“Maybe we should bring the witches in for some protective runes?” Ben asked, referring to the coven we had met during that same run in with demons and dark magic. They’d helped us cross over some spirits there and gave us protection. We’d become friends since then and they’d helped us several more times since, including clearing our own home of some bad vibes.
“I feel like we just need more information. What if we invite all of these people to collaborate, but the activity stops a night or two in?” Lincoln pointed out.
“He’s got a point,” Sully agreed. “We could go for the next three days then have another meeting like this to talk about it.”
I was just glad Sully was comfortable enough to not hold back. We wouldn’t have invited him if we wanted him to sit back to just observe and have zero opinions.
“I can agree to that,” I said as I got up to deal with our plates. Honestly I just needed something normal to do because I was out of my element. At least partially. It was more than just our captured activity, it was the intensity of it. Even just standing here washing mine and Ryker’s plates I can feel something close to me, watching from the shadows. I’ve never been one for paranoia but for some reason right now, I felt like the walls were closing in.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Lincoln asked as he walked up behind me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he rested his head on my shoulder, placing a soft kiss on my neck. The feel of him holding me and the scent of his cologne chased away the feeling almost immediately and I relaxed into his embrace. It felt silly now, like I was blowing it all out of proportion.
“Nothing, it’s just got me a bit on edge, I think,” I played it off like it wasn’t a big deal.
“I feel it too,” Ethan chimed in as he approached. He hopped on the counter and stared down at me. “Like we’re the ones being observed instead of the other way around.”
“We’ll see what tonight holds,” Ben reassured us. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. Plus, we’ve got a question and answer session to do.”
* * *
“Alright Darklings,the time has come for the long awaited Q and A session,” I said. This time I wasn’t wearing glasses but we sat in a row looking at the video Ryker had set up in the museum lobby.
“This is how it’s going to go. If the question is for anyone we’ll take turns answering, if it’s a specific person, they answer. We can’t all be answering every question or this will take seven hours,” Ryker broke it down for us.
“First question comes from Jessica,” Ben read off. “What is one place you want to ghost hunt that you haven’t had a chance to yet?”
“Oh, I want to answer!” I gasped. “A castle. But one buried in the countryside, abandoned. We have to do some international investigations someday.”
“I agree,” Lincoln said. “That’d be so fucking badass.” He glanced at his phone and scrolled to find the next one. “Alright this question is from Rebecca for anyone, is there a place you would never want to investigate?”
“Anywhere mass murders happen,” Ethan said without skipping a beat. “The activity and emotions would be too high and too dark, it’d be dangerous mentally and ghost wise.”
“Agreed,” Ryker said. “Next is for Brea. Becky asks what made you start recording?”
“That one’s easy,” I said. “For one I didn’t want to feel so alone. Even if no one was physically walking the halls with me, it felt like they were. I had a bit more courage because of it. And second, I wanted to create an experience where viewers could feel like they were on the investigation. Interacting with me. And, sometimes you guys catch things I miss.”
“We’ve seen that one,” Ben snorted. “Follow up question from Becky. Do any of you regret investigating somewhere?”
“The mines,” we all said together and Lincoln elaborated. “But that was because of Mack and nearly losing Brea.”
“Grace says ‘Do you ever take souvenirs from your hunts?’” I read off, tipping Ben’s screen toward me to see.
“No, but that might be kind of cool,” Ben said. “Then again, it might lead to a haunted museum of sorts and our home doesn’t need fodder.”
“Amen to that,” Ethan agreed with him. “Another question from Jessica. Do you have a favorite ghost encounter?”
“I do,” Ryker admitted. We all turned to him, surprised. I’d never heard him discuss having one. Then again even knowing each other as well as we did, there were always random stories to add in. “When I was in college I would go sit under this tree in the quad. There was an old professor I’d speak to anytime I saw him. He was a slow walker so we had plenty of time and honestly he looked like he was a swift wind away from being knocked over. When he died I was sad and went to leave an old book on his grave. It was one we spoke about and he planned to read but didn’t get the chance. When I walked away I heard the pages flipping and turned to see them blowing in the breeze, but slower than the wind could have. I know it could have been a coincidence, but I’m going to assume he was enjoying a good book.”
“That’s awesome,” I said with a soft smile.
“Man, that one got me in the feels,” Sully said. He’d been quiet, like he was hanging back, so I searched for a question for him.
“Sully, next one’s for you,” I said. He glanced up surprised, and I loved that a smile spread over his face. “Stephanie asks, ‘What is the creepiest experience you’ve had? Something had to have led you to want to join in, right?’”
“They’re right,” he said. “I’d have to say creepiest was in the hospital as I recovered. There was a nurse there that was a ghost, but there was also a little kid. It would run up and down the hall and bounce a ball really loud. The giggling though? It still fucking creeps me out.”
“And speaking of kids, let’s address the stigma. Most lore around ghost children is that they’re demons, but that’s not true in most cases. Sometimes they are still looking for someone, we’ve encountered that. Some are too afraid to leave home. Things like that,” Ethan said. “You can easily tell the difference when interacting with a bad spirit. The air gets heavy. You just feel it in the energy.”
“Good point,” Lincoln said but switched the subject so the chat didn’t get dark. “Melissa wants to know ‘What’s the weirdest place you’ve investigated?’”