Oreo

Six: The Ghost

We waited another day, just to be absolutely sure that the soldiers had moved on, then Axel, Reo, Rosalie and I left the house, hoping that Mum and Dad could keep the others safe. We'd waited till sundown so we wouldn't be seen as easily. We scurried out of the shelter of the trees into cold night air. The grass beneath my feet was dry and dead. As I realised this, I thought blankly, ‘Just like Amberton...’ We’d reached the remains of my town within about 10 minutes, cutting diagonally through a long field. It felt so lifeless and empty to clamber over the rubble and destruction that had looked so normal and pretty, full of life. The only thing that was still standing was the manor house at the very edge of the town. Blackness painted the entirety of the front wall – it had narrowly avoided the worst of the explosion but was still charred. We stood stock still, staring up, picturing the intimidating creature inside. I turned to Axel. ‘As a side note, the ghost likes furniture.’

‘Furniture?’

‘Throwing it.’

‘Ahh.’

I twisted back around to face the house, but it was then that Rosalie went.

She’d set off running for the gates, flung them open and sprinted inside. ‘Rosalie!’ I hissed. ‘What do you think you’re doing!?’

‘KAI!’ she cried. ‘KAI!’

Axel did not even spare a thought for his own safety as he bolted after her. Rosalie was already inside the residence and neither I nor Reo wanted to stand outside like lemons, so we both ran after the siblings. Axel had Rosalie held tight, stroking her hair as he hugged her.

‘Was hast du gedacht?’ he asked.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

‘Sie konnte ihn nicht hören?’ she replied, looking angry and confused.

‘Nein...’ answered Axel, now equally confused. Rosalie was shouting now.

‘Er weinte. Jetzt hat er aufgehört. Sie ihn getötet haben, Axel, haben sie Baby Kai getöt et!’

‘Nein!’ Axel shouted back. He clamped his arms round her, his breathing ragged, then kept telling her quietly, nein, nein, nein.

I gave Reo a baffled and terrified look and he shot one back. We were completely lost. Axel noticed our exchange of glances and briefly explained to us, ‘Rosa heard Kai cry. Zen it stopped and she zinks he is dead.’

Rosalie must have half-understood because she let out a cry. Axel went back to promising her it wasn’t real. Reo and I leant against the wall behind us. ‘Do you think the reason she heard Kai crying...’

‘Is because this place messes with your mind?’ I finished. ‘Maybe, yes.’

‘Kai’s safely with Mary-Anne and your parents back at the house. Why would she hear Kai?’ asked Reo.

‘Because she has spent her life caring for him – she loves him more than anything and she’d do anything for him. It’s the perfect way to lure her in.’ I explained, my theory seeming wild but fitting.

‘In that case we need to prepare ourselves by figuring out our own weaknesses.’

‘What’s your weakness?’ I asked him.

He looked thoughtfully at the ceiling for a moment, before answering, ‘A milk fountain.’

It took a lot of self-control to keep from laughing.

‘What’s yours?’ he asked.

I fell deep into thought, searching my heart, and the only thing that surfaced was a cute little kitten. I smiled at the adorable cat and then noticed that its chocolate coloured front paw was smothered in paint.