Ghastly Protector
Nic was unhappy. Again. Why? Because his parents had decided they were moving to a new town, far away from all his friends. And despite all his pleading, they didn't listen to him when he wanted to stay. So much for democracy. He was supposed to be packing his bags, but if his parents wanted to move so badly, then they could pack the bags! Nic threw his suitcase onto his bed angrily and stomped into the kitchen, which, of course, was table-less. He grabbed his MP3 and put it into his studded ears. He saw no need to listen to the shouting which would occur as soon as his parents saw him. Nic's black hair covered the earphones, playing music as Nic reflected. His parents had said he would make new friends...but he didn't believe them. He didn't want to be friends with some country bumpkin geekoid.
Hours later, the Allisons were driving down the road. The snow drifting down covered the road. Nic was still in trouble for the packing thing, and so, was stuck in the backseat with the luggage. The fourteen-year old sighed as they pulled up at their new house. It was on top of a hill, and it looked pretty nice, actually. Big, white, beautiful. And in pristine condition.Nic still wasn't impressed. He didn't want to live in this dumb rural town just so they could "be closer" to his grandparents. They only lived a few...hundred miles away from them! Who cared about visiting some old geezers anyway?
On Monday, 8:00 sharp, Nic was sent off to school wearing a sweater vest, tie, black pants, and shiny shoes. At 12:00 sharp, Nic walked into school wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers. The whole class turned around and stared. Nic did profiles of each of them. He was hyper observant, which meant he noticed tiny details other people would miss, in just seconds. Bumpkin, wearing straw hat. Slob, sniffing her own armpit. Bumpkin, bumpkin, bumpkin, idiot, thief, slob...wait, who is that? Thought Nic. He looks pretty cool. Red t-shirt,black leather jacket, jeans. Spiky hair. Hmm, maybe this won't be such a waste after all. Nic sat down at his desk and rolled his eyes as the teacher began his lesson. Teacher's colorblind...and an idiot, thought Nic, looking at the teacher's shoes, one red, one green.
Finally, school was over. Nic had made a pal out of the only cool kid in his class. Nic was going to be trying him out for guitar, as he played the drums and wanted to start a band. Well, he was going to try anyway. Smith, the other kid, was actually pretty good. Smith wanted a band too, so they agreed to look for a bassist.
Nic went home after that, and skipped dinner. He went straight to bed, but for some reason couldn't fall asleep. He lay awake until midnight. He thought he saw, with the corner of his eye, a flicker of shadow, but dismissed it. He couldn't have seen anything. Creaks and groans started, but he ignored that too. And then he swore he saw, a white figure drifting down the hall. But he ignored that too.
Nic didn't sleep at all that night.
The next morning, Nic, although thinking he was checking into the Wacko Shack, asked Smith if there was a history to his house. Smith flinched, and said no. Nic decided to look into it himself...which meant doing something ugly. Going into the local library.
Hours and headaches later, Nic knew that there was indeed a history behind the house. Apparently, about 50 years ago, a young man by the name of Noah Castrell had built the house by himself, to try and win over a girl. He'd gone deeply into debt doing so. But the girl was already engaged. Castrell had committed suicide. There was also a child death, baby had drowned in the bath tub because the mother had left him unattended. Karl Smith was the boy's name. That had happened about 13 years ago. Now, was his house really haunted, or was he really losing his marbles? Thought Nic.
The next night, Nic was kept awake by noises and shadows coming through his house. He decided to explore this time. He grabbed a heavy, powerful flashlight and went through the house. He saw the cause of all the trouble. A white apparition appeared. Very tall, good-looking young guy. Red rope-burns all around the neck. Nic recognized him from the photos in the library. Noah Castrell. Then, Castrell disappeared. Nic started to go back in his room. He felt invisible hands around his neck. Choking him. He gasped and struggled to breathe. Then, the doorbell rang loudly, and the pressure disappeared.
Nic, holding his flashlight high above his head and ready to strike, went downstairs. He slowly cracked the door open.
"Hey man! It's Smith. Open the door," said a voice outside the door. Gulping, Nic opened the door the rest of the way. He saw the sun coming up, and saw Smith standing outside. He realized it was morning. He must've stayed up all night again.
"Hey, Nic, you told me to come get you so you would have an excuse not to take your little sister. Remember?" said Smith.
"Right..."Nic said. He did remember that. "Just give me a sec to get ready."
Later, Nic swore he saw Smith flickering as they walked to school. He gulped, and gripped the holy water he had taken with him. His father was a pastor, so it was pretty easy. He flicked the water on Smith. Smith screamed and gripped his shoulder. Black, sulfur-scented smoke curled up from his shoulder, which was melting. Smith swore(a word I can't repeat on AG)and groaned to Nic:
"I saved you...from Castrell and that's what you do to me? I haven't done anything...wrong. Holy water...burns. Like acid. I am Karl Smith, you know. I helped you. Saved your life. And...I age. I grow old. And I have spent the entire time that I have...been a ghost saving people's lives from Castrell...and now you burn me," groaned Karl, pausing at regular intervals to gasp. He then disappeared.