Ghostly Presences

Hey luvs! I’ve always had a love for writing, but I’ve never really posted my works because i thought people may see me differently. I know it’s a stupid reason loll. Anyway, here’s one of my current works! It’s the Prolouge for a story im working on called Ghostly Presence. I’ve been working on this Prolouge itself for maybe 2 months or so. Please feel free to leave tips and critique! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy xoxo -Emmy

The white Ghostly Presences van came to a screeching stop at the side of the road, smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The car makes a clicking sound as the door is flung open, a proud Sammy Banson stepping out of the driver's seat.
     Sammy’s brown curly hair fell over his eyes, and he would simply push it out of his face and continue his day. It seemed like an annoyance, but he and his friends all agreed it looked better long. He tucked the loose strands behind his ear. He kept the rest tied in a ponytail. His tan skin glistened in the light, and his shimmering brown eyes stood out. Though he wasn’t the spotlight of the show, he seemed to be the most liked one. His outgoing and bold personality combined with his good looks made him the overall go-to for fame. 
     The second from the van came Riaz Stryker, a long time friend of Sammy’s and the spotlight of Ghostly Presences. He exited from the passenger seat with a quick wobble, his short blonde hair bouncing as he exited. His nauseous state was not the best for his looks, and he does his best not to throw up all over the van as he ducks to his right and into the field beside him. His calm persona can be off-putting, but his nausea completely ruined his typical mysterious aura.
     Exiting from the seat behind Riaz’s came a short Hunter Phillips. His nose scrunches up in disgust as he watches Riaz vomit into the field. He couldn’t deny he was also feeling ill, but it’d be better not to watch as his friend coughs up chunks of vomit. Turning to Sammy with one quick turn, he yells, “Sammy! You almost killed us! You’re NOT driving again!” He exclaims, crossing his arms tightly over his slim chest. His black hoodie was oversized, and did him no justice when trying to stand up for his literal life. It only made him look smaller and less dominant than he’d like.
     “Oh, calm down. I drove once. You’ll live.” Sammy replies casually with a shrug, making his way to the back of the van where he pops the trunk open. 
     Hunter’s face immediately shifts from determination to worry as he nods, scooting his way closer to Sammy and digging in the trunk with him, pulling out his camera. 
     “Riaz, stop hurling up your guts and come help set up.” Sammy calls out to Riaz, who was still painfully crouched over in the field of poky dead grass. 
     “I’m coming,” Riaz stutters out, interrupted by a quick hiccup between his words. He stands up with a tumble, wiping his lower lip, then trotting over to Sammy and Hunter. Riaz goes to grab his camera, but Sammy shoves it in his hands before he can even peek in the trunk. With a sigh, Riaz slings the strap from his camera around his shoulder. 
     Soon the three of them were making their way to the destination of their now in-progress episode. It would be episode nine of their newly released series. Their show had recently become noticed after episode five had aired, and their fame and popularity had been skyrocketing. They gained more views and fans with every day to come. 
     The host of the show was Riaz, commonly known as the calm and off-putting guy. The co-host was Sammy, who was slowly turning into the star, though he would much rather be less noticed than he is. The last person of the group was Hunter, who was only there because his friends convinced him to start this show with them. All together, they make up the stars of the hit tv series Ghostly Presences. 
The three of them walk up the steps to their next location, St. Gilmores School For Kindly Girls. Outside the entrance to the school is one of the town’s few historians, ready and waiting to be interviewed for the show. Her tall figure and kind smile seem warm and welcoming, though Hunter couldn’t help but get a bad feeling from her… but he did often get a bad feeling about everything, so he simply didn’t think it was worth mentioning. 
     “Hello, I’m Riaz, and this is Sammy and Hunter. It’s lovely to meet you.” Riaz introduces the three of them as they approach the historian, snapping Hunter out of his empty-minded gaze on the trees surrounding them, along with his bad feeling. He twists his head to watch as Riaz converses with the historian. 
     “It’s nice to meet you, Riaz. I’m Melody.” She replies to him with a calming and sweet smile, extending her hand for a shake with Riaz. Riaz gladly accepts the shake, taking her hand in his for a quick and firm nod of their hands, before separating once again. Riaz shoves his hands in his pocket as he stands up straight, Melody smiling as she glances at Sammy and Hunter, then turning back to Riaz, “So, how does this work? Do I give you a tour… or…?” She asks with a confused glance, wanting to get started already. 
