"MARCUS! Watch out!"
Matilda opens her eyes. Her vision is blurry. She lifts her head from her chest, groaning at the sharp pain on the left side of her head. She rests her head back against the headrest of her boyfriend's passenger seat. Her boyfriend!
"Marcus?" She croaks, turning her head slightly towards the driver's seat. "Marcus?"
Her boyfriend sits unconscious; hands strewed across his lap.
Matilda reaches for Marcus' hand, feeling for his pulse, her first aid instincts overtaking her panic. A sigh of relief escaping her lips as she feels it. His pulse is there, although weak. Her mobile phone had been in her hand before everything went dark. Her hands feel around for the device, not wanting to move her head too much, for she most definitely has a concussion. It's no use; she can't find it. She remembers they had driven past a gateway for a large manor house. If she could only climb out of the car, she could ask for help.
Unbuckling her seatbelt, she climbs out; the car door must have opened in the crash. She zips her winter coat up to her chin, hoping for added protection around her neck, and she sets off slowly. Once she makes it back on the road, she can see the gateway.
She stumbles down the road, wishing a car would drive past and help her. Every step she takes sends shooting pains down her neck. Her vision is becoming even blurrier as she becomes dizzier.
"Button House," she mutters when she reaches the gateway and reads the sign.
Every part of her body is aching. She pauses for a moment to lean against the brick post. Closing her eyes, she takes a few deep breaths. Upon opening them again, she glances down the driveway, spotting a small car. She hopes more than anything that the owners are home.
"I can do this," she breathes, limping on her way down the driveway.
Blood, sweat, and now tears are dripping down her face. The pain is almost too much to handle. She dares not reach up to feel her head wound. Right now, she has only one thought on her mind, 'help'!
"NO, B4, B4," Robin argues with Julian, who had moved his chess piece to the wrong square on the board.
"It's exhausting," Julian complains. "I don't see why we can't play like we usually do." He mutters to himself, exerting more energy in moving Robin's piece to B4.
Robin grunts, "B4," and nods.
"Alison, Alison!" Kitty follows behind her best friend. "Do you think I might be able to read the next page of my book?" She asks. "The last page ended in quite the cliff hanger, and in the middle of the sentence," Kitty explains her strife as they wander through the common area.
"Absolute filth, I will not tolerate such literature in this house," Lady Button exclaims, following behind them.
"Not enjoying this one, eh, Fanny," Julian smirks.
Lady Button gasps in indignation, "How dare you?" She turns, walking through the nearest wall.
"Must you, Julian," Pat sends his fellow ghost a disappointed frown, standing to follow Fanny.
"There be a girl bleeding on 'er 'ead outside," Mary announces from the window. "Oh, we be 'aving a new friend." She adds, excited.
The rest of the ghosts eagerly rush to the window.
"I order you all to step aside." The Captain's request goes unheard.
"You couldn't even order a dog to do your bidding," Thomas tells him, turning to gaze out at their visitor.
"Now, Mary, when you say 'girl' just how young are you talking?" Julian adjusts his tie, attempting to peer over the other's heads.
"She looks to be the age of twenty-five," Thomas stares longingly. "Her blonde wavy hair frames her fair face, though the wound upon her temple bleeds red as her lips, for never has one seen such beauteous grace from a lady, from nature, or the moon's eclipse." He sighs.
"Moonah eclipse?" Robin stares up at the cloudless sky. "No, Moonah," he frowns at Thomas.
Julian rolls his eyes, losing interest.
"She no dead," Robin claims, stepping away.
"She certainly looks dead," Thomas counters, almost hopeful.
"Me here longer. Me know when people dead." Robin boasts, returning to the chessboard.
"I know when people dead," Thomas corrects the eldest member of their group. "Are dead? He corrects himself with frustration.
"Who's dead?" Kitty asks, wandering back through behind Alison.
"Alison, it appears a young woman has died nearby. She's making her way across our driveway." The Captain rocks forward on his toes; his swagger stick gripped behind his back.
Alison turns on her heel, running straight through Kitty, who doubles over in pain. "A dead woman," Alison frowns.
The other ghosts step aside as she rushes to the window, peering down as the young woman trips over, onto her knees. From her vantage point, Alison can see her blonde hair drenched in blood, running down her face.
"Poor thing," Mary sighs.
"So, what happens now?" Alison wonders aloud. She had been curious about how the ghosts accept new members into their group. "Does someone go introduce themselves?" Alison asks, scanning the ghosts' faces behind her.
"Not it!" They all exclaim, one after the other.
"Alison, as the most present occupant of Button House, perhaps she will be less frightened if you were to greet her." The Captain suggests.
"I can't; I'm not a ghost. I can't explain all this." Alison's eyes widen as she gestures to her ghostly friends.
"We've all had a go or two at comforting the newly dead." The Captain explains. " I did Patrick." He adds, then clears his throat. "In that, I helped him settle that first day, showed him around the place, to his room." He says, chin high.
"I vowed never again after Julian," Thomas announces, glaring at the man relaxed across the sofa. The man in question shrugs, smirking across the room at Thomas.
