One. Two. Three. A deep breath. Four. Five. Six. A slow exhale. She just needed to get her wind back, then she could run again.
"Eliza," she heard her name called and a slow, taunting, feminine drawl. "Come out and play, Lizzy." Two other girls giggled in the background.
"It's ok, Lizzy," another voice called from the same direction as the first. "We just want to talk about the ghost in the bathroom."
Lizzy ran her fingers over the rough bark of the tree she leaned against, centering her mind, trying to think of a way out. She knew the first girl to call out was Hannah, the leader of their trio. Hannah wouldn't hurry to chase her; she would make Olivia and Grace do the dirty work.
"Lizzy, come on. It's just us," the first girl called again.
She felt her legs wobble beneath her, but she forced them to hold her up.
"What?" she called back, keeping her voice even, but her heart hammered against her ribs.
"Ghost!" Hannah yelled with laughter.
Lizzy felt her muscles clench.
"Come on, Lizzy, it's ok, we won't tell anyone. We'll keep it between us. You can trust us."
Lizzy felt her jaw tighten. Taking a quick peek around the tree, she saw a flash of pink maybe forty yards behind her. A twig snapped to her right. One more deep breath, chiding herself to stop thinking about the burning in her chest and throat. She pushed herself away from the shelter of the tree and ran for everything she was worth.
"Wait!" Hannah yelled.
"Got her!" the third girl screamed, just as Lizzy sidestepped her grasp. She zigged and zagged through the trees, ducking low branches, and jumping over obstacles on the ground. If she tried to run flat out, Grace would catch her. She was, after all, the varsity track star of the school. No one could beat her in a straight and fair race.
That was fine though, Lizzy had traveled these woods for years coming to and from school. She knew their pitfalls like the back of her hand. Creston Gorge would be the place to lose the girls. It wasn't large by any means but there were a lot of dead ends. Lizzy took a sharp left, using her hand around a slender tree to cut the corner without losing speed. She felt her feet sink into soft earth and heard the squeal of dirt beneath her sneakers.
A sharp pain shot through her knee, but she kept running.
"Lizzy, stop!" Grace called from behind.
She felt her body start to slow. Her legs shook as she tried to take another step forward. No! She had to keep going. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She couldn't hear anything except her breathing.
"There she goes, catch her!" Hannah demanded, lazily jogging after the others. Lizzy saw her out of the corner of her eye and almost tripped over a large rock for her distraction. Grace whooped behind her to the right.
Coughing, Lizzy struggled for breath as she caught her balance. She looked back over her shoulder to see Hannah and Grace closing in on her.
Olivia jumped in front of her from behind a large clump of brush. Crying out, she skidded to a halt, feet away from Olivia's outstretched arms. She backpedaled, narrowly missing Grace as the girl slid to adjust her momentum to avoid crashing into Olivia.
Grace came up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders, trying to shove her backwards. Lizzy spun around to face her, but she didn't have time to dodge. Olivia's strong grip threw her off balance. The girls began to fall, both tumbling forward into the grass.
Lizzy rolled over and gasped for air. She kicked hard behind her, smiling when she heard the yelp of pain. On her feet again in seconds.
"You stupid bitch!" Olivia yelled, lunging at her. Lizzy dodged out of the way and ran again. She would never make it to the gorge, but Creston House was just past the tree line. If she could get there, maybe she could find her way out of the woods.
"Stop her!" Hannah screamed, running through the trees.
If ever she were one to pray, now was the time. The three girls behind her screamed and cursed, the sounds of their feet ripping through the underbrush sending a shiver down her spine. Anything was better than what they had planned for her. The last time they 'just wanted to talk' ended up with her being unable to move for several hours from sheer pain.
Of course, no one believed her when she tried to report the girls. Not perfect Hannah, daughter of the town Mayor. Not amazing Olivia, pride of the local high school. Even Grace got a free pass because everyone just lumped her in with the other two.
She felt her muscles tighten. She had to get out of here. They wouldn't stop chasing her until she was dead. She kept running, picking up speed as she did. Her lungs burned and her throat felt raw.
There it was, towering into her view as the oak trees parted to reveal the heavy iron gate at the entrance to Creston House. Lizzy clenched her teeth together and forced herself to run faster. She would make it. She had to make it.
She took a sharp right, and heard the girls scream behind her. They were too close. She was going to be caught. She didn't care though. She needed to get inside. The gate was so close. Just a little farther.
There, an imperfection in the design, a tiny gap, but she was a tiny girl. Lizzy clenched her teeth, sucked in a deep breath, and squeezed through a small gap between the bars. Her eyes watered with the effort.
Almost as if entering a different world, the air changed as soon as she popped through the fence and into the yard. She took several more steps, trying to ignore the ominous weight of the atmosphere.
