by West, Tara
“Okay, I’m a little freaked out right now.” Throwing up both palms, her arms visibly shook.
Why was she acting so weird? She knew I could channel spirits way before this. She should have known this was going to happen one day.
“What’s the big deal, AJ?” I groaned. “You can’t even see them.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she spoke through a squeal. “How am I supposed to sleep knowing there’s ghosts in my bedroom?”
I rolled my eyes. “I do it all the time.”
I’ve had to put up with ghosts in my bedroom almost every night of my teenage life, so why couldn’t she just deal with it for a few days?
“Yeah, well, you’re used to it.” With her arms still folded across her chest, AJ raised her shoulders, leveling me with a glare.
“Fine,” I spat before turning my gaze upward. “Ed, Gertrude, you have to go.” I waved them away. “Sorry.”
They didn’t budge. Instead, they folded their arms across their chests and mimicked AJ’s panic- stricken expression.
For the first time in a while, I laughed out loud. These dead people were hilarious.
AJ’s brows rose so high, they could have scraped the ceiling. “They didn’t really leave, did they?”
I looked into her direct gaze. Sometimes the living could be such a pain in the butt.
“Look.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m sneaking out tonight and they’ll go with me.”
“What?” Arms flailing, AJ jumped off her bed. “Are you crazy? My mother will kill us!”
Sighing, I rubbed the back of my head, trying not to let her get me too worked up. Unlocking my jaw, I reminded myself not to grind my teeth. “She’s not even going to know, AJ,” I said in the calmest voice I could manage.
“Duh, yes, she will.” AJ’s head roll followed the direction of her eyes. “Have you forgotten that woman can see through walls?”
Crap.
AJ’s mom had the power to see people anywhere, anytime. Usually, she used her power on her daughter. Last summer, I turned to alcohol in order to deal with my mom’s abandonment. I was having a bad life trip and I took AJ with me. We were busted when we went to the gas station and asked an undercover cop to buy us beer. AJ’s mom showed up moments after our arrest. It didn’t dawn on me at the time how she found out so fast, but over Christmas break, she revealed her power to AJ. She could watch AJ’s softball game without ever leaving the house. Or spy in her bedroom without us knowing. Kind of like Superman, but more nosy.
I had to take the chance though; Sunny had no one to talk to.
“Look, AJ, I’ll wait until she’s asleep, but I need to go talk to Sunny.”
“Can’t you send the old people to talk to her?” AJ waved to the ceiling, about two feet from where Ed and Gertrude were hovering.
“No, they can’t talk to her.” I held up my palm to silence her next question. “Don’t ask—long story.”
Hand on hip, AJ started the attitude head bob. “Why do you need to talk to her?”
“She’s in a dark place and I need to see if I can help.”
“Okay, this is getting creepier by the second.” AJ paced her plush white carpet while chewing on her fingernails.
I squared my shoulders, hands fisting at my sides. “This is something I have to do.”
“You know what?” Stopping mid-stride, she turned to me, pointing a finger at my chest. “Do whatever you want, but don’t blame me if my mom catches you. She might already know your plan.”
Chapter Eight
“Sunny, where are you?”
Oh, God, what was I doing here in the darkest, spookiest corner of Pyramid Lake? The old people had led me to this spot through a narrow trail in the woods after I biked over an hour from AJ’s house. Bending down, I rubbed a cramp in my leg. I wasn’t used to this kind of exercise. With exaggerated movements, I stood up, shooing away bugs that swarmed around my head.
Gross. This place totally sucked.
Why a lake, anyway? I’d thought Sunny would still be hanging out at the café, but I guess she thought a lake was a better place to haunt. It sure was creepy enough. Even Ed and Gertrude looked a little weirded out as their apparitions appeared to be shaking above me.
Thankfully, I managed to break through AJ’s hard-coated shell of stubbornness and convince her to sneak me a flashlight out of her dad’s garage.
