Little Child Lost
Disclaimer: I don't own it, but that's never stopped me before... ^.^ lol
Author's Note: ^_^ A big thank you to you guys for reviewing the last chapter and/or reading this one! I didn't think I'd have the second chapter written so fast, so tell me what you think! Oh, and the title might be explained soon... Random question for you... Wouldn't Dennis have been the thirteenth ghost? After all, he gave up his life for Arthur and his family. Or do you think it wouldn't work that way because the final part hadn't started yet? Opinions welcome!
Arthur awoke with a start, his face moist from tears. Although his family was safe and Jean had found peace, he still found himself haunted by nightmares of that 'house'. For the past few months, he had found himself almost nightly wandering the darkened glass hallways, watching his children be harmed by wraiths or once again the helpless witness to a young psychic's violent death. The house refused to release him.
Following its destruction, Arthur had returned to the basement one last time. Amidst shards of glass and melted fragments of metal, Dennis' body had lain undisturbed where it had first fallen. The young man's battered face held the same surprisingly peaceful expression that his ghost had worn upstairs.
"Thank you," Arthur had whispered, reaching out a hand to close Dennis' staring eyes. "You saved us all... Rest in peace, you deserve it."
He had felt the need to pay his respects to the man that had given up his life for Arthur and his family, despite his fear of what might have remained in the house. And on his way out of the basement for the final time, Arthur had found a briefcase whose contents had made the future look a lot more comfortable.
Arthur sighed, looking out the window to where Bobby and Maggie (who hadn't quit) where playing in the yard. This new house had done quite a bit in the way of healing his family. Things were finally looking up for real.
Walking out into the kitchen, Arthur smiled at the sun filled room. It was really beginning to feel like a home to him. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to read the Saturday morning paper, smoothing his jeans as he sat down.
The morning passed calmly. He spent it relaxing and reading, as Maggie and Kathy had taken Bobby to the book store to find something about his newest obsession: ghosts. That thought bothered the math teacher slightly, but he let it go. Most children went through that phase and perhaps it was better to be interested in horror stories than how many people died daily.
The sound of the doorbell ringing broke sharply into Arthur's reverie and caused him to almost spill his second mug of coffee. Luckily, however, he caught it just as the bell rang a second time. He hurried to answer it.
The door opened to reveal a tense-looking man in a slightly rumpled gray suit. He held his briefcase tightly in one hand and looked at Arthur nervously for a moment, before extending a hand and asking, "Mr. Kriticos?"
"Yeah, that's me." Arthur shook the slightly sweaty palm. "And you are?"
"My name is Kevin Miller, I'm a layer. One of my clients, um, died a few months past and there are certain things in his will that need to be dealt with." The man was obviously not very secure with talking to people, which made Arthur wonder how good a lawyer he was. But he still ushered Mr. Miller into the house and offered him something to drink.
"No, no," the man protested. "I'd like to get this over with quickly. My client, a Mr. Dennis Rafkin, was an eccentric person, but he had very little to his name."
Arthur stared at the man. Dennis Rafkin? Images of the boy's death once more flitted through his head and the feelings of guilt and sadness began to return. But, he got a hold of himself. "Go on..."
"Well," Mr. Miller cleared his throat and took out a small envelope. "Mr. Rafkin left everything to a Cyrus Kriticos, also deceased. As the latter's next of kin, you inherit everything Rafkin owned." He handed the envelope to Arthur and fidgeted as he waited for the man to read the letter, which Arthur did slowly. It had been addressed to his uncle.
//Dear Cyrus,
If you're reading this, then I guess I've kicked the bucket, haven't I? Well, that sucks, but it's the way things go. Anyway, as my only friend and the closest thing I have to a family, you get everything I own. Not that there's all that much for you to have...
I want to thank you for giving me a chance. You might not have been a perfect friend, but you were the best I had and you understood most of my idiosyncrasies. Cyrus, you gave a job to a crazy person, and that's the most anyone has ever done for me, so that's another thing I'm that I'm thanking you for.
Also, sorry for being a pain in the ass, but you have to understand, the psychic bit hurts like hell. The job was definitely freaking me out, but I guess we're even now, as it's probably your little expedition that killed me. I don't want to know what you plan on doing with those ghosts.
Sincerely,
Dennis Rafkin//
Arthur blinked tears out of his eyes. He couldn't imagine what it had been like for Dennis, that his only 'friend' made him do things that painful. He had seen the seizures that ghosts and human contact sent Dennis into. Placing the letter carefully back into the envelope, he turned back to the lawyer, who was toying nervously with a pen.
"Mr. Miller?" he inquired hoarsely. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes, actually, a few personal items. As I'm sure the letter says, Rafkin left everything to your uncle. There's not very much, but I have a couple boxes in my car." The lawyer stood up as he said it, moving towards the door. Arthur nodded and followed him outside.
Kevin Miller fumbled with his keys for a moment before the trunk of his car popped open, nearly hitting the man in the face. With a grumbled curse he reached into the car to pull out a suitcase and a crate of things like books and other small objects.
