In the Shandows In a worn in leather passenger seat I was looking through the rolled down window. A warm summer breeze was entering the beat up green ford truck. The radio was softly playing “Blue Moon “by Elvis. Outside it was early evening and the sun was setting a lovely color of oranges and reds, it was a blissful day in along the seaside of North Carolina. In my lap was my partner in crime, little Bowie. The small Scottish terrier was sprawled out and looked like he was in a deep beauty sleep, but he always sleeps to songs from Elvis. My uncle Terrance and me were the ghost wranglers.
We even made matching screen printed jackets with a ghost that was swinging a rodeo rope. On our backs. Last week my Uncle answered a call from the police of the town of Eerie. A lot of police that we have met were skeptic of the existence of supernatural spirits. The policemen that called us said that some gruesome scenes were occurring frequently from teens getting killed in an old abandoned asylum called Cliffside. The man also mentioned that while they were investigating they saw a strangely tall shadow lurking in the corner when some of the policemen were observing a body that looked like it was flipped inside out.
That’s why he called us to get the evil spirits they think are killing the rebel teens that venture through the black gates of Cliffside, because they can not find any evidence for a deranged human to do this. My uncle pointed to the green sign that said the town of Eerie seven miles. “Ya, see that Mia only seven miles’ left and it aight even dark yet. ” He said in his thick Georgian accent. He was getting excited for the new case. The last one we were on was kind of boing. We were trying to find a ghost dog that was stalking people that go on night runs. We eventually found the dog and got him to pass on to the other side.
As my uncle was driving I was watching the landscape that was rushing beside us. The regular bushy trees were full of life. Birds were flying high in the sky squawking in joyful tunes. When we were getting closer to Cliffside things started to change. The joyful birds that were once flying above our truck turned to an eerie silence, which worked with the naming of this town. Curve after curve on the winding road that was leading us to Cliffside, was depressing. All the plant life was rotting into the ground; fungi was growing on top of the decayed plant matter.
The moon was slowing revealing itself in the dusk light. Goosebumps were starting to scatter on my forearms form the cold feeling that was occurring on the drive to Cliffside. This case was serious, this cold empty feeling I was having never happened in the other cases we tackled like the simple ghosts that were pranking humans. The radio started to go in and out with static, and skipping lyrics. That was when Bowie started to get restless without the music. His little body rolled on my lap. He was intently sitting and watching the creepy landscape slowly unfold before our eyes.
In the distance we saw the asylum that built on a cliff. The foundation of the building was rumbling like ancient gravestones. The trees mournfully swayed in the breeze and vines were creeping up the sides of the crumbled stones gradually. Closer, and closer to the asylum we go. Terrance put the ruck in park and took the keys out of ignition. We both unbuckled and opened our doors. Bowie jumped off me and landed on the soft dirt, and barked at me to follow. In sync my uncle and I shut our doors and headed to the back to start unloading our gear for tonight.
Terrance climb into the bed and starting to hand e our backs packs and the eletro- matter sensors. The sensors are like a second backpack but it as a cord that connects to a scanner that looks like that cashiers use at the local supermarket. I put on my gear and walk towards the asylums black gates. The little scottie squeezed staright through the gate bats like he was part liquid. I tapped on the cold metal bar and the gate the hollowness vibrated to my ears. The gates were opening to the mystery on the other side, with a slight metallic creak.
The pebbles crunched under my leather boots as I went up to the bashed in glass window. “Mia! ” Terrance yelled, “Did you see that! ” I looked up to the third row of windows and there was a yellow all on the dusty gray window counter on the inside. “Why is that there? Seems like an odd thing to have in a lost asylum? ” | questioned. Well, there’s only one way to find out. Crack that damn door open! ” My uncle went to the iron black door and started to run into the door with all of his body weight. The door did nto budge.
