The Ghosts of RedRise House

by Caroline Clark

  “Only a pure soul,” Sylvia said what he already knew.

  The fear and pain of losing his soul were too much for Nick. He didn’t know if he could do this. If he could give up his hard-won peace forever. Staying here would corrupt him, he would be bound to turn evil and then what good had he done?

  Seth tried to get around him and swung the knife at the children.

  Nick would have to decide what to do about the rift later. Right now it would take all his time to save the children.

  Jacob arrived back at the ruins to find the police still processing the site. They swarmed like black ants from the tent that held his sweet Emily to the woods. Though he knew they would have procedures there seemed no method in what they were doing.

  Part of him wanted to run back into the woods but what if he got lost in the darkness again? What good would that do?

  Taking a deep breath he looked around and he saw a man with a dog come out of the woods and head to the ruins. The DI had told him that the dogs were all going back to there but no one was taking any notice or digging. No one was looking around the ruins, why?

  Jacob set off at a run to the pile of burnt out stone that must have once been a very impressive house.

  The police dog handler was trying to persuade his GSD to come away from the bricks but the dog was pawing the rubble and whining.

  “Hey,” Jacob shouted and the man looked around.

  A frown crossed his face but Jacob was not going to be cow-towed, not this time.

  “DI Winters told me all the dogs keep coming back here so why are you ignoring them?”

  The man looked confused for a moment and then his face seemed to clear. “Jesus why didn’t we think of that. It makes no sense, we should have acted on that. Sarg, Sarg, over here.”

  Jacob felt his first tinge of hope. Though it was small it was there and maybe he could bring his children home.

  The Sargent came over and talked with the dog handler. His face dropped and a guilty expression came over it but then it cleared and he called men over.

  “Jeff, put your dog back on the scent, let’s see where to start,” the Sargent said.

  Jeff set his dog to the track and the big powerful GSD worked his way up to the top of the rubble and then he lay down.

  “It’s here Sarg.”

  “Start digging, all hands up here and follow full procedure.”

  93

  Nick pushed with all he could but Seth was strong and fueled with bitterness. Glee twisted his face as he slashed the knife at both Nick and the children.

  Though Nick had nothing to fear from the knife. It was just energy, exactly the same as he was. All he had to do was match its frequency and the knife passed through him. But the children were another matter and he was struggling to keep them safe. Where was Stacey?

  Glancing behind him he could see her in the same place. She was just a shimmer in the darkness, barely there. Coming down here must have drained her energy but she could maybe still help.

  “Stacey, I need you,” he said in her mind and felt her jump.

  “I’m sorry I’m struggling to stay.”

  “Concentrate on the frequency of Seth and get to me when you can.

  Nick put his full concentration back in front of him and saw Seth move right. Nick moved with him swaying to the right but before he got there the grotesque spirit sneered as he turned left. Nick was already committed and couldn’t get back. He watched frustrated as the blade caught Noah on the arm.

  Noah let out a wail of fear.

  Nick moved himself back in front of the children but Seth was no longer trying to get to them.

  The ghost’s face was curled into a look of ecstasy as he stared at the blood on the huge shiny blade. His mouth dropped open, as far as it could with the scar, and he licked his bottom lip. The gesture reminded Nick of a slug, he had once seen one of the grotesque creatures bubbling as it devoured one of its own kind. Seth reminded him of that slug with his thick twisted lips and the bubbles of saliva that surrounded them. The man brought the blade to his nose and sniffed deeply.

  Nick watched appalled, expecting Seth to lick the blade — he didn’t

  Seth looked up at Nick and winked and then he turned around and flicked the blade.

  Nick watched as blood sailed into the rift.

  It widened, crackled and they could hear a scream from within it. Eyes appeared in the darkness but they were gone as quickly as they came.

  “Just a few more of those and I’ll have me some friends,” Seth said. “Better run old man before they eat you all up.”

  “I don’t run from bullies,” Nick said and he felt something at his side. Looking down he saw Noah and he was filled with a feeling of such love, such wonder that it overwhelmed him. This boy wanted to stand at his side to fight evil and that thought humbled him.

  Stacey was also behind him.

  “Stacey, guard the children. Can you feel movement above us?”

  “Yes.”

  “Focus on it, put all your energy into it and when you get a chance take the children to the closest point to that feeling.”

  “What about you?”

  Nick felt a tear drop from his eye and run down his cheek. “I think I’ll be staying a while.”

  Seth roared when he saw Stacey stand in front of the children. He flung himself at Nick with such force that he sent him backward.

  Nick dug in his heels and fought with all he had but the man was strong. Would Stacey be able to keep the children safe?

  Seth pulled back and threw himself again, hitting Nick with the force of a 2-ton truck. Again and again they came together and every time Nick held him off but he was fading. Seth would be feeding off the houses energy and the evil that was seeping from the rift. Nick would not use that for he feared it would blacken his soul.