The lawyer turned to Arthur with a sigh, placing the two containers on the sidewalk. "Well, this is it. The sum and total of his life's possessions; yours now." He held out his hand. "I'll just be leaving...?"
He accepted the man's hand, shaking firmly. "Thanks for taking the time."
"Yeah, well, I didn't have any other cases today..." (Arthur couldn't imagine why.) "...and this seemed as good a time as any to get this over with. Good day."
The man then got into his car with the same nervous energy that had marked his arrival and sped off. Arthur shook his head with mild amusement; though the emotion quickly faded as he bent down to pick up Dennis' things. He had spent the last few months trying to forget that night in his uncle's house, write it off as a dream maybe. These few objects made the whole thing, and the psychic's death, become all the more fresh in his mind.
Once back inside, Arthur dropped the suitcase and crate onto the floor of his office. Now seemed like a good time to look through all of it. Maybe something about the man whose death he'd witnessed would help finally put the ghosts to rest, so to speak.
Unsurprisingly, the suitcase held Dennis' clothes. A few changes of outfits as creative as the suit that the psychic had worn the night Arthur had met him, as well as the basics of life, like undergarments and toiletries. A small bit of money had been shoved into the small pocket on the outside of the battered brown bag.
The crate, however, gave a bit more insight into Rafkin's life. Like pieces of a puzzle, the objects formed the beginning of a picture of the man who had owned them. A paper weight shaped like Manhattan, a few framed pictures of places in the country, by the ocean or in other nations were obviously what had been his decorations. The rest was all books and notebooks. The novels were an interesting mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, humor and classics. There was an unsurprising lack of horror stories.
What remained in the crate after the above had been removed was definitely most interesting. A series of notebooks and sketchpads showed that Dennis had possessed a surprising artistic nature. They were clearly all things he had observed, people, places and even things that were definitely from the man's visions. Putting them down for later exploration, Arthur lifted out the last book: a photo album. The minute his hands touched it, a jolt went through them and the teacher knew he had found what he had subconsciously been looking for.
After carefully placing everything back into the crate and hiding it from view in a closet with the suitcase, Arthur sat down at his desk to look through the album. The cover was old and worn, the blue faded to a blackish color. Inside, however, the photos gleamed like new inside their plastic shields.
The first picture showed a family, a man, woman and little girl. The woman held a small blue-eyed baby. The first three were smiling at the young baby. With surprise, Arthur realized that it was Dennis' parents and sister. He reached out to gently touch the picture, surprised at happiness that seemed out of place in the young man's life. As his fingers grazed the surface, there was a flash and images spun into his mind.
*
Well, what do you think? More up soon!!
Disclaimer: I don't own it, but that's never stopped me before... ^.^ lol
Author's Note: ^_^ A big thank you to you guys for reviewing the last chapter and/or reading this one! I didn't think I'd have the second chapter written so fast, so tell me what you think! Oh, and the title might be explained soon... Random question for you... Wouldn't Dennis have been the thirteenth ghost? After all, he gave up his life for Arthur and his family. Or do you think it wouldn't work that way because the final part hadn't started yet? Opinions welcome!
Arthur awoke with a start, his face moist from tears. Although his family was safe and Jean had found peace, he still found himself haunted by nightmares of that 'house'. For the past few months, he had found himself almost nightly wandering the darkened glass hallways, watching his children be harmed by wraiths or once again the helpless witness to a young psychic's violent death. The house refused to release him.
Following its destruction, Arthur had returned to the basement one last time. Amidst shards of glass and melted fragments of metal, Dennis' body had lain undisturbed where it had first fallen. The young man's battered face held the same surprisingly peaceful expression that his ghost had worn upstairs.
"Thank you," Arthur had whispered, reaching out a hand to close Dennis' staring eyes. "You saved us all... Rest in peace, you deserve it."
He had felt the need to pay his respects to the man that had given up his life for Arthur and his family, despite his fear of what might have remained in the house. And on his way out of the basement for the final time, Arthur had found a briefcase whose contents had made the future look a lot more comfortable.
Arthur sighed, looking out the window to where Bobby and Maggie (who hadn't quit) where playing in the yard. This new house had done quite a bit in the way of healing his family. Things were finally looking up for real.
Walking out into the kitchen, Arthur smiled at the sun filled room. It was really beginning to feel like a home to him. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to read the Saturday morning paper, smoothing his jeans as he sat down.
The morning passed calmly. He spent it relaxing and reading, as Maggie and Kathy had taken Bobby to the book store to find something about his newest obsession: ghosts. That thought bothered the math teacher slightly, but he let it go. Most children went through that phase and perhaps it was better to be interested in horror stories than how many people died daily.
The sound of the doorbell ringing broke sharply into Arthur's reverie and caused him to almost spill his second mug of coffee. Luckily, however, he caught it just as the bell rang a second time. He hurried to answer it.
The door opened to reveal a tense-looking man in a slightly rumpled gray suit. He held his briefcase tightly in one hand and looked at Arthur nervously for a moment, before extending a hand and asking, "Mr. Kriticos?"
"Yeah, that's me." Arthur shook the slightly sweaty palm. "And you are?"