He started over and as he was going to run into the door. I heard a feint giggle of a small kid. Uncle! ” I yelled but it was too late as he ran into the door. The door whipped open and my uncle hit the stone floor with a thud and an explosion of dust covered his black denim jacket. He got up fom the floor and took off his jacket and gave it a quick whip to get the dust off. “Guessing they never ha d a guest over. “He coughed, as he used his fingers to form the word HI in the dust that was on the floor. Bowie was barking and scampered all over the letters. “Dumb dog you ruined my masterpiece. ” He grunted as he wiped his nose. I wandered to the grand staircase that wasn’t too far from the main door.
The dark wood was plastered in spider webs and some of the steps had holes in them, like an elephant rampaged down them. There was a thumping noise. I look at my uncle and heard it too. Bowie was at my feet and was looking up at me and his black furry face. I put one finger up to my lips, to tell him be quiet. The thumping was getting closer to the top step. The lone yellow tennis ball was taunting us, and felt like it was beckoning us to follow. In one quick movement and looked like an invisible foot suddenly kicked it and the echoing of the ball bouncing down the stairs gave me chills.
This was defiantly a ghost but not the ghost the police had mentioned. “Beware the lurker. ” A soft sound echoed in my ear like the fluttering moths. I let of a gasp. I then started to dig in he back pocket of my back pack and got out the meter that detects ghost. I turned it on and the meter was skyrocketing so much that a hyper vibrating sound was going off. There were defiantly more ghosts here then just this one. “What’s the lurker? ” my uncle questioned with his bushy eyes brown furrowed together. I unexpectedly I was freezing like the ghost walked through me to go over to Bowie who was now over by my uncle.
Bowie was barking happily at the invisible being in front of him. I noticed that the yellow ball was floating like being held by a hand. The ghost threw the ball and the happy go lucky og went to go fetch from some dark corridor. “Find Janice, second floor. ” The being giggled like a little boy as he said those words a gust of wind formed where I thought he was standing. It was silent, pure silence. “But what’s a darn lurker? ” my uncle mumbled to himself upset that he didn’t get a direct answer. “I don’t think I want to know. ” Honestly, I never want to encounter this so called lurker who mauled humans for is enjoyment.
I put a camera on one of the peeling wallpapered walls. “Bowie! Come here now! ” I yelled not wanting to lose him to all the ghost that reside here. My uncle was halfway up the stairs and worked his way around the wood splintered holes. I heard the scampering of the naive dog. I picked him up and open my bag and put him in there. Slowly I begin my journey to the second floor, to fine Janice who I hope is sane like the first one. Inching up the stair s at a snail pace I eventually made it ot the second floor. On the hallway walls were scratch marks and and dried crusted blood that followed the marks.
Those marks were probably made from the nails of the asylum inmates that used to live here who were being dragged back to their rooms. “MIA! ” Come here, you have to look at this! ” my uncle screamed which doesn’t happen a lot. He was in the supernatural business for a long time, he seen a lot more then me. I ran down the hallway till I was to the last room on the left. The door had a sign that said closed till noon. It was an old medical room lined with cabinets dusty with history. Gray chairs were flipped upside down in pile of rubbish. On the back wall there was fresh blood dripping down the light gray stones.
The blood formed the word HI. This spirit was watching us since the beginning when Terrance wrote in the dust. The writing wasn’t the grotesque thing. Strapped in the middle of the room was a policeman. Claw marks had piecing his tan flesh. I cup my hands to my mouth and a tear was about to come down. He was dead. Ribbons of flesh spiraled down to the floor like a peeled apple. “He’s been observing us” My uncle said as he took a big breath. “I don’t think we’re dealing with a ghost Mia. ” “What do you think it is? ” “It’s the lurker. ” A feminine voice answered back. Standing in the corner a ghost appeared in front of us.
