Free Ghosting by Edith Pattou Page A

loud,
    painfully
    deafeningly
    loud.
    I can see Felix’s lips move,
    but can barely hear
    the words.
    He reaches over
    and takes hold of my
    ice-cold hand.
    Put the gun away, Brendan,
I hear Anil say through the buzzing in my ears.
    His voice is strong,
    level.
    Brendan swivels his head around
    to look back
    at Anil.
    What’s wrong, Paki? Did I scare you?
he asks, voice mocking.
    Suddenly the door next to Felix
    opens
    and Chloe’s there.
    Her face is crumpled,
    wet with
    tears.
    I cut my foot,
she says.
    I look down
    and see
    blood
    pooling up between
    her toes,
    covering the straps of
    her silvery sandals.
    Then comes
    the scream,
    and we all
    freeze.
    What the . . .
Brendan breathes, clutching his gun tighter.
    Jesus,
Felix says, dropping my hand.
Emma . . .
    Felix is out the door,
    so fast
    it’s like he
    disappeared.
    Then Emma
    is running
    toward us.
    She is pointing Felix
    back toward
    the car.
    We need to get out of here,
she says.
Now.
    Chloe tumbles past me
    to the backseat,
    next to Anil.
    Felix slams his door shut,
    sliding into the seat next to me.
    His eyes are fixed on
    Emma.
    Go, Brendan,
Emma says, voice urgent.
    Then she spots the
    gun
    in his hand.
    What the hell?
she says, eyes wide.
    But Brendan doesn’t let go of
    the gun.
    He turns on the engine,
    puts the car into drive,
    and
    accelerates.
    Then he deliberately
    sticks his hand
    up through the open moonroof—
    a parting shot.
    So loud my hearing goes
    dim again.
    Emma, her face livid with rage,
    knocks
    the gun
    out of his hand.
    It clatters to the floor,
    at my feet.
    Without even thinking
    I kick it under my seat.
    A few seconds later,
    a horrible,
    terrifying,
    catastrophic
    answer:
    loud popping noises
    coming from the house.
    Then more.
    Louder!
    Like the sound of
    fireworks.
    Behind me,
    or beside Felix,
    it’s hard to tell,
    comes the sound of
    glass
    shattering.
    And, right after that,
    in front of me,
    the windshield suddenly is
    blurred, cracked.
    Felix lets out
    a soft grunt,
    almost like
    a sigh.
    Brendan is weaving,
    swearing.
    Then Emma screams.
    Stop the car! It’s
Faith .
    Faith?
    How could Faith be
    here??

FAITH
    I smell:
    new mown grass
    the sweet perfume of flowers,
    roses, I think.
    I see:
    cemetery gates
    and down the block
    Brendan’s SUV,
    idling.
    I hear:
    the steady drone of cicadas
    then a few muffled popping noises
    something breaking
    a car door slamming
    a scream
    more popping, louder and closer,
    much closer.
    I feel:
    the handlebars of my bike tilt
    the sidewalk rushing up at me
    pain, unexpected
    overwhelming
    I taste:
    blood in my mouth

MAXIE
    Emma yells again at Brendan.
    STOP THE CAR!
    But it’s like he
    hasn’t heard.
    Emma opens her door
    anyway,
    jumps out,
    while it’s still
    moving,
    fast!
    I watch her fall,
    hard,
    onto the sidewalk.
    Then she’s up,
    tries to stand,
    but her right leg
    collapses
    beneath her,
    and she is on the ground.
    Once again
    she rises,
    teetering on her left leg,
    hopping back toward
    the ghost house.
    Brendan, stop!
I shout.
    He jams on the brake.
    Tires squeal
    and we’re all jerked
    forward.
    I look back.
    Emma has stopped
    and is leaning over
    something lying
    on the ground.
    Brendan wrenches open his car door
    and stumbles out into
    the street.
    Felix,
I start, turning toward him.
    But Felix is slumped forward,
    the seat belt the only thing
    holding him up.
    With an icy jolt of horror
    I see
    blood
    dripping
    into
    his lap.

ANIL
    1. Chloe, beside me,
    crying.
    Wiping the blood
    from her foot with Kleenex.
    A lot of blood
    so I’m thinking it
    must be a bad cut,
    maybe needs stitches,
    and I lean toward her
    to see if I can help.
    2. Then the window beside Felix
    splinters,
    and the front windshield
    is suddenly a spiderweb of cracks.
    I look at Maxie, her face in profile,
    and it is dead white,
    her eyes wide with shock.
    Felix,
she whispers, reaching toward him.
    I see the blood then
    on Felix’s headrest,
    and, without thinking,
    I’m beside him.
    3. Gaping