One Stormy Night

Driving down the back roads on a stormy night, a man called Nick who was heading on a lonesome drive to clear his head when he started to have trouble with his car. In the distance he could see a light shining through the rain, it seemed as if it was coming from a house up the road so Nick decided to take it upon himself to go up and see if anyone in the house could help him. He dashed up covering his head with his jacket as if it was drops of fire falling from the sky, gently knocking to not panic the householder but there was no answer. It seemed to be the classic case of the lights are on but nobody's home until he tried one last time before leaving. As he was walking away he was met by a gentle voice softly asking "One moment dear". An older lady answered and rushes him into the house "Get in, Get in".

Once in the house she offers him hospitality until the storm passes to which Nick duly obliges. The house was more of an old cottage with a few extensions to modernize it up to today's housing pressures. As the night was going on the two struck up a good rapport with one another, laughing and sharing stories like the "good ol' days" , fire roaring and the noise of rain thundering off the roof and windows really set the scene. The lady suddenly asks Nick "have you ever killed someone?" Nick looked a bit bewildered by this but she then starts laughing saying it's only a joke and that she likes to mess with people.

Nick asks to use her phone to call a friend, she explains that you wont get signal in the storm but Nick tries anyway. As he dial's the number she looks at him directly in his eyes gaining his attention and whispers " I died before, I know it's strange to hear but since we are being honest tonight I thought you should know". Nick drops the phone and his face follows suit looking equally aghast at this revelation, "what do you mean you died before?". Before the old lady could answer another voice could be heard, it was an older man's voice seemingly coming from one of the renovated rooms asking " who is this man and why is he in this house". Nick responds by explaining about his car and that the old lady let him in, "there is no old lady living here" say's the man who's face still was hidden.

This night was starting to get strange, Nick apprehensively looks around and the old lady was no where to be seen, he searches the house for her but to no avail, she seemingly vanished. "The old lady you are talking about passed away a few years back" the old man mutters like he was talking to himself. Nick fervently looks for his car keys to exit the house only for the door to be locked, looking shaken ask's "What do you want? who are you?" Two loud thud's come from the back of the house, Nick's eyes start to dilute with fear awaiting to what he will be confronted with. "hahahahaahahh" the older man and lady appear from the back of the house in tears from laughter and explain to Nick that this is just a trick they play on stranded strangers on night's like these and apologize if it went to far. "I'm leaving right away" says nick angrily " i just want to go home it's been a long night i'm tired and didn't care for this prank".

The older couple asks Nick before he leaves " Do you believe in spirits? that the people we lose can still be around? It's what we do, we try to summon spirits of our loved one's with strangers who pass by, we lost close family member's a few months back but we always lacked a third person to perform the summoning ritual, can you please just try this with us, even to just give us closure?"
 Nick replies "Fine yeah. let's do this quickly and then i'm leaving. I know what it's like to lose people we love so let's just get it over with, not like I have plans on a night like this".

As they prepare the summoning; attached by their hand's in a circle around the sitting room table, a loud bang or crash is heard from outside. The old couple go check it out and see a car crashed up against a wall with smoke coming out of it, they rush to the scene to check if the person is OK. They slowly approach the banged up car, they notice a lifeless body lying in the driver's seat and ask " are you alright" but get no response, they ask Nick to try and phone for help but still the signal is down. "We gotta turn him over and see can wee help we have no other option" says the old man , they turn him over, his face caved in from the crash and blood all over it. "Nick ,Nick we need you out here" the couple call out but get nothing back, On the passenger's seat wedged down the side they see the wallet of the crash victim.

It read " Nick Jones" as his name . The couple look at each other and wonder is this purely a coincidence that he has the same name of the guy who is in their house. They turn and at the porch way of their house standing under an old dimming light surrounded by fluttering fly's is Nick who look's back at them and say's " you wanted a spirit so you got one" Nick's eyes turn red and start's to fade to transparency only to disappear. The terrified couple clench each other, jump in their car and speed off down the lonely back road never returning to that house again.

Nick Jones was a spirit all along, he died that night in a car crash and was summoned by the couple mistakenly as they learned what's dead stay's dead and this should not be messed with.