Ghost Betweens (16 page)

"Invisible. Then we banish her."

Whisper nodded, and they grasped hands. Zach and Kendra stood up and looked lost. They still couldn't see through the invisibility spell.

"They're right in front of you, you imbeciles." The demon pointed, and though Josh didn't feel his invisibility drop, Zach and Kendra saw them. This time they didn't charge, just walked at a leisurely pace. Josh knew right away they wouldn't have enough time to get the banishing spell off, but running wouldn't do much good, either. Maybe someone would make a mistake, and he and Whisper would end this right now. The power worked halfway up his bicep, but that's as far as it got before Zach grabbed him, and Kendra had Whisper. The banishing fired off, but it was nowhere near powerful enough, even with the trinkets lying about.

"Listen now and listen well," the demon said. "I'm letting you leave this time. Remember the humiliating pain of defeat. If you decide to revisit this farm, my home, I won't be as lenient. You'll end up like one of my minions." She swept her hand out, meaning the ghosts. "I will find a way out of my prison. I suggest moving far away. My forces will get to you eventually, but you'll have longer to live."

With that, she turned and walked back into the house. Zach and Kendra pushed them towards the safe corner and the driveway, neither saying a word. Truth be told, Josh couldn't even hear them breathing.

"Zach? Come on, man, it's me, Josh. We've been best friends since seventh grade. Break her spell." Zach didn't so much as blink.

"Kend? We've known each other forever. We've never even been mad at each other, and now you're doing this? We used to keep the bullies off of each other in elementary school. Now you're a bully? Come on, Kend, you know this isn't right. You know this isn't you." Nothing.

"It's no use," Whisper said. "They're too far under her control. I don't know what to do."

Neither did Josh. As Zach and Kendra pushed them into the driveway and walked back to their master, Josh and Whisper could only watch them go.

"I guess we just have to hope Mr. Baxter can come up with something else." Josh put his arm around Whisper and headed towards the car. After a few steps, he realized he hurt all over. His adrenaline had put the supernatural beating out of his mind, but now that it was over and they'd lost, he felt every ghostly collision. He remembered the ghost in his room that choked him and realized all ghosts could be as solid as the living.

Whisper noticed him limping, a scared expression on her face. "Are you hurt?"

"I feel like I got pounded. Are there any visible bruises?"

She looked at him, shook her head, and started crying. "No, but I'm so sorry. I didn't help at all. I didn't know how to stop those ghosts from hitting you."

He grabbed her in as tight a hug as his body could stand. "Shh-shh-shh. Don't cry. You did great. Kendra's boots were really heavy. If you hadn't pulled her off of me, she could have done some real damage. I'm not hurt or anything, thanks to you. Just sore."

He pulled up his shirt, expecting his upper body to be black and blue, but there was just one deep bruise in his ribs where Kendra had socked him. The ghostly attacks hadn't caused any visible harm. That was a minor positive that came out of this. Was he more powerful now, able to keep bumps and bruises from showing, or had they not wanted him to bruise?

He smiled when he noticed Whisper pretending not to look at his torso. "I'm sure we'll hit the beach and pool plenty this summer. It's not a big deal for you to see me without my shirt.

She blushed. "I know. It just felt weird in this situation." She blushed harder. "You look nice without it on."

He pulled his shirt back down and gathered her up in a hug. He couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"What?"

He shook his head. "It just seems funny to me. We lost a battle against a demon, two possessed friends, and who knows how many ghosts, and now we're talking about me without my shirt on instead of that. What we just went through would blow most peoples minds, and it hardly phased us."

She gave him a careful nudge. "I think it would blow my mind, too, if I chose to think about it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked over to the safe corner, shook his head, and started towards his car. "I just hope Mr. Baxter knows what to do next."

It wasn't five minutes before Mr. Baxter got back to them via email. Their note had been pretty morose, but Josh didn't see how that could be fixed. They had their chance and failed. The demon had never been in any real danger, even with all of the trinkets scattered around. He didn't see any way in which they could build up their power quick enough to trap her.

