Chapter 11

Lassie

Lassie hated the nickname she’d been given. Lassie, she’d said, was a dog and being given a dog’s name made her sound like a bitch .. which she wasn’t. Yet .. after over twenty years, it was getting more and more difficult to remember Cassidy Renman.

She paused to look at herself in the restroom mirror. Her face was the same face. It always would be. She still wore the denim skirt, white cotton blouse and sweater she’d worn on the night they’d stopped here for coffee. She’d wanted to change into jeans but Flipper had said they didn’t have time and, anyway, they’re waiting to close. She still wanted to get changed but her bag was, she assumed, somewhere at the bottom of a sheer drop about two miles away.

She didn’t remember the accident. Lassie didn’t know why. It had changed her life because it had ended her life and she was sure she would’ve remembered something like that. Something .. so fundamental. But maybe that was because the mind had put it behind a barrier. They said trauma victims sometimes got amnesia. She’d heard them say that the first traumatic event of anyone’s life was birth and no one could remember that so maybe it wasn’t so weird that she couldn’t recall any of the details of her death.

She remembered the diner. She remembered feeling very tired and wanting to get changed because her legs were cold. She remembered the hot coffee she’d drunk. She remembered stumbling back out to the parking lot and sliding onto the back seat where she’d lain down and closed her eyes … Maybe there was the faintest recollection of the tires crunching over the gravel but she couldn’t be sure. The next thing she remembered with a stark, searing clarity was being back in the diner .. only it was all dark and the doors were locked.

At first, she’d thought she had imagined leaving. After all, the guys were still there. They’d simply been forgotten and locked in. In the morning the staff would come back, the error would be realized and they could continue on to Hollywood. In the meantime, they had shelter, food, drink. They could sleep. Only they didn’t feel hungry or thirsty. They didn’t really feel tired. In fact .. they didn’t really feel any physical sensations. Emotions, yes, they still had those but nothing associated with a physical body.

They had sat down to wait. They hadn’t been able to find a public phone to call the cops so they could let them out. As Skippy had said, why not make use of the place? Did they know how much a motel room cost? This way, we get what we need plus we could get a free breakfast as well, as compensation. Least they can do for us, to avoid a lawsuit. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

And the morning had eventually dawned. People had returned and unlocked the diner. They’d fired up the griddle and put on the coffee. They’d ignored the three young people. Ignored what they did. Ignored what they said. It was, Lassie had remarked, like we don’t exist … And it was then that Cassidy Renman had known she hadn’t imagined leaving.

She leaned closer, trying to imagine now the effect that twenty years would have on her face. Some crow’s feet at the edge of her eyes. Some frown lines, maybe. Some lines around her lips which came from disappointment that her life hadn’t lived up to its promise.

Lassie smiled quickly. Well, that was true. Her life definitely hadn’t lived up to its promise. Her life had ended over twenty years before. And, while time had continued to pass in an orderly succession for the diner, and the paint had grown dingy and peeled and had been renewed every few years, and the occasional piece of equipment had blown up or just been replaced because something more modern had been invented, time had frozen Cassidy with this face and with this appearance.

In one way, it was almost impossible to accept that twenty years had gone by since that night. Over seven thousand, three hundred days. It felt like it had passed in the blink of an eye. A flash. Gone. And yet, in another way, it felt like an eternity, that they’d been here forever and they would be here forever. Because .. every day was the same. The basic layout of the place hadn’t changed. The color scheme was the same. The people who worked here were older but the same people. One had gone and had been replaced but the others .. no change except for the stamping of age on their faces and in the curve of their spines. The people who used the diner every day as some kind of social club were the same. Fathers who’d come in with their sons had boasted about Junior’s first day, week, month, year on the job. Now those sons were bringing in their own sons and making the same boasts. Time, in one way, was passing and, in another, was just being recycled. Sometimes, she wanted to scream …

Cassidy, in turn, had become Cass, then Lass, and had finally transmuted into Lassie. She hated it but the guys said it was cute. She’d gone along with it because arguing only made a bad situation worse. They had forever, and that was a long time to spend not talking to anyone. Oh, they’d argued eventually because their world only had three people in it and you could only listen to the same ‘Did I tell you about the time I … ‘ fill in the blank space so many times before it drove you crazy. At first, though, once the shock had worn off .. or worn into numbness, they had enjoyed being able to do things they never could before.

The day Skippy had discovered they didn’t need to wait till someone opened a door before they could pass thru it, that they could simply walk thru the door, had been a revelation. Then they’d found that walls were no obstacle either. Neither were tables, seats, the counter, or the booths. They had hesitated about walking thru people but Skippy had tried it and said it wasn’t so bad, even though it had brought the waitress to a terrified standstill and she’d dropped the tray, spilling someone’s breakfast all over the floor.