Something crashed against the gate behind her. Lizzy screamed and spun around to see Hannah and the two other girls, their hands wrapped around the bars, glaring at her.
"Come back here you stupid bitch!" Grace yelled, her voice shaking with rage.
"You think this gate is going to save your freak ass?" Hannah growled.
Lizzy shrugged and grinned, "Scared? It's just a little haunted house." She laughed, hoping her tone sounded more maniacal than terrified.
"Get the gate open," Hannah spat at Olivia and Grace. She stepped aside as the other two girls started tugging at the bars. At least that was one benefit of being almost half the size of the other girls, she could fit through holes they couldn't. Lizzy crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and tried not to smile as the girls struggled with the heavy door. Until it started to give.
"Yeah, that's right. Once we get this open, I'll come in there and wipe that fucking smirk right off your face!" Hannah taunted.
The more they pulled, the more the gate gave way. If Hanna were to lend her strength to the other two, it would pop open any second. Lizzy spun around, looking for any safe haven that wasn't the main house. Unbeknownst to the other girls, it really was haunted. Whatever had happened to the ghosts in their life, it left a very gruesome stain on their incorporeal forms.
Metal screeched against metal as the unused doors eked further and further apart. Her heart pounded and she glanced at the front porch of the house. Which would be less painful? The three girls she knew wouldn't stop until they had beaten her within an inch of her life, or the little boy holding a ball over his torn open chest cavity, and whatever else awaited inside the house?
Olivia cried out and held her hand in front of her face. "I ripped my god damn nail and I just got these done!"
"That's it!" Hannah snarled. She lent her strength to the others. It would be a matter of seconds before the gate was open.
Lizzy took off, running toward the house, little boy and whatever else be damned. She would happily take psychological terror over physical pain. She sprinted up the grand steps, two at a time, watching to make sure she didn't trip or fall. Her feet made a much better focus than the boy watching her approach.
Head cocked, his face turned from passive to interested. His eyes gleamed as he stared at her, his mouth forming a silent laugh. She ignored him, focusing on the house. Triumphant screams rent the silence behind her. She had no other choice.
Glancing over her shoulder, she tried the right door first, praying against all hope it was unlocked. Nothing happened. Anxiety-born pain shot through her chest when she saw the other girls running up the driveway. There was no way they would go into the actual house. At least, she hoped.
Everyone knew Creston House. It was famous in their area for being one of the most desolate, haunted, terrifying buildings in the state. Even the homeless people and squatters, as scarce as they were out here, avoided it. Her hand twisted the right knob, expecting the worst. A low sob forced its way from her throat as the mechanism creaked and the portal opened inward.
The room beyond was dark. Lizzy blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the gloom. She pushed into the depths of the house, trying to slam the door behind her. For once today, something seemed to be going right. Lizzy managed to close the door and throw the deadbolt. Something heavy slammed against the sturdy wood just behind her.
"Find another way in." She heard Hannah say through the door.
"I don't know Hannah." Olivia's voice wafted through the cracks. "I'm not really cool with going in there. I mean, you've heard the stories! Serial killers hide bodies in there!"
"Oh my god, grow a pair, Olivia. There are no such things as ghosts or haunted houses, and serial killers probably have better things to do than drag a dead body all the way out here," Hannah replied.
"I'm not sure about that," Grace chipped in. "I mean, if I were going to ditch a dead body, I couldn't think of many better places."
Lizzy's skin crawled and she glanced over her shoulder into the depths of the house. Aside from the little ghost boy still watching her, there didn't seem to be anyone else around.
"Come on, I bet there is another door off one of these patios."
The house was eerily quiet. Not even the creak of a floorboard, or the sound of the wind.
She took a step forward, looking around. She couldn't see anything out of place. In fact, everything seemed to be in place considering the place had been abandoned longer than anyone could remember. Even her grandmother told her stories about how no one had ever lived there. That it was built as a summer home for a wealthy man, but he disappeared shortly after construction was completed.
But why would anyone build a summer home where the winters were so brutal? And what happened to him?
A faint creak drew her attention to the stairs. The wood groaned and the banister splintered and cracked. Lizzy sighed. So there was at least one angry spirit somewhere in the house. "Knock it off," she mumbled. "I'm not in the mood."
Lizzy turned to the little boy and whispered, "Are you a good boy or a mean boy?"
The ghost boy's mouth dropped open, and he glanced over both of his shoulders with comical timing, like he was looking for anyone else she could be talking to. "Me?" he asked, clutching his ball tighter to his chest. Lizzy grimaced as it dug deeper into the open cavity. It was far worse up close.
"You don't look like a bad boy, so I guess you must be a good boy. What's your name?" She tried to look anywhere but at the wound.
