The Sisters of Nowhere

t h i r t y - t h r e e : l e g e n d s

Birdie and Wyatt didn't remember what happened after they found Hal Best's skeleton. All they knew was the horrible, stifling silence that followed.

And then they were back at the greenhouse.

They could have ran or sprinted or perhaps even taken a leisurely stroll. But they only recalled their need to get out of the forest and away from the skeleton.

They asked questions like, "How is this possible?" and "How long has he been dead?"

But all of these were silly, of course, because they had no answers.

These were the facts: The skeleton of Hal Best was found in Gwydyr. And the spirit of Hal Best was found in Nowhere.

Birdie needed her sisters and Wyatt needed to find Hal.

There was that something, something, something in the air again. It was growing, building up into a living thing like a thunderhead on the horizon, ready to burst.

They'd just gotten to the fence when Wyatt came to a halt, almost causing Birdie to crash into him.

Wyatt muttered a profanity that Birdie reciprocated when she saw the cause of the traffic jam.

Hal Best stood in the doorway of the farmhouse, a photograph in hand.

He knows, Birdie thought, suddenly and darkly. Because, for the first time, she was near enough to Hal Best. She could feel his energy, strong and pulsing, just like Silas's.

"Wait here," Wyatt said.

Birdie scoffed. "Are you really as stupid as you look?!"
"Please." There was something in Wyatt's voice that made Birdie afraid. Or perhaps it was the weighty burden in his eyes.

She relented. "Fine. But I'm going to go get my sisters and I'll be back."

She wasn't sure why she needed her sisters. All she knew was that if something had to be done that they were more powerful as a threesome.

In complete Wyatt Best fashion, Wyatt walked away without another word.

Birdie swallowed. The wrongness in the air was electric, sending warnings down her spine. She had to force herself to stay where she was and not drag Wyatt back with her.

But her feet were frozen in place as she watched the underwhelming scene before her.

Wyatt lumbered up the sagging porch steps and stood in front of Hal.

They exchanged a few words that Birdie couldn't hear, and then they both went inside, closing the door behind them.

Birdie had never been scared of ghosts before. She'd always thought of them as friends. Sometimes annoying, sometimes rude. But never dangerous.

And yet, the thought of Wyatt inside the house with that thing made her want to vomit.

She'd seen Hal's skeleton and somehow that made everything worse.

She had to find help.

She had to get to sisters.

~~~~~~~~~

Wyatt sat across from Hal at the too-dark dinner table. He hadn't been here since his first night in Nowhere.

Now that he knew Hal was a ghost, things made much more sense. Hal's random disappearances, the lack of lights, the breakdown of the house, and the way he rarely ate food. Now that he thought about it, Wyatt had never actually seen Hal eat at all.