What About the Mother

By Kamryn Nye

“I heard him again last night.” Izzy smiled. They were all sitting at The Round Table

eating their sandwiches. Homework and soggy sandwich wrappers cluttered the table, they had been there awhile at this point, helping each other with their Reason and the Self homework.

“You live on the 2nd floor how could you have heard a child running?” Brad asked with a mouthful of sandwich. “He runs loudly! I could hear it above me.” She responded. Brad shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich. He lived in the Walnut, how would he know about the little ghost boy?

“I heard him too,” Micheal said, looking up from his iPad “he was opening and closing the doors. The alarms kept going off but when people went to go check they would shut.”

“Guys please, lets just get our homework done.” Sarah suggested. All this talk about the little boy running up and down the halls of the lofts 3rd floor always made her uncomfortable and feel uneasy.

“Yeah guys, Sarah gets scared of ghosts. Now lets just not mention the Main Hall’s 4th floor…” Micheal grinned at Sarah, his blonde unkempt hair falling over his eyes.

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that one!” Izzy said, “my professor said that Main Hall used to have dorms in it, but students belongings kept getting moved around. Imagine how spooky it was for them to go request a room change and everything.” Sarah felt like she was going to throw up her turkey and Swiss sub. Her hands started to feel cold and clammy at the thought of her stuff getting moved around by invisible hands in her dorm right now. Small. Toddler. Ghost hands. She couldn’t take this conversation anymore.

“It’s bathroom check, I’m in charge of cleaning the shower. I should get going.” Sarah said as she climbed out of her chair and packing up her iPad.

“Aw guys, we scared her off.” Micheal laughed. Brad glared at him and nudged him. Sometimes Micheal just didn’t know when to stay quiet.

“I guess that means me too.” Izzy stood up and followed Sarah out of the Round Table. Sarah didn’t talk for a while on the walk up to their dorm, she was still uneasy at the thought of a ghoul’s hands moving the items that currently cluttered her desk. She had always found ghosts to be a horrific thought, especially their background stories. Though stories get mixed up all the time, so Sarah is never sure which on to believe.

The little boy was said to have been here with his older sister on a recruit visit. Sarah wasn’t sure which sport it was for, but that doesn’t matter. The child couldn’t have been older than 4, always running around campus as they toured, so excited to see what big kid school was like. At the time there was an extra unoccupied room on the lofts 3rd floor where the administration let the mother, her daughter, and that doomed boy stay. The last night of their stay he remembered a place he had overheard a group of boys talking about. The lookout. He wanted to see it so badly, and unfortunately the dorm’s room wasn’t exactly child proofed. He could easily get the door open. He slipped out of the room at some odd hour of night and ran the halls to find this mysterious place. Students confessed to hearing him run around the floor after the accident, many hear him running now.

He found himself outside on a trial. So dark he couldn’t see his chubby hands in front of him. He tried to turn back. But found himself to be lost. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, he was in nowhere. The tale gets mixed up at this part; some say he was kidnapped, or murdered by a student, or there could have been a ghostly fire, some even say that he fell down the hill and got

impaled by a stray stick. But they never found his body. After the mother went looking for her baby boy that same night they never recovered her body either. The boy runs the 3rd floor looking for his family, trying to find that same room.

“What do you think would happen if he found the room?” Sarah blurted. Izzy gave her a funny look. They were halfway up the loft stairs.

“You mean the ghost boy? I don’t know. I’m just glad we aren’t in it.” She said, laughing. “That thought would always be in the back of my mind. You should ask Brynn, she lives in there. Maybe she sees some spooooky things.” She dragged out spooky for effect and continued to laugh. Sarah didn’t laugh.

“What room is it again?” Sarah asked.

“305, I believe. Why? What’re you thinking about?” Izzy replied. They made it to the top of the stairs. Sarah grabbed her backpack straps to keep her hands from shaking.

“Well… what about the mother?” She said. She had been thinking about where the mother could be since she first heard about the boy. She had to be somewhere, right?

“She disappeared remember? I don’t know maybe she’s looking for him still, but I think the most important thing right now is cleaning that shower. It’s nasty.” Izzy said. Sarah sighed remembering that she did in fact have to clean the shower.

