Ghost Walk

The room was empty of furnishings. A naked lightbulb hung suspended from the ceiling. A lone iron-framed bed sat in the corner against one bleak wall. A man lay on the bed, sleeping. He was covered in a single sheet and gray blanket. As they watched, he sat up, rubbing and blinking his eyes. Then he looked directly at them. His expression was one of astonished disbelief.

He can see us, Maria thought. Just like we can see him.

She recognized the man right away. Two years had passed. He looked different than he had in the newspaper clippings and his dust jacket photo. His face was lined and haggard and his once-thick hair had been shaved down to stubble. He’d lost weight. His wrists were twigs and his cheekbones stood out at sharp angles beneath his skin. His goatee, once neatly trimmed and jet-black in the pictures on the inside back cover of his books, was now wiry and washed with white. Not gray, but pure white. But it was his eyes that had changed the most. In photographs, his eyes had always hinted of amusement, or perhaps mischief.

Now, Adam Senft’s eyes just seemed haunted.

Maria felt a sudden wave of sadness, but didn’t know why.

Adam ran his hand across the top of his head, gaping at them. His mouth moved, but he made no sound.

“Mr. Senft,” Levi said, “please don’t be alarmed. We’re here to help you.”

The author’s voice drifted out of the flames, faint and faraway. “Y-you…this is…but I’m awake. They said the medicine would stop this. I’m dreaming.”

“You are not dreaming, Adam. I assure you of that. But you must listen to me. We are here to help you. We can get you free. But you have to hurry. The gateway won’t stay open for long. Can you move?”

“Y-y-yes…”

“Then step through the door,” Levi urged. “Quickly!”

“You—you’re Amish.”

“Not really. It’s a long story.”

“Do you drive a horse and buggy?”

Levi paused. “Yes. But I don’t see what—”

“Why do you drive a buggy if you’re not Amish?”

“The price of gas has increased quite a bit since you went into this institution. We’re at war. But that’s not important right now.”

“Why not? It’s my dream, right? I get to make up the rules.”

“Please,” Levi pleaded. “We know what really happened to you. We know about Hylinus and Nelson LeHorn.”

Adam cringed, pressing himself against the wall.

“My father was Amos Stoltzfus,” Levi said into the flames. “Do you recognize that name?”

Senft’s stutter had returned. “H-he was one of LeHorn’s p-peers.”

“That is correct. And I am his son. I believe your story, Adam. So does my friend here.”

“Nobody believes me,” Adam sighed, lying back down on the bed. “They don’t understand.”

“We believe you,” Levi insisted. “But it’s not over in LeHorn’s Hollow, and unless you want what happened to you to happen to others, you’ll come with us. We need your help. I can’t do this without you. Now hurry!”

Maria heard the rising panic in Levi’s voice. Then she noticed that the flames were starting to shrink again.

Adam sat up again, staring at them. Then he shrugged.

“I’ve read a bit about lucid dreaming. I guess if I don’t like where this is going, then I can just change it. Wake myself up again. Right?”

“That’s fine,” Levi nearly shouted in exasperation. “Just hurry up. Come through the door.”

The flames continued to die down, now flickering at a level even with their heads.

Adam put on a pair of slippers and got out of bed. He approached the portal with caution, slowly reaching out his hand. He reached through it tentatively. When he wasn’t burned, he stepped inside…

…and walked out into the circle of protection, nearly knocking Maria and Levi over. Adam toppled, losing his balance. Still sitting cross-legged, Levi reached for him. Adam pulled away, heading for the edge of the circle. His foot hovered over the line of salt.

“No,” Levi shouted. “Don’t break the—”

Adam stepped out into the thicket. Immediately, the flames changed color again, burning black against the darkness. The scene inside the fire changed, no longer showing Senft’s room. Instead, it looked like the surface of another planet. Boulders and red sand covered the desolate landscape. The rocks looked like they were rotting, as if they were organic. Something beyond their view roared. The noise wasn’t audible. Maria heard it in her mind.

“What the hell is that?” she screamed. “Is that what we’re fighting? The thing with no name?”

“No!” Levi shouted. “That’s something else. Hold on!”

She stared, transfixed, terrified but unable to look away as the doorway widened. The roar ceased. She felt the air around them rush past her as it was sucked into the rift. Her hair fluttered and her thin gold necklace began to writhe around her neck, slowly defying the law of gravity. The candles wobbled, the flames flickering but not going