Here it is!! Chapter two of my book, adult themes so be careful if you have younger audiences about, hope you enjoy, please comment either on the blog or on my Facebook wall :) ~marie

Chapter two

Flicking the ash into the waste paper bin Manuel gazed at the newspaper folded on his knees. Damn it didn’t seem fair that one woman could have tits like that and a face to match. She was plastered all over page three and he could look at her all day for sure. Kelsey sure was a pretty name too.

Manuel sighed; she wasn’t anything like Maria José his wife of fifteen years. Sure she had been exotic when he had married her. But three babies later and she was looking more and more like her mother every damn day. That thought alone made him volunteer to do any overtime he could. That’s why he was here now. But he wasn’t scared of no night shift.

The six screens that moved between the different levels in the shopping centre flicked over in a timed manner. They showed the greyscale view of a place now devoid of people, the shop lights were dimmed and the halls were silent. Manual glanced up now and again as the screens changed but nothing seemed out of place. Turning the page reluctantly from Kelsey he focused his attention on the football scores.

Real Madrid has won the last six matches and Manuel scanned his eyes across the rather badly written report of the match, his thoughts wandering back to Kelsey on page three.

Above the lights began to flicker slightly and Manuel looked up, his thick rubber torch hung from his belt and he instinctively rested one hand on it as the lights continued to pulse.

“Don’t be having no power cut” he muttered and the lights seemed to respond, dimming once more before they burned brightly again.

Manuel stared at the screens, they flickered from scene to scene the same picture repeated across the complex. All was quiet. It was time to make another coffee. Leaving the screens behind he made his way to the small staff room making his coffee extra strong in the cleanest cup he could find. Rooting around in the dirty cupboards he found a half eaten packet of biscuits, they smelled alright, so he took them too.

Leaving the kitchen area he made his way back to the security room. Coming from somewhere in the darkness at the bottom of the hall Manuel heard the faint whisper of a voice carry along the dim corridor. Every hair stood up on his neck as his pace quickened the hot coffee splashing on his uniform. Closing the door firmly he slid the lock across.

Shit man he thought sitting down on the seat. His hand shook as he placed the coffee on the desk. The other security guys had told him that there were spirits in the building but he had laughed along with them, in the cold light of day, everything seemed funny, but that sound seemed to trace a finger straight to his heart.

Closing his tired eyes and rubbing his forehead Manuel looked up at the screens; all were completely black except one. He sat staring at the screen puzzled at why they were all off, he had not been trained in what to do if this happened, but knowing his supervisor he would not welcome a 3am phone call. Standing up Manuel began to hit the bank of screens, hoping they would flicker to life but they remained black, completely devoid of anything except the frowning face of Manuel that reflected back at him.

The middle screen showed the fountain inside the food plaza, it seemed to have more static on than normal, as if it was snowing. Manuel peered closer at the image; sure he could see something moving amongst the snow and bad light.

Rubbing his eyes he took a large gulp of the coffee feeling the burning as it entered his throat. He hoped the caffeine burst would sharpen his eyesight. Returning to look at the screen Manuel knew he was seeing something.

His eyes widened as the young girl stepped from beneath the water that flowed endlessly in the fountain. Her eyes were as black as coal and they seemed to hold Manuals gaze. Every part of him longed to pull away but he was frozen, watching the girl as she stepped over the lip of the fountain and began to walk float across towards the camera as if she knew that Manuel was gripped with fear and unable to break away from her gaze.

As she nearly reached the camera the snow seemed to clear and Manuel began to shake in fear, a terror that seemed to cause every muscle to move in his body.

The girl was his lucita, his sweet baby daughter who had died in his arms three years ago. She had locked eyes with him as she had left them all to be with Jesus and the holy mother. She was dead! This couldn't be real.

Manuel felt the sick rise in his throat as he continued to watch his daughter on the screen.

He had to be dreaming but he couldn't move to pinch himself, to wake himself up.

Lucita continued to walk towards the camera until her face filled the screen. With a steady slowness she began to open her mouth into a scream that filled every room in the shopping centre. So loud was the howling scream of despair that it made the walls shake, the floor tremble and the glass break in every window. The mouth continued to scream until it covered the screen and then it flicked off joining the others that reflected back Manuels white face, the tears streaming down his cheeks.

As he fell to the floor he screamed out into the empty room until his throat could utter not one more sound. His nails piercing the palms of his hands until blood ran on to the carpet beneath him.

When the police found him, he was still laid on the floor all colour drained from his face, babbling the same word over and over again

“El fantasma, el fantasma, el fantasma”