Sarah was relieved to find that nothing on her desk had been moved by invisible hands. Throwing her backpack down she got to work on the shower. Eventually her other roommates began filling in. Reagan came in throwing a fit about how her hair didn’t stay curled correctly, and Jeanie came in with her earbuds in already complaining about how a boy left her on read for 2 hours. Sarah didn’t pay much attention, she popped her own earbuds in and continued to bleach the shower, scrubbing on her hands and knees.

“All done.” Sarah announced. She got up and washed the chemicals off her hands. They couldn’t be bothered to buy gloves, they saved what money they had for their groceries and necessities.

“Did you hear the little boy last night?” Izzy asked Reagan. Reagan shook her head but Jeanie perked up from her phone.

“I did! I did! He was louder than usual, I swear it.” She said. She huffed at something happening on her phone and her thumbs flew across the screen. Izzy nodded in agreement.

“It sounded more urgent than just his usual wandering.” She noted. Sarah sat at her desk. Bracing herself for another horrid conversation about ghosts. What did she expect? Halloween was just around the corner, everyone is going to be talking about the ghosts of Southern Virginia University.

“Oh yeah, then maybe I did hear him. What do you think is going on?” Reagan said. Sarah shrugged and checked the time.

“Oh, would you look at the time,” she said relieved, “Don’t you all. Have a class soon?” This caused them all to look at their phones.

“Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.” Jeanie said. They all began scrambling for their backpacks and rushed out the dorm with a chorus of ‘goodbyes’. Finally alone, Sarah sank into her chair. But she couldn’t stop thinking about that boy. Maybe he is looking for something. Or maybe the mother is closer. The idea made Sarah feel claustrophobic. She shook the thought out of her head and poured herself a bowl of dry cereal and began her homework.

She had lost track of time. The rays of sunshine were no longer filling the window, they were replaced by the doom of night. Her roommates were usually out late hanging out with friends. Sarah assumed that’s where they were tonight too. She brushed her teeth and put on

some pajamas. Tomorrow is Saturday, she was excited to sleep in. To finally get a break from her 8:00am classes.

Sarah awoke to Izzy shaking her awake. It was early morning. Much earlier than Sarah

wanted to wake up for today.

“Do you know where Brynn is?” Izzy asked. Finally seeing that Sarah was awake. “You literally just woke me up. Girl no, I don’t know. I have been asleep.” Sarah

grumbled. She rolled back over away from her, hoping she would let her sleep more.

“Maybe she’s out with her cousins or something in town. Her dorm mates said she never

came back last night.” Izzy said to Sarah’s back. “Probably did.” Sarah grumbled.

The day went by faster than Sarah would have liked. Her roommates were concerned as to where Brynn went. Sarah admitted she was getting a little concerned too, Brynn usually lets people know where she was. The whole day Sarah had this nagging feeling that something was going on, something that was going to get worse. Night came quickly and she found herself lying awake in bed, afraid to go to sleep. Her roommates were softly snoring, they had come back early for some reason and had fallen asleep before she did.

A rich blood curling scream pierced the air. Sarah’s heart raced as she jumped from her bed. The scream continued until the person ran out of air. Her roommates sprung straight out of bed. Wild eyes scanned each other, begging the question. What do we do? It is coming from above them. More screams have joined, the others out of panic. In harmony with the one in what could only be agony.

“Upstairs!” Izzy managed to choke down her panic and bolt out the door into the stairwell. Sarah followed with Reagan and Jeanie on her heels. A panicked crowd had gathered in the girls 3rd floor lofts. Surrounding room- Sarah stopped in her tracks. They surrounded room 305. The group closest to the door were banging on it. Trying to open the door.

“Open it, what is happening?!” A girl shrieked from the mess of people. Some were crying. Horrified at what could be happening.

“It’s the mother.” Sarah whispered. Her eyes wide in horror. Her heart beating faster and faster. The scream continued but the RA finally managed to shove her way through and open the door. As the opened the door a sickening ‘CRUNCH!’ filled the hallway. All they could hear was sobbing within the dark room. People filtered in quietly. Some holding there hands to their chest. All of them in pajamas. Faces filled with fear, worry, and uncertainty.

Two girls sat on the floor in the room. A horrible smell filling the air. They were whimpering and sobbing. Holding their hands to their mouths, their eyes bulging from their head seeing an unspeakable horror. Sarah wasn’t quite sure what she was seeing. There was a thick black liquid splattered on the wall. Dripping into the ugly carpet. Too thick to quite seep into it. The RA flicked the lights on. The room was a mess. One of the beds was completely destroyed. Reduced to rags, springs, and splinters. The black ooze was condensed in one spot of the wall, Sarah couldn’t tell if that was what the smell was coming from.

