Here’s chapter four of Midnight At McKinnley Hall. I hope you enjoy reading it.
FOUR
Ava watched him move about. She noticed everything, despite her aloof façade. She pretended to be preoccupied.
“We have the entire building to ourselves,” he said. “They moved the students to another Hall for the remainder of the summer.”
“We’ll get set up,” said Paul. “I’ve got some new stuff for tonight.”
“Me too,” he said. “Ava is going to investigate.”
“Whoa,” said Oliver. “You remember what happened last time she went into an investigation that involved physical contact?”
“Yes I do,” he said. “Let’s hope her friend isn’t lurking around tonight.”
She thought about what Ethan had said. She was attacked during her first investigation. A knot formed in her stomach. She was beginning to regret agreeing to Ethan’s plan. He had been there too, right beside her, and there was nothing he could have done to prevent or protect her from being attacked.
She sat on the back of the van. She glanced up at the building, stone and ivy-draped all over the façade. It looked just like you’d expect a university dorm to look like in a movie.
Pam came over and sat beside her.
“Are you okay with this,” she asked?
“I’m fine,” Ava said. “I just have a lot on my mind. I was thinking about the Elizabeth case. It was terrifying, but it all ended okay.”
“People have been hurt here,” she said. “Just be careful. If you feel uncomfortable, or like you need to get out, just tell him.”
She peered around the van. Ethan was pulling wires to the cameras, and Paul and Oliver were already inside the building. She thought about Bella. She cringed to think that he might be interested in someone else. They hadn’t talked about being exclusive, but she assumed that was the case. She was content with their arrangement. He was there when she needed him and she returned the favor. He was her best friend and she thought he felt the same about her.
An unsettling thought popped into her mind; what if he wanted more? She assumed their arrangement made him happy too, but what if she was wrong? Was she just a friend to him? Maybe he had found love with Bella, a love that went beyond friendship.
“Pam,” she said. “Have you ever heard Ethan talking about a girl named Bella?”
“No,” she said. “Why?”
“He keeps getting texts from her, and I was just curious,” she said.
“Jealous,” she said. She had a mischievous smirk. “I wish you two would just make it official.”
“There’s nothing between us, at least nothing serious,” she said.
“So you’re just friends with benefits,” said Pam
“No one says that anymore,” she said. “I mean we’ve had sex, but there’s this wall between us. It’s always been there, and I don’t think it’s anything we can take down.”
“Could it be because you’re in love with someone else,” she asked?
“No,” she said. “Stone is lost somewhere far away.”
“Maybe he’s the barrier,” said Pam. “Maybe Ethan feels like he’s competing with him.”
“That’s crazy,” she said.
“You should stop trying to be so independent and let him take care of you,” she said. “Let him in; reveal all that crazy stuff that is going on inside your head. If anyone can understand, it’ll be him.”
“I like my crazy stuff tucked away, out of my new life,” said Ava. “It’s nice.”
“I’m not even going to pretend to understand what happened between the two of you,” she said. “I know what I know, and I’m satisfied, some things are meant to be forgotten, but some things aren’t.”
“What we have right now is working,” she said.
“That’s why you’re asking about what’s her name?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s been a long time since another woman came between us.”
“Gina,” said Pam, “and we all know how that turned out, crazy bitch.”
“She was certifiable,” she said.
“Talk to him,” Pam climbed into the van. “It’s the only way you’ll know how he feels. You don’t want some other women to snatch him up because you’re afraid, do you?”
She thought about what Pam had said, but she didn’t feel independent, or jealous. She lived the way she did out of self-preservation. Anyone new to their group would make her suspicious, but another female interested in Ethan had sparked her curiosity.
“Ava,” he shouted. “I need your help.”
She went inside and found him in the main hallway. Ava stopped and stared up at the open staircase. It was a dark, ornate wood that swooped up to the open balconies around all three floors, and the tower above.
