Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (25 page)

“You might not want to tell me, but you’re not being very successful in keeping it a secret either,” Scott said again.

“Who was there while I was on the phone yesterday,” Emily asked?

“Someone from our class,” Scott explained. “I can’t tell you who it was, but the word was out by the time I reached class. I heard your name being mentioned along with Grace. I got curious and wanted to know what was going on and it was then that I heard that you spoke with Mrs. Aldman.” Scott paused, and then said “You know, it’s just that you don’t tell us anything, but Jamie is there with you all the time. Plus, someone saw you walking off with Jamie and talking about Grace’s trip somewhere.”

Emily looked up and felt concerned. She also felt exposed and vulnerable.
What is Scott saying?
She said to herself, but remembered the conversation she had with Jamie while walking back to their room through the corridor.
Who was it that heard us speaking last night
, Emily asked herself several times.

Then she worked her memory hard, trying to recall any faces that she might have seen back then, but nothing came to her mind. Moreover, she was not very sure about Scott either.
Is he trying to get the information out of me? I can’t trust him
, Emily thought.

“I don’t care what anyone thinks about me,” Emily told him. “I am in the dark just as much as everyone else. Grace injured her leg and her mother simply informed me that she will be joining back late. That’s all I have to say about it.”

“Grace wasn’t on her way home, was she,” asked her classmate? Scott was not letting it go and it only added to Emily’s discomfort.

“I thought you said you wanted to tell me something and not ask questions. But that’s exactly opposite of what’s happening.” Emily’s voice lifted to a higher tone.

“Talk quietly,” Scott urged her, pointing around the library.  “I’m asking this only to confirm my own suspicions, because now I know for certain that she never intended to go home in the first place.”

“What,” Emily asked?

“You heard me correctly. After you said to me the other day that you had no idea of where Grace was, I asked a few people. Nobody was able to tell me anything about it. But then, something came up. Do you know that kid Arnold,” Scott asked.

“You’re not making any sense,” Emily said, shaking her head. “What does Arnold have to do with this? I think I have heard the name, but I am not sure who he is.”

“It will make sense. Arnold helps Mr. Gallagher run errands. I was in the park the other day asking someone I know if she had seen Grace leaving, and Arnold was on his way out. He heard us speaking, then stopped and said that he had seen Grace on the bus stand. Do you know where she was heading … to Elmhurst.” Scott gave Emily the time to digest the news.

It did take her some time to digest the news. She had a hard time believing that it wasn’t only Jamie and her source that knew about Grace’s destination. Apparently, Arnold and Scott knew, as well. Emily pretended that she was only half aware of the news.

“How did Arnold even know Grace? Of course, he must have seen her around once or twice, but to specifically remember someone going out to Elmhurst a week ago…that’s not possible. So many students go out and come in every day. Are you suggesting that he remembers every one of them, where they come from or where they go?” Emily didn’t believe a word that Scott was saying.

“What if I tell you that Grace asked him about the specific route or where to get off,” Scott posed? “Arnold said that he’s sure about it because he spoke with Grace a few days ago.”

Scott had his answer prepared, or so Emily thought. She knew exactly why Grace met Arnold, but she wanted to keep up her pretense. Hopefully, Scott would think that she’s just as oblivious to Grace’s motives as he is.

“Grace never told me anything about that. I had no idea she even knew him. I was not feeling very well over the last few days, so I must have missed it, even if she told me about it. Did you ask Arnold why Grace met him?”

“I was beyond surprised,” Scott answered. “Grace tells me almost everything, but kept this news hidden from me. I wonder why. I didn’t want to ask Arnold about why Grace met him. There was someone with me, so I got a hold of him a day later. He said that she wanted to ask a few things about Mr. Gallagher. What’s Grace up to?” Scott looked genuinely ignorant regarding the matter.

“She was asking about Mr. Gallagher?” Emily acted surprised.

“You didn’t know about it?” Scott narrowed his eyes while uttering the words.

“What made you think that I knew about it?” Emily got nervous every second and anxiety started creeping in.

