Ghost

Loch Ness- Monster? Or Ghost?

I stared out the window of the coach as it slowly rolled along the bumpy roads. Year 4 from Saintfield High school were going to Loch Ness for a school trip. The rain trickled down the side of the window. I turned to my friend Sarah who was dozing on my shoulder. We were sitting at the back of the coach. I turned to my other friend Michelle and indicated that Sarah was fast asleep. She grinned and pointed to Janice and Michael. Janice had tried to copy Sarah by putting her head on Michael’s shoulder. Michael moved away slightly causing Janice’s head to whack off the padded coach seat.

"She can’t get any more brain damage!" I heard someone say and I smiled as I realized who it was. Sarah Dowds talking to a friend from my class called Krissi. Michelle was in my class as well but the others were in different classes.

I looked to the seats in front of me and realized that Rude Rhonda and Cheeky Charlene were sitting there. Then our English teacher Mrs Stranney stood up.

"We’re here. Pick up your belongings and follow your form teachers. 11S lead off first."

Our form teacher Mrs Jackson stood up. "Gillian Andrews, Zöe Burns...."We all lined up Cameras in hand ready for a sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. The Loch Ness Volunteering service was there ready to show us to our rooms. I was well pleased. My roommates were Sarah, Michelle, Janice, and Sarah. D, Krissi, Rhonda and Charlene. We dumped our bags down and walked to our block to hear the safety speeches. I sat down beside Lisa another one of my good friends. Michelle was on my other side. As the safety notice droned on I looked out of the window to pass the time and saw a massive black cloud roll in and I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. The Volunteer didn’t look worried. "We get them all the time," she said. "Just make sure that none of you goes outside unless we get a break in the rain. I’ll ask John to tell you all a ghost story."

`John` got up and made his way to the front. As he did so a flash of lightening lit up the room and then darkness fell. There were screams from all the girls and confusion in the room but torches were found and order restored. Then he started......

"A while ago before you were born but your parents were alive, a few people lived here and the ones that did were poor. A girl lived here with her mother on the exact same spot you are sitting on. One day she went out to Loch Ness to look for firewood. A thunderstorm started, just like the one you hear now, but the girl had never seen or heard a thunderstorm before. She was scared and ran out on to the rickety pier in her fright. When a large crash sounded she tripped and fell through the rotten wood into the water. She didn’t live to tell the tale. A Shepherd saw all that had happened and do you know how I know?" We all leaned forward "How?"

"Because I was that shepherd. I saw it all but unlike her I lived to tell the tale. It is said that she still haunts this place today."

We all sat back deflated by the tale and when there was finally a break in the storm, it was very late. We ran over to our separate rooms and lay in beds listening as the storm started up again. I didn’t know if any of my friends were asleep or not but I knew that most of the time I certainly wasn’t. I was just about to fall asleep again when I saw one of my friends get up. It was Krissi. She looked odd. I woke Michelle and the two Sarah’s and then we followed her. She looked as if she was sleepwalking. She walked past the blocks and past the courtyard. Then as we rounded the bend we realised that she was heading for the Loch. We had heard from certain sources that if you wake a sleepwalking person it could frighten them a lot. Krissi walked down the pier- which I noticed was no longer rotten- and turned to face us. We gasped and stood back. Her eyes seemed to glow a kind of red and as we watched she fell backwards into the Loch. I ran forward. "KRISSI!" I yelled but it was no use. All I could see was her pale body sinking into the murky deeps. We stumbled back to the building and raised the alarm. Shocked, they listened to our tale. They wrapped us in warm blankets and gave us cocoa but I just sat there numbly. They would dredge the water the following day I supposed.

They finally persuaded us to go to our beds even if we couldn’t get to sleep. Of course we wouldn’t be able to get to sleep. How could you if you had just seen one of your best friends commit suicide? We stayed in the room with Rhonda and Charlene who hadn’t seen what we had seen. Then someone appeared in front of me. She was translucent! She was dressed in rags and had no wear on her feet. She stretched out an arm toward me. I screamed. "NOOOOO!"

"Ruth? What’s wrong?" the others asked. They couldn’t see her! She smiled. It was not a nice smile. She was still smiling as I fell to the floor in a dead faint.