"You tried and came out none the worse for wear. Okay, maybe a bruise for you, Mr. Hart, but still fine. Honestly, I don't know our next step, but I still have plenty of research material. I'll find something. In the meantime, you two stay away from that farm, and if you see Mr. Riley or Ms. Phelps, go the other way. Remember, it's not really them, so as hard as it might seem, don't hold any grudges. Don't worry, we'll get this worked out. Try to have a good weekend, and don't think about any of this until Monday." He signed his name, and that was it.

Whisper shrugged and turned off the Internet browser. "We have to trust him, I guess. What else can we do?"

"He'll find something." Josh hoped his voice sounded more positive than he felt.

She nodded and laid her head against his shoulder. "Would you be angry with me if we postponed our date until tomorrow night? I think I'd prefer to stay home tonight." She paused and bit her lower lip. "If you were looking forward to it, though . . ."

He shook his head and smiled. "I am looking forward to it, but I'd rather wait until tomorrow, too."

"Stay for dinner?"

He kissed her forehead. "No. My mom will be home, so I might as well go hang out with her. But if she starts harping on me about finding a job, maybe I'll bring over a movie for us to watch later."

"Hmm, I want you to get along with your mother and all, but I'd love to watch a movie with you."

"We have plenty of time. I'm not planning on letting you out of my grasp now that I have you."

She snuggled into him. "Good. That feeling's mutual, by the way."

He leaned down and kissed her. Her bedroom door was still standing open, meaning her parents could walk in at any moment, but he didn't care about that right now. This would just be a quick kiss.

Or so he thought.

Her tongue snaked between his lips. He let out a light moan and felt her smile. He almost lifted one hand to her chest, but he remembered the open door. And lucky he did because not long after they started, her dad cleared his throat from the doorway. They leapt apart, and though his vision was a bit hazy and blurred, he could swear he saw a small smile on her dad's face.

"Yeah, this is why we asked for the door to be open."

"Sorry, Daddy." Her face was crimson. He wondered if his matched.

"You staying for dinner, Josh?"

"No, sir. I need to get home soon."

"I thought you two had a hot and heavy date tonight. Or was that it?"

"Daddy!"

Josh laughed. He couldn't help it.

Mr. Douglas winked at him, and then asked, "Well?"

"We'll be going miniature golfing tomorrow night. If that's okay."

"Kissing my daughter isn't okay, but you do that, so I guess I don't have much of a say."

"Daddy!"

"Okay, okay. I'll leave you two alone. But, remember, no more kissing in here. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, Daddy."

He left, and Josh chuckled. "That could have gone worse."

"God, I hope he doesn't tell Mom. Who knows how she'll react."

Josh stood up and grabbed his backpack. "I better go. I'll call you later. Maybe we can do math homework by phone again."

She stood and rubbed his cheek. "Sounds like a plan." She rubbed his cheek and grinned. "I wonder if most of our Friday nights will be this exciting."

"Anytime I'm with you or talking to you is exciting."

She let out a little sound that sounded like a bit of a squeal out of her throat. She glanced at the door, and then said, "If we were alone, you'd so get a kissing for that."

He rubbed her lower back and they headed out. He waved goodbye to her parents, and they returned it as if nothing had just happened. He hoped Whisper was right and her dad didn't tell her mom that he'd caught them kissing. Not because he thought she'd be mad or anything, but because it would be embarrassing.

They reached his car, and she threw her arms around him. "I'm sure Dad's watching, so this is as good as you get." She gave him a peck on the cheek and returned to the sidewalk. "Call me later."

"You know I will. See you."

She waved and walked back up to her front door. She didn't go in, though, until he drove away, waving as he went. His heart beat hard in his chest even as she and her house went out of sight. Oh man, was this what love felt like?

*****

Josh couldn't pull his head from the clouds as he walked up to his front door. The air grew colder the closer he got, but he didn't pay it much mind. It wasn't until his brain started buzzing that something was wrong that he snapped to attention. He grasped the front doorknob and yanked his hand back. It was freezing, so much so that he was surprised some of his skin didn't stick to it.

