Chapter 3: Strangers

Early that morning, after everything had settled down and most of the police were gone Katie finally laid down and got a little sleep.  Wasn't long before the feeling of hate came back.  This time she was going to find out who or what it was.

As she sat up in bed and looked around she didn't see anything but she knew it was there.
      "Who or what are you? Why are you bothering me and why is Jane scared of you?"
          "That isn't something you want the answer to."
      "If I didn't want the answer I wouldn't have asked it."  Katie was getting really pissed off.  How dare this, whatever it was, tell her what she did or didn't want to know.
           "Trust me when I say that you will find out just not now.  Where is Jane?"
      "Pfft, as if I would tell you anything!  You need to leave, NOW!!"
Whatever it was, she could always tell when it was gone because she was a lot calmer.  Since she wasn't going back to bed she guessed that it was time to get the day started.

**

Katie wasn't sure how she arrives at the cafe everyday but here she is again.  Good thing they have the tea she likes.
 The spirits usually don't come here.  She isn't sure why but she has never has a visit here.  That, she thought, was something she needed to look into.

A few moments later a man walked in.  He was a nice looking man in maybe his 30's with blonde hair. There was something about him.  He seemed familiar, but she knows that she has never met him.  He was giving off a strange vibe though.  Almost like he knew what he was doing, like he was hiding something.

He glanced at her and she looked away quickly.  She could feel him still looking at her.  She could also feel the barista getting pissed because he was holding up her growing line.  Katie was so relieved when he finally ordered his coffee and left.  Katie decided that she has had enough for today and got up to leave, when the barista walked up to her and handed her a note.
      "The guy that was staring at you asked me to give this to you."
Wow, Katie thought, guess there is a first time for everything.

Katie walked outside and thought about opening the note then thought against it and went home.  As soon as she made it safely inside her house she reached for the note.

I told you that you didn't want to know.  Please just give me Jane.

What is going on?  Why does he want Jane?  Is that the shadow?  All questions that Katie needed answers for.

(Next Chapter)

Chapter 2: Shadows

Katie felt horrible for living next to this woman for a year now and never really introducing herself.  As she stood there, next to this woman, she realized that she hasn't seen the alive version of her neighbor for a little over two weeks.

          DAMN!

She really needed to start paying more attention to the living and less to the dead.  Crap, crap, crap!  OK, so to assess the situation.  She needed to go next door.   She needed to call the police.  She needed to do a lot of things but the hot, sweaty feeling is coming back again.

As Katie looked around she noticed that her neighbor lady was gone but the feeling of heat was still here.  What is that?  Why is she breaking out in a sweat?  "Who is here?"  Nothing.  "Hello?!"  again nothing.  What is going on?  Then she saw it, in the corner of the room, it was tall and dark.  She had never seen anything like it before.  If she didn't feel anything she would have never noticed it unless it was to move, but she could feel the hate coming from it.  Whatever it was, it wasn't good.  As soon as it figured out she knew it was there, just like that, it was gone.  Then the old lady was back, and hiding behind Katie, like she was afraid of the shadow thing.  Katie can't say that she blames the old lady.  She needed to figure out what that was, but first she needed someone to go next door.

**

As Katie and the old lady stood outside the door, she could smell that the lady had been dead a while.  They were waiting on the cops that Katie had called over 20 minutes ago.  "Where are they? Geez, I called forever ago!  Why are you still here?  I have discovered you, isn't that what you wanted?"  The woman just stood there and shook her head no.   Katie, not being able to stand it any longer, started pacing the floor until the first officer arrived.

What was she going to tell the police about finding the body.
 "So you smell something, huh?"
    "Yep, I am not sure what it is but I haven't seen the lady here in a while."
 "OK, well gotta go and see what happened.  Just, stay here, OK?!"

When he opened the door the smell was outrageous, she couldn't stand there any longer.  As she started to walk away the officer came back out to inform her that the detective was going to need to speak with her.  "Why?"
   "Well because it looks to me like this was a murder."
Katie than realized the reason why the little old lady was still there.