“Sunny, please come out. It’s me, Krysta.” Shining my little beam into the bleak wall of overgrown trees, I could barely see a few feet into the forest.
A sudden breeze at my back sent shivers racing up my spine.
“I’m here.” The voice was hollow and strangely dark.
Gasping, I turned toward the rocky beach behind me.
It was then that I saw her, hovering above the water; an eerie, pale aura reflected off her body and illuminated the lake.
The bruises on her neck were even more noticeable beneath the pale lantern of her body. Her gaze, though fixed on me, was lifeless and lost.
“Sunny?” I rasped, barely breathing the words through frozen features. Had this been my first ghost, I would have crapped in my pants. Even though I’d seen plenty of dead people in my life, this chick looked pretty scary.
“What do you want?” she asked in a cold, even voice.
Gone was the venomous sarcasm of the Sunny I knew. This shadow was just an empty Sunny, a dark Sunny.
“I want to help you,” I stammered, as my veins turned icy cold under the weight of her lifeless eyes.
“You can’t help me,” she said evenly.
“Sunny, you’re in a dark place. We need to get you out.”
Her gaze trailed off behind me. “Someone is coming.”
“What?” Jerking my head around, I thought I heard a voice in the distance. My flesh crawled with fear.
“You should not come here.” Turning her gaze down, she focused on her hands as she folded them in front of her. “This is where he used to take me.”
The icy cold terror that swept up my spine was nothing like the fear I had felt before. My limbs were frozen, my brain numb from fear.
Who was coming? Was it him?
Ed and Gertrude floated down beside me and a sudden warmth seeped into my bones. For a moment, my flesh stopped crawling.
Weird.
How were they able to do that?
“We needs ta leave,” Ed said gruffly.
“Yeah,” I nodded, unable to say any more.
Turning back toward the water, my shoulders fell.
Sunny was gone.
Maybe coming out here wasn’t such a hot idea. With brisk movements, I took off and stumbled over a tree root as I desperately searched for the trail. “Do either of you see the way out?”
“I don’t think we should go that way. What if we run into him?” Gertrude’s bulging eyes made her look like she was afraid she’d die all over again.
Shining my flashlight, I scanned a long length of rocky sand before it disappeared behind a canopy of trees. “If we follow the shoreline, maybe we can find another trail and walk around to my bike.”
“We better get a move on.” Ed made a shooing motion with his arms. “I think I hear him.”
Just as I’d taken my first step, the glare from another flashlight appeared from the darkened forest.
“Let’s run,” I called as the air rushed from my lungs.
I wasn’t a runner. I didn’t care for high impact exercise, but I couldn’t exactly yoga my way out of there. As fast as I could, with my feet sticking like suction cups to the ground, I darted through the sand. I had to make it around the trees before he found me.
“Krysta!” A familiar female voice called behind me. “Come back here right now, young lady!”
Oh, crap.
With a slow turn of my body, I faced AJ’s mom. One hand on a flashlight and the other cocked on her hip, she glared at me through slitted eyes.
I was so busted.
“Mrs. Dawso
n?”
Go figure, AJ was right. Her mom really did know everything.
Even though I knew I was going to be majorly punished by my dad, I had to stifle a laugh at Mrs. Dawson’s pink fuzzy pajamas and matching slippers.
She was usually very pretty and a good dresser—for a mom—but her blonde hair was pinned back, exposing a pale face with no makeup.
I’d never seen AJ’s mother look anything less than perfect.
“Oh, my goodness, child.” One hand flew to her throat. “What are you doing here?”
Then my heart sank at the expression in her eyes. Could she really care about me? I wasn’t used to that sort of concern from motherly figures.
The only other time I thought AJ’s mom showed interest in me was a few months ago, when we’d told her about our gifts. AJ said it would be okay, since her mom was gifted, too.
“Sunny is here.” I tried to explain while keeping the don’t-tell-Dad whine out of my voice. “I needed to talk to her.”
