Her vision went blurry around the edges, and she felt her identity slipping away, her thoughts being replaced by those of the voice.
In one last, desperate attempt to resist the Darkness, she reached out to Drew and Trevor in the only way she could now, calling out to them with her mind and her heart.
She found Trevor first, heard his response inside her mind, far softer than the Darkness’s voice but still there, still able to be heard. Amber? Is that you?
She felt a wave of relief. Yes! Can you feel Drew? We need to connect to him, too, so the three of us can stand against the Darkness together.
I’ll try, Trevor thought.
She felt him add the strength of his willpower to hers, and together they stretched out their minds toward Drew. He didn’t respond at first, and she feared that they weren’t going to be able to reach him, perhaps because deep down, he still didn’t believe in psychic communication. She redoubled her efforts, concentrating on how she felt about him, and she reached out to him with her love.
She called his name as loudly as she could. Drew? Drew!
Amber? I . . . feel you. What’s happening? How are you—
No questions, she thought, with more than a little amusement. Even now, in the midst of all of this, he was still being analytical. Just trust me.
She felt a wave of his love wash over her. Absolutely.
Trevor broke in then. So, now that we’re hooked up in a three-way psychic conference call, what do we do?
We perform the cleansing ritual, she said. We pool our energy against the Darkness and kick it to the curb.
She closed her eyes, sensed that Drew and Trevor did the same, and pictured the Darkness as a black wall of solid shadow standing before them. She imagined the three of them stepping forward and placing their hands against the wall’s ebon surface and was surprised to feel a sensation of freezing cold against her palms, as if she were literally touching the wall. She ignored the sensation and imagined the three of them pushing against the wall, leaning forward and really putting their backs into it. The wall didn’t budge at first, so the three friends pushed harder, giving it everything they had. And the wall retreated, not far but enough to prove that they could move it, and the knowledge that it was possible boosted their confidence and fueled their determination, giving them renewed strength.
But no matter how hard they pushed after that, the wall moved no farther, and soon it began advancing again, inch by inch, forcing them backward, and no matter how hard they fought, they were unable to slow its inexorable advance.
It’s not enough! Trevor said. We’re not enough! We might’ve been able to counter the Darkness when we were teenagers, but it’s grown so much stronger over the years. Our combined energy isn’t a match for it!
Then we need more, Drew said.
At first, Amber didn’t know what he meant, but then she remembered that the three of them weren’t alone here.
She reached out to Greg’s mind. As psychically powerful as he’d become, connecting to him was as simple as taking a breath. Greg, I’m talking to the part of you that’s still human. We need you. Help us—please!
The thought-voice that answered her sounded nothing like the cocky, self-assured adult Greg. Instead, it belonged to a confused teenage boy. Amber? Drew? Trevor? What are you guys doing here? Where is here, anyway? I feel funny . . . like I’ve been asleep for a long time, and I just woke up.
There’s no time to explain, Trevor said. A dark force is trying to take us over, and we need you to help us fight it.
I’m not sure what you mean, but I feel something here with us. Something bad. Really bad. And so very strong. I don’t think I can help you. I’m . . . I’m scared to try.
This might not make much sense, Drew said. But connected the way we are now, I hope you’ll be able to sense the truth of my words. That bad thing you sense got hold of you fifteen years ago, and it changed you. Turned you into a monster and made you do terrible things. And now it wants to do the same to us.
In her mind’s eye, Amber still saw the three of them pushing against the great dark wall, but now teenage Greg appeared. He stood close by, looking at the wall with a mixture of confusion and fear, but he didn’t step forward to help them.
What can I do? he asked.
What the hell does it look like? Trevor said. Get over here and help us push!
Greg still looked scared, but he came forward and joined them, taking up a position on Amber’s right. He took in a hissing breath when his flesh came in contact with the wall’s cold black surface, but he didn’t remove his hands.
The four of them pushed, fully reunited for the first time. The wall’s advance slowed, then stopped, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t push it back.
We’re still not enough, Drew said. The best we can manage is a stalemate.
So what does that mean? Amber asked. That we’re going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives, pushing against this damned wall?
