Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (35 page)

“What will you do there? Mr. Mitchell will deny everything and I told you that before. There's no points…wait,” Jamie called to her as she dragged her feet.

Obviously, Jamie wasn’t sure what to think about it, so she decided to follow Emily. Mr. Mitchell wasn’t present when they entered the library, so they made their way towards the criminology section. The benches were empty and it was a perfect opportunity for them to discuss their situation.

“Why did you drag us here? What will we find here,” Jamie asked?

“I will exorcise the library ghosts here. I need to ask them questions, especially the green-eyed wraith. I’m going to find out who they are and why they’re bothering me,” Emily answered as a matter of fact.

“What are you talking about? Are you crazy or have you finally lost your mind? You want to do this in the library ... in here? We can probably be expelled for that. We absolutely cannot do this here, and I won’t let you.” Jamie reacted very sharply and didn’t try to hide it.

“Are you being selfish? Or are you afraid? If you want to leave, then go. I won’t stop you, but don’t try to stop me from doing this. Don’t stay here with me if you don’t want to, but it has to happen.” Emily dismissed Jamie without thinking twice.

“Emily, don’t you see that you’re driven by madness? You’re no better than Mia. Stop now before it burns you, before it destroys who you are,” Jamie said.

 Sadly, Jamie’s concern was unable to touch Emily’s heart. The look of determination in her eyes was unmistakable. Perhaps, it was due to everything she had gone through in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps, she was giving into the madness instead of trying to fight it. Either way, Emily was committed to the dark path and nobody was going to stop her.

“Leave then,” Emily told her younger counterpart.

The words began to reverberate in Jamie’s head, but she didn’t let the hurt show. She had a bad feeling about it, but she didn’t voice her concern any longer. She could see the level of commitment that Emily had at this point, and it wouldn’t do any good to try and talk some sense into her.

“I’ll be here no matter what,” Jamie said. “Now, what do you plan to do?”

“I’ll do exactly what I did this morning. I know how to do it, and I studied from the book this morning.”

“Do you want me to be here or do you want to do this alone, Emily?”

“I want to do this alone,” she admitted reluctantly. “I’ve put you in enough trouble already. Wait for me and … just wait for me, all right,” Emily said.

Jamie touched her friend’s hand and promised to wait outside. She got up from the benches and calmly headed for the door. She took a seat outside the library and she was actually quite surprised that it was rather empty. There wasn’t the slightest sound or disturbances coming from within, hence, she waited patiently for Emily to call her. Minutes later, she heard faint chanting and the sound of rhythmic prayers. She dared not to look. Jamie went toward the doors to make sure that no one was coming that way. She wanted to be ready to warn Emily if necessary. Standing there alone, Jamie was ready to rush to Emily’s aid, but there was nothing that needed her attention. There were only the occasional chanting sounds which stopped midway through the chorus and they were replaced by hushed whispers and heavy breathing. Jamie thought she heard Emily’s voice, but then the warm sensation of fear blanketed her courage. So she stood transfixed there without moving.

******

Meanwhile in the library, the air had gone cold. There was a faint light that appeared at the beginning of the ceremony, and Emily thought she was imagining things. The fact that this was actually happening to her was something she was having difficulty coping with. She never believed in necromancy and ghosts, yet here she was participating in the dark arts. She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated harder. There were a number of faces that reflected in her mind's eye, but she blinked her eyes tightly shut. When Mrs. Hampton’s face came into her consciousness, Emily stopped chanting. However, Mrs. Hampton’s face was soon replaced by that of the ghastly-faced librarian whom she had seen once before. The shadow-like creature sat in front of her, and Emily struggled to steady her nerves. Although this all seemed unreal, Emily was determined to come out on top.

“You are not Mrs. Hampton, and I knew it the moment that you appeared yesterday. Please tell me why you wanted to see me? Have I done anything to deserve this? Did I make you angry? Please tell me, because I cannot take this anymore. I am scared and I ask for your forgiveness,” the young girl offered the ghost. Emily’s voice was shaky and she was crying. Heavy, wet tears flowed down her face without stopping, but the shadowy figure in front of her was unmoved by any of her pleadings.

