After a while, I laid him on his cot and pulled the covers around him tightly. I locked the door this time, so he could not walk away in his sleep and so no one could enter. I sat at my desk a good long while. I heard music downstairs and more than once heard feet running past my door, but nobody knocked. I heard no voices. Not like before.
But they were here. They were just waiting for us to step outside into the darkness. But I would not do such a thing. I would not.
I waited for the sun to come up. It was nearly four—it wouldn’t be long now, but I felt so tired. So very tired. I decided to lie in my bed, not to sleep but only to rest and wait and watch over Ollie. I shoved my hand under the pillow to plump it up a bit when my fingers brushed against something strange.
I pulled out a long black feather. How had this gotten here? It wasn’t here before. It couldn’t have been. But it was here now.
I glanced down at Ollie, who was sound asleep now. A brief beam of moonlight passed his face; the light was quickly spirited away by yet another cloud. But during those few seconds I could swear by all the saints above that I saw a smile on the boy’s face.
I flung the feather on the floor and stared at Ollie. I was unable to look away now. I stared until the sun rose and the sounds downstairs faded.
And when all was quiet, I fell asleep.
Chapter Eight—Jocelyn
I hung around the auditorium for an hour, but the boy’s face never reappeared. I prayed that the camera had captured something. “Please don’t tear up my equipment while I’m gone,” I said to whoever might be listening. Geesh, how cold was it now? My phone app said 52 degrees Fahrenheit, but I could see my breath.
Wait, that wasn’t my breath. It was someone else’s, and they were standing beside me. Someone much shorter and invisible. I didn’t move but watched the tiny clouds of breath appear and disappear, and they were getting farther away. He was leaving the auditorium! Could this be the boy I saw?
“Hey, wait!” I said, but the tiny puffs of frosty air disappeared and reappeared, each time a little farther away. I ran out into the hall, but there was no trace of anyone or anything remotely like what I saw. He was leading me somewhere, but where?
You know where, Jocelyn Graves. Back to your room. He likes it in there.
I hurried up the stairs, but it was impossible to be quiet. I don’t know why I bothered trying. The entity or entities that lived here already knew I was here. Maybe I was afraid to draw more attention to myself. I couldn’t say. Then I heard my phone ring. But I turned the ringer off…that’s not right. I raced down the hall and dug in my bag to find it. The phone was glowing, and the ringtone brought me some comfort. It was hard to be afraid when your favorite pop singer was singing about being “happy.”
“Hello?” I said a little too desperately. What time was it anyway? I glanced at my watch. Was it seven o’clock already? Yeah, sure enough. I could see the sun coming over the forest at the back of the house. How was it I was losing track of time here? I wasn’t usually this off-schedule.
“Hi, Miss Graves? This is Melissa with Happy Paws.”
“Oh no, is it Sherman? Is he hurt?”
“He’s not hurt, but he refuses to eat or drink anything. He doesn’t act as if he feels well. I was wondering, is your dog on any kind of medication? Or does he have a condition that we need to be aware of? Maybe something you forgot to list on his paperwork?”
“Condition? Is Sherman okay?”
“Well, I’m not sure. That’s why I’m calling. Some dogs don’t do well in boarding situations, and Sherman is clearly one of those dogs.” She didn’t sound upset, but I could hear the genuine concern in her voice.
“He hasn’t hurt anyone, has he? He’s never been aggressive with me. Never.”
She answered in a kind voice, “No, nothing like that. He’s moping, not going out, not eating. He might be sick, and if he is, he shouldn’t be around our other visitors. I hope you understand. You will have to come get him or send someone.”
“Uh, okay. I’m not far away. I will come get him, Melissa. Thanks for the call.”
I could hear the sympathy in her voice. “I hate to cut Sherman’s stay short since he’s such a sweet boy, but we have to be safe.”
“All right, I’ll be there soon.”
“Great, thanks. Sorry again to have to call you.”
“No, it’s fine. Tell my puppy I’m on the way.”
