Cemetery Tours

by Smith, Jacqueline

  “You don’t?”

  “Nope. But my parents and Gavin described it to me in such excruciatingly vivid detail that I might as well remember it.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was driving a road I drive almost every day, hit a patch of black ice, and drove straight into a tree. Totaled my car and apparently wreaked some serious havoc on the poor tree. I’m just thankful that I drove into it and not oncoming traffic.”

  “That wouldn’t have been good. Not that your accident was good but... it’s good that no one else got hurt...” Michael rambled.

  “Tell me about it. I definitely wouldn’t want that on my conscience.” She finished her cupcake and licked the remaining frosting off her fingers. “Well I don’t know about you, but I’m getting back in the pool.” With that, she hopped off the edge of the pool and into the water. Michael watched as she slipped beneath the pale blue waves, only to resurface a few seconds later. “Come on,” she beckoned.

  “Oh, I’m not much of a swimmer,” he told her.

  “You don’t have to be a swimmer. This water is four feet deep.”

  “Yeah, but it’s cold.”

  “If you don’t get in, I’m going to splash you.”

  “No you won’t.” With a swift flip of her hand, Kate sent a shower of chlorine water raining down on Michael, who tried unsuccessfully to shield himself from the droplets. “Oh, you asked for it.” Michael tossed his shirt aside and heaved himself into the pool. Kate grinned and dove underwater. Before Michael knew it, she was halfway across the pool.

  “I was a lifeguard in college,” she explained upon seeing his stunned expression.

  Before long, several others joined them in the pool. At one point, Gavin ran up to his apartment and reappeared with an old, beat up volleyball. Michael had only played volleyball once or twice, and never in a pool. His lack of experience became apparent the first time the ball was lobbed to him. He’d leapt out of the way so quickly, a casual observer might have thought he was trying to dodge a bullet. Kate, who seemed wildly amused by his flagrant fear of being hit in the face, turned out to be a regular water-volleyball pro.

  “Did you play in high school?” Michael asked her after a particularly powerful serve.

  “Oh heck no. I was too artsy to be any good at sports.”

  “You seem pretty good to me.”

  “It doesn’t require a lot of talent to hit a ball over a net. No offense,” she grinned playfully.

  “Thanks.”

  “Head’s up!” Someone on the other side of the pool called. Michael looked up just in time to see the ball soaring through the air. Before he could react, the ball hit its target and Kate doubled over, clutching the left side of her face.

  “Kate!” Gavin yelled and thrashed his way through the water, trying to get to her. Michael placed a hand on her shoulder as blood dribbled down the side of her face and into the pool.

  “Come on. We need to get you out of here.” She nodded in reply. Gently, he took her arm and guided her over to the steps.

  “Kate, are you okay?” Gavin demanded as Michael wrapped a towel around her shoulders.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, sounding like she couldn’t breathe through her nose.

  “Do I need to call an ambulance?” Gavin asked.

  “No, it’s just a little nosebleed. I’m fine,” she insisted, looking up at her brother. The area around her left eye was red and swollen. “See? It’s already stopped.”

  “It’s not your nose I’m concerned about.” By that point, the rest of the party had climbed out of the pool. Toni, who’d hit the ball, was beside herself, apologizing profusely over and over again.

  “Don’t worry about it, Toni,” Kate told her. “You can’t play volleyball without getting pummeled at least once.”

  “Kate, I think we need to get you to the E.R.” Gavin told her again.

  “Oh my God, I’m fine. If this had happened six months ago, you’d be telling me to suck it up and put some ice on it. Which is what I’m going to do now.” Clutching the towel close, Kate turned on her heel and marched up to her apartment. Gavin heaved a frustrated sigh and rubbed his forehead.

  “I’ll go with her,” Michael told him.

  “Thanks,” Gavin muttered.

  By the time he made it up to their apartment, Kate was already standing at the kitchen sink with a wash cloth full of ice pressed to her eye.

  “Hey,” Michael offered. “You okay?”

