“Something’s dimming the light here? Or blocking it? Can all this extra energy do that?” I gasped.
“Who knows,” Adam said in a rare serious tone. “I’d never have imagined a place could have this much activity.”
My first thought was back to that dark figure that had followed us on the ship. Then again in the photos. We still hadn’t figured out who or what it was, but I knew it was nothing good. The fact that it didn’t want to leave made the theory make even more sense.
“Does anyone have anything to say?” Adam asked when silence had drawn on a bit too long.
“Sully. Help.” This time the voice wasn’t just a semi-robotic tone, but that of a young teen boy. My eyes flickered to Sully’s and from the pure panic on his face, it had to be his cousin.
“Oh god, Blake?” Sully asked. This time there was no response. His gaze scanned the beach and I watched Troy subtly move to his side and whisper something in his ear. He relaxed a fraction but not completely. When he looked at me he gave a slight shake of his head to my questioning gaze, meaning he wanted us to keep going. If his cousin was in trouble, then he’d speak up, so I didn’t question him.
“If the crew is here, the Navy is handling your letters,” I said, launching into a quick recap for any of the viewers who missed our blog updates on it. We had some that checked in religiously and others that just tuned into live streams, so I tried to remember to give context when I could.
“Look,” Ryker hissed. “Some of the ghosts moved at your words!” I watched as a group of ghosts disappeared completely. I doubted they crossed over, but I hoped they had a little bit of peace knowing that closure was coming their way.
“Spoke too soon,” Troy winced. He couldn’t even see the camera but I could feel the intense drop in temperature. On camera I watched as even more spirits took their place, the already large group doubling in size before our eyes.
“Holy shit,” Ryker breathed out in awe.
“Does anyone have anything to say? You can speak into the box right here,” Lincoln called out as he pointed. The voices that answered were intense enough I watched Troy crumple in on himself, crouching down as he clutched his ears, the other two standing around him protectively. The answers were so melded together and loud that it was impossible to truly hear what they were saying.
“One at a time!” I yelled out over the noise. The voices cut off so abruptly my ears were ringing. The ghosts hadn’t left or even stopped inching closer, but at least they listened.
Until a black entity formed. It was strange to see on the thermal—where they showed up as an array of color, he was solid black, a moving void that blocked out the colors around him. “Uh, Ryker.”
“LEAVE!” The voice was so loud the speaker gave feedback and we all winced at the high pitched wine before all of our equipment shut down completely. Ryker tucked the camera away and checked his phone.
“Shit, even Brea’s feed is down,” he said. “Guess we’re done earlier than expected.”
“Good, because I can’t do this,” Troy whimpered. Even Sully had moved closer to him, facing off at the ghosts closing in.
“Alright, listen up!” Sully bellowed. “Stop moving closer and give us space. You don’t have to stay here. Look for the light. Push past this asshole trying to stop you. He does not get to control you!”
“Sully be careful,” Troy said. “He’s angry.”
“Yet these charms won’t let him move closer,” Sully said confidently. Since he was the only one who could see the spirits, I trusted what he said.
“Surround them,” I told my guys. We all shifted around the Polterguys and flanked Sully, using our combined protections to keep the malicious entity from closing in.
“Someone said they see the light!” Troy yelled out.
“Good,” Sully shouted. “Focus on that light. Bring it forward. You’ll be drawn to it.” How he knew that, I wasn’t sure, but the way he spoke with encouraging confidence told me he wasn’t making it up to get them to listen.
“There are more finding it,” Troy gasped. He was sitting now.
“This dark figure is angry but the light is overtaking. Holy shit I can see it.” The pure, raw awe in Sully’s voice was muted as he gaped ahead. “They’re going.”
“So much gratitude is coming through,” Troy said, swiping a tear.
“Malik?” Sully’s voice broke on a sob as he reached out in front of him as if he were trying to grasp someone. “How?”
“He felt you and slipped through the veil for a moment,” Troy said as he stood up and moved next to Sully. “He’s safe now. Malik says you can let him go.”
“I don’t want to,” Sully said. Tears were coursing down his cheeks now and I pressed myself into his side. My own tears were falling now, knowing this was what he really needed.
“He’s proud of you, Sully. All you did for your men, how strong you are,” Troy continued to speak for the ghost. “This is your purpose.”
“I love you, Malik. I miss you every fucking day,” Sully said. His hand reached out in front of him, like he was cupping someone’s cheek. My heart broke for my friend.