"I-I..." The ghost boy hesitated.
Lizzy frowned.
"I-I...I am..." His voice trailed off, like he hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time.
"Your name?" Lizzy prompted.
It took the ghost boy several moments to answer, "Billy."
"Billy, do you know if there are any other unlocked doors in the house?" Lizzy leaned down, trying to bring herself to his level. He must have been about eight or nine years old when he died. She tried to imagine what it would be like to be dead for that long and wondered how much of a chance he had of being able to speak.
Billy looked around, taking in the details. After a moment, he said, "In the kitchen. It's the one Papa always uses."
"Right." Lizzy frowned. She had no interest in meeting Papa if she could help it. She didn't point out that it probably didn't matter if the door was locked or not for Papa to use it. "Can you take me there?"
Billy's face lit up. "Sure thing, ma'am!"
Grunting, Lizzy followed him through the main foyer and down a long hall between the stairs and what looked like a formal parlor. "I'm not really old enough to be a ma'am," she whispered. A little louder, so the boy would hear, she said, "My name is Lizzy." He smiled at her.
"That's Momma's sitting room," he chirped, pointing to a room on the right. "And on the other side is Mr. Creston's office. Momma says I'm not allowed to go in there."
"Uh-huh," Lizzy mumbled, not paying attention. She was more worried about where the other girls were and if they had found this apparently unlocked door.
The ghost boy continued down the hall. Lizzy followed, keeping her eyes peeled for anyone else. Billy skipped along like he didn't have a care in the world, still clutching his ball, jabbering at her about this or that. He disappeared through an arched doorway that led into another hall. Lizzy went to follow him but froze when she heard banging on another door further down.
"Is that the kitchen?" she asked him, trying to keep her voice low. It was lucky the boy didn't have to consider any such measures. He traipsed through the main door like it was no big thing, chattering on.
Billy paused and turned back to her when he noticed she wasn't following him anymore. "What's wrong?"
"The girls that were chasing me, I know you saw them when you were on the front steps," Lizzy paused, giving him time to nod. "Are they in the kitchen?"
Billy shrugged.
"Can you check for me?"
"Ok!" He ran into the room with all the exuberance of a young child. "Yes!" he yelled from the other room. Lizzy once again thanked her lucky stars they couldn't see or hear him and waited for Billy to come back out. "Aren't you gonna say hello to your friends?" he asked.
Lizzy sighed. She moved up behind the ghost boy, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible. The room was dark, lit only by the light coming through the windows.
"That's cute. They aren't my friends and between you and me, I'm terrified of them."
Billy's face scrunched and he seemed angry. "Do they tease you like the schoolgirls tease my sister?"
"I'm assuming yes."
The little boy let out a growl that seemed out of place for his tiny stature. "Do you want me to scare them?"
Lizzy heard them rattling around in the kitchen and she retreated down the hall, trying as silently as possible to make her way back towards the front of the house. "Yes, yes I do," she replied. Her answer seemed to please him. She could tell the boy must have been a handful in life.
Billy zoomed in front of her, and she froze, holding her breath. She had no idea what he was about. Was he going to turn on her? Keep her in place until the other girls found her? He grinned and pointed down at the floor. "This one creaks," he said. "It's really loud."
Lizzy took a deep breath and relaxed. Billy was going to be her ally. Slowly letting her breath go, she smiled at him and avoided the boards. "Thanks, Billy." Lizzy managed to make it back into the hallway without much sound, but she needed a place to hide. "Hey, if you were going to play hide and seek, where would you hide?"
Billy considered for a moment. His eyes lit up when he decided. "Behind the couch in there," he said.
Lizzy sighed and entered the informal sitting room. Behind a couch didn't sound like a great hiding place. Apparently the kid needed a few lessons in 'hide and seek'.
There was a double set of doors on the far wall that must have led into the office he mentioned earlier. Along the side wall were more double doors, leading to who knew where.
"Hi, Momma!" Billy called. Lizzy's head whipped around to see a jolly-looking woman in her late thirties sitting in an armchair, making the motions of someone knitting. She had the same gaping hole in her chest as her son did, though hers was more covered by her clothing and didn't seem as severe. "This is Lizzy! She's my new friend!"
"Billy," the woman sighed in a rather put-out fashion. "We've had this discussion over a thousand times. They can't see us. They can't talk to us. They don't know we exist."
"But Lizzy can! She really can, Momma! And there are some other girls in the house. They were chasing Lizzy. She said they are mean to her and she needs a place to hide."
The woman was about to reply to him, but Lizzy cut her off. "Billy, what is your special talent?" she asked, trying to block herself from being seen from the doorway with furniture.
