Shadows of Old Ghosts

by Stephanie Zayatz

  Stars burst into her vision at the pain and Aviira went stiff.

  “I told you you shouldn’t have gotten involved with business where you didn’t belong,” Loretta hissed at her.

  Aviira flung an arm out, hoping for her gun. Her hand closed on something hard on the floor, and though it had the feeling of metal, it wasn’t her gun. She grabbed the pipe anyway and swung at Loretta with it as hard as she could. Stunned from the blow, Loretta slid off of her and scrambled away on her hands and knees.

  When Aviira rolled up to her knees, though, she froze, and stared at the barrel of her own gun. Loretta must have rolled on top of it, and though she was now bleeding from her ear, she had picked it up and gotten to her feet quicker than Aviira had. Loretta was blocking the doorway into the hall, but Aviira was in the way of her getting back to the window, her only escape.

  “Get out of my way,” Loretta whispered.

  “Really?” Aviira said in a dubious tone. “You think you’re going to get past me still? You’ll have to shoot me to do that.”

  “I will.”

  “No you won’t,” Aviira said. “You get your ghost friends to do all that kind of work for you.” She pushed herself to her feet slowly, holding onto the pipe with one hand. Her other was shaking from being in so much pain.

  Loretta noticed. “You couldn’t hit me with that pipe if you tried,” she said. “You’re lucky to still be on your feet.”

  Aviira raised the pipe and took a step toward her. Betraying her own confidence, Loretta stumbled back a few steps out into the hallway.

  “Want to test that theory?”

  “You should have stayed out of my way,” Loretta said. “I tried to warn you.”

  “You dragged us in here in the first place. You told us about the witch, Loretta. We never would have investigated you if you’d just played it smart, but I guess you’re too stupid for that.”

  The gun was trembling; Loretta’s whole arm was beginning to shake. Aviira was aware that she was playing a very dangerous game of Russian roulette with every step she forced on Loretta.

  “Put down the gun, Loretta,” she whispered.

  “No.”

  Aviira took another step toward her. “Then you’ll have to shoot me, and I just don’t think you have the guts to do that.”

  Loretta backed up another step into the hall, and that was when the Creeper lunged. As it collided with her, the gun went off. Aviira dove to one side out of pure instinct. The bullet went up into the ceiling somewhere. After recovering from her shock, Aviira ran back to the doorway.

  The Creeper had Loretta by one leg as she was trying to claw herself away from it. Aviira could only watch in horror from the doorway as Loretta screamed and fought, but the thing was stronger than she was. As it bit into her calf, she howled, and reached out desperately to Aviira.

  For one brief, horrifying moment, Aviira could see something in Loretta’s face other than the desperate fear of death that was otherwise consuming her. It was like she was looking at a different person suddenly, not one who was obsessed with revenge without thought of consequence. Loretta was begging Aviira’s for help, begging her to save her from the end she had pushed upon herself.

  She almost did.

  And then the Creeper pulled Loretta by the leg away from Aviira and pounced, ripping into her neck and throat. It didn’t take long for her to bleed out, and once she stopped moving, the dead creature turned its attention to Aviira.

  A pang of fear lanced through her as she realized she was standing there in front of a deadly walking corpse with no weapon. She had dropped the pipe when she dodged out of the way of Loretta’s errant bullet, and her gun was buried somewhere beneath Loretta. She was about to dive back into the room to grab the pipe when the Creeper stood up—and a bullet whistled through its neck and pierced through the hollow of dead skin at its throat. It stood there for just a moment before toppling back and collapsing to the floor on top of Loretta.

  Jirel was standing at the corner of the hall, his gun still raised. All the air escaped from Aviira’s lungs as she realized what had just happened.

  “Oh, Jesus.”

  She leaned back into the door frame behind her and slid to the floor. Jirel sprinted towards her, hurtling over the bodies on the floor.

  “Vira!”

  He knelt by her and took her face in both hands, unable to help himself. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, though she was feeling dazed and lightheaded. “I just need a second.”

  Jirel pulled her into his arms. She groaned, but he didn’t release her. Even though it hurt, she had to admit it was a relief to know that he was safe, even if he had apparently been hurt somehow. His neck and shirt collar were matted with blood. “Are you okay?” she said into his chest.

  “I’m okay.”

  He set her back to arm’s length. Aiden Dannels was standing in the doorway behind him, bleeding but upright and otherwise unhurt. He had a shell-shocked look on his face. Aviira sighed and closed her eyes as exhaustion threatened to overtake her.

  “Call Xander,” she murmured. “I really want to get the fuck out of here.”

  ***

  The scene was swimming with police cars and ambulances and Alliance personnel within forty-five minutes of Xander getting the call. The Supernatural Prevention and Undercover Containment unit was quick to block off the entire scene from the police and despite the gruesome nature of the whole thing, one couldn’t help but notice that they seemed to be having a grand time. It was no doubt the most exciting supernatural scene they had come across in years and they were buzzing around it looking like children on Christmas morning.

