Supernatural Story - InBetween - Book 1 Recap - Chapters 1 - 17

Synopsis

 
InBetween is a supernatural story about our main character (unnamed), and Thomas - the love of their life. Tragedy strikes, separating the couple from each other, but death isn't always the end of a story/ sometimes it is just the beginning!

The gender and appearance of the main character are never revealed throughout the whole story, to show that a true loving relationship has less to do with appearance and more to do with one’s soul. Keeping the main character a mystery has stripped the possibility of stereotypes and has left a beautifully raw love story.

InBetween - Full Story

 
I wanted to give new readers a chance to catch up on the first story before story 2 premieres, as well as give the InBetween followers a chance to refresh themselves on the storyline before the next one is released.

So here it is, here is the entire first story!

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CHAPTER 1

He held my hand tightly as we walked. The colorful fair lights sparkled all around us. I looked at him and couldn’t believe it - he was everything I had always dreamed of.

His cozy green eyes looked into mine, and I smiled.

The fair lights began to fade around us as yet another perfect day came to a close.

“Shall we head back home?” asked Thomas in a warm voice.

“Sure,” I said with a smile.

We got into the car and started driving home. I stared out of the passenger window at the street lamps as they raced by. The houses in town displayed cozy illuminated vignettes of people watching movies, playing games, and resting. I enjoyed looking at these shadow-box glimpses of other people’s lives.

I felt his warm hand grasp mine tightly, interlocking our fingers as if we would have each other forever. Love and happiness bloomed inside of me. I looked over at him. A light grew behind him, and with a loud crash, our world was sent into a violent spin. Thomas’s hand was ripped from my grasp. A destructively deadly dance of glass and metal filled the air, ruthlessly tearing through the atmosphere around us in the most unforgiving manner imaginable. My screams were no match for the deafening sound of twisting metal and shattering glass.

The crashing sounds slowly subsided. I was weak and could barely hold onto the reality before me- and when I looked over at Thomas, I didn’t want to. What I saw beside me shook every fragment of my being, and suddenly, I lost my grip on this reality and fell into a deep sleep.

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CHAPTER 2

Through my eye lids, I could see lights race over me. I struggled to open my eyes. I was lying down. The surface I laid on rattled and shook as people yelled all around me. I forced my eyes open.

“Oh my god!” screamed a familiar voice.

I felt a warm hand shakily grasp mine. It was my best friend Nadine.

“It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, just hold on –” Nadine said frantically with tears pouring down her face.

My eyelids grew heavy once more. I tried to speak but struggled to get the words out. “Wh-where is… where…Thom-”
Before I could complete my sentence, sleep swept me away once more, and I lost consciousness.

Sunlight burst through the window, warming my cheeks. I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling tiles which were illuminated in a cozy golden glow. I turned my head to see Nadine awkwardly sleeping on the small loveseat next to the door. I slowly sat up – my whole body ached. I looked around the room for Thomas, but couldn’t see him.

“N-Nadine,” I called out.

Nadine shifted into a sitting position on the tiny sofa. When she saw me sitting up, she rushed over and gave me a hug.

“Honey, I was so worried about you!” said Nadine, all choked up.

We left our embrace and she sat on the edge of the bed next to me. She smiled.

“Where is Tom?” I asked in a worried tone.

Nadine’s smile slowly faded. She looked down and started fidgeting with her bracelet. The room went completely silent.

Nadine looked up at me with eyes full of tears ready to pour down her face. She said nothing but instead gave me a comforting smile. I couldn’t breathe. And just like a thunderstorm moving in, the sprinkle of tears that slowly fell down my face, gave way to a downpour. I screamed and screamed until my voice gave out. It was one of those “storms” I wasn’t sure if it would ever end.

I felt like it was the end of my life – the end of our story - but really, it was just the beginning.

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CHAPTER 3

Three months later

Most of my aches and pains from the accident had subsided, all except one. I missed Thomas so very much. Silly things even – the way he left the toothpaste on the sink, his coffee mug in the kitchen sink each morning; I missed every part of him.

Whenever I started feeling sad, I sat in his office and looked around at his things. It made me feel closer to him, knowing he had selected these things and loved them. I never could get myself to spend much time in there though. It was bittersweet being around his things.

I sat in his chair and looked out of the window at the autumn color. I reached down into the basket beside the chair, grabbed a book, and began to read.

