Chapter 1

October 23

Three Years Later

Grannie took me in after the incident. I remember rising from the water, wet and exhausted. The party was over, everyone was gone and abandoned, and the night was silent. I had been confused for many minutes, looking around, wondering what had happened. Perhaps they'd all forgotten about me and decided to quit the celebration.

Grannie had appeared later, and I tilted my head in confusion, though I knew I was to follow her. I felt this sudden urge in my chest that it had to be. As we walked, I looked over my shoulder, wondering if I should tell my mother about where Grannie was taken me, but I was quickly told to not look back.

As we walked, Grannie explained how we were moving into a new house, our house. She said we had been lucky to be given the house, or else, we might have had to leave the town.

Grannie had been on her own for quite awhile at the time. That's why she had decided to move into the house--more space.

The house was big, old, and well, haunted. It wasn't like Grannie and I cared though. Everything was so old, covered in cobwebs in dust. The windows were rusted shut and barely opened at our pull, the doors creaked, and the steps looked as if they were about to crumble with a single footstep.

Vintage furniture sat fixated, not daring to move. Old statues sat on the floor and old pictures hung on the wall, as if they were staring at you.

As nice as it apparently was, it sort of creeped me out, but Grannie wouldn't let me leave. It was our home now, and I was to like it. 

The large mansion sat in the woods, the white paint chipped off, the roof looking as if it were to fall apart. I asked Grannie why we had to live here, and she told me that no one would dare enter these woods. Stories had been passed around about the haunted house, leaving us to live in peace.

I used to visit Mother after the water. It was November, the next day, that I began to watch her. Every day I would watch her work and cry. I felt horrible leaving her and not telling her I was in good hands. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew it wasn't possible. One day, I couldn't take it anymore. She saw me and screamed, and Grannie became so furious, she didn't allow me back.

Three years have gone by since my stupid decision. Nothing has been and never will be the same. In two days, I will turn eighteen. But instead, I will only remain fifteen. Why? Because I'm not alive, I am dead, and I am a ghost, and ghosts don't age.

I had died that horrible night, and when I came face to face with the praised Ghost Council, I was given the decision to become a ghost, and I agreed, hoping to still see my mother.

It was a choice, you see. I could either be banished or moved upwards to peace depending on my lifestyle, or I could become a ghost until I was forced to move on or be banished.

Grannie had made the decision to become a ghost because she was told a family member would greet her shortly. She thought it was Grandpa. She was wrong. I still remembered her face of shock when she first saw me. She hadn't expected it to be me.

We've lived in the house three years now, but we don't haunt it. Grannie and I used to make traps to scare the humans away. It used to be to keep my mind off mortal life and laugh, but the humans don't come anymore. I constantly wished to be social with humans, but Grannie thought it was best to stay away. She didn't want me getting banished.

"Grannie, I'm leaving!" I called, throwing on my purple coat. It felt warm, giving me a sense of my human life almost.

Grannie eyed me as she sat at the kitchen table. A book sat in front of her, and she set her square reading glasses down.

"Where are you off to now, Cece?" she asked. "You need to socialize with our type, not humans."

"Grannie, I'm just going into town!" I assured her. "Please! I won't talk to anyone! Oh, please!" I begged as she tilted her head.

"Very well, but be back no later than five o'clock!" she snapped as I rushed out the door, full of glee. Oh, I was free!

With this sense of freedom, I thought around, wondering where I should go first. The town square? The neighborhood? Oh, there was no telling! As I bolted through the woods, I looked behind me.

I hated these woods. They were dark, they were scary, and I wasn't like that. The trees were old and dead, their branches gray and twirly, as if they were arms reaching out to grab you.

I suggested to Grannie we live in a normal house, though I knew it was impossible. People would believe no one was living in it, and then boom, we'd have human roommates.

Ghosts could decide when they wanted to become visible or invisible. Grannie never ever became visible, but I did all the time. That's why Mother had seen me all those years ago.

I headed to the neighborhood, watching a couple of cute boys walk home from school. With my life so incomplete, I often found myself staring at other teens, wishing I could live like them. They looked around my age, and one held a soccer ball. Perhaps they were heading to the soccer field.

"You are going to the party tomorrow, right?" asked one of the boys. He had long blonde hair and wore a red backpack.

The one with light blonde hair glanced up at him. "Yeah, of course!" he told them.

The last one with dark brown hair laughed. "I bet you don't even have a date!" he shouted. I found it rude to assume such things.

"Rodney and I already invited our girlfriends. Face it, Harry. Everyone knows you don't have a girlfriend," he teased.

So that's what the one with the light blonde hair was called. Harry. I didn't understand why he didn't have a girlfriend. He seemed nice enough and fairly good looking.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever, guys. I'll be there. Six o'clock, right? Tomorrow?"

Both the boy nodded, and a sudden idea hit me. I wanted to go to this party, and silently, I vowed I would. I ran out of the neighborhood and straight to the forest, getting enough of human life for now. Oh, tomorrow would be the best day ever!

Before I could even get into the house, Grannie stood on the porch, expecting me.

