No One Here Gets Out Alive (Vengeful Spirits Book 3)

by Val Crowe

  “It was going to be like this anyway,” she said. “I’d be able to see you, but you wouldn’t be able to see me.”

  “But it’s not like that. I can see you. And it’s shitty as hell for you not to let me know you’re okay. Shitty as fucking hell.” I took an angry drink of bourbon. I wanted to shake her, not that I would ever hurt her. Not that I could even touch her, damn it.

  Her mouth twisted. “I thought this would be easier.”

  “For who?”

  “For you,” she said, and now there was a spark of anger in her eyes. “I’m doing this for you. So that you can have a normal relationship with a real woman. I’m not going to get in the way of that anymore.”

  I dragged my hands over my face. “Right, because there are women knocking down my door right now. For fuck’s sake, Mads, you don’t get to decide that for me.”

  “I am deciding it for you, don’t you understand? Every second I’m around, it confuses you. Deny it.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I drank more bourbon instead.

  She sniffed. “It would be easier for you if I wasn’t around.”

  I shook my head, but I didn’t reply.

  She was quiet too.

  “I thought you were dead,” I said finally. “I guess I don’t even know if you can die—”

  “Anything can die,” she said.

  “Aren’t you already dead?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think so. Or maybe if I am, it happened so long ago that I don’t remember it.”

  “Well, regardless,” I said, “I didn’t know if you were okay. And it was killing me.”

  “I see that,” she said, studying her knuckles. “I didn’t realize that I meant that much to you.”

  “How could you not? I see you more than I see most anyone else in my life, don’t I? I mean, wherever I go, you’re there too.”

  She picked at her cuticle.

  “I don’t want you to go away,” I said in a sulky voice.

  “Well, that doesn’t really solve anything.”

  “I don’t care,” I roared. “Maybe things can’t get solved. Maybe this is just the way things are for me. Maybe I see ghosts, and you’re my sidekick, and I travel the country trying to do what I can to resolve things for ghosts. Maybe that’s my life.”

  “But that’s not what you want.”

  I drank more bourbon. “Maybe I don’t know what I want.”

  She looked away.

  “Maybe,” I said, “I want you.”

  She turned back. “Well, you can’t have me.” And then she was gone, disappearing into wisps of black smoke.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “I’ve been worried about you,” said my mother’s voice over the phone. “You could have given me a call.” She had called me. She’d left a message, and I’d called her back when I got it.

  “Sorry,” I said into the phone. I was standing outside the Airstream, and it was morning, and I had a pounding headache from drinking too much the night before and not properly hydrating before bed. “I guess I’m out of the habit of keeping in touch.”

  She sighed. “Lord knows, I have made mistakes, Deacon, but I am your mother, and I love you. Please, don’t cut me out again. I don’t want to smother you, but I do want to be part of your life.”

  “I know,” I said. “I’m sorry. Everything’s been crazy.”

  “Did you find Dominique?”

  “I did,” I said. “I actually… Negus is out of the picture.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, he’s captured in a box, and he’s never coming out.” At least, if he was really embedded under Dominique’s skin, I didn’t figure he was. “He’s gone.”

  “That’s amazing news. You didn’t call to tell me that?”

  “I…” I laughed a little. “No, it is good news. It’s really good news. It’s only that there’s been a lot of bad news mixed in, I guess. I was really close to finding a way to make it so that I didn’t see ghosts, and I wasn’t able to do that. And people died, Mom. A lot of people. In bad ways. I couldn’t save them. I couldn’t stop any of it.”

  “It’s awful that anyone dies, and I’m sorry that you went through that. But, kiddo, who says that you have to save anyone? Who gave you that job?”

  “No one,” I said. “But…”

  “Not to mention it sounds like you were somewhere very dangerous,” she said, “and I don’t think you need to go looking for danger. I’d rather you didn’t, in fact.”

  “I don’t go looking for danger, Mom. It finds me.”

  “Still,” she said. “When you see danger, you run the other way.”

  I snorted. “Well, in this case, I maybe tried that, but danger decided to uproot a tree and block off the bridge.”

  “What?” she said.

