Poltergeist

By Giampaolo Bianchi

It was a typical afternoon day in Podunk. Late-October showed signs of the oncoming fall, complete with falling brown leaves, windy days, and Halloween. People everywhere were beginning to plan for their Halloween parties, even though everyone was probably going to someone else’s house for the occasion, and they were all probably going trick or treating. Sounds of crying and sneezing were heard as all of the small children caught colds and the flu from playing outside without their coats. Such was the case with Ninten. Not bothering to take his coat, he rushed outside to play in the leaves. This would be a mistake soon regretted, as the very next day he came down with a high fever. His mother, one of the most overprotective people in the entire town, stuffed him in his room and forbade him to go out for the next week, which ran well past Halloween. Considering the circumstances, and Ninten’s hyperactive personality, this didn’t go so well.

"Oh, come on, Mom," whined Ninten as his mother took his temperature for the fifth time that day. "you don’t have to do that. I feel fine now. Can I please go to Danny’s house? We’re going trick or treating."

"Nonsense." Retorted Ninten’s mother. "I’m not letting you catch pneumonia like all the other kids."

"There’s only one kid staying home from school." Complained Ninten. "And that’s me. Everyone else is fine."

Ninten’s mother stubbornly refused to cave in. "You are staying home, and that’s final." She stared at the thermometer. After clicking her tongue a few times, she got up and poured a spoonful of pediatrician’s medicine. "Time for your medicine." She stated.

Ninten stared at the spoonful of black, viscous fluid and cringed. "Mom, I’m 12 years old. I don’t take baby medicine anymore."

"Such a childish comment from such a grown boy." Ninten’s mother muttered to herself as she made Ninten take the medicine. She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing, then left Ninten’s room. "I’ll be up in half and hour with dinner." She said. "Its almost six-thirty."

Ninten sighed as he plopped down on his bed. The rambunctious twelve-year-old hated having to stay home, and spent most of his time outside. His scarcely decorated room reflected that. He was the youngest out of his family. His two older sisters weren’t mean to him, but he still resented the fact that he was the only boy. His father, the only other male in the family, was almost always at work, to the point where Ninten could only see him once or twice a week. But, other than that, he was a happy kid. He loved baseball, as well as his dog, who was faithfully parked outside in his doghouse. His mother always made his favorite foods, and his sisters were very loving. But Ninten still felt like there was something missing. Podunk, although colorful and full of many different people, was still a small town in rural America. He had heard tales of wonderful cities like Ellay and Snowman, as well as all of the great places to visit in nearby Eagleland (Ninten once heard from a classmate that Threed’s circus was the best in the world). Ninten got so wrapped up in those thoughts that he didn’t hear someone knocking on the door.

"Ninten? You in there?" it was Minnie, the oldest of his sisters. She was closer to Ninten that any other person in the family, so Ninten wasn’t bothered when she stopped knocking and stepped in the room. She was around 20 years old. Her long brown hair cascaded around her waist, and she wore a red dress. Minnie smiled as she went up to him and planted a kiss on his forehead. "I heard you squabbling with mom. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Ninten nodded as his mouth broadened into a smile. "She wanted to take my temperature again."

"That’s awful." Minnie giggled as she patted Ninten on the head. "I bet you must feel tired. Why don’t you take a nap? It’ll help you take your mind off of having to stay home on Halloween."

"That’s not a bad idea." Ninten responded as he laid down in his bed. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep.

It was night time when Ninten woke up. He had fallen asleep for a long time. He got up with a jolt and looked at the clock on his wall. Seven-fifteen. It had been forty-five minutes since his mother was supposed to have brought him dinner. He looked around nervously, and found that everything was silent. Oddly, the sounds of people and children trick or treating could not be heard. Confused, he got up and headed for the door. "Mom? Is dinner ready?" he yelled as he reached for the doorknob. He had barely grasped it when the lights went out.

