We spent the afternoon playing crochet while Grace baked apple cobbler from the apples we’d gathered off of Tess’ tree.  It was the best cobbler I ever had.

          Mom said that was because Grace used over a pound of butter in her recipe.

          Break was almost over and we’d be heading back to school soon.  I was excited to tell my friends about our adventure.  I just hope it ended well.

          As dusk approached, I was getting nervous about trying to trap the ghost.  What if it didn’t work?  What if we just made him mad and Tess and I wound up a pile of bones like those poor dogs?

          We snuck off the property after dark.  We could hear the grown-up laughter echo in the clear night air.

          The moon was so bright that we didn’t even need a light.  I carried one anyway…for protection.

          “What are you going to do,” Tess teased, “hit the ghost with the light?  It’ll go right through him.”  She laughed

          I laughed too.  She did have a point.  It’s just that carrying the light made me feel safer.

          We silently made our way into the cemetery and crept back to the forbidden section.

          My breath caught in my throat when I saw the flickering lights.  The ghost was there.  I guess I was secretly hoping that there would be no lights.

          Tess saw them too.

          “Bummer,” she whispered.

          “You got us into this!” I whispered back.

          “What could I say?”

          “Anything but sure,” I pulled my sweatshirt tighter around me.

          “Are you ready,” I asked.

          Tess nodded silently.

          The others arrived shortly.      

“We’ll wait down here,” Sarah said.

“If the ghost comes out, we’ll distract him,” Miles said.

I felt sick to my stomach.  I wasn’t sure my legs would carry me to the top of the cave.

“Be careful,” Sarah told Tess.

“We will,” Tess said as she followed me up the steep rock wall.

The granite was cold and slick.  It was steeper than it looked.  I struggled to keep my grip.  One hand over the next, one foot over the other…talking my steps in my mind.

We climbed quietly so as not to warn the ghost.

I looked down at Tess.  She was keeping up, breathing heard, but keeping up.

I looked down at the three below.  Why wasn’t Miles making this climb with me?  Imagine, I thought, letting a girl be braver than him.

I waved down.  Luke waved back.  The other two just stared…frightened.

I crawled to the ledge and pulled Tess up.

It was easy to get behind the rocks.  They seemed in perfect position to push.  It was as if they were piled to be thrust over the edge.  Surveying the situation I wondered how they hadn’t fallen on their own.

“Jake.”  Tess’ voice broke my thoughts.  She pointed below.

Miles and Sarah and Luke were waving wildly at us.

They were trying to tell us something!

Every muscle, every bone in my body ached with fear.

Had the ghost emerged?

Were Tess and I already busted?

I walked to the edge and peered down.  No one was there.

“Jake!  Come back here!”  Tess cried.  “You’ll fall over the edge.”

I looked up and the other Tilley kids were gone.

I turned to Tess and froze.

The ghost was right behind her.

His glowing eyes were angry.  His body was trembling.

He grabbed me by the arm and Tess by the collar.

“Come with me,” he said in a harsh, raspy voice…a harsh, raspy voice of death.

Chapter 21

          He forcefully led us to the cave entrance.  He was stronger than he looked.  Not at all frail like his exterior.

          I guess ghosts possessed great strength.

          I tried to wiggle and jerk free but I was no match for him.

          Tess was crying wildly and thrashing but the ghost held tight.

          In seconds, we were tripping through the dark cave tunnels -- towing candlelight our destination.  We were too frightened to continue to struggle.

          I was knocked and scrapped against the cave wall.  I couldn’t even call out from the pain.  Terror had seized my voice.  Again, like in those dreams where you can’t run or speak. 

          We were thrown into the lighted chamber and landed hard on the granite floor.

          “What are y-you going to do?” Tess managed.

          The ghost sat down and motioned for us to take the bench opposite him.

          We did so.  Tess was trying to control her sobs.  I clenched my hands tightly together.

          The ghost cleared his throat.  He stood and then sat again.  “You kids are in serious trouble.”  He glared at us as he spoke and ice ran through my veins.

          “We didn’t mean any harm…we, we were just trying to help,” I blurted out.

          “It is a dangerous business to get involved with ghosts,” he said in his gravely whisper.

          “We’ll go away,” Tess pleaded.  “We’ll go away and never come back to the cemetery.”

          “Yeah,” I added.  “We won’t even leave our property except to go to school.”  Please let us go, I thought.