“A hand just came from under her bed,” one of the girls stuttered, “ It took her. Dragged her into the wall.” The girl next to her continued to sob, clutching her friends arm. ‘Emily maybe?’ Sarah thought, trying to remember their names. Yes, Emily was definitely the girl who spoke. Sarah didn’t know the sobbing girl’s name.

“Everyone out! Back to bed!” The RA shouted. She had gotten her phone out to call someone. “Go, help them up.” She motioned for Sarah to help the girls out of the room. She was the closest to them.

“It was a woman’s hand.” Emily stood shaking with the help of Sarah. Sarah cast a wary glance at the thick black liquid, it almost looked like hot tar. The other girl still clung to Emily as Sarah led them out of the cursed bedroom. The hallway had mostly filtered out, but many girls peeked through their doors at the three of them. “So pale.” She whimpered, “It just snatched her out of her sheets and she tried to cling to the bed but it snapped.” The other girl sobbed harder as Emily described it. “it happened so fast. She had been pulled into the wall by the time we were able to grab something to hit the hand away.” Emily continued.

“Please, stop.” Sarah said. She was almost breaking down herself. The air was thick with

what if. What if I am next? What if it is the mother? Stealing children from their beds hoping they were her baby. Sarah shivered at the thought, she couldn’t help it. No one would be able to sleep tonight.

Emily and her friend slept in a hotel room for the remainder of the night. The administration had set them up with one free of charge. The room is now taped off with caution tape as the police investigate it. Sarah could hear them work as they all tried to get some rest, though they knew they wouldn’t. ‘She is looking for her lost, doomed little boy.’ Sarah thought.

“Guys. I’m really scared.” Jeanie whispered. Even her whisper startled Sarah and made her heart race faster. “I don’t understand what is happening. I can’t comprehend it.” She continued.

“Sarah was right. It’s the mother.” Izzy muttered. Fear tainted her voice too. They clung to their bedsheets. It was hot but they didn’t dare have any limbs out of the covers. Making it

harder if something would try to grab them. Reagan remained silent. Maybe she had fallen asleep.

A loud crack made them scream and sit up. All except Reagan.

“Guys! Oh my gosh.” Jeanie was screaming and pointing at Reagan’s sleeping form. Her bed was closest to hers. Sarah couldn’t see what was happening. She ran for the light. Her heart was racing. The light flicked on and they could see it. Reagan’s eyes. Her once blue eyes. Nothing was left of them, the empty socket gushing tar-like liquid. And the hand. A woman’s pale hand was reaching from beneath the wall. The wall cracking as it lunged closer to Reagan. Sarah didn’t know what to do but scream. All of them were screaming. A second hand cracks through the wall. One hand on Jeanie’s ankle. The other on Reagan’s limp arm.

“Jeanie! Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Oh gosh.” Izzy said. She grabs Jeanie’s arms and tries to fight with the woman’s hand. Playing tug-o-war with Jeanie’s body. Reagan was gone. Her body crunching underneath into the wall. Black goo oozed from the cracks. Into the carpet. Onto Jeanie’s legs. Sarah and Izzy screamed out of terror as they fought for Jeanie. A sickening pop signified her shoulder and hip dislocating. With Reagan’s body already gone, Sarah realized too late that the ghost had one more hand. They were getting closer to the wall and before she knew it her foot was under the liquid. It burned. Sarah could barely hear the sound of people banging on her door.

“Please.” Izzy sobbed. Her grip on Jeanie’s arm slipped. The second hand appeared and grabbed Izzy’s hair. Within the second her head was under the wall. Sarah screamed. There was nothing she could do. Jeanie had gone limp and was consumed by the black liquid. She was gone. Izzy was gone. The door burst open. But Sarah was already gone too.

Multiple students faced the same fate. Deadly. Quick. Scarring. Parents took their kids back home. Administration quit. Southern Virginia University is nothing but a ghost tale now. It sits abandoned on the hill. No one dares go near. The main hall has caved in on itself. The academic center is nothing but bricks and spray painted walls. The lofts? Covered in vines and caution tape from long ago. Southern Virginia University is gone. Reduced to the ghost of a toddler’s playground.