by Bxerk
The Shade Riders and the Dreadful Ghosts
By
Bxerk
Copyright © 2015 by Beth Zurkowski Bxerk
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
May not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
Without the express written permission of the author
Except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in United States of America
First Printing 2015
ISBN 978-131-10584-6-1
Beth Zurkowski
P.O. Box 342
Brodhead, Wi, 53520
Bxerk.net
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my editor Dave King. I want to thank my writer’s groups I had in the past, for their insight and knowledge. And I have a wonderful writer’s group now. I also had great beta readers, Mary Farley and Andy Oliver, who taught me a thing or two about writing. I like to think that each novel is a collaborative effort. And one needs to accept all the help they can get unless it gets too confusing or mean. I received help from Professor Judith Olmsted from Gateway Technical College on matters of science. She is a wonderful fountain of knowledge. I approached Professor Clint Sprott from the UW-Madison about Plasma. He gave me great information about electric fields. I used the Critters Writers Workshop and received very good suggestions. I had help from Jacqueline Jaeger Houtman, Ingrid Kallick, Kate Blackwell and Ronnie Hess. My writer’s group today has Beverly Stowe McClure, Cheryl C. Malandrinos, and Gail DeLaney. All who have made writing so exciting and wonderful. I know I have forgotten some critique people, I hope they forgive me.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Shiver Me Timbers
Chapter 2 The Library
Chapter 3 Spirit Myths
Chapter 4 Taking a Powder
Chapter 5 Prism Colors
Chapter 6 Nightmares
Chapter 7 Threats to Science
Chapter 8 Picnic
Chapter 9 Shade’s Freedom
Chapter 10 Ghosts
Chapter 11 Science Fair
Chapter 12 Surprise
Chapter 13 Pathways
Chapter 14 Nocturnal Ned
Chapter 15 Stood-Up
Chapter 16 Nova’s Secret
Chapter 17 Weapon
Chapter 18 Supplies
Chapter 19 Sleepover
Chapter 20 The Fort
Chapter 21 Part Neanderthal
Chapter 22 Fireballs
Chapter 23 Takeesha
Chapter 24 Trails and Trials
Chapter 25 Ordin
Chapter 26 Campaign
Chapter 27 Home and Hosed
About the Author
Dedication
To my son.
The Shade Riders and the Dreadful Ghosts
March 15, 2046
Bardsville, Wisconsin
Chapter 1 Shiver Me Timbers
When eleven-year-old Nova strolled through the doorway of Bardsville Middle School, the hair on the back of her neck immediately stood at attention. And that was before the spring wind blew the door shut behind her. Cold raced through her bones, and her breakfast threatened to come up. She clutched her stomach and took deep breaths.
She heard an evil laugh and looked up. A gray transparent human silhouette flashed before her eyes and vanished with a crackling sound.
Nova jumped back. Stupid ghosts! For the last month and a half, they’d been infesting the school like mice in a corn crib. It was hard enough to get through the school day without worrying about being overwhelmed by a sense of dread. It was worst during gym.
Well, she was finally going to do something about it. And if it meant taking out someone’s ancestors, so be it.
The school bell rang out startling her again. Nova ran down the hallway, skidding around the corner to the north wing and her first class- English with Ms. Chilldress. The room smelled of hand lotion, stinky feet, and old books. Nova was still trying to shake the dread, taking some deep breaths when she remembered that there was a spelling test this morning. She gritted her teeth. The dread had nothing to do with the ghost. Not this time anyway.
Later in the Auditorium for lunch, Nova scanned the room until she spotted Takeesha at a table in the corner with Max Kim and Benny. The chairs from one side of the table had been shoved into the aisle to make room for Benny’s wheelchair. Nova jostled through kids near the auditorium’s dark stage and shuffled past the vending machines that made squeaking noises when she came near them. The machines hid the old kitchen that wasn't used anymore. She sat down with the others at a rickety corner table.
