Authors Note: Sorry it took longer than I wanted guys! But here it is! The first chapter! Thanks again to my WONDERFUL AMAZING BETA KRISTEN! And as usual I own nothing from SPN that's all Kripke!
Wonder Wall Chapter One
Undertow
When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.
The local paper hadn't reported anymore deaths, but the Winchester brothers knew it was only a matter of time. Spirits never rested that easily, and they were pretty sure that that's what they were dealing with. The boys drove through the night to arrive in Charleston, IL early in the morning. Neither had gotten much sleep but they needed to solve the case before they could get any.
"It says here the funeral for Mason Gilbert is today at ten," Sam said, glancing up from the paper. "We should go."
"Funeral crashing? You make me so tingly when you talk like that Sammy." Dean grinned cheekily as his brother rolled his eyes at him. "Alright, so we go see if we can get any information out of anyone. That's easy enough." He lifted his cup of coffee to his lips to take a sip, only to pause with a look of irritation on his face. "We're going to have to pull out the suits aren't we?"
Sam took pleasure in knowing how uncomfortable the suits made his brother and nodded, "We'd look odd showing up like this." He made a gesture, showing the jeans and t-shirts under button up shirts and boots; it definitely wasn't the usual in funeral attire.
"This blows." Dean muttered before taking a long sip of his coffee and heading to the back of the Impala to grab his bag out of the trunk.
"No one said this job was easy, Dean." Sam chuckled and grabbed his own bag before Dean could shut the trunk.
Ten o'clock came and the boys stood a few feet away from the grave site. A small crowd was gathered around a simple casket being suspended over a deep hole in the ground, heads bowed while a man spoke about how the deceased's life had been spent. Every funeral was basically the same, tears and other people trying to make their loved ones life seem more eventful than it really had been.
"What was the guy's name?" Dean wondered, adjusting his tie with a look of disgust on his face.
"Mason Gilbert." Sam replied, his soulful eyes observing the cemetery before them. He hated funerals; there was too much grief, memories and nightmares. Jessica's death was still fresh on his mind and already his throat was tightening. Swallowing hard he fallowed his brother quietly towards the crowd, trying to blend in as the pastor began speaking.
"We will always remember Mason; he was a care free, kind young man taken away to do the lords bidding too quickly for our own taste. He was a wonderful addition to the church and a role model for children. He had a terrible past, one we all knew too well, but he stepped out of the shadows to help others." The man paused, seeming to stare at someone in the crowd. "He will be greatly missed. Let us bow our heads in prayer."
Sam and Dean bowed their heads along with the others, but let their eyes wander as the pastor prayed. He asked God to help lessen their pain, to help them remember the good times and to watch over his newest angel. As he finished he held up a hand, motioning someone forward. A young red headed woman walked up to the casket and placed a red rose on top of it before her shoulders began to shake, her sobs echoing through the air. The pastor rested a hand on her shoulder as most began to leave, no one else stepping up to the casket. It was a sign that the woman knew the deceased better than the others and she was who Sam and Dean needed to speak with. Approaching her and the casket, the boys over heard the end of what the pastor was telling her.
"I know you were close with Mason; he often spoke very highly of you and the others. I'm sorry for your loss."
"You mean losses." She whispered.
The pastor sighed, "They're at peace now."
"Thank you for the service. He would have liked it, especially how the church pulled together to help." she said somberly, breaking the brief silence with her head downcast.
"I hope to see you on Sunday," he said, not sure what to say as he walked away. Seeing Sam and Dean he nodded at them, not seeming to care that he didn't know them.
Catching sight of a tissue box out of the corner of his eyes, Sam leaned down and swiped them off of the abandoned lawn chair. He pulled a handful out and offered them to the crying woman. "Here you go miss." He kept his voice soft and low, knowing that if she felt anything like he still did sometimes when he thought about Jessica that every single noise sounded louder than it really was; a simple cough could sound like a bomb imploding in her ears.
She looked up at him in surprise and a slight fear but they slowly faded away as she took the tissues, her hand brushing his shakily. They barely heard her whispered thanks as she wiped her eyes.
"It's too bad," Dean said. "About Mason..He uh, he was a good guy."
"You knew him?" she questioned, lifting her head higher to look at him. "Through the church?" she shook her head, a slight huff of disbelief sounding.
"We're not real big church goers." It was the truth but it still didn't completely answer her question on if they knew Mason.
"I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, "It's just…most people thought they knew him because of the Church. They only saw the person he made himself to be, not who he really was or had been. They didn't know him like the gang and I did."