"Great." Cursed Ninten as he stumbled blindly, looking for the light switch. He had taken only two steps, though, when something brushed past his leg. Ninten froze. He was supposed to be alone in the room, and his window was closed with the curtain drawn over it. He reached out with his hand and felt for the wall, cold sweat forming on his forehead. Something brushed past his leg again, and this time it went past his other one as well. Ninten felt his breath quicken and his heart start pounding. It had stopped. Ninten sighed as he tried to get up, but before he could, something knocked him down. Ninten jumped up and started flailing his arms around, in an attempt to hit whatever it was that was attacking him. His attempts were futile, though, as he found that the attacker began brushing past him more and more, until it seemed to swirl around his body. Ninten yelled as the force knocked him down. He could feel a hot, raspy breath against his neck, as well as a slight moaning sound. He started crying softly as the foe started moving. Ninten could feel a slight tingle move from his neck to his arm, then to his torso, then to his leg, and then his neck again. In exasperation, Ninten reached out with his arms and tried to grab the invisible enemy. His hands met with success as he felt a hard, cold texture against his palm. Summoning all his courage, he flung the object away, and heard a shattering sound. Satisfied, he took a moment to gather his wits and reach for the light switch. After a few seconds he was able to turn on the lights, and he looked at his enemy.

"A lamp?" Ninten was amazed as he found his nightstand lamp shattered against the wall. Ninten didn’t know how it gained a will of its own, but he didn’t have time to think about it as he heard a sharp scream coming from the hall. "Minnie!" he cried as he stumbled out of his room and into the hall. The hall was also dark. A repeated pounding sound was heard as Ninten made his way through the hall. Ninten used the light from his room as a guide to get him to his sister’s room. He had barely opened the door and stepped in when the door slammed shut behind him. Another bead of sweat condensed on his forehead as he turned and tried to force the door. The door held stubbornly. "Uh-oh." He muttered.

"Ninten?" Minnie was crying softly as her trembling voice uttered his name. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." Ninten whispered softly as he placed his hand on the wall and used it as a guide to get him to Minnie, whom he assumed was in the corner because that was where her bed was. "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know." Replied Minnie. "I was sitting here, reading a book, when the lights went out and I started hearing the pounding sound." She started crying. "What are we going to do?"

"Don’t worry, we--" Ninten froze as he felt a tingling in the back of his neck. It was not painful, but Ninten knew what it meant. "Get under the covers." He ordered as he stood up straight. Suddenly, he turned and tried to hit the ghost with his hand. His hand met air as the tingling went from his neck to his right arm. Ninten swore that he could hear laughing. He made several attempts to grab the poltergeist, but he failed. He continued this until the tingling stopped. Surprised, Ninten swallowed hard as he let his guard down. "I think it stopped."

Ninten had barely said the words when he heard Minnie whine softly. "Minnie?" he called.

"There’s something…brushing against my leg." She whispered. Ninten could also hear slight rustling. Panicked, he started hyperventilating. "Oh no…not now…" he gasped. Ninten suffered from asthma, and his nervous state had triggered an attack. He stumbled towards Minnie’s bed, and found what felt like another possessed lamp against his hand, while he held the other to his neck, looking for air. The ghost had stopped groping Minnie and began circling Ninten, hitting him in the chest and sending him sprawling. Ninten remembered the medicine in his pocket and desperately began searching for it. The ghost kicked him around, making it hard for him to get his medicine.

"Minnie…help…asthma…" he gasped as he rolled around. He finally found the medicine and took it, sighing with relief as the pain in his chest stopped. The ghost was still there, taunting him, and Ninten lay helpless on the ground. He shot out with his hands and grabbed the lamp. "Minnie…the light." He grunted as the lamp struggled to get out of his grasp. He clung to it firmly until he heard Minnie turn on the lights. The light flooded his eyes, creating a painful flash that made him close his eyes. His eyes adjusted, and he was able to see that the lamp was surrounded by a blue, barely visible blue mist. He threw the lamp against the wall, smashing it, and noticed that the mist dissipated.

"Wow…that was close." Ninten said to himself as he turned and headed over to Minnie. Minnie hugged him as she cried on his shoulder. "Thanks, Ninten." She said softly. "I don’t know what might have happened."

Ninten caressed her hair as she cried. "Is it over?" he asked. Minnie closed her eyes. "I hope so." The scream from his other sister’s room told him otherwise. He detached himself from Minnie and headed out the door. "I’ll be right back." He said as he headed out into the dark hallway.

The pounding was even louder now. It came in bursts of two at a time, with small breaks between thumps. Ninten once again grabbed the wall for guidance, and felt the pounding against the wall. He made it to his sister’s room, and opened the door. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, he flipped on the lights before stepping inside.

