Two Free Halloween Stories, For You

AND a little bit more.

Happy Halloween to you!

Below is a free story, but I'm over at the IWSG Parallels blog today with 

5 Tips for Creating Scary Stories

Be sure to stop in.

AND you can enter below to win some AWESOME cash in the Rafflecopter giveaway (for a newsletter subscription to yours truly. You think the giveaways are abundant on the blog. You should see what awesome freebies newsletter subscribers receive). 

Emily’s Ghost

I know what a bomb sounds like right before it explodes. So does Emily. It was only a question of time before mine went off.

I was nine when I saw my first bodiless. It flitted down the hall of the old estate Mother and Pap moved me to. A “family” house. We sat at the dining table, and my parents didn’t flinch when the essence curled through them, the specter’s eyes flaring with each touch.

“Alice, look away,” a whisper filled my ear.

I turned and came face to face with a girl—a year or two older than me—whom I’d never seen before. She had bouncing brown hair and eyes no color I could define. Gray, but green, but also blue, then nothing. Her presence faded and I was left looking at the wood-slated wall.

Mother called me back to the meal, unaware of my visitor, and I ate, bewildered by the experience.

That night, I woke to an awareness of being watched. The girl sat on top of my chest, weighing nothing, scowling down at me.

I pushed away and tumbled from bed. She floated down, crouching next to me.

“I am Emily.” The words whispered like a summer breeze through drapes.

“You’re a…a ghost?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I am, and so too will you be if you do not heed me. We have so little time, Alice. Less than I had.”

I rose, rubbing my bruised elbow. Emily lifted a few inches off the floor and waved me forward. I followed her into the hall, up creaky stairs, and into an attic. Draped furniture filled my periphery, but straight ahead stood a wardrobe with a gleaming lock.

Emily offered a key, a solid, chrome thing. It was cold in my palm. Heavy.

“You are the keeper now.” A wistfulness crinkled her eyes as she halted next to the cabinet. “Whatever you require to fight them will be inside.”

“Them?”

She shivered. “The bodiless. They are spirits of the departed who have power in the mortal realm. Already they are drawn to you, but they will come in droves once you open the door, and they will keep coming.”

“To me? Why?”

“Because you can stop them.”

“Stop them from what?”

She blinked and floated to the corner. Then back. “I never found out. They got the upper hand before I could discover.” Her jaw clenched. “But I will stay with you, Alice. I will guide you until you no longer need me. You will be better than I ever was.”

“At what?”

“Killing the wraiths.”

***

Four days elapsed. I didn’t catch another glimpse of Emily, but the bodiless had become a permanent guest. At first it was harmless. Then it started bumping into picture frames and knocking them down. It overturned vases and jars. I watched, knowing I could stop it, but broken things could be replaced. I could never unopen that door. Emily’s warning filled me with dread.

The entity began throwing things at my family—first weakly, a cup flicked off the counter, a pen skittering across the floor. Then stronger. A ball hurled down the stairs. A frying pan flung directly at my head, breaking a window.

My parents saw nothing. I was blamed.

The angry inner clock beat a rhythm: protect, defend, defeat. The wraith was winning and only I could stop it by unlocking my destiny.

I climbed to the attic and held out the key, aimed for the strange wardrobe. Emily materialized at my elbow.

“What will I find in there?”

“One can never know.” Her voice trembled.

I glanced at her, startled.

She motioned me forward, and I pressed the key into the lock. Light shot out around the metal. I shielded my eyes and twisted the key, a click thudding in my ears.

It was done. The thing that could never be taken back. The decision that would forever tie me to this ghost girl and the coming horrors.

The light dimmed to an otherworldly glow—like dawn, but thinner. A light that had substance.

I pulled back the door, ready to jump. A wooden, toy bear sat on the shelf. It was missing one painted eye and chipped in several places.

Emily perked up from behind my shoulder. “That was not nearly so terrifying as I had anticipated.”

“What things did you find in the cabinet?”

A crash sounded below. Mother screamed.

We both whirled. Emily threw herself in front of me, blocking my path, pointing to the pathetic bear. I grabbed it and hurtled down the stairs, into the living room. Mother lay on her side. A coffee table overturned near her head. The wraith hovered over her, energy swirling between its claw-like fingers.

“Get away from my mother!” I jumped at the specter. My body passed right through it. We both shivered.

