Free Grave Possession (Wraith 3) by Angel Lawson

down here?”
    “I was following him. I thought you were too.”
    “Him?” He pointed to an empty room and I saw who he was talking about. A man in what seemed to be a white doctor’s coat stood patiently amid a red fiery glow. “No, I wasn’t following him. This place creeps me out. I was looking for an exit.”
    “Well, want to find out what his problem is?”
    “Not really. Can we skip this one?”
    He frowned but seemed to consider it. We never walked away from someone needing our help. “Can we?”
    “I’m really freaking out, Connor. I hate this place.” I slipped my hand into his. “Can we just get out of here?”
    He glanced at the old man and then back at me. “Okay, I’ll come back. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
    Connor kept his grip tight and dragged me back into the crowd and through the reminder of the haunted house. The last couple of hallways seemed to be the worst – darker and scarier than the others. Claustrophobia took over and my heart pounded in my ears. One final zombie lunged at me and I buried my face in Connor’s arm like a big freaking chicken. By the time we got outside, I was hanging off his back.
    “Oh, God, I’m sorry,” I said, releasing him from my grip.
    “It’s okay,” he smiled. “It’s not often that you need someone – me. It felt kind of nice.”
    “What? I always needed you. Too much.”
    “Whatever,” he said with a laugh.
    I spotted Ava and waved. She shouted, “Oh my God, I thought you were gone!”
    “Just lost,” I said. Her eyes darted down to where Connor and I were still attached. I removed my hand from his. “Connor came to my rescue.”
    The group chattered excitedly about the horrors inside and, to my distress, Amber said, “Who wants to go in again?”
    “I’ll go,” Connor said, along with Tony. Ava wavered for a moment but saw the panic on my face.
    “Nah,” she said. “I’ll hang out here and practice my zombie kills.”
    The group filed back in line and Ava and I sat on the curb. “So, what’s scarier? Ghosts, zombies or hanging out with your ex-boyfriend?”
    “It’s that obvious, huh?”
    She wrapped her arm around me and said, “Only to me.”
     

     

Chapter 10
     
    “Good run?” Ava asked. She sat on her bed amid a pile of papers and art books.
    “Pretty good.”
    “Did your running partner show up?”
    “Doesn’t he always?”
    I picked up my stuff to take a shower. The maintenance guy was back, sorting through this toolbox. This time I didn’t trip. “Watch your step,” he said, pointing to the water standing on the floor. The knees of his coveralls were wet.
    “It’s leaking again?” I asked.
    “Yep. It’s almost like someone’s messing with the bolts.”
    “That would be weird.”
    “I’ll be done soon.”
    “Okay.” I started to edge out of the room. “I’ll just come back later.”
    I heard a stifled sob from the bathroom stall.
    “All morning,” he said, shaking his head. “I tried to get her to come out but she won’t talk to me. Anyway, I’m hoping this will be the last time I’m up here.”
    I backed out of the bathroom and ran into Lila. She peered around me. “Oh, good. I was hoping Mr. Williams would get here today. That leak is turning into a pain in the ass.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Um, can I talk to you for a minute? I’ve been meaning to catch you when I had a second.”
    “Sure.”
    I followed Lila down to her room. She had a single since she was in charge of the residents. Inside, Lila gestured to the couch and I sat down, holding all of my shower things and feeling gross in my sweaty running clothes.
    “I’m not trying to tell on anyone or sound gossipy, but a couple of times I’ve been in the bathroom someone has been in one of the stalls crying. A lot.”
    Lila’s expression instantly turned concerned. “Do you know who?”
    I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen her. Just her feet, but I don’t recognize her shoes as being anyone in the