I hung up the phone and paced the room briefly. Okay, change of plans. I’d never worked on a paranormal investigation with a dog before, but it didn’t look like I had much of a choice. I only had to stay one more night…surely Sherman and I would be okay. Unless he really was sick. I guess I had to play it by ear. I hated to kill a few precious hours, but Sherman came first.
I grabbed my purse and keys. I’d go pick up Sherman, and then the order of business would be to find food and a public restroom, review some of the evidence and continue the investigation. This would be my last night here at the Leaf Academy. Last night, last chance to see something truly paranormal…although I couldn’t imagine how I could top what I had already seen.
Strange, I don’t remember laying that feather on my purse. Boy, this bird couldn’t keep his feathers, could he? Although I didn’t want to, I picked up the feather and set the thing in the windowsill. I’d check it out further when I got back. As I headed out of the room, I stepped into the hall and again caught a glimpse of a pair of legs.
What the heck, man?
I ran to the far end of the corridor and distinctly heard the sound of keys jingling. Damn it! Nobody is supposed to be here but me! I opened the door, a door I missed earlier, and ran up a narrow set of metal stairs that led to the roof. Without thinking about the holes I saw earlier, I ran a few feet and then paused.
Yes, there was someone up here, a guy with dark hair, and he was smoking a cigarette. What should I do? Run back down the stairs? Hunker down and hide?
“Hey,” he said as he flicked the butt off the side of the building. The sun was up now and cast a golden light on his somewhat handsome face. He looked like a biking enthusiast, the Harley-Davidson kind—from the 1950s. He had on blue jeans with rolled cuffs, a black leather jacket and a white t-shirt. Well, it was sort of white. My sixth sense was screaming at me, “Run, idiot!” but I was fascinated and terrified. Too terrified to do anything like run.
Weapons, weapons. What kind of weapons do I have? None. None at all. Just keep your cool, Jocelyn, and stay away from the edge of the building.
He walked a little closer to me as he shook another cigarette out of the pack that he pulled from his jacket pocket. He offered me one, but I shook my head emphatically.
“No, thanks.”
“Not a smoker, huh? Probably smart. Smarter than me.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be here, mister. This is private property.”
He grinned and showed brown stained teeth. Gross. “And yet, here you are, little lady. Here we both are. Probably for very much the same reasons.”
Oh, he must be a paranormal investigator. I breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t let my guard down yet. Not completely.
“You come here often?” I asked stupidly. He laughed, and I shook my head at my poorly chosen question. “I mean, have you been here before?”
“Many times.” He lit his smoke, and the smell of tobacco wafted in my direction. “Many times.”
“I see.” I shifted my position but didn’t try to get any closer. He really needed to go. I couldn’t do a proper investigation with this guy wandering around the building. I was just trying to figure out how to ask him to get lost, in a polite way, when he asked me the strangest question.
“Are you human?”
“What?” I clutched my purse tighter as the coldest sensation I ever experienced crept from my head clear down to my feet. I was completely encased in cold clamminess. I didn’t think it was a funny question, but for some reason I laughed. “Yeah, I am human.”
He sat down on a broken chair and appeared to be somewhat relieved at my answer. “Thank God. I hate it when they aren’t human.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything for a while. But time was not on my side. Sherman was waiting for me, and the clock was ticking on my investigation.
“What if I wasn’t?”
His eyes bored into me, and he stood back up. He wasn’t menacing exactly, but he didn’t look like a happy camper. Damn it, Jocelyn. You and your big mouth. “Why do you ask?”
“I just think it’s odd, you wondering if I’m human. What if I wasn’t? What would you have done about it?”
“I would have to kill you, of course. Kill you and peel your skin off.”
With a deep, guttural scream erupting from my lips, I let fear fuel me as I jetted back down the narrow stairs and then the two flights of stairs inside the building. I raced out the front door, fumbling briefly for the key, and then somehow made it to my car.
“Holy crap!” I repeated over and over as I put the key in the ignition and slung the car in reverse. I didn’t stop until I got to the end of the driveway and then patted my hands on the steering wheel to steady myself.
