10- Mission Behind Bars

"You look like you haven't slept, are you alright?" Dad asks, walking into the living room. I smile at him, "I'm fine, dad." I know he didn't believe I was okay, there's been so much going on lately. "If you say so, I'm gonna go help momma." He says, walking into the kitchen.

"Something's going on with Nicole, don't you agree?" Mom nods, "of course I do, but we should let her face her problems without interfering." Dad crosses his arms, "fine. But, if I see anymore problems, I will." Mom rolls her eyes, watching dad get protective. "Okay, Ryan. Just don't put say anything right now," Mom says setting up for pancakes.

"Two pancakes, please." Lilly says, holding her plate up. "Any bacon?" Lilly nods, mom sets up her plate. Watching everyone else get their plates, Lilly's stomach growled. "Let's say grace." Dad says, bowing his head.

Digging into my pancake, I noticed something red, it looked like blood was seeping out of it. Falling backward out of my chair, everyone looked at me. "Nicole?" Dane questioned, helping me up. "Are you alright?" I shake my head, "no. There's blood in my pancake!" Dane examines the pancake closely, pulling it apart with the fork. "It's just syrup." He says, showing me. I knew what I saw, but it was suddenly not there.

"Can I be excused?" I ask, my heart skipping a beat. "You haven't touched your breakfast, Nicole." Dad said, I nod my head. "I understand that, I'm just not hungry anymore. I'll take an apple with me." Mom nods her head, "it's okay, you're excused." Grabbing an apple off the counter, I run into my room.

"Knock, knock. Can I come in?" Dane asks, putting his ear to the door. "Only if you know the password," I smile, knowing he could never figure them out. "Ghostly?" He guessed, my jaw dropped. I was surprised he got it. "That's correct, you may enter."

I could hear him jumping up and down behind the door, Dane felt like he accomplished something. "Hey, mom and dad were asking about what happened. I just told them you weren't feeling good." I thank Dane before he leaves, he smiles. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." I nod my head, throwing myself back in the bed. My mind went back to spirits again, why "You look like you haven't slept, are you alright?" Dad asks, walking into the living room. I smile at him, "I'm fine, dad." He smiles back at me, walking into the kitchen to help mom.

"Something's going on with Nicole, don't you agree?" Mom nods, "of course I do, but we should let her face her problems without interfering." Dad crosses his arms, "fine. But, if I see anymore problems, I will." Mom rolls her eyes, watching dad get protective. "Okay, Ryan. Just don't put anymore stress on her than she already has," Mom says setting up for pancakes.

"Two pancakes, please." Lilly says, holding her plate up. "Any bacon?" Lilly nods, mom sets up her plate. Watching everyone else get their plates, Lillys stomach growled. "Let's say grace." Dad says, bowing his head.

Digging into my pancake, I noticed something red, it looked like blood was seeping out of it. Falling backward out of my chair, everyone looked at me. "Nicole?" Dane questioned, helping me up. "Are you alright?" I shake my head, "no. There's blood in my pancake!" Dane examines the pancake closely, pulling it apart with the fork. "It's just syrup." He says, showing me. I knew what I saw, but it was suddenly not there.

"Can I be excused?" I ask, my heart skipping a beat. "You haven't touched your breakfast, Nicole." Dad said, I nod my head. "I understand that, I'm just not hungry anymore. I'll take an apple with me." Mom nods her head, "it's okay, you're excused." Grabbing an apple off the counter, I run into my room.

"Knock, knock. Can I come in?" Dane asks, putting his ear to the door. "Only if you know the password," I smile, knowing he could never figure them out. "Ghostly?" He guessed, my jaw dropped. I was surprised he got it. "That's correct, you may enter."

I could hear him jumping up and down behind the door, Dane felt accomplished. "Hey, mom and dad were asking about what happened. I just told them you weren't feeling good." I thank Dane before he leaves. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." I nod my head, throwing myself back in the bed. My mind went back to spirits again, why does our house attract them so much?

Hopping out of bed, I climb out of my window to the garden.

"Why do we attract so many spirits?" I ask her, hoping she'd know. "This land is an old burial ground, this house was built before anybody knew it." I shrug my shoulders, "that doesn't explain the murderer at our house last night." I say, looking back at Nates room.

