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But how am I going to get her attention?
The living are too wrapped up in their lives to notice when something strange happens. If I want to make an impact, I’ll have to make a big display. Do I even have enough energy to move something bigger? I had overheard a mortal claim that they had witnessed a ghost take shape in front of them. Is it even possible? That’s one thing I’ve never even considered trying, but now is the time for action. Her life depends on it.
Oh, how I long for the days I could go to the library and research things like this. Rifling through the musty books and reading well into the night were one of the vices I miss most out of my past life. Something I took for granted as a living soul. Now I spend my days aimlessly wandering and wishing things could change.
Even after what I assume has been close to a hundred years, I have no idea why I’m still here. Most of the ghosts who remain with me either cannot come to terms with their death or feel they haven’t completed something. Yet my Iris has been gone for years and I have no further connections to this world.
Or at least I thought as much until tonight.
Seeing her face changes everything. Is this my second chance at saving Iris? Is this my purpose? Maybe my guilt has kept me here. But that all changes tonight.
A feeling akin to fear hits me as another strong pulse of danger hits me. It’s unlike the emotions I felt as a person, the swirl of feelings and thoughts much less overwhelming and constricting. Which makes this foreboding stand out so much more. It’s strong enough that I cannot ignore it. I have to warn her…no matter the cost to myself.
In my overthinking, I hadn’t realized that she had moved on until she was out of sight once more. The empty world around me feels so much more desolate without her light.
There is an ache in my chest as if I have lost the love of my life all over.
Jayce
This entire experience has been way out of my comfort zone. But then again, I should have toughened up long ago. Being best friends with Raven means I get to hear all the spooky stories and have for years. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe her back when we were kids, it was more my mind couldn’t make sense of it. Now that we’re here, I’m having a harder time keeping that same distinction. Even I, a skeptic, can admit something hangs in the air here. From a heaviness lingering in the atmosphere, especially near the second floor stairs, to the cold, icy feeling like someone is watching you creeping over the back of your neck.
“Should we hang back longer?” Raven muses as she peeks around the garden bushes. The landscaping here is tall enough we were able to duck behind them and wait, but this waiting game is getting old, fast.
“No, they’re all the way at the parking lot now, this is our chance,” Eli insists. He takes Raven’s hand and pulls her back the way we came. The front door is still unlocked, so we duck back inside, hoping no one saw us. But when I glance around one last time, it’s still eerily silent outside. It’s like even the night feels the presence of ghosts and is waiting for the moment our two worlds collide.
“And we’re in,” Raven cheers triumphantly. Eli pulls her close and she lets out a small laugh that cuts right through me. Seeing him hold her like that is pure torture. I should be the one holding her, earning her laughs, and making her happy. But I can’t argue that he doesn’t make her happy, because he does. And it’s no one’s fault but mine that I’d held back for so many years. Letting fear run my life was one of my biggest regrets because it cost me everything.
Raven lets go and starts walking away, but Eli hangs back. I glance at him curiously and he checks to make sure she’s out of earshot before leaning in.
“Listen, I’m sorry,” he says quietly.
“For what?” He chuckles at my confusion like I’m purposefully being obtuse. Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but this is just how I am.
“I’ve seen the way you look at her and I know that feeling. For the record, I'm really not trying to rub it in your face,” he says quickly before walking away. There was genuine remorse on his face and that’s the most shocking part of that statement for me.
Honestly, I’m just glad he walked away before it could get awkward. Or more awkward, rather. I hate that he could see through me, I’m usually so good at keeping my emotions in check, my face a mask of indifference. I make a mental note to watch my lingering looks. They don't deserve to feel guilty for just being happy.
“Come on, Jayce!” Raven’s voice beckons me further into the building, but as I go to take a step forward, something brushes against my back. I’m not even ashamed to admit that I scream like a child, jumping forward and spinning around. I expect to find a ghostly inferno or a terrifying burning man, but instead the room is as still and empty as it was a moment ago.
“What’s wrong?” Raven gasps as she comes in. “You’re all pale.”
“I’m not being an ass and making a joke of this,” I defend. “But something touched me just now. Brushed against my back.” An involuntary shiver runs down my spine as I glance around, feeling eyes on me, and not living ones. If I had lingering doubts, they are sure as hell gone now.
“Let’s move on,” Eli suggests in a hushed voice. “If we do EVP, the entry isn’t the best place. I’m sure they’re going to come back and lock up, so voices down.”
“Good point,” Raven whispers as she links arms with me. “Come on, I’ve got you.” My heart races at the proximity… or the fear, it’s hard to tell, but I try to keep my cool.
The further we move into the place, the more we realize just how much the tour cuts out. This building is huge, full of endless empty lecture halls and offices that are covered in dust. The basement signs say there’s a small cafe down there. Though, the stairs look treacherous, so we’ll have to take their word for it.
“Maybe we should wait to go upstairs and start there. Oh! I wonder if we can find out which lecture hall Professor Wolf taught in?” Raven asks, eyes squinting as she tries to read the half-burnt map that’s behind a clear display case. “This is impossible.”
Eli is already tapping away at his phone and so I wait, knowing he’ll have an answer in minutes. I might be good at academic things, but that man is a wizard at Google and social-media stalking. He can find answers in minutes whereas it would take me forever.
“Lecture hall 4D,” he announces triumphantly. “And from the information here it says it’s the largest one.”
“This way,” I point out the green sign above our heads. Of course, it’s down the furthest wing, so we have to walk past a plethora of empty, shadowed rooms. That feeling of being watched increases with each step we take. We are trespassing here, and not just on the living.
When we arrive at the right lecture hall I’m rendered speechless again. The door looks new, likely replaced after the tours started to keep people like us out. But when we push it open, it’s almost worse than the second floor was. The hardwood is so badly mottled with holes that I can see the basement below. Every piece of furniture from shelves to tables are pushed against the walls around the perimeter of the room which is the most stable ground this room has.
