When I was living at home, before being dragged here, my ability to see ghosts wasn't hindered by anything. They'd come and go as they pleased, usually after telling me that they needed a message passed onto their loved ones. They didn't flicker in and out like Liz did. I'd see her then she was gone in a blink. Sometimes she looked fuzzy, like static. It was funny though, sometimes she stuck around long enough to tell me where I left my keys when I couldn't find them, but she'd never stick around like the others did back home. Maybe it was something in the air? Did the Edison Group have a 'ghost block' on our town? Whatever it was, it was driving me crazy.

I hadn't seen any ghosts in the three years that I've been living in Blackbridge. There were plenty walking around, I was sure of it, but none ever came to me with the exception of Liz. In a messed up way, in those three years it was almost as if my life was normal - you know, with the exception of being trapped in a town and held against my own will. So obviously, when I started seeing Liz flicker in and out of my life, it destroyed me a little. The first two weeks I was holding up fine. I managed to shower, get dressed and go into work on my scheduled days, but the night that I picked up that bottle of wine after calling my mother was what broke me. The morning after I was woken by a call from work, telling me that I was late, and for once in my life, I just didn't care or give a damn about the consequences. It was weird; I had always been the good girl who did no wrong. I was always on time, followed the rules, never went over the speed limit. Hell, I didn't even have an alcoholic beverage until I was twenty one. I ended up rattling off an excuse that I was unwell and told them I'd be in on Thursday


By the time Thursday rolled around, I had somewhat gathered myself and braved a shift at work. It turned out to be a bit of a train wreck when I tried to draw blood from a patient's arm with shaky hands, so I was strictly confined to reception duty. It was one of the most tedious jobs that I have ever had, but it was one that was just kind of thrown at me when I got here. I only took it so I would have something to do with my days, but what I quickly realized was that I spent most of my day looking at the clock. Every time I left to go home, I fought the urge to click my heels and dance out of excitement.

Today was the first time in a couple of days where I wasn't suffering from a headache. To be fair, I did cut down on the wine so that may have had something to do with it. Because I was feeling decent and not on the edge of death, I traded in my jeans, shirt and cardigan for a sports bra and gym shorts. I had only ever seen somebody else in the woods once, which was Derek, so I was never too worried about people seeing my bits and pieces when I went running. Not to mention that there were numerous different trails and unless I was being followed by somebody I didn't have anything to stress about.

I tied a grey sweatshirt around my waist and pulled on my trainers. My goal was to sweat out all of those shitty feelings that I had been harboring over the past couple of weeks and get some fresh air. As soon as I stepped outside, the freezing air hit me. The sweatshirt I was previously wearing around my waist ended up slipping over my head as I walked towards the edge of the forest and chose the most familiar path.

Funny story, I first met Liz in these woods. The week I got here and "settled" into my house I decided to go exploring, not realizing how big these woods were. I ended up dangerously close to falling face first into the river as I tried to cross over a tree log that went from one side to the other. By the time I bumped into her I had twigs in my hair and mud all over my clothes. I asked her to just point me in the right direction but instead she happily lead the way back to the edge of the forest. Once we were out of the woods - literally - I thanked her and invited her in for a drink, and we were best friends ever since that day. For a while she always told me that if I ever felt like going into the woods for a run that I absolutely had to call her over so she could accompany me in case I got lost.

I smiled sadly as I approached the edge of the forest. Picking my trail, I started off casually wandering and eventually picked up the pace into a steady jog. All I had to do was try not to get my feet tangled in anything and hopefully I'd be out in one piece.

I stopped every now and then to admire the scenery. There was a beautiful flowing river that I sat down on the bank of to catch my breath and re-tie my ponytail that was slowly slipping out of place. While I might talk a lot of smack about Blackbridge, it did have beautiful scenery if you knew where to look.

I continued on with my exercise, eventually making a full circle back to where I started but I wasn't done yet. Deciding to run again for at least another lap, I set off on the familiar trail and once again stopped on the bank of the river. I wandered off the path slightly to see if I could find anything interesting, but there wasn't much to write home about.

Audibly exhaling, I sat myself back down and leaned back with my hands behind my head, staring up at the sky. The way the sun beamed through the trees was beautiful as it illuminated the whole forest. Being alone in the woods would usually be cause for concern for a small twenty three year old woman, but I was calmed by my surroundings - something I hadn't felt in a very long time.

I froze when I heard a throat clear behind me and I shot up. Looking around I couldn't see anything, but I did meekly call out to see if anybody was there. Nothing in response. Was I going insane?

Again the sound of somebody clearing their throat sounded and as I looked behind me, I caught a flash of blonde hair and a pale blue blouse. Two things that I was all too familiar with.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

Hell, I even rubbed my eyes.

"Liz?" I asked tentatively. She wasn't disappearing.

She must have been reading my mind, because she held her hands out in front of her and studied them. "Chloe? I didn't know if you could hear me. I'm not disappearing!" She exclaimed with glee.