     “Well, I’ll do the intro, Sammy will interview you and Hunter will record a video of the outside of the building, and then you’ll give us a tour. Afterwards you can leave the keys with us and we’ll do an investigation during nightfall.” Riaz simply explains to her with a quick shrug, putting his hands on his hips as he does. 
     Soon it was time for the interview, and Riaz was busy setting up the camera. Hunter was taking a walk around the school, recording the outside of the building. Sammy and Melody were sitting on two chairs in front of the entryway, ready to start the interview and waiting on Riaz to finish setting up the tripod. 
     “Intro finished, go ahead and start the interview.” Riaz says as he clicks the record button on his camera.
     Sammy gives a slight nod, then speaks after, “Hello! I’m with Melody Garcia here at St. Gilmores School For Kindly Girls.” Sammy starts, then turning to Melody, “So, what has been going on here? Why’d you give us the call?” He asks.
     “I always had a bad gut feeling when entering the building. I know it’s not much of a reason to call you guys, but considering its background I figured it would be a good idea to reach out.” Melody explains with her usual soft and welcoming smile.
     “What’s the school’s background?” Sammy asks with a raised eyebrow, intrigued by her cliffhanger of a response. 
     Melody shifts her position, crossing her legs before starting to explain everything necessary, “St. Gilmores wasn’t really a school. It was more of an asylum for girls that claimed it was a school to sound more humane to outsiders. Any girl in town with a disability, mental or physical problems, or who simply was infertile would be sent here. A large majority of the female population in this town was actually sent here, ranging all the way from ten year olds to elderly women.” 
     The look on Sammy’s face went from a smile to a look of disgust, Riaz just watching and listening with a straight face as if he’s heard this story twenty times before. 
     “So, that’s… interesting. I guess we should start the tour. Thank you, Melody.”  Sammy replies, looking a bit uncomfortable with the situation he’s now in. He had only experienced stories of people who died from illness and other minor causes, singular hauntings of small bars and shops, some homes thrown in the mix. 
     Riaz takes this as his moment to end the video, doing so and stopping the recording. He takes the camera off the tripod with a click, starting to fold up the tripod so he can easily carry it to its next destination, “Now we wait for Hunter, yeah?” 
     Sammy gives a soft nod of confirmation, and perfectly on time, Hunter comes running around the side of the building, screaming at the top of his lungs and holding his camera loosely in his grip. Riaz, Melody, and Sammy all quickly jerk their gazes in a panic to watch as Hunter runs in a wobbly and desperate attempt to reunite with his friends. 
     Hunter grabbed his camera, turning to start his long and boring walk around the large school, “Intro finished, go ahead and start the interview.” He heard Riaz instruct Sammy as he made his departure. 
     The sky above was overcast and cloudy, looking as if it would rain even though the forecast said not to expect it. His lazy steps around the large brick walls were slow, and the grand windows towering far taller than him were a magnificent sight. He had done his research on the building before the investigation, and he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable knowing some of the secrets the school held, but he was still curious to know what else hid in its dark past. 
     The sharp grass crunches beneath his feet with every step he takes, and the trees circling the school and making up a small forest-like area made a shiver run up his spine. He regretted ever agreeing to join this show with his friends. 
     With a hesitant movement, Hunter raises his camera and takes a few steps back, starting his slow walk around the large building to catch footage of it to use for the new episode. He could feel the damp air against his skin, and it was a rather gross texture. 
     Soon he made it to the middle of the backside. He heard a loud crunch and jerked his head over to the trees surrounding him and the school, only to see a small orange and white cat strutting its way over to him. Without a second thought, Hunter turns the camera to record the cat, getting completely side-tracked. 
     The cat makes its way over, sitting in front of his blue and red sneaker. He crouched down, his black jean shorts pressing against his chest as he reaches his pale hand to the cat, holding it out in front of the small creature for it to choose if he’s allowed to pet it or not. 
     The cat takes a few sniffs of his hand, then rubbing the top of its soft head against his rough palm. Hunter smiles, taking this as a green light to pet the cat. He gently rubs the cat's ear, but it gets offended and jerks its head back, biting the area between his thumb and index finger in the process. 
     Hunter stands up in a rush, looking at the now slowly bleeding spot on his hand as it throbbed. He gives the cat an offended look, keeping the camera aimed at it, “Foolish.” The cat remarks in a deep and intimidating voice, turning and trotting back into the trees and disappearing from his sight. 
     Hunter couldn’t believe his eyes… and ears. Did a cat just talk to him? Did a cat just INSULT him? It took him a moment to process it, before the same deep and threatening voice the cat had called from the forest once again, “Leave.” 