“I saw you looking at him with a strange look in your eyes during class, and it was right after Grace left. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but when Arnold told me the reason why Grace wanted to meet him, it got me thinking. In fact, it’s not just me. Michael was asking me if you and Grace had a falling out. I avoided the question, because I know that’s not true.”

“Now, if you still don’t want to tell me what it is, then there is nothing else for me to say. But in case you do, then I’ll try and assist you in whatever problem you are having.” Scott looked sincere and assured Emily that his words were true. For once, she knew that he was being honest about it.

“Scott, I understand that you are trying to be helpful. I know you mean well, but there is nothing that I can say or divulge to you at this time, so please understand,” Emily painstakingly said.

“But I’m concerned about Grace and you, too. We’re friends and…” Scott’s phone rang out loudly and some of the people sitting around made a sound of irritation. He looked at his phone, and then abruptly cut his conversation short. “Emily, I have to go, but just think about what I said.”

Emily was left alone, but she didn’t have the heart to leave the library. She sat there by herself for a while. She was almost lost in her own thoughts when a soft, melancholic voice called out her name.

“Emily,” the voice murmured.

She thought it was an illusion, but when the name was called out twice, she looked up slowly. Emily didn’t know the person who was standing in front of her, so she asked, “How do you know my name? I don’t recognize you.”

As soon as Emily uttered those words, she remembered seeing the young girl before. It was the green eyes that she recalled. “Wait, I have seen you before, here in the library. How do you know me,” Emily questioned?

Last time, the cold stare of the green-eyed girl had given her the creeps. This time wasn’t much different either. She had an odd manner about her, but she looked just like a regular person.

“I know everyone around here,” the girl answered her, “and not just you.” Her voice was slick and cold.

“I don’t know you, so I’m not the person whom you are looking for,” Emily said. Then, she pretended to be immersed in her books.

“Can I ask you a question,” the woman asked?

Emily wasn’t too comfortable in answering, yet she obliged the woman. “Go ahead,” she said, not knowing what question she might be asked.

“You look troubled,” the woman said instead of asking a question.

Emily looked at her with an annoyed expression. She had enough of strange questions and remarks. All day long she had been answering to people about her troubles. So she replied roughly, “That’s not a question, and it’s none of your business.”

“Yes, it is,’’ the woman replied calmly. She didn’t seem to be bothered by Emily’s rough behavior at all. In fact, she became even more persistent.

Somehow, Emily wasn’t able to maintain the rough façade with this girl. There was something different about her. The calmness that the woman possessed affected Emily, as well. She sat down across from Emily and looked her in the eye.

“I don’t think I want to speak to you now,” Emily tried reasoning.

“But I haven’t even asked you the question yet. Do you believe in ghosts and spirits,” the woman asked?

“What kind of silly question is this? Why do you want to know that? Who are you?”

By this time, Emily was annoyed. Yet, the unlikely appearance of the green-eyed girl scared her. One student from the other corner of the room looked over at Emily and had a curious look on his face. Emily wondered the reason, but she didn’t pay much attention to him. The woman was still waiting for her to answer, but Emily didn’t.

“I asked you something,” she said again.

“I fail to understand why you want to know that. I hardly know you and I don’t want to answer any more questions, so please just leave me alone,” Emily requested for the final time, raising her voice slightly.

The woman didn’t get up, but remained seated. Then, she leaned in closer towards Emily and said, “I care to know whether you believe in ghosts and spirits, because very soon you will see one.”

Emily was shocked; she looked at the woman sitting opposite her in bewilderment. Then, Emily looked around her to see if anyone was watching them. Emily calmed herself down, and then suggested that the woman leave her alone.

“You seem to be unfazed by what I’m saying,” the green-eyed girl said, even more calmly than before.

“Whatever you’re saying doesn’t make any sense to me. Moreover, you are starting to bother me. You’re asking me stuff that I don’t want to answer. Are you even real,” Emily cried out?

“You don’t believe that I’m real,” the woman questioned?

Emily thought it was just a joke when she said it. “Are you new here? That’s what I meant.” Emily was freaked out by the apparent lack of understanding that the woman was showing.