  Again Seth flung himself at Nick once more feigning left and then going right. Nick was ready for it but still a touch too slow. The blade went straight toward Stacey and Nick closed his eyes not wanting to see the young ghost hurt.

  Stacey changed her vibration to hold the blade off but the force of it sent her backward and she blinked out of this plane and was gone.

  Nick scrambled to get in front of the children. It was a race now between him and Seth.

  Seth was closer but clumsier. Nick thought himself in front of the children and he was. Almost.

  Seth’s blade nicked Sophia on the leg, causing blood to leak onto the blade.

  This time Nick knew what Seth would do but he had to let it happen. If he thought himself in front of the rift and Seth decided to gain more blood then the children could be dead in an instant. Or at least one could.

  Seth smiled, knowing that Nick had to stay and protect them. He walked languorously to the rift and tossed the blood in.

  It seethed and swarmed like a black ocean of sharks all smelling blood. One more of those and something would come through.

  Nick could feel his own power fading. Though it was unlikely that he would fade away, he would be slower and less able to help. Had he come back to this awful place simply to lose once more?

  Seth was coming back, his walk cocky, confident, even with the limp. Nick looked around for something to help but what was there? He could pray but he doubted that would help. This was not an ordinary ghost, this man had come through a tear in the fabric of space and time down to purgatory. From the hell that Nick had found himself in and there would be many more Seth’s and creatures like the one that had hunted him.

  Scouring the room he looked for something to help. There was nothing. His only choice was to grab hold of Seth and to dive through the hole. Maybe he could seal it from the other side. Throw his soul at it, though he didn’t know how, he knew it was his fate. To guard this place for all eternity, to make sure that no one else was hurt here, that no more souls were taken.

  The thought of being trapped there was almost too much but he would do it for the children and to keep this place from destroying an
y more lives. If he went through then at least the children would be safe and Stacey would find them when she came back and lead them to the rescuers above.

  Nick bided his time, waiting for Seth to approach and then he acted. Running as fast as he could he pushed his shoulder into Seth and barged with all his force.

  It worked, they were flying backward and Nick could see the rift approaching. Images flicked through his mind, just like they had when he died. Images of a life before all this. Of love and joy and laughter. It was sweet and bitter and tears fell down his cheeks as he pushed and strained. Seth was strong and bitter but Nick had love and joy on his side. Though he knew he was giving it all up he didn’t care, for he was doing it to save these precious children. They would get to live and no one else would ever be hurt by this house.

  The rift was closer now, it seethed and rippled behind him, beckoning. A look of panic came over Seth’s twisted face. Soon he would be back in the hell he came from, never to escape again. Nick knew now that it was his job to guard this place. From the other side. It was a lot to ask but he would do it. Grunting he shoved even harder and they moved back.

  There was less than a foot now between them and the rift. Nick screamed and they moved another inch. A vision of Stacey, Jesse, Gail, and the other people who had helped him crossed his mind. They had made him remember he was dead and he thanked them for it.

  Seth’s feet slid backward another 2 inches on the stone floor. They were so close. Nick wondered if he eased up and let Seth push back if he could then use that momentum to breach the last few inches. It was a risk but it felt right.

  Nick eased up and felt Seth push. Then Nick stepped to the side, grabbed hold of Seth’s shirt and jumped backward tugging them both through the rift.

  Falling, tumbling, darkness, cold, and fear.

  94

  Nick landed in the dark. The force knocked the air from his lungs and before he could take another breath Seth landed on top of him.

  Seth leaped to his feet and let out a wail of despair then he threw himself at the rift.

  Nick clenched his teeth. Still struggling to breathe, trying to come to terms with his body and the pain of being born through the rift he would never be able to stop Seth going back.

  Seth hit the rift and bounced back. It looked like he hadn’t opened it enough to allow free passage. Whatever had let him through in the first place must have been an anomaly. This was better.

  Nick could feel eyes on him, could hear rustling and groans behind him but it didn’t matter. If he were to be torn to pieces through all eternity he would protect that rift. He would save the world from the curse that was RedRise House.

  Slowly he stood. Though he didn’t know how he knew, he knew he could seal the rift forever if he gave up his soul.

  It hurt to just think about it. The soul had been the one thing that had kept him good, kept him from hurting anyone. If he gave it up then he would be no better than the people and creatures that he would be interred with. Maybe that would make it easier. Once he had made the decision, done the deed then maybe he would no longer care.

  More tears ran down his face for he wasn’t sure if that was an even worse fate. Spirits and things slunk through the darkness behind him, maybe they knew what he was about to do. A shadow crossed to his right. Trying to get around in front of him. Trying to keep him from the rift.

  Nick knew he had no time left. If he was going to do this it had to be now. Turning he walked around the body of Seth and closer to some trees. It was just 10 feet to the rift and he wondered how many people, things, he would have to get past to get there.

  Something grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Claws sliced into his skin and pain seared into his chest. Nick hit out with his other arm but he was weakening already. The pain was cold, numbing him, searing into him as it sliced flesh down to the bone.