"My name is Kevin Miller, I'm a layer. One of my clients, um, died a few months past and there are certain things in his will that need to be dealt with." The man was obviously not very secure with talking to people, which made Arthur wonder how good a lawyer he was. But he still ushered Mr. Miller into the house and offered him something to drink.
"No, no," the man protested. "I'd like to get this over with quickly. My client, a Mr. Dennis Rafkin, was an eccentric person, but he had very little to his name."
Arthur stared at the man. Dennis Rafkin? Images of the boy's death once more flitted through his head and the feelings of guilt and sadness began to return. But, he got a hold of himself. "Go on..."
"Well," Mr. Miller cleared his throat and took out a small envelope. "Mr. Rafkin left everything to a Cyrus Kriticos, also deceased. As the latter's next of kin, you inherit everything Rafkin owned." He handed the envelope to Arthur and fidgeted as he waited for the man to read the letter, which Arthur did slowly. It had been addressed to his uncle.
//Dear Cyrus,
If you're reading this, then I guess I've kicked the bucket, haven't I? Well, that sucks, but it's the way things go. Anyway, as my only friend and the closest thing I have to a family, you get everything I own. Not that there's all that much for you to have...
I want to thank you for giving me a chance. You might not have been a perfect friend, but you were the best I had and you understood most of my idiosyncrasies. Cyrus, you gave a job to a crazy person, and that's the most anyone has ever done for me, so that's another thing I'm that I'm thanking you for.
Also, sorry for being a pain in the ass, but you have to understand, the psychic bit hurts like hell. The job was definitely freaking me out, but I guess we're even now, as it's probably your little expedition that killed me. I don't want to know what you plan on doing with those ghosts.
Sincerely,
Dennis Rafkin//
Arthur blinked tears out of his eyes. He couldn't imagine what it had been like for Dennis, that his only 'friend' made him do things that painful. He had seen the seizures that ghosts and human contact sent Dennis into. Placing the letter carefully back into the envelope, he turned back to the lawyer, who was toying nervously with a pen.
"Mr. Miller?" he inquired hoarsely. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes, actually, a few personal items. As I'm sure the letter says, Rafkin left everything to your uncle. There's not very much, but I have a couple boxes in my car." The lawyer stood up as he said it, moving towards the door. Arthur nodded and followed him outside.
Kevin Miller fumbled with his keys for a moment before the trunk of his car popped open, nearly hitting the man in the face. With a grumbled curse he reached into the car to pull out a suitcase and a crate of things like books and other small objects.
The lawyer turned to Arthur with a sigh, placing the two containers on the sidewalk. "Well, this is it. The sum and total of his life's possessions; yours now." He held out his hand. "I'll just be leaving...?"
He accepted the man's hand, shaking firmly. "Thanks for taking the time."
"Yeah, well, I didn't have any other cases today..." (Arthur couldn't imagine why.) "...and this seemed as good a time as any to get this over with. Good day."
The man then got into his car with the same nervous energy that had marked his arrival and sped off. Arthur shook his head with mild amusement; though the emotion quickly faded as he bent down to pick up Dennis' things. He had spent the last few months trying to forget that night in his uncle's house, write it off as a dream maybe. These few objects made the whole thing, and the psychic's death, become all the more fresh in his mind.
Once back inside, Arthur dropped the suitcase and crate onto the floor of his office. Now seemed like a good time to look through all of it. Maybe something about the man whose death he'd witnessed would help finally put the ghosts to rest, so to speak.
Unsurprisingly, the suitcase held Dennis' clothes. A few changes of outfits as creative as the suit that the psychic had worn the night Arthur had met him, as well as the basics of life, like undergarments and toiletries. A small bit of money had been shoved into the small pocket on the outside of the battered brown bag.
The crate, however, gave a bit more insight into Rafkin's life. Like pieces of a puzzle, the objects formed the beginning of a picture of the man who had owned them. A paper weight shaped like Manhattan, a few framed pictures of places in the country, by the ocean or in other nations were obviously what had been his decorations. The rest was all books and notebooks. The novels were an interesting mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, humor and classics. There was an unsurprising lack of horror stories.
What remained in the crate after the above had been removed was definitely most interesting. A series of notebooks and sketchpads showed that Dennis had possessed a surprising artistic nature. They were clearly all things he had observed, people, places and even things that were definitely from the man's visions. Putting them down for later exploration, Arthur lifted out the last book: a photo album. The minute his hands touched it, a jolt went through them and the teacher knew he had found what he had subconsciously been looking for.
After carefully placing everything back into the crate and hiding it from view in a closet with the suitcase, Arthur sat down at his desk to look through the album. The cover was old and worn, the blue faded to a blackish color. Inside, however, the photos gleamed like new inside their plastic shields.
The first picture showed a family, a man, woman and little girl. The woman held a small blue-eyed baby. The first three were smiling at the young baby. With surprise, Arthur realized that it was Dennis' parents and sister. He reached out to gently touch the picture, surprised at happiness that seemed out of place in the young man's life. As his fingers grazed the surface, there was a flash and images spun into his mind.
*
Well, what do you think? More up soon!!