  Aviira quickly disappeared in the chaos. A paramedic was quick to insist that she needed a trip to the hospital, but she declined the invitation as she beelined out of the way.

  Jirel found her in his car after he realized she had ducked out of the scene and gone to look for her. He might have otherwise overlooked it, but the back hatch of the car was open. When he looked inside, Aviira had put down the back seat and was lying flat on her back, knees bent with her feet on the bumper. He thought for a moment she might have actually been asleep despite all the noise and commotion of the scene.

  “Vira?”

  She raised a hand in a weak salutation. “Hey.”

  “You okay?”

  “Mhm.” She didn’t sound convinced. “I mean, if I sit up I’ll puke, so. Just wanted to get my balance.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought you’d have anything left in there to puke up,” he said.

  “Yeah, neither did I, but apparently there was.” She rubbed at her temples. “Don’t worry, I didn’t do it in here.”

  “That’s a relief.” Jirel leaned in and sat on the bumper. “You’re going to get major props for this,” he said after a brief silence. “Aiden is singing your praises to Xander over there. I don’t think you have to worry about getting fired now.”

  She only nodded. He watched her and put a hand on her shin.

  “Hey. What’s the matter? You feel okay?”

  “Nothing,” she whispered. She took in a deep breath. “I just…she wanted me to help her.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Who?”

  “Loretta.”

  “She wanted to kill you, Vira.”

  “No, I mean at the end. When that Creeper grabbed her it was like…like she snapped out of herself for a second and realized what she had done. I don’t know. I could have helped her and I didn’t.”

  “She was dying. Horribly. Dying makes people more desperate than you’d ever think possible. She would have done anything in that moment to not die. It was self-preservation. Doesn’t mean she was actually feeling remorse. She murdered a lot of people…and worse than that. Look what she did to you! She nearly killed you tonight, more than once.”

  Aviira nodded.

  Jirel cleared his throat and stared at his lap. “Though for the record I’m glad she didn’t.”

  She
managed a small, tired smile and turned onto her side to look at him. “You just don’t want to have to find another partner.”

  “Well, yeah,” he said. “I actually really like the one I’ve got, so.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself.”

  He looked back at her with a warm smile and offered his hand. She took it and he helped her to sit up slowly.

  “Okay?” he said warily.

  She put a hand over her chest, which was bleeding through her shirt in a few places, but nodded. He reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her eyes drifted closed unconsciously and a shiver prickled at the back of her neck.

  “Sorry,” he whispered when she opened her eyes again. He was looking at her differently, almost as if he was fighting something inside. “You had some blood on your face.”

  Aviira wiped her cheek on her shoulder. “Better?”

  “Yeah,” he said with a small smile.

  Something moved near the trees and she looked toward it. Louise was standing there, and smiled at Aviira before she stepped back into the brush and disappeared. She hadn’t even taken the time to think about what had happened out there in the woods, but it occurred to her then that the ghost of that little girl had undoubtedly saved her life.

  Maybe you have a little magic in you. Aviira didn’t have the wherewithal to even begin to think about what that might have meant.

  Jirel glanced in the direction Aviira was looking.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” she said quietly. “Thought I saw something.”

  “Hey kids.”

  Jirel straightened and glanced around the side of the car at Xander as he approached. Aviira cleared her throat.

  Xander dropped his hands on his hips and sighed. The lights from the police cars parked nearby were bouncing off his face. “Look, not that I’m not grateful this is over, but did it have to be in the middle of the night?”

  “We aim to please,” Jirel said.

  “Well, you really nailed it this time. Saving an Alliance high-up from getting torched by his wife goes a long way.”

  “Does this mean I don’t have to worry about getting fired?” Aviira said quietly.

  Xander gave a wry laugh. “For now, at least.” He looked her over, his expression turning serious. “You look awful. You sure you don’t need a trip to the hospital?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  “She’s stubborn,” Jirel said.

  “Oh really?” Xander said. “I hadn’t caught on to that yet.”

  Aviira looked between the two of them and shrugged.

  Xander checked his watch. “All right. I’m going to get some sleep before I clean this up at the office. Not much I can do while the Spooks are in there practically having the time of their lives. This must be like a fucking treasure chest to them. You two take it easy for now.” He pointed at Aviira. “Please don’t die. I like having you in my office.”

  She pointed back. “You got it, boss.”

  Jirel held back a grin as Xander walked away. The sun was beginning to lighten up the sky, shooting streaks of pink and gold into the clouds lingering near the horizon. Aviira sighed and leaned against Jirel. He remained still, noting how comforting the touch felt, the solid weight of her existence that told him he wasn’t alone for the first time in a long time.

  Aviira was silent as she leaned against him and watched the sky lighten up for a minute or two.

  “You hungry?” she asked after a minute.

  He laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was such a normal question after such a bizarre day that it sounded completely absurd. “Yeah, you?”

  “Surprisingly.”

  “You think anybody will serve us looking like this?”

  “Mm, probably not.”