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “I’ll tell you all about it at some point, I swear. But not when you’re in scolding-me-for-putting-myself-in-danger mode.”

  “Deacon, it’s only that I worry about you.”

  “I know,” I said. “But, look, this ability that I have to see ghosts and to give them power? It hurts people. I almost killed people at Point Oakes.”

  “But you didn’t,” she said. “Deep down, you’re a good man. I know, because you’ve always been good. You’re my son, and I love you.”

  “These people that died on the mountain, it wasn’t exactly my fault, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been there.”

  “You can’t blame yourself.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s a scale, right? The balance is tipping further and further toward my being bad news. So, maybe I need to mitigate that. Maybe, if I could use my abilities to help people, that would help tip the balance back.”

  My mother was quiet for a minute. “That sounds very noble, kiddo. And I’m all for it, as long as it’s not dangerous.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Mom.”

  “I help people, you know?” she said. “That’s why I do what I do.”

  “Mom, you pretend to talk to people’s dead loved ones and charge them money for it. How is that helping people?”

  “I make them feel good,” she said. “People need to feel good.”

  Okay, I wasn’t going to argue with her over this. “Sure, Mom, okay.”

  “I can tell when you’re humoring me,” she said.

  I laughed. “Look, if you get wind of something where it seems like there’s a real haunting going on, with real spirits, and you think I could help out, let me know, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said. “Actually, I may have a few things that might fit the bill. I’ll email you.”

  “Great,” I said.

  “Also,” she said, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you again about going gluten free.”

  I laughed again. “Seriously? You’re still on that no-wheat kick?”

  “It’s not a kick. It’s a lifestyle change. You would not believe the difference it’s made in my life. You need to try it. Go on a cleanse for fourteen days. I can buy you some food if you want. I can send you a meal plan.”

  “Mom, give it up already,” I said.

  “No, no,” she said. “This is serious, Deacon. You really have to listen to me.”

  I smiled as I clutched the phone. Yeah, it was good to be back in touch with my mother.

  * * *

  Rylan, Mundy, Wade, and I were at Celeste’s diner later that morning. I was hunched over my coffee, still feeling like death.

  “So, you’re seriously committing to this?” said Rylan. “Like, what? It’s going to be your job? You’re going to be a ghostbuster?”

  “I’m not a ghostbuster,” I scoffed, wrapping both my hands around my coffee mug. We had all mostly finished our breakfast, and now there were just a few tidbits on our plates, which we were picking at.

  “Oh, okay, whatever,” said Rylan. “An occult specialist?”

  I snorted and took a drink of coffee. The waitress ha
d just refreshed it a few minutes ago, and it was hot and strong. “I’m just, you know, going to stop running from this, and start to try to work with it.”

  “This being?” said Mundy.

  “My ability to see ghosts,” I said. “Hell, I never even told my best friend about it for years.”

  “Which wounded me deeply,” said Wade, clutching his chest.

  “Totally,” I said. “That was crazy. All I’ve done with this ability thus far is hurt people—”

  “Well, not exactly,” said Rylan. “I mean, we did get rid of whatever was haunting Ridinger Hall.”

  “Yeah, and the ghosts in Point Oakes are gone too,” said Wade.

  “And Macon also crossed over,” said Mundy.

  “Right,” I said. “So, you know, maybe I can do that on purpose. Maybe I can help people.”

  “I think that sounds very noble,” said Mundy.

  I snorted again. “You sound like my mother.”

  “How is your mother?” said Wade.

  “Fine,” I said.

  Wade grinned at me. “I’m glad she’s back in your life, man.”

  I looked away, back into my coffee.

  “Well, I’m hanging up my ghostbusting,” spoke up Rylan.

  “Now, now,” said Mundy, putting her arm around Rylan. “You’re not hanging it up, you’re moving on to a more lucrative opportunity.”

  I turned to Rylan. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to be helping Mundy with this idea she has for a youtube channel.”

  “Yeah, restoring an old house to turn into a bed and breakfast,” said Mundy, looking excited. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I know all about the restoration side. Rylan knows all about the youtube side. It’ll be a blast.”

  “And hopefully, you know, no body count,” said Rylan.

