Page 49 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

We drive through the trees until he spots another road. He looks behind us before stopping the car. “Is he still following us? What if he went straight to the shed?” he asks.

I shake my head, suddenly fearful for Seth and Brandon. But then I see him, slowly making his way towards us. Alex grins. “Look at him! We don’t even need to run. He’ll take all day to catch up.” He laughs hysterically. “Come on Seth, find his bones… I wish I had a phone right now.”

Alex maneuvers the car back onto the road when Andrei gets closer. We drive for a minute in silence before the car jerks.

“What the fuck!” Alex yells, trying to keep us on the road. I hear a loud thumping noise, and the car starts to drift. I look over at Alex and see he’s gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white as he tries to keep us from crashing. “Freaking tire is flat! Fuck!”

“Just keep driving, we can’t stop,” I plead. He’s trying his best, but the car is slowing down. It gives Andrei enough time to catch up to us. He rams us with the golf cart, a maniacal look on his face. The impact sends our car veering left. Alex steadies us before swerving back at him, trying to run him off the road.

“Jake, we’re not gonna be able to outrun him with a flat tire.” He looks over at me, devastated. “Look in the back, see if there’s anything we can use as a weapon.”

I feel panic rising in my chest. “Alex, please keep driving! I can’t do this again.”

“I know baby, I’m so sorry, but you need to listen to me right now. We’re running out of time. We just need to hold him off for a bit longer.”

Andrei rams the golf cart into us again, and I climb into the back seat, desperately searching for anything to use as a weapon.

“Do you see anything?” Alex yells.

I hold up a bong. “This is the only thing back here! I’m going to check the trunk.” I climb over the back seat and look down, spotting a compartment for a spare tire and yanking it open. “There’s a tire iron in here!” I say with a surprised laugh. I make my way back to the front of the car, showing it to Alex.

“Perfect baby, good job.” He slams on the brakes and the car squeals to a stop. Andrei goes flying past us before turning around and blocking our path. We could push past him, but this needs to end right here. Right now. “Give me the tire iron.” I hand it to him, and he hops out of the car. I reluctantly follow.

Andrei gets out of the golf cart and looks at the weapon in Alex's hand. “That’s cute. You fight all his battles for him?”

“He can fight his own battles, judging by the amount of blood you're leaking all over the road,” he retorts. “Give it up, you’ve lost. Seth is going to find your bones, all we have to do is wait you out. You’re a dead man walking.” Andrei lunges, and Alex swings the tire iron, catching him in the chest. He screams out in pain and looks down at the gaping wound. “Iron is poisonous to ghosts, fuck face. Stay back!” He holds it out in front of him with both hands, like a baseball bat.

I look at his hands, worried. “Is that going to hurt you?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m fine. I'm pretty sure it would need to penetrate the skin to do any real damage.” He nods towards Andrei. “Look at that shit. You just might turn into a shade before Seth can finish you off,” he taunts. “That’s a fate worse than death; you better hope he kills your ass.”

Andrei sways where he's standing, sneering at us. “How about I take that thing from you, little boy, and shove it up your ass while your boyfriend watches? I bet that would be enough penetration to put you down. You’re three feet tall; you can’t win against me.”

Alex gasps in indignation. “Five feet tall! And a quarter inch, bastard!” he swings towards Andrei again, but Andrei steps back, avoiding the blow.

“Alex, please be careful,” I beg and hold my hand out to him, praying he’ll step back.

“There’s nowhere for you to go. Why don’t you put down the weapon, and I promise not to hurt you too bad. You know what happens when you fight me, Jake.”

I shake my head and take a few steps back, grabbing onto Alex and pulling him back with me.

Andrei stalks towards us. “You want to do this the hard way? Fine. Do you think you can kill me before I can take that weapon from you? At your size, how long do you think it would take for it to do its work? Not long I’m guessing.” I drag Alex behind me. He squeaks in indignation, but I hold him firm.

“You’ll have to go through me,” I tell him.

“Sounds fun,” he drawls, and I hurry backwards, trying to put more space between us. Weapon or no, I don’t want to be within grabbing distance of him. He stumbles over his feet, stopping to look down at the black, inky blood that’s pooling on the ground. He’s running out of time, and he knows it. Enraged, he runs at us.

I don’t even think as I turn around and grab Alex, protecting his body with my own. Andrei crashes into me, sending us sprawling to the ground. “Fuck!” Alex yells as he desperately tries to keep a hold on the tire iron, breath knocked out of him. He wiggles, trying to get out from under me but I hold him tight. I’m not letting Andrei touch him. He’ll have to kill me first.

He grabs my hair and yanks my head back, trying to pull me off Alex. The pain of it makes me cry out, but I keep my body firmly on top of him. “Don’t touch him!” Alex screams, trying in vain to protect me.

Andrei leans down to whisper in my ear, but all that comes out is a gasp. As he freezes, I twist my head to look at him, confused. His grip on my hair loosens and his hand falls away. He stumbles back on his knees, looking at his hands in shock as his skin starts to peel and crack, like he’s bursting apart at the seams. No words get past his lips as his body crashes to the ground, landing in a heap of dust.

I watch in shock, not trusting what I’m seeing, unable to move. He’s going to get up any second and hurt me. Hurt Alex. The idea of ever being free of him seems like a pipe dream. As I spiral, I’m dimly aware of Alex squirming under me, but I can’t let him go. I have to protect him. I break down, sobbing into his hair and holding him trapped beneath me, away from Andrei.

“Let me up, Jake! He's gone, baby, he's gone.” He’s still squirming and the urgency in his tone finally has me moving. I let him up and sit back on my knees. He crawls onto my lap like he’s done a hundred times.

“Sorry…” I start, but at this moment I don’t know what to say to him. Now that we’re out of immediate danger, his hands roam my body, taking stock of my injuries. He briefly touches my cheek that still aches from Andrei’s backhand before settling his hands on my chest. He’s looking at the gashes the blade left, still seeping blood. He gasps in shock, eyes filling with tears as he traces them with a finger, touch light as a feather.