     Hunter does so, turning and running in a panic to tell his friends what just happened. He trips half way through, scraping his knee and letting out a blood curdling scream from the initial shock. He quickly stood up and continued running, thankful when he saw Sammy and Riaz both giving him a concerned and worried expression. 
     Riaz and Sammy both turned with one quick jerk of their heads as they watched their friend tumble over to them in a panicked state, soon noticing the crimson blood dripping down Hunter’s calf as he came to a hurried stop in front of the two.
     “What happened?” Sammy asks in a rushed manner as he quickly walks to his friend, crouching down by his knee and taking a good look at the gash on his calf. It was a good scrape, but thankfully it didn’t seem like he would need to be taken into an E.R.
     “The cat talked!” Hunter responds in a frantic and worried tone, staring down at Sammy with teary eyes. Only now the pain from his cut was coming to him. The initial scream was from the shock of his fall. 
     “What?” Riaz questions with a laugh, dumbfounded.
     “Oh! You must be talking about Ludo. Some visitors say he talks, but I’ve never actually witnessed it.” Melody chirps in with a large smile covering her face. Her tan skin and black hair came into perfect view as she walked over to the three boys. 
     “Cats can’t talk.” Riaz remarks sternly, crossing his arms as he turns to glare at Melody.
     “This one can!” Hunter cries out as Sammy tugged a small bandana off his wrist, wiping off some blood from Hunter’s knee. Soon Sammy was tying the bandana around the cut. 
     “Hunter, calm down.” Sammy mutters as he finishes off the tie, standing up and taking a step back from his work. Hunter gives a soft and sheepish nod, wiping some tears from his crystal blue eyes. 
     “Cat. Huh.” Riaz mutters after the two’s quick conversation. Riaz’s mutter was followed by a quick giggle escaping Melody’s lips as she looked over at Riaz.
     “So, time for the tour?” She asks.
     “I suppose.” Riaz sighs, then turning his head carelessly to look at Hunter’s watery orbs, “Would you like to sit this tour out until your knee feels a bit better? I’m still gonna make you do the investigation, though.” 
     Hunter responds with a sad nod and a quick sniffle, Sammy then wrapping his arm around Hunter’s waist. Hunter voluntarily wraps his arm around Sammy’s shoulder in response, but the height difference between the two made it a bit difficult for him. Sammy starts to walk Hunter to the van, as Hunter keeps his teary eyes glued to the ground. 
     “What a crybaby.” Riaz mutters, then tilting his head to look at Melody, “We should meet Sammy at the front.” He suggests.
     “We… we are at the front of the building.” Melody replies with a confused expression. 
     “Oh.” Riaz stutters out, dumbstruck by his own words. Melody softly laughs, moving her hand up and pushing some hair from her messy bun that’s been slowly undoing itself behind her ear. Her hair is obviously too short for the bun she’s trying to get her hair to achieve, but she still makes it work… somehow. Afterwards, she moves her hands and tucks them behind her back as she waits for Sammy’s imminent return, staying in an awkward silence with Riaz for the time being. 
     Soon distant footsteps become louder as Sammy makes his way back over, carrying two cameras along with two tripods for them. Riaz was still carrying his camera and tripod as well, more than ready to start the tour. Melody smiles once again as Sammy walks over, immediately lifting the awkward tension off her shoulders, “So, now I start the tour?” Melody chirps.
     “Correct.” Riaz calmly states, shoving his tripod into Sammy’s arms, then looking down at his camera to start recording. Sammy stumbles a bit as he recollects himself, doing his best to carry all three tripods and two cameras with him. One camera was strapped around his shoulder, and the rest was all piled in his arms. 
     Sammy lets out an exasperated exhale, gruffly turning his eyes to gaze at Riaz, “How am I supposed to act when I’m piled under cameras?” 
     “Manage.” Riaz responds, to which Sammy slings his head back in an over dramatic fashion, letting out an angry groan. Melody softly laughs at his display, Riaz just looks at her in confusion as he questions how she could find Sammy’s childish behavior funny, in any way at all.
     Soon the three of them were walking into the entryway of the school, the large wooden and glass doors being pushed open for the boys by Melody as she does her part and leads the way. Riaz holds his camera up, Sammy popping into view of the camera and letting out an audible yet quiet gasp at what the entryway had to offer.