  “Yep,” Kate answered. “Though I might look like the Phantom of the Opera in the morning.”

  “I don’t think that will happen,” Michael told her. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Why? It wasn’t your fault.”

  “But I feel like I should have pushed you out of the way. Or not been distracting you.”

  “Again, it wasn’t your fault. It’s just something that happens when you play volleyball with people who’ve been drinking all night.” Kate’s ability to make light of situations in which other girls might have taken as an opportunity to garner attention and pity drew Michael to her even more. “Besides, if you’d pushed me out of the way, then you’d have been hit and all that work you put into avoiding it earlier would have been in vain.”

  “Not funny,” Michael told her, but he grinned nevertheless.

  “Sorry. I’m sure you have a lot of potential to become a great volleyball player.”

  “I’m not sensing a lot of sincerity in that sentiment.”

  “I’ll have to work on that,” Kate smirked, removing the wash cloth. The swelling around her eye had gone down, but the chill of the ice had left it even redder than before.

  “So, and please don’t get upset, but you’re sure you don’t need to see a doctor?”

  “I’m not dizzy, I’m not seeing double, I don’t even have a headache.” He must not have looked very convinced, because Kate walked over to him and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “I promise, if I feel even the least bit lightheaded or woozy, I will go to the doctor straight away. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Michael echoed softly, suddenly realizing how very alone they were in the apartment. He cleared his throat, knowing that regardless of how much he liked her, it wouldn’t be a good idea to let her get any closer. She must have sensed his reluctance, because she took a few steps back and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

  “Well, I guess we should get back down to the party. That is if Gavin hasn’t sent everyone home.”

  “Yeah,” Michael agreed, cursing his cowardice for the second time that night. Kate turned from him and walked back into the kitchen to retrieve her makeshift ice pack. Michael ran a hand through his hair, wondering if she wanted him to wait for her.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the dull thump of what sounded like a tennis ball bouncing off a wall. Acting on instinct, Michael’s eyes flew to Gavin’s bedroom, where a shadowy silhouette paced anxiously back and forth across the dark room.

  He was back. Michael should have known his absence was too good to be true. Fortunately, he hadn’t seemed to realize that they were there. Or if he had, their presence was of little to no concern to him.

  Kate, meanwhile, stared at Michael from the kitchen.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Um... I’m not sure.” He hoped she couldn’t tell he was lying. “Maybe some kids are playing outside.”

  “No. It sounded like it came from in here.” She breezed past him and looked around the living room.

  “You know, maybe the building’s foundation is shifting. I know that can cause some uh... unexplained noises.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Though she didn’t sound entirely convinced. Michael knew this would be the perfect opportunity to press Kate for anything she may have seen or heard, but before he could, the front door swung open and Gavin appeared.

  “Everyone’s gone,” he announced. “How are you feeling, Kate?”

  “Fine.”

  “You don’t think you have a con
cussion?” Kate just sighed. Michael took that as his cue to leave.

  “I guess I’d better go and let you get some rest,” he announced.

  “Thanks for coming,” Kate said.

  “Sure. I had a good time. Happy birthday, Gavin.”

  “Thanks, man. Good night,” Gavin replied.

  “Feel better, Kate. I mean, I know you don’t feel bad but... you know.”

  “I know,” she smiled, but it seemed oddly forced. “Thanks, Michael.”

  “Right. Well, good night.”

  And with that, he stepped out into night and walked across the short landing to his apartment, away from the restless, angry spirit. And from Kate.

  Chapter 5

  Kate couldn’t sleep, and for the first time in ten weeks, it wasn’t because she’d been startled awake by some unresolved fear of strangers breaking into her apartment. Tonight, she was just another girl, confused and frustrated over the irrational behavior of the cute boy next door.

  First, he behaves like a total gentleman, helping them move, listening to her stories, and even showing up for their party. Then, he hangs out with her all night, exchanges a cute, nervous glance with her after admitting that he was single, and takes care of her after she was hit by the volleyball. She wasn’t the kind to believe that every guy who did a nice thing for her was interested in her, but Michael had seemed, well, interested.

