A/N: Just an oneshot I made for a TX History assignment… A little late for Halloween but it is a ‘ghost story’.

Warnings: I wouldn’t call it scary, though it is a bit creepy at times.

The Lonely, Lost Soul

Maria shuddered as the rain, cold as ice, beat down upon her. Unfortunately, fierce winds had accompanied this unpredicted storm, making any warmth completely impossible. The weather was only getting worse, which made the freezing girl anxious.

“I sh-shouldn’t have l-left the bacienda...!” Her teeth chattered, making speech complicated. Thunder shook the sky with a mighty roar, drowning out her whimpered complaints. Somewhere hopefully very far off, lightening lit the black sky.

With a sound that was mixed between a squeak and shriek, Maria glanced around the area. A building, though not very close, stood out to the drenched girl. She made a mad dash for it.

Once she was a few feet away from it, Maria couldn’t help but hesitate. The building in favor turned out to be a presidio from a long time ago. She had recently been to the mission that this presidio was supposed to protect. On the tour, the guide had told her that the presidio was off-limits.

Despite the storm, Maria wondered if it was really safe to go into the building. Just the thought of going into this place caused here shivers to worsen. There was just something about it that made her uneasy. All the sudden, more lightening stuck, seeming closer than before. Any doubt was quickly wiped from the girl’s mind. She shoved the door open and shot off into the presidio.

Lightening was scary to Maria, but nothing could compete with the fear she felt within this ancient place. In this building, cobwebs laced the corners and dust covered the blankets like snow covering the ground during winter. The building was in ruins, parts of it seeming to cling to life.

She gazed fearfully at the place. Maria spotted a room and prayed it was less creepy than the main living quarters. The door creaked as it opened, reminding the girl of the movies she’d normally watch on Halloween. Well, this Halloween was ruined, seeing as she was caught up in a storm.

When the door finally was wide enough for her to see in, her mouth dropped wide, her eyes bugged out, and nausea started to rise from the bottom of her stomach. Nothing or no one could have prepared her for the grotesque sight before her now.

A hangman’s noose hung from the ceiling of what appeared to be a closet. And, from the very same noose, a man’s zombie-like body hung. His flesh was either gone or barely there. His hair was dusty, giving it the color of snow. It was stringy, like her brother’s hair when he didn’t wash it for three days.

In spite of his body’s conditions, Maria was positive it was a man, though she couldn’t tell what age he was. He was a soldier who had committed suicide. There was no doubt about it. Maria wanted to scream, cry out for help and escape the sight before her, but the corpse’s face mesmerized her.

She could still make out the agony that twisted his face in such a way, the fear that had once shone in his eyes that were no longer there, and the horrified realization of his final actions. Questions overpowered her worn out brain. Why would he do this?

Shaking violently, the Latino girl wandered back to the door. She’d rather face the storm than spend the night with this dead man. It took a minute, but she found the door. It was sealed shut.

“I don’t remember closing the door…” Maria said softly to herself. Instinctively, she looked behind her as though to make sure no zombie was following her. “Stop it, Maria… Stop being so paranoid.” She tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably.

Her shaky hand reached for the knob. She pulled. Nothing. She pulled again. Nothing. She pulled harder and harder and harder until she thought the knob was going to break off. “Why won’t it open!?” Maria inhaled deeply.

“There is no one alive that can convince me to spend a night with Mr. Suicidal over in that closet!” Maria shouted. She listened for a response. Satisfied by the silence, she began to yank and shove at the door again.

Suddenly, a shrill sound like a nail gliding down a chalkboard started. Maria froze. Slowly, she turned to where the noise was sounding. There on a mirror clinging to the wall was an alarmingly large amount of fresh blood dripping. It began to spell words right in front of her wide, terrified eyes.

‘But I’m not alive, am I?’ It spelled out, seeming to taunt her. Her breathing became quicker until she could hold back no longer. She screamed.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!!!” An evil laugh filled the presidio, echoing and bouncing off the walls. ‘Are you scared?’ The voice cackled, sadistic amusement evident in its tone. Maria started to run, passed the closet with the body and passed the words written in blood, all the way until she came to a dead end.

There was a window that she began to beat on, trying to break the antique glass. But it wouldn’t break. She ran into it, shoulder first. Still nothing broke, not even a little piece of glass. Maria went back to banging on it.

“Help me!! Someone, anyone!!! Get me out of here!!!” The menacing voice laughed again. ‘Poor Maria…’ It mocked her cruelly. ‘Poor little scared Maria!!!’ His voice reminded Maria of her cousin’s.

‘This ghost… He seems to be younger than I would have thought. He might not be any older than I am…’ Maria thought. The ghost was scary, that was a no-brainer. But the way he was acting reminded her of her older cousin’s teasing behavior.

She looked out the window, the rain still pouring down hard. Without warning, a face appeared beside her reflection. She looked at it, her eyes getting bigger instantly and her heart pounding in her ears. The facial features on the face were that of someone angered.

‘Don’t ignore me!!!’ The voice said suddenly. A hand shot out from the window and Maria fell back in surprise. “Ah!”

‘Ignore me and you’ll pay the consequences. Don’t make me your enemy, Maria.’ The Latino didn’t like the way her name rolled of his tongue. Now that she could see the ghost, she saw that it was a boy about her age, just as she has assumed. He was eighteen and had a handsome face. His clothes were shredded, much like on his body.

“Who are you?”

“Sergio. Sergio de Botellis.” The ghost smirked, staring down at her from his perch above the window. “Please to meet you, Maria Sanders.”

She blinked up at him. “How do you know my name…?”

“I know a lot about you. You were on that tour. The tour guides meet here, though only Angel knows about me, both body and soul.” He studied his hand, obviously uninterested in the subject. “She tells me everything I want to know about everybody that comes here.”

Maria recognized Angel as the name of her tour guide. She asked him, “Why do you want to know about us, Sergio?” He shrugged.

“I’m lonely… And up until now there has never been anyone who has caught my interest.” Sergio smirked again, this time ‘jumping’ down and landing in front of her. “You should be honored to have caught my attention, Maria.” He purred.

She began to back off. “You’re a creep.” She raced toward the door, her shoulder hitting it. It budged, but it didn’t open.

“You scared of me, Maria?” His laugh echoed again. “That’s too bad, considering you and I are going to be together for a long time!” Her shocked expression seemed to amuse him. “I told you I was lonely. Unfortunately for you, I don’t want to go back to being lonely.” He leveled himself so that their eyes met and locked.

In an almost soft voice, he continued, “You’ll like it here, I promise, mi corazon.” Maria shrank away from his transparent, outstretched hand. He gave a reassuring smile. Maria felt herself grow lighter and when she looked down, she saw her lifeless body laying limply against the door.

“No!” She cried. His ghostly breath tickled her ear as he leant in and whispered, “Welcome to the afterlife.”