I stared at her incredulously. My mouth must have been gaping open like a fish because I couldn't believe it. All this time seeing her flicker in and out of my life and she was finally there, able to talk to me!

We started off with small chat. I asked what they did to her and she had no recollection of what happened. The last thing she remembered was inhaling a plate of eggs benedict at CeCe's Cafe. I told her that things got heated after a man named Royce showed up, and something seemed to click, but she didn't care to share.

"Have you been around all this time?" I asked.

Liz fiddled with her blouse. "I've been in and out. I watched over my Nanna and my brother for a while. Otherwise I've just been loitering." She avoided eye contact. "You haven't been doing well, have you?"

I bit my lip and looked down at my feet in response. "It's been tough," I shrugged, "I've got Derek if I need him, though."

We continued with a bit of light banter for a while before curiosity got the better of me.

"Liz? Why is it that whenever I see you in my house, you disappear within a second?" I asked.

"I... I don't really know. It feels like I can scream and shout all I want for you to hear me, but you never do. Whenever I start to flicker and disappear it's so weird. It feels like thousands of tiny shocks all over my limbs and before I know it, I'm somewhere else on the outside world. It's like they're trying to keep me away."

I thought for a moment. "Do you think it has to do with location? Here, you're fine. I can hear you and see you, but in my house or anywhere else, you're gone in a second."

She shrugged, "I'm okay in the woods but I usually start to fade nearing the treeline. It might be the location. Something to do with the electronics, or something the Edison Group has done." She kicked a rock absentmindedly, sending it tumbling into the water of the river. Her eyes widened. "I didn't know I could do that!" She gasped.

"I guess it had something to do with your power when you were still... around."

"You can say the word 'alive', Chloe." She chuckled and let out a lengthy sigh. "You should head in, it's getting dark."

I agreed. "Maybe we'll see each other around in the woods." I suggested hopefully.

"We will," she nodded sadly, "Definitely."

I sent a small nod her way as she disappeared behind the trees. Laying back, I rested my head on my hands and sighed in relief that she was still around and that there was the possibility that I would see her again.


Stupidly, I stayed on the river bank for too long and dozed off. It was the first time in a while that I had felt so peaceful and it felt as if nothing bad could ever happen. I sure was proved wrong when I woke up to the snap of a twig or a branch crunching under the weight of something. Assuming it was just another runner, I sat up and looked around. It was significantly darker than it was before when Liz left me so I must have been out for a good amount of time. I stood up and brushed myself off, hoping that I could catch the attention of the runner so I could have somebody escort me back out of the woods.

"Hello?" I called out. No answer. Maybe I just heard an animal.

Playing it off as my mind playing tricks on me, I made my way back to the trail that would take me home. As long as I stuck to it, then I should be back at my place in about half an hour.

The woods were different at night. During the day it was full of noises from the animals, beautiful scenery and light. Night time was dead silence accompanied by that eerie feeling of being watched. Every time I heard a snap or a crack I nearly jumped out of my skin, each time laughing at myself over how paranoid I was being. I never saw anybody else in the woods in the day, so you'd have to be pretty ballsy to go in at night.

Fifteen minutes into my trek home, there was too much snapping and crunching for my liking. It seemed to follow me which made me feel uneasy. Tempted to call out a quiet 'Hello?', I decided against it. I'd rather just keep thinking that I was alone and that nobody was out there.

Another crunch and my head snapped to the right. I didn't see much, but I heard the sound of somebody shuffling behind one of the trees, and that's when I took off like a rocket in the direction of my house. My attempt was lame when I realized that I had exerted all of my energy on my run earlier so I slowed down when I felt that I went far enough.

I was wrong. A deep, sickening chuckle erupted from behind me as I felt something big and strong snake around my waist. I spun around to meet the eyes of a tall, lanky man. His breath fanned over my face, reeking of cigarettes as he raked his eyes up and down my body.

"Don't be scared." He told me. "We're just gonna have a little fun."

I sucked in a breath and let out the first second of a scream before his large hand covered my mouth to shut me up. He dragged me off the main trail and behind the tree where he told me that if I screamed, I'd regret it. He proceeded to rough me up, mostly just grabbing at me through my clothes while I sobbed and tried to fight it. He pinned both of my arms down with one of his hands while the other one was left to explore. I whimpered and squirmed as he nipped at my neck with his teeth. His grip on my wrists and my waist were strong enough to leave bruises and the more I struggled, the more force he used.

He pulled away for a minute and pulled my sweatshirt over my head and tossed it to the side. He fiddled with his jacket zipper, presumably to take it off, so I took that time to jerk my knee up as hard as I could into his groin. I didn't have much momentum, but apparently balls are sensitive. He groaned and cupped them, falling off me to the side. I took the opportunity to scramble out from under him and run like hell back towards the trail. I passed by a familiar tree, knowing that I had five minutes to run before I would end up back in my garden.

