First Soul

Chapter Seven

I woke with a start and scrambled back on the hard rock. Coming to my senses, my heart continued to hammer uncertainly. I was panting, sweat was dripping down my back as I finally realised where I was.

Sitting up, I wiped my face and sighed. The pain in my chest actually felt like the wolf had pounced on me, its claws puncturing flesh. I pulled my top up just to make sure, but I was clear and my skin was still intact.

I looked around the cramped space, the dark making it difficult to see anything, but I managed to find the two dark lumps on the floor. Phillip and Deyna had slept through my little episode.

Moving quietly, so as not to wake the others, I carefully stepped out of the cove and stretched. Sighing, I shook off the cold and walked right into Lester's path.

"Morning," Lester greeted awkwardly.

I coughed and mumbled a greeting. Embarrassed and confused.

"You didn't sleep well."

It wasn't a question. I couldn't say how Lester knew, but there was a connection between the ghost and myself. Maybe Lester was to blame for my sixth sense. The extra sense put me on edge. "You know I didn't sleep well..."

"Yes." Lester nodded his head.

"Do... nightmares like that happen often here?"

Lester floated in front of me, his eyeless sockets tracing the crack on the red clay like floor. "Who did He use?"

I looked at him sure that I'd misheard. The look on Lester's face let me know that I hadn't. "My grandmother."

Lester nodded like he'd expected something like this. "What happened?"

As I explained and watched the reaction my words caused. Sympathy was followed by disbelief and then anger, but within all that, I sensed that something bigger and scarier than Lester. To be fair, Lester had lost the fear factor long ago. I was still wary of this ghost, but I felt better for the off-load. It would seem Lester had been the one to come to when I'd cracked.

"It is perhaps time we were moving."

I nodded. I hadn't expected an explanation regarding the nightmare. I also couldn't argue with the need to move on. We couldn't stay here.

After waking them, we exited the cove. Deyna and Phillip stumbled with foggy minds and continued walking along the steep cliff face. I feared one of them would walk right off the edge but thankfully the path was wider than it had been which allowed us to walk in a group.

We were quiet, including Lester. The reality of our situation had completely set in. I consulted the map, my fingers slowly trailing where I thought we were. We were nearing the two straight lines, and this made my stomach sink to my feet. I really didn't want to know what the lines were. If it was a cliff face, we would deal with it. This was the only path that didn't end with a dead end.

Lester glided over to me, his black eyeless pits scrutinising the map. I watched him do it, hoping for some hint of what lay up ahead. Instead, I received a curt nod to let me know we were heading in the right direction, and then Lester floated away.

We walked, occasionally stumbling, for what seemed like miles. The two straight lines on the map appeared to be close to where we were standing but in reality, they weren't. This place was a lot bigger than I'd assumed and it was cold, dirty and tiring, which made our trek harder. My stomach rumbled, my throat felt as dry as the Sahara Desert. We needed to find some food and water, soon.

Even the conditions in this place still hadn't diminished the last scrap of hope. It was the only thing keeping our complaints silently tucked away. I believed we would find our way to the outside world, or our parents would find us. There was a positive element of living in Amblewood. People generally noticed if you didn't turn up because it was such a small place.

Lester set the pace like he couldn't see the three teens behind him flagging because of the hunger we felt. I assumed ghosts didn't need to eat. I recalled the scene from Casper where the ghosts ate but the food fell out of their white, elastic forms.

Lester stopped walking up ahead, the shimmering lines of his body seemed to jolt with shock. I moved to stand in front of the group and alongside Lester. We faced a high cliff wall; the rocky surface looked like every other surface in this place. With Lester's reaction I'd expected something more dangerous, it appeared to be a dead end. I brought up the picture of the map in my mind and knew we were following the only path.

"Have we come the wrong way?" Phillip asked, his voice echoing in the vast area.

Beyond our group and the light of Lester, I could hear the echo of his question fade. I didn't want to know what was out there in the unknown.

"No, we haven't come the wrong way." I didn't need to look at the map to the check this, I was certain.

This was just another obstacle.

Lester floated, inspecting every part of the wall, he would know what needed to be done. We didn't have a password. We didn't have key and we most certainly didn't have any money. Was this some sort of secret entrance? I knew the entry to whatever it was would require more than money.

Blood?

My soul?

"Something must be given as payment," Lester muttered.

I looked at Lester in surprise, I'd been right? Lester's face appeared to be frozen, the features a mixture of fear and determination. Lester lifted his hand which was shimmering; it sparkled like jewellery under a spotlight. What was the ghost doing? Lester quickly smashed his arm through the wall.

What the hell?

I jumped back, shocked by the brute force behind the punch. A loud crunching sound echoed around them before Lester's screams filled the dark space. It didn't take much for Deyna to scream with him.

Phillip pulled Deyna towards him comforting her, but with Lester's soulful screams she wasn't going to settle down anytime soon. Should I try and touch Lester? What was the wall doing to make the ghost scream?

Ghosts can feel pain?

In life and in death, pain was always there?

Lester flickered, his internal light fading. I launched myself towards the ghost knowing what would happen, but we needed that light and if we lost it, I didn't know how we were going to react.

Deyna was already at breaking point.

Phillip wasn't doing too great either.

My nerves were so tightly wound I knew I was close to snapping.

Before I could ask Lester what was wrong, the light was taken from us once again. 

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Oooh! There's something connecting Stephen and Lester... what's going on?

Two chapters coming next Thursday!

Keeley
XOX