  That is, until she’d gotten too close. Maybe he was like Trey, the cute guy from high school who would flirt and tease until a girl expressed genuine interest in him. After that, he’d be gone so fast, you’d think someone had lit his shoes on fire.

  But Michael wasn’t like that. He wasn’t some shameless flirt. He seemed like a nice, down-to-Earth kind of guy. Maybe he just wasn’t interested in her after all. They really hadn’t known each other that long. He probably hadn’t meant to lead her on. She’d just mistaken his acts of friendship for something more.

  She tried to tell herself that it was probably for the best, and that whenever she’d jumped into a relationship in the past, it never ended well. So why did Michael’s subtle rejection leave her feeling small, embarrassed, and a little sad?

  Hoping to banish Michael Sinclair from her thoughts, she crept out to the dark living room and planted herself in front of the television. Nothing was on, so she began scrolling through Netflix, and eventually decided on Cemetery Tours. Even though the show had just wrapped up its second season, Netflix only streamed the first. Kate had already seen every episode, some more than once, but she needed a distraction. And with his handsome, angular face, devil-may-care smile, and muscular physique, she couldn’t ask for a better or more beautiful distraction than Luke Rainer.

  ~*~

  Hours later, she was stirred to consciousness by the sound of someone pacing from the kitchen to the living room and back to the kitchen again. She was lying on the couch, facing the TV. The bright glow of the Netflix menu was almost blinding in the pitch darkness of the living room. She must have slept through the entire episode.

  She could hear the footsteps returning to the living room now. She froze, listening intently, hoping to pinpoint their exact location. “Gavin?” she whispered.

  No answer.

  The footsteps were much too close now. Just a few feet beyond the television. This time, when they reached the living room, they stopped. Kate felt her breath catch in her throat.

  Why? she longed to cry out. Why are you following me?

  Without a second thought, she flew off the couch, right through the spot where the footsteps had stopped, and into Gavin’s room. Her brother, usually a heavy sleeper, awoke with a startled gasp as Kate hastily shut the door behind her.

  “Kate?” he hissed through the darkness. “Are you alright? Is your head bothering you?”

  “Gavin, it’s here,” she whispered frantically.

  “What?”

  “It came back. That - that thing.”

  “Kate.” She could hear the aggravation in his voice as he climbed out of bed and shuffled across the room to comfort her. “Come on, we’ve talked about this - ”

  “Gavin, I know what you’re going to say. You told me a million times. But Gav, there is something out there,” she insisted. Gavin sighed.

  “Okay.” He opened the door and meandered out into the hallway. Kate followed slowly. Gavin flipped on the light switch, and looked around the empty apartment. “Anyone here?” he called. “Didn’t think so.” He turned weary eyes on his sister.

  “Something was standing right here.” She directed him to the spot where the footsteps had stopped.

  “Did you see it?”

  “No, but I - I heard it. Footsteps. Someone was pacing,” she told him. Gavin wandered into the living room, where the Netflix menu still wondered whether or not she was going to select another episode of Cemetery Tours.

  “Were you watching something?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” she explained.

  “I wonder why,” Gavin remarked, staring at the screen. “You know this is what happens when you watch this crap. It gets into your head and then you start imagining things - ”

  “But I wasn’t imagining - ”

  “Kate, think about it. When did all of this start? After the break-in. Look, I know how much it scared you, but you’ve got to understand there is no one in this apartment but us.”

  “What if it’s something else?” she demanded. Gavin heaved an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

  “Kate, for the last time, there are no such things as ghosts.”

  “I think there are.”

  “Where’s the proof?”

  “Watch an episode of Cemetery Tours.”

  “Are you kidding? That show is bogus. There is absolutely nothing scientific about what they do.” Actually, that wasn’t quite accurate. The four investigators, Luke, Gail, Peter, and JT all used state of the art technology to record the voices of spirits, to detect changes in electromagnetic energy, and to capture images of shadow figures and apparitions that might otherwise have remained unseen. “Even you said you only watch it for that frat boy, Luke Snyder.”