"He's distraught, he thinks killing others will stop the pain." She softly closes her eyes, "he thinks he doesn't matter anymore, that this is the way out." He had to be hurting, but I didn't know the reason. Lilac points up at the sky, "our clouds are a dead giveaway." I look up into the sky, trying to see what she does. "See the clouds? They aren't white, are they?" I nod my head, "no, they're not." Lilac holds my hand, "the sky isn't blue either. It's a dark Green, and for spirits, it indicates a burial ground."

"Oh?" I say, starting to see what she meant. "Lilac, how would we get rid of Ace?" I ask, squeezing her hand. She was quiet for a moment, thinking of the human way to stop him. "Trap him, then call the cops. That's the only way he'll stop, behind bars." I give Lilac a hard nod, then walk off to the house.

Mission: Behind Bars

It had a ring to it, and I needed to tell Dane what the plan was.

"Who wants ice cream?" Dad yelled, his voice echoing through out the house. Footsteps in all directions meet him at the door. "Nicole, Dane, do you guys want to go?" I politely decline, Dane does the same. "Suit yourselves, we'll be back in a bit, probably going to go to window shopping at the mall while we're out." Dad chuckles, guiding the kids to the car.

As the car backs out of the driveway, I explain the plan to Dane. "Trap Ace, call the cops. Got it." A small knock at the door startled us, we knew what that meant. I nod my head, Dane goes off to hide. I sat on the couch and pretended to watch something, Ace let himself in.

"Well, well, well." He says, coming into the living room. "You're alone at last." Goosebumps cover my arms, he was waiting for me the whole time. He grabs me, pulling me close. I acted scared, trying to fight him off. "Poor baby, I thought you would like this."

Then it clicked. "Actually, I really do." I said, giving him a sexy look. I bit my bottom lip, going in for a kiss. Our lips meet, and I wanted to throw up. "So, sexy, how about a dance?" He asked, patting his leg. "Only if I can handcuff you, I want to give you the full experience, and it turns me on." Ace nods his head, holding his hands behind his back. Handcuffing him to the chair, I give Dane the signal.

Dane takes the phone into the other room, calling the cops.

As Dane walks into the living room, Ace glares at him. "You? I thought you were out getting ice cream." Dane shrugs his shoulders, "had other plans." Ace breaks from the handcuffs, "you should've went." He says, piercing my skin with his knife. I fall, holding my side, it was gushing blood. "Nicole! Ace, why are you doing this?"

"I was tired of being a nobody, and this makes me a somebody." Dane was the last on his list, and he planned on killing him. "What did I do to you?" Dane asks, holding his fist up. "You ignored me, everyone. I was sick and tired of seeing you alone, you were supposed to be my friend." Dane furrows his eyebrows. "I'm an introvert, I don't make friends." Dane was right, he never had any friends over; he was always alone.

Starting to feel cold, I faint. Dane tackles Ace just as the cops barge in, "my sister, she's hurt." He points at my body, EMTs charged in and put me on a stretcher. "You have the right to remain silent," the cop starts saying as he handcuffs Ace. "We've been trying to catch him for years, thank you for your service." The police tipped his hat before taking Ace to the police car.

"Honey, I'm glad to see you awake." Mom hugs me loosely. I smile at her, hiding the pain. "I'm glad to be awake, my dreams were crazy." Everyone giggles, "glad you're okay, kiddo." Dad kisses my forehead. "Did you hear? Because you guys caught Ace, there was a reward. I recline the bed up, "a reward?" Dad shakes his head, holding up two white checks. He hands each of us a piece of paper, Danes jaw drops. "Ten thousand dollars? This can't be real, tell me you guys are joking?"

Mom smiles, "they're real. The police had a twenty thousand dollar reward for his capture, and both of you did it." Dane runs up and hugs me, "look at us, we caught a criminal." I giggle softly, my side pain starting to shoot up again. We all chatted for a while, until the little ones started to get tired. "Do you want one of us to stay with you?" Mom asks, I politely asked everyone to leave. "It's been a long day, we all need the rest. I'll be okay." I smile.

As everyone said their goodbyes, I was ready to nap.

