“The story of the Laurel Wreath. It was a boat that brought most of us our fish. A rival to my family’s but it was still something to see,” he started. The way his eyes lit up now that he was onto the next legend had us eagerly leaning forward, ready for more. “It met the same fate as our boat, same exact spot. You’ll see the remnants of it out there, in fact. But the crazy thing was that the sea was still that day. Not a storm in sight. Yet the captain drove straight into a rock. It wasn’t a pretty sight when they dragged his body away. But he never truly left. I’ve seen him walking the shore like he was searching for something. But somehow his story is never one that’s told. Like the whole town forgot the tragedy that started the boat graveyard out there. Some days I wonder if he lures others to the same fate he suffered, angry at his life being cut short.”
“Wow,” I breathed out. This was definitely a good call. We had several legends to work with now which meant we could keep an eye out for those as hot spots as well.
“Now… are you going to buy me a drink for all this talking?” he grunted. I guess that was our sign the conversation was over. Lincoln bought him another round and we finished our own before heading out. But one thing I knew for sure was that I wouldn’t be sleeping easy tonight.
ChapterFive
Brea
The creaking of the ship was going to take some getting used to. I never realized how noisy an abandoned ship could be, but each time a wave came in it groaned in protest. Ethan’s snores next to me were reassuring, but sleep was not happening for me.
Footsteps in the hall had me hopping out of bed, glad I wasn’t the only one not sleeping. My money was on Ryker. He was an equally shitty sleeper and we’d spent plenty of late nights up together.
The door took all of my strength to open but thankfully I could still hear Ry pacing right behind it. The moment the door finally squeaked open I froze. The man standing there was not Ryker. He also wasn’t a ghost. My scream echoed out, startling him. He took off at a run and ran right through a door down the hall. Not through the open doorway… but the door itself. I was officially shook.
“What’s going on?” Ethan gasped as he rushed up behind me. The groan of the guys’ doors opening followed and even Sully stumbled out to check.
“Holy shit guys, this place is powerful,” I gasped. “There was a man standing here. I heard pacing and thought maybe Ryker couldn’t sleep either and then when I screamed… because, you know, stranger danger, he ran. But he didn’t just run away, he ran through a solid fucking door!”
“Which one?” Ben asked as he looked around uneasily.
“Two doors down,” I said as I followed him toward it. Each one had a small plaque outside of it labeling the room.
“It’s just a laundry room,” Ben said as he pushed it open. We both jumped as the same ghost turned to stare at us. His eyes were wide like we were the invading ghosts, and dark as the night. He was covered in drops of water and I noticed he was wearing a long black raincoat. It was crazy how clearly he was manifesting.
He opened his mouth to speak but I couldn’t hear anything. But apparently Sully did, answering the silent question. My eyes widened at first, but it wasn’t a complete shock given his interest in ghosts and paranormal, it made sense. He’d been around plenty of death and near misses in the military from the sound of it.
“We’re staying here. Why didn’t you move on with the others?” His voice echoed loudly in the small metal-lined hall. The ghost spoke again before he blinked out of existence.
“What did he say that time?” Ben asked. Sully blanched, realizing that he’d spoken to the ghost and we hadn’t heard it through our equipment.
“You can’t hear them?” he asked quietly. The panic in his eyes wasn’t necessary, although I understood why he was nervous.
“Not without equipment usually,” I admitted. “But occasionally if I touch things that are full of paranormal energy, I can see the past.”
“What?” he gasped. “Really?”
“Yeah. And Ethan is an empath. He can sometimes feel the energy in the room,” Ben continued. “Don’t worry man, we’re all freaks here.”
“I’m way too tired to get too deep into this conversation tonight, but I promise we will revisit this in the morning,” I told him, rubbing at my eyes. “Just go easy on yourself, and know that we’re here for you as you figure this shit out if that’s what you need.”
Sully chuckled but it quickly turned into a yawn. “I’m not built for crazy late nights like this yet.”
“Well, we usually nap before hunts,” I reassured him. “And we sleep stupidly late the next day.”
“Good. I need my beauty rest,” he sassed before heading back to his room. He stopped at his door, as if realizing he’d never answered us. “He said ‘they’re still here’.” With that he walked in and closed his door behind him.
“Come on, Red. I brought your sleeping meds,” Ben said as he took my hand. “Sorry Ethan, you have to snore alone now.”
“I’ll survive,” he said as he turned and went back to his room. The poor guy was exhausted and would likely get back at Ben tomorrow for stealing me away. If he even remembered this encounter.
Ben’s door closed behind us and the room seemed to drop temperature right away, meaning we definitely weren’t alone. We both moved closer together and sat on the bed, waiting for whatever show awaited us. For once I wasn’t excited. We’d seen so much already and my body was ready to shut down from lack of sleep.
“So, maybe sleeping on the ship isn’t the best plan?” Ben said quietly as a fog filled the room. “Night one and we’re two for two.”
The fog continued to thicken until it was hard to see the door that was only a few feet away. These rooms were not made for lots of space, but efficiency.
We both flew back against the wall as a loud, ear piercing wail filled the space, an unseen force slamming into us at the same moment. It was so loud that I was pressing my hands against my ears. Unfortunately that didn’t even help.Of all the nights to not have a camera going. But generally we didn’t get harassed relentlessly during sleep.