“Where did she fall from?”
“Huh? The second floor,” he said. “The other girls’ room was 206.”
“That was Amy’s hospital room number,” she said.
“And her dorm number too,” he said.
“She lived in 206? That’s odd,” she said. “That can’t be a coincidence. It seems like it was almost purposeful.”
“Don’t look into things too much,” he said.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I promised I’d keep you close.”
“Ethan, I’m okay,” she said. She sat on the bottom step and pulled out her phone. She wanted to check her messages and look at her wall. She was scrolling down her news feed when she felt a warm sensation behind her. She reached back. There was nothing there, but her back was itchy. She leaned back, but her body didn’t touch the stair behind her. There was a space between her and the stone. At first she didn’t know what to do. She looked over to Ethan, but he was busy with a camera. She reached around again. Just as she slipped her fingers between herself and the stone, the gap disappeared, and she squished her fingers.
She watched him. She couldn’t tell him about what had happened. He thought his job was to protect her. No one could keep her safe from what lurked in her shadows. She was a part of a dark world, sinister and inaccessible to him. Her job was to protect him from her secrets and keep him safe; that was the barrier that kept them apart.
He glanced over at her and smiled. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m not thinking,” she said. “I’m just watching you.”
“Like what you see?”
“Yeah,” she said.
He strolled over and knelt in front of her and lifted her chin, so they were eye to eye. She wanted him to kiss her, to lean her back against the stairs. She imagined their bodies entwined. The rough way he handled her, talked and took control excited her. She closed her eyes and waited. His lips didn’t touch hers; instead they landed softly on her forehead.
She opened her eyes and forced a smile. She knew something was wrong. She thought about earlier in her kitchen. He was ready to take her then, but now he hesitated. What had changed?
“We need to finish,” he said.
“It’ll go quicker if I help.”
“Just watch and learn,” he said. “You’re helping by just being here with me.”
“That’s corny,” she said. She waited for his usual playful banter, but all he gave her was a smile. She was disappointed. What if Pam was right? What if he wanted more and this Bella girl could give it to him?
He finished setting up the cameras and checked all the monitors. She watched in silence. Everything was working, and the team was ready. She and Ethan were going to go to the second floor first, and Pam, Oliver, and Paul were going to stay in the van.
“I still don’t understand why we always have to investigate at night,” she said. “It’s creepy.”
“Activity is better at night,” he said. “There’s less outside noise, and we’re ghost hunting, why wouldn’t we do it at night?”
“It’s weird, that’s all I’m saying.”
She peered over the rail to the lobby below. She leaned back and glanced to the top. Windows lined the tower, and the moonlight was beginning to filter through the old glass. Long, thin shadows crept down the walls; she closed her eyes, hoping they would disappear. They reminded her of bony fingers reaching out for any warm body.
“Here’s room 206,” he said. She snapped her head towards him, and he flashed his light in her eyes. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
She followed him. He closed the door behind her. She could feel her stomach knot and her heart pound against her chest. She did not like closing interior doors. The front door, the back door, and any other outside door were fine but closed interior doors confined, separated and trapped.
She paced around for a moment and then stopped at the window. She pulled the curtain back and glanced down to the yard below. It was dark, and the trees cast mangled shadows.
The weather girl on Chanel three said there was a sixty percent chance of a severe storm tonight, but the moon was still bright. The wind, on the other hand, had picked up, and the branches swayed and scraped against the stone building.
She eased the curtain back into place and turned towards Ethan. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded, staring at her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been pre-occupied today.”
“It’s okay,” she said. She should have told him how she felt, but she knew there wasn’t enough time to get into her emotions. Besides, what if there was nothing going on between him and Bella. What if her imagination was being insane? She didn’t want to make more out of it than needed. She decided to wait, watch and react only if necessary.
She reached around and scratched her lower back. Her skin felt warm again. She took a step closer to Ethan. He cocked his head and pointed towards the hallway.