Much later, Emily realized that she was drifting off in a state of drowsiness. In the middle of her haze, she saw that the shadowy figure of the librarian was replaced by a woman in a white dress with green eyes. Emily came back to her senses and stared at the figure in front of her. With complete awe, she instinctively tried to speak. However, just as before, her voice was struck in her throat. Emily tried speaking again, but it didn’t work. Dejectedly, she slumped back in her seat, but kept her eyes on the woman in front of her. She was scared, but her determination was greater. Hence, she didn’t try to get up and run away. She wanted to communicate with the spirit, but words weren’t going to be enough. To her surprise, the figure could read her mind. Emily looked at the figure and the first thing that instantly came to her mind was that she was initially not there. Emily stared at the figure intently and before she could say anything, a voice spoke in her mind.

“I need your help,” the voice said.

A cold sensation passed through Emily. She didn’t say anything, but thought of a response.

What help can I be to you? I am but a mere mortal, and I know nothing about spiritual matters. Why am I chosen?

Emily’s questions were answered. “Because you wanted to see me, that’s why you were chosen. You are the only one who can help me, but I need to know that you believe in me,” the green-eyed figure in front of her asked?

Emily didn’t need to say anything, because the fearful look in her eyes was answer enough.

“Only you can help me, but it should be our secret, our little secret. You have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone anything. The moment you walk out of here, you are bound by secrecy.”

Emily didn’t know what to say. Trusting a stranger was one thing and she hardly did that, but this was something that she was completely unsure of. A spirit or a ghost, Emily was not even sure what to name it. Her uncertainty was clear and her doubts were apparent. Emily couldn’t make up her mind regarding her next move. The shadowy illusion in front of her was able to see that, too.

“The dreams will keep coming, and they will not go away until it drives you insane. You will lose your peace and sanity,” the apparition told her. “All things are related. Do as I say and things will go back to the way they were. I will make a promise to you, but then you have to promise me, too.”

The sheer certainty by which the ghostly spirit spoke these words terrified Emily to the core. It cemented the fact that what it claimed to be was real. Days had passed, and Emily didn’t sleep one night without being woken up due to the horrible nightmares. The fatigue was showing. It slowed her down and she did want a little peace in her life.

The green eyes never left her; it could see through her soul and judged her every move. It could read the voice in her mind and Emily saw no escape from it. It was hard for her to figure out if she was being threatened or offered help, and the only thing she could do was to take up the offer and agree to the bargain. So for one last time, Emily closed her eyes to silence the voice in her head. Either the ghost would set her free or bring her down forever from where there was no escape.

“There is nothing that you can do now. Submit and I will set you free. There is something that you want to know ... what is it? Don’t hesitate to tell me,” the voice spoke in Emily’s head again.

“I didn’t seek you, but there was someone else. The old lady librarian, she helped me before with a book, and the other time, she tried to reach out for me, but I was too frightened and I reacted by losing my senses. She was here before, but now I don’t see her. I need to know what she has to do with any of these things that are happening with me,” Emily spoke her mind.

“Your questions will be answered, but you need to believe in me first. We can’t work without the trust. So are you willing to trust me, because I will help you if you are willing to help me in return?”

Emily nodded back, and then the voices spoke in her head, “Go and tell your friend to leave and not to come back until you tell her to. Don’t contact anyone, not even your other friend, Grace. I know for a fact that she is not here and out there looking for something, but trust me, it won’t do you any good. So listen to whatever I am saying and it will lead you towards the path where you will find peace and sanity. So go on now and do as I say.”

There was no strength left in Emily to question the voice. So, she got up from the bench like a robot and walked out to the hallway where Jamie was waiting for her patiently. She was in a daze, a trance that was induced by the green-eyed wraith.