What they had tried then was to walk thru the outer wall to get to the parking lot. Flipper had said they could hitch a ride in a truck going toward San Francisco, and maybe all the way to LA. The world was just waiting for them to explore it. Only the outer wall had turned out to be as solid as ever. Even the opened door wasn’t open for them. It was an impassable barrier. The diner was the extent of their world and, while they could look hungrily thru the big windows at the world they couldn’t experience, as the time passed, it began to feel more and more like their prison cell. And, like any prisoner condemned to a life sentence – and, in their case, much longer even than that – they grew resentful of each other until, by now, it was starting to turn into bouts of explosive, genuine hatred.

It was no wonder that Flipper and Skippy fought. Flipper was the older by a couple of years and stronger in both mind and what passed for his body. Skippy was more unpredictable, more wild. He was the loose cannon. He got bored easily. Lassie was often the mediator and it was a role she was beginning to dislike. Their needs .. sure, they made no secret of them. Her needs … She didn’t know what she wanted or needed. She was just the voice of calm reason, even if, just lately, she’d had to shout to get the voice of calm reason to be heard.

And then .. a miracle had happened. Strangers had arrived. She and the guys had been facing another long, lonely night – longer than usual – when the lights had pierced the storm and shone thru the window. They’d sat there and watched in rising disbelief as these unknown people had serenely broken in and made the place their sanctuary from the whiteout. Then Flipper had said they should retreat to discuss this and, so, they’d gone to the janitor’s storeroom. Hatred had been put on hold, superceded by curiosity and a sense of wonder. Their same old, same old existence suddenly wasn’t so same old, same old anymore. Change had arrived. Something different and exciting had happened.

Lassie had found that she wanted to get to know them. Maybe not ask questions but to sit near them and learn about their lives, their interests, hopes and dreams, maybe even their fears. She wanted to discover how the world was different from the world she’d left and which was now denied to her. She could experience some of it thru these people. But Skippy had wanted fun. Flipper had gone along with it. Lassie had been pulled in because Lassie always went along with what they wanted. So one had been shut in the storeroom. Skippy had the power to move things so he’d pulled on the door from the other side. He’d shut another in the freezer. He’d thought it was hilarious. Danger meant very little to Skippy because he was already dead. Flipper had studied the newcomers and he could make himself appear as anyone. He had the voice for accents. He’d taught Skippy what he could. They’d started playing tricks. Screwing with people’s heads. Only .. these people weren’t regular people. They were ghost hunters. They knew how to fight back. Lassie felt a flare of vindication. It was about time Skippy had a kick up the ass and Flipper was put in his place.

Lassie had felt sorry for the weedy guy. He was the obvious outsider and the others had treated him .. not quite with contempt but certainly with a degree of lack of trust and openness. They’d kept him at arm’s length. And, yet, she also felt such a vast amount of envy of him. He worked in TV. What an interesting life he must have. Later, she decided, she would definitely listen to what he had to say. Skippy would get bored and wander off somewhere but Flipper had once had a dream of making it big in Hollywood. That dream .. of simply getting there .. still drove him on, and he kept them all from falling apart. His dream had kind of become their dream. He wanted to get to Hollywood, they wanted to get out of the diner. Flipper would listen avidly to whatever Bert said, and his dream would get stronger.

Lassie pulled back from the mirror. She wondered why Flipper had told Bert so much about them. At the time, Flipper hadn’t know what they did or who Bert was, yet he had told him about the accident and how they’d become trapped here. Did he want to move on? To go over .. to whatever awaited them? What was there to investigate? Could Bert really help?

Of them all, Lassie was fascinated the most with the woman who had been asleep for so long. The way she spoke – blunt, in your face, take it or leave it but that’s how it is – it had been like a breath of cold, fresh, mountain air blowing thru twenty years of staleness. Lassie wanted to talk alone with Peri. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Flipper to tell the truth, it was more that Flipper had an actor’s way of improvising. He told more than the simple truth. He embellished. Lassie wanted to hear it for herself. She was tired of the diner but .. better the devil you know and this was some kind of life. But .. if the other side was freedom, if it was better, was anything you wanted it to be … She felt torn. They were the Three Musketeers – all for one and one for all. She couldn’t go and leave them behind. She and Flipper couldn’t go and leave Skippy behind. It had to be all .. or none.

The door opened behind her and Lassie looked into the mirror, then she turned, her eyes widening.

“Hi there,” Merlin said. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Peri.”

“Lassie. No. I’m Cassidy. Cassidy Renman. They just call me Lassie.”

“After the dog?”

“Probably. They just say it’s cute.”

“Ah. Those kinda friends, huh?” Merlin leaned back against the door. “The kind you wanna hit because they never let up but you don’t cos they’re your friends. An’ you don’t have any other friends.”

