Chapter One

"Melani Curtis?"

I turned at the sound of my name and smiled at the nervous looking woman walking toward me. She kept glancing at the house I was standing in front of out of the corner of her eyes, as if she were afraid it would swallow her in. Obviously it had been giving her trouble.

"Rachel?" I asked when she reached me and held out her hand. I took it and we shook. Her anxiety was intense.

"Yes, yes." She nodded nervously and I knew she wanted to speed this up. "Maddison told me that you could help?"

"It's a possibility," I told her, not wanting to get her hopes up. "I do need to see the inside of the house for a few minutes, get a feel for it."

Rachel once again nodded nervously. "I can let you in," she said, taking some keys out of her purse. She was shaking so badly that she could barely keep a hold on them. "Do you mind looking around yourself?"

I was surprised. Either Rachel didn't handle things very well or this was worse than I thought. "Of course, if you're more comfortable doing it that way."

"Do you need anything?" she asked this hesitantly, not understanding what I do at all.

I just smiled reassuringly at her, angry at the stupid movies that make people suspicious. "No, thank you. I'm just going to be looking around."

She looked relieved. "Great. I'll just wait in my car."

She handed me the keys and told me how to use them and then scurried back to her car, which was parked on the curb across the street. She really didn't like the house.

I walked up to the front door. It was a nice one floor, red brick house with three bedrooms and one bathroom. If I were looking to buy a house, this is one I would buy. But I was here to clear the house out, not buy it.

I unlocked the door and slowly stepped into the front room, letting some of my defenses fall. I could feel anger radiating from farther within the house. The house looked extraordinarily normal, but felt unwelcoming and even scary. I could see why Rachel didn't want to come with me.

I didn't need to see more. I stepped back out, closing the door and locking it back up. I put my defenses back up and walked toward where Rachel was waiting. She got out of her car and we met at the end of the driveway.

"Well?" She gave the house a wary look. "You weren't in there long."

I nodded, also looking back at the house. It stood there, looking completely normal, hiding what was inside. "This house does need a lot of work. I estimate about a month to three months before I can exterminate it. If I need an extension, I'll call."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

I could tell she didn't really want to ask this question, that she was just being courteous. She also probably thought that I was one of those show people who use candles and incense. But I wasn't.

"I might only need to get some information from you later," I told her. "Is it alright if I stay in the house while I work?"

She nodded. "That's fine. Whatever you need to do. I just need to get this house sold."

"I understand."

We shook hands again and she told me that I would have to sign some papers. Then we went our separate ways, she to her car across the street and me to mine in the driveway. As I got in my car, I took one last look at the house. It was calm and peaceful. Shivers ran up my spine. I almost couldn't wait to get started.

Maddie looked around, distaste clear on her face and uneasiness flowing through the air. "Maybe I shouldn't have called you," she said, moving into the kitchen and setting the box in her arms on the kitchen table.

The house was already furnished, which meant I had less stuff to move in. Maddie was helping me move the little stuff that I needed in. The sooner I unpacked, the sooner the current occupants knew I was serious about living here.

"Yes, you should have," I said to her. "The poor real estate agent was scared to even park on the curb."

"Well, Rachel was always a bit scared of things she couldn't explain," Maddie commented, having known the woman I interacted with for a while now.

"Aren't we all." I put my hands on my hip and stared at the really old looking television sitting against the wall in the front room. That would have to go.

"So have you met your new roommate yet?" Maddie asked. I heard her getting out my plastic dishware and placing them in the cupboards.

I smiled at the term she gave the ghost I had yet to meet. I'd never thought of them in that way, but I guess they were. "Whoever's haunting this place hasn't shown up yet, but they will. I can feel it."

"If I didn't love you so much, Melani, I would think you were crazy," Maddie said, poking her head into the front room and giving me her I-can't-believe-you-even-exist look. "Actually, if I were anyone else, I would think both of us were crazy. Here we are, talking about ghosts and haunted houses as if it were an everyday thing."

