GHOST | Chapter 14

Instructions

Sara's Perspective I snapped out of the zone. "Amelia?" I called out, even though she couldn't hear me. It was happening again. "AMELIA!" I screamed. I didn't care that Joseph's minions were waiting right outside. I didn't care that they would catch me. I didn't even care if Joseph killed me. I just needed to know that the only friend that I'd had since the "incident" occurred was okay. I flew out of the computer room, past the Elites, and through the halls of Wilbur Academy. I couldn't let what had happened to me happen to her. It would be too unbearable. "Amelia, where are you!?" I cried. Soon enough, I arrived in a hallway where a person stood facing two people, one lying on the ground and the other supporting them. Cautiously, I approached them. As I came closer, I saw the figure who was on the ground was a boy. I let out a collective sigh of relief. But that meant someone else was lying on the floor unconscious. I came closer to investigate. It was Liam. Amelia was crying as she held his head in her hands. And, of course, the person who loomed over them was Joseph. I had jinxed it. I always did. And there was nothing I could do about it. I floated away sadly, the destiny of Wilbur Academy left in shatters. Except I COULD do something about it. I needed to find some allies. I flew through the halls of the school, trying to find someone to side with. I knew the high school side wouldn't be running around, screaming about Joseph trying to blow people's heads off. However, when I floated through the entryway of the high school side, the air buzzed with rumors. "Did you hear about the shooting on the middle school side?" "I thought I heard a gunshot a few minutes ago, but I think it was just a car back-firing outside." "Has Gill made his return?" Eventually, I found a boy with striking brown hair, shining hazel eyes, and a sharp jawline, the same features as Amelia. This must be Xavier, Amelia's "annoying" older brother, I thought. Surely a brother would help his sister. "Xavier..." I whispered in his ear. He jolted slightly at the cool breeze and mysterious voices. "Wh-who's there!?" Xavier blurted. His friends stared at him like he was crazy. "Yo, are you okay, man?" one of Xavier's friends asked him, concern in his voice. "Don't worry, Xavier. I won't hurt you," I reassured him. "Woah, is that Sara!?" Xavier's other friend gasped. "Yes. It is me, Sara Wilbur. I need your help." "A ghost...needs our help?" Xavier's first friend questioned. "Yes. Those rumors you heard about Joseph? They're true. He shot someone, and I think he's going for Amelia next," I explained. "Amelia? My sister?" Xavier asked, his voice shuddering. "Yes." "How do we know we can trust you?" Xavier's second friend asked suspiciously. In reply, I handed him the note Amelia had given me that one fateful day. After reading over the note, Xavier and his friends nodded. "We will help you." — Xavier and his pals ran around the high school side, trying to find people to help them. They did this quickly and efficiently, and soon, we were headed to the middle school side to save Amelia. Eventually, we walked through the hall and confronted Joseph. He finally gave in. His reign of terror was officially over. Xavier called the police, who arrived at Wilbur Academy soon after he hit the call button. Joseph was brought away, locked up in silver confines. A simple thing like handcuffs had brought the biggest bully of Wilbur Academy down. But it had also brought Amelia and Liam down. — Liam was stuck in the hospital, which left Amelia stuck in the middle. Joseph Mare had been brought down, but Liam could die in the hospital at any given time. Amelia roamed the halls depressed and lonely. In 7th grade, I was required to read "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. The opening line was "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Right now, that couldn't be truer. A couple of weeks after the "second incident," I was eating lunch with Amelia in the boiler room, like we had always done. Amelia wore red, blotchy cheeks and tear trails on her face. She was still acting melancholy daily. "Amelia, it's gonna be okay. There's a big chance Liam will live," I attempted to reassure her. "But what if he doesn't?" Amelia sniffled. "You can't worry about that. Sometimes you have to learn to move on. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in an endless loop of anxiety and stress!" I explained. "But I CAN'T stop worrying about it! I love Liam, and if something happened to him..." Amelia broke down crying for the third time that day. "Oh, Amelia..." I sighed. I couldn't help it. I had empathy. I couldn't help but feel what someone else was feeling. I wrapped my transparent arms around Amelia's shoulders. "You have so much going on in your life for a 12-year-old girl." "You did, too. You died during the 'incident'," Amelia added. "Why does life have to be so hard for tweens?"