The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe (22 page)

THE SHADOW SPOKE IN THE VOICE of Felicia Nielsen. “What the
heck
are you guys talking about in here?”

The girl stepped into the light, wearing a warped smile that, unfortunately, was not part of her Maleficent costume—a long, dark purple dress, a shawl wrapped tightly around her scalp, two twisted black horns rising from her skull. She was the picture of evil—exactly what she’d been going for. She glanced between Gabe and Mazzy. “I trusted you guys. And you were all in it together?”

“In
what
together?” Mazzy asked.

“Right. Play dumb. The firecracker? The cake? I could have lost a freaking finger!”

Gabe took a deep breath. “You’ve got it wrong, Felicia. We’re only trying to figure out what’s happening here. We want to stop whoever it was that hurt you.”

“
Whoever?
” Felicia stepped forward, laughing. “You’re kidding, right?” She nodded at Seth, who was now by the sink across the room. “Just a theory, but do you think it could possibly have been the kid with the wooden sword?”

Seth dropped his arm to his side. “It’s a costume,” he said quietly. “It’s Halloween.”

“Every day is Halloween for you,” Felicia answered. “I would have thought you’d have learned by now not to mess with me, Seth.” She nodded at Mazzy and Gabe. “I tried to help you guys understand what you were dealing with here, but you didn’t listen.
Gabe, I saw you and Seth leaving Mazzy’s house last night. I didn’t bring it up at lunch today because I wanted to be sure.” He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. “Whatever you’ve got planned is not happening. You’re not gonna freak out any more of my friends.” She stepped toward the open door behind her. “In fact, when I’m done with you, I doubt you’ll set foot in Slade Middle School again.”

“Would you shut up a second and listen to us?” Mazzy shouted. Felicia flinched, surprised at the outburst.

Something slammed out in the hallway—a locker, a classroom door—reverberating so loudly, Gabe wondered briefly if a piece of the ceiling had collapsed.

Felicia turned toward the darkness beyond the door. “Who’s that?” she cried out, breathless. She must have seen something then, because she staggered against the door frame, her shoulders slack, as if someone had punched her hard in the stomach. She turned around and faced the group. “H-how are you guys doing this?”

“We’re not doing anything,” said Seth, calmly. “We’re standing right here. With you.”

“What do you see?” Mazzy asked Felicia.

Felicia turned reluctantly back toward the hallway. “There’s someone down there,” she said. “Watching.”

Gabe held out his hand and waved her forward into the kitchen. “Get away,” he whispered. A beastly roar erupted from the passage and Felicia fell into the room. She screamed and scrambled across the linoleum on her hands and knees. Gabe’s muscles had turned to cement.

A slithering, sliding sound echoed forth from the darkness. Claws scraping against tile. It was coming closer.

Felicia stood, then slipped and knocked Gabe into action. Glancing around the room, he noticed another door, half-hidden beside the refrigerator. Taking Gabe’s silent cue, Seth turned
toward the exit. He threw himself into the door, sending it swinging wide open. Gabe waved frantically for Mazzy and Felicia to follow. Scrabbling sounds resounded into the kitchen. Mazzy bent down and picked up the book, then Gabe and Felicia followed her, stumbling into the darkness beyond the new doorway.

THE HALLWAY WAS A TUNNEL of shadow. As the group careened toward what looked like the emptiness of outer space, Gabe remembered his dream in which the Hunter had eaten him alive. He felt that same weightlessness, as if he were falling, floating, waiting for one final crunch.

Ahead, he heard a whump followed by a shout of pain. “Wall!” Seth cried out sharply, then added, “This way. Quick.”

A cacophony exploded from the kitchen behind them. Something large must have passed through the workstation aisle, knocking over utensils, plates, glasses.

Gabe knew his sneakers slapping against the floor was like a trail of crumbs for the Hunter to follow. His only thought was to find light, a place with people around. The high school lobby. Even the gymnasium would do. He wasn’t sure if anything could protect them now, but at least they wouldn’t be sprinting through darkness.

The sound of claws scrabbling on tile erupted from the kitchen door. Something hit the wall of lockers back there, releasing a clang that echoed in all directions. It was coming closer. Fast.