"I'm technically the youngest," Julian announces, then gestures to his lack of trousers when he gains their attention.
"If someone were to hold me, I'll give it a go." Humphrey's head says.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Alison awkwardly admits. "Fine, I'll do it." She sighs dejectedly, she heads out the common area, towards the front door. "What should I say? " She asks, feeling both parts nervous and excited.
"Ask what her names be," Mary tells her.
"I can do that." Alison nods.
"Do what?" Mike asks, sat at the kitchen table with a cuppa tea and the daily newspaper.
"We have a new tenant."
"Oh," he nods, lifting his mug up. "What?" he asks.
"New ghost. She looks mid-twenties, head injury, possible car accident I'm thinking" Alison explains. "I'm going to say hello."
"Good luck." Mike goes back to his paper, now used to his wife's ghostly abilities.
"Okay, guys, you stay here. We don't want to scare her." Alison tells them, before stepping outside, closing the door behind her.
"She's talking about you, Robin." Julian comments, walking into the kitchen to read the newspaper over Mike's shoulder.
"No, you," Robin follows behind, childishly.
The woman is leaning against the broken fountain, trying to regain some energy to stand and attempt walking again. Alison takes a deep breath, walking over to her.
"Hi, my name is Alison." She crouches down to the woman's level. "What's your name?"
"I need help." She says breathlessly. "Our car, we hit a tree, something came out of woods, please, my boyfriend." She turns back towards the gate, where she came from, but winces from her head injury.
"Of course, what's your name?" Alison asks again.
"Matilda, my boyfriend is Marcus." She answers. "Are you calling an ambulance?"
"Look, Matilda, there's no easy way to say this, but... I'm afraid you're dead." Alison breaks the news.
Matilda stares up at her, sudden fear in her eyes. "I'm not dead." She uses the fountain to lift herself up to her feet. "I need help, my head; there's blood." She lifts her hand up, wiping the blood from her eyes.
Alison frowns, the ghosts she knew looked the same as when they died. Pat can't remove his arrow. Mary can't clean the soot from her face. Most importantly, Thomas can't clean the blood from his waistcoat. Matilda shouldn't be able to clean the blood from her eyes. Hands quivering, Alison reaches out slowly for the other woman's arm, gently lowering her fingers to grace her forearm. A shiver runs down her spine.
"MIKE!" She screams, wrapping her arms around Matilda, helping her towards the house.
Mike bursts out the front door, the newspaper still in hand. "Who's that?"
"She's not dead, call an ambulance!" Alison shouts.
Mike stands frozen in a panic for a moment, then runs back into the kitchen as Alison helps Matilda in behind him, sitting her in a chair at the table. She gently brushes Matilda's hair out of her face. Her injury runs around from her hairline to behind her ear. Alison grabs a tea towel, applying pressure to her wound.
"I need an ambulance," Mike says, phone to his ear.
"What's happening, Alison?" Kitty asks as the ghosts follow her in.
"She's not dead." Alison quickly answers, soothing Matilda.
"We not be getting new friend?" Mary asks.
"It appears not." The Captain grumbles.
"Me say not dead." Robin jumps up and down.
"Well done, Robin." Pat grins, having joined the group again.
"Clean that girl's face; she's bleeding all over the kitchen table." Lady Button complains.
"If she were to die, Alison, she should not be covered in blood. No one wishes to spend eternity covered in blood." Thomas sighs dramatically, hand covering his musket ball wound.
"They're going to be ten minutes," Mike says, phone in the crook of his neck.
"My boyfriend, he's still in the car," Matilda mutters, leaning back in the chair.
Mike looks at Alison.
"Their car crashed into a tree." She explains.
Mike goes back to the '999' operator on the phone to relay the new information.
"Alison, clean her up," Fanny repeats.
"Okay, okay, Matilda, I'm going to clean your face a bit." Alison places the tea towel down.
She grabs a mixing bowl from the cupboard, filling it with warm water and soaking a flannel. She returns, wrings the flannel and gently cleans the blood from Matilda's cheek, eyes and forehead.
"Much better," Fanny pouts approvingly.
Alison picks the tea towel back up as a thin trickle of blood starts down her forehead. She cleans it back up, applying the pressure back on the wound.
"Oh, goodness, Mike, how long?" She asks, seriously starting to worry. The wound is deeper than she expected.
"Five minutes," he answers.
"Why did you think I was dead?" Matilda asks, her head becoming heavier in Alison's hand.
"I don't want to scare you, but you don't look too lively right now." She tries to lighten her mood.
"Can you see dead people?" Matilda coughs a laugh, blood spluttering onto her chin. Alison rushes to wipe it away.
"Sixth Sense." Pat grins. "I hope she stays. She sounds like a hoot."
"She's not dead, Patrick." The Captain frowns.
"'Course not." Pat lowers his head in embarrassment.
"You could say I'm haunted," Alison turns to the group behind her, sending them a 'be quiet' look.