  Though Nick struggled he was pulled away from the rift and he knew that this was the moment. He must pull out his soul and throw it into that black hole or these creatures, the worst of souls who had become blackened, twisted things would soon escape.

  For just a second he wanted to escape. The pain was driving him to insanity and if he stayed this was just a start. It was too much to ask of any person, why should he forsake his peace for this?

  The moment passed and Nick reached down with his free arm and thrust it into his chest. He was acting on pure instinct. The hand tore through him and came out wet and dripping. But it was holding something that glowed and warmed him. It was precious, infinite, and full of power and possibilities that man rarely realized. Nick stared in awe at the ball of pure energy before he pulled back his arm about to let go.

  Before he could, a hand clamped over his. Sealing the soul in his palm. Nick felt despair and defeat as he was yanked out of the hand that held him and torn through the darkness.

  Stacey screamed as she faded from existence. Why was she so weak to let this happen, now of all times.

  -

  -

  -

  -

  Then she was back, cold, frightened and as always never knowing how long she had been away.

  Where am I?

  Light flickered and cast shadows around her. The air was dank and musty and she knew she was beneath RedRise House.

  The children? Nick!

  Quickly she moved toward the corner where the rift was. There huddled before it was Noah and Sophia. He was holding his sister close and trying to protect her. Though his own arm was shaking he clutched on to her to keep her as warm as he could.

  Stacey walked up to them and smiled. Somehow she had to get them out of here but how.

  “You are safe now,” she said, putting energy into her form so that they could see her as clearly as possible and hoping her words were true.

  “Are you here to help us?” Noah asked.

  They saw her. Stacey knew that she had a big smile on her face.

  “Yes I am.”

  Noah nodded and little Sophia peeked out from under his arm.

  “I’m here to help you. Your dad is trying to find a way in here. Will you follow me?”

  The two children nodded and both got up. Stacey could see that they were weak and tired, but it would soon be over for them. Before she turned away she took a quick look at the rift. It was the same as before, maybe a little more active, maybe a little wider. Was it safe? Where was Nick?

  Then she understood. Nick and Seth were both gone. He must have taken the evil spirit through. How she hoped he could get back. For a second she hesitated, should she try and help? Only there was nothing she could do. She was young, learning and had little power left. For now her priority had to be the children. She was still weak and didn’t know how long she had on this plane, she must use what she had wisely.

  Turning from the rift she closed her eyes and felt for the vibration of the people outside. They were to her left, about one hundred meters away. That would be out in the passage. She would have to guide the kids along it to the closest point and then get them to call out.

  They looked so sweet and trusting and she knew it would break their hearts when they found out about their mum. Maybe she could explain this was not the end. Only none of that mattered, until they were out and safe, for while the rift was there, the danger was not far behind.

  “Follow me this way,” Stacey said and she looked back to see that they did. She wanted to take their hands, to hug them, but she couldn’t. If they found out what she was it could scare them. The thought of them running from her down here was unbearable. They could get lost, fall in the river, or stumble and hurt themselves. And who knows what evil remained here, what was lurking in the dark and empty spaces beneath this terrible place.

  The journey across the cavernous space of the sacrificial chamber took longer than she wanted. Sophia was dragging and still so very frightened. Stacey could see her eyes wide and staring, she was close to shock. The further they went from the torch the darker it got and Noah was eyeing h
er suspiciously.

  “It’s getting dark, do you have a light?” he asked.

  Stacey almost explained that she couldn’t hold one. If she was older, better in tune with her abilities she could glow but that would scare them.

  “There are lights in the corridor... I’m leaving that one for Nick.”

  The boy nodded.

  “Will you carry Sophia, she’s very tired?”

  Stacey could feel her energy going, the stress of holding her form so solid, of keeping back the influence of the house were all taking their toll. Even without that she could not pick up the child. Maybe Nick could but he had been here for a long time. What could she say to the children?

  Sophia was biting her lip and her big eyes pleaded.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t... I’m very weak from fighting the nasty man.”

  Stacey knew they had seen her fade and be gone, they had seen the Seth and they must know something was wrong. But their minds would be fighting it and she didn’t want to scare them. If she did she may lose them. So she smiled and turned and walked away hoping they would follow.

  For a second they stood but then she could feel them coming along behind her.

  Just a few more steps and they reached the door. Stacey bit back a sigh. It was closed. No problem for her she could simply alter her vibration and go right through but for the children! The door was heavy and sometimes stiff.

  “You need to open this door,” Stacey said.

  Noah looked at her, eyes drawn down in anger but his lip trembled. The boy was so close to the end of his strength and she loved him for it.

  “You do it!” Noah said and crossed his arms.

  Stacey dropped to her knees as close to him as she could. Maybe it was best if she explained.

  “You have been through so much, but soon you will be safe.” She didn’t say it would be over for she knew that they still had to find out about their mum. “I know you have seen things that you can’t explain.”

  Noah nodded and Sophia gave her a smile.