As the sun set, the room grew dark. I reached over to the small table lamp that rested on the bookcase next to me to add more light. I pulled the cord, but nothing happened. I got up and looked behind the bookcase to make sure the lamp was plugged in, and it was. Maybe the bulb is burned out? I thought. I removed the shade, and to my surprise, the bulb was missing completely.

I stood there baffled. We used this lamp all the time. Why would the bulb be missing? I guess Thomas must have removed it and forgot to put in a new bulb.

I walked to the entry closet where I kept the spare light bulbs, picked out a bulb, and headed back to the office. I turned the corner to enter the room and in shock, dropped the light bulb onto the floor. The bulb shattered into a glittering cascade of sparkles across the wooden floor. The lamp next to the chair was lit up. Bewildered, I stood still for a moment. The bulb was missing – I know it was. Wasn’t it?

“I’m losing my mind”, I thought to myself. Maybe spending so much time around his things was getting to me – maybe I wasn’t ready yet.

Carefully I left the room to get a dustpan and broom to clean up the broken glass.

Lying in bed, I thought about him, and slowly fell asleep.

I was standing in the doorway of the office.

“Hey honey,” said Thomas with a grin.

“What are you up to sweetie?” I said smiling back at him.

“Not much,” he said. “Just was changing this light bulb.” Thomas pointed at the lamp that shined brightly on the bookshelf.

“Now if I can only get you to change the toilet paper roll, I will be set!” I said with a laugh.

“Oh, and watch your step, there is broken glass on the floor,” he said pointing at the floor in front of me.
A chill ran down my spine. “What?” I asked. “How-”

“It’s ok honey, accidents happen,” said Thomas calmly. He looked at the clock that rested on his desk. “It’s getting late, if you don’t mind sweeping that up, I am going to finish tidying up the paperwork on my desk – then I will meet you in bed.”

With a gasp, I woke up.

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CHAPTER 4

My eyes wouldn’t stay shut. The dream was too real… I looked over at his side of the bed, and as expected, it was empty. I tried to force myself to go back to sleep. It was just a dream – just a dream, I told myself. After a few hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep.

The alarm clock next to my bed beeped incessantly. It seemed like the moment I had closed my eyes, it was morning already. As I got dressed, I thought about my dream. I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I was slightly creeped out by it, and madly in love with the thought of seeing Thomas again all at the same time.

I started the coffee pot and leaned onto the counter, inhaling the aroma of the fresh coffee brewing beside me. Dirty dishes sat on the countertop from the night before, so I decided to tidy-up the kitchen while I waited for my coffee. I started placing dishes into the dish washer and swept the kitchen one more time with my eyes. Thomas’s coffee mug sat in the sink.

What is happening? I thought to myself with confusion. I had put his coffee cup away months ago. It made me sad every time I saw it in the cupboard.

“Hello!?” I demanded. “This isn’t funny!”

Anger struck me. Someone must be playing a joke on me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I searched the house frantically. “Hello!?”

I couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing. Though the gesture of leaving his cup in the sink seemed small, it hurt me. Flashbacks of all those mornings he left his coffee mug in the sink forced their way back in my mind. I thought about how I had nagged him to clean up after himself each time, and now wished that I hadn’t. It was such a small thing really. He was good in so many other ways – I could have let that one flaw go.

I sat down on the floor and cried.

When my grief subsided, I wondered how that coffee cup got in the sink. Part of me fantasized about the possibility that it really could have been him. I shook the thought, and picked myself up off the floor. I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a cup. The pot was half empty…and there was Tom’s cup resting on the counter next to the coffee maker, full of coffee.

“T-Thomas?”

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CHAPTER 5

I was frozen in place – waiting for something to happen. Something I could see happen. I waited in silence. The doorbell rang and I jumped. I ran to the door and opened it.

“Hi!” said Nadine with excitement. “Are you ready to go?”

“Hi Nadine – sure!” I replied. I got my cup, filled it with coffee, and brought it with as I left the house.

I sipped my coffee as I sat in the passenger seat. “So, what did you do last night?” I asked looking at Nadine.

Nadine combed her fingers through her hair as she said, “Went out for drinks with a few girlfriends.”

“That’s cool,” I said.

“I’m sorry. We were responsible, I promise.”