     The entryway was a large and high-roofed open space, two large staircases to either side, a hallway under the stairs, and two hallways to either side of them. At the top of the stairs were delicately formed metal rails, though they were short and seemed to be there just for style rather than safety. 
     Melody then steps next to Sammy to be in the camera's view, starting the tour with Sammy and Riaz as they ask what this room was used for. She explains how it was used for simply meeting others and sometimes held gatherings, and that this is also where new people were accepted into St. Gilmores.
     Soon they had made it down every hallway and the only camera they had left was the one Riaz was using to film, and an extra tripod Sammy held tightly in his gasp. When the three of them make it back to the starting point of the school, Sammy sets the tripod down and Riaz places his camera atop it. The two had spontaneously placed their cameras around in rooms that seemed like they could be hotspots for paranormal activity.  
     Once everything was all wrapped up, Melody reluctantly handed the keys to the front door of the school to Riaz. He thanked her and she took her leave. 
     Sammy and Riaz walked back to the car, finding Hunter asleep in the back, his cheek squished against the chair and his left arm draping down and hitting the floor of the car. Sammy knew Riaz would push him or yell at him to awake him, so he simply put a hand on Riaz’s chest as a way to let him know he’ll take care of it. He walks past Riaz, hopping into the back seat of the car and sitting down next to Hunter’s head. 
     Sammy lightly rubs Hunter’s shoulder, gentle enough to slowly ease him awake. He smiles softly when he sees Hunter shift a bit, “Morning, sleepyhead.” He says with a soft laugh, well aware that it’s nighttime as Hunter looks up at him in his groggy and confused state, “It’s time for the investigation.” 
     “Oh…” Hunter mumbles, lazily sitting up and slouching down when he’s seated, Sammy softly laughing in return as he waits for Hunter to fully awaken before dragging him along. Riaz waits outside of the car, impatiently tapping his foot against the blacktop as he waits on the two boys.
     Soon, the three of them were all ready for the investigation. They entered the school, Hunter and Sammy walking ahead to do something called the ‘Estes Method’ which required two or more people to do it. Riaz didn’t want to do it, so he simply said he’d walk off on his own. With a large camera in his hand, Riaz makes his way through the school.
     Walking down a long hallway, Riaz’s steps were loud. The hallway was dead quiet and his steps echoed off the walls. Suddenly, breaking the abrupt silence in the hall, comes a loud crash from a room. 
     Riaz’s breath catches in his throat as he hesitantly turns his head to the room where the sound exited from, “Guys..?” He mutters, trying his best to stay calm. He knew it was probably not his friends, but he was going to try and pray it was.
     He slowly started making his way to the room, making his steps quiet as he lightly walked across the dust-covered floor. The white and stained wallpaper was ripping off the walls around him as he walked, making a loud crunchy paper sound. He noticed the wallpaper removing itself as it curled down, but he simply tried to ignore the abnormal ripping paper as he pushed the door open. 
     Inside the room was a young man, maybe in his late 20’s, cursing under his breath as he picked up scattered papers around him. The boy was slightly transparent, and had a light blue glow. He was a short, maybe 5’4-5’6, and his skin was a light milk-chocolate color. His eyes were an emerald green, and his dark brunette hair was in tight curls. His face had freckles scattered across it, and he was clad in a simple light gray button up and a pair of slacks with vertical black and brown stripes upon it. 
     Riaz watched as the boy stacked the papers, the papers becoming transparent like him as he picked them up. Soon he sets the stack of paper back on the desk in front of him, all the papers becoming a crisp white as he sets them back. He does the same for a small old lamp on the desk, and he has the same effect on it. 
     Riaz couldn’t tear his eyes away from the boy. Soon the guy takes a deep breath and runs his hand over his forehead, all the wallpaper becomes one and clean again; as if his angry state had been the cause of the peeling. 
     Riaz then lightly pushes the door open, wanting to get the guy’s attention, but not scare him. The man quickly jerks his head over to look at Riaz, pausing as the two of them make eye contact. Within seconds, the man vanishes from sight, leaving Riaz confused and shocked. 
     Riaz quickly calls out, “I’m not here to hurt you. I want to meet you.” He explains, praying the transparent boy would come back. Riaz had never seen a ghost before, but he was more than convinced he just did. 
     As hoped, the man reappears at the same large wooden desk again. He’s standing up tall, staring at Riaz with a nervous expression. They share a bit of lingering eye contact, before Riaz breaks the silence again, “Who are you?” 
     “Beck.” The ghost responds as he looks down to his dress shirt, then smoothing it out with his hands. His voice was calm and smooth, and had a slightly high pitch to it. 