“Did you hear that?”
“What,” she asked? “No, it can’t be starting already?”
“It sounded like footsteps,” he said.
“Everything always sounds like footsteps,” she said. “This place is old and creaky. It could be anything.”
She shivered. A piece of her hair drifted across her face and stuck to her lip. She tried to spit it out, but it wouldn’t move. She grabbed it and tucked it behind her ear.
It was muggy, and she could feel the first beads of sweat moisten her brow and her back. She pulled on her shirt and fanned her back.
“It’s hot in here,” she said. “I hope it storms and knocks some of this humidity down.”
“I can’t hear it anymore,” he said. He wasn’t listening to her.
He cracked the door opened and leaned closer. She stepped up behind him and listened. She couldn’t hear anything either.
“How do you know its footsteps and not just the normal, creaky old building sounds?”
“They sound like footsteps,” he said, “and sometimes, if they’re close enough, it feels like someone is approaching. It’s the change in the pressure and noise in the room.”
“And you’ve felt this?”
“Lots of times,” he said. “You’ll get it. You’re great at the technical stuff, and there’s no doubt that you have something special about you when it comes to investigating.”
“But you don’t have confidence in me,” she said. “Why?”
“None of us has ever been attacked,” he said. “It scared the crap out of me. I was right there, and I couldn’t do anything to help you.”
“I don’t know what it was, but I don’t think it was a ghost,” she said. “I don’t think it was trying to hurt me either.”
“But it did,” he said.
“And I was fine,” she said. “You have to consider the fact that whatever it was, it could be anywhere, anytime, and I might be alone the next time. You can’t always be there.”
He turned around and looked at her, “How am I supposed to keep you safe?”
“Maybe you’re not supposed to,” she said. “Maybe that’s my responsibility.”
“We should’ve found a way to save him,” he said. “He was much better at this than I am.”
“It was what he had trained for,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter because he’s gone and every time we try to find him it ends in disaster. Besides he left you in charge of my protection.”
“I would do everything in my power to make it back to you if I were him,” he said. “He’s got to be out there fighting his way back and then what?”
“We’ll deal with it when it happens,” she said. “But right now we need to get in contact with Heather and find out why she’s acting up.”
“I have an idea,” he said. “You’re not going to like it.”
“What?”
“Go stand at the top of the stairs and taunt her,” he said. “Make her mad.”
“Okay,” she said. “What happened to wanting to protect me?”
“I’ll stand on the stairs below you and catch you if she decides to push you,” he said.
“What could possibly go wrong with this plan?”
“It’ll be fine,” he said.
She stands on the top step and takes a deep breath. She had an idea of what Heather must have been feeling that night she came to confront her boyfriend’s lover. She was upset and confused.
“Heather,” she said. “She got everything you wanted. They got married, had a family and you got nothing, but death and an eternity of roaming these halls.”
“Good,” he said. “Keep going.”
“She murdered you,” she said. “What did you do? Protect your love, that’s all. You didn’t deserve to die.”
“Whoa, the monitors are going crazy,” he said. “You’re getting to her.”
“Why are we trying to upset her?”
“We need to get her attention,” he said.
“But she’s been through so much already,” she said. “Why make her mad? Maybe she needs comforting, some help moving on.”
“Ethan,” she asked? “Do you hear it?”
“Something is climbing the stairs,” he said. He backed against the wall and peered down.
“Is that you,” she asked? “Are you coming to talk to me?”
“I’ve got something on the thermal,” said Ethan. “What the Hell is that?”
A cold gust pushed past him. He looked up from his equipment, but he couldn’t see anything. He peered back down, and the shape on his monitor was unmistakable; it was a figure, and it was climbing the stairs, straight for Ava.
“It’s coming,” he said.
“How did you end up dead,” she asked? “She was the one who did you wrong.”
“It’s right in front of you,” he shouted.
