All Hope Lost (11 page)

Please don’t judge me for what I have done. This is
justice. This is what they deserved, and the peace you all gained from my
actions is on my head, no one else’s. There are other powers at work on this
side and will be watching my actions. If I go too far, I will be stopped by
them. So far, they have not. Therefore I believe that what I am doing is right
and just.

My own killers have already been arrested and are
currently in jail serving their time. So my reason being here is not to get
revenge on them. I believe it is to get justice for all of us here that cannot
get help from those who SHOULD be helping.

If you do not believe me, ask me to prove it to you
and I shall.

Keep your chins up, for there is justice out there,
through me.

Sharon Hartman (recently deceased)”

As I read back through my
message, I knew that if I posted it, I would get a lot of replies to say it’s a
sick joke. But what else could I do? I didn’t know what else to write.
Should
I hit the reply button or delete it?
My finger hovered over the button to
post it.
Hell what can they do if they think it’s a hoax? I suppose they
could ban me, but then the real Sharon would not get her account back.

My mind made up I hit the
reply button. My message appeared and the deed was done. I wanted to see how the
others would react to my post. As I waited for any replies I searched through
the next lot of noisy neighbour victims.

One stood out to me after a
few pages of scrolling. This person had multiple posts, and her name was Dora.
She was living next to a family who were originally from Turkey. They rarely
spoke English, according to her posts. And they never spoke quietly, they
always had to shout, argue, and the strangest thing was she always had to put
up with them having something burning in the back garden, no matter what the
weather was doing.

In the end the Environmental
Health told them they could not use the BBQ to burn old painted wood. The old
paint was creating fumes from their fire, and giving her headaches. The people
were even cooking food over this wood, so goodness knows what it was doing to
them. Although now, it appears the effects are beginning to show.

The man of the house stands by
his back door every morning at 4am coughing his guts up. No doubt caused by the
paint fumes he was burning but also the amount he smokes in general. Every day
he does this, without fail and wakes Dora up, as her bedroom as over her own
back garden.

She had been told that the
noise was normal living noise by the council and they could do nothing about
it. How can it be normal living noise, when no matter where you go in your
house, or to the far end of the garden whilst their windows and doors are shut,
you can still hear them clearly shouting and screaming at one another?

Yet another brush off by the
council. Dora also states that she knows the man is on Disability benefits
because apparently he can’t walk far. Yet she sees him walking just fine around
his garden, and going to and from the house. Benefit fraud maybe?

Anyway, this has been going on
for a couple of years. Their noise is horrendous, and she no longer gets peace
and quiet. Why should she have to put up with this crap? I nodded to myself. I
knew who was next on my list.

Opening the main search engine
I searched online for Turkish superstitions and beliefs. I had to find out what
they most believed in to make my hauntings work. The searches popped up within
a couple of seconds, and I clicked on the top link. Reading through the page, I
took note that Turkish society did not believe in ‘ghosts’ as such but instead
referred to them as ‘Cin’ (pronounced Gin). Similar to a ghost, they are
believed to be a being on earth that we cannot see or hear. Any relation with a
Cin is considered to be harmful because of their energy levels, but Cin’s can
apparently be both good and bad.  They were also thought to be made of
fire, and that certain people can be on the same plane or frequency as a Cin
and so can communicate with them. I read further along. Cin’s are the most
feared beings, and most will take them seriously.

“Interesting,” I mused. “Gives me some idea of how to
combat this next lot of imbeciles I suppose.”

Slipping inside the laptop
again, I found the broadband line I needed and made my way to my destination.

Turkish Disasters

The incessant screaming and
shouting was almost too much for me when I appeared at the other end. The home
I was in was decorated with a flock feature wall, with light creams and
coloured accents around the room, in the cushions, the curtains, all very
tasteful. I hated the fact that inconsiderate neighbours took away the victims
enjoyment of their own homes. That we, the victims had to live our lives around
theirs, and if we ever did anything to annoy them, then we would be accountable
by the authorities, the abusers never were.

I shook my head, disgusted and
headed straight through the adjoining wall into the neighbours’ house.

What hit me first was the smell and the colours. To call
it garish didn’t quite cut it. It was horrible. At least to my eyes it was. I
found the couple shouting at each other in Turkish in the kitchen. The garden
was reached by the back door which was at the other end of the room. I had no
clue what they were arguing about, but this had to stop. Normal living noises?
Over my live body! I shuddered and tried to picture myself engulfed by flames.

The air around me grew warm as
I manifested the Ifrit persona. The couple before me both glanced in my
direction as I came into focus. They screamed as I pointed at them with a fiery
claw. I growled, steam rising from my mouth and nose.

“Cursed are you both for your behaviour. You will be
punished for the abuse you have caused to your family and neighbours. Heed my
words mortals, for if you do not change, I will return!” With a flourish I
bellowed a scream at them, fire and all and vanished before them. They both
stood there stunned for a moment, and then started screaming and shouting at
each other again. I had no idea what they were shouting about, but my best
guess was about me. I made my voice heard again. “SILENCE MORTALS! You have
been warned!!”

I realised that as I managed
to speak to these people that I should be able to speak with Steve, even if he
couldn’t see me. I would try it, I decided at some point. It was only fair that
I should be able to communicate with both him and Michael. The only issue with
it was, that the more I had to concentrate on doing things, the more drained I
became. Whereas with Michael, it was like I didn’t have to try at all. He could
just see me. I thought about the Cin creatures that the Turkish culture
believed in, and recalled them mentioning people being on the same frequency.
Maybe
that is similar to what Michael has with me then? I wonder if he sees other
dead people?
I mused. I would have to ask him later too!

