Page 134 of The Haunting of Lockton
Julian’s eyes had closed.
“He’s all right,” Callum said. “He just needs time to regain his strength.”
I helped Skyler lift Julian off the floor, and then the four of us found the stairwell and took the steps back down to the first floor. The ghost with the metal box over his head had vanished, as did the various drowned patients and other victims of the cruel Dr. Howard.
“They’re at peace now,” Callum said, somehow knowing the direction of my thoughts. “All the spirits who were sufferinghave been freed from the confines of the asylum now that Samuel Howard’s hold on them has lifted.”
“What about the others?” I asked, seeing the apparition of a young woman appear in one of the rooms we passed. “Why didn’t they move on?”
“Not all were kept here because of Howard,” Callum explained. “Some have different reasons for why they can’t move on. And reasons why they don’t want to.”
Humming sounded from behind us before the air stirred to my left. A man with medium-length brown hair and a scar on his face drifted past us. His ghostly form blurred around the edges, and he seemed unaware of our presence.
“George,” Skyler said.
The man stilled in the corridor and drifted closer to Skyler. Awareness lit his eyes. It was hard to be sure with his transparent features and jagged scar, but he appeared to smile a little as he reached forward and touched Skyler’s wrist. George then continued on, and when he hummed again, the notes were lighter than before. Happier.
Julian made a small sound and curled in closer to Skyler’s body.
“Let’s get out of here,” Skyler said.
As we stepped outside and approached the vehicle, Lockton loomed behind us. Still the same building with the same tragic past and secrets buried within the walls, but the air wasn’t nearly as heavy. Among the dark shadows, there was a glimmer of light. Of hope.
***
Two days later, Taylor knocked on my door bright and early. The sun shone without a cloud in the sky, but snow glistened beneath it, the light bouncing off the surface like tiny diamonds.The frigid air still cut right to the bone as I opened the door and let him into the house.
“Morning,” I greeted him. “Come in. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Thanks.” Taylor shrugged out of his heavy coat before rubbing his hands together and blowing into them. The tops of his cheeks were pink. “I wanted to stop by sooner, but Cal said Julian needed time to rest. Is he doing okay? I’ve been worried sick.”
Skyler came around the corner from the living room, where he and Alan had been watching that pirate anime he loved. “He’s a lot better. I know he’ll be happy to see you.”
Taylor smiled. “It’ll be good to see him too.”
Callum had called Skyler once a day to check on Julian. Other than extreme fatigue, he was doing well. The day after the incident at Lockton, Julian hadn’t gotten out of bed. He’d slept the whole day. Yesterday, he’d gotten up to move around a little and eat but hadn’t been able to do much before tiring himself out again.
I returned to the kitchen and finished cooking, then set the table. Alan had made coffee, and I poured a mug for me and Skyler and a glass of milk for Taylor. Minutes after we sat down, the sound of sluggish steps came from the hall leading from the stairs.
“I smell something amazing,” Julian croaked as he came into the kitchen. His hair was messy, and his oversized sweater was wrinkled, the neck stretched out enough to show a peek of his collarbone and shoulder. When he saw Taylor, his face lit up. “Hey. I didn’t know you were stopping by. I would’ve cleaned up better.”
Taylor and Skyler jumped up at the same time to usher him over to the vacant seat across from me. The way they fussed over him made me smile.
The four of us then dug into the food. I had toasted English muffins and cooked scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Nothing like protein and carbs to help energize the soul. And Julian needed all the energizing he could get.
“Cal told me what happened at Lockton.” Taylor shoved a strip of bacon into his mouth before washing it down with milk. “Well, he didn’t give much detail. More like the CliffsNotes version. But he said you got possessed and then banished that evil doctor’s ghost? Man, that’s wild.”
“Roy isn’t suffering anymore,” Julian said, slathering butter on one side of his English muffin. He then put strawberry jelly on the other half and squished them together before taking a huge bite. He’d already scarfed all of his eggs too. I’d never seen him eat that much. “He and Owen are finally together again.”
“Owen is still on my shit list,” Skyler muttered. “The bastard was so close to taking over your body for good and killing you.”
“But he didn’t,” Julian said. “He did the right thing in the end.” The skin around his eyes then pulled tighter. “You tried to get him to possess you instead.”
My gut coiled at the memory. I moved the hash browns around my plate with a fork, not that hungry anymore. I’d been so close to losing Skyler.
“Yeah, well.” Skyler dropped his gaze. “I’m your big brother. It’s my job to protect you.”
“You’re only older by two minutes.” Julian smiled. “That doesn’t count.”