"Wait, how..." the woman let the question drop as utter disbelief spread across her expression.
"Eliza! Come out, come out!" Hannah called from the hallway. "We know you are hiding in here! There isn't anywhere else to go!"
Lizzy and the woman both gasped and stared at each other. The woman stood up and began walking towards the door.
"Are there any other exits?" Lizzy asked the woman, her voice no more than a whisper.
"No," she replied. "There are French doors through the ballroom and a door to the back in the kitchen, but you can only reach them by going through the great hall."
"Oh, you are going to pay so hard when we catch you!" Olivia cackled. "You can't avoid us! We will find you, and we will beat you, and we will make you suffer!"
Lizzy couldn't help the way her hands shook as she covered her mouth, trying to silence her strained breathing.
"Help her, Momma," Billy cried, running over and tugging on the woman's skirt.
The women's eyes narrowed. She ran her hand along the door, glancing around the jamb. Whatever she saw made her even more furious. Lizzy watched as the woman took a deep breath, scrunched her hands at her side, and screamed, "Leave my house!"
Lizzy jumped from the shrillness of her voice. She could hear it on a different level from the one ghosts usually used. Three sets of lungs responded with the most terrified cries Lizzy had ever heard. Then there was thumping, crying, screaming and unintelligible words, and a surprising amount of cursing. A door slammed. Silence.
"Thanks, Ma'am," Lizzy said, coming into the open. She rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans and let out a long, relaxing breath. She didn't feel like these ghosts were going to hurt her, though she was sure Hannah, Olivia, and Grace wouldn't soon forget their experience inside the house.
The woman smiled. She had a lovely smile, despite the fact that her face was lined and worn. It seemed to soften the rest of her features, giving her a more youthful appearance. Her hair was mostly gray, but she held it up in a bun, leaving some wisps to frame her face.
"Who were those girls, Momma?" asked a girl as she wandered into the room. "They seem to be watching the house from the front lawn." She was dressed much like her mother in the same oversized sweater and knee-length skirt set, but her hair was done up in braids instead of a practical knot. Lizzy guessed she was a year or two younger than herself, maybe fifteen or sixteen. The girl seemed to have suffered the same fate as her mother and brother. "And who is she," she asked, looking Lizzy over.
"That is what I'd like to know," The woman replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Lizzy didn't mind, it helped to hide the hole.
"Hi," she waved, sheepishly. "I'm Lizzy and I see dead people." The woman frowned, the girl's eyebrows furrowed, and the boy giggled. "I guess you have to see the movie."
The woman rolled her eyes.
"And this is my son, Billy, and my daughter, Eliza, and they are both going to be ghosts when they die. You know, like in the movie.
"Wait, she can see us?" The girl asked. She wandered closer and examined Lizzy before waving her hand in Lizzie's face.
"Yes, I can see you." Lizzy bent her head back to avoid being touched. It was a disconcerting sensation.
The girl whooped, "She can see us! Oh, I have a million things to ask! What year is it? Henry Ford, did anything ever come of those contraptions he was making? Film reels, do you think you can bring one here?"
"Dolores!" her mother chided, "contain yourself and act like the proper young lady you are supposed to be!"
"I am the proper young lady I am supposed to be, Momma, but Lizzy can see us! Isn't that wonderful? We get to talk to her. I wonder if she knows about the house. And what about the movies. Do you think she knows about them? I bet she does."
Her mother gave her 'that look'. It was a cross between an annoyed frown and a disapproving stare.
Dolores quieted down, but not before Lizzy saw her roll her eyes. She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
"I'm Ruth. It's a pleasure to meet you, dear."
"You know, if I'd have known the ghosts in this house were nice, I would have stopped by earlier." Lizzy smiled and took the seat on the chair Ruth waived her to.
"I'm not sure that would have been possible. Honestly, I'm surprised you've made it this far. Normally those with 'all their senses', as we say, avoid this place at any cost." Ruth took her seat once more while Dolores pulled a stool over so she could join them. Rather, she tried to pull a stool over, but her hands kept falling through it, giving no more resistance than smoke. She gave up with a disgruntled growl.
Laughing, Lizzy jumped from her seat and moved the stool for her, which elicited a happy exclamation from the girl. "I'm not sure I follow," Lizzie replied to Ruth.
"I'm sure you've felt it, the lingering weight of the air, the currents that make the hair on the back of your arms stand up. The way the light seems to fade in certain places. Even the sound of it, the silence. There are many reasons people don't like Creston House, but they all come down to the same thing. It is a place of darkness and death, despair."
Another shiver ran down the nape of her neck as, one by one, the feelings Ruth described hit her. "Why? What is it from?"
"The demon in the back bedroom." Ruth answered, as if it should be common sense.