“Jamie, you must go.”

Emily found her voice again, but she felt that she was being controlled by someone else. She had no strength to challenge it. Jamie looked towards Emily in surprise, shocked to see her talking in a mechanical voice. And the things she was saying didn’t make any sense. Jamie had no time to react before Emily spoke again.

“Go back now, because I don’t need you here. Don’t question my motives, and if you want to know anything, wait for me back in the room. I will come back and speak to you soon.”

Jamie expected a different reaction from Emily and hoped to hear a different story. Yet something else was happening, something that she didn’t expect nor understand. Therefore, detecting something was amiss, Jamie decided to go and observe from the side of the hall.

“Fine, I will leave if you want me to, but Emily, please don’t believe everything you see or things that people say to you. Judge on your own before doing something,” she advised.

Emily didn’t pay attention to what her friend said. “I am capable of handling things on my own. It will be better if you look out for yourself.” With that, Emily turned back and headed towards the library. A faint part of Emily nagged on some unidentifiable feeling. Something inside of her told her that she was being controlled, that she was being dragged into this against her own will, but she was handicapped and was incapable of any reaction. When she got back to the criminology section, the green-eyed woman was already waiting there.

“So you did as I told you,” she spoke to Emily’s mind. “I am impressed, but now you will have to do some other things that I ask you to do.” The voice never stopped speaking. Emily shook her head twice to shrug it off, but the voice didn't change. “What you are trying to do will not work. I will not leave unless you do what I ask. So, obey me while you can.”

“Whatever you say,” Emily obediently answered back.

“Then you need to go and find Mr. Gallagher for me and then ask him about his sister. Get all the information you can out of him, and if he questions you back, then make up an excuse about why you need to know. Only then, come back here, but remember the promise. If anyone asks you about this, you can’t say anything. Break the promise, and you will be in trouble. Am I clear,” the figure in front of her questioned firmly?

Emily nodded and went on her way out of the library. Once out of the library, Emily cooled herself down and kneeled outside the library door. She rested there for a while, going over what just happened. It felt like a nightmare that had unfortunately come true.

Who was I talking to just then? Someone is controlling my mind. What do I do?

Emily desperately looked to the sky, but out of fear and frustration covered up her eyes. Then, she remembered that she had a task at hand and quickly set out to find Mr. Gallagher. Luckily, she didn’t have to make much of an effort as she caught sight of him going towards a classroom. He primarily worked in the Fletcher building so Emily found him in just a few minutes. Emily thanked her lucky stars and called out to him.

“Mr. Gallagher! Mr. Gallagher! Please wait, I have something that I wanted to talk to you about,” she said upon finally catching up with him.

“You want to talk about something now? But I had your class this morning and you weren’t there. You didn’t attend the lectures, did you,” Mr. Gallagher asked sternly?

Emily bowed down her head in shame. “I am extremely sorry, professor, but I was busy with something and I got delayed so…”

“Oh, yes, this thing that you had was so very important that you couldn’t even attend an important class. So, now you come running to me for the notes. Emily, don’t think that I haven’t noticed your reluctance over the last couple of days. As a teacher, I despise this kind of behavior. So, come back in your next class and I will see what I can do.”

Mr. Gallagher was angry and didn’t hesitate to show it. Emily was dumfounded for a minute and forgot what she was going to say. However, when she saw him walking away, she raced towards him to let him know her actual purpose of calling him.

“Professor, this is about your sister,” was all Emily said.

Then, Mr. Gallagher stopped dead in his tracks. He looked back at her with fiery eyes and obvious anger. “Emily, you are overstepping your limit. What are you trying to imply here? What about my sister? I don’t want to talk about this, so good day!” Mr. Gallagher sounded furious and he stormed out of the corridor. However, Emily didn’t give up; she followed Mr. Gallagher along his footsteps.

“Mr. Gallagher, you need to wait. There is something very important that I need to ask you. Wait please!” Emily kept on calling to him until he eventually stopped.