The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw (23 page)

'Cross over? I ain't ever been able to cross over. Been like this in this here state for, well, a couple of hundred years, probably. How are you going to help me cross over?' he asked dubiously.

'We have our ways,' said Lana. 'If you help us, we'll try and help you,' she said.

'Oh all right then. You seem like a good bunch and you certainly the first to offer to help me and I appreciate that. I'll go and see if any of my fellow spirits have seen him around. Don't go nowhere, mind. Although, you can do as you please. I'll find you,' he said before disappearing into thin air.

'Wow,' sighed Ava. 'I erm... how come...erm, why...'

'What Ava?' laughed Nisha.

'I thought you were going to speak to the ghosts. I didn't think we would be able to see and speak to them too,' she said, visibly shaken.

'Once I've got through to them, it's up to them who they make themselves visible to,' Nisha answered, pleased with herself.

'I hope he finds him,' Emma said, 'Because at this rate we'll never be able to complete our task. If Josiah can't even remember his own name, how will we ever help him cross over?' she sighed, holding tightly on to Diarmuid's hand and leaning her head on his shoulder.

'Don't worry, you'll do it,' he said, gently kissing the top of her head.

'Well, shall we have a look round while we're waiting? He did say he'd find us?' suggested Liam as he stood up and shook his legs to get rid of any loose leaves.

'What? You want to go poking around the graveyard, by choice?' asked Cassie.

'Yeah, come on. It'll be a laugh,' Lana encouraged.

In the little moonlight there was, the trees continued to cast ominous shadows across their path as they walked, stopping every now and then to get up close to some of the more unusual gravestones and statues. One which had particular appeal was a beautiful stone lion that perched with its eyes closed on top of a tomb of a man who had died in 1912. So lifelike, it was almost like Medusa herself had cast her eyes upon it.

Walking slowly along, whispering among one another, the group, led by Lana and Liam, came to an abrupt standstill when the sound of something falling to the ground alerted them to the fact that they were not alone in the vast cemetery.

'Shhhh,' said Lana as she turned to the others with her finger over her mouth. 'There's someone here... it sounds like they're trashing the place.'

In a matter of seconds, Liam had left them behind, moving at the speed of light towards the noise. When he returned moments later he said, 'It's just a drunk. He fell over and knocked his glass bottle into a gravestone. He's out cold.'

'Should we do something?' asked Ava.

'Yeah, let's at least move him so he's under cover and safe,' suggested Penny as they headed towards the man. But when they arrived, he was nowhere to be seen.

'What the...?' said Liam. 'He was right there, out stone cold. There's no way he would have woken up and walked away, not in the state he was in. He reeked of alcohol.'

'Maybe someone else took him away?' said Emma, unsure.

'What, like one of the ghosts?' Rupert said, bending down and picking up the remnants of the bottle. 'What?' he said when the others looked at him. 'This is someone's grave, there's a body buried beneath this headstone. How would you like it if your grave was covered in glass from a bottle of booze? Its disrespectful.'

Nisha stepped forward and helped him pick up the pieces of broken glass with a smile, before the others all pitched in to help. When the last few bits were casually brushed away, Rupert stepped back. 'That's better. Rest in peace old chap,' he said touching the headstone momentarily before turning away to look for a bin to drop it all into.

'You never cease to amaze me,' said Lana as she smiled at the comedian fondly.

'I found a rubbish bin over here,' shouted Imran from the distance. After they'd got rid of the old bits of glass, the group were just about to carry on walking when the soothing sounds of singing drifted to their ears. Ava heard it first.

'Do you hear that?' she asked.

'Nope. What is it?' asked Elliott, straining to hear.

'Someone's singing,' she whispered.

'Yes but with your special abilities, it could be someone singing over at Hyde Park,' he laughed quietly.

'No, it's a girl and she's here. Here at Abney Park. Listen... her voice is extraordinary. I've never heard anything like it.'

Making them all stand perfectly still, the lingering sounds began to hover over the group, captivating them and pulling them in.

'It's this way,' Ava said as they followed her, trying to move silently. Something that proved somewhat difficult considering the amount of dead leaves and twigs beneath their feet.

'Look, over there,' she pointed.

Sitting alone beneath a statue of a headless angel sat a pretty young girl, about their age, singing quietly to herself, completely lost in her own thoughts. Beside her was the drunk man, who lay sleeping by her feet.

'How the hell did she move him?' asked Liam in shock.

'Shhhh,' whispered Emma as they watched the girl with the tumbling red curls sit singing like an angel.

The sudden return of Granville the ghost made Rupert jump so much that he yelped out loud. The girl's singing stopped instantly and within a second, she was gone. And so was the unconscious man with her.

'Hey!' said Elliott loudly, 'Where did she go?'

'Who? What? When?' said Granville as he stood in the centre of the group spinning around.

'Tsk tsk,' tutted Cassie. 'You frightened her off, Rupert. What the hell?'

'Sorry,' he muttered, 'Granville here frightened the living daylights outta me,' he whimpered.

'Oh believe me young chap, you'd know if the living daylights were gone, I can tell you that from experience. Now who are you talking about. Who was frightened off?' asked the ghost curiously.

'The girl with the red hair,' answered Imran.

'The girl with the red hair?'

'Hm hm. She was just there singing, with the drunk man sleeping at her feet,' Lana explained.

'Oh that girl with the red hair. She spends a lot of time here at Abney Park. And I do believe the drunk man is her father.'

'Really?' asked Ava, shocked.

'Yes,' nodded the ghost, 'The name's erm, let me think for a moment. Oh yes, the family name's Madigan and the young girl is called, erm... Daisy, yes that's it, Daisy,' he said, quite proud of himself for remembering.