“I believe you,” I replied, thinking back to that horrific day, and the driver that caused the accident. It sucked – I had dreamed of getting some sort of right for the wrong, but it wasn’t going to happen. He must have been in another dimension to have hit us that fast – going straight through a red light. The driver, drunk, died upon impact. Though I felt anger towards that man, I felt sorry for his family, for they lost a father and husband.

“You didn’t happen to see anyone by the house when you drove up did you?” I asked.

Nadine glanced in my direction with a confused expression. “No…why?”

I sunk in my seat a little. “No reason. I think I was seeing things – just needed to get out of the house.”

Nadine smiled. “What you went through was traumatic.” She looked ahead of her as she drove. I could see a thought growing in her eyes. “Have you ever thought about selling that house and moving?”

“Oh, I’m fine really. I-I could never sell that place – there are too many memories, and I am not ready to let go of them just yet.”

“I understand,” said Nadine with a caring glance.

Store after store we went, shopping for things we really didn’t need. I wasn’t much interested in shopping at the moment, I was too busy thinking about the dream, and the coffee cup. As soon as the day with Nadine started, it ended.

“Thanks for taking me shopping!” I said cheerfully.

“Don’t mention it!” replied Nadine with a smile.

Nadine drove away as I walked up to the house. I took out the house key and unlocked the front door. I flipped on the lights, looked out into the room, and jumped.

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CHAPTER 6

The candy dish that had rested atop the coffee table in front of the couch was now on the floor. The dispersed candy pieces were arranged to say, “MISS YOU.”

“Wha-”

Befuddled I looked around the room, but saw no one. I kicked off my shoes and slowly walked over to the message on the floor. I knelt to look at it closer. It couldn’t be him…could it? No, it isn’t possible. He died. You went to his funeral…
There was a part of me that wanted to believe it was Thomas. I stood up and looked out into the room. I took in a deep breath, and said “I miss you too.” I waited for a response. This is silly, I thought. What was I expecting; Thomas to tell me he loved me again? For him to be back with me like nothing had ever happened?

The floor behind me creaked. I turned around to see what it was, and there standing before me was Thomas.

I let out a cry of fear and sadness. No-no-no-no-no” I said. “This can’t be real – you can’t be real!”

“Darling, it’s me,” said Thomas with a caring look.

I looked at him. He stood there across the room. I could see the front door through him. Tears trailed down my cheeks.

“How...”

“You didn’t think I would leave you, did you?” he asked.

Thomas drifted across the room toward me and stopped right in front of me. I began to tremble as I looked into his cold eyes. I felt him place his hand on my back. “Is this real? Are you…?”

He leaned toward me, and I closed my eyes. I felt his icy lips meet mine.

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CHAPTER 7

I felt a part of me come back to life that I thought was lost forever. A spark that set love ablaze in my heart once more. It took me months and months to just be “OK” with the fact that he was gone, but only a split second for me to fall madly in love with him all over again.

“Y-you have no idea how much I have missed you!” I choked out.

“I’m sorry I left you. I spent these past months trying to get back to you,” said Thomas. “It is against the rules of nature, but I found a way to get to you. I have actually been here with you for a while.”

“What?” I asked confused. It had only been a few days that I had been noticing peculiar things suggesting his presence.

Thomas looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. “I didn’t think I was ever going to get you back either. I tried talking to you all the time, but you couldn’t hear me. I was invisible to you – it was frustrating. I thought I would lose my mind.”

I walked up to him and gave him a hug. “What changed? How were you able to contact me?”

Thomas looked over at the candies that were dispersed on the floor. “I figured out that, even though I couldn’t interact with you, if I tried hard enough, I could move objects and interact with non-living things. Once you started opening your mind to the possibility of me coming back to you, it got easier for me to interact with you.”

I hugged him tightly. “I just never want to lose you again.”

“Hello…Hello?” said a muffled voice.

I looked around confused.

“I think you pocket dialed me,” said the voice.

I suddenly realized the voice was Nadine. I reached into my pocket and took out my phone. “Nadine Hi! Sorry, I must have accidentally called you.”

“Is everything ok? Who were you talking to?” asked Nadine with a concerned voice.

I looked up at Thomas who smiled warmly at me. I probably shouldn’t tell her. Not yet anyway.

“I’m fine, thanks!” I replied with a laugh. “I’m great actually!”

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CHAPTER 8

I spent every waking moment with him. Because he was invisible to the world, he even came with me to work. I got a few odd glances from fellow coworkers – noticing me talking to “myself” on occasion, but I didn’t care. Thomas was back, and that meant everything to me.

