Ally Smith

Ally couldn't believe what was happening to her. She was getting to live with her best friend in the whole world! She was bursting with joy! Even if things were a little different now, her feelings were the same.

Tina looked different, she could see right through her, and her eyes...glowed. They were no longer that deep brown that Ally remembered, they were just blank white. In fact, all of her was white. Otherwise, she seemed the same. She wore the same clothes, she had the same hair, she was the same height...except now, she hovered.

Her voice was different too, but Ally could hardly tell. Other people might have heard the layers of Tina's voice, the whispers and the moans, but all Ally heard was her friend.

The town was different too. They seemed to have changed it a lot while Ally was asleep. They finally expanded on it, and the houses were newer too. She hardly recognized it. Tina's house was the closest to what it looked like in her memory, except now it seemed like no one had taken care of it in awhile.

Where were all the servants? Where were Tina's parents? Why weren't they looking after the house anymore? Why had it gotten to so much disrepair? Why were all these new people living in it? Ally was confused, but she didn't voice her confusion. She was sure she'd get the answers in time, and that there was a simple explanation. She didn't want to ruin this moment with her friend.

Tina led her upstairs and through the halls, all dark and dust covered. Ally was a little scared, but didn't say anything. This was her friend's house, it would be rude to be scared. Also, it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. Tina would always explore dark caves, high cliffs, and scary woods while Ally would always tag along through admiration.

Tina was always the star. She was always so rebellious against her high upper class parents. She would always defy lady like standards and adventure through the great unknown. Ally wanted to be more like her, but she always to shy and scared.

She didn't even really have anything to rebel against. Her parents never noticed her even thought she was the youngest and the only girl. They were always busy with other things. Her siblings never noticed her either, she was always alone at home, and that's why she always went outside. That's why she knew her parents wouldn't mind if she stayed at their house even though she was dead. They never noticed her in life, why would death make a difference. She was sure they weren't even missing her now.

Tina led her down the upper hall and floated through the door at the end of the hall. She hesitated at first, unsure of passing through a wall, but she followed her through. She didn't like passing through things, it reminded her that she wasn't really there. She didn't like being reminded that she was dead. She didn't even remember dying, and she didn't feel much different other than being colder and lighter. She hadn't even seen how she looked like yet. It was much better to live for the present other than dwell on the past...especially her death.

Once through the door she saw where she was. It was Tina's room. There was a bed, and a dresser, and large satin curtains over the windows. There was a large rug covering the floor and a full length mirror. Also within the room, as odd as it was, was a coffin. Ally floated over to the coffin and looked at it. It had Tina's name on it. It was another reminder that they were dead, not that the thick coats of dust didn't help.

This was the first time Ally had ever been inside of her friend's room, she wish she could enjoy it more. She tried to stay joyful, but she found herself asking.

"Is this...where...?" Ally couldn't get the words out, but Tina knew what she was inferring. "No, it's just a coffin, they couldn't find my body. If I had to guess, my parents got this coffin and put it in here, before locking the room and leaving...taking the key with them. Thus they would lock up the memory of me forever, or possibly...in hopes of getting me to stay put for once." Tina explained, and the two friends giggled.

"So where did your parents go?" she asked, "Maybe you could get the key back?"

"I don't know where they went after leaving here, or where the key is. I do know where they are now, though." She said smirking at Ally as if Ally would know. Ally was just confused.

"Where are they now?" she asked, and Tina frowned.

"The same place all dead people are." She explained, and Ally's mood dropped. "Oh..." she said sadly, "I suppose they died from grief after you died." She guessed.

"I don't know what happened to them, but I know they're dead." she said,

"How? Did you see them?" Ally asked her,

"No..." Tina said a look of confusion on her face. Tina stroked her chin to think, before putting on a smile, "Ally, we've got some catching up to do. How about you start. Why don't you tell me what you've been up to over the years?" she said sitting crossed legged on the floor, ready to listen. Ally joined her hesitantly. Years? How long had she been dead?

"Well...It's like I said, I don't remember dying. My last clear memory was myself going over to your place on all hallows eve. When I woke up I just assumed that I fell asleep on the way and continued looking for you. I don't even remember much before that point, just that we were friends." She told her,

"Just as I thought..." Tina said grimly, and Ally looked at her with shock.

"What do you mean?" she asked pleadingly, Tina put on a smile.