He turned invisible and used his backpack to open the door. Mom stood in the middle of the living room, snapping pictures at nothing with her old camera. He hadn't seen that camera since she got her new digital one a few years back--did this one even have film in it?

With every snap and flash, a new ghost popped into existence. First it would be a ball of energy, then with the next picture it would be a partial apparition, and with the third, it was a full-bodied apparition. He saw she wasn't in control of her actions. In fact, it looked like she wasn't home at all. She wasn't possessed in the way Zach and Kendra were, but instead simply acting as a vessel for the pictures.

Josh had no idea what to do. Without Whisper, he couldn't do anything to the spirits. He supposed he could read them to see what they wanted, but that wouldn't do much good with so many flying around.

After a few more clicks and flashes, the camera stopped and the film automatically rewound. She didn't stop pushing her finger on the button. Instead of trying to reason with her (what would be the point with her in this state?) he grabbed the camera, tore out the film, and flung the used roll to the ground. He stepped on the film and twisted his shoe, grinding it into the carpet. He didn't know why he did it, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Josh reached for his cell phone to call Whisper. He didn't care if her parents had to drive her, but she needed to be here to get rid of the ghosts. Before he flipped his phone open, the ghosts were gone. He reached out with his thoughts and found the house clear. How had that happened?

He looked up at Mom, and though she wasn't fully herself yet, she'd be fine. She was coming out of her haze. He led her over to the couch, which she slumped down onto. Before he could question her, Zach sauntered out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Josh. Your mom was nice enough to get me a bowl of ice cream while I waited for you. She was in the mood to take some pictures, so I found that camera for her."

A small bump rose on Zach's cheek and ran over his skin like an old Etch-A-Sketch. It spelled out "help" in cursive, and then disappeared. Had he imagined that?

"What do you want, Zach?"

"Nothing," he said with a shrug. "What, a guy can't come over and hang out with his buddy?"

Josh felt his temper rise, but he kept it in check. The strange ball worked its way into Zach's skin again, this time spelling out "film" before it erased. A second later, it spelled out "key." Josh knew he hadn't imagined those.

"I think it's time for you to leave," Josh said, gripping Zach's shoulder. He expected Zach to fight back, but instead he let himself be pushed to the door, laughing the whole way. Josh pulled open the front door and shoved Zach out.

"She's not afraid of you. You realize that, right? She'll be free sooner than you, your whore, or that stupid teacher think."

Josh balled his hands into fists, but again kept his temper in check. Instead he watched the strange writing spell out "help" on Zach's right cheek, while "me" appeared on his left. That didn't feel like a deception by the demon, but the actual Zach calling for help. Josh knew his hand-writing well enough to know it was him. But what could he do, especially without Whisper here? Instead he said, "Just get out of here," and slammed the door. He peeked through the peephole in the front door and watched as Zach stood there unmoving for a few seconds before turning and heading away. Had he parked his car around the corner where Josh wouldn't see it, or had he walked? It was a mystery that really didn't matter, especially since Josh needed to check on his mom.

"You treated Zach rather rudely," she said. "He was just here to say hi."

"He's going through some bad things right now, Mom."

She frowned. "Then you should help him, not push him away. He's your best friend."

"Pushing him away is exactly what he needs. He won't get better by me talking to him."

Before she could launch into more, he sat down and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, why do you ask?"

He raised his eyebrows, causing her to sigh.

"You know me too well. I'm tired is all. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Why was Zach here?"

"He said he wanted to see you. I invited him in for some ice cream."

"And what did you do while he was eating?"

"Why the third degree? You're usually not this inquisitive."

He held up the camera and the destroyed film. "Why were you taking pictures in here? Especially with this camera?"

Her frown deepened. "I . . . don't know." She slumped back on the couch. "I don't remember anything after dishing up the ice cream. And where did that come from? I haven't seen that camera in forever."