          “We didn’t mean to disturb you.”  Tess said.

          “We won’t tell anyone about you.  We’ll deny you exist even,” I added desperately.

          He sat back.  He looked surprised.  “Deny I exist?”  A slow, grin danced across his face.

          “Yes,” I said.  “We won’t tell a soul!”

          He began to chuckle.  “Me?” he said.  “Why, I’m not the ghost!”  he cackled.  “Your pals are.”

Chapter 22

          Tess could only stare at him.

          “What!” I cried, glaring at the ghost in horror.

          “It’s the truth,” he said softly, sincerely.

          “It’s a trick!” Tess stood up.  “It’s a trick to turn us against our friends.  Divide and conquer!”  She ranted.

          “They’re not kids.  They’re 300 years old.”

          I looked at Tess.  She looked at me.  My chest hurt and my head pounded.  I couldn’t think.

          “Permit me to introduce myself,” the ancient figure said.  “I am Mitchell Tilley.”  He bowed and his face flickered in the candlelight.

          “Tilley!”  Tess blurted. “We’re Tilley’s!”

          “I know,” he said.  His face seemed softer now, not as angry.  He cleared his throat again.  It echoed through the glowing chamber.  I came here from Massachusetts quite some time ago.”

          “In the fall of 1708?” I almost demanded.

          He seemed amused.   “Not that long ago,” he smiled.  “Sit back down young lady.  You’re making me nervous.”

          I noticed that Tess was still standing.  She sat down awkwardly.

          “Making you nervous,” I said.  “Huh!”

          “Anyway, I ended up here after some time in Salem – where I was a Professor of the occult.  See, I study ghosts and the like.”

          Was he for real or was this a trick, an evil trick to help him trap Miles and Sarah and Luke?

          His face revealed nothing.

          “If you study ghosts why did you drag us here instead of them?” I asked.

          “To try and help you.  To warn you.  I have seen the evil of the Tilley ghosts.  I have spent years studying them.” He said.

          Tess gasped.  I had no idea if I believed this person, ghost, man…whatever…and I couldn’t tell what Tess thought.

          Then it hit me!  I didn’t believe him.  “If you’re this big scientist studying ghosts then why are you holed up in this weird cave?  And why all of the candles?”  I asked.

          He looked around the chamber – almost in awe.  “This cave is a sanctuary,” he whispered.

          Sanctuary, that’s what Miles called it.

          “Once inside this cave,” he explained, “ghosts can’t escape through the rocks.”

          “But we almost trapped you in here,” I insisted.  “How do I know that you aren’t the ghost?”

          “Maybe I could dig out, maybe I couldn’t.  Same as any man,” he furthered.  “But they most certainly couldn’t.”

          “My plan is to trap them in here,” he said. “That’s why you found the rocks stacked like they are.  I put them there.”

          Tess cocked her head.  “Ok, but then why are you living here?” she asked.

          “I’m safe here,” he answered.  “The sanctuary keeps me safe.  The ghosts can’t surprise me by coming through the walls.  They can’t get through these rocks.  Don’t you think it’s odd how they sent you up here rather than doing it themselves?”

          “They sent us here because they are horrified of you,” I yelled, suddenly angry.  “They sent us here to save them from the ghost…you!”

          He stood and swiftly approached Tess and I.

          “What are you going to do?” I asked, my fear returning.

Chapter 23

          Mitchell took another deliberate step towards us.  “So you don’t believe me, eh?” he said.

          Neither Tess nor I could answer as fear washed over us again.

          I found my voice, but it was high and thin.  “What are you going to do with us?”  I asked.

He looked at us for what seemed like an eternity.  His breath was heavy and his eyes were on fire as the flickering candlelight danced off of them.  “I’m going to let you go.”  He said.

I stood and hedged towards the chamber entrance.  I nudged Tess to do the same.

“You’ll be back though,” he said.  “You’ll be back once you have a look at the viney part of the graveyard.  You know where the three Tilley graves are neatly kept amidst the rubble.  Look behind them.  Look behind them and you’ll be back.”  He said.

We were inching backwards.  “We can r-r-r-really go?” Tess asked.

“Oh, you can go all right.  But you’ll be back,” he smiled.  “Go, go look at the graveyard.”

I spun around and ran as fast as I could.  I could hear Tess behind me.

No way, Mitchell, I thought, I’m never coming back to this place.

