A Holiday Haunting: Part 2

Jack and Erin deal with new problems.

Based on a post by zeon 67.
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Novels.

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Jack's mouth painfully stretched open. He then released a
long gasp, and his eyelids pulled back; he was now forcibly awake. Turning to
his side, he found himself partially alone. Lucy was still there, deep in
sleep, but no Erin. He called her name, but there was nothing.

Putting on sweatpants and a t-shirt, Jack searched the house
for her. He yelled her name and again there was no reply. It had never worked
like that before, but Jack was desperate. He questioned himself, Lucy, the
s ance and everything else. Worried that he had caused her banishment, Jack
needed to interrogate the medium.

But then the doorbell rang, and there was a knock at the
door.

Opening it, Jack saw a delivery man with a clipboard and a
massive box. Annoyed that the new dryer he bought on Black Friday, had finally
arrived a week late, he signed the paperwork but felt cold. Jack turned around
but saw nothing. Terrified that he was losing it, Jack turned back to the
delivery man.

The delivery man wheeled the dryer in and took the clipboard
off Jack, thanking him. The man then looked past Jack and said, "Morning,
Miss."

Behind him, Erin stood. Her mouth ajar and stood still, but
wasn't her typical ghostly self. She looked like she did last night, her skin a
pale pink while her hair was an auburn shade. Erin had the same clothes that
Jack had seen for the previous fifteen years. But something was off. Erin had
lost the white apron that covered most of the front, and the first two buttons
of her collar were undone, possibly scandalous in the 19th century.

"He saw me. He saw me." Erin said, walking towards
the open door. She ignored Jack and edged closer to the outside, the fresh air,
sounds of birds and something new to see calling her. Erin turned back to Jack
and said, "Come with me."

She then took one step outside and immediately disappeared.

"Fuck!" Lucy screamed from upstairs.

 

A post-S ance exam.

They sat around the coffee table, all struggling to think of
anything to say. Jack and Lucy had run some basic tests on Erin. She could be
seen but not be touched, but cameras could capture her. She couldn't feel
anything, but could sit in a chair without phasing through it. Should she take
a step outside the house's confines, Erin would instantly vanish and reappear
in the attic.

But Erin could change her appearance, though only subtly.
Like she could roll up her sleeves, undo a button or two and play around her
hair. That was a relief to Erin; she had only worn hair in a bob because Mrs.
Franklin demanded it.

"So, what now," Jack said, taking a sip of coffee.

"I; I don't know," Lucy shook her head, "This
is way out of my area of expertise. Honestly, I didn't even know that this
could happen."

"Would it be so wrong if I stayed like this?" Erin
said, "I can speak and I can be heard."

"But you can't touch anything." Lucy said.

"And my parents are going to be back soon. Then it's
Christmas and the house is going to be filled with people. I can see my mom and
my aunts instantly freak out if they saw you float. And, I have to go back to
Boston. I can't leave you like this."

"I know." Erin then looked at Lucy and asked,
"Can we not do the s ance again?"

"Hell no." Lucy shook her head, emphatically
underlining her point. "What we did and what happened, it's not the same.
Jack was supposed to talk to you and help you move on. Nothing about sex. We
did something, maybe something wrong, maybe something right. But it pulled you
into this plane. If we do it again, who knows what happens to you?"

"Then what next?" Jack asked.

Lucy pushed her chair back and stood up. She madly scrolled
through the contacts on her phone. "I need to speak to someone. Be back in
a sec."

Erin followed Lucy out of the room with her stare. She
paused for a moment, then leaned in towards Jack. "We should talk."

"Yeah." Jack said, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I never thought that I would be here. I'd be a
banshee, roaming this house until the Last Judgement. I accepted that. Now I
can be seen by anyone. I can be spoken to and listened. I am lost and scared.
What happens to us?"

Jack rested his hand on over hers, sinking through her
tangible form and said, "I'll work something out. Don't worry. My dad did
say he is thinking about selling the house. Maybe I take it."

Erin dropped her head down and said, "I cannot let you
do that. Live your life with a spirit. It will be dull. And there is so much I
want to see."

