4

I was jarred awake by a huge clap of thunder. Rain pounded the roof and the wind howled. My heart banged in my chest and before I had a chance to regain my composure I heard footsteps running up the stairs. The bedroom door burst open.
“Hurry, come with me.”
It was Jacob. He quickly crossed the room and threw open the window near the bed. Wind and rain whipped into the room. I hopped out of the bed, grabbed my shoes, and back away from the opening..
“What are you doing?” I cried.
“Come on.” Jake said, and without explanation he firmly took my hand and pulled me through the open window out onto the roof.
The lighting streaked through the sky. The thunder rolled and boomed continuously. It was the most violent storm I had ever seen. I held up my free arm defensively to protect my face from flying leaves and other debris. Jake released my hand and took a dauntless leap from the roof into the branches of an ancient oak tree that shaded the house. The tree bent and swayed in the powerful wind. Jake struggled to get a handhold.
“Your crazy?’ I yelled into the wind.
Jake motioned for me to follow, “Jump.” He said.
I looked down over the edge of the roof, then back at Jake and shook my head.
“Come on Clair.” He urged and held out his hand.
I edged closer to the drop-off, “Seriously Jake, I’m scared out of my wits and I don’t have a clue why you have me out on this roof.” I pointed at the gap between the branches and me. “There’s no way I can make that.” I shouted.
“Jump. Dammit!” Jake’s expression changed, his patience with me had run out.
I looped my sandal straps around my wrist and blindly jumped towards the tree. Instead of landing in sturdy oak branches, I began to fall. Luckly for me, Jake was able to grab me by the wrist of one of my outstretched arms and snatched me back from peril. I squealed as I swung precariously, holding onto Jake for dear life.
“Don’t you drop me.” I told him clenching my teeth.
Jake groaned and strained but managed to pull me up into the branches. I clung to Jakes muscular arm, shaking and gasping. The pounding rain stung my eyes and the forceful wind made it hard to breath. Jake pulled away from me and began to climb. I didn’t want to be left behind so I followed Jake up the tree. Twigs and leaves slapped my face and pulled at my clothes as I tried to keep up with him. He was climbing so fast I couldn’t keep him in my sight.
“Jake where are you?” I called shrilly, in panic.
“Keep climbin’.” He called back.
The tree bark was slick with rain and as I climbed hand over hand through the treacherous limbs I slipped numerous times nearly plummeting into the darkness below. Each time my heart would jump and I squealed. Each time Jake would shout back words of encouragement. My arms felt weak and rubbery from climbing for so long. The wind and rain began to subside, not because the storm was waning, because we where actually climbing out of the storm. The rolling thunder sounded far away and the lightening flashes far below were more like tiny flashbulbs.
“ Jake?” I called breathlessly.
“We’re almost there, darlin’.” He called back.
I continued to climb surrounded by leaves and branches so thick I could see nothing else. Twigs scratched and poked my face and arms. The rough bark made the bottoms of my feet and the palms of my hand feel raw. I felt Jake’s warm hand on my wrist and he pulled me up and out of the foliage. He set me down on a cement step that was overgrown with shrubs and grasses. I struggled to catch my breath as I looked around. We were standing on the steps of an enormous rundown building. It was four stories tall with empty black windows that looked down upon us like cold dead eyes.
“What is this place?” I asked while slipping in to my shoes.
Jake put a finger to his lips, “Shh.” He said.
I followed him into the decaying building, but not before putting my shoes back on. It didn’t look like the kind of place you would want to walk around in barefoot. It was dark and the sour smell of mold and mildew filled the air. I covered my noise and mouth. The floor was full of debris, rubbish that had blown in from the open windows and chunks of plaster that had fallen from the crumbling walls and ceiling. Graffiti was splashed across the pale green walls of the hallway we traveled through. I stumbled and almost fell.
“Jake.” I whispered, “Please, slow down.”
He reached back and took my hand. I looked at the floor to see what had made me trip. There was a bundle of electrical cores running the length of the hall taped down with duct tape. Jake and I continued until the hall came to an end. In a large open lobby there was a group of men setting up tables and electronic equipment. They all worn matching T-shirts and baseball caps.
“ What’s going on here?” I asked Jake, but he didn’t answer.
He led me out of the shadows and into the middle of the room. The men looked right through us and carried on with their duties as we passed by. On the far side of the lobby there was a stairway leading to the next floor. We climbed it. Halfway down the second story hallway Jake stopped and made himself comfortable, taking a seat on the floor. I kneeled next to him.
‘Jake, what’s going on? Who are those people?” I asked anxiously.
He patted my knee. “ Relax darlin’.” he said with a smile and a wink. “We’re just here to have a little fun.”
My jaw dropped, “Are you kidding me?” I snapped. “You scared the crap out of me back there, barging in my room like that. And all that climbing, what the hell was that all about?”
As my rant went on, the volume of my voice went up. For the most part Jake just sat looking at me with a slightly amused look on his face, but suddenly he looked past me towards the doorway and his eyes got wide. He slapped a hand over my mouth silencing me mid-sentence. Two of the men from the lobby sprinted into the hall from the stairwell. They were carrying cameras and other equipment I didn’t recognize.
