The Ghoul Next Door

chapter Twenty

Another noise sounded from outside the house. It was beginning to be a regular occurrence. Did I go see what it was, or just ignore it? Closing my eyes to the situation would only make matters worse. Not knowing would eat away at me, so I knew I’d have to see what had made the sound. Not that I’d see anything since it was pitch black outside.

Tiptoeing over to the window, I peeked out into the darkness and looked for the same shadow that had been making regular appearances. Nothing was in sight. The leaves on the trees didn’t sway and the clouds didn’t move in the sky. The moon lit up the whole yard. I’d remembered to leave the outside light off so that I could get a good view of the whole area in cause this thing returned. If there was something out there it wouldn’t be able to hide for long.

Elvis had jumped up with me. I had so been enjoying the serenade. Whoever spoiled my fun needed a swift kick in the rear.

“Do you think something is out there?” Elvis asked from over my shoulder.

It was nice having Elvis around the house. His presence made me feel safe.

“Yes, I’m sure something is out there,” I said softly.

“I’ll go check it out.”

I looked at him. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would. What are friends for?” He winked.

I followed Elvis to the front of the house and watched as he disappeared through the front door. From the side window, I watched as he moved from tree to tree. After a minute, he looked back at me and shook his head. I stepped out on the porch as he walked up.

“There’s nothing out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a stray cat or a raccoon.”

It was an awfully loud cat or raccoon if it had been, but I didn’t mention this to Elvis. I was just thankful that he’d looked for me.

“Thank you,” I said. “Maybe it’s gone for good now.”

He nodded. “Why don’t you get back inside and get some rest? You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

As I turned to head back into the house, a rustling noise caught my attention and we both whirled around. From behind one of the trees someone moved, then slipped away into the night.

Elvis floated off in pursuit, but I wasn’t sure he’d catch up with her. The person looked just like Karyn, but I knew it couldn’t be her. Well, I supposed it could have been, but why would she be outside my home when she was supposed to be in Texas? The person had moved normally at first, but then it was as if she glided away. Karyn couldn’t glide anywhere as far as I knew. No one could except for the ghosts. But this was no ghost, I sensed it. If anyone knew the difference, I did.

The person I’d seen had long blonde hair and was the same size as Karyn. I’d even gotten a good look at the side of her face, which made me even more confused. It really looked like her. But Karyn wouldn’t have dashed off like that without saying something to me. We’d grown to be friends in the very short time that I’d known her.

Elvis floated back. He furrowed his brow. “I don’t know where she went to. I was sure I could catch up to whoever it was, but she was gone like a rabbit. And I float fast. She was supercharged.”

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “It looked like my friend, but she’s in Texas.”

“Well, like I said, this person just seemed to disappear. You say it looked like your friend. What was her name?”

“Karyn,” I filled in for him.

“Would she come here? What would she be doing here at this time of night?”

“I have no idea, but I’m going to find out.” I ran inside and grabbed my phone from the table.

As I listened to the phone ring, Candy Cherry sidled up next to me. Oh goodie, my favorite ghost. Just the person I wanted to see. I tilted my head in the opposite direction, trying to give her the hint that it was a private conversation and to get lost.

“Would you please stop tapping your fingers on that table? You’re giving me a headache,” she said.

“What is your problem? You’re dead. How can you have a headache?” I snapped while waiting for Karyn to pick up.

Three rings. Four rings. No answer yet.

She huffed. “Now you’re just being mean. Do you think I don’t know I’m dead? I have emotions, you know. I do have feelings.” She gave a fake sniffle.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh no, you don’t. Don’t give me that line of bull.”

Five rings. Six rings. Just when I thought the voice mail would pick up, Karyn answered. Her groggy hello reminded me of the time. I’d temporarily forgotten how rude it was to call at one a.m., but it was kind of an emergency. Besides, if she really had been the one running away, then I knew she would pretend she’d been asleep. But why would she lie to me?

“Karyn, it’s Larue,” I said hurriedly.

“Is something wrong?” she asked in a concerned voice.

“I’m sorry to call you at this time of night.” I paused, trying to think of the right way to ask. “This may sound like a strange question, but I have to ask anyway.”

“Please, go ahead,” she nudged.

Steadying myself, I finally asked, “Were you just at my house?”

“No.” She paused, then asked, “What makes you ask that?”

If it hadn’t been her, then I had an even bigger question: who was it?

“This may sound strange, but I thought I saw you in my front yard out by the trees. When I noticed the person, they ran away.” I left out the part about Elvis because I already sounded wacky enough.

“I wasn’t there and if I had been you know I would have come to your door.”

Her voice sounded terse and a little taken aback that I’d even asked something like this, which was completely unlike her. Well, I guess I hadn’t known her that long, so maybe it was like her and I’d never witnessed it. She’d never lied to me that I knew of, so why would she start now?

I let out another deep breath. “Maybe I was just seeing things.”

“Perhaps it was a bird,” she said.

She sounded like she thought I’d lost my mind. Heck, maybe I had. Had I dreamed the whole thing? Maybe I’d been sleepwalking. Stranger things had happened. I pinched myself. Yeah, I was awake.

“Listen, Karyn I’m really sorry for bothering you.”

Candy Cherry snorted and Mr. Fine blew smoke in my face. I was going to take those cigarettes and shove them… oh, he wasn’t worth the energy.

“Would you like to chat for a little while longer?” She sounded more like her usual self.

“No, no. I’m just going to bed.”

“You’ve been through a lot. You just need to get some rest.”

It felt as if all the air had escaped my lungs. “I guess.”

Everyone kept saying that, but my tiredness could only be blamed so many times before I didn’t believe it anymore.

“If you’re sure you don’t need me?” she asked.

“I’m positive.”

“You’ll call me if you need anything? Don’t worry about the time either.”

Didn’t she know by now that obviously I didn’t watch the clock? Like an idiot I’d called her in the middle of the night to ask her if she’d been hiding behind a tree at my house. Yeah, I’d officially lost it. No wonder she’d acted strange when I’d called.

I hung up and trudged back to bed, ignoring the sneers from Candy Cherry and Mr. Fine. As soon as the show was over and I had time, they were so out of here. Don’t let the light hit you where the good Lord split you, nasty ghosts.