I sat in a managers’ meeting and had a hard time keeping a straight face – Thomas sat in the middle of the conference table in funny poses the whole time.

That night, we got home and sat down to supper – or at least I did. Thomas sat with me, but didn’t eat anything. He never ate food anymore – he didn’t have to. For him, it was kind of a grown-up, make-believe tea party really.

Thomas turned off the lights, leaving only the taper candles on the dining table to illuminate the room. His eyes sparkled in the candlelight. The room grew chilly. I rubbed my shoulders in an attempt to warm up.

“Do you want me to start a fire?” asked Thomas.

I smiled and replied “Sure.”

Thomas got up from his seat and left the room to get some firewood from the basement. The house was silent. I sat in the calming candlelight and smiled.

The candles flickered slightly as a breeze crept across the room. I turned around, expecting to see Thomas behind me, but no one was there. Another draft of cold air swept through the room, blowing out the candles on the table. “Thomas? Is that you?”

The temperature in the room began to decline even more. It was dark – I could only see a faint outline of furniture around the room from the small bit of moonlight that came through the dining room window. I heard something scurry underneath the table - clicking on the floor as it went. I felt something brush my leg. “T-Thomas!?”

I stood up abruptly and started making my way across the room to the light switch. A low growl grew behind me. I turned to look, and underneath the table was an angry set of glowing iridescent eyes. I clawed at the wall for the light switch and turned the lights on. Whatever was there was gone now.

Thomas walked into the room and I ran at him. “What is it?” he asked.

“I s-saw something…” I said, trembling.

I was scared. Though I had gotten used to the idea of ghosts with Thomas around, this one seemed different. This one seemed... dark.

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CHAPTER 9

After talking about the incident with Thomas, we went to bed. I lay awake for quite a while thinking about it. I suppose by opening the door to Thomas, I also opened the door to other spirits. I had an uneasy feeling about this entity. I tried to put it out of my mind, hoping it was just a one-time occurrence.

Thomas lie next to me, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m exhausted.” I whispered. “Aren’t you tired?”

Thomas looked completely awake. He smiled. “I don’t need sleep anymore.”

“What do you do at night?” I asked, intrigued.

His smile widened. “I think about you of course.”

I didn’t know what to say so I moved closer and kissed him.

I was beginning to have trouble keeping my eyelids open. He ran his fingers gently through my hair. Though I couldn’t stop thinking about the dark entity that I saw, knowing Thomas was there keeping watch made me feel safe. Slowly, my thoughts faded as I fell into the land of dreams.

Sunlight beamed through the window – casting light across the bed. I turned to look at Thomas, but he was gone. The room was silent. I got up slowly and began to look around the house for him. His office was the first place I checked. When he was living, he would sit behind his desk reading the paper with a warm cup of coffee on the desk beside him. I smiled remembering how he used to stop me when I passed the doorway to show me his favorite comics in the comic section of the paper. But, the room was empty and cold.

I walked to the kitchen in hopes of finding him pouring himself a cup of coffee, but the kitchen was empty and silent as well. “Thomas?”

I called out for him as I walked through the rest of the house, but the house remained silent. What is happening? I wondered. Then suddenly, my thoughts started doing “that thing.” The thing where your mind tries to make sense of everything, and starts to give realistic explanations to these occurrences. You know - when sometimes you have a dream where the dream felt like a week, but really it only lasted a few hours? What if this all had been a dream? I shook my head. No. It couldn’t be. It was so….so real.

I walked into the living room and the candy dish rested on top of the table like it always had. I didn’t want it to be a dream. Every part of me wanted to believe it was real, but my brain kept asking me “How could it be?”

An overwhelming sadness washed over me. Trembling, I wrapped my arms around myself, sat down on the cold wood floor, and cried.

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CHAPTER 10

The next few days, a new routine of searching the house filled my mornings. My heart hurt each time I finished going through each room of the house without finding him. It must have been a dream, but I had a hard time accepting that. Thomas was my world, and without him I felt without a home.

More days went by, and life quickly swept in to take more of my mornings until my morning searches for Thomas were nonexistent. I grew to accept that it had all been a dream and went about my life without him as I had before.

Though I had learned to accept his absence, he was all I could think about. I sat in yet another managers’ meeting without his sweet smile distracting me from the nonsense of office politics.