What the hell was that? That wasn’t a person. No way was that a person. That was something else entirely. No living person had ever scared me so much in my life.
And that was saying something.
Chapter Nine—Jocelyn
By the time I made it back to Happy Paws, I wasn’t swearing or gasping for air. Whoever that guy was, his intention was clear—he wanted to scare the hell out of me. Mission accomplished, dude, but I wasn’t going to sit around crying. I put in a phone call to the realtor and waited to hear something back from her. Somebody besides me needed to know some weird biker dude threatened to kill me and peel my skin off. I shivered again at the memory of his cigarette glowing and his eyes narrowing evilly. There hadn’t been a shadow of a smile on his face. And that was nothing to joke about, anyway.
“I’m here for Sherman. I’m his…”
“Right, you’re his Mom. I’ll go get him. Sorry it didn’t work out.” The girl disappeared into the back and returned with my dog and his overnight bag. He immediately began wagging his tail and practically dragged her to me. “Wow! This is the happiest he’s been since he got here. Sorry again. If you have to leave again, maybe next time we can try those treats, the kind that help dogs relax. That helps with some of our visitors.”
I didn’t like that idea at all. I never took meds and sure wouldn’t pass them off to my dog. I smiled politely and signed Sherman out. We headed back to the car, ran a few errands and poked around until my phone rang.
“Hey, Adrian, thanks for calling me back so soon.”
“No problem. How can I help you?”
I glanced at Sherman in the rearview mirror. He was sitting patiently in the backseat, just happy to be hanging out with his “Mom.” He didn’t look sick at all to me. Wow, I was a mom. How hilarious was that? And with that realization, all the weirdness I experienced earlier seemed like a dream. “I just want to verify that no one else has been given permission to be at the Leaf Academy. Not at the same time as me, I mean.”
“There is only one key, and you have it. Is everything okay? Should I be concerned?”
“No, but I did see someone in there. A man was on the roof, and I think he was inside a few times.”
Adrian paused and asked, “What did he look like? Did you call the police?”
“No, I didn’t because, well, that would kind of defeat the purpose. I don’t want to get the police involved unless I have to. I’ve seen vagrants in deserted buildings before, but this guy was a bit odd. I just thought someone should know about him.” I tried to laugh it off. I felt stupid now calling Adrian over a weirdo. But she didn’t seem surprised at all.
She sighed and said, “I should have told you this before, but Mr. Holloway didn’t want to influence your investigation. There have been reports over the years, many reports, as you well know, beyond just the rumors about some October curse.”
“You mean the October People. I know what they say about the property. I mean, that’s kind of why I am there. And I read all about the murders, the one in the thirties and then the two others.”
Adrian cleared her throat. “Um, there are more than those. Not necessarily murders but two suicides and several disappearances.”
“Oh,” I said as I sipped water from my bottle.
“Tell me, Jocelyn, what did this vagrant look like? Did he have black hair? Was he wearing a motorcycle jacket?”
I blinked at hearing her question. “Um, a motorcycle jacket. How did you know? You’ve had dealings with this guy before? I mean, is he dangerous?”
“He’s dead. That’s Mr. Holloway’s brother. He killed himself there, threw himself off that roof in 1957. That’s why Mr. Holloway closed the place. Gary was his older brother; it appears Gary never left. At least that’s what Mr. Holloway believes.”
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“I guess that means you’re done with the investigation. Should I come by and get the key? Are you leaving now?” Adrian sounded a bit disappointed but not surprised. I was starting to get the feeling I wasn’t the first paranormal investigator to spend time there. What were they hoping for? I was no exorcist, not by a long shot.
“I’m not leaving, Adrian. I just wanted to know about this guy. You know, as far as we know, he could be someone trying to pull a prank.”
She blew into the phone as if she didn’t believe me. “Who would go to the trouble of doing all that? I mean, just to scare someone? And from 1957 on to today? Even Mr. Holloway doesn’t go in there. I think you were kind of his last hope. He wants to sell the place, get rid of the whole shebang, but how can he do that if it’s infested with…bad memories? You have to know that’s what he’s been told. That the Leaf Academy is paranormally and permanently infested with activity. And it’s getting worse.”