"You asked me if I was real, didn’t you? And I am saying that I am real, even beyond your imagination,” the woman said with an aura of confidence.

Emily noticed a few stray eyes looking at her, and she thought it was because of her raised voice. However, she noticed something else. The woman looked older, probably in her graduate years. Yet, Emily didn’t remember seeing her on campus.

“You want to know which year of study I’m in,” the woman said, breaking Emily’s chain of thought.

Those words hit Emily like a bolt of lightning. “You couldn’t know what I was thinking. Who are you? Please tell me who you are?”

The woman didn’t answer and Emily was starting to lose her cool. She pushed back her chair and got up. The woman remained sitting calmly, not even batting an eyelid. 

“I have to go ... I can’t stay here anymore,” Emily managed to say and bolted out of the section. She hit someone on her way out and it spun her around. She wasn’t looking where she was headed, so she slowed down and prepared to apologize. “I am so…” Emily’s words were left unfinished, because standing in front of her was the old librarian.

It wasn’t Mr. Mitchell. It was someone she was warned about before. She’d also seen her before. The old librarian gave her a gentle smile and tried to reach out for her. Emily took a step backwards, and then three more steps back until she stumbled into a table. The way out was blocked and by this time, Emily knew it was the ghost of the former librarian standing in her way. She was reaching out to hold her hand. Emily tried to dismiss the whole thing, but her mind said otherwise.

“It’s not possible. It’s not real. You cannot be real!” Emily kept stammering. “Go away ... is this a joke? This must be a joke, a sick joke that you’re playing.” Emily went on blabbering, but her words were beginning to choke in her throat. “Go away, go away, go away,” she tried to scream out, but words failed to come out.

The librarian didn’t move and there was a ghastly look about her. The eyes looked expressionless and dead. Her body was sickly thin. Upon closer inspection, Emily realized that the person standing in front of her wasn’t even human. It was impossible to believe and Emily’s mind went blank. Her palms became sweaty, and she tried to retreat away from the ghostly apparition. She couldn’t say a word. Her throat was parched, just like during those dreams she always had.

This is just a dream
, she tried to tell herself.
I’m being silly. This can’t be real. That green-eyed woman was lying. I can’t be seeing a ghost; this is not a ghost.
Emily licked her lips to moisten them and tried to cling on to the words she was saying in her mind. All her efforts were crumbling down like a tattered pile of bricks.

The librarian made no movement or showed sign of backing off. Emily felt a chill behind her back. Her nerves began to shake tremendously. Her eyes started to get cloudy and her heartbeat increased to a thunderous level. Her legs gave away under her weight and Emily felt that she might pass out. Emily managed to find her voice, and gave out a loud shriek. She cried for help before passing out into complete darkness.

Emily floated in the black abyss for an indeterminate amount of time. It felt comfortable and all her worries were annihilated. She didn’t have a care in the world, and it reminded her of childhood. Yet, that warm space of peace was soon annihilated once more. Emily woke up in the doctor’s chambers with a nurse sitting beside her bed.

“Nurse Sonnen,” she asked, looking into the nurse’s familiar face? “What happened?” Emily’s voice was feeble.  She tried to get up, but her head was beating too fast, making her weak. She rested back in the bed.

“You don’t remember what happened to you,” Nurse Sonnen asked kindly?

Emily lay quietly in the college resting center. She noticed that she was given IV drops. The dizziness was still there, and she felt a surge of nausea rising from her belly.

“Don’t move too much,” Nurse Sonnen pleaded. “Stay put,” she urged.

“What happened to me? Who brought me here? The last thing I remember I was in the library … and then…” Emily suddenly remembered what happened in the library and didn’t finish her sentence. The memory made her shudder and she closed her eyes in pain.

“Are you all right,” Nurse Sonnen probed, looking down at her thoughtfully? Emily didn’t say a thing, and her silence made Nurse Sonnen more nervous. She asked, “Should I call Dr. Cline to check on you once more?”

“No, just tell me who got me here. I need to know what happened,” Emily begged.

“Relax, Emily. You are stressed, so don’t over work yourself.” Nurse Sonnen laid a motherly hand on Emily’s shoulder.