"The gang?" Sam wondered, eyebrows slightly raised.
She nodded, more tears leaking from her eyes. "The gang is everyone that practically grew up with him at the children's home." She gave a small sob. "They're all gone now, all but me."
This caught the boys' attention and they shared a quick glance at one another while she dabbed her eyes and face again, letting the other know they were thinking the same thing.
"What do you mean they're all gone?"
Looking confused she took a deep breath," The other d-deaths, Dominic and Chloe? Didn't Mason ever mention them? They were all each other had."
"Oh!" Dean exclaimed rather obviously. "Right, yeah, the others. You all grew up together."
She laughed but there was no humor. "You're not from around here are you?"
Sam chuckled, "No, I'm afraid we're not. I'm Sam by the way." he introduced himself. "and this is my brother, Dean."
They shook hands, the tremor in her hands not going unnoticed.
"Kalista." She told them, not wanting to be rude. "Mason, Dominic, Chloe and I all lived in the old children's home on Parker Drive." she glanced down at the watch on her wrist and groaned. "I'm sorry boys, but I have to go. I couldn't get the day off today so I really need to get into work." she gave them a watery smile. "We're low on waitresses right now. It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah, you too." Dean shook her hand again before Sam stepped forward.
With a half smile he shook her hand, "I'm sorry for your losses. It's tough but it is possible to keep going on."
They waited until she was a good distance away and out of earshot before turning to each other.
"How much of a coincidence is it that these deaths happened close together and they all knew each other?"
Dean smirked, "How often is it ever just a coincidence?"
Heading for the car with Sam walking along side him, he pulled his keys out from his pocket. They had fast work that needed to be done. They stopped by a hotel and checked in under the name Bonham before changing and heading back out to the town's library to begin researching. Kalista had mentioned a children's home and that was as good a place to start as any. Assuming the woman was in her late teens or very early twenties, they started their research a few years back. It was Dean who found something first.
"I got it." He called out, ignoring the glare from the librarian not far from them. His eyes scanned over the article again as Sam clicked out of the window he had been on and rolled his chair over to get a look at what Dean had found.
"So apparently this woman, Gloria Harolds, ran the Edgar Country Children's Home and she abused the children in her care. It says here that a group of older kids spoke out against her and she was going to be arrested, but when the police arrived she was dead. According to the kids she fell down the stairs and broke her neck."
He tapped the screen lightly, drawing Sam's attention to the black and white picture. It showed a cop ushering a group of young teenagers away from the building. "I'm willing to bet my paycheck that that little shorty is Kalista and the others are her friends." Seeing his younger brother's face, the one that Dean could only describe as Sam's bitch face, he shrugged. "Well, if I had a paycheck.."
"Dean, this spirit, it's going after those that outed her." Sam spoke the obvious, "That means Kalista is the only one left."
"Slow down Sam, we don't actually know that it's this Harolds woman's spirit just yet. Let's head over to the last crime scene and check it out for any signs."
Although Sam was sure that his guess was correct, he allowed himself to be dragged to the last victim's apartment. With Dean as look out, Sam picked the lock until it clicked open and a small smile of accomplishment appeared on his lips. Everything seemed to be in place; none of the windows were damaged, just like the police had said and there was no evidence that someone had forced their way into the apartment. The EMF meter in Dean's hand beeped wildly when he passed it in front of the fireplace, a sure sign a ghost had been there.
"College boy must feel so smart," Dean said, glancing briefly at Sam as he swept a finger over the ashes on the floor.
"Why kill them like this though?" Sam wondered, straightening up. "Did she really do these things when she was alive?"
"I doubt she changed her MO in death Sammy." Dean shrugged, "Sounds like she was just as disturbed as she is now." He nodded toward the door, "Let's get a move on, we've got a pretty girl to save. Maybe once we do save her she'll be so grateful she'll show us just how much she appreciated it." he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Dude, do you ever get your head out of the gutter?" Sam asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Only on days that don't end in y." Dean chuckled softly as he walked out of the door.
Sam ignored him completely as a couple of picture frames caught his attention. If he had to take a guess he would say the group photo had to be the victim and the others Kalista had told them about; there stood the red head with her arms swung over a man and another girl, all of them looking happy. They didn't deserve this, no one did.
"We'll save her Sammy," Dean said, "But we can't do that here, so come on. Let's find Red and see if she has any idea where the body was buried."