Suspended in the pitch just ahead, another red exit sign glowed. Seth led the way forward, his sword raised, as if he were still pretending to be the hero of the story. He pushed open a pair of double doors, revealing a pinpoint of light at the end of a long hallway—the lobby. The group dashed ahead and didn’t glance back, not even when the doors slammed shut behind them.

Focused on their goal of the lobby in the distance, none of them noticed that the hall was blocked by one of the accordion gates until Mazzy smashed into it at full sprint. Felicia, trying to avoid the same fate, swiveled to the side. But she slipped on the hem of her polyester costume, and her leg extended into Gabe’s path. He flew face-first into Seth. Together, they bounced off the blockade and fell to the floor.

For a moment, the hall was quiet, then they groaned together and rolled away from one another. Everyone managed to climb to his or her feet, hearts and minds still racing.

“Is he gone?” Mazzy asked, peering back down the dark hallway. The double doors were fifty yards behind them.

“I can’t see,” said Gabe.

“He’s hiding,” said Seth. “We need to keep going.”

Felicia shook the bars of the accordion gate. The contraption rattled but didn’t give.

“Wanna try and keep it down?” Seth whispered.

“We’re locked in,” Felicia said, not acknowledging him. Her voice wavered at a high pitch, panicked and very un-Maleficent-like.

“Can we climb it?” Mazzy asked.

“There’s only a few inches at the top,” said Gabe. “There’s got to be another way around.”

“Wh-what’s going on here?” Felicia asked, her brain finally catching up to reality. “Who’s chasing us?”

“Long story,” said Seth. The sneer in his voice was unmistakable. “We’ll be sure to tell you at lunch on Monday, you know, if there’s room at your table.”

The double doors slammed open down the hall, smashing against the walls with such force it sounded as though they’d been ripped from their hinges.

GABE BURNED WITH FEAR AND ANGER. He spun toward the gate, trying to see beyond the inky blackness and the fuzzy spots that danced in his vision. This was Seth’s fault. He’d taunted the Hunter, dared him to show up. To battle. To play the game. And now the beast, or Mason, or whatever, was coming.

The light of the lobby was unreachable by about the same length as what they’d just run. Surely the crowd there would hear them.

Felicia grappled the bars again. “Help!” she screamed. “Someone! Please!” The rest joined in, shouting until their voices were raw. But no response came. “Can’t they hear us?”

Mazzy glanced over her shoulder and whispered, “The sounds of the haunted house must be blocking us out.”

A new growling stirred from the darkness behind them. Gabe turned quietly with the others toward the thing in the shadows. An obscure mass in the center of the hall was slightly distinguishable from the rest of the darkness, moving forward, shifting like the silhouette Gabe had seen at the edge of the woods by Temple House. Here, it was only a blur, a blob, but its rumbling voice gave it a new shape.

“Mason!” Gabe called out. “Stop! We’re not playing anymore.”

The mass grew as it slunk closer. The group pressed against the gate, keeping their eyes focused on the thing. The growl rumbled louder and a foul aroma drifted toward them—mold and mildew and freshly exhumed earth.

“On the count of three,” Gabe whispered, “everyone push as hard as you can.” The others tensed. He counted aloud and then, together, the group slammed their backs against the cage.

It held fast.

“Again!” Gabe said.

The thing was running now, its claws slipping and sliding on the tile, trying to catch a crack, a groove, anything to push itself forward faster.

“One. Two. Three!”

An earsplitting squeal and a jolt rocked the group as a piece of metal gave way.

“Here!” Seth shouted.

Gabe turned to find Seth already pushing Felicia through a small gap between the gate and the wall. “Go!” Seth ushered Mazzy through next, then grabbed Gabe’s shoulder and shoved him forward.

When Gabe turned around, an enormous darkness rose up behind Seth. Two arms extended from the shadow, reaching for Seth as he raised his foot to step into the opening. Gabe took hold of Seth’s hand and pulled as something swiped through the space where he’d stood. Seth’s sword clattered to the floor.

A large, dark shape slammed against the cage, but it bounced away before Gabe was able to get a good look. The gap they’d created was clearly too small for the thing to fit through.

“Come on,” said Mazzy, waving them farther down the hall, toward the light of the lobby.

“There’s another gate,” said Felicia.

The growling continued from the other side of the cage.

“We smashed through this one,” said Gabe. “We’ll do it again.”

“But what if this was just good luck? What if we get stuck?”

“What other choice do we have?” Mazzy asked.