Maybe longer, Trevor said. Our physical bodies will die of thirst in a few days, but our spirits could be trapped here, battling the Darkness forever.
They continued putting all of their psychic strength into pushing back the wall, but it was no use. It couldn’t advance any farther, but they couldn’t force it to retreat. Trevor’s dire assessment of the situation began to seem more likely, and Amber wondered what it would be like to remain trapped like this, fighting to hold back the Darkness for the rest of eternity.
I won’t allow that to happen, Greg said. Not to the three of you. And especially not to you, Amber. I don’t remember everything that happened to me, but I remember enough. I know I chose to let the Darkness take me, and on some level, I was aware of what I was doing all those years. I can’t make up for the awful things I’ve done, but I can keep from hurting the three of you. Good-bye, Amber. Take care of her, Drew. And Trevor? See you on the other side someday.
Amber watched as Greg pulled his hands away from the wall. He looked at her and gave her a last smile before once more facing the wall and stepping toward it. The dark surface parted like water to accept his body, sealing up behind him as he passed through.
She felt a sudden twist of vertigo, and then she was standing within a pool of light in the middle of a gym floor. Drew still had hold of the flashlight he’d brought into the rec center, and Trevor still held his tire iron. Greg—adult again, scarred and bald—lay on the floor in front of them, unmoving.
“No,” she whispered.
Drew rushed forward to check Greg’s pulse. He started performing CPR, but after several minutes, he checked Greg’s pulse again and shook his head. “He’s gone.”
“Unless this is another illusion,” Trevor said.
“It doesn’t feel like one,” Amber said.
After a moment, Trevor nodded. “You’re right. It doesn’t.”
Drew rejoined them and put an arm around her shoulders.
She encircled his waist with her arms and pressed her body close to his for comfort. “What happened?” she asked. “Is the Darkness gone?”
“I think so,” he said. “I’m not sure how, but it appears Greg sacrificed himself to save us. It looks like he died the same way Sean and Jerry did. His heart gave out.”
“Did the Darkness kill him?” she asked.
“No,” Trevor said. “Remember how he told me he’d see me on the other side someday? He wanted to draw the Darkness away from us, and there was only one place he could take it where it couldn’t get to us. He used his psychic abilities to will his physical body to die, and since the Darkness was bound to his spirit, when he crossed over to the afterlife, he pulled the Darkness along with him. He not only saved us, but he also made sure the evil he’d collected over the years could never hurt anyone again.”
The three friends gazed at Greg’s body in silence for a time after that.
It was Amber who finally spoke. “He turned out to be a good friend in the end, didn’t he?”
Drew a
nd Trevor agreed.
TWENTY
“Nice day for a funeral,” Trevor said.
Amber and Drew looked at him.
“Well, it is! It’s warm and sunny, and the sky’s clear. Beats cold and rainy, doesn’t it?”
Amber smiled. “I guess so.”
It was Wednesday morning, four days after Greg had sacrificed himself to save them from the Darkness. Ash Creek Memorial Cemetery was pleasant enough as graveyards went. The grass was trimmed, the grounds free of leaves and fallen branches, the headstones unmarred by bird droppings or mold. The three friends stood next to Greg’s freshly dug grave, which lay not far from a good-sized oak tree. They’d been the only ones in attendance at his funeral. He’d had no family, and no one from the reunion had attended. Most of their former classmates didn’t live in town and had already headed home, and after everything that had happened that weekend, those who did live in the area hadn’t felt like attending a funeral.
Considering how the Ash Creek police had reacted to their being present at the scene of a third death in one weekend, Drew, Amber, and Trevor were lucky to be able to come to the funeral themselves. The police chief would have loved to lock them up, and if he’d had even a shred of evidence to tie them to Greg’s death, he would have done so.
They wore the same clothes they’d had on at the banquet, since they’d been staying at the hotel for the last few days. The three friends looked more festive than somber, mostly because of Amber’s green dress, but their clothing seemed to complement the nice weather.
“Thanks for paying for Greg’s funeral expenses, guys,” she said. “I wish I could’ve chipped in, but disability checks only stretch so far.”
