Spirit

Chapter 14: Freak
I looked around me and all I was able to see was… nothing. Nothing but complete whiteness. Where was I?
“Hello?” I called out.
I heard a scream come from somewhere. I turned around to see where it came from but there was nothing here.
“Help me!” Someone screeched. The voice sounded familiar.
“Sarah?” I called. “Where are you?”
“Get your hands off me!” Sarah cried.
“Sarah?” I screamed.
“Let go of her!” Another familiar voice boomed.
“Keith! Where are you?” I cried.
“Natalia, run! Run, Natalia! Run!” Sarah cried out.
“Run!” Nathan bellowed. “She’s behind you!”
I turned swirled around. At first I couldn’t see anything, but then I saw the faint outline of someone walking toward me. She was glowing so brightly, I had to shield my eyes.
The person was a ghost. Although she was a second hand ghost, there was something different about her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was definitely something different that didn’t make her like the second hand ghosts I knew. I looked at her in the eye. I gasped at what I saw. Her eyes were pitch black. Even the sclera of her eyes were pitch black. It gave me goosebumps. As she walked closer to me, a devious smile gradually came across her face. It made me shudder.
“Don’t just stand there!” Someone screamed.
“Don’t touch her!” Nathan cried.
The girl raised her hand toward me. At first I was confused at what she was doing, then I understood when I felt something in my stomach churn. I clutched my stomach in pain.
The pain in my stomach felt like a billion tiny needles stabbing me on the inside. I grabbed my stomach harder and fell to my knees.
“Stop!” Nathan roared.
From where she stood, she twisted her hand to the right and the needles in my stomach felt like they started to dig deeper and spin. I closed my eyes and shrieked as loudly as I’ve ever screamed.

I bolted upright from my bed, screaming.
My parents came running into my bedroom and flipped on the lights.
“Natalia, are you okay?” My mom asked and kneeled down beside my bed.
“Oh, mom!” I sobbed and wrapped my arms around her. “It was horrible.”
“What’s happening?” Jonathon asked.
“Nothing. Go back downstairs,” said my dad, pacing back and forth across my room.
I looked up from my mom’s shoulder and saw Jonathon standing at my doorway, starring at me.
I buried my head back into my mom’s shoulder.
“Was it the dreams?” My mom asked.
“Yes,” I sobbed.
“Would you like to tell us what happened?”
“It wasn’t the pictures. This time it was a real… nightmare. They tried to hurt me…”
“Who did?” My dad asked.
“The ghosts.” I froze. My parents didn’t know about ghosts.
“The ghosts?” My mom asked, confused.
I sat up. “Mom, dad, I have to tell you something.” I waited for them to say something. They didn’t so I continued. I looked out the window and it was twilight. “This morning, Sarah came over.”
“Who’s Sarah?” My dad asked.
“My… stalker. But she isn’t a stalker!” I quickly added before my dad would blow up.
“She came over and brought me to the others… like me. They gave me my answers. Everything I need to know.”
“What did you learn?”
“I know you guys aren’t going to believe me, but it’s worth a shot…. I’m a-a… ghost.”
“What?” My mom shrieked. “Do you expect me to believe that? Natalia, honey, I said I’d be on your side only if what you do is rational and… do you really expect me to believe that you’re a ghost?”
“Well yeah. I’m telling the truth, mom.”
“Natalia, I think it’s time to bring you to the hospital,” my dad murmured.
“What?” I shrieked. “Do you think I’m-I’m crazy? Do you think what I heard today is false? That I’m just making it up? Are you going to put my into an asylum?”
“We don’t think your crazy, Natalia. We just think that it’s time to get some real answers from people who know what they’re doing. Who knows? Maybe they have a cure for what you are.”
“There is nothing wrong with me,” I hissed through my clenched teeth.
“Natalia, calm down,” my mom whispered.
“Natalia, please listen to us. Just think of going a doctor. There’s a chance of you being normal,” my dad said and took me by the shoulders.
“There’s nothing wrong with me!” I screamed. My dad fell back.
Then I started shaking. The shaking grew faster and faster.
“Calm down, Natalia!” My mom panicked.
“Natalia! Stop this!” My dad roared.
I shut my eyes tightly, but the shaking continued.
“Natalia,” said a voice from behind me. I knew that voice.
My mom screamed and scrambled to her feet.
“Get out of my house!” My dad bellowed.
Keith ignored them. “Natalia, calm down. Take a deep breath.” He put his hand on my shoulder.
As a took a breath, a picture in my mind popped up. The picture made me smile because of his smile. It was a picture of Nathan.
The shaking gradually came to a stop and I opened my eyes. I looked down at my hands and they were slowly regaining color.
“Mom, dad, I’m so sorry,” I cried and ran over to hug them.
“It’s okay, honey,” they said.
“Hello, I’m Keith Beck,” I turned around to look at Keith. He was in his ghost form standing in front of my window. “I’m a friend of Natalia. Natalia is a very special girl. What she told you is the truth. You have to understand that there is nothing wrong with her nor is there a cure for what she is which means there is no use of bringing her to a doctor.
“Bringing her to a doctor would lead to exposure of all second hand ghosts. We like to keep our existence a secret just for our and society’s sake.
“If you do choose to bring her to a doctor, I just want you to know that people would consider you as the parents who turned their daughter into a lab rat.
“As for the rest of us, we all will be hunted down and killed.
“Now, do you really want that, Mr. and Mrs. Wellington?”
“Of course not,” my father trembled.
Keith nodded his head. “I will be leaving now.” In a second, Keith was gone.
“I’m sorry, Natalia. Please forgive us,” my father said.
“Of course I will,” I sighed and hugged him.
“And I’m sorry for siding with your father,” my mom said and smiled. “And for not believing you. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge.
“Now why don’t you come downstairs? We’re just now starting dinner.”
I got up from my bed and I was still slightly shaking but only because of the incident.
When I reached the stairs, Nicolette and Jonathon were standing at the foot of the stairs. Nicolette’s arms were around Jonathon and Jonathon’s arms were around Nicolette’s waist. It looked like they were comforting each other. I was positive that they heard everything.
I caught Jonathon’s eye and smiled weakly. Jonathon released my sister and ran away into the kitchen. I heard the sliding door crash open.
“Jonathon!” I cried and ran down the stairs, leaving my parents behind.
I stopped at the stairs next to Nicolette and watched Jonathon run under the tree in our backyard.
“What are you?” Nicolette whispered sharply and ran away to Jonathon.
I leaned my back against the wall and covered my face in my hands.