A Favor for the Fallen

They stared up at that house, as they always had since they were but young children at the age of four. Now, the summer had come on their final year of high school. They had just graduated a month ago yet still spent time together every day. This day was their last. Luna was leaving for Germany the next morning and then John was headed off to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for his medical degree. The remaining three would be gone from the small town of Creede, Colorado within the week. It was their last chance to risk everything. 1

“So, we actually gonna do this?” Sophia asked, a worried excitement tingeing her voice. She smiled up at Kevin, her boyfriend since their freshman year, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.2

“Why not? It ain’t like anybody’s lived there since who knows when.” Tobey shrugged and went forward, placing a foot on the steps leading to the large wraparound porch. It creaked slightly as he let his foot take his weight. “What?” he asked, looking back. “Y’all aren’t scared are you? Come on, it probably ain’t even locked.”3

John and Kevin hurried up to walk beside Tobey, none of them wanting to seem more of a coward than the others. Luna and Sophia, however, followed at a slower pace as their gazes made sure no one was looking. It was still illegal to enter a house without permission in Creede, just like any other place.4

The porch creaked with each of their footsteps as they crowded around the large front door. The windows yielded no insight as to what waited for them inside; they were coated in a thick layer of dust and grime. John reached for the handle and slowly turned it as they all held their breaths. This was the moment of truth. No turning back once the door was open.5

“Oh I feel so silly,” Luna giggled, “It’s like I’m in a cheesy horror movie or something.”6

They all smiled since each one of them felt the same way. John pushed the door open; Tobey was right, it wasn’t even locked. They allowed the nice summer breeze to enter first and stir up the dust coating everything in sight. It was a large foyer with a beautiful; old fashioned stairway off to the side. The foyer ran into a long hallway with doors on either side, yet how many they couldn’t tell.7

“Well, go in,” Luna ushered, yet they refused to move. With a roll of her eyes, she stepped past them into the house, switching the flashlight in her hand on to let it dart around the room. It was lavishly decorated, yet dark. Everything was so dark including the walls. Not because of the lack of light, but because of the peeling wallpaper. It was a red color that resembled rust of some sorts, yet underneath the paper the walls seemed to be painted black. Most of the larger windows were covered in heavy velvet drapes matching the color of the paper. 8

The teenagers stood in the center of the foyer, the beams from their flashlights highlighting the floating dust motes. One twinkled off of the elaborate chandelier hanging from the tall, vaulted ceiling. “Wow, it’s so beautiful,” Sophia breathed, turning in a circle to take it all in. She grabbed Kevin’s hand and pulled him to the staircase, “Come on, I want to see upstairs.”9

Silently the rest followed up the carpeted stairway to a hallway with photographs lining both walls between every door. Some were tapestries that changed to paintings then black and white photographs the further down the hall they traveled. A door at the very end of the hallway caught their attention. It was a lighter wood and beautifully made, the handle shining despite the small layer of dust on it. Luna reached for it and the door opened with a small ‘snick.’ 10

Candles rested around the entire room, their wax bowed to the tables below. A large four poster bed had thick drapes that pooled on the ground. A large fireplace rose up on the opposite side of the draped windows and books littered the bookshelf and floor around a comfortable reading chair with a blanket over the arm.11

John ran his fingers along the top of a dresser just inside the door and held it before his flashlight. “Hardly any dust. It seems this room has been kept in extremely well condition. But how? Dust doesn’t care about closed doors and books.”12

Luna couldn’t help going to the bed made of dark wood. It was a large thing too; she could barely wrap her hand around a post. “It was like someone’s sanctuary, a personal retreat. This room, this is it. This is the room that actually held life.”13

“Not necessarily.”14

The five spun as one with a collective gasp to see a man at the door they had entered through. He was a tall man with regal bearing; not someone they knew lived in Creede, and they knew almost everyone in Creede.15

“Sir?” Sophia said warily, stepping into Kevin’s protective arms.16

“This room, this room held no life,” he explained, moving past them to the fireplace. All of their eyes were adjusting yet they still let the flashlights land on the man. “Yet there was someone living in this room.”17

“I don’t understand, you just contradicted yourself.”18

He looked over at Luna with a small smile. “No, I assure you, I did not.”19

“You cannot live without life,” she argued.20

“True, but you can exist without one.”21

They all frowned at his odd words. “You mean, as in zombies?” Kevin wondered aloud. He was the one to ask since he spent hours in front of a computer screen.22

The man’s laugh rumbled through him and around the room. “No, not zombies.”23

“You’re telling us,” Luna suggested, “that this room, this house, held a vampire?”24

He smiled at the mantle before looking up. “No, how about you stop guessing? Try a ghost/”25

“You mean ghost as in ‘wooo’ haunting ghost?” Tobey asked, crossing his arms with a smirk. What a bunch of bull. 26

“Yes, if you want to put it that way.”27

“Why? What happened here?”28

“Someone came a killed me, they took my body yet left my soul.”29

“You mean, you’re a ghost?”30

He turned to look at Sophia, who backed up more into Kevin’s chest. He tilted his head slightly and they all moved towards the door in fright. The only thing that held them there was their curiosity. “Yes. But, I must ask a favor of you.”31

“What?” they asked in unison then chuckled somewhat.32

“I want my body back.”33

“And where do we come in?” Tobey questioned, interest on his face.34

“I cannot leave this house, can barely go downstairs. I need you to find my body. It’s somewhere north east of here, over the mountains. That’s all I can remember them saying as I was dying.”35

“North east?” Sophia questioned, frowning, “Why that’s Pueblo and Colorado Springs. We ain’t never gonna find it there. We don’t have time anyways. We’re all leaving for college within the week.”36

“I’m going to UCCS,” Tobey spoke up, “I guess I could give it a shot. That is, if I get anything out of it.”37

“What can a ghost give you?” the man questioned, sadness in his eyes. “I have this house and my thanks, that is all.”38

“You’re coming with me. I’m gonna find out what object you’re tied to then bring you with. I ain’t doing this alone. No way!”39

“But, I told you,” the ghost started.40

“Nope, I’ve seen the movies. If you want this done you’re gonna be there to help.”41

“Thank you.” It was quietly spoken, as if he couldn’t believe someone was actually going to help him. “Thank you so much.”42

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”