Sam snorted as he fallowed his brother from the apartment and back down to the Impala, "Yeah, that conversation is going to go over well. 'Hey, I know you've just lost every single friend you had, but do you happen to know where your old care taker was buried? Why you ask? Her ghost is the one that's been killing them off.'" He rolled his eyes as he slid into the passenger seat of the car.
"It's not like we have much of a choice here. None of the articles mentioned where she was buried." Dean reminded him, glancing over his shoulder before pulling away from the curb and onto the road. "She's our only chance at stopping this psycho hag."
"Yeah, first things first; we have to find the girl." She had mentioned a job but she hadn't said where. Although the town wasn't large they didn't have time to search all over the place and without a last name the odds of finding her in time were against them.
Lost in his thoughts, Sam didn't realize his brother was turning around and stopping at a diner until he turned the car off. Glancing out of the window he made a sound of disbelief, "Some girl might die tonight and you're thinking about food?"
"I'm good but I'm not that good Sammy; I can't fight on an empty stomach," Dean grinned as he slapped his brother's shoulder. "Just get out of the car."
Sam sat there for a moment, still in shocked disbelief before getting out of the car and fallowing Dean inside the diner. They slid into a booth by a window, looking over the menu. When their waitress appeared Sam tried his best not to look surprised; there stood Kalista with a pen and pad of paper in her hands.
Dean, however, didn't look surprised at all. "What a coincidence."
Kalista smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, which were still red and puffy from her crying earlier. "Hi again. What can I get for you boys? We carry Coke products, lemonade and tea."
"Coke," Dean said before putting his head back behind his menu.
"Water for me please." Sam said, surprise still written across his face as he looked up at her.
"Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks then." She hurried away leaving Sam to stare at his brother in wonder. "How did you do that?"
Dean shrugged, "It's a gift." With a roll of his eyes he finally admitted. "I saw her in the window while you were daydreaming."
"I wasn't daydreaming. I was thinking about the case."
It wasn't until after they had ordered and ate their food that they managed to get Kalista to talk, the diner was slow with only two other tables beside theirs.
"Hey Kalista, do you have a minute?" Sam wondered, they couldn't waste anymore time trying to come up with a way to ask her.
The redhead nodded slowly, a slight frown on her lips. "Sure, do you need something?"
Sam scooted closer to the window in the booth and motioned for her to sit down beside him. Looking around the diner quickly to make sure nobody needed her, she slowly sat down, her body tense.
"I know this is hard but we need to ask you a few questions."
"Questions?" she echoed, her eyes going from Sam to Dean.
Dean pulled out a badge from the inside of his jacket, "We lied earlier, we didn't know your friend." he flashed the badge quickly, barely letting her see the FBI status. "We're investigating the deaths of your friends."
"Why is the FBI interested?" She asked suspiciously. "They were suicides." The boys could tell by the tone of her voice that like them, she didn't believe what the cops had told her.
"You don't believe that." Dean stated.
"We don't either." Sam told her. "Why would all of them kill themselves around the same time and in those ways? Wasn't the girl terrified of dogs? Why then would she have a dog in her apartment, especially a dog angry enough to attack her?" He tried to keep his voice soft, knowing that the subject was upsetting for her.
It took a moment, but soon Kalista shook her head, "She couldn't have." She whispered, clasping her hands together in her lap. "She became paralyzed around dogs; it didn't matter the size or if the owners told her they would never hurt her. We would have to physically pull her away around them."
Dean leaned his elbows on the table, "Do you have any idea who could have done this?"
"It doesn't matter if it seems impossible or not." Sam added quickly. "any help you give us would be great and confidential of course. We're worried that you might be the next target." He felt horrible as he heard her sob softly but knew this needed to be done.
"That's the thing." She told them; "You'll think I'm crazy." she laughed and looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "I think I'm crazy."
"It won't sound crazy." Sam promised her, placing a hand on her arm to try and encourage her to keep going.
"Yeah, believe me, we've heard it all." Dean added with a small smirk, looking confused as Sam glared at him.
"It's…" Kalista started out slowly. "When we were in the children's home together, Ms. Harolds had this dog that hated all of us. I'm pretty sure we all have…had…a few scars from him. And…" She shook her head, "to clean, she'd lock us in a room with cleaning chemicals and tell us if we opened a window we would be punished or when cleaning out the fireplace, especially the smaller ones, they weren't allowed to wear a mask over their faces… all of it, the way they died…" she covered her mouth as if to keep another sob from sounding. "It's her! I know it is!" She mumbled, afraid to look up and see their faces.
