Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town (8 page)

He was that one kid in the
back of the class that no one ever heard. He never made a peep,
never answered a question, never got in trouble, and just never
attracted
any
kind of attention.

Maybe that's why we hit it
off and got along so well. I mean, other than the fact that he
basically found me in the bathroom and saved my life. He was never
noticed, and I was always trying my damndest
not
to be noticed.

He'd become my friend. He tried to teach me
all he knew about escaping the Coogan Boys and years of
embarrassment. And he'd seen the worst of what my family had to
offer (namely, my dad).

And now we stood on the precipice of
something completely foreign. We stood in the middle of a glowing
ring of trees that had probably never been seen before and we
stared down two little mysterious letters. They could mean
anything. They surely meant nothing to us. But it was the three of
us - David, Trex, and I - standing there, experiencing this, and
seeing just what we were made of.

It had to be dark by now and the way back
home, through the woods, would be nearly impossible to find. We
were here, we were staying, and we had no intention of leaving any
time soon.

And so it was, those two mysterious letters
- "GT" - carved deeply and precisely into the massive tree's trunk.
They pulled me in like a rubber band and I couldn't help but touch
them.

David and Trex stared straight at the end of
my outstretched hand as my fingers began to trace the glowing blue
letters.

My blue finger followed every curve,
swooping up, down, left, and right as it made its way around the
"G," picked itself up, moved over to cross the very top of the "T,"
and slowly made its way down the length of that very same
letter.

But something
happened
as I neared the
bottom of that final letter. That bright blue glow seemed to grow
even stronger and brighter as I reached the very end. The "G"
itself began to mush, swirl, and squish its way into a tight
circle, finally encroaching into its neighbor's space, and
eventually smushing right into the "T."

I reached the end of the "T," removed my
finger, and stepped back next to David and Trex.

We stood, slack-jawed, and watched as the
"G" and "T" merged into a swirling circle of blue light.

The glow continued to grow brighter and the
circle grew larger and larger until we saw before us a swirling
ring of light, inside the tree's trunk, big enough for us to step
right through!

It swirled and glowed, whirred and pulsated,
and we couldn't believe what we saw, much less actually take our
eyes off it.

Trex barked loudly and looked up at the both
of us. I turned and looked directly at David. He stared right back
into my eyes.

We knew
exactly
what we had to
do.

"Let's go!" I yelled and grabbed Trex's
leash. "Now!"

Without saying a word, David grabbed a hold
of Trex's leash as well and we all took one quick leap directly
into the glowing circle of light and into something completely
unexpected.

A leap of
faith
, I thought as our feet left the
ground.

We
knew
we had to do it. We just
had
no
idea why.
Most of all, though, we had no idea
where
we were going.

Chapter Sixteen

The very next thing I can remember is waking
up on a dusty, wooden floor. Laying flat on my back, my eyelids
fluttered open to reveal a dark, dusty ceiling.

I blinked a few times to try and wake my
eyes up, but the darkness continued and it took me another minute
or two for my vision to adjust.

Where the hell am
I
, I thought and tried to slowly push
myself up off the floor. My arms were tired and I only made it to a
seated position on the floor, my body propped up with my hands
planted on the floor behind me.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few more
times before looking around me to really soak it all in.

I was in the middle of a
dark, dusty room, on a dark, dusty floor. Let me rephrase that. I
was in the middle of a
very old
dark, dusty room on the dark, dusty
floor.

Trex
, I thought.
David
.

I swung my head around quickly from side to
side to scan the room, but they were nowhere to be found.

What the hell just happened?

I didn't see David or Trex
anywhere. The only thing I
did
see was one window so caked with grime that
barely any light shone through. What little
did
peek through only created small
shafts of light and shadow on the wooden planks of the
floor.

I also saw a small wooden chair against one
of the room's walls, and a twin metal bed frame against another.
Both were also covered in a thick layer of dust.

Now I was starting to worry. I can't even
imagine what David and Trex were going through.

It took me a few more seconds to gather my
strength, and then I shoved off the floor and stood up in the
middle of the room.

The place smelled like musty gym socks, and
my movement set off a chain reaction of moving dust. I could see
the particles floating in the air and reflecting in the small
shafts of light breaking through the window.

Ok
, I thought.
I need to get out of
here and find David and Trex. Like, now!

And just as I thought that
and moved slowly toward the door, I was stopped
dead
in my tracks by what I heard
next.

"Where, Jimmy, do you think you're
going?"

The voice came from behind
me and I nearly peed my pants when I heard it. It sounded nothing
like David, or anyone else I knew for that matter. But peeing my
pants would have been
nothing
compared to my reaction when I swung my head
around slowly and
saw
it.

My head felt like as thought it whirled on
the top of my neck and my eyes burned. There, glowing for just a
short second in front of the window, was a boy just my size.

What's odd, though, is
that I could see right
through
him to the back wall and window. And I don't mean
figuratively. This boy was
literally
see-through.

"Wh... Wh... What?" I asked him.

"Where, I asked, do you think you're
going?"

"I... I was just going--"

"You were just going to leave," he said and
smirked at me. "Weren't you?"

