Haunted

 It was an unusually warm October day in Oklahoma, my husband Jack was loading the last bit of boxes in the trailer. We were finally doing it after years of talking we were finally moving to Grand Mountain, Montana. I was still in a state of shock. I haven’t lived anywhere else but in Oklahoma, since I was born it feels like I’m dreaming as the last box is placed in the trailer and we tell everyone goodbye. I can feel the adrenaline running through me as I put the car into drive and follow my husband as we headed toward our new life in Montana. As I drove I wonder what our new home will be like since I’ve only seen pictures of it. We had contacted a couple on Craigslist who had a rent-to-own home in our price range. It was a cute little one-bedroom home that needed a little TLC nothing we couldn’t handle. Eleven hours later we make it to Colorado to Jack's mom which is a lovely sight to see. I park in the driveway, step out and stretch my sore, tired body as my three little Chihuahuas bounce out and proceed to stretch their little bodies. “I know how you little one’s feel I’m sore too.” I say as I reach down and scoop them up. My little white one Snowy reaches up and licks my nose as if she understands what I had just said. As Colton meets me at the front door Weasel the old man of the bunch jumps over to him as little Molly decides to stay in my arms with her sister. “I’m so glad you two made it here safe.” Diane began as she ushered us into the house. “I was thinking you would be here earlier,” I put the dogs in the backyard to let them run around after being cooped up in the car then flop on my mother-in-law's big comfy brown couch. I’ve always enjoyed microfiber furniture it’s never too hot where you stick to it or a fabric where it’s itchy and scratchy. “I had to drive slow so the stuff in the back of the pickup wouldn’t fall out,” Jack informs his mom. “I have the spare room set up for you two whenever you get ready to go to sleep, but I have to get up early tomorrow for my doctor’s appointment so I’ll see you in the morning,” She says as she heads off to her room. Jack lets the dogs in as we head for our room completely exhausted from driving all day. We fell asleep before our heads even hit the pillows. When I awoke the next morning Colton had obviously been up for hours. He and his mom had already been out getting breakfast and coffee. “Good morning gorgeous you finally decided to wake up,” He beamed at me as he kissed me. “Yup,” I answered sleepily as I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it,” I ask yawning. “It’s seven my dear,” Diane chuckles as I end up hitting a door frame as I make my way into the kitchen. “Which reminds me, I better head out for my appointment, you know how Denver is,” She says as she grabs her purse then heads out the door. “I guess we should get going too,” Jack says as he takes the last swig out of his coffee cup. “Guess so,” I reply trying to sound chipper, but I had a bad feeling deep inside my gut that something bad was going to happen I just didn’t know what. We gather up our little dogs, then head off towards our new home. Luckily we were only three hours away, which took no time at all. The scenery was so beautiful, more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in Oklahoma. As I drive along I see snow-capped mountains. Pronghorn seemed to line the roads along with some black-tailed deer just grazing away as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Then, before I knew it, we were turning on a little road that led us into Grand Mountain. We crossed the bridge and make a left, then a right to Clark street until we see the numbers two zero three. I could tell right away that this house hadn’t been lived in for a very long time. “Jack remind me again how long has it been since anyone has lived in this house,” I ask as he climbs out of his pickup. “I believe they said for about twelve years, it really does look like it doesn’t it,” He laughs. “Okay, dear next question how do we get in did they leave the keys somewhere,” I asked, dreading what the inside of this house was going to look like. Jack walked to the front door and pushes on it nothing happens. He walks around to the back door and gets it open then opens the front door for me. “Now take a deep breath this house isn’t like the pictures we saw,” He warns me with an upset tone in his voice. I pause for a moment, taking in his warning while wondering. “How can it be different from the pictures are we in the wrong house,” I get my nerves together, then walk inside the house the only thing I could say was “Oh hell no!” over and over as I walk through the house. n***d ladies, drawn on the living room floor, a cow bone hung over the closet while the bathroom has all sorts of things in the tub and floor, the bathroom sink isn’t even connected to the floor neither is the toilet. The floor leading into the dining room and kitchen is slanted from the floor joists sinking underneath the house. Not including the creepiness the house gives off as I walked in. “It’ll get better after we get the utilities on and we get it fixed up I promise come on, let’s go get the water turned on,” He says grabbing my hand and leading me out the door. Even though it’s sunny, fifty degrees here, it still feels like it's twenty degrees. I’m really regretting not putting on my thermals and warmer clothes. I was freezing, looking in the backseat, I knew I wasn’t the only one wishing the car would hurry up and warm up, my little dogs were shivering as bad, or maybe worse than I was. Just a few blocks after you cross the bridge was the Grand Mountain City Hall/Police Station. A short older lady on the phone smiles at us as we walk in holds up one finger to signal that she will be with us in a moment. I sit down in one of the chairs lined up against the wall while Jack proceeded to stand. We didn’t have to wait long before she stands up and asks. “So what can I help you two with today,” I stand up as Jack walks over “We just moved here and was needing the water turned on at two zero three North Clark Street.” He replies. She starts typing the address into her computer. “Well, welcome to Grand Mountain, my name is Helen, let’s get you all set up.” She says cheerfully. We smile and say “Thank you.” Almost in unison. “Where did you move here from?” She smiles as she waits for the slow computer to pull up the information for the address we had given. “We are from Oklahoma,” I answer. The look on the woman's face was priceless, her eyes bugged out so far I thought that they were going to pop out. I did my best to hide my laugh. “That must have been a long drive,” She exclaimed. She looks back at her computer. Her face turns to a look of surprise again. “Well, it looks like they will have to put a meter in since the house hasn’t been lived in quite a while,” She says as if we didn’t know that it’s been empty for many years. She hands us a "Welcome” bag with a bunch of little things inside of it after we pay the outrageous deposit, one of the things was a little book on the history of Grand Mountain. I started flipping through it while waiting for Jack, who was asking about local jobs in the area. “Excuse me, where exactly is this memorial for the miners who died during these explosions,” I interrupted. “It’s just on the other side of the bridge, you drove past it coming here,” She replied with a hint of a smirk across her face. “There is a rumor that all the souls of the men that died in the explosions walk these streets looking for their loved ones that’s why people don’t go out at night,” She divulged. Jack looked over at me then at her. “Well, thank you I guess we will see you later.” He said as he grabbed my hand and led me out of the office. “What the hell Jack,” I yelled as we got to the car. “Come on, you can’t tell me that we wouldn’t have been in there for hours with you asking fourteen million questions about the supposed haunting of the town.” He scuffed as he drove us back home. “Well, it is a little far-fetched, but still interesting especially if it’s true.