Chapter Two. #2
“Hatton had a classroom in the oldest part of the school and was proud of its history. Boys got caned there and were forced to stand wearing a dunce’s cap on.
If Hatton could have done the same, he would have, but he could only dish out a clip around the ear.
This detention was the same: writing the lines, ‘I will not misbehave in class,’ repeatedly when Ghoul made a noise.
When we looked up, we saw a boy, about eleven, standing in the corner, staring at us.
“He wore a dirty beige shirt with trousers and braces. If I had to guess, I’d say he lived in the late nineteen hundreds, judging by his clothing.
He stared directly at us as we watched him.
Hatton had left us, and we all got scared, mainly because we could see through him.
The kid was ghastly white with black circles around his eyes. ”
“What did he do?” Callie asked accidentally.
“Just stared, but it was chilling. It was like he was trying to figure out why we were alive, and he wasn’t.
Then he vanished as Hatton came back and shouted at us.
We encountered him several times after that, and he seemed weird.
Ghoul thought he was trying to figure out a way to come back to life by using one of us. It was frightening.”
“Jeez!” Callie exclaimed.
“But it got us hooked. We began watching all paranormal programmes, checking out websites and so on. Have to admit we went down the wrong path, believing that agitating was the right way, but we soon learned. Then we heard of people who needed help, and we turned towards them. Some were at their wits’ end with nowhere to go.
I couldn’t let them struggle like that, not if we were able to help. ”
“How long have you been at this?”
“We started properly when we were sixteen; hell, we were investigators before we even formed the club. The club’s existed ten years, but we’ve been investigating for fifteen,” I said.
Callie nodded. “Would you do this full-time?”
“In a heartbeat. There’s so many needing help and suffering; we can’t reach a lot because of our day jobs and money. The TV programme is raising our profile, but that’s also getting us more requests for help.”
“That sucks when you have to say no. Can’t you get funding or a benefactor?”
“Nah. The UK operates differently from the US. People don’t fund it over here,” I replied.
“That is bad,” Callie said thoughtfully.
“Yup, but no point dwelling on it. We can’t change it, so we do what we can,” I stated, refusing to get morbid over this.
“You got a plan in place for dealing with this?” Callie asked.
I appreciated she was deferring to me. “We don’t usually investigate the rooms where we’re staying.
Recently, we’ve learned that if we witness something, then those staying there are prejudiced against it.
We’re going to investigate the rooms known to be haunted and take baseline readings of the others.
From there, we’ll start trying to narrow down this spirit’s haunts.
He’s not trapped in one spot but…” I broke off and frowned.
“What is it?” Callie asked.
“He’s never appeared where we know spirits are,” I muttered.
“What?” Callie frowned.
“This entity’s never shown up if there’s an existing haunting in the room,” I said, consideringly. “That means something, but I’m unsure what.”
“He doesn’t want to share the limelight. And I’m starting to get an idea of what he is.”
“Going to share?”
“Not yet, not without more proof. If I label him and it’s wrong, we waste time,” Callie replied.
“Well, it’s something I’ve never encountered, and I’ve fifteen years doing this.”
“Not very long, considering,” Callie shot back, smiling.
“Long enough!”
“Okay, let’s get this sorted, guys,” I said over the babble of conversation. Angela’s staff had recently served a filling and scrumptious meal, and everyone was in a good mood.
“You got a list?” Jack asked, and I nodded.
“Sunny and Callie are taking Kingsmill, and I’m with Michelle and taking the Elizabethan Bedchamber.
Trunk and Jack, you’ve got James. Ghoul, I want you with Lucky in Dr Syn’s room.
Gizmo and Suga hit the Nutcracker Suite, and Dice and Coffee in Hawkhurst. We don’t have a team for Moreton and Fleur de Lys, and we’ll cover that tomorrow.
Lich and Reaver, you’ve the cameras. To stave off boredom, we’ll swap around at two a.m. I’ll hand out new room assignments at that point,” I stated.
“Everyone, make sure you grab the equipment you need. We want to minimise movement so we can capture anything moving in the hallways,” Callie added.
I nodded in agreement. “I agree. Tonight and tomorrow, we’re doing the base readings in each room; afterwards we’ll start investigating what the hell is going on,” I said.
“What if we pick up on this entity?” Gizmo asked.
“Record and document; don’t interact. Do you all have protection?” My brothers held up their crosses, which Lucky had blessed. Callie’s team held up their own charms, which Michelle must have blessed.
“Let’s get to it,” Jack said enthusiastically.
“How long have you been doing exorcisms?” I asked Michelle.
“About ten years now. I discovered I had a talent for it, and my church ensured I got the training I needed.”
“You’re a genuine priest?” I asked, looking at her jeans and tee.
“Believe it or not, yes. Obviously, I’m not a Catholic one, but I hold the rank of Priest in my religion.”
“Does it help? Your faith?”
“Yes. What we do is frightening. If I didn’t have God to turn to, I couldn’t do this.
I love helping people and helping soothe unsettled spirits.
Haunt, we both recognise there’s something deeper happening across the world.
Evil is growing, and so are evil entities.
Life is so hard now. Demonic entities enter our world far too frequently.
Darkness is growing, and we need to stand against it,” Michelle said.
The confidence in her voice bolstered me. Michelle was a true believer in what we did. Too many did it for glory, power, or fame. For the wrong reasons.
“Did your church approve of you joining Ghost Seekers Inc.?”
“Yes. Strange that, isn’t it? You’d imagine they would want a mention or credit, but they’ve asked for nothing. Sure, anyone looking me up can see which denomination I belong to, but they don’t want publicity like that. I suppose they view me as a roving priest, which is nice.”
“I like that,” I stated, truly meaning it.
“How about you guys? I’m guessing your MC name came from your investigations,” Michelle asked.
“Yeah. We were going to go with Spirit Riders, but someone had already claimed that. And really, we are spirit chasers, as we’re constantly chasing spirits.”
Michelle laughed. “That’s true!”
The radio cackled. “Prez, you’ve got movement, but nothing is showing on camera,” Reaver said.
“The motion sensor is going off,” I guessed. Reaver grunted an affirmative.
Michelle and I gazed around, but nothing appeared. Five minutes ticked past before Reaver spoke again. “Sensors aren’t activating.”
“Thanks, I’ll go and check them for dust and stuff.
” I got to my feet and headed toward the door.
Just as I was about to open it, it swung open, and chills ran up my spine.
Holy crap! Michelle and I swapped glances and cautiously stepped outside.
There was no one there, and I shook my head.
Reaching out, I didn’t sense anything malevolent, and Michelle seemed relaxed.
“The duellists?” she asked.
“That seems to be residual; this feels more interactive.”
Goosebumps broke over my skin as a cold patch swept past me and then, to our surprise, the bedcover where Michelle had been sitting was smoothed out.
“The maid!” we said together. I watched as the chair I was sitting on was shoved back and the maid disappeared.
“Okay, don’t mess up her rooms!” I laughed. Michelle nodded with the same amusement.