As we left the musty dampness for the crisp night air – I couldn’t get Mitchell’s crinkled old face out of my mind, nor could I stop his raspy words from echoing through my brain.

I shuttered as I recalled how he pulled both Tess and I into the cave.  It was inhuman, the strength he displayed. 

Then I thought about poor little Luke.  How terrified he is of ghosts.  They are our friends.  They tried to warn us that Mitchell was behind us.  In their shoes, I’d have run too.

They knew of the ghost their whole lives.  They had lived with the horror forever.

He’s a liar!  I thought.  He’s a ghost and a liar!

When we reached the road I stopped running.

“He’s evil!” Tess said as if reading my thoughts.

“And scary!”  I added.  “I can’t believe he let us go.”  I gasped in the cold night air.

I scanned the street for Miles, Sarah and Luke but they were nowhere to be seen.

Tess turned back towards the cemetery.  “I know what he wants us to see.  He wants us to see the graves with their names on them.”

I followed Tess back up the path and to the graves.  A gentle breeze rustled the trees.  Moonlight bounced off of the headstones.

“Same as before,” I said. “Names of our ancestors.  Names of there ancestors.”

“See anything else?” Tess asked.  “Anything strange?”

“Nope,” I said, stepping behind the headstones.

I stopped short as my foot sank in soft dirt.

“Whoa!”  I looked down.

I squinted under the shadows of the trees.

“What is it?” Tess asked in a strained voice.

“Some fresh dirt,” I said – backing away for further inspection.  “It looks like a fresh grave.”

“No way!” Tess said.  “You know the county doesn’t let them bury here anymore…especially in this section.”

Tess moved towards me.

“Jake, you’re so right!  It is a grave.  A fresh grave!”

We kept close together.

“Tess…it’s two graves and there are markers.”

I took my cousins arm and moved to the top of the fresh dirt.  I bent over them.

“Can you read them?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said when I found my voice. “It’s us Tess.  The names on the markers are ours.”

Chapter 24

          “What c-could it m-mean?” I stuttered.

          “Who dug these graves?  Who could have, Jake?” Tess asked.  “Who put up these markers?”

          “Let’s get out of here!” I urged.  “We need to go and tell our parents.”

          Tess hesitated.

          “They can ground us forever, Tess.  I don’t care!”  I said.  “I just want my dad to fix this.”

          I turned to leave – and bumped right into Miles.  He was with Sarah and Luke.

          Miles quickly came to us.  “Where are you going?” he asked.  “What are you doing here?”

          “We, we, we are going home.”  I said.

          “It’s late and our parents will come looking,” Tess added.

          “Did you get the ghost?” Luke asked shyly.

          I patted his head.  He felt real.  He was warm and human – not cold and raspy like Mitchell.  He was a real little boy.

          Mitchell Tilley is the ghost, I told myself…only I felt frightened to be with these three.

          “Did you get the ghost?” Luke asked – more forcefully this time.

          “No, we couldn’t.” Tess said.

          “Then how did you get away?”  Sarah demanded.

          “We ran!”  I said.  It was mostly the truth.

          “Yeah!  Thanks a lot.  Where were you guys?”  Tess bite.

          “Great job at distracting him!”  I said sarcastically.

          “We tried to warn you,” Luke said.  “We got scared and ran.”

          “We didn’t hear the rocks fall and we were afraid that the ghost got you like he got those dogs,” Miles said.

          Luke looked up pleadingly at his sister.  He began to cry.  “We have to kill the ghost!  We just have too!”

          Sarah and Miles tried to comfort their little brother.

          “Please, can we go back?”  Luke asked.  “Can we go back and try again.”

          I was about to ask Miles if he knew about the graves when he spoke up.           “Of course we’ll go back, Luke.”

          I shot a look at Tess.  Tess’ eyes were wide with fear.

          “Let’s go back and try again,” she said softly.

          “No way! Ut-uh!” I said.  “Not in a million years will I go back near that cave.

          “Ditto, double ditto, triple ditto even!” Tess stated firmly.

          “But don’t you see?  It’s perfect!  It’s beyond perfect because he won’t expect you to go back tonight.”  She said.

          “Please, guys?” Luke looked up through his soft, teary eyes.

          I could not believe that they were suggesting we try again!

          It was crazy.

          It was insane.

          It was suicide!

          No way, would I go back there again!

          “Fine,” I heard Tess say.  “We’ll do it.”

          The other three Tilley’s started clapping.

          I shook my head in disbelief.