A quick glance at his brother let Sam know that they were both wondering the same thing; Had Kalista ever come across something supernatural before? Did she know what was really out there? Or was it merely a good guess.
They were interrupted by another waitress came over looking to be in her early fifties or so. "Kallie?" She wondered in concern. "Are they bothering you dear?" She glared at the two men, what on earth had they said to the child to make her start crying again?
Dean tried to think of something to say while Sam just sat there opening and closing his mouth a few times. The waitress got Kalista to her feet and began scolding them. "How dare you! Can't you see how you've upset her? Kids today! No concern for others!" She wiped at Kalista's face, "There now dear, why don't you go on home, hmm? I'll finish your shift for you and you have tomorrow off, don't you?" she smiled as she received a nod. "I thought so. Go home and relax, give yourself time to grieve. I'll deal with Evans for you." she pushed the younger girl off toward the back without another glance at the boys.
"That's just great, now what?" Dean wondered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"We fallow her?" Sam suggested with a slight shrug. They had to think of something, it was possible that Kalista was going to die tonight and Sam was determined not to let that happen.
It seemed that luck was on their side as they made it out of the diner just in time to see Kalista slip into her car. Hurrying to the Impala, they got in just as she was pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. Dean briefly looked at the license plate and wondered if he would be able to remember the plate numbers until he could write it down, but hearing soft muttering next to him told him that Sam was already a step ahead of him. They drove a couple of cars behind her, trying their best to seem like they really weren't stalking her and pulled over on the opposite side of the street when she parked in front of an apartment complex.
"What are our chances that she has an apartment on the front of the building?" Dean wondered, turning the engine off as he watched the redhead walk into the building. He gave the slightest noise of agreement when his brother didn't even bother to answer him. Even if she was facing the front, she probably wouldn't open the curtains and let the world in.
"Police reports say that their time of deaths happened in the middle of the night, so at least we've got a few hours." Sam pointed out, his own dark eyes glued to the apartment building as if he had x-ray vision that could see through the walls and tell him exactly where she was.
"Well that's something." Dean muttered, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "We wouldn't even have this problem if we could just find out where the bitch was buried. It would be an easy in and out job then."
"Obviously the papers didn't find it necessary, it seems like no one really liked the woman. Not to mention everyone who was around at the time probably already knew where she was buried." Sam added with a slight grin on his lips at Dean's look of annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah, wake me in an hour would you?" Dean replied, pushing his sunglasses down from the top of his head onto his face to cover his eyes. He leaned over slightly so his head was rested on the door, his arms crossed over his chest; he might as well get a few winks since it seemed like nothing was going to happen until after night fall anyways.
Sam watched his brother for a moment, affection for him in his slight smile before he shook his head and went back to watching the apartment building.
Just as the sun was starting to set in the sky Sam was surprised to see Kalista reappear on the street with a puppy, figuring she would stay inside all evening. He reached over and smacked Dean on the shoulder, startling his brother awake. Before he could complain too much or hit him back, Sam nodded to the redhead walking down the sidewalk.
"What the hell? You see a beautiful woman walking down the street and instead of going after her you wake me up? We have got to work on your woman skills, Sammy."
"You want me to go after her?"
"Isn't that what I just said? Go do that girly emotions crap and see if you can get any information out of her. She obviously knows something is going on, so try and find out just how much she knows."
Sam quickly hopped out of the car before he could be pushed out, making his way across the street with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slightly slumped. He was wracking his brain for an excuse as to why he was here at the same time she was. She thought they were FBI agents right? So he could still use that cover and tell her they were checking out the area for her safety. Only the FBI part was a lie and the only thing that really mattered was Kalista's safety, in his opinion.
"Kalista!" He called out, watching as she paused before spinning around.
He gave her what he hoped was a friendly smile that said he wasn't there to cause trouble as he waved and hurried to catch up with her. Before he could say anything else, the dog she had with her stood protectively before her and growled as ferociously as a puppy could. He swore the dog was ready to pounce on him and would have if his owner hadn't tugged on his leash.
"Nava!" She scolded, "Calm down." She smiled, a little embarrassed as she glanced back up at Sam. "It's Sam, right?"
His dimples showed as he smiled again, "Yeah, good memory. So…. out for a little stroll?" he groaned inwardly at how ridiculous that sounded, even to him.
"Mhm, if I don't get this little one his exercise who knows what my apartment would look like." She gave him a suspicious look as they continued walking with Nava taking the space between them as if to keep Sam as far away from her as possible. "Were you just in the neighborhood?"