I left the couple who now had
become silent on my command and walked through the adjoining wall to the
neighbours’ house. The lady was standing stock still in the middle of her
living area, and by the looks of her, she was listening to what was happening.
Her partner, a large male spoke behind her.

“What the hell is going on next door? Did you hear that
other voice Karen?”

“I did. What do you think it was?”

“Don’t you mean who?”

Karen shook her head slowly. “No. Whatever just told them
to be silent did not sound normal. Check the windows, see if anything leaves
the house, I’ll check the back.”

Karen and her other half went to a window each, front and
back and were peering through, waiting.

Maybe I should show them
what their neighbours just had in their kitchen? I don’t need to scare them but
give them a fleeting glimpse.

I headed back into next doors
house, and gathering what strength I had left shimmered back into the Ifrit,
fire form. The couple whom I had cursed had disappeared to another room, and
were for once, being quiet watching their TV. I headed through the front door
making my form appear in minute flashes. They wouldn’t be able to quite figure
me out, but would know then, that something had been in their neighbours’
house. Vanishing again, I headed back indoors and to the PC. I felt tired.
Manifesting myself into another form and making me heard was draining beyond
belief. But at least it seemed to have worked. I could only wait and see.
Jumping inside the PC I found my line home and relaxed as the current did the
work for me.

Appearing at the other end, I
hopped out of the laptop and was welcomed by Michael, sitting watching the
telly.

“Hey Sharon! How’s things going? All good on the haunting
front?” he asked.

I flopped down on the other
sofa, and closed my eyes. “This whole vigilante, haunting thing is so tiring!”
I sighed. Michael was watching me, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.
“There’s just so  much I seem to be able to do, but the more I do stuff, the
more tired I become. I mean, I became a creature made of fire today, known as
an Ifrit to scare somebodies neighbours into being more considerate.”

“Why an Ifrit?” Michael asked. “What was wrong with just
a regular haunting?”

I explained that these particular
neighbours from hell were Turkish and that in their culture, they do not
believe in ghosts as such, but Cin. I told him about how some people in their
society believed they could speak and commune with the Cin because they were on
the same frequency. “I wonder if that is why you can talk to me and see me?” I
pointed out. “Maybe their Cin, Is similar to our Daemon’s; me?”

“It’s possible I guess,” Michael stated. “After all, why
not, seems anything is possible right now, I mean I’m talking to you, and
you’re dead.”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me!” I jibed. “Oh, I know
what I wanted to ask you. Have you ever seen dead people before, or is it just
me?”

Michael went quiet for a
moment. “Er, well, I’m not totally sure to be honest. Ever since I went a bit
crazy and had to take these meds, well, let’s just say they had some visual
side effects.” I nodded. “I guess I have trouble knowing what’s real and what
isn’t sometimes. But it’s true, I have spoken with other people before that
were not actually here. Whether they were ghosts or not though, I’ve no idea. I
didn’t hang around long enough to find out. They freaked me out loads at
first.”

I raised my eyebrows. “So they
don’t anymore?” I asked, wanting him to continue.

Michael shook his head. “Nah, not really. After all,
since I met Steve he has kept me pretty sane. Helped me when I didn’t know what
I was doing, or who I was talking to if anyone. But now I think about it, some
of those invisible people could have well been dead. What do you think?”

“I think anything right now is possible, like you said.
After all, you can see and talk to me. How rare is that?”

Michael laughed. “Very true. Makes you wonder what else
might be out there.”

“I wouldn’t say no to much now! Better start making
contingency plans for everything, including zombie invasions.”

“Hah, yeah, though if they are the fast moving ones, then
we’re all screwed. I’d shoot myself in the head if that ever happened. Slow
zombies are fine, but those freaky ass fast ones, hell no.”

Steve appeared at that moment
in the doorway. “Don’t tell me zombies are real too now!” He smiled and dumped
his backpack In the hallway before setting himself down where I was sat. He
shivered. “Sorry Sharon.” He shifted over to the warmer side. “At least I assume
that’s you.”

I guessed now was the time to
test out my speaking ability on Steve. I concentrated.

“Yes Steve that was me.”

Steve’s head whipped round at my voice. “Did I just hear
you speak? Michael did you hear that?” Michael nodded.

“Yeah, that was Sharon.” Michael replied for me. “Seems
that speaking aloud to you though takes her a lot of focus.” Michael looked at
me, concerned. “Are you ok to be doing that Sharon? Don’t feel like you have to
talk for us all to hear. I can easily relay what you say if it’s too much.”

Smiling at Michael, I spoke to
them both. “Yes, it does take a lot of focus for my voice to carry into the
living plane. I wanted to try it as I have been able to speak to the noisy
neighbours with it for the past few days, and I thought that if it was only
Steve here, I would have some way of speaking with you if Michael was out.” I
shuddered. “I must rest again. This is taking a lot out of me.”

“Don’t worry yourself about
me, Sharon.” Steve replied. “If you can’t speak to me just let me know you’re
here by flickering the lights or something. Remember you don’t know what will
happen if you drain yourself completely again. You might not come back.”

I couldn’t find the energy to
talk any more so I just nodded. I knew Michael could see me. “I’m going to rest
now. I’ll see you both tomorrow?”

“Sure Sharon,” Michael replied. “See you tomorrow.”

“Take it easy, Sharon.” Steve added.

I smiled and relaxed to rest.
My form faded slightly and I closed my eyes.
Do ghosts dream?
I suddenly
wondered.

******

Opening my eyes slowly, I took
in my surroundings. I blinked, my brow furrowed in confusion.
What the?
Where am I?