Ghost of You

My eyes were bleary as they opened, light streaming through the open curtain next to the window. Bill was sitting perched at the end of the bed, looking ready to pounce if he had to. His lips were tightened eagerly, his eyes dancing back and forth between the walls.

“Something's wrong,” he muttered as I sat up and stretched, rubbing at my eyes.

“Who? The Listings?”

Bill shook his head, letting his black locks twirl at his shoulders.

“No, not them.”

“You're not leaving?” I asked, panicking as I studied his face.

Bill sighed, closing his eyes, shaking his head once more. “Not yet, anyway,” he said. He opened his eyes, his pale gaze flickering to meet mine. I looked to the floor quickly. “I'll let you get dressed,” he said, and then he was gone.



Bill appeared next to me as I trotted down the staircase, the smell of eggs making my mouth water. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. What I had realized, though, was that everything about Bill just seemed... darker. All through breakfast he just stood next to my chair, his eyes wandering everywhere. About three times while we were eating, he walked around the house, checking things over.

“What it is? What's wrong?” I finally asked Bill. We were sitting outback in the grass, facing away from the house.

His frown just seemed to deepen. “I hear... voices. Angry voices. They're everywhere. All blended together. I can't make out a single sentence. They were never here before.”

“What do you think it could be?”

Bill sighed, shifting around in his cross-legged position. He turned to face me. “Do you know what Fallen Shadows is, Tom?”

I began to pick blades of grass. The serious tone he had made me nervous. “No,” I said softly.

“It's not a place full of wonders like you might think it is.” I looked up at him, and he huffed. “The people that go there are crooked. They died crooked; drunk, high, some stupid stunt that killed them.”

“I thought you didn't go there,” I accused, narrowing my eyes at him.

He shrugged. “I didn't. But that doesn't mean I don't know about the kind there. Your carnie friend is no different. I don't trust him, and neither should you.”

There was silence between us as I picked more grass, twirling them around my fingers. Bill's eyes were focused on the house as Sarah's laugh became more apparent; Georg was chasing her around the house.

“I miss them, you know,” Bill whispered, now focusing on the ground. He cleared his throat. “I went and visited Gustav the other night. After Carl's death, his mom dragged him off for them to go stay with his grandfather for a while. He's not very happy up there, that's for sure.”

The corner of my lip turned up, but then I was back to frowning once again. “I wish I could take your pain away,” I said through a lump in my throat. Bill looked up at me, his eyes now a soft brown. “It should have been me...”

“SHUT UP!” Bill was on his feet, his eyes dark and narrowed down at me. “Just shut up! You don't know my pain,” he spat. “You don't know anything at all! You... you think you do because you... you...” He swiped at a tear in his eye. “Well you don't! You don't know anything! You didn't have to... to...”

Bill started screaming then. He threw his hands over his ears, his eyes squeezed shut. My stomach churned at the high-pitched noise, making my ears ring. My head pounded, my heart dancing as if it was in a night club. I felt faint then, shaking my head to wake myself back up. My vision was blurry.

And then it was quiet once again.