I got home from work late after spilling my coffee all over my desk. The house was dark and lifeless. I turned on all the lights in the house, trying to brighten my mood and make the house feel a little less gloomy.

I opened the freezer and pulled out another lonely dinner as I had before. I microwaved it, set the sad meal on a sad plate, and sat down at the table by myself to eat another sad supper. I twirled my feet under the table, remembering how Thomas and my feet used to intertwine. This was my reality – I didn’t want it, but it was given to me non-the less.

TV sometimes made me feel better, so I decided to find a show to watch. I flipped through the channels but the screen became pixelated. The picture went out, and the TV turned off. Figures, I thought.

I sat there in the silence for a while, thinking about my work schedule. The TV suddenly turned back on and the sound blasted. I jumped and knocked the remote onto the floor, which slid under the TV cabinet. I ran to the TV, trying to see if there were any volume buttons on it. I found the down button and repeatedly pressed it, trying to turn the blasting volume down, but for some reason it wouldn’t. Frustrated, I reached behind the TV, grabbed the cord, and unplugged it.

The room fell silent instantly. I sat on the floor and shook slightly, and then came the tears. It was such a small thing that really didn’t deserve an upsetting response, but with everything else that had been happening, I couldn’t help it. It felt good to cry – allowing the negativity to materialize into droplets and ridding those feelings slowly from my mind.
The TV turned on. A message scrolled across the screen that said, “Help Me.” I looked over at the cord and it was still unplugged. My stomach turned over.

“T-Thomas?”

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CHAPTER 11

I stared at the message on the screen. “Thomas…is that you?”

The candy dish flew off the coffee table. The candy pieces scrambled around madly until they formed the word “Yes.”
My heart started beating fast – I swore I could hear it.

“What…Why can’t I see you?” I sat quietly waiting for a response, but there was none. I looked back at the “Help Me” message on the TV screen.

“Thomas!” I screamed. “What can I do… How can I help you!” I heard a loud “pop” sound from upstairs. I raced up the steps and around the corner. The hall light had exploded, throwing glass all around the hall. I turned to walk back downstairs to get a broom and dustpan when suddenly a series of “pop” sounds rang out. I dropped to the ground and covered my head as glass rained down all around me. I felt a cold breeze drifting across the floor. I opened my eyes but the house was pitch black.

“T-Thomas? What is happening?”

I strained my eyes to see, but it was no use. The darkness was almost disorienting – it reminded me of the time I toured a cave.

The cool breeze drifted around my ankles. I can’t just stand here forever, I thought. I took a step and heard a crunch. I screamed as tiny glass pieces dug into the bottom of my foot. I felt helpless – it was dark, my phone was downstairs, and there was broken glass everywhere. I took a few deep breaths and said to myself, “you can do this.”

I took my sweatshirt off and started sweeping a path through the broken glass. I worked my way in the direction of the steps. It felt like it was taking forever to get to the stairs. I started trying to measure the distance of how far I was going and got an uneasy feeling when I reached thirty feet. I had only been about five feet from the stairs. I set the cloth down and reached around me - I couldn’t reach the hallway walls. I got scared. Something wasn’t right. I ran my fingers across the hard floor – I was no longer on a wooden floor. The floor was cold and sleek, like marble. Suddenly I noticed, the broken glass was gone. I stood. “Hello?”

The sound of my voice echoed. The cool breeze continued to flow across the floor like a current. I decided to walk to get the source of the breeze. I walked for a while. The breeze grew cooler and stronger the more I walked. Then abruptly it stopped. I stood in place. A flame burst atop a candle across the room, illuminating its surroundings. I wasn’t at home anymore, but I wasn’t in the large open space either. I was in a room furnished with dusty forgotten furniture. Cracks covered the walls and ceiling. “Hello?” I called out.

The candle flickered. The dark entity I had seen under the table now hovered across the room from me. Its low growl grew louder and suddenly It lunged at me. I stumbled backwards and was engulfed in a sea of fabric. I waved my arms around me fiercely as I got tangled in it. I stepped backwards and the ground disappeared. The cloth was ripped away from me as gravity pulled at me. I was falling. I caught a glimpse of the side of the old house, and the window I had just fallen out of.

The ground traveled toward me like a train that could not be stopped. Then like a miracle, I felt strong arms grab ahold of me, trying to slow my fall with all their might. I looked up and it was Thomas.