“You guys, I had another sighting this morning.”
“The pirate?” Benny asked.
“It happened so fast I’m not sure.” Nova opened up her brown lunch bag. “I don’t know about you guys, but I want them gone. Thing is, I’m not sure I can fight them alone.”
Takeesha nodded biting into her ham sandwich that dripped mayonnaise. “Something happened with a pirate ghost this morning.”
Nova noticed that Max Kim’s eyes were wide as he gulped his chocolate milk. Benny and Max Kim were good buds and usually made fun of the girls. If he was taking Takeesha seriously, then it had to be bad.
“What?” she said. “What happened?”
“Do you remember Dayton? The science kid? His hat made him look bald with three
eyes---?” Takeesha scratched between her cornrows.
“Yeah, I remember him,” Nova said. “Was he doing anything with science? The ghosts really don’t like that.”
Takeesha continued to stuff her sandwich in her mouth.
“Mufflrrr.” She gestured ‘give me a minute’ with her finger. Nova sat back. Someone dropped their chair, and everyone jumped. Nova looked around the room for a ghost but didn’t see or sense one. These ghosts really had everyone on edge.
Benny couldn’t wait for Takeesha any longer. “Dayton was carrying a chemistry book from Ms. Chilldress. Anyway, he opened his locker, and there was this big bloody arm hanging from handcuffs inside.”
“Hey,” Takeesha spluttered her white milk and wiped her chin with a napkin. “Nova’s my friend. I should tell her. You know what I mean?”
"Well hurry up and get to the good part." Benny shoved at his white blond combed-over hair.
Nova elbowed her. “Yeah, Takeesha get to the good part.”
“When Dayton tried to touch the ghost arm, it reached out to grab him.” Takeesha drank some more milk.
“Yeah, then the arm changed into a pirate,” Max Kim said with wide eyes. Takeesha glared at Max Kim, and he looked down at his lap.
“Then what happened?” Nova smoothed her curly auburn hair back careful not to expose her small brow ridge.
“The ghost growled and banged on lockers,” Takeesha said. “It chased Dayton down the hallway. Kids scattered, even the ones who said they were used to seeing the ghosts.”
Benny pulled himself straight in his chair. “I believe it's my turn now.”
“Fine," Takeesha said.
Then it dawned on Nova that this was the first time Benny had seen a ghost. Usually he argued against sightings, saying there is no such thing as the paranormal. Maybe now, he’s changed his tune.
“The pirate ghost caught up with Dayton,” Benny said. “It grabbed him and said, ‘By all that’s unholy, I’ll keelhaul you by pulling you from one end of my ship to the other, a- long-ways.’ Dayton’s eyes rolled up in his head. He fell backward and hit his head. I heard a crack.” Benny winced. “Then the ghost laughed and vanished. A whole bunch of kids gathered around Dayton's body. A kid in a red jacket ran do
wn the hall to get the coach. Mr. Hartzle tried to revive him and told a kid to run to the nurse and call for an ambulance. He wasn’t breathing.”
Takeesha elbowed Benny in the chest. She had got up on the table and now laid across it in front of Benny and his wheelchair, careful not to lay in his food. “Benny, now it’s my turn." Benny scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue. Nova and Max Kim grinned. That was Takeesha for you, always wanting attention.
“Coach was giving mouth to mouth when the paramedics showed up,” Takeesha said. “You should have seen how his body jumped when they used those electric paddles. Dayton awoke screaming. The paramedics put him on a stretcher and took him away to the hospital. So what do you think?”
“Wow I hope that kid will be okay. Takeesha, that’s probably the same ghost I saw. Benny, you actually believe you saw something?”
“Yes, but it could most likely be explained.”
“Aw, come on Benny. You know they exist now,” Takeesha said getting off the table.
“I don’t want to discuss it.” He put his chair in reverse, backed up, and started rolling toward the garbage can.