“I just heard something up here.” the first man said. He had dark hair and was the only one in the group you had not been wearing a ball cap. “ It sounded like someone whispering.”
The second man was holding a recording device and started talking into it, “This is James and Garret, starting EVP session in the Holy Trinity Sanitarium, second floor.”
The men walked past us, scanning in front of them with their instruments and occasionally asking random questions.
Jake held me close, his hand still covering my mouth. “They heard you,” he whispered. He loosened his hold on me and rose to his feet. “Watch this.” he said and ran up behind the man with the recorder and grabbed him by the shoulder. The man gasped and spun around.
“Garret, something just grabbed me, man.” he said.
“Are you serious?” his friend asked.
“Serious as a heart attack.” He answered.
As the two men conversed, Jake danced around between them waveing his arms wildly. I began to laugh. His silly antics combined with his old fashioned attire reminded me of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Jake quickly tired with taunting the oblivious men and walked back to where I was sitting.
“Let’s go find the others,” he said holding out his hand to help me up.
We went back to the first floor and as we wonder through the unexplored passageways Jake sighed.
“It was good ta hear you laugh,” he said. “You use’ ta laugh all the time.”
“How do you know me? I still don’t remember.”
With a far-away look Jake said, “I aint surprised you don’t remember. You were just a little’n. Ur ma told you I was ‘maginary. After that you started gettin’ scared when I came ‘round.. So I hid.”
“How old was I?” I asked.
Jake shrugged, “Five or six I reckon.”
I remember my mom telling me how I had an imaginary friend at Grandma and Grandpa‘s house. I even remember telling her about seeing a boy coming out of the wall. She told me it was just a scary dream. Of coarse, I didn’t think it was scary until she told me it was.
I was about to ask another question but Jake wasn’t paying attention.
“Shh…listen.” he said.
We could hear the voices of two other men talking to each other. Their names were Shawn and Dan. The men stood together in a large ward where numerous patients would have been cared for. We peered into the ward from the hall.
Jake pointed out one of the devices Shawn was holding, “They call that an EMF detector. They think they can find spirit energy with it.”
“Can they?” I asked.
“No. Its just a trick.” Jake said. “I’ll show ya‘.”
Jake walked up to Shawn and put his hand on the EMF detector, but nothing happened. Then he put his other hand on Shawn’s camera. The lights on the detector went crazy.
“Holy crap!” Shawn exclaimed. “The EMF is off the chart.”
Jake let go of the detector and looked back at me with a smile. The lights stop flashing.
Dan joined Shawn in his excitement, “If there is someone with us can you do that again?” he asked.
Jake reached out and touched the EMF again and the light began to flash once more. The two men reacted like giddy little girls. Jake stepped back releasing the camera and Shawn notice the battery was dead.
‘Dude, something is trying to manifest, my camera just went dead.” Shawn said.
He was excited but he also sounded a little scared. He handed the EMF detector to Dan while he quickly changed the camera battery. Dan started asking the questions. This time Jake put his hand on Dan’s flashlight. Dan asked whoever was there to make the lights flash again to prove that they were really there. Jake touched the EMF activating the lights.
“Make the lights flash if there is more than one of you here.” Dan said.
Jake made the lights flash. Dan and Shawn were so caught up with watching the EMF detector that they didn’t notice the flashlight go dim each time the detector went off.
“Are you mad or upset that we are here?” Dan asked.
Jake chuckled and triggered the lights.
“Do you want us to leave?” Shawn asked.
Jake activated the detector. again
“Looks like we better leave.” Shawn said to his buddy and Dan agreed.
I was standing in the doorway. I’m not sure why it didn’t dawn on me that I should move out of the way, but it didn’t. Dan walk through the doorway and through me at the same time. I staggered backward gasping for air. It felt like a wrecking ball went through my chest and came out through my back taking my spine with it. Holding my chest, I wobbled trying to stay on my feet but fell to one knee. Within seconds Jake was at my side. He told me to relax and try to take long deep breaths. He assured me that everything was all right and it would pass soon. I didn’t believe him this time; I thought that if I wasn’t dead I surely would be. Jake held me encouraging me to take deep breaths with him. I tried as best I could and finally I took a breath and it didn’t hurt that much. The next one was even easier.
“I think I’m alright now.” I told Jake. He helped me to my feet.
“I reckon, I better take you home.” Jake said with a relieved chuckle.
With his arm around my waist Jake lead me back to the main lobby. Along the way we passed another large ward. I could hear the sound of crying coming from inside.
“Hold on, Jake.”
I peered into the room. In a far corner, facing the wall, there stood a woman swaying side to side. She wore a dingy hospital gown and robe. Her sobs seemed so hopeless they pulled at my heart. I was about to call out to her but Jake shushed me.
“Sometimes its best to leave ’em be. ‘Specially in places like this.” He said.
We walked out of the sanitarium onto a quiet suburban street. At the end of a cul-de-sac there was a white house with dark green shutters and a bright red door.
Home.