11- Three Dead Children

Dane quietly left the next morning, hoping he didn't wake me up. I was awake the whole time. The voices of the children wouldn't go away, they just kept on. "Let's play Run and Hide," they whispered in my ear. I was starting to feel irritated with them, hearing the same thing over and over. I tried to keep it to myself, but I couldn't. "Fine, we'll play." I could see them all grinning, looking sinister.

Pulling myself to the edge of the bed, the little girl tugged on my arm. "Where would we be able to play? The hospital is full of people." The younger boy points, "the basement. Nobody goes down there." I didn't like the sound of that, basements lead to nothing but violence. I started thinking, and I had a better solution. "How about we play at the cottage? It's huge, and it's a burial ground." Their eyes widened, "burial ground?" their eyes widened, I was scared.

If a spirit finds a burial ground, they have no rules. Every spirit has rules to follow in order to stay on earth, if they don't obey, they don't get to finish their reasons for staying on Earth. Which is why every spirit looks for a burial ground. One rule for example, a spirit shall not kill a human. Once they set foot on the burial ground, they call kill all they want.

"Let's go, then." One of the girls snickered, I pull back. "I have to be released first, I'm still healing." I show them the stab wound, their faces lit up. "Of course, wouldn't want you to bleed to death." One of the little girls came up to me, she put her hand on my chest, "Deep breath." I inhale deeply as she pushes down, all of my pain suddenly went away. "We have to go, see you when you heal." They all say, vanishing all at once.

Once they left, the nurse came in. "Let's take a look at your side." Pulling my gown up, the nurse jumped back. She was shocked. My wound was completely healed, their was no visible mark anywhere on my body. The nurse brought in a few other doctors, they were just as puzzled.

"How is this possible?"

"She was just stabbed yesterday."

"What a miracle."

I look at all of the nurses and doctors, they were still flabbergasted by my vanished wound. They all huddle around, figuring out what to do. One of the nurses breaks the circle, "we've come to the conclusion that you don't have to stay here any longer. I'll call your parents, let them know you're good to go." I smile, ready to go home.

"How?" Dane says, feeling the scar on his back. Mom investigates my side like the doctors did, the same expression on her face. I know she didn't understand it, neither did I. "Come on, let's go home." Mom smiles, helping me into the car. The three dead children were in the car with us, ready to touch the burial ground soil. "You see something we don't, I know that face when I see it." Mom says, I look out the window. "Just admiring the leaves outside, they're pretty." Mom knew better, but she didn't question it.

"Go, get some more rest. It's been a long day." Dad says, escorting me to my bed. He sets a bottle of water next to me, patting my shoulder. "Thank you, dad." He nods, closing the door behind him.

"When will we play our game?" I look at the child's puppy dog eyes, he looked innocent. "Yeah, when?" The little girl chimes in. I wanted them to stop asking, but I knew they wouldn't. They'd continue until I told them it was time, until they got what they wanted. "Soon, very soon, children."

It was getting dark, mom had checked on me earlier; she thought I was asleep. Sneaking out the window, we run to the cottage. "I'm it," the little boy says. "Jail is located in the basement, if I catch you, there will be consequences." I stop in my tracks, "we don't play like that," I say.

Walking up the steps, he whips around. "You will play my way, or face the consequences." I jump back, his pitch black eyes scared me. Closing the door, I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I'd suggest you hide good," the girl said. "He's taking the game seriously."

"Ten, nine, eight," I run into Leo's room, hiding in the pillows on the bed. I couldn't help but cry, knowing he died on this bed. I could feel Leo's presence, he was watching over me.

My heart was pounding, I could hear footsteps coming near. Continuing to listen, the noise veered away from the room. Complete silence was interrupted by a loud shriek, she was pleading for him to stop dragging her by the hair, pleading to be let free. I could feel her pain, I could feel everything. I held back the tears, the urge to go help her, I didn't want to die.

Feeling someone looking at me, I look up to see Leo floating above me. He was smiling with Ruby red blood pouring out of his mouth, I close my eyes. He was breathing heavily, blood dripped down my forehead. Dashing from my hiding spot, I jump behind the couch closest to the door. My eyes were still, not looking at anything but the black leather couch. I tried to replay our good memories in my head, but his sinister face stuck.

"Don't be scared, Nicole." I heard him say, sounding like he did when we first met. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I was wrong. I looked back up at him, terrified of what he had become. His eyes were black, his face was mutilated, teeth sharp like razors. He put his sharp claws over my mouth, holding my neck with the other. "You will hide, you will stay." He said, keeping me still. Leo was a demon, but there had to be some good left in him.

He had to be watching over me, making sure I was safe. "Nicole, are you going to come out and play?" I look underneath the couch, he was standing there, looking out the window. The moon outlined his ghostly body, the fan playing with his curls. He turns toward the couch, eyes blood red, his body turning black.

No longer feeling trust, I push Leo away and bolt for the garage. I hoped nobody saw where I went, but I wasn't sure. My heart raced as I hid in the dryer, I was just happy it didn't work. As I hug my Knees, I started to think about Dane. If he notices I'm gone, he'll come for me.

At home:

Dane walked around the house, he had an off feeling. Walking toward my door, he quietly knocks. When I didn't answer, he knew something was wrong. Opening the door, he noticed I wasn't there, and my window was wide open. Grabbing a few things, Dane heads to the cottage, knowing that's the place I'd be at.

"Nicole?" Dane whispered as he entered the cottage. I could hear a quiet set of footsteps, they had to be Dane's. Looking out the door, I see Dane creeping around. "Dane?" I whispered, he pulled me close. "Here," Dane pulls me into the hall closet, we hide behind all the clothes hanging up. Explaining the situation, Dane nods his head. "Dane, he will kill us." I say, catching my breath.

One final scream was heard from the basement, then silence.

The closet door opens, someone closes it. Dane shines a flashlight, his jaw drops from the sight he saw. The little girl was black and blue, her face was unrecognizable. She smiled at us, "I can help you."

Guiding us out of the closet, she points toward the sliding glass door. Making sure the boy wasn't in our sight, we leave. Taking off to the house, Dane takes me to the library. "I read about how to get rid of bad spirits and demons." Dane says, pulling out viles and salt. "I made this a while back, just in case we got into trouble." As Dane poured the solids and liquids, I mixed. It had a waxy texture, like a candle.

Sure enough, that's what Dane was doing. He sculpted the wax into a circular candle, sticking a wick in the middle. "Once we light this, bad sprits and demons should go back where they belong." Setting the candle on the kitchen counter, we count to three.

"One, two, three," we light the candle.