  “Wow,” I said, eyeing her. “This sounds decidedly like settling down, Miss I’m-Sowing-My-Wild-Oats.”

  “Look,” said Rylan, defensive, “being in a near-death experience with someone is very bonding. And just because I have a girlfriend, it doesn’t mean I’m that kind of lesbian. We’re not getting married or anything.”

  I raised both of my hands in surrender. “Hey, no, I think it’s great.”

  “Me too,” said Wade. “I’m very happy for you both.” He turned to me. “I, however, am not tied down at all. So, if you want me to come on the road with you and bust ghosts—”

  “I’m not a ghostbuster,” I said.

  “Just saying. I’m free.”

  “You’re graduating from college,” I countered.

  He considered. “Well, there is that. But promise me you’ll squeeze me in for an adventure on spring break or something, yeah?”

  I laughed. “Sure thing, buddy.”

  The waitress came by and collected our plates. She left us the check.

  We all left the restaurant. Mundy and Rylan said their goodbyes and headed up the street.

  Wade and I walked together, heading back towards his apartment.

  “So, you’re good?” said Wade. “I know you wanted to get free of the ghosts forever.”

  “I still think it would be best if I could,” I said. “If only because of how strong I make the ghosts.”

  “True,” he said.

  “But, yeah, if I can’t do that, I’m good,” I said. “This will be fine. It gives me a purpose. Instead of running away from something, I’ll be running towards something. It’s positive.”

  “You could be a shrink, man,” he said.

  “I’ve often had that same thought,” I said.

  He laughed.

  I did too.

  He threaded a hand through his hair. “Everyone’s so grown up all the sudden. You’ve got a purpose. Rylan’s got a girlfriend. I really do have to graduate from college. It’s peer pressure, I’m telling you.”

  “Study hard,” I told him.

  He made a face at me.

  I spread my hands.

  “Look,” he said. “Don’t leave town without saying goodbye, okay?”

  “Of course not,” I said.

  * * *

  The next morning, after a farewell breakfast with Wade, I fired up the truck and took the Airstream out on the road, heading out on a lead that my mother had emailed me.

  I kicked on the tunes, blaring out Metallica as I pulled onto the highway.

  But I’d only been going for about twenty minutes when the volume was abruptly turned down.

  I started, swerving a little.

  Mads appeared in the seat next to me. “Jesus, Deacon,” she said. “You know I hate that music.”

  “You just turned the volume down,” I said. “You affected the material world.”

  “Yeah, and it took a lot out of me,” she said, huffing and sitting back in the seat.

  “If you don’t like Metallica, then what?” I said. “Guns N Roses? Aerosmith?”

  “How about The Runaways?” she said.

  “Done,” I said, scrolling through my phone to put it on. I grinned at her.

  She grinned back.

  “So, you’re talking to me again?” I said.

  “I…” She studied her fingernails. “I want to do the right thing, I really do. And I know that staying away from you is the right thing.”

  “No, it’s not,” I muttered.

  “Yeah, it is,” she said. “And it’s what I want to do. But, I don’t know, it’s so hard.”

  “Mads…” I wasn’t sure what to say.

  She raised her gaze to mine, and she smiled again, and laughed. “So, um, what you were saying about having a sidekick? That position still open?”

  For a minute I was thrown. But then I decided to simply go with it. If she was willing to let it all go and to be light and fun again, then so was I. “I don’t know,” I said teasingly. “I have been interviewing other ghosts. Looking for someone else qualified.”

  She laughed. “Oh, come on, Deacon. You know you could never replace me.”

  “I do know that,” I said. “Wouldn’t want to either.”

  “But… it’s weird,” she said. “Whatever we are, it’s weird.”

  “I like weird,” I said. “So, let’s do it. What do you say? You ready to bust some ghosts?” What the hell? It kind of had a ring to it.

  “Born ready,” she said.

  The Airstream zoomed down the highway, and I reached over to turn up the music. The opening guitar lick in “Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin” filled the inside of the truck. We were back on the road, back where we belonged.

  * * *

  More Deacon?

  Find information on the next Vengeful Spirits book here.

  Thanks so much for reading!!!