Current or Past?

Chapter One, Beyond This World

I sighed deeply, knowing that once again, I would get no sleep. It's been the same every night, go to bed, listen to the breaths next to me, slip a little into sleep, and get pulled back. Literally, though I don't get scared. I knew it was most probably Hock trying to scare me silly. He tugged at my arm again.

"Hock, stop it." I turned to face my sleeping man next to me, finding him snoring lightly. "Holy-"It pulled at my arm again. I twisted in the bed, trying to pull free of the sheets grasp. Only that it twisted more against my small body frame. A strangled scream escaped my lips, and finally, I scrambled out of bed, struggling to make my way out of the room.

"I knew this house was a bad idea. I tried to tell Hock, but he was just so in love with this, this, this Monster that nothing would stop him from buying it." I angry through a whispered rant into the giant hallway as the wine-stained carpet softly brushed against my ankles. Aimlessly, I wandered the big mansion, my footsteps echoing on the peeling walls. The mossy smell of old cloth clung to everything in the house.

It was my first time going around the house, even though I've been here for almost a week now. I've been too busy unpacking things to notice things like the eerie glow the moon gave off, or the increasingly loud creaks echoing in the dark. I had no flashlight, but it was light enough for me to see where the things were. The stained carpet looked menacing, and chandelier slightly rocked back and forth.

"But... there's no wind..." I wondered aloud, and then I felt it.

The cold, frightening chill. It gave me goose bumps, and I froze in place. "Dear God, I reject this. Dear God I reject this. Dear God I-" I screamed when a form stood in front of me, and I took a step back, readying myself to run.

"Shh..." It held a finger up to its lips, and then gently put up two, clear white fingers, signaling peace.

"What? Why...?" I was utterly perplexed.

"Please..." It was barely audible, a soft wind-like wisp of air caught in this room. The voice sounded scared, lonely, and I knew it needed me. Only that I didn't know why it came to me.

"What do you need?" I waited a few seconds, but it didn't answer. Slowly, it began to look more... human. I glanced away, feeling dizzy, and then felt my jaw drop. The walls began to look younger, newer. The floors were a nice, polished white, instead of an old, molding red. Voices drifted from the halls, laughter of party goers surrounding me.

Slightly regaining composure, I closed my mouth and looked at the ghost, though it was no longer a ghost, but a sad, tuxedoed man. His eyes plead, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why did you bring me back here?"

"Because," His voice was quiet and slow, like he was learning to speak for the first time ever. "I need you. You understand why I'm here without asking, and I didn't have to read you to know that. I could see it in your eyes. Because you know where I'm coming from, and not literally. You felt how my family felt, and you have insight."

"Then, why can't you ask them to help you?" I stared intently at the man.

"Because, you have insight. You know at the bottom of your heart what happened that night, and, although you may not get the meaning of this right now, you know how to stop it from happening again. You can stop what happened that night from happening again."

"Which night?"

"This night."

"What?" He didn't wait to answer before disappearing.

Not even a minute later, a scream of frustration and anger filled the ball room, stealing everyone's attention. I rushed to the source of the scream, not even stopping to acknowledge the fact that I'm passing right through the people.