The thing fixed on the bear in my hands, its mouth falling open in horror. It threw energy at me. I dodged. The wall behind me splintered. The wraith launched another wave. I dove. Stuffing blew out of the sofa like blizzard snows.

The bodiless flew straight at me, dragging power with it. My heart ticked like a bomb, one that would explode on impact. This was survival or death. Like Emily.

I lifted the bear and the thing slammed into it. The entity spun away, shook itself, and glared.

Its fists unballed. It fixed on Mother. The wraith shot me a smirk.

My heart stopped.

Not mother.

And then, like a dark curtain had been dropped from my mind, I knew what I was, and what I had to do.

I was a poltergeist hunter.

Holding the bear at arm’s length, I marched toward the entity. Its eyes shot wide. It turned and jerked, like a grappling hook had been thrust through it and yanked taut.

“Enter and stay. Enter and hold forever. Enter and never escape your cage.” The words were in my blood. They were my blood. Not English or any kind of civilized tongue, but they pulsed with power.

The thing’s mouth gaped in a silent shriek. I lifted the bear higher.

The wraith melted toward me, seeping into the bear, its final essence lapping outward in a desperate attempt to flee.

“Enter forever,” I repeated.

The bodiless slammed into the bear. I rocked back and fell, the toy toppling from my hands. It landed across the floor, its painted eye gleaming briefly, and then all was quiet.

I hurried to Mother’s side.

My mother was fine. She insisted she’d tripped and knocked her head. I didn’t even receive blame for the rest of the damage, which made me think she’d seen something. At least she wouldn’t be attacked again by that bodiless.

That was the last I saw of Emily for a long time. I returned to the attic, but the wardrobe was gone. The only evidence of the encounter was the key weighing my pocket, and the weird bear I kept on my nightstand as a reminder. It would be the first of many trophies.

I am not Emily. Some days I wish I could be, for she was truly great. Hers was a great burden. Now it’s mine.

PARTICIPANTS:
Viola Fury 911
Juneta Key All Hallows Eve
C. Lee McKenzie Beautiful
Erica Damon Penance'
J. Q. Rose Sorry
Elise VanCise Lady In The Woods
Barbara Lund Spooky Space
Angela Wooldridge Quiet Neighbours
Katharina Gerlach Australian Dream
Karen Lynn The Waves at Midnight
Sherri Conway Ants
Elizabeth McCleary Over James Henry Wilcox Dead Body
Canis Lupus The Picture
Peg Fisher All In the Fall, a Fractured Fairytale
Bill Bush Trapped
Benjamin Thomas Autumn Cascade

AND

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last week, Bish Denham shared THE BOWL AND THE STONE along with two truths and one lie. Anyone who guessed the lie correctly was entered to an eBook.

The game:

1. In the early 1970s, Bish lived in Hollywood and went to a transvestite ball.
2. Bish was at Woodstock and is surprised by how much she remembers!
3. A warlock once tried to recruit her to become a witch.

The lie: #2. Bish wanted to go to Woodstock. She knew people who were going, but didn’t have the money. And the logistics of getting from the Virgin Islands to Woodstock, New York by herself was just a *wee* bit overwhelming. She didn’t have the personality to just go and let things happen. She needed a little planning, she needed to know where she was going to stay and how she was going to get there. Flying to New York City wasn’t a problem, but getting up to the farm would have been a nightmare. Coming from a tiny island and plopping herself down in the middle of millions of people--and trying to find her way--was unrealistic. That, and she was a scaredy cat.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Shannon Lawrence!

Congrats, Shannon!

And now, it's time for some HALLOWEEN FUN!

Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse … 

Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Beretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her. 

After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy’s parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.

Get Your Copy HERE.

Ready to meet the gun-slinging author?

David was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to become a writer. His debut novel WOVEN is now an international bestseller.  An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He now lives in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

Every now and then you might run across David munching on a few crackers and slices of Colby Jack.

David gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out either lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook (open internationally):

You have until Tuesday, November 1 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answer (and some FUN trivia) on November 2, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. I target practiced with every weapon mentioned in The Undead Road.
2. I have witnessed paranormal activity.
3. I have eaten insects.

So sleuths, which is the lie? Have you met David? (If not, you must. He's kind and amazing.) Do you like ghost stories? Zombies? Candy corn?