     “Nice to meet you, Beck.” Riaz replies, not sure exactly how to continue a conversation with a ghost.
     After a while, Beck turns his eyes back to Riaz, “So. Not going to give me your name?” He prods with a skeptical tone.
     “Right, my apologies. I’m Riaz.” Riaz introduces, still not knowing what proper language to use. When was this ghost from? What was he like? God, he had so many questions to ask. 
     Beck gives a hesitant nod, then scooting back and sitting on the scuffed wooden chair. Everything in the school was old, and most of the remaining stuff was only there because it had been repaired for tours they offered to people, “How can you see me?” Beck then speaks up, turning his bright yet bored eyes to glare over at Riaz.
     “I don’t know.” He replies with a worried response, wanting to ask questions but forcing himself not too. 
     “Right.” Beck mutters under his breath, picking up a broken quill from the table. The quill automatically looks as if it was brand new when he lifts it, and as he goes to write on the paper, the inky writing looks neat and pristine, “You can come in, if you’d like.” Beck adds, keeping his eyes glued to the paper he’s writing on.
     Riaz gives a soft nod, doing as he suggested and simply walking into the room. He takes a seat on a rickety metal and wooden uncomfortable chair in front of the desk Beck is seated at, “You know, I’m curious. I can’t tell if you can see me because I'm the newest dead or the one who keeps up with trends. Maybe I’m just most likable and He decided to allow us to meet.” Beck thinks aloud, a smile spreading across his once dull face. 
     “He?” Riaz queries, confused by his statement.
     “God.” Beck replies, shooting Riaz a quick glare.
     “Right- of course. I’m sorry.” Riaz replies. Though Riaz wasn’t religious, he didn’t want to accidentally debunk Beck’s religious beliefs.
     Beck gives a quiet nod in response, then sets the quill in his hand to the side. He intertwined his fingers tightly together, setting his hands comfortably on the desk as he leaned forward to look Riaz in the eyes, “As I was saying, how else would you be able to see me? It had to be His doing. Only God is capable of such ability.”
     “I’m not sure how, but I will agree it’s a possibility.” Riaz replies, knowing damn well he wouldn’t believe God had shown him a ghost. There had to be some kind of logical explanation… Maybe the universe had some sort of failure or glitch.
     Beck nods in response, glancing away before looking back at him, “Soulmates.” He says flatly.
     “What.” Riaz deadpans, staring blankly at the ghost before him.
     “I died too early for my time, so He reunited us so we could start our unfinished romance.” Beck proudly states.
     “Yeah, no… I’m straight.” Riaz mutters, giving a soft laugh afterward, “Also, when did you die?” 
     “1968.” Beck flatley replies.
     “That’s far before I was born, you would have been dead anyway.”
     “I’m only 25. I would still be alive.” Beck pouts, leaning back and crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
     “Right… my apologies.” Riaz snickers, a soft grin residing on his face, “Wait, you’re a part of the LGBTQ community?” 
     “Yep! People now seem to have gotten a lot more fond of it. Back when I was alive it was considered a sin. I’m lucky I wasn’t sent to a school like this, rather than teaching at one.” Beck happily chirps, putting his hands together in a quiet clap.
     “Ah. Yeah.” Riaz chuckles, glancing down at his hands before back at Beck, “Anyway, it’s nice to properly meet you.” Riaz tries to change the subject, extending his hand for a handshake with the ghost. 
     Beck grins, reaching his hand out to his, “You too.” He says dryly, taking his hand in his. Suddenly, Riaz feels a slight nausea as he’s tugged out of his body with one violent jerk, his soul looking like himself but just transparent and slightly blue-tinted. He stared down at himself as he quickly took his hand away from Beck’s, soon just falling back into his body.
     The two boys stare at each other blankly, unsure what to make of the situation. Beck quickly holds his hand back out, and without a second thought Riaz does the same and grabs onto Beck’s hand. The same thing happens again; Riaz’s ghost stands up and leaves his body; his body is seated limp in the chair as if it was lifeless. 
     “Holly shit.” Riaz mutters under his breath, feeling light and nauseous now as he is detached from his body.
     “Language.” Beck replies, trying to have a stern tone, but much too impressed and confused to be rude to him. 
     Soon, Riaz lets go of Beck’s hand, falling back into his own body. With a violent gasp for air, Riaz’s body jerks up and turns to face Beck, who’s still seated calmly in his chair, but his expression was replaced with shock rather than his grin.