In a cloud of blue light flames stood a female nurse. She was quite lovely looking, long straight hair, big doll like eyes blinking long eyelashes but one hing that was different was a huge gaping hole where here heart used to be. “Are. are you Janice? ” | asked while walking towards her. She nodded her head. She was easier to find then I thought. “The lurker did this to me. ” She looked down at her heart. “I thought he loved me at first but no he just wanted to play with me heart strings, literally. ”
She sadly said. “Who was he? ” my uncle asked. Janice then started weeping like a baby. “He.. he was an inmate here.! “ He was so charming, with his freckled face. Never did I know he was using me. ” She gasped. Some pieces were coming together finally. He used me to try get out of here, but he got caught and died in his room from starvation. Conner was different he wasn’t a ghost like the rest of us who died here. He was a shadow with hatred of the living. ” I’ve heard of shadows before they were type of demon. I never dealt with one before.
“Oh dear I said to much. Max will help. ” Janice then bursted into blue particles and left us alone in the medical room. “I’ve only seen a shadow a long time ago, nasty things. ” “Do you know how to get rid of it? “Yeah we need to find something close to him and destroy it. ” “Oh dear sweetcakes, now a game of hide seek. This place is huge. ” We walked back into the hallway. Our backs were facing were the way back to the stairs. In my backpack Bowie started to whimper. I froze and slowly started to twist my body to what was bothering my dog. My uncle twisted around just like I did. All the way down we heard claws tapping the walls. The lights turned on and off one by one like a slow strope, when the last light turned off the whole building was pitch black. Terrance blindly got his flashlight on and flashed where he thought the shadow was.
The lights blinked back on and I saw bowie gripped in the lurkers arms. “NO! I was about to run but a cold hand stopped me “Don’t follow. ” A little ghost boy appeared. He had the yellow tennis ball in his hand. I slid down the wall and just cried. Janice was right he does play with people’s heart strings. “Max? ” Terrance asked, the boy looked at him and smiled but only had two teeth. Max gave my uncle the tennis ball. “Throw at lurker. He leaves, save dog. ” Max said to us and disappeared like how Janice did. My uncle gripped the tennis ball in his hand and kneeled down by me.
Mia, this must be our ticket in saving Bowie! ” “Come on! ” he grabbed my shoulder and pulled the sobbing mess I was. Trying to suck my feelings in I followed my dad down the eerie hallway were we saw the lurker with bowie. When we got to the end there was another hallway even torn up then the first. Bowies whimpers echoed down the deep dark corridor of doors. I see him at the end of the hallway still alive. I take a step and all the doors slam opened. Ghosts of inmates of the asylum start crawling out. I bolt through them as my uncle starter using the eletro sensor to finish them off and let them pass to the other side.
Once I got through all the ghosts I felt numb like I was left in an ice box. Teeth chattering my uncle yells to me “Catch! ” and he threw the tennis ball. As the lurker scratched Bowie’s hairy cheek he saw the tennis ball, and moved his obsidian head to the side like a confused cat. “Go to hell, for hurting my dog! ” I used my old softball skills from middle school and chucked it into him. He drops Bowie and the dog frantically runs to me. The lurker was doubled over on the ground and started to crawl like a spider towards me that stupid tennis ball did nothing! “Run, Run! ” | sprinted down the hall with Terrance and Bowie.
We start going down the stairs. My foost stuck in one of the holes in the stairs. I look to see where the lurker was. The spider shadow was lingering over the steps watching me with eyeless eyes. I was caught in the web of wood; the hunter was now the hunted. Darkness was inching closer. All of a sudden a shoe flew and hit the shadow square in the head. “Ai, ya bum! Git outta here! ” The lurker snarled at the insult. This was the distraction I needed to get my stupid foot out of the hole. We sprinted to the main entrance and Bowie and I got to the gates. I see Terrance was in the lurkers clutches right at the entrance.
Then I saw Janice and Max with a torn up teddy bear. Max stuffed the bear in the lurker and Terrance then squeezed out of the claws and ran towards me and hugged me as we saw the lurker act like a rapid dog and slowly disinigrate in the night sky. Breathing hard and fast my uncle and me nod and wave to the ghost who saved us from death. Sauntering back inside our beat up truck, and sitting in relief of what we went through Bowie licked my hand before he curled up in my lap like this afternoon. Terrance’s was dialing a number on his phone. “Hey, do you have a wrecking ball? “
