Intrinsical - Lani Woodland [38]
“It isn’t safe. He will hurt you,” the ghost whispered. My heart pricked with pity for him, sensing his loneliness, his innocence and I wanted to help him.
“Don’t trust him,” the ghost pleaded, recapturing my attention as he looked down on us, turning slowly on the spot. The way he moved, it seemed like he was lost, unsure where to go. As I glanced around the table no one seemed to be seeing him except Brent, whose thunderstruck expression I’m sure matched my own. “You must stay away from him!”
“From who?” I asked before I could think. My outburst caused everyone to look at me, including a startled Brent.
The ghost seemed to notice me for the first time. I blinked and jumped to see him squat to my eye level, his face directly in front of mine. He seemed familiar but before I could place him he screamed, “Stay away from him!” His voice was so loud and so shrill my ears throbbed in pain. The wind stirred up by his movement was no longer cold but hot, mirroring the anger in his words.
“He isn’t me.” Suddenly, without warning, he pointed at me and my hair was sent flying behind me. The hot air that followed the motion of his finger seared my skin, burning me. I screamed as the wave of heat clung to me, like burning fabric and I clutched Brent’s hand tighter as my head lolled back.
“Stay away from her!” His brown eyes turned scarlet, and I could feel the hate and anger that was boiling in him as the hot wind whirled around me. A heavy scraping echoed through the room, as the pool shuddered and trembled. I let out another scream. The intensity of the heat raged against my body threating to consume me, and my mind spiraled in chaos, breaking, losing reason, unable to stand the frenzied pain throbbing.
Then suddenly there was the sweetest release from the pain. I was blanketed in a comfortable chill, and the pool was eerily still. My soul had fled my body to protect itself, my body was frozen, my face contorted in pain, my lifeless eyes wide in terror. My friends, even Brent, were completely still.
Something chilly brushed my shoulder and I wheeled toward it screaming. It was the ghost, the intensity of light surrounding him had dimmed and we looked at each other. My ears pounded in confusion and my jaw went slack because it looked just like Brent, almost a mirror image, dressed in the Pendrell uniform. The ghost rubbed his eyes, his energy focusing on me, his brown eyes tender.
“Yara?” He asked before the candles in the room flickered out and I was pulled back into my body.
I looked toward him, shivering from the cold, but he had vanished. I freed my hands, pulled my knees to my chest, squeezed my eyes closed, and covered my ears.
“Are you okay?” Cherie pleaded, throwing her arms around me. There was a scraping of chairs as everyone gathered in
around me.
“I’m okay,” I said, not sure if I was lying.
Steve turned on an electric lantern that lit our surrounding area. I opened my eyes and saw Audrey clinging to Travis, white as chalk. Brent’s eyes were trained on the ground as he shuffled his feet.
“Is he really gone?” My voice trembled as I forced my hands away from my ears.
“Who? Did you see something?” Cherie asked incredulously.
“The boy . . . the one who looked like Brent?”
“You saw a boy?” Cherie asked.
“Yes . . . didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t see anything. But I felt the wind . . . cold at first and then burning hot. And I felt the ground shake and heard some loud noises. What happened?” Cherie pressed.
Steve let out a low whistle and nodded toward the edge of the pool above our head, “I think I see what that sound