"It is an everyday thing," I reminded her with an amused smile.

"Yeah, well, it's still really weird."

Just then her phone rang. She sighed. "It's probably my boss, wondering where the file on his newest client is. I can't have a day off without him completely destroying the filing cabinet I just finished reorganizing from last time."

I didn't have to be an empath (which I am) to know that Maddie may have been frustrated, but she finds her boss's disorganization cute. It was actually just her boss that she found cute, but the disorganization was connected and therefore was just a cute trait that she could endure.

"Go ahead," I told her when she got off the phone and gave me her apologizing look. "I can handle the rest."

She grabbed her keys and purse. "You should find a new best friend that doesn't have to run off to save her boss."

"Her hot boss," I said with a grin. Maddie blushed and I laughed. "You can come over when everything's sorted out and maybe meet my new roommate, as you put it."

She shuddered. "How about I just call you?"

"Fine," I said, understanding that she didn't like all this ghostly business. She wouldn't be able to see the ghost anyways. "Just don't get too distracted."

Maddie left, mumbling about how I was such a mean friend. I went to the kitchen and collapsed the box she had managed to empty and started to empty out another one. It wasn't long before I heard something going on in the front room. I knew immediately who it was and steeled myself for some angry ghostly powers soon to come my way.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" A redheaded woman floated – yes, ghosts float or they would fall through the floor – in the middle of the living room, looking pretty crazed. I cringed at the volume of her voice and the rage being sent at me. This lady was very angry. "GET OUT! THIS IS MY HOUSE!"

Since ghosts all look to be in their 20's no matter what age they died, I had no idea how or when this woman died. I didn't know if she was murdered young or if she died of old age. All I knew was that she was very angry and wanted me out of her house. But I wasn't going.

"She's pretty angry, isn't she?"

At the sight of another intruder, the woman grew even angrier. "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" She started to tear apart the couch, boxes slid along the hardwood floor, the lights started flickering, and she wouldn't stop screaming. I knew that she was going to be a tough ghost to help out.

"Mason, go away," I said to the ghost that had appeared by my side. The force of her anger coming at me was softened by the presence of my big brother but it was still pretty bad, especially since his presence only made her angrier. "You're making it worse."

My brother Mason died a few years before I was adopted by his parents. When they adopted me, they knew about my empathic ability. They found out that I could speak to ghosts when talked about their dead son. Mom and Dad took it pretty well and even used me to talk to him. It was fine with me. It felt like we were still family even if I was the only one who could see and speak to Mason.

I don't know why Mason stuck around, but I didn't mind it. He calmed me when being an empath got too much, and he seemed to know exactly when I needed him most. When I asked why he didn't move on, he told me that he liked being where he was. I assume he was protecting me because no matter where I moved, he was there.

"You need me here," he said, ignoring my stern tone. If he could touch me, I knew he would have put his hand on my shoulder. Still, I appreciated the calming affect he had on me by just being there. "She may be angry at seeing me here, but she'll run out of energy soon."

Ghosts can't touch things, but they have enough energy that they don't need to touch anything. All ghosts can use their energy to manipulate electricity, move small objects, and rip things apart. But they have a limit, and like Mason said, they run out of energy.

Mason and I watched the woman tear up the living room. There wasn't much I could do. She was screaming so loud I knew that trying to talk to her would be futile. And I couldn't touch ghosts, so restraining her was out of the question. All I could do was watch and wait for her to calm down.

Suddenly one of my plastic cups flew through the kitchen and straight toward me. I ducked just in time and it went through Mason. He was probably trying to push me out of the way, but it didn't matter. The cup hit the floor and bounced around.

And that is why I buy plastic dishware.

The ghost continued to throw my dishes around, some of them coming for me, but most of them bouncing harmlessly around. I heard a crack and knew that one of the dishes was probably now broken.

"You need to leave," Mason yelled at me loudly. He was hovering above me in a protective stance, ready to deflect any missiles coming at me.