Matilda looks behind Alison but doesn't manage to lock eyes with any of the ghosts. She gives up looking, tiredness taking over as her head falls back.
"Matilda?" Alison calls her name.
The woman groans, eyes rolling back in her head.
"Mike, help me lie her down." Alison calls her husband.
Together, they lift Matilda from the chair, lying her down on the kitchen floor.
"Oh, isn't she a pretty one?" Humphrey's head states, somehow having found his way onto the kitchen floor himself.
"Oh, Go- Humphrey," Alison jumps in shock. "Can someone pick up Humphrey?" She asks, using the flannel to apply pressure to Matilda's head injury.
"Wee, woo, wee, woo." Robin starts screaming.
"Isn't this fun?" Kitty giggles. "Wee, woo." She attempts to harmonise with Robin.
"Guys, please," Alison shouts, shaking the unconscious woman's shoulders gently.
"What Robin is trying to say, is that the ambulance is coming." The Captain explains.
"The ambulance is coming," she repeats to Mike.
"I'll go meet them," Mike leaves.
"Matilda, can you hear me?" Alison asks softly. "Matilda? The ambulance is here."
The ghosts all part for the paramedics to usher into the kitchen.
"Please, step aside, ma'am." A paramedic gently pushes Alison out of the way.
Mike pulls her into a hug. "I hope she doesn't die."
"Mike!" She leans back to stare up at him.
"I just mean, we don't need any more ghosts in this place. Well, you don't." He explains, but Alison shakes her head, burying it back in her husband's neck and sighing deeply. "The phone operator said they sent a second ambulance to the boyfriend in the car." He adds.
"Good, Matilda was worried about him." She turns to watch the paramedics.
They've removed her large coat to check her chest for any injuries, but as far as Alison can see, her only injury is the head wound. One paramedic is wrapping bandages over a gauze as the other leaves to fetch the gurney. She had heard them radio to the hospital that their patient's pulse was becoming faint; they would be fifteen minutes and would need a bed free in the Intensive Care Unit.
The ghosts are stood around Alison and Mike, watching intensely as the second paramedic returns with the gurney and a board to manoeuvre Matilda onto. He passes a brace to the first paramedic, to attach around the patient's neck.
Without warning, Matilda bolts upright. Alison gasps loudly in shock, trying to step back but ends up stepping onto Mike's feet, causing him to yell in pain.
The paramedics look over, surprised.
"Are you okay, love?" the first paramedic asks.
"The shock just hit me, sorry," she apologises.
"Aw, she dead now," Robin complains.
"That's a shame," Pat sighs, patting Robin's shoulder.
"Oh, my, goodness," Matilda's eyes flitter back and forth between the nine faces stood in front of her.
"Ah, yes," The Captain nods, gesturing at the woman sat in front of them on the kitchen floor. "I do believe she can see us now."
"What gave it away?" Pat sarcastically asks the Captain.
"Well, there's certainly no need for that tone of voice," the Captain rolls his shoulders back, standing tall.
"Sorry about this lot, Miss Matilda," Humphrey's head apologises, gaining the woman's attention, who then proceeds to scream in terror at the sight before her, scrambling to her feet.
"Humphrey, what did we say?" Alison sighs, regretting it immediately when the paramedics look at her again, as they roll Matilda's dead body onto the board. "Sorry, just talking to my husband," she pats Mike's chest.
"Yeah, I'm Humphrey," Mike lies dreadfully.
The paramedics quickly go about their job, lifting Matilda onto the gurney.
"What's happening? Alison, please tell me what's happening?" Matilda begs the one person she recognises, walking over to the woman who had helped her.
Alison looks over to the gurney, and Matilda follows her gaze, shrieking when she comes face to face with herself.
"Am I dead?" Matilda follows the paramedics out to the ambulance. "Marcus? What about Marcus? Where is he?" She asks, but the paramedics don't answer her.
"I'm afraid they can't hear you?"
Matilda turns to find a short man with part of an arrow sticking out of his neck. "Bloody hell," she averts her eyes.
"Sorry, it's not easy looking at me, is it?" He sighs.
"No, it's not," she awkwardly looks back, feeling strangely calm in his presence.
"I'm Pat, been here since 1984," he holds his hand out, grinning sincerely.
Matilda looks up over his head at the gathering of people, from apparently many different periods, outside Button House.
"I'm dead?" She asks.
"Hi dead, nice to meet you," Pat jokes.
Matilda's laugh turns into a sob. She rubs her face, her hands coming off clean. She reaches up to touch her wound, but her fingers meet the gauze and bandage the paramedic had dressed her head with before she died.
"A little joke to lighten the mood there, but yes, you're dead, we all are." He gestures behind him. "Except Alison and Mike, they own Button House, but Alison can see and hear us, so it's not all bad."
Matilda nods, not entirely sure this is real, or a coma induced dream, well, rather a nightmare. If she is in a coma, she doesn't want to stress herself into actually dying, so she might as well go along with it. She's certainly had weirder dreams.
"Hello Pat, my name is Matilda." She holds her own hand out, and they shake. "Nice to meet you."