Kayla

It all started with a ghost. Of course. How else would this story start? It was haunting the college, at least that's what I thought. The other option was that I was going mad, both options were possible really. That was until Sienna walked through the door to art looking spooked.

She sat down in the small chair next to me and spoke.

"Is it just me or is the college haunted."

Thank God, someone else saw the ghost.

"Well, I thought it was just me, so I guess the college is haunted." I replied as she pulled out her sketchbook. Sienna paused and looked up as a scream came from the canteen.

"That'd be the ghost." I said as the entirety of the class got up and ran for the canteen. Sienna ran ahead, her longer legs making it hard for me to keep up. When we got there a crowd had already formed, a girl on the floor in the middle. Sienna pushed her way through and I used the wake behind her to my advantage and followed.

The girl's throat had been slit. She wasn't yet dead. Blood poured from her throat but the cut wasn't deep enough to kill her instantly. I wanted to do something but I had limited knowledge of first aid. Sienna reacted slowly, as though in a trance but then she snapped out of it.

She took off one of her tops, balling it up and walking towards the girl. She pressed it against the girls throat and I realised what she was doing. She was trying to slow the bleeding.

"Someone call 999, now." she yelled. The crowd jumped at the noise but I pulled out my phone and dialled the number. I told the person at the other end what had happened as Sienna tried to keep the girl awake. She spoke loudly but calmly, even though she was clearly panicking.

Christine came into the canteen and quickly dispersed the crowd, glancing at Sienna before speaking.

"Why am I not surprised that you're in the middle."

"Hey, I didn't have an asthma attack." Sienna replied as the girls eyes opened. Sienna let out a sigh as the girl looked around quickly before starting to choke. Christine started to do all she could to keep the girl alive, telling Sienna to put her hand on the girls neck in a certain way.

I looked up as I heard a siren. Someone ran out to great them and I looked at the door, waiting to see them come in. Instead I saw a small child, no older than fourteen watching me. I let out a breath and it mushroomed out in front of me. Then the door opened and the ghost vanished. I shook my head and turned back to Sienna and Christine who were talking to the girl, Christine turning and talking to the paramedics whilst Sienna continued.

They looked at the girl, the blood on Sienna's hands and the floor then shook there head. I knew what they had just come to. There was too much blood for the girl to live. Sienna seemed to realise as well as she lifted her hands off as the girl stopped breathing. The paramedics moved her and started CPR but I knew it was futile. Sienna had been sat there trying to keep the girl alive for two minutes but she had only postponed the inevitable.

I walked over and helped her up, she complained about her knee enough for me to know that it always helped. She went to grab my arm and help herself but she realised that she was covered in blood. She made a noise I had yet to hear and got up on her own, walking to the bathroom to wash her hands. I followed her and tried to talk.

"How are you? You dealt with that well." I said. She glared at me.

"I am covered in the blood of a girl who died in my hands. How do you think?" she replied.

"I saw the ghost."

"I know. The temperature dropped."

"Did you see them?"

"No, not then." Sienna said as she opened the door. The girls inside looked at her then her hands then screamed. I almost laughed at their reaction. Sienna raised a corner of her mouth though the light in her eyes had vanished.

"How are we going to deal with it?" I asked as I watched the blood go down the drain in a spiral.

"Who says we are? I clearly can't save anyone's life." she said darkly. I looked up at her, I had never seen her like this before, this wasn't the Sienna I had come to know.

"At least you tried. That crowd did nothing."

"She still died."

"You don't know that. They are doing CPR." I tried to lie.

"Too much of her blood had gone and she had stopped breathing. They are only doing it so they can say that they tried." Sienna said as she finished washing her hands.

"I need to get my shirt." she said as she opened the door. I followed after, I couldn't leave her like this.

"We have to do something. It's clearly a ghost so it hates salt. We need to burn the bones and stop it."

"And then what? We go hunting like those guys from Supernatural? Come on Kayla, we can't do that. Not to our families." she replied as she pushed open the canteen door. Sienna walked up to a paramedic whilst I waited for her, looking at the body before they zipped the bag over her. I hadn't noticed it before, but there was more blood than there should have been on her shirt. I took a picture of it whilst the paramedic was distracted and looked at it on my phone.

"What is that?"

I showed her the picture more clearly as she looked over my shoulder.

"Does it say help to you?" I asked. Sienna glanced at the picture before taking my phone and looking closer.

