The Haunted Traveler Vol 1 Issue 2

23
Years later, after Tom had been released from
his brief stint in jail for assaulting Jared, Benny had
gone to a small get together with his girlfriend, Ivy, to
celebrate the end of finals week. It was his last year of
college and he was eager to start a life with Ivy. Tom,
who somehow managed to get into every party that
Benny was at, was already tossing back shots when
Benny got there. “Geez, slow down,” Benny commented,
sipping at his beer. “You’ll be trashed before
everyone even shows up.”
Tom grudgingly slowed his pace, watching Ivy
out of the corner of his eye. As the night progressed,
Benny noticed Tom trying to sidle up to her and even
though Ivy rejected his advances, Benny made sure
to keep himself between the two of them, unsure of
whether or not Tom was on his meds.
It was the early hours of the morning when
the party started to die down and Benny went to fetch
their jackets, leaving Ivy with a few of their friends in
the living room. When he returned, Ivy was nowhere
to be seen. “Where’s Ivy?” he asked, a hollow feeling
settling in the pit of his stomach.
A frown tugged at his friend’s lips. “Um…I
thought she was going to meet you at the door…that’s
what she told me.”
“Shit!” Benny swore and ran towards the door,
which was directly in front of the staircase. A thump
and muffled shriek drew his attention to the middle
of the stairs. Tom had Ivy in a tight grip, one hand
clamped over her mouth and one wrapped around her
waist and pinning her arms to her side. Growling,
Benny darted up the steps and punched Tom in the