  “I make a mean breakfast burrito if you’d care to join me.”

  She leaned away from him and looked him over with an expression like she didn’t believe him. He raised his eyebrows. Finally, she broke a smile and laughed. He couldn’t help but do the same.

  Aviira nodded. “Yeah, okay. I could go for that.”

  October

  ***

  Aviira sat in her car in silence and watched the trees. The oaks and maples lining the sidewalk next to her car were all turning different brilliant shades of yellow and purple. The sidewalk was already littered with leaves that had given up for the season and the house across the street from where she was parked had a fair pile going in the front yard.

  She had been sitting outside that neighborhood for weeks. Every afternoon she had to herself she came to this street and parked her car, fully aware of the way she pitifully watched the house with the large picture window in the front room. Sometimes Liisha’s car was parked out front, sometimes it wasn’t. When she had first started coming—with the intention of walking up to that house and knocking on the door—the trees were all still green and not even thinking of turning. But here she was, weeks later, and she still had never gotten out of her car.

  She wasn’t sure if Jirel knew what she was doing or not. They spent most of their free time together in any case, but she had never told him specifically what she was up to when she said she had something to do that day. He had asked if she was going to call Liisha once or twice, but seemed to have abandoned the idea. Maybe he was just giving her space. She appreciated that trait of his, among many others.

  The whole thing was more frustrating to her than she was letting on to anyone. She was disappointed in herself that it had taken her so long to just do one simple thing. So many times she had told herself today would be the day and she wouldn’t chicken out anymore, but then as the moment passed by she found herself incapable of getting out of the car.

  She knew she had plenty of good reasons for keeping her distance from her sister. Her safety, most importantly. There was always the threat of people she had taken down trying to get back at her, and she had no doubts that they would start with family and it wasn’t fair to put her sister in that line of fire.

  But the truth—whether she was capable of admitting it to anyone or not—was that she was terrified of Liisha’s reaction. Time after time sitting there in the car she’d put herself in her sister’s shoes and come up with feelings of anger and resentment for being abandoned and ignored for so long. She would have been angry if the situation were reversed, if Liisha’d had the opportunity to reunite them and spoiled it. And even if she did take her back, then there was the explanation for what had kept her from her for so long, and that truth came from a painful place that Aviira was often too terrified to even think about.

  Liisha’s car wasn’t there at the moment, but Aviira had been stalking her for so long now that she’d gotten a vague idea of her schedule. Tuesdays she was gone all day. Mondays and Wednesdays she came home for lunch, sometimes accompanied by another young woman with dark hair who walked up the sidewalk with her in a way that suggested to Aviira that they were in a relationship. Thursdays she returned from school right around two thirty. Friday her classes started late and ended late.

  It was Thursday, and it was nearing two thirty.

  Aviira sighed and ran her hands over her face. Every day she sat out there waiting for Liisha to get home ended this way. She would work herself up to it, her blood pressure would rise, and she would find herself practically glued to her seat when Liisha drove up and parked. And then she would practically melt in disappointment as the moment passed by yet again.

  She saw motion out the corner of her eye and saw her sister’s car approaching in her side mirror. She shivered and leaned back in the seat as her heart rate spiked. Liisha turned into her driveway and parked. Aviira could see her rooting around the back seat for her belongings before she opened the door and put her books and bag on the roof of the car. Aviira thought to herself for one wild moment how perfect her life was, how settled, and nearly drove away once and for all. Who was she to ruin her sweet little life?

  Just go, Aviira.

  She opened her door
and stood up. Her voice nearly failed her at first, and she had to clear her throat and try again.

  “Liisha.”

  Her sister turned toward the sound of her name. When she settled on Aviira standing outside her car across the street, it took her a moment to let everything settle. There was a silence that spanned a lifetime for Aviira as Liisha stared. Her face went slack and pale, like she had seen the proverbial ghost. When she finally found her voice, it was choked by tears and sounded painfully like the voice of the tiny girl Aviira had been forced to leave behind.

  “Vee?”

  Aviira swallowed and offered a weak wave. The other hand was clutching the door handle on her car to keep her knees from buckling.

  “Hi.”

  Liisha dropped her bag on the driveway and took a slow step toward her, then broke into a jog. She crossed the street to her sister, still rooted to the spot, and threw her arms around her. Aviira pulled her close and buried her face in Liisha’s neck and breathed in that familiar scent that brought her reeling back to the last time she’d seen her. It hit her so hard she nearly lost her balance.

  The only thing that she could think to say was “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over.

  Liisha pulled back to look at her, maybe to be sure that she was real. She put her hands on either side of Aviira’s face. A watery laugh escaped her.

  “Why are you sorry?”

  Aviira stared at her with an expression of disbelief. She could only shake her head and pull Liisha back to her and mumble “I don’t know” into her neck. She held her as close as she could and for once, felt like she was almost whole again.

  Acknowledgements –

  Crystal Frizie and Amy Ottinger for offering to read the first draft and actually following through – and for their helpful feedback, comments, and suggestions.