"That or Hell. Great, our ghost is trying to communicate via dead bodies." Sienna said, handing me back my phone. She didn't seem to be upset anymore.

"Are you alright?" I asked making her turn back to face me.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were happy earlier, then depressed, now... I don't know."

She paused and let out a dry laugh.

"This," she gestured at her body, the bloodstains that still clung to her hands and her knees and the bloodied shirt in her hand. "Is me, this is how I am. I swing back and forth. You just watched me swing is all." she said. I nodded and looked at the picture again.

"So, how are we going to do this?" I asked.

"Research sounds like the best start."

"College will close soon though, what with someone dying."

"Lets get researching then." she said as we started back to art.

Sienna suddenly stopped and turned back as Christine yelled at her.

"Thanks Sienna." Sienna shrugged and caught up with me quickly as I pushed open the door. Cherrie met us at the door to art and told us that college was closing. I nodded and replied.

"We're just getting our bags."

Sienna nodded and we walked into the art room as others started to leave. I started to pack up my stuff, trying not to drop the yellow ink as I put it in my box. I then put on my jacket as Sienna shoved her sketchbook in her bag.

"We have two options, either you come round mine, or we research separately."

"First one sounds easier, especially if we're gotta get rid of it." I replied. Sienna nodded and grabbed her phone off the table.

"I'll call my mum then."

The ambulance went past us as we walked out of college and down the road. Sienna had told her mum that she wouldn't need picking up and that she would be bringing a friend round. Her mum seemed alright with that.

"Wanna go the way without the hill or the one with but its shorter?"

"Shorter way."

I regretted that decision later when I saw the hill.

"You walk this every day?" I asked, incredulous. She smiled back at me.

When we got to the top and we had both caught our breath she started to talk.

"So it's a ghost, and it wants help. What do we know about ghosts?"

"Well, they can't cross salt. Burning their bones stops them, unless some other remains exists."

"Right."

"Why is there one in college though?"

"Not a clue. Guess we'll have to find out." she replied. We started up another hill and she smiled at the face I pulled.

"Why do you live on a hill?"

"Only house near my old one." she replied as we reached the top. The path levelled out and Sienna looked both ways before crossing a road that looked pretty major. I followed quickly and looked down the road that actually looked rather nice, considering.

"It's not as nice as it looks." Sienna said, seeming to have heard my thoughts. She walked over the curb and through the garden of the house before stopping in front of her door. Opening it she gestured for me to go in first.

The hallway was tiny and filled with several things, including a ladder. (Why?) The living room was rather small, but it was filled with books on many different subjects, as well as music from equally as many. Sienna's mum was sat on the side of the sofa. She looked up from the contraption on her lap and smiled at me.

"I take it this is Kayla." she said. I nodded.

"Kayla meet mum, mum Kayla." Sienna said as someone ran down the stairs.

"S, did you hear about someone dying in college?" Saf asked as she got to the bottom. Sienna turned to face her and nodded.

"I was there."

"I guess that explains all the blood."

"Wait, there's blood? Are you alright?" Sienna's mum asked as she put the contraption on the floor.

"I'm fine, mentally scared but fine." Sienna replied.

"I'm gonna get changed, if you see any books that may help feel free to grab them." Sienna said before going upstairs. I looked around the room and noted all the different topics, though none seemed really supernatural.

"Are you alright?" her mum asked.

"I'm fine, a bit jittery like Sienna, but I'm alright."

"So someone really did die?"

"Yeah, throat cut open and left to bleed." I replied as I noticed a book that looked as though it would help. I grabbed it and pulled it open, flicking through it before I got to a page on ghosts. It said all that I knew already. They didn't like salt or iron. I closed the book and put it back as someone comes down the stairs.

A boy about my height rounded the corner and looked at me. I realised that this must be Jack.

"Kayla right?" he asked his voice cracking slightly. I nod.

"You must be Jack."

"No, clearly I am Sienna, can't you tell?" clearly sarcasm runs in the family.

"Oh, well, hello Sienna. I know you said you were going to get changed but I thought you meant clothes wise, not gender."

Jack smiled and walked past me, sitting down on the chair by the computer.

"I'm doing homework." he said before turning the computer on. A second person came down the stair, turning the corner with a laptop in their hands. It took a second for me to realise that it was Sienna.

"I found something." she said as she opened her laptop. She growled at it as she had to type in her password.

"What are you going on about?" her mum asked.

"A ghost is haunting college." Sienna replied before showing me the article of a child who was murdered at the college. His body was never found.

