair to give it back to him. The board is in there, to communicate with him...A few of his toys...”

  Emily shook her head again, “This is so fucked up.”

  “I agree it’s not ideal but he is friendly. He’s just a boy. You know - one of the messages he gave me earlier...Spelt out how lonely he was. It must be terrible for him.”

  “And you think we can trust him with a baby in the house?”

  “Why not? He’s lonely. It’ll be a brother or sister to him. Kind of. So you’re keeping it then?”

  “We...We are keeping it...We’re in this together, aren’t we? And I’m certainly not about to abort it.”

  Jason nodded. He knew not to argue with her and, even if he didn’t know better, he’d never ask someone to have an abortion. Hint, maybe but never ask. Sitting side by side, he put his arm around her and pulled her close to his body in a sweet embrace where they remained for a few silent minutes.

  “Do you think we’ll have the unpacking done before the baby’s due?” she asked.

  A brief pause before they both laughed.

  “I swear I had every intention...Today...”

  “I do love you,” she whispered.

  “Not as much as I love you.” Jason replied. He gave her another squeeze.

  * * * * *

  Jason was sitting on the floor in what was now Josh’s bedroom. Since their heart to heart the previous night, Jason and Emily hadn’t spoken too much. They both had a quiet evening, lying on the bed in each others’ arms until they both fell asleep, locked in the sanctuary of their bedroom.

  Emily had left the house just after eight o’clock after managing to get herself a doctor’s appointment with the duty nurse. A quick check-up and blood test which would help detect early pregnancy. She had insisted Jason stayed behind as she wanted to get used to whatever the nurse said before having to deal with it as a couple. She had told Jason that was the woman’s right - they get to know first as it’s their body. They get time alone to process it in their own minds and then they deal with it as a couple. The man only gets time to dwell on it long after being told the outcome when he’s finally left to his own devices once more. All Jason could do was sit and wait - and he just happened to choose Josh’s room to wait in.

  He rubbed his tired eyes. Broken dreams last night led to a disturbed night’s sleep. Emily had been the same. Whilst he was lying there, trying to fall asleep again - he could tell, by her breathing, that she was awake too not that he acknowledged her. Too lost in his own thoughts about potentially having a baby. Despite what Emily had said to him - he didn’t feel ready. He wanted to explore the world, spend time with just the two of them enjoying life and then, perhaps, settle for children in years to come. Part of him hoped three of the four tests were inaccurate.

  Roald walked into the bedroom and sat next to Jason. He didn’t make a sound - he simply sat with him as though it were his way of telling him that everything was going to be okay. Jason smiled and patted him on the head.

  “Just a matter of waiting,” he said to Roald. “What do you make of it, boy?” he asked.

  Roald laid down and rested his head on his front two legs - stretched out in front of him. Again, not a sound was made.

  “Do you even care?” he asked.

  The salt shaker, positioned in the middle of the newly set-up Ouija board, twitched and caught Jason’s eye. So wrapped up in his thoughts he had clean forgotten about Josh.

  “Hi Josh,” he said, hoping it wasn’t obvious he’d been accidentally ignoring him. “I suppose you heard everything last night?”

  The shaker moved across to the word ‘yes’.

  “You think I should be happy?” Jason asked the question but expected the answer to come back negative. After all, it’d be another person in the house to take away some attention from Josh.

  The shaker circled ‘yes’.

  “You think I should be happy?” Jason couldn’t hide the surprised tone. Thinking about it, though, he could see why the answer would be a ‘yes’. Perhaps Josh saw it as more company for him - another person in the house to get to know him and play with him. Jason sighed, “Great - so I’m the asshole then.”

  Roald barked.

  “You best not be agreeing with me,” said Jason. “You know space could become an issue with a baby in the house...Might have to move you into a little shed in the garden...”

  Roald barked again.

  Jason stood up, “Come on, I’m not waiting in all day for Emily to let me know what they say...Let’s go for a walk, boy.”

  Roald didn’t move until Jason asked where his lead was. As soon as he heard the word ‘lead’ he jumped to his feet and dashed from the room, down the stairs and towards the kitchen where the lead was hanging.

  13.

  Jason had the lead in his hand. He didn’t know why he’d brought it with him after noticing that Roald had brought a ball into the kitchen with him when they were getting ready. Clearly the daft dog wanted to just play in the garden mo
re than go for a long walk of some description. Jason could have saved himself the hassle of carrying it by leaving it where it hung.

  Roald loved chasing the ball. He’d wait for Jason to kick it as hard as he could and then he’d give chase to it. Once he’d caught up with it, he’d use his nose to nudge it all the way back to Jason who’d wait for Roald to take a step back before booting it as hard as could again. Until, that is, Roald would suddenly stop going after the ball and would - instead - just sit down and watch as Jason went after it. Usually Jason kicked it a further three or four times before realising Roald had had enough.