Later that day Katie learned the old lady's name was Jane Inglis, and she was a widow.  She has 3 kids, all in their 30's and 40's.  How sad that she had to lay there for days with no one checking on her.  She also learned that both of Jane's legs were broken, she had been stabbed, and laid there for a few days until she finally passed away.

Katie doesn't remember hearing anything, but the complex that she lives in has good insulation so that doesn't surprise anyone, except Katie.  She should have been able to feel something wrong.  Katie could feel that this wasn't any regular murder, this was different, very different.

(Next Chapter)

Chapter 1: Ghosts

She went home after sitting in the cafe all day looking through the paper for a job, but when she got home the only thing waiting for her was the same old lady that had been there all week.  She didn't say anything she just followed Katie around, pointing at the wall. 

"Who are you? Why won't you talk to me? Do I know you?"  She did look sadly familiar.  Maybe she goes to the cafe where Katie goes everyday.  The lady just kept pointing at the wall.  Exasperated, Katie threw her hands up and yelled "Just Leave!"  and the old lady faded away until she was gone.  Katie knew she would be back tomorrow and the day after that if she couldn't find what the woman wanted.

Katie was so drained that she knew a hot bath and some music would do the job and leave her feeling ready for bed, but as she went to walk into the bathroom she could feel that something wasn't right.  It felt, hot and made her skin burst out in an instant sweat.  Katie had never had this feeling before.  She once again yelled out "Go away, please just for tonight" but it didn't feel like the old lady anymore.  Then it was just gone.  POOF!  She felt like normal again, well her normal anyhow.

She ran her bath extra hot tonight and had her music extra loud tonight so she couldn't hear any beings, alive or passed, and if she did she wouldn't care.  She was just starting to enjoy her bath when the radio turned off.  At first she thought that maybe she had ran out of batteries, but then remembered that she had bought a new radio last week that plugged into the wall.

"What the hell?  Why can't I just take one bath alone?  Just one!" Sighing she said "OK, what do you need?  Hello, you turned off my radio for a reason, what is it?"  Nothing, and then the little old lady was back and pointing again.  "Really?! You can't let me finish my bath?"  The lady shook her head no.  Sighing, Katie got up out of the bath, wrapped her towel around herself and asked the woman for just a little privacy to get dressed.

**

As Katie walked out into the living room she saw the lady.  She was looking at the wall and her shoulders were heaving like she was sobbing yet Katie heard nothing.

Katie went around the couch and stood next to the woman that had been coming to her house for days and finally felt it.  She felt all the sorrow that the woman had been holding in, and why she was hanging around.  Just then Katie felt bad.  This woman standing in her living room was her neighbor.  The woman was standing here because she has had no visitors in weeks and no one knew she was even dead.  

(Next Chapter)

See-er

She enjoyed sitting in the cafe all by herself.  Watching the people and making up stories of where they're from and what they do.  She mostly likes to pick up the vibes that they send to her.

She can tell just by being in the same vicinity as them how many loved ones have passed on to the other side, see how they passed, and what the reaction of the living loved ones were.  Though she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to be called, she does know that there are times where she doesn't like this power, because she feels like she never belongs anywhere, except for alone, in her own space.

Katie was born 20 years ago to Agnes and Phillip Stone, in the dead of night, while the moon shone bright outside her mothers window.  Katie is an only child, and yes it was because her parents didn't want anymore.  She grew up in the country with the barn-cats and livestock as her friends.  She enjoyed that life, before all of this started, before she was able to "read" people, and spirits.

She knows exactly when it started, she woke up one day and could feel her mom and dad downstairs having breakfast, they felt happy! She could feel her grandma outside in the garden, and she felt alive even though she hadn't been in several years. It was weird and she could have swore that she was becoming sick, because normal people don't feel what others are feeling.  It wasn't that much longer until she finished high school and moved into an apartment alone.

She isn't quite sure, once again, how she made it to the cafe, but here she sat, alone, and feeling everything.

(NEXT CHAPTER)