A man stepped from behind her and I stifled a scream. When the gold of the police badge strapped to his belt reflected off my glowing flashlight, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, hi.” I nervously fumbled with my fingers. Now the cops were involved in my search; I was definitely busted.
“Hi, Krysta.” Flashing a smile, he wrinkled his brow. “Remember me?”
As I closed the distance between us, I recognized Officer Garza, the cop who took my statement today. “Yeah.”
“Officer Garza came to our house tonight looking for you.” Brow drawn in a heavy frown, Mrs. Dawson used the motherly guilt voice she had perfected on AJ.
“We have a suspect.” Garza motioned for me to come closer. “We need you to identify him.”
“Sunny’s boyfriend?” I gasped, feeling tension from my body ebb away at the thought of Sunny’s killer behind bars.
“Yes, Krysta.” Garza nodded. “What were you doing out here?” He ended on an accusatory note, like I was up to no good.
How could I tell him the truth? He’d have me committed.
“Nothing.” I shrugged, biting my lower lip.
His mouth tilted in the slightest of smirks, and for a moment, I saw a sign of recognition in his eyes, like he didn’t believe me. “I thought you told Mrs. Dawson you were talking to Sunny.”
“Sunny’s dead,” I blurted.
Folding his arms across his chest, he leveled me with a hard stare. “I know.”
Something in my gut told me Officer Garza knew the truth.
“Look,” I spoke through a shaky voice. “I just came out here because I couldn’t sleep and it’s so beautiful out here.” I swept my hand across the dark horizon before swatting a mosquito on my neck.
His smirk turned into an all out accusatory scowl. “This is no place for a young girl to be by herself.”
“Yes, sir,” I mouthed, unable to stop the uneasiness that settled in my bones.
“You’re lucky Mrs. Dawson knew where to find you. Do you know we arrested Sunny’s boyfriend from this spot earlier today?”
My throat went bone dry. He was here. What if I’d come earlier?
His facial features suddenly dropped. “Given what happened to your mom, I’m surprised you’d take such a risk.” Garza’s voice sounded choked with emotion, as his eyes glossed over with moisture.
“What does my mom have to do with this?” I spat.
Was he suggesting I was trying to run away like she did? This was the second time today he’d mentioned that woman and I was sick of it. I had always been a fly on the wall in my dad’s life, but after my mom left us, I felt even more insignificant.
“Krysta, you look cold.” Mrs. Dawson spoke in an authoritative tone. “Officer, let’s get her in the car.”
Mrs. Dawson glared at the officer as I silently trailed behind them through the forest. All the while, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. When the three of us arrived at Officer Garza’s police car, I remembered.
Where were Ed and Gertrude?
Scanning the tree line, I spied them hovering among the trees. Ed winked at me and I smiled.
All the while, I could feel the weight of Officer Garza’s gaze on my back.
****
“Is this the guy you saw with Sunny last night?”
Officer Garza eyed me with a steady, concerned gaze. “Don’t worry.” He flashed a warm, but wary smile. “He can’t see you.”
My throat was too dry to speak, like an internal vacuum had suddenly sucked out all my mouth’s moisture at the sight of him.
He didn’t look any less scary in the faded orange uniform. His eyes showed no signs of remorse. If anything, he looked even meaner than before, like a confused, rabid dog. Smiling through a snarl, his gaze swept across the one-way mirror. Though I’d seen it in the movies, and I knew he couldn’t see me, I still cringed as his glare passed over where I was sitting.
“Yes, that’s him,” I breathed.
“Good.” Officer Garza squeezed my shoulder once before letting go. “That’s all we need from here.”
“That’s it?” My jaw dropped, a mixed feeling of relief and uncertainty washing through me. “Don’t I need to testify or anything?”
“You already gave your statement.” Garza peered down at me with that all-knowing gleam in his eyes. “Unless you have something else you want to tell me.”
“No.” I resolutely shook my head.
“Are you sure?”
I could read the disbelief in his voice.