The rest of the kids picked up their garbage, throwing it away, and then strolled into the gym and outside through a side door for recess. Nova and Takeesha skipped to the hopscotch area away from Benny and Max Kim, who tossed a red rubber ball back and forth. When the sun stayed out from behind the clouds, Nova turned her face up to the warmth. She loved spring. It felt soooo good after the winter snows. The March winds buffeted her body, and her hair got tangled.
“Hey, Takeesha do you want to see if Chocolate had her foal yet?”
“Yeah, that would be clash. How about after school? I’ll call my Ma from the pay phone.”
“Clash! I can’t wait.” They played jump rope and hopscotch enjoying the warmer day. Suddenly, Takeesha grabbed Nova's arm and pulled her behind a maple tree. "I still want to do the séance in the library."
"Even after seeing that pirate ghost?"
"I can handle myself. I'm a shaman." Takeesha held up her African medallion necklace she kept hidden under her shirt. “A shaman is a spirit guide, healer, and psychic.”
"Well, I want to try out my psychic powers too."
"So, let's do it. Maybe we can tell the ghosts to stop. You know what I mean? "
"It'll be dangerous."
"So? Besides, so far, they haven’t hurt anyone."
"What about Dayton?”
“No one died that I know of.”
“Fine."
"Meet me at the school Library at about five after two.”
After recess, in the south school hallway, Nova still smelled the fresh aroma of spring, like she was bringing it indoors with her. The kids coming inside were putting their balls on the rack to the right adding a whiff of rubber to the smell of the outdoors.
After getting her books from her locker, she ambled down to the far end of the east corridor to math class. Takeesha got her art supplies and appeared to float down the north corridor to art class. But Nova was having a hard time concentrating on square roots.
She was going to defend herself against ghosts using her unproven psychic powers once and for all. Benny had said that psychic powers were another proof that we evolved. Maybe if she had the powers, she could fight the ghosts. She shook in anticipation.
Halfway through math class, a heavy spring storm began to lash against the School. Cold sleet and rain pelted the windows making it sound as if they might break. Thunder boomed, and Nova could feel the cement floor shake, causing kids to jump away from their desks and either yell or point out the window. Nova shuddered. Riding home on a bicycle was going to be a nightmare.
With just one more class period left in the day, Nova sighed heavily as she rubbed the small brow ridge hidden under her bangs. That was a bad habit she really should break, but it did help calm her down when she was nervous. Finally, the bell rang, and she made the slow walk from math class that was in the east wing and headed south with her library pass. Students were allowed to go to the library instead of the study hall.
Squeaks from her holey old sneakers echoed off the brick walls as she meandered down the hall and to the library. She noticed a new red banner stretched across the corridor. Bardsville Bandicoots Bite Back 2046.
Another sign had been put up reminding everyone about the visit by the Great Nocturnal Ned on Friday in the auditorium. The psychic had red hair done up in a pompadour style. The picture was created to look mysterious and a little spooky, representing Ned’s supernatural power. Nocturnal Ned could speak with dead people and validate that they were there, watching over us, or so the poster proclaimed. Nova felt uncomfortable with the idea that she was being watched over, especially when she went to the bathroom. She hoped the dead had the common courtesy not to look, but what if they were perverts?
Nova carried five heavy paranormal books she had taken out of the library three months ago. Any other sixth grader would be slumped over with the weight, but she’s always been…well… her mother called her “sturdy,” her brother usually made reference to linebackers and fireplugs. But she didn’t care. As she shuffled them in her arms, she thought about the strange language used in the books. The authors were either talking over her head or something else was going on. Suddenly, Nova heard an evil laugh and not from a ghost this time. It was Brenda, the worst bully in the school as far as Nova was concerned.
Nova was about to make a run when she realized that Brenda was in the principal’s office to her left. She must have already beaten someone up today. Even so, Nova hurried. She knew she had to get past the door before Brenda came out and saw her. She could see Brenda start to open the door. Just a little further and Nova would be passed the door and at the library.