"Cece, I expected you to be back by now. Come on. Let's go," she commanded.

"Go where?" I asked, confused. Surely she couldn't have overheard about the party. I had been out of the forest, buried in town, and she had been at the house.

"To the Monster Council!" she reminded me. I nodded in relief.

The Monster Council was important to the Ghost Council. Monsters aren't born, but made, rather. Ghosts and monsters were allowed to communicate, but mortals and monsters: never. Grannie became their caretaker since they lived so close, and now, the Monster Council greatly appreciates her. I know they already hope for me to be their caretaker too when Grannie passes on.

The last thing I wanted to do was go to their home. It was located in a dirty, filthy, disgusting, and gross swamp. But Grannie insisted, and I walked to the swamp, rubbing by arms as I watched spiders crawl across the forest floor and noticed a raven fly up ahead.

We reached the entrance finally, and I gagged at the slime that oozed from the nasty swamp. Would it have been so much to ask for a housekeeper?

Grannie pressed a button located behind a log, and the fog surrounding the swamp suddenly cleared, revealing an open metal gate. Together, we walked inside, entering into darkness as the fog reappeared behind us. The Monster Council had high security measures, making it nearly impossible to get inside. With the lanterns Grannie had brought, we walked through the darkness, making our way towards their home.

As we walked from room to room, I could hear the rustling of spiders and whatever animals dared to live in this place. We came towards another swamp, being careful not to slip on the slimy substance. After about ten minutes, we reached the entrance and were greeted.

"Helen! Cecelia!" Count, or Count Dracula, shouted. He led the Monster Council, wearing dark clothes and a dark cape. His black hair was slicked back, and two fangs could be seen protruding from his lips.

"Good to see you, Count," Grannie replied. "How is everything? Where is Professor?" she asked.

Count pondered for  a second. "Busy working, of course. I heard he's working on a new invention. It won't be a member of the Council, of course, but still something worth seeing!" he exclaimed. Before we could reply, he spoke again. "Oh, but don't just visit with me! Speak to the others!"

We walked towards another portion of the room, finding Pharaoh who lay in his hollow mummy tomb. He wore a traditional Egyptian headdress, though I assumed to find him wrapped like a mummy when I first met him. He sprang from the tomb and nearly caused me to have a heart attack...if I were still alive, at least.

I had never had much interest for Pharaoh, often finding him hard to understand as he spoke in riddle and rhymes.

"The signs showed you would visit soon, for it is nearly another full moon. My, Cece, look how you've grown. You look fit another for a ghost queen's throne!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, throne, that's clever. Thanks."

Grannie shoved me, and we kept walking. She pinched my elbow, and I could tell she was upset with me.

Before Pharaoh could say good-bye, a furry hand crept up on my shoulder.

"Hey, you came back!" a deep voice exclaimed.

I turned around, glad to see it was only Werewolf, though I personally called him Wolfy. I liked him the best out of the Council while Grannie often spoke of his poor manners and thought he should not be allowed on the Council.

"Hey, Wolfy!" I greeted him. "Did you miss us?"

Wolfy nodded. "Of course! Pharaoh got me some new bones for this upcoming Halloween. Gosh, I love Halloween! It's the only time we get to be present around mortals!"

Humans, not mortals, I thought to myself.

"Hey, Cece. We could go trick-or-treating together!" he suggested.

"Oh, no, Werewolf," Grannie answered for me. "Ghosts are not allowed on Halloween, of course. We're heading to another Ghost Party."

Every year we refused to go out on Halloween. Sure, you could go out on Halloween and not be caught, just like how I technically wasn't supposed to go out into town, but I thought Grannie was afraid I'd show myself to the humans, which I'd probably do. Every year since my death, I'd been forced to go some boring Ghost Party where everyone discussed their deaths over and over again.

"Oh, I understand," he sighed. "I forgot about that."

I really wanted to speak up and tell him I wanted to go, but Grannie quickly led me away to the next monster I hated, the Swamp Monster.

He didn't even speak English. He just groaned and moaned. Grannie nudged me to say hello as I came face-to-face with a large mass of goo and slime. It was hard to believe he even had eyes. It seemed to me like I was just talking to a pile of nasty swamp water.

"Hi...Swampy," I gulped. I would rather call him Swamp Monster, but Grannie wanted me to use the nickname for him because she thought it would "hurt his feelings" if I called Werewolf a nickname but not him.

"Hurro," he said, barely understandable. "Ert'fs sro nource erf yer tor vorerfist."

"Uh-huh," I nodded, not exactly sure what his response was. He then slowly crawled away, his face reshifting to make it look like he was smiling.

Grannie quickly said good-bye to Count, and we were on our way back. Thankfully, the Monster Council had a portal that would transport us right back to our mansion. I often begged Grannie for a portal in our house, but she claimed humans would mistakenly use it, and we'd be in huge trouble with the Ghost Council.

I looked back at them one last time, then watched in amazement as Grannie and I stepped through their portal and found ourselves looking back at the mansion, or as I liked to call it, my prison.