Trapped (14 page)

“Which ghost
friend i
s that?” Carlos asked.

“A woman was purs
u
ing her before she made it here, but once she saw Natalie’s demon she went the other way,” the farmer mumbled as looked back up at the sky.

The
boys from the school stood on the porch
and waited for Beth
to instruct them
.
They were looking up at the sky too. Hayden felt a shiver run through him. He couldn’t hel
p but wonder what demon Natalie ran from and why did it chase
her.

“Let’s go. We have to keep moving. Natalie ran back into the woods. We have to go now. Where is Beth?” Hayden was ready to go alone
if he had too
. Carlos walked back into the house. Beth was sitting with the farmer
’
s wife. They appeared
to be enjoying a conversation
. She was laughing and smiling.

“Are you coming Beth?” Carlos asked,
already
knowing her answer. Beth just sh
ook
her head
and kept talking to the woman.

Hayden and Carlos led the boys quickly through the woo
ds. Most of them in the group were
beginning to realize
their
true
strength and speed. S
ome of them even ran in quick sprints
wh
ere they would actually pass Hayden and Carlos, but they quick
ly slowed due to
their lack of co-ordination
. Hayden tried not to smile. He knew they would probably not stay
locked up in that s
chool once this journey ended
.
They ke
pt going even though there wasn’t a trail
or signs of Natalie in front of them.
The sun is starting
to set
now and t
heir spirits
were beginning
to sink
as well
.

“I thought we were so close to finally finding her
,” Carlos sighed as he stopp
ed running and ran his fingers through his
thick black
hair. He
looked over at Hayden, who began to slow
his pace as well.

“I felt the same
way
. I don’t know how far she would have gone or if she
i
s
even
going in t
his
direction. She may have been running in a panic
she may have switched directions
. I don’t know if we should continue going straight or if we should double back in case we missed something. Maybe she
has
decided to rest for the night
somewhere
,
” Hayden was rambling on because he felt so
useless and
frustrated
.

“I think your right. I don’t think she came this way. I’m
not sure, just an instinct. Let’s turn around and pan out
to cover more grou
nd, just in case she is resting
somewhere,
” Carlos
said as he thought
about what the farmer
told
them
. If Natalie did have something
, some demon
chasing her
and it caught her, the farmer said we would not be able to help her. Why
wouldn’t we
be able to help her? She isn’t dead, because the farmer said the eyes didn’t see her
.
What c
ould this demon
possibly
do to her?

“HAYDEN! CARLOS!” one of
the boys shouted. Hayden reached the boy first
. He fell down on his knees and began pulling a pile of tree branches off of a body. Carlos gasped as he
reached him an
d began frantically helping
him
.

“Natalie,” Hayden shout
ed, as he lifted her up into his arms and kissed her face. She was
so
still in his arms. Carlos couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He held one of her hands and felt the coldness. He pressed his fi
nger against her wrist to feel
for a pulse
he
was sure would not be present.

“Hayden
,
she is not dead. Put her down quickly
, I have to listen to her heart,
”
Carlos ordered through his tears.
Hayden gently laid her down and placed his cheek above her mouth, hoping to feel a breath.
It was faint but it was there.

“Her breath is extremely slow and shallow. W
e have to get her to a hospital,
” Carlos
said as he stood and noticed
th
e boys standing back from them.

“She is alive. We h
ave to get her back to the city,
” Carlos told them, but they didn’t look at
him, they were looking past him
at something in the woods.

“What is it?” Carlos dema
nded. He couldn’t see anything.
One of the boys looked at Carlo
s then focused his glare on Natalie.

“It’s the eyes. They are watching us. They are protectin
g someone just beyond the trees,” he stammered before
he suddenly stiffened and look
ed
at Hayden.

“The farmer was right, y
ou can’t help Natalie
now
. A hospital can’t help her either. She will only return
to her body when she escapes
from
her demon
,” t
he
biggest boy in the group
spoke
as though in a trance
. His face appeared
expressionless and his voice possessed
an odd
, almost hollow sound,
like he stood in
a tunnel.
Hayden jumped up
and stood in front of him
.

“Is Natalie with you? Is she okay? Is she al
ive?” Hayden questioned him frantic
ally
wanting answers before this
trance ended
.

“Natalie is on her own journey.
The eyes are watching her now but she is not dead. She is fighting her own battle now.
I suggest you leave her body here. If she makes it through she will need to be able
to
find it quickly,” t
he boy
said as he
shook for a few seconds then looked blankly a
t everyone standing around him.

