Halloween is SO my thing

Hitchhiking with the Headless

A/N I love the song on the side. That's a cover of the famous Haunted Mansion bust song :) Enjoy, comment, fan and vote!

Willa's POV

Crazy stuff has happened in the last few hours; or days. According to Quint we've been here for 3 days or time! They count days differently. Only 4 days till Halloween, our deadline, and nothing has been found. I guess it's inevitable considering we're traveling by foot.

Romulus seriously creeped me out. Almost dying, it kind of changed my point of view and not to regret things. Like they stuff with Seth- I mean was it so bad? I was just caught off guard!  The black-out came on and next thing I know I was kissing him! I've actually wanted to talk to him about that... Maybe he knows what happened to me during the black out. I slow my pace to match Seth's.

"Hey... can we talk?" I ask him in a hushed tone.

"Depends. What about?"

"Uh... the stuff during my black out.... and us." I whisper the last part. He perks up a bit.

"You don't know what you are?" Seth seems surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Jeyk. A person with two personalities. When you blacked out, your alternate side came. Her names Alyson and she represents what your not. Anger and Hate and Fury. She's a.... colourful."

Colourful? Oh god, what did she say to him? How is it even possible I never knew about her? I was about to respond when we heard a snort. I turn to find a horse drawn carriage slowing next to us. Jackie, Rowan and I start to move towards us but Seth grabs my arm.

"Don't go near it. We don't know who's in there," He whispers, urgently.  I examine the carriage. Other than the fact that seems like it pulled out of the 1800's, there was something wrong. It was rusted and water dripped from the sides. A foot stepped out- but it was transparent. I pale as I realize a ghost just stepped out.

The ghost is a young man in army fatigues. He smiles when he sees us and strolls over. I take a step behind Seth, grasping his hand for protection.

"My name is Neckstop. I came to help you per request of another ghost." He says cheerfully. He doesn't seem too worried about the fact that he's dead. Everyone stares at him, unmoving, until Rowan pipes up.

"Neckstop? Why do they call you that?"

"Well because my body stops at my neck," He says as he removes his smoky head. I almost faint at the sight. Even if he is see-through doesn't mean it isn't creepy. Luckily, Neckstop senses discomfort and replaces his head on his shoulders.

"So who sent you?" Quint asks. He seems more calm then us like he's seen ghosts all the time. He probably has.

"You're friend Hazel. She wanted to come herself but since she's newly deceased the council wouldn't allow an earth visit." I gulp with guilt. Hazel had sacrificed herself to save me. I had been wondering why all this time. I would understand if it was for Jackie or Rowan but me? It didn't make sense. I wasn't important to the quest- I'm just the best friend tagging along for the ride.

"How do you know, Hazel?" Jackie asks, narrowing her eyes.

"Hazel's my sister. I died long before her in the World War II. Anyway, my sister wanted me to give you a lift to the first location you need to try. I can only stay for so long, this carriage is rented." Neckstop explains. I glance at Jackie and catch her eye. She trusts him, I can tell. Plus we're on a tight schedule.

"We'll come." Quint says, also reading Jackie's expression.

Everyone piles into the carriage. By the time everyone but Seth and I are in, there's no room left. Neckstop suggests we sit on the seat in front. We plop down just in time as the carriage jerks forward and the horse's pulls it along. It's a cold night and my hoodie isn't doing the trick. Seth pulls off his and places it around my shoulders. Immediately I feel warmer and smile at him.

"Thanks," I say shyly.

"No problem." We sit in silence for a moment. I stare at the stars that seem to be arranged in different constellations then usual. I swear I saw one in the shape of a pumpkin. I felt like I should say something.

"I can't do this," Seth says, abruptly. "I can't keep being around you knowing that you don't feel the same way that I do."

"Seth, what do you mean?"

"I know you don't love me." I stare at him for second, then lean forward and kiss him. He kisses back and I'm warm for a second. We break apart and I stare at him.

"Do you really believe I don't love you?" I smile as he grasps my hand and we sit in companionable silence. It's nice to have that weight off my shoulders. Seth feels just the same way. We talk a little bit and decide this will be private. We don't need to screw up the mission with us just being concerned about our relationship.

The carriage stops at a graveyard. It's musty and coated with fog. Seth helps me down and we join the others. Neckstop says his goodbyes and says he better tell Hazel about his success. "Oh and Willa, she asked me to tell you 'guilt is not your friend but an enemy meant to distract you'"

He gives me a meaningful look then slides back into the carriage. We turn to the graveyard. The gravestones all look the same: rusty, mouldy and old. No crisp white one's like back home. It feels spooky but I'm not too worried. Anything that attacks us will get beat by Quint's super strength awesomeness. He and Jackie are whispering behind us as we inspect each grave. There's no sign of any special stone what so ever.

"What do we do now?" I ask Seth. He shrugs and suddenly whips around-frantically searching for something. "What is it?"

"Where's Rowan?" I can feel my eyes grow wide. Oh no she wandered off. We run to the dirt path and rush up it. We arrive at a small bar that Rowan is staring at in a mesmerized fashion. "Rowan, why did you leave?"

"It's there. I can feel it," She says in a hushed tone. I look up at the bar. It's nothing much but when Rowan's onto something- you have to trust her.