I hit the ground and got the wind knocked out of me.

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CHAPTER 12

My body ached, but I was alive. I tried moving my arms – they were ok. I tried moving my legs, and they were fine as well.

“Are you ok?” asked Thomas.

I looked at him with disbelief. I guess it wasn’t a dream after all. “I’m fine,” I replied. I looked over to notice we were on my front lawn. I looked up, expecting to see the old house but saw my own house instead. “What is happening?” I asked.

Thomas looked around himself cautiously. “That demon is after me. It has been keeping me from you because it wants you to itself.”

I looked at him in horror. “But…what does it want me for?”

“It needs a body to be able to fully interact with people. It wants to take you…from you.”

Goosebumps formed on my skin as fear shrouded me. I was scared. “What can I do?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” he said with concern. “It seems like it mostly attacks at night… I have a friend on the other side who has been there for a while, I will check with him and see if he knows anything.”

“Ok,” I said. “I will go to the library today and see what I can find.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him with all my might. “I love you,” I said.

His lips met mine. “I love you too. I will be back as soon as I can.”

I watched as Thomas faded from my world, dispersing into the air in a swirling smoky haze. I hesitantly walked up to my front door. I was afraid to go back inside. I paused for a moment and reflected on my fear – really, it was stupid. Being afraid wasn’t going to change anything about my situation – it was only going to slow me down. I decided to let go of my fear, and attack my problem head on. I felt a weight lift from me. I was tired of being scared.

I spent a few hours cleaning up all the broken glass around the house, and replaced the bulbs with new ones. I wondered if Thomas was having any luck finding any information on how to protect us from the demon. I glanced at the clock – it was early afternoon. The day was flying by too quickly. I grabbed my jacket and car keys. I hoped the library would hold the answers to our problem, but how many books on ghosts could there be?

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CHAPTER 13

I arrived at the library and walked inside. Towering shelves packed with hundreds of books filled the room. I breathed in – there is nothing like the smell of books.

A lady stood at the front counter. “Can I help you?” she asked in an unenthusiastic tone.

“Yes actually,” I said in the happiest voice possible (in an attempt to warm her up). “Do you have any books on ghosts?”

Without saying a word, she turned and walked briskly through the library. I followed. Her feet thudded on the floor as she walked in a way that said, “I hate my job but I will do this because I don’t want to get fired.”

She stopped in front of a large bookshelf. “Here,” she said.

I looked up and down the shelves full of best-sellers in paranormal and supernatural fiction. Cardboard cut-out advertisements of “Werewolf Isle” and “Beatrix Percival” sat on either side of the shelves.

The librarian looked at me with a dull stare. This wasn’t really what I was looking for, and I knew the question I was about to ask would go over like a fart in church.

“Actually, do you have anything on ghosts that is non-fiction?” I asked.

The woman’s face fell into a look that now said, “Are you serious” and “I have lost faith in the human race.”

After a few seconds of awkward silence that felt like hours, I said, “You know what, this is good, thank you.”

The woman turned and walked away. I looked over the book titles in front of me and came to the conclusion that these were all fictional book series and scary stories. I started searching other sections of the library, hoping to find a book on the paranormal.

I walked up to a large book shelf. I ran my finger across the shelves, reading the subgenre of each shelf. I stopped in front of a dusty book titled: “Unhaunted.” I took the book off the shelf and turned it over to read the back. It was a story about a woman’s experience after moving into a haunted house, and what she did to control the spirits.

I went up to the desk hesitantly and set the book onto the counter, sending a small dust cloud across the desk at the librarian.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!” I said.

She coughed a little and waved her hand in front of her in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the dusty air. She swiped my library card. “Ok, so your book will be due at noon, seven days from today,” she said.

“Ok, thank you,” I replied.

I walked toward the large doors with the book in my grasp. Hopefully it would have some helpful information. I couldn’t wait to get back home and read it.

I walked out the doors eagerly and suddenly collided with someone, sending me to the ground.

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CHAPTER 14

“Funny running into you today!”

Nadine stood above me with her hand held out to me.

“Nadine, hi!” I turned the book over and held it behind me in an attempt to hide the cover from her.

“What’s that you got there?” she asked.

“Oh...it’s nothing really,” I said as I smiled nervously.

She looked back at me and smiled. “Oh, yeah,” said Nadine with an over exaggerated wink. “Which one is it?”

