500 Followers Contest

Asha scanned the room for her cousin, he was late as usual. She zipped up her jacket and walked out of the den slowly, hoping nobody would notice her leaving.
“Where ya goin Luv?” A old fat ex-rocker guy asked from a chair behind the counter
“If Ya looking for something, maybe we can sort you out first?” He winked at her, with his one good eye.
“I’m waiting for Toby, he’s my cousin” Asha stammers nervously “ He asked me to come here at 3pm and wait for him”
The man stands up and shoved the skinny woman who had been giving him some service off his leg and onto the floor in a heap.
“ Oh you Toby’s cousin are ye?” The man said zipping up his jeans “He said to be expecting you, and to give you this “ He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and pushed it into Asha’s face.
She took it, her hands trembling from fear “Okay Kid, you run along now, Ye hear?” The man pointed towards the exit.
Asha jammed the note into her jacket pocket and scurried away from the smelly den. She half walked and almost ran out into the alley behind the door.
She leaned against the wall breathing heavily, her heart beating hard in her chest and her eyes hurting from the smoke. Reaching into her pocket she pulls out the note from Toby.
She read the note, folded it up and nudged it into the gutter with her foot.
She closed her eyes and saw the note in her mind’s eye.

Asha, The Seer Will Meet You. 10PM The Ferguson House

Asha couldn’t believe her luck! Toby was dragging her into another one of his freaky adventures again. The Ferguson House?
“Goddamnit Toby!” She screamed out loud in frustration.
Everybody in town knew the story of the Ferguson House. The family that used to live there were murdered brutally in their sleep and the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Why would Toby and his Seer friend want to meet there of all places?
Asha walked home and locked herself in her room. She reached under her bed and pulled out an old, worn photo frame. In it was a picture of her at seven years old with her father. They were laughing and smiling at the camera. They looked happy.
Asha could still remember the day that photo had been taken. Her father had left that night and disappeared. It had been 9 years and no one knew where he had gone. Tears fell softly on the cracked glass in the frame. In her heart she knew he was still alive, no matter what anybody else thought.
She looked at the clock on the wall. 9.30PM. She wiped her face on the sleeve of her jacket and tucked the photograph away.
Leaving her house, she walked the 5 blocks to the Ferguson House. Standing outside it looked more than haunted, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
Toby came outside and guided her by the shoulders into the house
“ Don’t freak out when you see her eyes. They may look blank but she sees more than any of us ever will” he whispered in her ear.
They walked into the house and Asha wanted to run out the door and down the street. Seated on the floor in what must have been the living room was a thin woman with gray slits where her eyes should have been.
Asha stifled a scream and swallowed hard
“He’s here!” The woman screamed as she jumped up and held Asha by her shoulders. “Your father is here, he has come for you!”
“ My father? Where? What the hell?” Asha sputtered.
Suddenly a pale figure appeared before them. Was it a ghost ? No he looked corporeal to her.
“ Dad?” Asha whispered “are you really here?” She asked timidly
The figure said nothing but looked like he was looking for something desperately.
“Your father is not of this dimension any longer,” the woman sad slowly “ he cannot see or hear you but we can see him briefly” she added.
“ Where the hell is he?” Asha demanded angrily
“In another dimension called Opox , it is between life and death and a place we cannot go nor leave” the Seer said sadly.
Asha screamed in anguish and pushed Toby away. She ran out the door and into the street. She didn’t stop running for almost half an hour. She found herself at the edge of town near the old water tower.
She climbed to the top and sat down looking at the dark moonless sky.
“ I will find you Dad, and I will bring you back” she swore silently to the night.