He had the feeling that she didn't believe lies too easily and was glad that he didn't have to truly lie to her. "I was in the area; Dean and I are scouting the neighborhood for anything that seems strange or unordinary. We don't want to miss anything and, in all honesty, we're afraid you're next."
She glanced up sharply at him and, although her face was still pale, he was glad to see that her eyes weren't as red as they had been earlier. "Me?" Clearly she hadn't considered that responsibility. Looking straight ahead, Sam watched her shoulders lift with a deep breath and sink as she let it out. "You really think I might be?" It was impossible to miss the fear in her voice.
"I hate to say it but I won't lie to you. Most of the signs are leading us to believe that you'll be the next target. You really didn't think about the possibilities?"
"I don't even understand why this is happening," She said, her hair falling around her face as she shook her head.
"Sometimes it helps to talk." Sam pointed out, pulling his hands from his pockets. He needed to get her to tell him more about the thoughts she was having from their talk at the diner.
"One day everything was normal and then suddenly my friends are dying one by one. We've always been real close, having each other's backs and doing whatever needed to be done for one another. Growing up, we were each other's family; Blood didn't matter to us, we'd been through so much more than most families do." Her breath shook but Sam didn't interrupt her, afraid she wouldn't continue. "I'm sure you know about the Children's Home?"
He nodded, "Yeah, Edgar Country Children's Home. It was shut down, right? After the caretaker died?"
"Mhm, it should have been shut down before that but it was the only one in the area and no one wanted to admit they knew what was happening. Maybe they really didn't know or ever suspect what was going on, but we knew; we all knew. Ms. Harolds was strict: you didn't put a toe out of line on her watch. She used fear as a disciplinary tool and it worked for the most part; everyone was terrified of her. Her rules were…absurd… her punishments even worse. Most children thought that being put in the corner was horrible but we thought it was heaven compared to what else could happen. If you were grounded it was from meals or taking a bath. We didn't have TV and games to be grounded from, and we had just enough toys to get by with the State. If our chores didn't get done on time you were punished, usually physically or there… there was this room." Her voice faltered for a moment and she wrung her hands over the leash but she didn't stop. "We called it the 'Choke Hold.' It was tiny, the older children could barely fit and the air felt so heavy. One day Dominic got angry because Ms. Harolds was dragging Chloe to that room, screaming that Chloe had poisoned her precious doggie but she hadn't. Chloe had been cleaning the bathroom and the dog, Pugsly, had been locked in the room with her to keep her working. Pugsly got into the bleach…"
When she looked up at Sam, the tears were back and Sam hated to have her continue, even if he did need to know. Reaching out he lightly placed a hand on her arm, keeping a careful watch on the dog out of the corner of his eyes, "Hey…it's alright, you don't need to…"
"I'm fine." She swore, looking away with another deep breath. "Nic, he'd had enough you see; he swore to protect us. Mason and I tried to stop him, she would have killed him…while…while we were trying to pull him off of her and get Chloe out of the way we…we got too cl-close to the stairs. Mason had a hold on Nic and Nic let go of Ms. Harolds…."
"And she fell down the stairs, just like you told the police." Sam finished it all coming together now.
"But we could have stopped her before she fell. We killed her and…now she's back." she whispered. "I know you think I'm crazy, but it's her. The ways they…." she couldn't bring herself to say the words. "It's just like how she would punish us or have us do the chores. She's back for revenge and nothing will stop her."
"I don't think you're crazy; I believe you." He couldn't let her think she was losing her mind. She was right, but how? Sam found himself wondering again if she had experience dealing with the paranormal again. Or was this the start of it? If she could believe in ghosts, could she believe in everything else too?
Nava disrupted Sam's thoughts as he began growling. Sam took a step to the side, afraid the dog was angry that he was so close to his owner, but a glance down showed that wasn't it. The dog wasn't even looking at him; he was staring at something ahead of them like a cat about to pounce on a mouse. Sam quickly stepped in front of Kalista, his eyes darting all around. "Kalista, I want you to go back to your apartment and stay there, alright?" his voice held no room for arguments as he turned around to look at her. "We're watching over you. I promise you that I won't let her finish what she's started."
Kalista wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was his voice, strong and confident, or maybe it was his eyes, knowing and soulful, but she believed him. Nodding she began backing away before turning around and walking the way they had come; they had barely made it to the end of the block, but already the sun was almost gone from the sky.