“Which one…what?” I was confused.

Nadine looked at me with a sly smile. “Is it the first or second book in the “Ravished” series?”

“Ravished series?”

“It’s that new popular erotic romance series – I’m waiting for book three.” She looked at the embarrassed look on my face. “It’s book one, isn’t it?” She smiled at me.

I shook my head. “No-“

“Book two! I knew it!”

“No, Nadine really – I”

She reached around me, grabbed the book from my grasp, and turned it over. “Unhaunted?” She looked at me with a puzzled look. “Sweetie, is everything ok?”

I shook a little. Should I tell her about what was going on? Should I tell her about Thomas? I didn’t want her to think I was crazy. Nadine was my best friend – I had known her since kindergarten.

“Do you have time for coffee?” I asked.

“Sure,” replied Nadine in a concerned but caring voice.

We walked across the street to the little café on the corner. Nadine and I ordered our coffees and sat down at a little table. I looked into her eyes and hesitated. I knew our friendship was about to change, but it is normal to confide in friends, isn’t it? Thomas and the spirit were such a large portion of my life that I was hiding from her.

I took a sip of my coffee and began. “So.”

We chatted for a while. Nadine took the news better than I had expected. She asked a lot of questions – some of which even I wanted to know the answers to.

I glanced out the window and saw the sun beginning to set. “Oh my gosh! Nadine, I am so sorry, but I should get going.”

“Ok hun, well I’m very glad we talked! Remember, you can tell me anything. If you need me, just give me a call!”

“Thanks!” I said with a smile. We embraced in our usual quick hug, but when I pulled away Nadine held on just a little bit longer than normal. It was such a small gesture, but to me, it didn’t go unnoticed – I was happy to have another person in my life that cared about me.

I rushed out of the café. The wind howled around me, ripping at the book I held in my hand. I tightened my grasp on it and made my way across the street to my car.

The sky grew darker as I drove home. Rain began to fall and spatter across the windshield. As I pulled up in the driveway, I noticed the lights in the house were on. I was so happy Thomas was back, and was anxious to hear what he had learned. With a smile on my face I ran up to the front door, protecting the book inside my jacket. The rain was pouring so hard outside that by the time I reached the door I was soaking wet.

I went to grasp the door handle and suddenly the door opened a crack. I opened the door quickly and set the book and my phone down on the entry table.

I wiped my face with my arm sleeve to remove some of the rain water that rushed down from my hair.

“Thomas! I’m so glad your ba-”

The lights flickered. I felt a rush of energy move through me, and suddenly reality was ripped from my grasp as I was caged in my mind.

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CHAPTER 15 THOMAS

I saw my love standing in in the entry of the house. Rain poured all around me, but rain didn’t bother me much anymore. If I were still alive, I would have been freezing, but being dead, temperatures didn’t really affect me. I couldn’t wait to hear what books the library had on ghosts. I ran my fingers through my hair and brushed my facial hair with my hand, in an attempt to tidy up. With a large grin, I began walking toward the house.

“Hey, you’re going to catch a cold with the door open like that!” I said with a laugh.

The lights inside flickered. There drifting in front of my love was the dark entity. A sinister cackle erupted in the air and suddenly all the lights in the house went out. I ran toward the house.

“Get away Thomas, you’re too late!” said a menacing voice that left my love’s lips.

“No!” I panicked. “Get out! Leave us alone!”

The one I once loved pushed me forcibly to the floor and walked out into the rain. It wasn’t my love anymore – The dark entity had possessed their body.

I fought back tears as I tried to think of a solution. I stood up. My eye caught a glimpse of a book that rested on the little entry table. I turned it over and read the description. The wind blew wildly outside. I closed the door, sat down on the floor, and began to read.

I skimmed the pages and made mental notes of information that was useful. It was humorous to me that a living person seemed to know more about the dead then I did – and I was dead!

I was almost finished with the book. I jumped as a phone began ringing loudly. I got up and looked around. A phone vibrated and danced around the top of the little entry table.

I answered it. “Hello?”

There was a pause on the other end. “T-Thomas? Is that you?”

“Nadine, Hi!” I said.

“A little bird told me about you…and the other entity too,” she said.

My throat tightened a little as I got ready to share the news with her.

“Nadine, I need your help. You know how that entity was looking for a body to possess? Well… it succeeded.”

