me.
Kerry said. “They’ve found her.”
Eliza’s pale lips moved in a soft whimper, “Shadow spooks.”
***
I sat up straight in my bed, shivering in a cold sweat. My heart drilled against my ribcage; I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms tightly around them, waiting for my breathing to slow. My room was dark, so I snapped my bedside lamp on. Looking at the time on the clock radio, I was surprised to see that it was seven p.m. I’d slept three hours.
I knew that the dream was an omen. That either Kerry and Eliza were trying to warn me, or that somewhere in my subconscious I knew answers to questions I had in my mind. The term shadow spook could be something I came up with to name the seemingly live entity made of black smoke that seemed to be following me around. Lurker? Is that what the girl would be called? The term fit. She was lurking. Part of me didn’t even want to know why. I just wanted her and her weird fog to go away and stop watching me. The black smoke was something separate from her, though. I felt strongly that it had nothing to do with her.
I sat for a long moment until my breathing became more regular.
I smelled the rich aroma of chicory and wondered whether Delia was home. But there was an absence of humming. I frowned, and then remembered that Mick was downstairs waiting for me.
Slipping on the fuzzy frog slippers Delia had gotten me for Christmas because, she says, frogs are good luck, and pulling my thick fleece over my head, I made my way downstairs.
Mick was in the kitchen, scooping spoonfuls of cocoa into one of Delia’s thick pottery mugs. He must’ve felt me there, the way people often do when you come up behind them, because he turned to look at me. Blonde curls falling over one eye, he grinned at me. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. It’s about time.”
I offered him a smile and went to look at what he was making. “I slept more than I meant to. Guess I was tired.”
“You were. I was getting worried. You were starting to see things.”
“Mick, I don’t think those things were just in my head. I think they’re real.”
He looked up from his mug. “Really?”
I sighed. “Okay, don’t look at me like I’m nuts, please. I’m serious.”
“What exactly did you see?” he asked me, pouring coffee on top of the cocoa.
I frowned. “What are you making?”
“Oh, mochacino. Delicious. Wait until you taste it.” He added half and half and stirred the concoction, and then slid the mug to me. “Wait ’til it cools a bit. Don’t want you to burn your lips.”
Would you kiss them better ? I thought. A grin came over my face and I couldn’t help it. “Thanks.”
“So don’t change the subject. What did you see?” he asked, taking another mug out of the cupboard and scooping cocoa into it.
“I saw…black and gray smoke, like dark fog, three times. At the school in the parking lot, in the cemetery, and on the side of the house near the bushes. It seems to be appearing wherever I am today.”
He stirred his mochacino, and then turned and leaned against the counter, watching me thoughtfully.
“I also saw a red-haired girl watching us from behind a gravestone.”
“I didn’t see any of that stuff,” he said, sipping carefully.
“I know…I’ve always been a little different.”
He watched me over the rim of his mug.
I pushed out a long breath, thinking of Delia because she was one of two people I could talk to about this stuff.
Wentworth. I made a mental note to talk to him about the crazy stuff I’d been seeing. Maybe I’d invite him over so I could talk to him and Delia together.
Suddenly, it hit me that Delia wasn’t home. Though it wasn’t unusual for her to come home later, sometimes ten p.m., I didn’t think she’d stay away from home for long because of the missing girls. “Delia isn’t home yet.”
“Is that strange?” Mick asked me, putting his mug on the counter.
I picked up my cell from the counter where I’d left it earlier.
Kerry said. “They’ve found her.”
Eliza’s pale lips moved in a soft whimper, “Shadow spooks.”
***
I sat up straight in my bed, shivering in a cold sweat. My heart drilled against my ribcage; I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms tightly around them, waiting for my breathing to slow. My room was dark, so I snapped my bedside lamp on. Looking at the time on the clock radio, I was surprised to see that it was seven p.m. I’d slept three hours.
I knew that the dream was an omen. That either Kerry and Eliza were trying to warn me, or that somewhere in my subconscious I knew answers to questions I had in my mind. The term shadow spook could be something I came up with to name the seemingly live entity made of black smoke that seemed to be following me around. Lurker? Is that what the girl would be called? The term fit. She was lurking. Part of me didn’t even want to know why. I just wanted her and her weird fog to go away and stop watching me. The black smoke was something separate from her, though. I felt strongly that it had nothing to do with her.
I sat for a long moment until my breathing became more regular.
I smelled the rich aroma of chicory and wondered whether Delia was home. But there was an absence of humming. I frowned, and then remembered that Mick was downstairs waiting for me.
Slipping on the fuzzy frog slippers Delia had gotten me for Christmas because, she says, frogs are good luck, and pulling my thick fleece over my head, I made my way downstairs.
Mick was in the kitchen, scooping spoonfuls of cocoa into one of Delia’s thick pottery mugs. He must’ve felt me there, the way people often do when you come up behind them, because he turned to look at me. Blonde curls falling over one eye, he grinned at me. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. It’s about time.”
I offered him a smile and went to look at what he was making. “I slept more than I meant to. Guess I was tired.”
“You were. I was getting worried. You were starting to see things.”
“Mick, I don’t think those things were just in my head. I think they’re real.”
He looked up from his mug. “Really?”
I sighed. “Okay, don’t look at me like I’m nuts, please. I’m serious.”
“What exactly did you see?” he asked me, pouring coffee on top of the cocoa.
I frowned. “What are you making?”
“Oh, mochacino. Delicious. Wait until you taste it.” He added half and half and stirred the concoction, and then slid the mug to me. “Wait ’til it cools a bit. Don’t want you to burn your lips.”
Would you kiss them better ? I thought. A grin came over my face and I couldn’t help it. “Thanks.”
“So don’t change the subject. What did you see?” he asked, taking another mug out of the cupboard and scooping cocoa into it.
“I saw…black and gray smoke, like dark fog, three times. At the school in the parking lot, in the cemetery, and on the side of the house near the bushes. It seems to be appearing wherever I am today.”
He stirred his mochacino, and then turned and leaned against the counter, watching me thoughtfully.
“I also saw a red-haired girl watching us from behind a gravestone.”
“I didn’t see any of that stuff,” he said, sipping carefully.
“I know…I’ve always been a little different.”
He watched me over the rim of his mug.
I pushed out a long breath, thinking of Delia because she was one of two people I could talk to about this stuff.
Wentworth. I made a mental note to talk to him about the crazy stuff I’d been seeing. Maybe I’d invite him over so I could talk to him and Delia together.
Suddenly, it hit me that Delia wasn’t home. Though it wasn’t unusual for her to come home later, sometimes ten p.m., I didn’t think she’d stay away from home for long because of the missing girls. “Delia isn’t home yet.”
“Is that strange?” Mick asked me, putting his mug on the counter.
I picked up my cell from the counter where I’d left it earlier.
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