“We may have footed the bill,” Trevor said, “but you did the important part. You picked out everything. The grave site, the coffin, the headstone . . . You did a great job, too.”
Drew nodded and squeezed Amber’s hand.
It would take several weeks for the headstone to be delivered. Right now, the space was empty. The stone itself was going to be a light gray, the letters black but not too stark. They would spell out “Gregory H. Daniels: Friend.”
“I wish I could’ve come up with something better to put on his headstone, though,” she said.
“I think what you chose is perfect,” Drew said.
“Me, too,” Trevor agreed.
They stood there a little while longer. Finally, Amber wiped away a tear and whispered, “Goodbye, Greg.”
Trevor drove the Prius while Amber and Drew sat in the backseat. He’d joked that he was their chauffeur and made a show of opening their doors for them. Now they were on the road, driving away from the cemetery.
“Now what?” Trevor asked.
“Now lunch,” she said. “I’m not all that hungry, but we should probably eat something.”
“How about Flying Pizza?” Drew suggested, and both Amber and Trevor thought that sounded good, so he headed for the restaurant.
“That wasn’t what I meant when I asked now what,” he said. “I meant where do we go from here? More to the point, are you two going to get married or what?”
Amber and Drew laughed.
“Don’t rush us!” she said. “We only held hands for the first time a few days ago. I’m feeling a lot better now, and I haven’t needed any of my meds at all. But I want to take some time and find a real job and a better place to live. Get a real life for myself, you know?”
Trevor looked at them in the rearview mirror. “Does that mean you two aren’t, uh, an item anymore?”
“No,” Drew said. “We are most definitely an item. But we’re going to take things slow for a while and let our relationship develop naturally. I’ll go back to work at the hospital—”
“—and I’m thinking about moving to Chicago,” Amber said. “After that, we’ll see, you know?”
“Sounds good,” Trevor said. “But don’t move too slow. It took you more than fifteen years to get to this point, after all.”
“How about you?” Drew asked. “What are you going to do?”
“Keep writing,” he said. “Though I think I’m done covering haunted tourist attractions. After what we experienced this weekend, I think I’m going to try to focus on more substantial subjects. Greg showed me that there’s even more to the paranormal than I thought there was. I’d like to learn what’s really out there.” He paused. “Of course, it would be more fun to have some friends along to keep me company. We make a good team. Not only did we stop the Darkness, but we gave Greg a chance to redeem himself. There may be other people like him out there who can use our help. What do you say?”
Amber and Drew looked at each other, then smiled.
“You have our numbers,” she said. “Call when you need us.”
And Drew nodded.
Trevor grinned. “I’m glad you said that! Yesterday I got an e-mail from an ex-girlfriend of mine. She lives in Exeter, Indiana. You ever heard of it?
It’s famous for being the most haunted town in America. Anyway, she told me that there’s been some really weird stuff going on there lately.”
He kept on talking as they drove, and Amber and Drew listened.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for their support and assistance. And to Tim, for your ability to take our stories and help us turn them into masterpieces.
Also a special thanks to my wife, Kristen, for helping me keep my drive alive and standing beside me, never in front or behind me.
And to all of my children, to have your love and support has been all I have ever wanted. You have made me what I am today. You are forever my world.
—Jason
Thanks to my wife and my boys for always sticking by me. To the whole crew at Pilgrim Films for believing in us and in the paranormal field. To Jody Hotchkiss and Jen Heddle for their tireless work. And, of course, to Tim Waggoner, without whom this book would not exist, quite literally!
—Grant
Special thanks to Christine Avery, John Helfers, Russell Davis, Jennifer Heddle, and Wendy Keebler. This book is far better for their feedback and guidance, and I’m very grateful to them all.
Extra-special special thanks, of course, to my collaborators, Jason and Grant. Thanks for sharing with me the shocking truth behind your investigations. I promise never to tell a soul!
—Tim
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster eBook.
Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Pocket Books.
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
Table of Contents
Back Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Acknowledgments
Ghost Trackers Page 26