“I can’t see anything,” she said, “but there’s a cold spot right in front of me.”
“Can you feel her,” he said. “She’s touching your face.”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Talk to her,” he said.
She stood still and stared into the darkness. She could feel Heather’s icy fingers on her cheek. They were gentle and comforting. She wanted to understand why Heather came to confront the girl and why she attacked Amy.
“Why aren’t you talking,” he said. “What’s going on?”
Ava felt a warm wave of peace come over her. She sat on the stair and leaned against the wall. She closed her eyes and allowed Heather to enlighten her. She had done this before, but she had not been willing. This time was different; she welcomed whatever it was that Heather wanted to show her.
“Ava!”
She opened her eyes. Ethan was shaking her, but it was the change in the air that jolted her to her feet. The warm, comforting feeling had been replaced with a sharp, cold pain. She reached out for him, trying to grasp anything she could, but she was too late.
He was falling backward.
She tried to take a step, but something was blocking her from descending. She stepped back and charged. She hit the invisible force hard and fell to the ground. She stood and looked down to him.
“Ethan!”
She tried again to push through with no luck. She held her hands up to the empty space before her and focused on him.
She couldn’t hear him. He didn’t move. His body twisted in an unusual contortion on the landing between the second and first floors.
She tried to turn on her radio. It was dead. She threw it against the invisible wall. It went through. She stepped back and charged again, but she landed on her backside, looking up at the empty space.
“Let me through,” she shouted.
“No.”
“You understand me,” she asked? “Please let me go to him.”
“No.”
Ava stood up and tried to remember what Stone had taught her all those years ago. But she was young and afraid, and she wasn’t prepared for everything he had told her about herself.
She closed her eyes and focused on the feelings: the hurt, the anger and the love that she felt for Ethan. A familiar twinge twisted her stomach.
Her heart jumped, sending her blood surging through her veins and a dull but constant vibration shooting from her head to her toes. She dug her nails into her palm, trying to divert her attention from her ferocious inhalations.
She could feel her eyes pull towards the back of her head. She attempted to resist, but her sensations were wild, and she couldn’t focus on just one part of her body. Her hot tears rolled over her curled lips, stinging her tongue with each forced influx of air.
She knew she needed to get control of herself. She was afraid the violent spasms coursing through her vein would rip her apart from her inside out. She pulls her mind to her center and focuses on Ethan, but Heather settles on her mind.
She’s calmed herself into a state of numb and forces her breaths to shallow and maintain rhythm. She tried to ignore Heather, but she demands attention.
Her icy breaths are inches from Ava’s lips. She can hear her speak; it takes a moment before she understands.
“Open the door,” hissed Heather.
“No!”
“He waits,” she said. “The one you seek, beyond the darkness.”
“Don’t do it Ava,” Ethan’s voice is faint. She can’t see him, but warmness caressed her face. She leaned her head into the touch.
“Ethan?”
“He keeps you apart,” she said.
“He can’t be here,” said Ava. “Go back, don’t follow me.”
“I won’t leave you,” his voiced weakened.
“He is gone,” she said. “Open the door.”
“Ava,” a small, weak voice drifted to her ear.
She spun around and searched the gray space between her and the darkness. “It’s not real.”
“He’s trapped,” said Heather. “You trapped him when you closed the portal.”
“He told me not to look for him,” she said. “He told me to go on without him.”
“He’s hurt.”
“You’re lying,” said Ava. “He’s like me. He can travel on his own.”
“He can’t travel with her,” said Heather. “He needs you to save them.”
“Molly?”
“He found her,” said Heather. “Your family can be together, open it. Do it now!”
“Ava,” Ethan’s voice came from behind her. She looks over her shoulder. He’s standing behind her; he’s still in the light.
“One chance,” said Heather. “Go to him.”
“Don’t do it,” said Ethan.
“Go back,” said Ava.
“No,” he said.
“Go!”
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