“Oh my god, I’ve got this one,” Ben said. “When we first started out it was a take what you can get type of situation. We investigated a rest stop.”
“What?” I gasped.
Sully was belly laughing. “Tell me it wasn’t in the toilets.”
“Worse,” Ben deadpanned. “The showers. Let’s not think about what lonely drivers do when they get in those things.”
“The whole place was covered in graffiti and smelled like must and well… use your imagination,” Ethan added with a laugh.
“Did you get any ghosts?” I asked.
“Nope,” Ben said. “Not a peep.”
“So not the highlight of your career,” I laughed.
“Hardly,” Ryker agreed. “That’s why we don’t talk about the times before we really gained traction.”
“Now I’m curious,” I said. “What location made you go viral?”
“It was in the same city, actually,” Ethan answered. “The school library.”
“I think I saw that one,” I said, trying to remember. “Did you catch a full white figure?”
“We did. See I knew you stalked us!” Lincoln accused.
“I never denied watching your videos,” I countered. “I just didn’t do videos discounting their credibility like some people.”
“Ouch, need some aloe for that burn?” Ethan teased Lincoln. But they all knew there was no real heat behind his teasing. We’d worked it out a long time ago. Otherwise I’d have never joined forces with them.
“Another for Brea,” Ryker said to change the subject again. “Michelle wants to know if you would ever do a solo hunt again.”
“No,” I said without hesitation. “With how much stuff has gone crazy, I’ll stick with backup.”
“Using us for our muscles,” Ethan teased, but they all looked relieved at my answer. We’d come too far to consider splitting up now. Even just for a night.
The questions continued on and I was surprised how into it the guys got. By the time we wrapped it up I was exhausted, but happy. It felt more like the old days, the beginning, before things got complicated.
ChapterEight
Ben
Famous last words. That’s what I got for saying it wouldn’t be that bad. My heart was pounding as I wound my way up the stairs of the godforsaken lighthouse.
“Sully?” I felt even fucking worse because the dude could barely see and now he was alone. How we even got separated was beyond me. I could hear his footsteps behind me as I walked and when I turned around to see where he wanted to start, I was suddenly alone. I put my hand to the comm to turn it on. “Sully?”
“Where the hell did you go?” he shot back almost immediately. “And who the fuck is talking if it’s not you?”
“We’re still on the beach by the boats,” Lincoln said.
“And we’re inside the ship,” Brea answered. “Do you need help, guys?”
“Can you even hear me call out?” I asked Sully over the comm.
“No, and I just screamed into the darkness. Did you hear me?” he asked. Now he sounded unsure and I felt even worse. “They’re moving in.”
“Everyone up to the lighthouse. Start recording Sully,” Lincoln demanded.
Relief hit me knowing they’d be here soon. But I also wasn’t about to not keep looking for Sully. I was about halfway up and he said it was dark, so I knew he wasn’t at the top of the lighthouse so I wound my way back down. Could he be at the house? It didn’t make sense for us to get that far from each other but then again we weren’t on an even playing field. Apparently these ghosts had been building strength for years.