  “Rainer,” Kate corrected him. “And he’s the reason I started watching. I keep watching because of all the cool stuff they capture.”

  “That ‘cool stuff’ is called special effects and CGI. I promise you I could take a video camera into any old building, shoot an hour of footage, and replicate all their so-called evidence in about three hours.”

  “But it’s on the Discovery Channel!”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “The channel that brings us Shark Week would never condone such fraudulence.”

  “How is it that you can spit out a mouthful like that when you can’t even remember that the sky is blue?” Kate couldn’t have felt more stricken if he’d slapped her across the face. Gavin’s eyes widened as the full impact of what he’d just said came crashing down on him. “Kate, I am so sorry. I - I wasn’t thinking.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m just being stupid,” Kate turned away so that he wouldn’t see the tears pooling in her eyes.

  “No, Kate - ”

  “You know, I’m really tired. I’m just going to go to bed. I’m sorry I woke you up.” Before Gavin could say another word, Kate disappeared into her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

  ~*~

  For someone who had spent his entire life striving to blend in, shelving books at the public library was an ideal job. Although the hours could be long and the labor strenuous, the atmosphere was quiet and serene and Michael could easily go unnoticed amongst the rows of laminated covers and faded text. Best of all, he always had more than enough to distract him from the curious whispers of wayward spirits who, every so often, wandered through the aisles. Unfortunately, nothing seemed enough to stop his mind from drifting back to his neighbors across the landing.

  He hadn’t seen or heard from Kate or Gavin since Saturday night, an
d even though he realized that was probably for the best, it bothered him. Were they alright? Had their ghostly visitor wreaked any more havoc on their lives? He hadn’t a clue and he wished with all his heart that he didn’t care so much. He’d never worried about any of his other neighbors, and they’d all suffered the effects of residual hauntings from the ghosts who’d followed him home. Of course, this time, the haunting was not only personal, it was violent.

  Michael grabbed a handful of books and stepped up onto the foot stool. He was so tall, he hardly needed it to reach the top shelf. Still, it kept him from having to strain his body by stretching to place books back in their proper places.

  “Man, it’s so quiet in here.”

  Michael was so startled he dropped the books and had to grab ahold of the shelf to keep from toppling off the stool. He whirled around to see Brink, in all his plaid, 90s style glory, lounging against a shelf and staring at the books as though they had been hand-crafted by aliens.

  “Brink, what the hell?” Michael hissed.

  “Michael?” One of his coworkers, a sweet, elderly woman named Barb appeared at the end of the aisle. Barb worked at the help desk. She’d probably heard the racket he’d made when he dropped the books. “Are you alright, Dear?”

  “Fine. Just lost my balance,” he explained. He saw Brink smirking out of the corner of his eye.

  “You weren’t dizzy, were you?”

  “No, nothing like that. I just misstepped.”

  “Are you sure? You look a little pale. You are eating enough, aren’t you?”

  Barb’s abundance of concern reminded Michael of Kate and the way she worried about Gavin. He hoped he wasn’t scowling as he replied, “I’m okay, Barb. Thanks.”

  “That was smooth,” Brink remarked once Barb had returned to her desk. Michael glared at him. “What?”

  “How many times have I told you not to drop in on me like that? Especially when I’m at work?”

  “Hey, you might want to keep your voice down. This is a library,” Brink patronized in a hushed voice. Michael felt like punching him. Unfortunately, his fist would fly right through Brink’s smug grin and into the shelf behind it. Turning his back on his friend, he stooped down to collect the fallen books and climbed back onto the stool. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?” Michael ignored him. “Oh, that’s great. Pretend you don’t hear me. Now I know how all the other ghosts feel.” Michael cast him a sidelong glance. “That’s a little better. At least it’s a form of acknowledgement.”