That’s
what Annie Waters believed before she snuck into the abandoned Caldwell School.
Before the dark presence followed her home. Before she realized, her only hope
was to believe.
Author Bio:
Growing up in Maine, Teri Lee spent most of her time reading and
exploring in the woods. And that hasn’t changed. When she’s not writing, you’ll
still find her lost in a book or out hiking. And if she’s not there, try the
ER. But don’t worry, she’s the nurse, not the patient. Teri has three grown
children and still resides in Maine with her husband.
Excerpt 1:
Annie’s nose
burned with the smell of gasoline.
“Are you
okay?” The voice sounded far away.
There was
another sound—closer—a rasping breath. Annie opened her eyes. She was in the
car. The side of her face was pressed against the window and something jabbed
against her right hip. She shifted.
Everything
hurt.
Then it all
rushed back to her—the argument with her parents—the bright lights, those were headlights—they’d
crashed!
“Mom! Dad!”
she screamed.
The rasping
sound again. It was coming from the front seat. She tried to lean forward, but
her hips were pinned to the seat and something pressed against her chest.
Knock, knock, knock. A man peered down at her through the window
of the other door. She realized the car was on its side. “You shouldn’t move,”
he said. “I called 911.”
Annie heard
sirens in the distance. “Mom! Dad!” She worked her arm into position against
the door and pushed. A band tighten across her hips. The seatbelt! Her fingers
found the button and the restricting band slid away.
The
sirens grew closer. Flashing red lights lit up the inside of the car. Annie
could just make out the back of her mother’s head and she saw was blood.
She
tried to get to her, but her legs were wedged against the back of her mother’s
seat. She wriggled and shifted, ignoring the sharp pains that shot through her
legs, until she freed one leg, then the other. She grasped the headrest. Her
hand slipped off the warm, slick surface. Even in the dim light she could see
it was blood.
“Mom!”
she screamed. “Dad!”
Another
rasping breath.
A
new face appeared in the window above her. “Don’t move. We’re coming in.”
The
face disappeared and the car vibrated slightly as metal screeched against
metal. Slowly, the top of the car was pried away. Firemen surrounded the car.
One of them slid a stiff collar around Annie’s neck while a second checked
Dad’s pulse, then shook his head. A tight lump formed in Annie’s throat and she
felt her chest caving in. She didn’t dare breathe as she looked over at the
fireman working on her mom.
“Pulse
is thready.” He slid a collar around her neck. “Let’s get her out of here.”
“Annie!
The voice seemed far away.
Excerpt 2:
The ground trembled. And with a deafening boom, the school windows shattered. Shards of glass flew toward her. Behind her, Harmony screamed.
And suddenly Drew was there, knocking her to the ground, shielding her with his body as glass pelted the ground around her.
The storm of glass stopped and Annie looked up into Drew’s eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, standing to his feet.
Annie pushed herself up into a sitting position. “I think so.”
“Stay here,” Drew said, then dashed into the old school building.
“Annie…” Harmony’s voice was weak.
Annie scrambled to her feet. Harmony was standing in front of the car, a piece of glass sticking out of her chest. Annie ran. Her feet moved, but Harmony seemed to be getting farther. And then, she watched in horror as Harmony looked down at the glass.
“Don’t!” Annie screamed—too late—Harmony reached up. Her fingers wrapped around the glass and she pulled. She looked down at the glass in her hand as if wondering where it came from. A dark red blotch spread across her bright green hoodie. The evil-looking shard slipped from her hand and shattered on the pavement. Harmony dropped to her knees. Her eyes met Annie’s for a brief second, before she toppled forward.
Annie reached her friend in time to catch her and lower her to the ground. “Somebody, help me,” she screamed. In the distance she heard voices. “Help!” she yelled again.
Her fingers felt thick as she worked the zipper down and pulled Harmony’s sweatshirt open. Blood flowed from a deep gash just below Harmony’s left shoulder. Annie yanked her own sweatshirt off and pressed it against the wound. Harmony’s face was white. Her eyes were closed. “Talk to me,” Annie cried.
Harmony’s eyelids fluttered open. “You okay?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Annie nodded. Tears streamed down her face.
“I saw…” Harmony’s voice faded and her eyes closed.
“Open your eyes!” Annie sobbed. “Please open your eyes.”
Harmony didn’t move. The blood soaked through Annie’s sweatshirt.
“Please don’t die,” Annie whispered. She pressed harder on the wound. She could feel the ghost behind her. She looked back at the old school building, expecting to see the swirling dark shadow. Empty windows stared back at her.