Takeesha was waiting near the entrance. “Hey, girl!” She carried a few books and an Ouija board with the planchette, which was a triangle board on casters that they placed their hands. “Let’s go inside. Hurry, I think Brenda’s coming this way.” Nova skidded on the waxed floor and grabbed for the door handle.
Chapter 2 The Library
They entered the library and closed the door. Nova put her ear to the door and heard footsteps fading into the distance. What a relief.
Nova looked around the book-stuffed, musty smelling room. The librarian, Mrs. Munroe, had to be here because otherwise the place would have been locked. Other than that, it looked like they had the entire place to themselves.
The girls put their returned library books into the drop-off box, and then Nova crept past the shelves full of mouse chewed books into the open area with tables. Takeesha followed.
“Hey Takeesha, I can’t wait to see the foal today. Hopefully, it will be white like its father.”
“Oh, I know.”
Nova grabbed her arm, “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”
Nova hesitated and frowned at the cold spring rain still coming down in torrents against the brown-tinted windows. Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled as horses and buggies rolled past on the street. Nova could make out the muffled sound of hoofs thumping the pavement and thought she heard a whinny in the distance. Short bushes grew under the windows, and she could see the Bardsville harbor with its red lighthouse standing like a sentinel in the distance. Lake Michigan did not have many boats at the piers. Most had been moved to storage for the winter and part of the spring and still hadn’t made it out onto the water. Nova saw the colors but with so much rain she did not see much more.
A large oak tree stood outside to the left. A brave soaked squirrel jumped down and scampered around the short grassy school grounds. She realized it had been a long time since she’d seen an actual car on the roads. No one was interested in being a car mechanic or anything else that needed computer skills. Business was being sent overseas. People were not willing to finish high school. Why should they bother? Some jobs could be acquired by being an apprentice, but most jobs were out in the fields, and a person didn’t need an education to pick ve
getables or milk a cow.
No wonder they had the library to themselves.
Nova turned from the window. She might as well get this meeting started and see if anything, just anything at all, would come of it. After all, millions of people, who believe in magick, can’t be wrong. Can they?
"Takeesha, first off, do your African shaman rain dance backward to stop this stupid rain!"
"Okay, you be the drums."
Nova began a slow, soul-grounding beat like Takeesha had shown her. Takeesha hummed and swayed to the beat of Nova's hands on the wooden, wobbly table.
Nova picked up the beat and began to chant, something that was roughly Native American. Her mother told her she was half Sioux. At least that's what Nova's dad, her mom's boyfriend, had told her mom before he died of cancer.
They both sang over the rushing sound of the fast rain. Then Takeesha elbowed her hard and sharp in the back. Nova stopped chanting, and her legs danced about as she hunched over the tabletop. Too bad she had to stay at the drum, or she’d show Takeesha she can really dance her butt off. Nova watched Takeesha move, shaking her taller, stream-lined body in an effort to harness the paranormal. Takeesha’s sandals flip- flopped in the air as she moved.
Nothing happened.
After three minutes, they stopped and panted. Takeesha made fists and stamped her foot at the continuing rain.
"I don’t understand it. My shaman book said this works every time." Takeesha scratched her head between her tight cornrows.
“You ruined it by adding your song. You know what I mean?"
"No! In this experiment, the magick should've been more powerful."
Takeesha tossed her head, her nose flaring. Nova realized her friend took the unsuccessful dance very personally.
She couldn’t even meet Takeesha's eyes when she was like this. Nova looked away and noticed Mrs. Monroe come out of the back storage area. She grabbed the giant cardboard Easter bunny left over from spring break and carried it into the back. Nova looked out of the corner of her eye at Takeesha and felt better because her friend was smiling at a book she had pulled off the shelf nearby. Nova shuffled over to another aisle and searched the shelves. She found what she was looking for, took the book out of hiding, shook off the mouse droppings and rubbed the book off on her jeans.