Leaning back, Jack smiled back at her. This was the first
time he could find out who Erin really is, as a person. "Like?"

"I want to be in the sky, flying across the ocean. To
travel to places that I have only seen briefly in those windows. The Grand
Canyon, swim in an ocean and visit Kinsale."

"Kinsale?"

"It is where I was born. I left when I was twelve. I
always wished that I would see the village again."

"Anything else?"

Erin looked away, like she was thinking; then turned back to
Jack and said, "I want to eat food that hadn't been boiled. Wear something
luxurious. I want to see a movie. And to kiss you again." She smiled.

Lucy walked back into the room. She glanced at Erin, then at
Jack, realizing something was up, but began talking.

"Okay, I spoke to a friend. She knows a lot of
left-hand path rituals, some chaos magic. You know, maybe sigils and secret
names?" she said, nodding as if they knew what she meant. "She knows
a couple of necromancers."

"Necro-mancers?" Erin asked.

"They talk to the dead. My friend's going to reach out
and get us a name. Hopefully, one who just wants to talk to the dead and
nothing more. A necromancer will know what to do."

"So, we just wait?" Jack asked.

Lucy nodded.

 

 Home Alone.

Days later, Erin stared at the TV. She was alone as Jack had
to deal with the headache of Christmas preparations. He didn't want to leave
her by herself, but Erin insisted that it was okay. This was something that
Erin knew she had to get used to. She thought back to how difficult her life
was before the s ance. Erin could easily take her current form as a constantly
visible ghost, than that hell.

One plus was now she could spend time with Jack. Last night,
they spent hours talking. Jack told her everything that had happened to him
since they last spoke. Erin was confused by his job, working as an engineer but
with computers and clouds.

Jack also showered her with questions about her own life.
Her eyes widened after each question, and she grinned madly back at him. She
told him about her life in Ireland, traveling across the Atlantic and working
in Boston. Jack showed her current photos of how the city changed. She was
amazed and saddened, seeing some of her favorite places of the city disappear.

There was one question that Erin wouldn't answer. Jack had
asked her where she would go, when she wasn't haunting the house. When he used
to see her, it was only for an hour at most, then Erin would just fade away,
and Jack would have to wait days or weeks to see her again. Erin couldn't say
anything; she just looked away. She finally said it was difficult and Jack
quickly changed the subject.

The channel that Jack left the TV on was now playing another
documentary about the World War. He told her it was a good idea for her to get
used to the twenty-first century, but Erin couldn't stomach any more
documentaries about the war. She understood Jack's reasoning; the other night,
she cried in happiness that Ireland had become independent.

A knock on the door turned Erin's head. There was no way it
could be Jack. She could hear keys rattling and the door slowly open. Someone
then called her name, a female voice. Erin phased through the walls to see who
it was. She found Lucy standing outside, darting her head in and out.

"Fuck!" Lucy stumbled back as she saw Erin appear,
covering her mouth. She took a couple of deep breaths and then said, "Hi;
Erin," Lucy nervously smiled, "Where's Jack?"

"He has gone to a store called Walm Art. He will return
in two hours' time, I hope."

"Oh." Lucy paused. "Err, can I come in?"

"Sorry," Erin stepped aside and allowed Lucy to
enter. "Did Jack give you a key?"

"Yeah," Lucy said, removing her jacket. "He
swung by and said that I should have it, just in case."

Muscle memory dictated her to ask for Lucy's coat and offer
her a drink. Erin tried to hide her embarrassment while Lucy just smiled. Erin
then followed her into the living room, trying to think about why she was here.
She didn't like the idea that Lucy could enter the house whenever she wants.
Erin knew the psychic was attracted to Jack; experiencing Lucy's feelings
during the second time she possessed her. Erin couldn't help herself but
checkout the medium's curvy frame as Lucy walked into the living room, hiding
her disappointed face.

"I have some news, but I will wait until Jack gets
back. It'll be easier to explain. But it's good." Lucy grinned. She sat
down on the sofa and asked, "What are you