I only had one problem, children from the waiting room keep running around my room. "Why don't you guys head back to the other room? I bet your parents are worried." I grin at them, they ignored me. Pressing the red button, one of the nurses checked on me. "Dr. Hally, could you escort these children back to their room, I just want to rest." She walked right through them, giving me a questionable look. "That medicine must be making you sleepy, there are no children in the room." She says, checking my temperature. I saw the look, she thought I was crazy.

"If you need anything else, feel free to press the button." I nod my head, watching her leave the room. Now I knew they were spirits in the hospital, but what happened?

The next morning, I wake up to mom playing with my hair. "Good morning, Nicole. How did you sleep?" I shrug my shoulders, "fine, I guess. Just don't like hospitals." She nods, "me either." We both giggle at each other, having similar issues. Mom holds my hand, thinking about the question she was going to ask. "Baby, what happened at the house?" She asks, I shrug my shoulders. "I can't remember," I say, even though I did. I didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was, especially since two of her kids were in the hospital due to a knife wound.

My head started to pound, the medicine they gave me must've started to wear off. I turn off the lights and close my eyes, hoping the pain would go away. "Dane should be here soon, I'm going to grab a coffee for us. What would you like?" I grin at her, she knew I couldn't pass up coffee. "Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew." Mom nodded her head, walking out into the hall.

Pushing open the door, Dane walks in. "Hey, Nicole; How are you feeling?" Dane says, holding a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear. "Hey, I'm doing better, just waiting for mom to come back." Dane smiles, "she went to get you coffee, didn't she?" I nod my head, he chuckles. "One Venti for you, and one mocha frappe for you." She hands us both a cup, we both thank her. Inhaling the vanilla scent, I take a sip. Mom walks over and kisses my forehead, "you're running a fever." She says, running out to get the nurse.

As her footsteps disappear, I look over at Dane. "Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." Dane grins, "of course I will." I smile, rolling over on my side to rest. An older man walks up to me, he had to be in his late fifties. "You shouldn't be laying on your wound like that, it could cause infection." Looking closer at the man, I noticed he was a spirit. He must've been a doctor while he was human, so I listened. "You may exit." I said, he vanishes. The nurse walks in to take my temperature, she looked worried.

"That is one high fever, Nicole. I'm going to give you a medicine to help it ease up, it will make you sleepy." I nod my head, watching the liquid drop into my iv. "Get some rest, you need it." She says, tucking me in. As I go for another sip of coffee, I fall asleep. Dane set up his bed next to mine, reading a book to me while I slept. Dane always made me feel safe, even in the oddest of situations.

I woke up to my head not hurting as much, I sit up and look at Dane. "Morning, sleepy head." He says, smiling at me. I give him a small wave, feeling weak. "Good morning, Nicole. Looks like you can eat today, what would you like?" Handing me a menu, I look through it. "Jell-O, applesauce, and chicken noodle soup." She smiles, writing down what I wanted. "Be right back with that, sweetie." The nurse said, heading to the kitchen.

As the nurse wheeled my meal in, Dane helped me sit up. Devouring everything on my plate, I wasn't as nauseous. The food was delicious, it felt like I was dining at a five star restaurant. "We're going on a walk today, we have to get your strength back." The first few steps were difficult, it was like my legs turned into twigs. As I walked around the small circle a few more times, my legs felt stronger.

Getting back to the room, Dane helped me back in the bed.  "You sure showed them, walking like a pro." Dane chuckled, giving me a high five. "You haven't had a drink in a while, what can I get you?" I grin at him, grateful to see him helping so much. "Can you get me apple juice?" He nods his head, "be right back." As Dane leaves the room, the three children stand at my bed side.

"You are free to leave, I don't want you in here." I say, hoping they'd go. Their expressions were blank, eyes wide. "We want to play," the little girl whispers. "Play what?" I ask, knowing where this was going. The boy next to her stays expressionless, staring into my eyes. The girl nudges him, "it's not polite to stare. Don't worry about him, he just really wants to play."

I roll over, trying to ignore them. "Let's play, Nicole. Run and Hide." The third child says, pulling on my arm. "How do you guys even know about the game?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "You were dreaming about it, it looks interesting." All of my dreams were nightmares, being chased around by demons.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Dane looks around the room. "You have no idea." I say, sipping my juice. Knowing they would never leave me alone, I would have to play the game again. I thought surviving this game was over.

It has just begun.