Trapped

IV

That night I could not sleep. I tried and tried for hours on end. I had school the next day, but I just couldn't fall asleep. Normally, I loved sleep. I could fall asleep just about anywhere at anytime, but not tonight.

Finally, after hours of tossing and turning, I got up. My clock read three in the morning. I opened the door to my balcony and stepped out. The night air was refreshingly cold. I wrapped my arms around myself. I leaned up against the balcony and just breathed in the night air. The stars twinkled above me. It was so quiet, so very quiet. And then it wasn't.

"Hi." I jumped a foot into the air at the sound of the little girl's voice to my right.

"Greta! God, you scared me. What are you doing?"

"I am not the one that is not in bed when I am supposed to be."

"No, but you're the one scaring the turds out of me. Do you have to sneak up like that?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"What would you like me to do? Stomp my feet?" She slammed a foot into the ground, but it didn't make a sound, because she had no weight.

"Okay, fine, you win. Is there something you want, or did you just come to argue?" Good thing it was the middle of the night, otherwise anyone that saw me would have had me committed to a mental hospital. Unless they could see her too. Then they might have themselves sent away.

"I want your help. Need it, actually." She looked at me, her eyes pleading with me.

"You're going to have to be more specific." I took a step closer the the ghost. She sat on the handrail and kicked her feet nervously.

"I need you to save my life and the lives of two other girls. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams."

"How do I do that?" I quizzically smushed my eyebrows together. This didn't sound like something within my power. I was not Death himself, you know.

"You go back in time, find me, save me, Abigail, and Lydia. We need you. Now that you know I'm for real and that I actually did live and get hanged hundreds of years ago, will you help me?"

"I don't think I can. There's no way I can go back in time. That's just not possible. Sorry."

"I did not want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice," Greta gave me a determined look, before grabbing my hand and pulling me over the side of the railing. I screamed as I fell down two stories. As I hit the ground, everything went black.

************************

"Ooooowwwwww," I groaned. I pushed myself to a seated position and put my head in my hands. "Why did you do that, Greta?" I didn't look up.

"Who is this Greta you speak of?" A male voice asked. I froze, my eyes going wide, before snapping my head up. A guy stood in front of me. He had brown hair and old fashioned clothes. He showed of an easy smile and dashing blue eyes. He must have been around seventeen years old. Coincidentally, the same age as yours truly.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I scrambled to my feet and stood in front of him. I went to adjust my pajamas, but realized that I was now wearing an old fashioned dress. My hair was pulled back into a bun with a bonnet over my head. I had no idea how this happened, but I had an idea of who did it. The one. The only. Greta Adams.

"My name is Elias Smith. The better question is why are you here, this is my property after all."

"What're you talking about? This is my-" I stopped my sentence before I could say house, because I looked around. The house was still behind me, however it was not nearly as big or finished. The road, which was in front of the house was not present. There was barely even a dirt road. There were also much more trees and unkept grass. I was beginning to panic now. Did Greta actually send me back in time to save her and her friends? That can't be possible. Can it? Well, ghosts shouldn't be possible either, but I had already seen one. Anything could happen.

"Your what? Are you alright? You appear to be disoriented." He took a step closer to me in concern. He spoke in a light British accent.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I just ask, um, where exactly am I?"

"Why, Salem, Massachusetts, of course. You stand in the beauty that is the English colonies. It is wonderful, is it not?" He spread his arms wide and looked around.

I nodded. "It is. I'm Finley Harper, by the way. I-I just have one more question. What year is it?" The question would obviously get a weird response, but I had a hunch of when I was, and I was not a fan of the answer.

"You have forgotten what year it is? It is 1693. You must have hit your head hard. Are you in need of the doctor?" Elias looked confused.

"No, no I'm fine. I was just making sure. Pff, yeah I knew that. I was just playing around. Hey look, I know I said that was the last one, but what's the date today?" I didn't want to press my luck for getting answers, but it was kind of necessary information. I had a mission. A mission to help Greta, and needed to have certain pieces of information in order to do that.

"Thursday, October 20th, 1693. Are you from around here? Who is your father?"

"No, I'm from the next town over. I-I was sort of lost and I tripped and fell down. Sorry." I struggled to come up with a convincing lie. My story did not explain why I was on his property in the first place, but I was hoping that he wouldn't ask. He didn't seem to be buying it.

"What business do you have being in Salem?"

"I am visiting a family friend, um, do you know the Adams' family?" I felt ridiculous asking that, but I was quite sure that he didn't know about the actual Addam's Family.

"Why of course. Terrible shame, is it not? Would you come inside for some afternoon tea?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at me with a kind and inviting expression on his face.

"Yes, please." I let him lead me inside 'his' house. He showed me to the kitchen, even though I knew exactly where it was. It was very different, no appliances, nothing. Just a table and a few chairs.

"So what exactly is the terrible shame you're talking about?" I asked, as he put a pot of water over the fire place in the corner.

"You have not heard of their tragedy?" He looked at me like I had two heads.

"No. What happened?" I put my elbows on the small table and leaned towards him. He grimaced, before taking a seat across from me.

"Miss, little Greta was accused of witchcraft. She is to be hung in a weeks time, October 27th. Her friends, Abigail Smith and Lydia Barkley, were accused also. Apparently they had been doing the work of the devil in the woods while they were supposed to be helping their mothers. The girl that was hung last month, Elizabeth, accused them of it. Just awful, don't you think?" He got up and poured us two wooden cups of tea, before returning to his earlier position.

"That's terrible. Where are they keeping them?"

"Where they always keep them, in town square in the jail."

"Oh right, of course. Well, thanks for the tea, but I have to go," I said. A part of me wanted to finish this mission as fast as I possibly could, but another part was eager for any type of adventure and excitement. I did know, however, that I needed to find Greta and fast.

"Leaving so soon? Is there anything else I can do for you before you go?" Elias stood up with me, taking half of a step closer.

"Actually, would you mind showing me to the jail?" I asked, taking a chance on this man I just met.

"It would be my pleasure, Miss." He gestured for me to go first, and I walked out of the kitchen.