One minute in and I was tackled to the ground as he growled in my face, spittle flying everywhere. My legs, arms and belly stung at the impact when I collided with the gravel and I winced, knowing there was probably more pain to come.

"You don't mess with me, you bitch." He spat in my face as he grabbed at me even harder. He continued to smack me around and rub me through my clothes as I cried, begging for it to end. Was he going to kill me after this? Would I have to live with feeling disgusting for the rest of my life?

One moment he was biting and clawing at me, the next thing I knew he was on the ground in front of me with Liz hanging over him, holding a tree branch and beating him mercilessly. She yelled at me to run home but I was frozen. Every time the man tried to get up, Liz would beat him back down into submission. Eventually it clicked and I sprung to my feet with adrenaline coursing through my body and sprinted the rest of the way home, not noticing the full extent of my injuries.

I ran to the back door and tried to slide it open, realizing that my keys must have dropped out of my pocket in the forest when it wouldn't budge. Running around the house, I checked to see if there were any windows that I left open but no luck. My brain went into autopilot as I fled two doors down and banged on the door, calling his name as loudly as I could. I didn't stop banging on that door until he opened it and I fell inside, scrambling to safety.


A lot of that night was a blur. Derek scooped me up into his arms and the next time my brain made sense of anything, I was sitting on his bathroom counter mumbling nonsense while he tried to clean my wounds. He was asking me questions like whether I knew where I was and if I knew my own name, but most of the things he said just scrambled my brain. As he prodded at my ribs, I inhaled sharply and flinched at the touch. They were tender and I was finally starting to feel the pain of my injuries. If I tried to sprint back home now, I'd probably pass out from the pain.

Derek encouraged me to get undressed and into the shower once he left the bathroom, but I couldn't raise my sports bra over my head to take it off. Every time I tried, pain would shoot through my abdomen and I sobbed. Long story short, Derek had to assist me in getting ready for my shower by literally cutting me out of my sports bra.

I stepped into the shower, only then realizing the full extent of my injuries when I noticed the amount of blood that was going down the drain and the sting of the hot water hitting my wounds. I cringed, sobbed, cried out and eventually curled up in the bottom of the tub as the hot water hit my back. I felt dirty and ashamed. How could I let something like this happen to me? What idiot twenty three year old woman hangs out in the woods at night with no protection? Why was I such an idiot?

I sobbed and I cried until I couldn't squeeze any more emotion out. I felt empty, kind of like a shell.

I must have passed out in the tub, because I don't remember getting out. Next thing I remembered was waking up in Derek's spare bedroom, wearing nothing but a large jumper and a pair of underwear. It dawned on me that Derek probably saw more of me than he was ready to last night and I felt my face heat up as I panicked. What would he think about me?

I jumped, startled at the sight in front of me. Derek was sitting in a chair next to the bed, looking completely calm. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly gaped open. He was snoring lightly as his chest rose and fell.

At the sound of my gasp, his eyes opened and he sat up straight, looking at me. I didn't really know what to say in this kind of situation, but luckily I didn't have to worry about it when he handed me a glass of water along with some aspirin.

"Thank you," I whispered with a hoarse voice. "I'm sorry."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Not sure what you're sorry for." He grunted.

I avoided eye contact with him and looked around the room instead. It was pretty plain with no personal element whatsoever.

Derek cleared his throat. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. "You don't have to but... I mean you came to my door covered in blood, Chloe."

Again, I avoided meeting his eyes with mine. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out the window to my left. "It was scary." I whispered. Derek didn't reply, probably giving me more time to elaborate if I needed it. I was battling with the idea of telling him, unsure of how he would react. I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Someone attacked me in the woods. Not sure who. Just a tall lanky dude."

Out the corner of my eye, I could see Derek tense and his hands balled into fists. He exhaled. "Did he... you know? I saw some uh... bite marks."

I paused. "He was going to. I got away."

Derek nodded in response. We stayed silent for what felt like hours, which I preferred to making small talk. I got some peace and quiet but I also knew that I had Derek to watch over me if I decided to have a break down. Over the course of a few hours, Derek fetched me water and aspirin whenever it was time. He sat there reading a book while I just sat in bed, staring at the wall. He offered me something to read, but I declined. My head was buzzing with thoughts that I never had to deal with before and it was scary. Perhaps it would have been better for me to accept the book to take my mind off things, but the thought of being in denial felt worse.


I sat there in bed, thinking that last night I was close to becoming a statistic. Thinking about his breath reeking of cigarettes and his southern drawl when he called me a bitch and spat in my face, my heard raced a little bit. I was disgusted and ashamed that he left marks on me and I scowled down at my body. Derek must have picked up on it when he looked up from his book because he reached out for my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He didn't let go when he buried himself back into his book, which was comforting, but still didn't take any of my pain or stress away.

Even back in the comfort of a warm bed, I still felt helpless. I didn't know how I was going to come back from this one.