wall studs and what appear to be the outside wall boards behind them.
With the water level now reaching the bottom of his chin, he began to panic and unbalanced on the joists. In an effort to steady himself, he dropped his right hand into the water, and only afterwards realized that the flashlight was in his hand. The light dimmed and went out.
"Damn, now what?" he asked aloud, as his body began to rise slightly with the water level.
With no visible light in the attic, he began to twist his head around, and he frantically tried to figure out what to do next. His breathing was now quickening and his heart was racing, as the very cold water continued rising toward the rafters. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something grey, in the darkness, about ten feet from him just above the water line. He twisted his head toward it to get a better look. He stopped breathing as he saw that it was a grey form of a man's head poking out of the water focused on him. He began to back away from the head, since he believed he was seeing a ghost, but had to stay near the center of the attic to keep in the quickly disappearing airspace. His eyes remained fixated on the head.
The mouth opened and said "follow me."
Even more shocked to hear the voice, Paul continued to slowly back away from the ghost, while struggling to maintain a position that allowed his head to remain above the water.
"Please, follow me!" the ghost said more forcefully.
Paul stopped retreating away from ghost, but he was not sure whether he should listen to it or not. "Do not die here like I did! Follow me!" the ghost said with a raised voice.
Realizing this could be his only chance, Paul reluctantly moved toward the ghost. The ghost began to move toward the far triangular end wall. As quickly as he could, Paul moved toward that spot. As he approached the end wall, the ghost disappeared through the wall. The attic was completely dark again. The water level was about 4 inches from the peak of the rafters. He had to bend his head backwards for air. He reached the end wall and began feeling for the rectangular vent. He found it soon after he began feeling the wall with his hands. Unfortunately, the vent felt quite rigid. The air above his head disappeared, so he took one last gasp of air. Using the joists as leverage, he pushed on the vent with both hands. He could feel it move slightly, but not enough to push it out. Getting frustrated, he began pounding his fists on the vent. He was running out of air in his lungs. Suddenly the vent was ripped away from the end wall, though he did not hit it any harder. With his head was spinning from the lack of oxygen, he paused for a moment trying to understand what had happened. Both arms went through the vent opening, and followed by his head. Underwater and completely in the dark, he had to feel his way around in the cold water.
He used the frame of the vent opening to push the rest of his body through the opening. He twisted his body sideways to fit better through the small hole. Struggling to pull his legs through the opening while quickly loosing the ability to concentrate without air, Paul felt something grab his left arm. It pulled the arm away from the vent frame and began to help his legs clear the vent opening. He was free of the cabin.
Using what little energy he had left he thrust his arms downward to head to the surface. He broke through the surface, and he was able to gasp the sought after air. His breathing remained heavy for a several seconds as the oxygen replenished his strength and perception. Being outside of the cabin, he was able to make out some features from the surroundings from the still dark skies above him. He slowly paddled against the moderate current toward the edge of the water, which was now within a few feet of the level where his car was parked. He was able to grasp a tree branch with his hand to keep himself from traveling further downstream. As he pulled himself closer to it, his feet touched the bottom below.
He was very relieved to be able to use his feet to aid moving closer to the edge of the water. He crawled out of the water on his hands and knees. Once completely out of the water, he turned around, sat on the wet leaf covered ground, and stared toward the cabin. The peak of the roof was almost completely underwater with only the ridgeline protruding above the water. He still shivered as he continued to stare at the flowing water. With his jaw open to breathe in more air, he noticed that the river did not appear to be rising any more. Also, the rain seemed to be letting up at least somewhat.
Something caught his eye below the surface of the water. It was a grayish object in the area of the vent opening he passed through to get out of the cabin’s attic. He thought it was the ghost that had helped him get out of the cabin.
Not afraid anymore, Paul smiled at the ghost and whispered “thank you.”
He saw the ghost moving as if it was nodding to him. Soon afterwards the ghost disappeared back inside of the cabin. Paul nodded and then used his hand to begin pushing himself up. His body ached, but he was glad to be alive. Turning toward his nearby car, he finished standing up and he slowly began heading for it.
Upon reaching the driver’s door, unlocked the doors using the keypad. He opened the door and he maneuvered into the driver’s seat. He reached into the center console and retrieved his cell phone. After turning it on, he waited for it to start up. For a moment, it said “Signal Lost” again, but a few seconds later it read “Entering Analog Signal.” He breathed a sigh of relief, and dialed 911 to report the body he found in the cabin, since he did not know the number for the local police or sheriff.
After hanging up the phone from the local 911 operator, Paul unlocked the trunk, and then he exited the car again. Walking around to the rear of the car, he opened the trunk. He reached in and retrieved a wool blanket that had been in there for a long time. He unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulder. Now covered up, and ready to relax, he headed toward the cabin to be closer to the edge of the water. While standing near the edge, he looked toward the building, which now becoming more exposed. For as much as he went through that night he was quite happy for two reasons. The first being that he was still alive, and second that the body in the attic had been discovered, hopefully now the ghost would be free.
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About the Author:
John T. Gaffield is an automotive engineer in southeast Michigan with a wife and two children. He published his first novel, "Heir to Winston Manor," in October 2010 as an ebook. "Heir to Winston Manor" is story of a large haunted house set on the west coast of Michigan. John’s second ebook, "The Wahl House Curse," set in mid-Michigan, was published in January 2011. John’s third full length horror novel, “Alone Again,” was completed in fall 2011. Please note: some of these novels may not be available from Amazon while they are being re-edited.
Besides “Denning Swamp,” John also has three additional free (in North American) short stories available on Amazon.com called “Slow Down,” The Ghost of Birch River Cabin,” and “Winter Visitor.”
John has recently published his first Science Fiction novel, which involves Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). "Valerye" is now available at Amazon and other sites. He also is working on a free Science Fiction short story with the working title, "Synthia."
John uses his past memories and his local knowledge combined with his engineering sense of detail to create realistic ghost stories. He has an interest in ghost stories and creepy old haunted houses. He continues to work on novels and short stories. So please stay tuned!
John’s Novels:
The Heir to Winston Manor
The Wahl House Curse
Alone Again
Valerye
John’s Short Stories:
Slow Down
Winter Visitor
Denning Swamp
The Haunting of the Charles F. Campton
Disconnect
In Remembrance
Connect with me online (for information on John’s novels and short stories):
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4548666.John_Gaffield
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