“Any luck on the maps?” I asked as I loaded up the cabinets with the spices.
The way his face lit up had my curiosity sparking before he rushed out of the room and came back with a stack of papers.
“So much better than just a map, actually,” he grinned. “Here’s the original blueprint and the new museum ones. Apparently they tore down the old cannery that was here before. It was dilapidated from the pictures, here.” He slid over a stack of photos. The first was an old warehouse building with a fish logo fading so badly I couldn’t read the words. The boards were falling in and huge holes gaped through the side.
“That’s so cool though, I didn’t expect something to be here before. Ben didn’t mention that in any of his history research,” I said, trying to remember even a small aside.
“He didn’t. But this gives us a chance to look more pointedly into it,” Lincoln agreed. “And even more, they left the basement intact.”
“Oh shit,” Ethan said. “I’m surprised they’d do that structurally. They must have done something to expand it or something.”
“I don’t know much about architecture so you’re probably right, but I’d say that’s enough of a disturbance to piss off a few wayward ghosts,” Lincoln said with a grin.
“Look, it’s the lighthouse,” I said as I continued to flip. Then I shuffled to the next picture and froze. The same man who had been standing in the hall was staring back at me. “Oh my god.”
“What?” they both asked in alarm at my switch in tone.
“This is the ghost we saw,” I said, holding it out so they could see. Now that I was seeing his living form I could see the differences. The man last night had such dark eyes and in this picture they were a pale green. The skin color was vastly different. He was pale and gaunt in my encounter, but in the image he had the tanned, weathered look of a man who spent his days on the coast.
“Guess we know one thing for sure,” Ethan said solemnly. “The family must have died here.”
ChapterSix
Brea
The beach was quiet as Sully and I walked outside. I flipped on my glasses when we reached the sign we’d set up cameras on when we first arrived. It was far enough back to give a real view of the place.
“Hey Darklings! Did you miss us? We’re live now in the town of Serenity Harbor, Maine. A sleepy coastal town with a bit of a dark past. Welcome to the shore where we will be spending the next month of our lives,” I announced as I panned the shore from the boat graveyard all the way over to the lighthouse on the cliff above. “But before we go into details on that history, let me introduce to you my partner for the night and our guest investigator, Sully. He knew me through all of my terribly awkward years and is one of my best friends. You’ll love having him and his sarcasm around.”
When I turned his way he gave an easy grin and waved. The fact he didn’t shy away had me smiling back at him.
“This is going to be a great hunt, guys,” he promised. “We’ve only been here one night to settle in and stuff hasalreadygone crazy.”
“Oh Darklings, don’t worry, I’ll write a blog post all about the details of our first night. It was some of the strongest activity I’ve seen. Ever.”
“We’re starting our investigation tonight with the boat graveyard, a strip of the beach that seems to draw in unsuspecting boats. From engine trouble to stormy crashes, there are too many vessels here to even count.” If I could have clapped for Sully I would have. He was a natural at this. A great storyteller. I wasn’t naive enough to expect him to stick with us forever, but if he left I hoped he found his own way to investigate.
“This beach is known for ghostly screams along the shore, especially on stormy nights. There’s nothing rolling in tonight, but I’m hoping for something while we’re here,” I added.
“Holy shit, Brea, look,” Sully hissed. I followed his gaze over to the rocks along the shore. But there was nothing.
“You don’t see that?” he asked. The shock on his face told me that he definitely did. Which struck me as odd with his vision… unless it was a ghost. Their auras alone would stand out against the gray blur of the world out of his visual range.
“Hang on,” I said excitedly, holding up the small infrared camera I had. “Darklings, Sully sees something that I don’t, let’s see what this reveals.”
The moment the screen flared to life I scanned it over the cold beach, nothing popping up. But as I reached the rocks I gasped. Standing there was a large, hulking figure. The red and orange heat signature gave it away.
“Holy shit, I’m not crazy,” Sully said so quietly I doubted the Darklings could even hear him. I squeezed his hand right as Ryker’s voice echoed in my ear.
“Damn, they’re in love with you, Sully. I think you just charmed our entire viewer base in less than ten minutes,” he teased. “Our comment section is on fire.”
Leave it to Ryker to be following us on social media as he was hunting himself. I guess the museum was silent tonight. Then again, they likely hadn’t reached the basement, the only part of the old cannery left.
“Who are you?” I called out. Ryker could wait, this ghost could disappear any second. “Can you tell us what happened?”
For the first time in my experience I heard his answer, and not just on audio.
“My heart.”