The Mayhem on Mohawk Avenue
Page 5
Jackson felt a pang of guilt. He thought maybe now would be a good time to tell her about Haley. In the hallway. In public.
“Jinx, I—”
She waved her hand impatiently. “Never mind that. I think what we have on our hands here is a poltergeist phenomenon.”
Jackson looked at her quizzically.
“Remember in our last case, when I thought that’s what might be it?” Jinx continued. “With the brothers fighting? Well, this one totally fits the description. And remember, Brian said his last house was haunted, too! And, it only happens when he’s home alone.”
Jackson nodded. “The poltergeist thing is when someone is so upset they create paranormal activity in the house, right? But it’s not a haunting?”
“Exactly. And it’s almost always adolescents. And if Brian has had this happen for a while...”
Jackson sighed. “He told me this is his fourth move in four years.”
Jinx raised her eyebrows. “That’d make a person unhappy.” Her eyes got wide. “And remember Friday, when it started? We talked about parents, but then you and I fought?”
Jackson said, “And Brian got upset. We spurred him into poltergeist activity!”
Jinx nodded seriously. “We need to tell him before it gets worse. I’ve done some research—it could get really bad. Like knives-in-the-air bad.”
Jackson scanned the hall. “I’ll go look for him.”
“Find him,” Jinx stressed and walked away.
Finding Brian wasn’t hard. He was out behind the bushes again. He looked up when Jackson blocked the sun.
“We figured out what’s going on.” Jackson said as he sat down next to him.
Brian closed the comic book he’d been reading. “What? What kind of ghost? Can you get rid of it?”
Jackson tried to think of the nicest way possible to tell him he was the cause. “Well...it’s not exactly a ghost. But it can be gotten rid of.”
Brian’s eyebrows rose.
“Brian, have you heard of a poltergeist?”
“Yeah,” Brian said. “It’s not a ghost, but a manifestation of bad energy. I read all about it when I was researching your site.” He grinned at Jackson. Then comprehension dawned on his face. “Wait, you guys think that’s what’s going on?”
“Yeah.”
“But why?”
“Well, nothing showed up on the equipment,” Jackson said. “Nothing ghostly. And you said that you’d been haunted in a lot of different places, so...”
Brian looked away. “Yeah...Oh my god, I didn’t even think. I can’t believe I’ve been causing all this!”
Jackson said, “Well, the good news is you can stop it. You just need to figure out what it is you need to feel at peace.”
But Brian didn’t seem to be listening. “I mean, I caused this. Me. I made this happen.” Jackson saw excitement in Brian’s eyes, and it unnerved him.
“Listen, dude, Jinx researched this stuff, and it could get worse and worse. You’re going to want to try to stop this.”
Brian stood up and looked down at Jackson as if he were a bug. “Yeah, I’ll do that,” he hissed. “I have these new superpowers, and I’ll just let them go.”
Jackson stood up. “These aren’t superpowers, Brian. This is dangerous, and you won’t be able to control it. You need to find a way to stop it, not spur it on.”
Brian stared at Jackson with disdain. “You’re just jealous. You can’t do anything like this. You’re”—he spat the word at Jackson—“ordinary.”
Jackson shivered as Brian stormed away. There was something seriously wrong with the boy. Something dark in him. He’d have to tell Jinx to be careful.
Jackson took out his phone to text Jinx, but then he saw Haley through the windows of the cafeteria. Every other thought left his mind. He put his phone away, not remembering why he had it out.
L
ater that night, Jackson thought back to his encounter with Brian. He shuddered as the creepy look on Brian’s face flashed in his mind, and he thought of the power Brian had. Brian was almost like the evil version of Jinx—refusing to be ordinary, but willing to go to dangerous extremes to get there. He had to remember to tell her. He’d call her tomorrow.
Jackson pulled up his shirt and put on deodorant. Haley was coming over; they were going to watch a movie. And maybe even try the Ouija board again. Jackson wasn’t ready to give up on it yet. And the fact that Haley was a part of the effort just made the whole thing that much sweeter.
He put on a sweater and jeans and then heard the doorbell ring. He looked at his watch—Haley was about ten minutes early. But that’s what he liked about her; she was very considerate.
He jogged down the stairs and opened the door.
Jinx stood there, holding popcorn and a DVD. “I thought maybe we could watch a movie. I think you’ll like it,” she said. “Paranormal Activity.”
Jackson snorted. Paranormal Activity was a movie that Jinx liked. Then he went white. He needed to get her out of there fast, before Haley came over. Before Jackson could say anything, Jinx flounced in and walked up the stairs to his room.
Jackson followed, saying, “Uh...actually, I have to...”