“I think it’s time you leveled with me, Adrian. I take it you didn’t give me access because you liked my photos or my writing sample. What am I really doing there?”
She paused, and I heard the sound of a squeaking door on the phone. “We know about the ghosts, Jocelyn. It’s not that we don’t believe it, but we want it on record. And from someone credible, someone who would do their due diligence. I’ll be honest, we’re not sure what the next step would be, but you come highly recommended to us. Highly. If you want to call it off, we’d understand. I would understand; Mr. Holloway would understand. You couldn’t pay me to walk in there, and I’m trying to sell the place for him. I think he just wants some peace. And I want to help him find it.”
I chewed the inside of my lip. “What do you know about a little boy? Have any children died at the Leaf Academy? Maybe a former student?”
Adrian hesitated again. “Not that I know of, but you are not the first person to mention a ghost boy. Sightings have been going on for decades. The first murder victim, Mr. McCandlish—”
Suddenly my phone went dead and Sherman began to whine from the backseat. I pounded on the phone’s keyboard, but nothing was happening. I plugged it into the charger, but not even that could breathe life into it.
I turned around in my seat to pet my dog. “Okay, boy. If I’m going to be your Mom and you’re going to be my dog—I mean, kid—then you should know this is what life is like with me. I hunt ghosts. In fact, I’m going back now to find one. Possibly a very mean one. Are you in?”
Sherman licked my hand, which I took to mean yes. Not all the dots were connected, but my mission was much clearer than it had been: find out who this “boy” was and what he wanted. And show that creepy rooftop entity that I wasn’t one to be pushed around.
I was feeling big and bad until I reached the driveway of the Leaf Academy. For some reason, it looked even weedier, if that was a word. I could see less of the house than before…were the trees trying to block my way?
Okay
, October People. Ready or not, here we come.
Chapter Ten—Hugh
I woke up to a tickling sensation on my face. It was Ollie, rubbing that horrible black feather across my forehead. I swatted it away, relieved to see that the sun was still up and the door remained shut.
“Wake up. We have to go now. You promised.”
I snatched the feather from his hand a bit more ferociously than I intended. He stepped back and out of my reach. Did the boy think I would hit him?
“Where did you get this feather, Ollie? Did you bring it up from the yard? Did you sneak out while I was sleeping?”
“No, I did not. It was on your pillow.”
I swung my feet over the side of the bed. My head felt like I’d been at the tavern all night, an activity I had not participated in for at least ten years but certainly welcomed now. “The things you say, Ollie. We will go, but you and I must talk first.” I rubbed my scruffy face with my hand. My stomach rumbled and my mouth was dry, but first things first. “Why were you in the auditorium last night?”
Ollie backed away another step. I noticed that he had dressed already. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with sickness. I could not shake the nausea that threatened to cripple me. After I closed my eyes a minute, I pressed Ollie for information. “Tell me about the auditorium last night. Who were those people? Why did you go there?”
Ollie’s dark eyes welled up with tears. “What people? I heard music. I thought someone was here.”
The boy was lying to me. He saw those people—the woman in the red dress, the one who looked like Emma, and the strange lady with the braids who looked so much like Mrs. Smith. The menacing shadow that hovered over the place. “If you heard music, you should have told me about it and not gone adventuring by yourself. It’s not safe, Ollie.” I dressed quickly as I thought about what to do next. If we set off by foot, we would walk about half a day before we came to the first residence. Surely they would help us. Too bad I had no car and no way to call for one…unless I broke into the headmaster’s office, which I had every right to do. I was after all the de facto headmaster now, as I was here at the Leaf Academy caring for a student while Mr. Mitchell was on his way to Georgia for his extended vacation. Yes! There was certainly a phone in his office!
The October People (Gulf Coast Paranormal Extra Book 1) Page 5
