Page 24 of After Life
When are you going to accept what’s happening, Oscar?
This isn’t a dream.
I padded to the door and opened it, hoping for some nonsensical dreamscape. My third form sport class, aisle six in the Tesco near Ezra’s parents’ place. Disneyland. Instead, it was just a storm-darkened hall with a nervous dog dancing at my feet.
Lenny was whimpering, half-rising to put his paws on my legs when suddenly he froze and dropped into a low crouch, baring his teeth. “It’s okay,” I said, hoping he’d believe Sandra’s voice. “It’s just... It’s me. I’m nice. Here!” I stepped back, keeping my eyes on him as I bent to rummage in the toy basket, coming up with a well-chewed thing shaped like a dumbbell. “Here! This looks like you enjoy it!”
Lenny snarled.
“Easy there, boy,” someone else said, his voice startlingly familiar.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded. The ghost from the stairs, the one who’d followed me into town, was smiling at me, ruffling Lenny’s fur and Lenny seemed—no, Lenny definitely—felt his touch. Seeing me in the doorway, though, the ghost’s smile fell and was replaced by a deep, angry scowl.
The ghost looked up and froze. “You’re not Sandra. Where’s Sandra? What’ve you done to her?”
“Nothing. I’m still trying to convince myself that I’m dreaming.” I offered a small smile and he scowled, those laugh lines turning into something angry and grim. “I literally woke up here. I was in the main house, in the study—”
“You’re staying there with your friend.”
The slight emphasis he put on friend told me he knew very well what Julian and I were to one another, even if he didn’t want to say it. “Yes.”
He stared hard at me, lips pressed into such a thin line they practically disappeared into his beard. “Sandra...” He sighed after a moment, closing his eyes. “How long?” he asked, gesturing at me.
“I don’t know.”
The storm rattled the windows some more, and the power gave a hopeful pulse before fading out once more. Lenny whimpered, stretching for the ghost to pat him. “How can you interact with him?” I asked. “Most of the time, animals seem afraid of spirits.”
Jeremiah shook his head sharply, scowling at something in the dark past me. “She’s never managed this before. It was for pretend, yeah? Fantasy-like. I never thought...” He snapped his gaze back to mine. “Is she...”
“I have no idea.” The thought of her in my body like I was in hers made me sick, hot-cold sweat breaking out all over and stomach cramping with nausea. “How do I make this stop? You said she’s tried this before. What is it? Is it... is it some sort of hypnotism?”
The man narrowed his eyes, peering at me like he couldn’t believe what I was saying. “She did this without your participation?”
“Well, other than the fact I’m apparently participating...”
He rolled his eyes. “This isn’t how it is supposed to work,” he muttered. He reached out, his fingers cold and frictionless, just points of ice where they touched my face. “This isn’t hers to use,” he whispered to himself. “This isn’t—”
Everything felt both too heavy and too hot at the same time. I was alone in the study, under two crocheted blankets and a thin throw I’d last seen on our bed upstairs. The fire was blazing, making the room a sauna. The power was out and the storm I’d heard in my—dream? —seemed even louder here.
Julian’s face loomed over me as I shifted onto my back. “Christ, you scared the hell out of me. I tried to call Sandra but there was no answer. I think we need to get you to a doctor. You were out so hard, and just shaking like you couldn’t get warm.”
I grabbed his fingers where they moved restlessly against my arm. “I’m...” Pausing, I made a decision. “I’m not fine. Fuck. Let me up.” He scooted back as I threw off the covers and sat up, immediately starting to work on unbuttoning my shirt to cool off. “When did you last see Sandra?”
“The same time you did,” he said, frowning. “When we went to have dinner, and she was putting away the pots and pans she’d used.”
I nodded. “Okay. Good. Good.” The room was slowly swimming into focus, and I noticed my coffee mug on the table. I’d had a few sips before dozing off, I recalled. “Did you have any of your tea?” I asked sharply. “Even a sip?”
Julian nodded. “Finished the whole thing an hour or so ago, before you dozed off. Oscar, what’s going on?”
I closed my eyes. “Right. So. Forgive me for this but when you say your eyes are open to more things now, how open are we talking?”
“I mean... I’ve had ghost experiences I couldn’t explain away, so that’s on the table. But if you’re about to tell me you’re having Bigfoot’s lovechild then I’m going to tell you that you need professional help.”
“I think that might be easier than this,” I muttered. “In that little book, does it say anything about... possession by the living?”
Julian’s lips quirked and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, what?”
I told him what had just happened, at least how I think it happened, even the dog’s reaction, the details of Sandra’s room... “Was I acting oddly?” I asked. “Maybe saying something? Doing something I wouldn’t do?”
