Ghost Chains

Chapter 2

Hands attempted to shove the floating woman before him out of natural instincts. His body leaning back to try and get away from the mysterious intruder. A small cry of fear escaped from his lungs.

Silas fell backwards off his bed. The impact shot a jolt of pain to his tailbone and elbows. Groaning with an ache, the startled young man rolled to his side, not sure whether to hold his elbows or rub his tailbone.

"That was rude of you!" The ghost placed her hands against her hips, "But I guess that sort of reaction is to be expected."

Rapid sounds of footsteps echoed from the hallway. The owner of the house shoved open the bedroom door, rapidly lighting up the room from the light coming from outside the room, "Is everything alright?"

Silas glanced up, squinting at the sudden brightness, "Uncle Jarvis! There's a ghost!" He began to rub at his eyes while sitting up.

"What?" His uncle glanced around the room and saw no ghost. All he could see was a slightly messy room, and his nephew murmuring on the floor about bruises forming.

Jarvis released a pity sigh, "Look, you are just traumatized from today's tragic event. The adrenaline is probably making you see things, but I can guarantee that you are safe here."

Silas' eyes widened upon those words, his uncle couldn't see her.

Jarvis softly walked over to help Silas up from the floor. The ghost girl floated out of their way, despite the fact they would just go right through her. With his uncle's aid, Silas sat on his mattress, his eyes permanently glued to the floating woman.

She floated in one spot, her legs bent at the knees and her hair flowing around as if underwater. Her eyebrows were furrowed together with concern, for him or for her? Behind those warm honey eyes, he could also see a hint of relief and joy. Her earlier comment, that she had been waiting for months for him to notice her, she must have been dying to talk to him. Both of them must have an endless amount of questions.

"Did you want me to warm a glass of milk with cinnamon and honey?" Uncle Jarvis' voice stole Silas' attention. His expression matched the ghost, his uncle was also concerned.

"Oh no, I think I'm okay now." Silas ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and released a long shaky breath, first through his nose and the rest through his mouth.

"Are you sure?"

Silas slowly nodded his head, "I guess I'm still in shock, I'll just need time. Sorry for disturbing you."

Jarvis patted his nephew's shoulder, "Just holler if you need anything."

After Jarvis left and closed the door, Silas buried his face into his hands. Shaky breaths were still being released from his body.

The thought of this night being just a dream had crossed his mind, but the pain he had experienced of falling out the bed and everything else feeling so real, he knew he was awake. The high possibility of witnessing a dead body could be playing tricks on his mind, but with her still being visible and that comment from earlier, he was not entirely sure this was all a trick of the mind. Especially for the fact he could see a long chain hovering around his room.

When he followed the trail, one end was around the female's neck while the other connected to his ankle. He could see the chain, and yet he did not feel anything around his ankle. Reaching for the chain, his hands went right through them. Even moving his leg around, the chain followed.

"Have you calmed down now?" Her voice startled him. Silas could feel his hairs stand up at her voice. Not because it was sinister sounding, or croaky and harsh, her voice was in fact the opposite. Soft, gentle and nurturing. What scared him was the fact she was still there and this wasn't just a spur of his imagination.

Silas finally looked up at her. She was pretty for someone who was a ghost. When he thought of a ghost, one would assume they would take the form of what they looked like when they died. Blood, torn limbs maybe, cuts or bullet holes, a broken body from falling, or even burned flesh from being burned alive.

The ghost before him appeared completely unharmed, untouched even.

"Good!" The woman placed her hands on her hips, "You know that was awfully rude of you to scream at me! And you even attempted to shove me!" She jabbed a finger in his direction. Silas' eyes widened, he was being scolded by a ghost.

"Sorry," Silas whispered, he did not want his uncle to think he was having full blown conversations with himself. People often spoke to themselves, but more as a thought process or a self rant.

"It's alright," Her voice had begun to lower.

She turned her head and relaxed her shoulders, "I'm sorry as well. I didn't mean to startle you. I was just so excited that someone could finally see me."

"You had said you were waiting for months?" Silas had surprised himself with how calm his voice was. His body still felt numb and shaky, his stomach felt tight from the scare, but he felt no sense of danger with this lady. Her scolding must have removed any negative emotion, or any sense of fear. Instead, a part of him wanted to laugh at the situation.

"Yeah, probably around two months." She scratched her chin, most likely thinking of exactly how long it had been.

Two months this ghost had been chained to his side, and had not been seen or heard by anyone. Silas began to feel sorry for her, it must have been stressful and confusing for her. Especially if she realized that she was dead, but he could not bring himself to ask her yet. He was not even sure if she knew or had even come to terms with it.

"So," Silas leaned forward, resting his elbows against his thighs, "What's your name?"

That seemed to brighten her up as she turned to look at him, there was a smile on her face, "My name? It's-"

She stopped. The smile dropped from her face as it was quickly replaced with one who had just realized something terrible. Her arms fell to her side, appearing limp and weak. Her once flowing hair seemed to have lost its volume.

"I, I don't know."