Jinx walked in his room and turned around, a Twizzler in her hand. “You have to what?”
Then she caught sight of the Ouija board. “Whoa!” She shoved the rest of the Twizzler in her mouth and grabbed it. “I didn’t know you had one of these things! Why haven’t we used it a gazillion times by now?”
She swallowed a mouthful of Twizzler and frowned. “Wait, why do you have one of these things? I thought you really didn’t care about paranormal stuff...you were just doing this because it was something to do.”
Jackson had opened his mouth—to say what, he didn’t know—when the doorbell rang again. He stammered, “Stay here. Don’t move.”
“What? Why are you acting so weird? And why are you wearing a sweater?” She sniffed the air. “Is that cologne?”
“Just don’t move,” he said again and sprinted down the stairs.
He opened the door. Haley stood on the other side. She smiled at him, and Jackson melted just a little—before the adrenaline kicked in and sweat trickled down his spine.
“You smell good,” Haley said. She handed him a bag of what felt like heavy candles and a book. “For tonight.” She giggled. “Who’d have guessed I’d ever be on a date where the main event was using a Ouija board!”
Jackson heard a gagging sound on the stairway and closed his eyes. He knew Jinx had heard the whole thing.
He turned around slowly and watched as Jinx stomped down each stair until she stood by Jackson.
At the same time Haley and Jinx said, “What’s she doing here?”
Jackson sighed and leaned against the doorsill. “Jinx, Haley and I are dating.”
Jinx’s mouth dropped open. “Her? Out of all the people in the world, Jackson...her?”
He started to say, “You don’t know her—”
“And you’ve started this new Ouija board thing with her?” Jackson had never heard Jinx’s voice go so quiet. He knew that wasn’t good.
Meanwhile, Haley had crossed her arms. “Yeah. Me. Jackson, I thought you were just friends with her out of pity.”
Haley and Jinx glared at each other with hate. “Haley,” Jackson started, “Jinx is my best friend. Since kindergarten.”
Jinx looked back and forth between Haley and Jackson. Jackson thought he saw tears in her eyes. “Was,” she said with a husky voice. “Was his best friend.” She pushed past Haley and out to the sidewalk.
“Jinx—” Jackson called, but Jinx flipped around and said, “You two deserve each other.” She started to run.
Jackson went to follow, but Haley put her hand on his chest. “Let her go. What do you need her for? We’ve got each other now.” She stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
But all Jackson could see was the retreating form of his best friend heading down the block.
Dear PF fans,
There have been some changes here. Some big ones. Actually, one big one. Investigator #2 has been removed from the Paranormalist investigation team.
What does this mean for you, loyal fans and potential customers? Nothing! I promise. We still have the best equipment and the kick-butt investigative skills you’ve come to expect.
And even better, I have a new assistant. Everyone, meet Brian. Brian, meet everyone.
So while things have changed on this end, really, for you, they will be the same. As always, the Paranormalists SEEK THE TRUTH AND FIND THE CAUSE.
Even if we’re one short.
Sincerely,
Investigator #1
CASE 1:
THE HAUNTING OF APARTMENT 101
Jinx was a social reject who became a punked-out paranormal investigator. Jackson is a jock by day and Jinx’s ghost-hunting partner by night. When a popular girl named Emily asks the duo to explore a haunting in her dad’s apartment, Jinx is skeptical—but Jackson insists they take the case. And the truth they find is even stranger than Emily’s story.
CASE 2:
THE TERROR OF BLACK EAGLE TAVERN
Jinx’s ghost-hunting partner Jackson may be a jock, but Jinx is not interested in helping his football buddy Todd—until Todd’s case gets too weird to ignore. A supernatural presence is causing chaos at the bar Todd’s family owns. And the threat has a connection to Todd that’s deeper than even he realizes...
CASE 3:
THE MAYHEM ON MOHAWK AVENUE
Jinx and Jackson have become the go-to ghost hunters at their high school. When a new kid in town tries to get in on their business, Jinx is furious. Portland only needs one team to track down ghosties! But Jinx’s quest to shut down her competition will lead her and Jackson down a dangerous path...
CASE 4:
THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Jinx is the top paranormal investigator at her high school, and she has a blog to prove it. Jackson’s her ghost-hunting partner by night—former partner, anyway. After a shakeup in the Paranormalists’ operation, the two ex-best friends are on the outs, and at the worst possible time. Because a deadly supernatural threat is putting their classmates in harm’s way...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MEGAN ATWOOD lives in Minneapolis, MN, and gets to write books for a living. She also teaches writing classes and reads as many young adult books as she can get her hands on. She only occasionally investigates paranormal activity.