'But what is she doing here?' asked Emma with genuine concern in her voice. 'She's probably the same age as us. She shouldn't be here on her own.'

'Well, she's not really on her own, is she? Her father is here with her.'

'Not much of a father, is he?' said Elliott. 'He's a drunk. She's looking after him rather than the other way round.'

'I think we're all forgetting something rather crucial here guys and gals,' said Penny. 'There's something special about that girl... she's the one that moved her father, remember? How can a regular teenage girl move a fully grown unconscious man so fast that we never even saw her? And where did she go? I don't think Liam can move that fast. What's going on?'

The group looked at each other in dismay.

'Well, whoever she is, she doesn't want to be bothered. That's clear as day, don't you think?' said Lana. 'As much as I'd love to help her, we're here for Josiah. Granville, do you have any news for us?'

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

'The boy you described has been here, on and off, for the past few days. I've spoken to some of the others over at the crypt and they've seen him, some have spoken to him but he hasn't really made any sense, I'm afraid. He doesn't seem to be here at the moment though. Sorry I'm not able to offer much assistance in the matter,' elaborated Granville.

'That's helpful, though, thank you,' said Nisha. 'Who are the others, Granville? And what is the crypt?'

'There are a number of crypts here in the park, but we generally meet at one, further down that way,' he said pointing. 'The others are just like me, I suppose. Spirits lost in time. Stuck here,' he said sadly.

'How many are there?' she asked just as a flash of light blinded them for a few seconds.

When they could see again, the group found themselves surrounded by about fifty ghosts.

'Holy cr....' said Rupert as Ava placed her hand over his mouth.

'Language, Rupert,' she scolded, smiling.

'Oh, hello,' said Nisha with genuine surprise written all over her face.

'Hello my love,' said an elderly woman with a stoop. 'We don't get many of your kind around here these days, not the friendly kind anyhoo' she said.

'Erm, my kind?' asked Nisha.

'Yes, my love. Those that can freely see us and communicate with us like this. Granted, many people can see us and hear us but only if we want them to. You can see us regardless... it's nice that you want to see and talk to us. It certainly makes a change, I tell you,' she cackled. 'Been here a long time, and we don't often get to talk to anyone other than this ghostly lot,' she smiled, revealing several missing front teeth.

'I seen that boy you're looking for. He seems very frightened and lonely. Best you find him as soon as you can and lead him down the right path 'fore those others lead him the wrong way,' she said.

'Others?' asked Nisha.

'Yes my love. The others, those evil ones. They often have their eye on the newcomers. If you don't get him soon, it'll be too late.'

'But who are they?' asked Penny.

Before she could get an answer, though, the ghosts had vanished right before their eyes. Even Granville was no longer with them.

'Something's wrong,' said Nisha, looking around. 'I felt it. They got spooked. We need to get out of here.'

'What is it? What's wrong Nisha?' asked Emma. 'Ava, can you hear anything?'

Ava closed her eyes and concentrated hard. 'There's someone coming. It's a group, they're moving quickly. They're coming towards us,' she whispered shakily.

'Rupert? Can you see anything?' she asked as he focussed hard into the distance. 'There's about eight... no, nine. There's nine of them. They look really mean, guys. We need to get out of here. Get to the old chapel, as fast as you can, now' he said.

'But we're Watchers. We can take them,' growled Liam with clenched fists.

'No,' said Emma, 'We don't even know who they are. We mustn't get involved. Let's just get out of their way. Please, Liam, come on.'

Liam reluctantly nodded at her before they all rushed away and headed toward the old chapel from where Rupert kept a look out. His exceptional vision skills allowed him to see through the trees, the crypts and anything else that stood in their way.

'What's going on, Rupert?' whispered Imran as they all huddled behind him.

'They're looking for something,' he replied. 'But I can only see, I can't hear. Ava what are they saying?'

Ava closed her eyes and stood silently listening.

'They're after someone. They're laughing. Wait, he's saying, we're gonna get her this time. It's about time we showed her whose boss around here...'

'They've stopped,' added Rupert, 'One of them seems to be... sniffing the air. He's looking in our direction. Shhhh everyone,' he whispered as they all stood as silently as they possibly could.

'They're on the move again. They're coming this way. Oh God,' he said.

'What is it Rupert?' whispered Lana.

'A couple of them... they're not... human.'

Lana gasped as Liam grabbed hold of her hand.

'What do we do?'

'Just stay quiet, hold still,' Ava whispered. 'They're still looking for someone.'

'They've changed course,' said Rupert, 'They're heading away. I think they're goin...' but before he could even finish his sentence, something appeared at the door to the chapel, making them all jump backwards.

The four-legged creature snarled as it stood watching them, its black eyes flicking from one side of the nave to the other. Slowly stepping inside, the moonlight shining in from the holes in the roof glistened on its glossy black fur.

Lana began to step backwards, catching her foot on a broken stone tile in the floor. She stumbled. Before she hit the ground, Liam caught her just as the beast leaped forward. At exactly the same time, Elliott held out his hands and shook them until flames appeared dancing before his eyes. Flicking his fingers, the flames grew larger until the smell of burnt hair filled the air.

The creature yelped and dropped backwards as it continued to snarl at the group, standing in the broken doorway. Elliott concentrated, keeping the flames coming, just in case.

'They're coming,' said Rupert, 'They heard it yelp.'

'Now what? We're trapped in here,' Penny said as they all stood waiting while the beast continued its terrifying snarling.

'Not much we can do now. Let's just see what they want,' Diarmuid said as the figures burst through the chapel's entrance.