“There’s gotta be another way through,” said Seth. He pointed to the hall that branched off to their left, then stepped quickly into its shadows.

“Are you sure?” Gabe asked, following hesitantly. The thing rattled the gate and released a howl of frustration. He realized then that he didn’t care if Seth was sure or not.

AFTER A BRIEF SPRINT, Seth stopped short. He clutched at a doorknob on his left. When he pulled the door open, the smell of chlorine nearly overpowered them. The four stumbled down a small corridor and into a yawning space.

Allowing their eyes to adjust yet again, they found themselves standing by the deep end of an indoor pool. Tall windows allowed light from streetlamps outside to filter in. The water was only steps away.

“Careful,” said Mazzy. “Floor’s slippery.” She and Seth crept toward the shallow end on the other side of the room. But Felicia seized up, clutching at Gabe’s elbow.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” she said.

“We can apologize later.” He pulled his arm from Felicia’s grip. “When we’re safe. Okay?”

The door in the corridor behind them crashed open, and a large figure darted out. Gabe froze as the figure plowed into Felicia. She screamed and plunged into the water.

Even after she slipped below the surface, her voice continued to echo around the room.

“Felicia!” Mazzy shouted, racing several steps back to the deep end of the pool and kneeling at the edge. The boys crouched beside her, trying to peer through the pitch-black below.

“I can’t see anything,” said Seth.

Mazzy took a deep breath, then leaned forward into the water. With a splash, she too disappeared.

Gabe instinctively scooted away from the pool. He peered at Seth. “I can’t swim.”

Seth stood and quickly released the Velcro that was holding his centurion armor in place. The plastic pieces rattled to the tiled floor. “Look for a light switch,” he said. Then he jumped, pencil-diving feetfirst into the deep end of the pool.

Gabe stood and tried to catch his breath. He glanced around the room, looking for anything that resembled a switch. But the shadows erased all detail. He turned back toward the corridor where they’d come in and slid his hand along the walls on either side of the doorway. His palm scraped across a metallic knob, and a moment later the water came alive with illumination. He skidded back to the side of the pool to find a dark mass twisting and turning at the bottom. It reminded him of Felicia’s party.

The shape began to rise, finding form as the diffuse light from the pool wall struck it, pale legs and arms moving frantically, struggling against the bulk of the water. Three heads burst through the surface a few feet from the wall. Gabe dropped to his knees and held out his hand. “Here!” he called.

Mazzy and Seth climbed out, dragging Felicia behind them, but another dark shape remained at the bottom of the pool—the thing that had chased them. Was this what a revenant looked like? Gabe stared for several seconds, until he was sure it was still. Dead. Then cold laughter rang out from the other side of the room, near the shallow end of the pool.

Glancing up, Gabe saw a thin silhouette standing at the edge of the water, a person made of shadow. The other night, he’d heard the same harsh chuckle ring out from the darkness beside his bed, right before someone had torn away his blanket. “Mason?” he whispered. “Is that you?” The thin silhouette seemed to feed upon the surrounding shadows, gathering up the darkness and swelling into a new, bigger shape. For a moment, it resembled a
broad-shouldered man: tall, thick, impenetrable. Then, in a blink, the shape faded away, blending into the far wall, taking the laughter with it.

Gabe turned to find the others sprawled out on the ground beside him. Felicia was sobbing. Mazzy stared, wide-eyed, at the ceiling. Seth sat up and scooted toward him. “It was Mason?” he whispered. Gabe nodded. “Is he still here?”

“I-I’m not sure. I don’t think so.” He glanced at the blackish blot that was now drifting around the bottom of the pool on a slowly whirling current. “What’s
that
thing?”

“I don’t know. It was wrapped around Felicia. It felt like skin. Or fur. Mazzy and I had to untangle her.”

“Fur?” Gabe shook his head. Pins and needles pressed painfully into his legs where he knelt. “What kind of fur?”

Mazzy groaned as she too struggled to sit. She rested her hand on Felicia’s forehead. Felicia flinched but finally stopped crying. She leaned toward Mazzy, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I’m pretty sure it was your dad’s puppet,” Mazzy said after a moment, stroking Felicia’s sopping hair. “Milton.” Gabe hadn’t imagined he could feel worse, but this news had done the trick. “By the time we reached the suit, it was as empty and lifeless as the night we found it lying in the hallway at your house.”