"That does look like the kid that I saw."

"That's what I thought. Says they were killed violently by some bullies, the body was never found though its rumoured to be buried somewhere on the grounds." she continued.

"So we find the body and burn it."

"You know that that is easier said than done. If a trained group of police with dogs couldn't find it what are the chances that we will?"

"Are you talking about the little boy that was killed 30 years ago?" her mum asked. Sienna looked at the date on the article and nodded.

"His body was found then cremated."

"Oh, well there must be something left behind." Sienna replied.

"A lock of hair, something marginally creepy." I supplied.

Sienna closed the laptop, which was tiny, and put it on the table.

"Lets exorcise some ghosts then."

It would have been a lot better if Sienna's mum hadn't had to drive us to college. A lot cooler too. But it did mean that I got to see what she meant about her car being huge. It was massive. As we pulled up Sienna jumped out and closed her door quickly. I started to the canteen and she followed behind me, looking out for the police.

We ducked under the tape and Sienna started tapping the walls, pressing her ear against them.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Whenever there is something left behind it's always in the walls." she replied. I had to give her the point, she was right. I followed her lead and started tapping the walls as the temperature dropped. I turned around and yelled as the ghost appeared behind Sienna. She turned and quickly moved out of the way, still tapping the wall. She grabbed a salt sachet from the table and opened it, throwing it at the ghost. It disappeared as something sounded odd.

"I think I found it." I said. Sienna threw a handful of sachets at me and I caught most of them.

"How do I make a whole in the wall?" I asked, knowing that I couldn't hit hard enough to do it by myself.

"Move." Sienna replied as she picked up a chair and ran it into the wall.

"Well. That works." I said as a leg bone fell to the floor.

"Please tell me that that is not a bone. Ew."

"Fraid it is." I said as I started to pour the salt onto it.

"Shit." Sienna said. I turned around and saw the ghost coming towards us. Sienna grabbed a handful of sachets and started to pour them around us, creating a semi circle. The ghost stopped on the other side and glared at us.

"How are we gonna catch it on fire?" I asked.

"You got a lighter?" she asked, glaring at the ghost before turning to me.

"No, you?"

"Shit. I have a block of hexy, but not a lighter."

"What's hexy?" I asked as she handed it to me.

"Highly flammable, will start the fire. If we can actually light it."

"Do you think we could use the stove?"

She looked at me confused before realising that it was a way to start a fire.

"Sure I guess, but the ghost will be able to attack us."

"Lets go then." I said as I picked up the bone covered in salt and hexy and started to run to the stove. Sienna followed after me quickly and grabbed something of the table, swinging it through the ghost. It disappeared.

"Iron?"

"My new best friend." she said with a grin.

I turned the stove on and tried to catch the bone on fire.

"Come on. Burn burn burn. Please?" I chanted as the bone started to catch fire.

"Saying please wont help." Sienna replied as she suddenly became very alert and turned around, swiping above my head. I looked up and watched the ghost disappear.

"I can try."

"Try harder."

"That sounds like a good idea." I replied as the rest of the bone lit up and the ghost, which had appeared in front of Sienna, burnt away. I let out a sigh and Sienna dropped the weapon.

"Well, that was eventful." I said with a small smile as the adrenalin continued.

"Yeah."

"Hey, does this make us hunters?"

"I guess it does. Hey, lets go buy some lighters next time. Lot easier than a stove." she replied as she started out of the kitchen.

"Sounds like a good idea." I stated as we left the canteen.

"Mum will probably drive you to the station, your parents are probably wondering where you are." she said as she opened the door to the car and got in.

"You alright with dropping Kayla off at the station?" she asked her mum as she put away her ipod.

"Yeah, sure, which side?"

"Doesn't really matter." I replied as the engine started.

"This side it is. Did you get the ghost?" her mum asked.

"Yeah, turns out a bone had been left behind." Sienna replied.

Her mum nodded along.

"Yeah, they said that they never found part of his leg. So, does this make you both hunters now?"

"I guess it does. But we'll need a couple of things."

"That's fine, what do you need?"

"Lighters, stuff to light. Silver would be great."

"Alright. I'll get you what I can, but promise me that you won't get Jack involved."

"Sure." Sienna replied.

"Why would we?" I asked, not sure why we would.

Her mum looked over at me and smiled.

"Cause he watches Supernatural, and would like to be a hunter. He's 12 I will not let him get hurt."

"That's fine we won't." I replied with a nod.