"My turn," she said, "Now listen good. On that night when you went over to my house, it was so we could go exploring together. I planned to do it on the creepiest night of the year for extra thrill." She explained,

"That makes sense." Ally agreed, Tina was always doing stuff like that.

"Don't interrupt, I'm not done." Tina told her, and Ally was quiet, "You actually did make it to my house that night, but we didn't do much because our other friend, George, was running late." Ally was now confused. She never remembered making it to the house, and she certainly didn't remember another friend. However, in her mind she could vaguely remember that other kids would join them on their adventures, maybe it was just one.

"I panicked and went over to his house to check and see if he was okay, and you followed me. I lost you though, because I ran farther ahead. I went inside his house, and everyone inside was killed by a monster." She explained,

"Tina, please don't tell me this, I'm scared." Ally told her while burying her head in her knees. Tina stopped for a moment. "I didn't realize that ghosts could be scared of ghost stories. Don't worry, the monster's dead, it was killed, and even if it was alive, it couldn't hurt you, you're already dead." she assured her.

"But now the monster is too. Doesn't that mean it can interact with us ghosts?" Ally asked, and Tina pondered.

"I've never thought about it." She admitted, before shrugging it off, "I'm sure the reapers will keep it under control." She assured her, but that just scared her even more.

"Reapers?" she asked,

"Right..."Tina said slowly, before continuing on, "After I died, I went to the afterlife, the netherworld, except I didn't like it there, so I left. The reapers were the ones who brought me to the netherworld, and once I was there, they made sure I didn't leave." She explained,

"They must not be very good at their job." Ally said, and the two of them laughed before Tina continued, "I came back to the real world, and moved back into my house. I stayed here..." she paused thinking about it, before finally settling on, "a very long time. Then other the years people came seeking shelter. I was alone, so I invited them in, and have been inviting them in, anyone who needs a home, ever since. They became my new family."

"That's nice." Ally said smiling, but Tina didn't look so happy. "The thing is, if the reapers ever found out I left, they'd surely hunt me down and bring me back. I don't want to go back." She explained,

"Why not?" Ally asked concerned,

"If a ghost was to go there, they would slowly lose all of their memories until there was nothing left, and their soul could be implanted into a newborn baby." Tina said sadly,

"So that's where babies come from." Ally said, but this time Tina didn't smile. "I don't want to forget. I don't want to lose my new family." She confessed,

"Well, I'll make sure you won't go back there." Ally told her, "You won't forget. I mean, what are friends for?"

"Thanks Ally," Tina said solemnly, and then she looked Ally in the eye, which thoroughly creeped her out. "That leads us to our next problem. It seems like you have already forgot." Tina told her,

"I know..." Ally said,

"But you don't know how much." Tina said, "While I lost my memories of before my accident, you lost your memories from after. While I have retrograde amnesia you have antrograde amnesia."

"What?" Ally asked not understanding the terms, Tina ignored her,

"Ally, do you even realize how long you were dead for?" she asked her,

"No...Was it long?" she asked nervously,

"It's hard to say exactly, but it had to be at least one hundred years." Tina told her, Ally suddenly felt very weak.

"One hundred years?" Ally asked sadly,

"About right, do you even remember how you died?" she pressed her further. "I told you, I don't know!" Ally said getting to her feet. She wasn't expecting an interrogation.

"Even I'm not sure." Tina said,

"Of course not, how would you know?" Ally asked sadly,

"Well, you see ghosts are many different colours, usually corresponding with their death. Your colour is hard to make out. It's like a bad picture on a television screen." Tina explained, but that just left Ally still confused.

"A what?" Ally asked, and Tina chuckled.

"I forgot, you're new to this century. There's a lot of things you need to learn about." She said, and Ally smiled.

"I don't really care about figuring things out. All that matters now is that I'm with you. We're going to go on adventures, and be Best Friends forever...literally." Ally said smiling, and Tina and her laughed once again. It really bothered Ally to not know how she died, but she didn't want her friend to know that. She just wanted to enjoy what she had, while she still had it.

A/N: That was Ally Smith, although she can't remember names too much anymore. In fact, she remembers her friend's life more than hers. It's a shame Tina all but forgot about her before Ally met up with her. Who knows, maybe the two of them will find out the secret of how she died now that the two of them are going to be living together. Stay tuned to find out what happens to them and all of the others living in the Haunted House.