"I was just going to look for--"

"David and Trex are fine," he said. "You'll
see them soon enough."

Okay, now I was
really
scared. Who the
hell was this, where the hell was I, and how does he know what I'm
thinking?

"It's okay, Jimmy," he said slowly as he
moved toward me. "Everyone is like this when they first get
here."

I couldn't move. Even if
I'd wanted to turn and run from the room - and I
did
want to turn and run
from the room - I couldn't. I felt paralyzed and stuck to the floor
all at once.

"And, to answer your
questions," he continued, "I'm Gasp, and I'm your guide. I'm here
to help you on your quest and eventually help you find your way
home." He smiled at me and crossed his see-through arms. "Oh, and
we
always
know
what you're thinking."

"My quest?" I asked, more
confused than I'd ever been in my life. "Where
am
I?"

"You, Jimmy, are
right
where you need to
be right now."

Gasp moved closer and reached out his hand,
as if he wanted me to shake it.

I don't know why, but I reached out my hand,
took his, and shook it. It was surprisingly strong and, despite his
see-through appearance, felt just like anyone else's hand.

"Welcome to Ghost Town, Jimmy. We've been
waiting for you."

Chapter Seventeen

The only ghosts I'd ever known had always
been on TV, or in movies, or the books I'd read. They'd remained
footless beings draped in white sheets, in my imagination, for my
entire life until about five minutes ago.

Ghost Town?
I thought. I wasn't even sure I
believed
in the
possibility of ghosts being a reality until I saw (and heard) Gasp
standing in front of me all see-through and chatting like this was
just another day for him.

Ghosts?
Was this all some really weird dream that I was
bound to wake up from and be back in my room resting on my bed, my
head on the pillow?
Ghosts?!

The thought of David and
Trex flashed through my head again as I tried to compose myself and
deal with the reality (or at least the
seeming
reality) of the
situation.

I ran my hand through what little hair I had
and shook my head slowly as if that were going to bring me the
answer I was clearly searching for.

"My guide?" I asked and
gave Gasp a sideways glance. "Guide to
what
exactly?"

Gasp chuckled and looked slowly around the
room before his eyes settled back onto me.

"All your questions will be answered in
time, Jimmy."

Gasp moved toward the door and motioned with
his hand for me to follow him.

"I think now, though, we should probably
find your dog and your friend David. Wouldn't you agree?"

I nodded in agreement and followed Gasp to
the door.

"Follow me," he said and
proceeded to float right
through
the door. Well, I obviously wasn't going to be
able to
follow
him like that. Or was I?
Hmm... Who
knows what's actually possible here...

So, in my earnest attempt to "follow" Gasp,
I proceeded to walk straight into the door, smacking my nose into
its stiff wood.

Gasp stuck his head - yup, just his head -
back through the door, and chuckled a bit.

"Unless you're a ghost, Jimmy, I suggest you
use the knob there."

"Funny," I said and shot him a crooked
look.

Gasp's head disappeared back through the
door and I reached down, grabbed the knob, turned slowly, and began
inching the old, wooden thing open.

When the door was finally open just enough,
I peeked out my head, saw Gasp standing (floating?!) there.

"Well," he said. "Let's get going, sir!"

I spun my head around and peered down what
appeared to be a never-ending hallway. It was lined with doors, and
small sconces hung on the walls, every few feet, lighting the
way.

There was an old, red and yellow carpet that
ran the length of the hallway and looked like something you might
see in a hotel in an old movie.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "There are so
many doors."

"Just follow me, Jimmy," said Gasp as he
turned and started down the enormous hallway. "We're going to find
your friends."

* * * * *

If this is Ghost
Town
, I thought,
where was my mother?
The idea of my
mom possibly being there and the thought of actually seeing her
again was one of the only things keeping me somewhat calm in this
situation.

The chance, however
slight, that I might be able to see my mom again was the one thing
keeping me from telling Gasp to get me the
hell
out of Ghost Town right
now
!

But was that really
possible? Was there really even an off chance that I might be able
to find my mom? Talk to my mom?
Hug
my mom? I really wasn't sure just what
was
possible here in
Ghost Town but it's something that I intended to find out as soon
as possible.

"So," I said to Gasp as he
started to lead me down the long hallway. "What exactly
is
this
place?"

Gasp stopped in his tracks
and turned to me. He didn't look angry, but he certainly didn't
seem
pleased
with
my line of questioning. I guess he was just banking on my blind
faith in him?

"I know what you're
getting at, Jimmy, and
yes
there's a chance that you'll be able to find,
see, talk to, and hug your mother here."

My eyes shot open wide and
my ears began to hear every single word, now that Gasp had said
what I wanted to hear. So it
was
possible!

"She's here somewhere.
They're
all
here," he said and waved his left arm out to the side,
inviting me to follow it and look down the hallway.

It was then that, all of a sudden, some
wispy shapes started to come into focus. They were just as
see-through as Gasp and they walked up and down the hall just like
they were going to find their rooms - just like they were going
about their days.

At least twenty different ghosts (some with
their animal companions - dogs, cats, even chickens and pigs) all
moving through the same space as me and Gasp. I could barely
believe it, but things like this were starting to shock me less and
less by the minute.