Her heart pounding her chest, she hurried up the stairs and into the apartment building, Sam's footfalls echoing behind her. Pulling out her keys she quickly opened the door and entered, holding it open for Sam to follow her. "Come on in." She told him when he hesitated.
He smiled in thanks and fallowed her through to the kitchen, watching as she let Nava off his leash, the puppy turning around to stare at him before moving his head to look around Sam to the door. He gave the slightest growl before running out of sight.
"He's really protective of you." Sam commented, nodding toward the direction the puppy had taken off.
"He is," she agreed with a small smile coming to her lips. "It's odd; he's only a few months old, most puppies could care less what's going on. But he's always right by me…It's nice." It made her feel safe. "Did you want something to drink?"
He declined her offer and pulled out his cell phone. "I'm just going to call my… partner and let him know where I am." It was only a brief hesitation but he hoped she didn't notice it.
"Dude, I told you not to be a freak. Chasing her back into her apartment already?" Came Dean's voice after the second ring.
"Shut up." Sam muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I think Gloria Harolds is already around. Animals are sensitive to the supernatural right? Well Kalista's got this puppy and I swear Dean, the pup saw something we couldn't and flipped out. It won't be long before she strikes."
"Apartment number?" Dean asked, already getting out of the Impala and walking across the street, his eyes surveying the area. He repeated it in his mind as Sam told him and couldn't help but poke some fun at his brother. "You're standing there like a bump on a log aren't you? Hello? Sam? Damn it."
Sam grinned as he hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "He's on his way up, I hope that's alright." he told Kalista once he was back in the kitchen, watching her finish off whatever she'd been drinking.
"That's fine." She replied, sitting the glass in the sink.
They stood in silence until a knock sounded at the door. Her eyes darted to the door but she made no move to answer it. Instead Sam stepped forward and opened it, revealing his brother standing there with a raised brow. "Phone trouble?"
"Nope." Sam hid a smirk as he shut the door behind Dean and locked it, not that that would keep a spirit out.
"Kalista, you remember my partner Dean?" he questioned, watching as she nodded and shook Dean's hand again.
A pregnant pause filled the air as they all stood there, not sure what to say or do. Dean wasn't sure exactly what Sam had found out on the short walk with the girl or what he had told her while Sam was trying to think of a way to reassure her that they would protect her. Finally Kalista waved a hand towards the far cabinet, "There are glasses up there and tea, juice, and some soda in the fridge if you want any. Help yourselves." She paused. "Do you mind if I go clean up? I won't take long." she needed a few minutes to herself to try and relax before she lost it.
"Sure, go ahead." Sam answered, watching as she left before turning to his brother and began to tell him about what Kalista had told him on their walk.
Meanwhile Kalista had wandered off to the bathroom and began stripping out of her clothes, leaving the door unlocked but closed, just in case. She filled the tub with warm water and set out a towel and wash cloth, watching the water fill the tub. Finally she slipped in with a soft sigh as the hot water immediately began to relax her aching muscles. Turning off the faucet, she laid back and closed her eyes, but flashes of her friends laid in her thoughts. What was she supposed to do without them? Who was she without them? These thoughts swirled around her mind as she dipped her head under the water for a moment before coming up. Opening her eyes she saw something blurred by the water and quickly wiped at them. There in the corner of the room stood Ms. Harolds, just as Kalista remembered her. Too shocked to scream, she closed her eyes and shook her head. She was going crazy, this wasn't real! There was no way that woman could be standing there, she was dead!
"Naughty! You've all been naughty!" Came the woman's harsh voice. "I know what you brats did!"
Kalista opened her eyes to find Ms. Harolds leaning over the tub and just as she went to scream she found herself plunged under the water. She flung her arms over the sides of the tub and kicked her legs, but nothing seemed to help her. She managed to get her face out of the water for a brief moment, only long enough to grab a short breath of air before she was pushed under again.
Was she dreaming? Had she fallen asleep in the water and sunk under? That had to be the only explanation, because although she swore it was Ms. Harolds who was doing this, there was no way it was true. Ghosts weren't real but the hands holding her under the water felt real enough; their grip tight and steady as she struggled to free herself. But then sometime occurred to her, maybe she deserved this. Why did she deserve to live and all of her friends die? Simple; she didn't. Or at least according to her. What did she have to live for anyways?
This was it; She was going to die and she didn't care; her struggles stopped.
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
Oh darkness I feel like letting go
If all of the strength
And all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
Full of Grace by Sarah McLachlan