I pulled the phone away abruptly as a loud crash blasted through the phone speaker. “Oh, I-I’m sorry – I dropped the phone.”

“That’s ok,” I said. “Can you meet me at the corner of Aspen Drive?”

“Of course! Yes – Whatever I can do to help.”

I set the phone down and looked around for the car keys but they were nowhere in sight.

“Walking it is!”

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CHAPTER 16

I watched the world race past me. I could feel my muscles moving my legs as my body ran down the street. I felt the wind on my skin, but these movements were not my own. I was paralyzed in my own body. I could think, but I couldn’t move or speak. The entity controlled my every movement now – and the thought of that scared me to death.

Thunder crashed above as the rain continued to pour. I pleaded with the entity in my thoughts, asking it to let me go. I never received any response. I wasn’t even sure if it was listening, or if it could hear me.

I started heading toward the hardware store. I knelt and picked up the large cement planter on the sidewalk. With a force more powerful than my own, I threw the planter through the large glass windows.

“Stop!” I screamed in my mind.

Shards of broken glass sparkled on the sidewalk. I crawled carelessly through the window, my hands resting on the broken glass. I screamed silently as the glass pieces dug into my hands. The pain consumed me, but didn’t seem to affect the entity at all.

Aisle after aisle, I wandered the store. Blood dripped from my hands leaving a dotted crimson trail on the ground as my body made its way through the store. What was it looking for? I wondered. Then, my walk turned into a jog. I stopped. To my horror, there in front of me was a section of hunting knives. My arms reached out from me and grabbed a set of knives, opened the package, and grabbed the largest one. A wicked laugh erupted from my mouth.

“Please stop!” I pleaded. The entity left my calls unanswered.

Like a feral animal, I dashed out of the store and down the street. On occasion, I would stop and look around. Two silhouettes walked onto the sidewalk ahead. They moved under a streetlamp to reveal it was Thomas and Nadine.
“Stop!! Stop!!” I screamed in silence. I felt my body pick up the pace as I darted at them. I didn’t want to watch. I couldn’t watch. I wanted to recede into myself.

My body slowed and stood several feet from them.

“Don’t give in to it!” yelled Thomas. “It wants you to give up. If you close yourself out of this moment, you will be lost, and your body will be the entity’s for good!”

The large knife flashed in the lamplight as I ran at Nadine.

“You can control it,” Thomas said reassuringly.

Nadine screamed as I grabbed her.

“You can stop this! You just need to believe it!” Thomas yelled.
The knife rested on Nadine’s neck. A small drop of blood ran down the edge of the blade and fell from the tip. Another loud cackle left my mouth.

I grew furious. I wasn’t going to let it end this way if I could help it.

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CHAPTER 17

“Push back!” yelled Thomas.

I was watching a real-life horror film right before me. Nadine looked into my eyes with a fearful look I never hoped to see again.

I pushed myself with all my might. The knife pulled away from Nadine. My scream inside burst out of the silence and into the night air. My body fought me. My muscles tensed as I attempted to do the opposite of the entity’s will.

I felt room opening up in my being as I fought to expel the entity. It was harder than anything I had ever experienced in my entire life. It was too much, I knew I couldn’t hold on this way forever.

An angry roar grew louder around me as I slowly forced the entity from me. The entity was out, but was trying to force its way back in.

“Thomas!!” I screamed. “Thomas, I can’t!” I was growing tired. “I can’t do this for much longer!”

Thomas ran up to me. “Do you trust me?”

I looked into his cozy eyes. “With my life.”

Thomas reached around me and collided with me. I suddenly felt relaxed. I felt different. I could tell I wasn’t alone, but it was completely different from the feeling of being possessed by the dark entity. I wasn’t pushed into a cage in my mind this time.

Thomas and I shared my body. A happiness overtook my being. It was a cozy feeling.

“I’m sorry, but the only way to keep that demon from possessing you was for me to possess you myself,” said Thomas’s voice in my head.

“That’s f-fine,” I replied to him. This was the closest I had ever felt to him, and actually, I never wanted the feeling to ever go away. It was intoxicating being one with the man I loved.

I stood there smiling. The dark entity screamed and dissipated angrily into a cloud of smoke.

Nadine walked up to me. “Hey…. guys.”

“Hey,” Thomas and I said in unison. Our souls smiled side by side.

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Thanks for reading InBetween 1!

InBetween 2 is premiering soon! Follow me to read each new chapter as they are released.

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