"You can't protect me," I reminded him, remaining on my spot on the ground. I was pretty sure that if I stood up, I would get hit by something.

"That's why you need to leave!"

I shook my head. No way. "That's what she wants. I'm not giving her what she wants."

Suddenly she was in front of me. Ghosts can appear wherever they feel like and use that to their advantage often. I hated it.

"LEAVE!" she screamed in my face.

Because I wasn't expecting her to do that, it surprised me to the extent that I let my barriers down. As an empath, I automatically feel everyone's emotions and I have to block them or I would never be able to feel my own. Ironically, whenever I feel my own emotions it's harder to control other's emotions.

All my defenses disappeared at the sight of her in front of me, but instead of feeling frightened like I should have felt, I only felt what she did.

I was very angry. It was consuming. I wanted to destroy anything and everything I could. I wanted to hurt anyone standing in my way. I hate the intruders. I hated them all. Why were they here? Why did they keep coming? It was so frustrating! I wish they would leave me alone!

I gasped and looked around. The ghost was gone, but the house was in ruins. The living room was completely destroyed and the kitchen was almost in the same condition. I couldn't see down the hall or bathroom, but I hoped that she had left those rooms alone. I was going to have a hard time cleaning this up as it was.

My heart was still pumping from the strong emotions I felt from the spirit. I put a hand to my chest, trying to calm myself down. Mason's presence helped a little. Until he opened his mouth.

"I think you should leave this one alone, Mel," he said.

I stood up and glared at him, my own annoyance directed at him. "Why? Because she's dangerous? Aren't they all? Besides, that's exactly why I need to help her." I started picking things up. "Stop being so over-protective, I can handle her. I just need to figure out what's wrong and what I can do to help."

I straightened up and looked at Mason. Instead of feeling the calm I usually felt around him, it was only worry I felt. Worry for my safety. I sighed. Mason didn't usually get worried. "I'll be careful."

"If you're not going to leave her alone, just don't spend the nights here," he said, reaching out to me. His hand went through my shoulder and I felt absolutely nothing. He looked sadly at his hand. "Who knows what she'll do when you're asleep."

"Alright," I relented, setting the few things I'd picked up on the kitchen counter. "I'll sleep over at Maddie's. But I'm not going to give up on this woman. I need to figure out why she's so angry." I rubbed my aching head. It often hurt after I experienced strong emotions from another person.

Cushion stuffing started sweeping itself off and I knew Mason had started to clean up a little. "Go rest," he said. "I'll take care of this."

I looked at him and wished not for the first time that I could hug him. He was my best friend and I loved him so much. He was always there for me, protecting me and helping me. Not being able to at least give him a kiss on the cheek was very frustrating.

I nodded and headed for the door. "Don't get into any fights while I'm gone. I don't want her to get angrier." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number I knew very well.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be safe," Mason mumbled as I put the phone to my ear. I smiled and was about to retort when the other line was answered.

"Maddie. It'd probably be a really bad idea if you came over tonight."

Alright guys, here's what's going to happen: First, this is my NaNoWriMo novel so the good news is that I already have about 20 chapters written. The bad news is that I wrote those 20 chapters in ten days and so they're not very readable. Don't worry, I'm not going to post the chapters before they've been edited, but keep in mind that editing is probably my least favorite part of writing. So even though I have most of the story written already, don't expect regular updates. I've joined NaNoEdMo this month, so I will probably be editing a lot this month. Just, don't have too many expectations.

Let me know what you think of the first chapter of the longest novel I've ever written. Reviews make everyone happy. :)

P.S. As I'm editing I might make some big changes, but I'll let you know in an author's note if there are any changes that might confuse you. I'll italicize it, so you'll know it's important.

Update: June 1, 2011

So already I've made a big change. I've replaced this chapter with a slightly altered version that I like much better. If this is your first time reading it, don't worry about anything. Just continue reading. And remember to leave a review. :)