His other sister, at 16 years of age, was very susceptible. That coupled with her fear of the dark didn’t help much. So Ninten wasn’t surprised to find her curled up in the corner. Ever wary, he stepped up to her and helped her up. "You okay?" he asked as she got up and looked around. She nodded and supported herself on the wall, then headed out the door, not bothering to say a word. Ninten was about to follow when the door shut.

"Not again…" he grumbled. "Why is this happening to me?" He looked around. "I suppose the lights are gonna go out now." But no such thing happened. The pounding was louder than ever, and suddenly, Ninten realized what it was.

"A heartbeat…" he said as he looked around. "And it’s coming from this room…"

Ninten’s senses snapped awake as he heard the lamp in his sister’s room fall down. Not giving it a chance to attack, Ninten stamped on it and broke it. "There." He said, satisfied. "Get me now."

Ninten’s sense of security was shattered as he heard another sound, this time a rustling. It came from the closet. Ninten threw the door open and peeked inside. Nothing. Exhausted, he looked down at the floor. He stared at the shelf where the lamp was. The shelf was dusty, and there were two spots where the shelf was clean. One was where the lamp was, and the other…

Ninten jumped up and ran to the shelf. The other spot was made by his sister’s favorite artifact.

"The doll." He said ominously as he noticed that the doll was gone. While Ninten was too scared to take notice of details, he knew that the doll was there when he entered and that his sister had left it behind.

"That’s it." He mused. "The doll." He turned towards the door and spotted the door. He was about to start towards it when a terrible sound made him freeze.

"MA-ma."

Ninten cringed. His forehead was covered with sweat now, his hands clammy, and his nerves racked. He slowly turned towards his sister’s bed.

"MA-ma."

The heartbeat was as loud as ever now. Ninted felt it down to his stomach, and he didn’t like it.

"MA-ma."

Ninten fixed his gaze on the bed. Sitting there, innocently, was the doll. It had a blue dress and blonde, curly hair. It had pink circles on its cheeks, and its blue eyes had long eyelashes. Its lips were red. Ninten stared at the doll for a moment, then turned to leave.

"MA-ma."

Ninten whirled. The doll was still sitting there, only this time its head was held upright. The same blue mist that enveloped the lamp was also around the doll. The doll stared at Ninten deeply. Its eyes showed no emotion. It then got up on its feet and floated up into the air.

"MA-ma." It stretched out its arms, then flew straight towards Ninten. He dodged swiftly, then tried to smack it with his arm. The doll floated out of his reach, then tried to hit him. It succeeded, and struck Ninten in the face. He shook his head, then leapt forward and kicked the doll. The doll stabilized itself, then tried to attack. Ninten dodged, then countered with his own blow. The doll had then begun to back away from Ninten. Ninten felt the corner against his back, and he knew the doll had him trapped. The doll shot forward, and when it was close to hitting, Ninten ducked. The doll slammed against the wall, then it fell to the floor and lay still. The blue mist dissipated.

Ninten sighed as he felt the heartbeat on the wall diminish, then stop. A horrible moaning could be heard, as if someone was in pain. Ninten covered his ears until the moaning went away.

"What happened?" Ninten’s mother burst into the room, along with his sisters. Minnie rushed over to Ninten and picked him up. "Are you okay?" she said as she hugged him.

"I’m okay." Replied Ninten. "And I think its over."

Ninten’s sister yelled as she spotted the doll. "My doll!" she said as she picked it up and stared at it. The stuffing was coming out through the back. "It’s trashed!" She caressed it gently. After a moment she stopped mulling over it and reached in. "What’s this?" she asked as she pulled out a small music box. It was made of wood, and there seemed to be no way to identify it.

"Let me see." Ninten said as he took the small box. He found the crank on the side and wound it. After a few seconds it played a short melody and stopped. Ninten remembered the melody and looked at his family. "So…what’s for dinner?" he asked cheerfully.

"Steak and potatoes." Replied his mother. "Didn’t have time to make anything else."

"Good." Said Ninten as he put the music box in his pocket and looked around. He laughed as he went over to his mother and hugged her.

"And I thought staying home on Halloween was going to be boring."