“Yeah.” I nodded vigorously, all the while my insides trembled.
“Ok.” He shrugged. “Then you’re free to go.”
A female officer motioned to me, and I followed her, vaguely aware of my own actions. As I walked out of the room on wobbly legs, I couldn’t help but feel this wasn’t my last encounter with Officer Garza.
He knew about my powers. I could feel it.
But who told him?
****
Walking down the corridor of the substation, my legs were so shaky I felt like I would faint. There was also another issue. The huge bottle of water I drank after my bike excursion was wreaking havoc on my bladder.
After the officer pointed out the bathroom, I rushed inside, barely taking notice of the ugly mustard yellow walls before I threw open the stall door.
The last thing I expected to see were two ethereal spirits hovering knee deep in toilet water.
I yelped, a hand flying to my chest, before I had time to process the sight before me. Standing side- by-side, Ed and Gertrude each had one leg in the toilet. They just floated there, staring at me with those goofy grins, like haunting toilets was the most natural thing to do.
“What are you two doing in the toilet?” I asked through a spurt of anxious laughter.
“We was waitin’ for you.” Gertrude nodded. “Seein’ as you like them mirrors so much, we knew you’d come in here.” Tilting his chin, Ed folded his arms across his inflated chest, looking proud of himself that he’d figured out my favorite hangout.
“Well, thanks for hanging around.” I ended on an awkward note, not too sure what to say to them while standing inside a cramped urinal and waiting for my bladder to bust open.
“No problem.” They answered in unison.
“They caught him.” I nodded, trying my hardest to fall into a natural conversation during this incredibly awkward moment.
“Yeah.” They grinned. “We knew that.”
Not knowing the right gestures to use during dead person toilet talk, I nodded again. “He confessed, so I don’t need to tell them about dead Sunny.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.” Smoothing my frizz down with shaky fingers, I struggled with the right words to say to them. “Listen, I’ve been thinking.”
And I had been thinking, a lot. The only trouble was that my thoughts kept leading me to the same horrible conclusion.
I had to help them stop that mall. Even though I was committ
ing social suicide, it was the least I could do considering how they’d helped me with Sunny.
“Yes, Emmy.” Eyes bulging, their expressions were eager—hopeful.
Exhaling a deep breath, I struggled for the words that would end my social status as I knew it, but I figured worse things could happen to a girl, like murder. Besides, after a few years, maybe it would all blow over. Once I moved to Paris to start my modeling career, all of Greenwood would have forgotten about Krysta, the loser who protested the mall.
“I’m only fourteen and I really don’t know how to stop a mall. Even though I’ll fall several steps down the stairway of popularity if I help you, I’ll do it.”
Ed and Gertrude exchanged wide grins. “Thank you, Emmy!”
Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat while forcing a smile. “Now will you please leave before I wet my pants?”
Chapter Nine
“Is that all you’re eating?”
Looking up from my plate and across the small breakfast table, AJ’s blonde brows were drawn together in a heavy scowl as she sneered at my two toast wedges, lightly dusted with low-cal butter substitute.
Sighing, I smoothed my hands up my shaky arms. My nerves still hadn’t settled after last night at the substation and now I had to put up with AJ’s attitude. Besides, what had my toast ever done to her?
“Yeah, this is all I’m eating.” I met her scowl with a direct gaze.
“My mom made bacon.” She motioned to a big pile of greasy, steaming pork in the center of the table.
Gag.
I should have just duct taped them to my thighs and butt, because that’s exactly where they’d end up if I swallowed them.
I lightly shrugged, before turning my focus back to my toast wedges, as I did my best to pretend AJ wasn’t getting on my nerves.
“I don’t feel like eating much today.” I washed down a morsel of toast with a gulp of water. AJ didn’t have any diet drinks in the house.
“You never feel like eating much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Excuse me?” I said with enough sarcasm in my voice to make her understand I wasn’t in the mood for her attitude.
AJ seemed determined to turn breakfast into a nag session.