“What?” he asked
. He seemed
completely unaware of what
just happened between him and Hayden.

Hayden walked back to Natalie and cr
adled her in his arms. S
he loved
it when he held
her
like this when they were alone
. He wasn’t
going to let her go
now
. He would
hold her until she returned. Carlos
collected himself, wanting to hold her himself, but knowing he couldn’t.

“Hayden, I’m g
oing to head back. I’ll return
with supplies. I’ll bring food and water. A tent, some blankets. It’s bound to be cold tonight. Is there anything el
se you can think of?” he asked.

“I can’t think Carlos. I can’t lose her. Call Clive. See if he knows anything about this.” Hayden kissed Natalie’s foreh
ead and cried.

~~~

The trees were becoming denser the faster I ran.
I didn
’t know wh
ere to go. Something i
s coming
for me
. I f
elt it wash over me. The
warm
breeze surrounded me.
I listened as it flowed around
the trees in a
strange, unnatural way. I
t is here for me and there i
s nowhere else to run. Visions o
f Hayden holding his arms out, wanting to
hold me
,
consume
d me. I felt the tears pour down
my face. My breath
slowed and the woods went dark.

Trickles of rain fell
on my face as I awoke
in the middle of a field. I stood
up
quickly and glanced around. It look
ed oddly familiar. Have I been here before? I began to walk towards an
old, abandoned house. There’s
a rusty tractor parked behind a collapsed shed
that seemed familiar
. A
s I walked around it I almost stepped
into a large hole but I quickly pulled my leg back up and froze. I reached down to the ground and moved the grass away to discover the holes a la
rge dog
dug
up
many years ago.

“More than t
en years ago
,
” I whispered. I knew this place
well
. I walked slowly toward the old house. The windows
were boarded up. The grass grew
tall but dry all around the house. I couldn’t tell where my mother
’
s garden
used to grow
. I walked up onto the porch and opened the do
or. It creaked as I entered
. I walked around the din
ing room and peaked in
to
the kitchen. A flash of my father
’
s dead friend lying on the floor startled me. I continued to walk down
the hall into the living room.

“No
, it can’t be
!” I cried. M
y beautiful pian
o
was still in here
. It looked exactly like I
left it.
I walked over and lifted the cover. I placed my hands on the cold ebony keys. I began to play as though it was only yesterday. I loved the sound.
I was reminded of the day it arrive
d here. My father had called me from the
bottom of the stairs
, holding
some kind of chair in his hand.

“Hi …nice chair dad?” I said questioningly.

“It’s f
or you,” he said, looking smug.

“Oh, okay, I guess I could use it. Thank you?” I said. Still not getting the joke, since I could tell h
e tried
not to laugh. That’s when I heard voices coming from the living room. The front door th
at we never used was wide open.

“Go see,” he ordered, gesturing to the living room. I quickly ran around the staircase to the living room. I stopped and gasped. I could not believe my eyes. I closed them, rubbed them, blinke
d and it was still there.

“Is it for me?” I asked him. Not wanting to get
my hopes up, just in case we have
to give it back in a week or something.

“Of course it’s for you. I don’t know anyone else in this house that can play the piano as nicely as you do,
” he said smiling.

“But dad, you have never heard me play. I only play
at Emily’s house,” I told him.

“Well it’s about time I heard you play then,” he said smiling again. I ran to him and hugged him as hard as I could. Hugging my father was a very rare occurrence and usually fe
lt uncomfortable, because it’d
usually
been
d
one out of fear or obligation, b
ut
this time I shook with happiness
. Tears spilled
down my cheeks
. I wiped them on his red and b
lack flannel shirt and laughed.

He brought me over to
the piano and pulled up the
cover. That’s when my father slid the dark mahogany stool with the claws holding ma
rbles for feet behind me. He
spun the seat up higher so I co
uld comfortably reach the keys, then
I began to play. I played every song I knew, which wasn’t ver
y many. My neighbor, Emily
only
gave
me
lessons
when she wasn’
t needed in the barn and she
always
seemed to be needed
. I ran over to Emily’s house later that day to grab my music books and to tell he
r the great news. She was
so happy for me.

“You’ll be able to practice a lot now. I’m so glad,
because
you have a natural talent for music, don’t
ever forget that,” s
he said. In a strange way it almost sounded ominous, like she needed me to know it. I smiled and brushed it off. As I headed for the door she gave me a paper towel full of oatmeal cookies and asked if I was hungry. I could stay
for dinner if I wanted, she told me
. “No thanks, I want to go home to
day. My
pia
no is waiting for me,
” I said as I waved goodbye.