Haunted

I couldn’t get out! Something was keeping me from moving above, from this place. I had only

been this low once or twice before and it still keeps me out. It's like all the happiness in the world doesn’t exist. "Hello?!" I scream out, but I know no one can hear me. I'm too far below.

A chill goes through my spin and slowly I turn around. There stands in a man dressed in old fashion clothes, the colors are just as dark as this place. His head looks like it's floating. "Do you know who I am?"

Of course I did and if my heart could freeze, it would. "I do, you killed a woman in this house. Why haven't you passed over? Why are you still here?" I try to keep my voice calm and controlled, but it wavers just a little bit.

"My heart is poisoned, that's why."

"Then why aren’t you in hell?"

He puts his hand in his jacket inside pocket and pulls out a...heart! "This keeps me here," he turns his head to the side, like he is a bird trying to understand something. "You know who this belong to?"

It was my heart. But how did he get a hold of it? What about the heart in the chest upstairs? "How did you get it?" now it's almost impossible to keep my voice steady.

He looks at my glowing heart, like it's something he holds near and dear. "The night you died, is actually the night I killed my beloved. Turns out she was telling the truth, she had only eyes for me. But I found out to late. So every year of my killing her, it's like a-" he looks up at me, with a sort confused look on his face. "What do you call those things that play on that box thing?"

"TV show's,"

He shakes his head, then looks back at my heart. "Every year of my killing her, it would play out over and over again." he then looks up at me with hate in his eyes and puts my heart back in his jacket pocket. "But now she crossed over. When you're family crossed over that night, the light came for all the ghost in the house and they all crossed over. My love crossed over, not even waiting for me. Now as that has happened, in payment of losing my beloved, you and I will, play that cursed night over again."

"No way! Now fork over my heart, there is things I need to do, to cross over!"

He laughs at me and shakes his head. "Oh dear, you have no hold of demanding in this. You 'will' do as I tell you."

Balling up my fist, the motion shakes the house. "I said give me back my heart!"

He starts to fade away into the darkness. "Maybe you need some time to cool off. In the meantime, I will 'deal' with that boy that heart races for you. Maybe I'll take his heart as well and bind that one, I did to kill his family." then he is gone.

"Get back here!" I scream running into the darkness, but I come up with nothing but hitting double large doors with carvings that make no sense to me. "What the hell is this?" I whisper. Finding a broken branch, I hit two rocks together till I get a flame on the branch. Picking it up, I hold up the torch. On the double doors there is one big craving of the grim reaper, with scythe overhead as if he is going to strike and cut off my head. "The gateway of death," then just like that a cold dead wind blows out the fire, sending me back fully into darkness.

"It's been awhile," a cold voice says and it's like someone is standing behind me, but when I turn around there is no one; but I can since the reaper. It's like feeling someone watching you all the time, but you can never figure out who is watching you. "But I do not care for catching up. Now that you are trapped, there is some things we need to talk about and deal with."

Something goes through my body. It's like I am flesh again, something gripping my insides and spin. "What are you doing?!" I ask through my gritted teeth.

"Making you something that is not dead--nor alive." it whispers and with one hard pull everything is gone, like I am sent to some other place that isn't really there.

"Where am I?!"

"Humanity was waisted on you, but think this as mortality of living and dying." a boney hand glows and in the hand is a glowing heart that is red, black and blood mixing around inside of it. "Deal with that demon that got away from me. With this heart revenge your family and send him to hell. The doors of death keep me confined to go after him, but this heart will change things for you."

"Why not just get my old heart back?"

"It has no power like this," it holds the heart up to my eye level. "Take care of him and save that family."

"I thought you were supposed to be nor good, nor evil."

"I hold grudges," then without warning, the boney hand thrust the heart into my body. "Take care of him and I'll do a favor for you."

"Am I supposed to send him to heal? Let him take this heart to?"

The ryper laughs at me. "Oh please, I wouldn't make that heart for you just to have it taken again." the boney fingers snap and a small keychain appears. "Small and compact, it will grow when you pull it off the chain. But only use it when you have a clear shot, or things could get a little---messy." then just like that I am back in the underground room. "You are no longer trapped down here by the way." then the ryper doors open a little and slam close.

The heart starts beating in my chest and I feel more alive then before. "Let's get this done," I say to myself as I hold the scythe keychain.