Harlan stopped into the lounge to ensure we could find our way home. He promised to have a golf cart waiting. Thankfully, Nina stopped drinking hours ago in anticipation of being our driver. Ever the good friend and mother hen. That was the last of Harlan we saw for the rest of our time on the Montgomery Estate, and I can’t say I’m sad about it.
“Are we almost there?” Jill whines as we stumble our way back through the tunnels, finally ready to call it a night.
The sun will be rising before too long, and Nina and I have an important afternoon ahead of us. We need sleep.
“It shouldn’t be far,” Nina calls out as she leads the way.
“Wanna come back to my place for a nightcap?” Jill slurs, and Nina looks over her shoulder, face pinched in something like disbelief.
“It’s three a.m.,” Nina squawks. “I’m going to bed.”
I bob my head in agreement. “I’m beat, and we have things to do.”
We’re finally climbing the rickety stairs, headed out of the secret tunnel. The house is dark and eerily quiet. The musty odor of mold and decay permeates the room, a detail I hadn’t noticed earlier. The air feels heavy, and every hair on my body stands on end.
“Let’s get out of here,” I suggest, growing increasingly uneasy.
When we make it out front, Harlan’s golf cart has been replaced by a generic one he’d promised Jill would be waiting for us. We pile in with Nina behind the wheel and Jill sitting shotgun. I’m in the back, my gaze involuntarily drawn toward the looming silhouette of the decrepit home, its weather-beaten façade appearing as though it could collapse at any moment.
The engine roars to life as the golf cart sets off along the winding dirt path, gradually leaving the eerie place behind. Despite the distance, the unsettling feeling that had gripped me refuses to dissipate. While the other girls engage in lighthearted conversation and laughter, oblivious to my growing apprehension, I remain on edge, my senses heightened.
A figure emerges from the shadows. Squinting against the dim moonlight, I lean forward, my heart pounding in my chest, questioning whether my eyes are playing tricks on me.
But there’s no mistaking what I see.
It’s the elderly ghost, its ethereal form shimmering in the moonlight. A shiver runs down my spine as he emits a bone-chilling wail.
“Drive, drive!” I yell, panic rising in my voice as Nina slams her foot down on the accelerator.
The golf cart lurches forward, but the spirit is relentless, his wraithlike form floating effortlessly behind us as we speed through the night.
“What’s happening?” Nina shouts, over the howl of the wind and the hum of the motor.
I look up to meet her concerned eyes in the rearview mirror, mouthing the wordghost.
Nina grips the wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white as she navigates the winding path, desperately trying to outmaneuver our pursuer, whom she can’t even see.
“Why are you driving like a bat outta hell?” Jill’s voice pierces through the chaos, a hint of fear punctuating the words. With a firm grip on the seat, she struggles to maintain her balance, and I worry she’ll be thrown from the cart at this rate.
“Hang on, everyone,” Nina yells, her voice determined.
With each twist and turn, the ghost gains ground, his wails echoing off the trees like a haunting melody.
Jill’s eyes are wide with terror as we hurtle through the darkness, the wind whipping through our hair.
“What is that noise?” Jill cries out, her head whipping back toward the banshee cry.
She can hear him.
“I don’t know, but we need to lose it, fast,” Nina shouts, her voice tinged with urgency as she scans the area for an escape route.
“We’re not going to make it,” I say, my heart racing as the ghost charges toward us, his eyes blazing with malevolent fury.
We zoom through the labyrinth of trees and bushes, and just when all hope seems lost, the path straightens and the lights of the main street glimmer in the distance like a beacon of safety.
Just a bit farther.
Nina guns the engine, propelling the golf cart forward. As soon as we break through the trees onto the street, the ghost emits a furious wail, vanishing into thin air as if it collided with an invisible barrier.