Lassie hoisted herself onto the vanity unit counter, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. “You’ve just summed up my total existence in this place. Stuck here with two guys who think it’s funny to be called after TV animals.”

“Gotta get your highs wherever you can.”

“Not here. Not after this long,” Lassie sighed.

Merlin studied her. “You don’t have to stay.”

“We can’t get out. We’ve tried. There’s no place to go.”

“That’s cos you’re ghosts. Ghosts haunt a location,” Merlin related in a slightly sing-song voice. “Even if, in ten years, they tear this place down an’ turn it into a picnic spot, you’d still be confined to the same area. But you can leave. There’s more than just this world, y’know.”

“Is there? Really?”

“Oh, sure. The other side .. well, there’s a forest. That’s where the newly dead go first, an’ they rest there for a while. Then they head toward the river. They cross the bridge an’ that’s when they’re judged on how they lived their lives. Good an’ bad, they go on over .. separated out a little. Evil, they get shunted someplace else. An’, on the other side of the river … ”

“Heaven?” Lassie whispered.

“Heaven an’ Hell .. no. They do exist, but they’re beyond the likes of you an’ me. No, what’s on the other side of the river .. is what you expect to get. Good people, indifferent people, they can live however they want – town, city, country. It’s a lot like being here. Bad people .. again, what they expect to get – ghettos, tenements, shanty towns, but on the fringes of the badlands. And you really can do whatever you want. You have eternity. It’s a very long time.”

“It does sound wonderful.”

“It is. I can help you get there .. if you wanna go.”

Lassie sighed, her shoulders drooping despondently. “I do .. but I can’t leave the others. If they want to go .. I’ll go with them. If they don’t .. I guess I’ll be staying here.”

“You’re not tied at the hip, you three. What is the deal with you anyway?”

“I was at college. Skippy was in the same year. We shared some classes. It was summer recess an’ he said he was heading down the coast to visit some of his family in San Luis Obispo,” she replied. “I have – or had – family in Santa Barbara so we agreed to travel together and split the costs. Skippy’s older brother had a friend who had a friend who was driving down to LA an’ we hitched a ride with him. We got as far as here.”

Merlin nodded. “An’ circumstances have kept you together ever since.”

“Yeah. We’re like family now. We love each other, we’ve seen each other’s good an’ bad sides, an’ we fight from time to time because we get sick an’ tired of each other. We’re a little stir crazy. I’m sorry we woke you up. You’re the first person who’s ever been able to see us without us doing something special.”

“I’ve got good eyes,” Merlin grinned. “Why are you here?”

Lassie shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s the last place I truly remember but that’s all I can think of as to why here.”

“Rachel was right,” Merlin commented. “But why are you haunting this place?”

“What reasons are there?”

“They say there are four. Violent death. Unexpected death. Unfinished business. A need to pass on information,” Merlin replied, counting them on her fingers. Then she paused, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Death comes to everyone so .. can you really say it is unexpected ..?”

“I know I didn’t expect to die that night. A car wreck is violent .. but I was asleep when it happened. I don’t remember it at all.”

“Okay. Unfinished business?”

“Not that I know about.”

“A need to pass on any information? Got any millions stashed away in a secret account .. that kinda deal.”

“Unfortunately, no,” Lassie said with a smile.

Merlin frowned. “Where did the car go over the cliff?”

“I don’t know. I just know it did. Maybe one of the others could tell you.” Lassie angled her head. “Why’d you ask? Is it important?”

Merlin paused again, frowning. “I don’t know about narrowing it down to only four reasons, Cassidy. I do know that there is always a reason why souls remain here instead of going on as they’re meant to do. But what your reason is … ” She shook her head.

“So .. there really is something to investigate,” Lassie commented. “Wow. An’ I thought we were just ghosts. Unlucky somehow.”

“There’s something to investigate,” Merlin confirmed. “We just have to find out what. I hope Bert’s up to it.”

“What’s he doing now?” Lassie asked.

“Just .. walking around. Getting a feel for the place on his own. He’s quite calm at the moment cos he knows Nick is asleep an’ no one .. solid is watching him. I think he’s more scared of Nick than you guys.” Merlin smiled quickly. “But Bert’s grown up a lot tonight. I’m hoping that, by the morning, he’ll have finished his journey .. an’ so will you.” She pushed away from the door. “You taking part in this show?”

“Yep.” Lassie nodded, sliding down again. “Fright Night .. but with ghosts instead of vampires. I’m about due in wardrobe an’ make up.” She hesitated. “Thanks. I’ll think about what you said .. about the other place.”

“No problem. See you later,” Merlin winked.

*****

“Where have you been?” Flipper demanded as Lassie came thru the door of the janitor’s storeroom. “It’s after two in the morning. Way past time to get this show on the road.”

“I needed some time alone, okay? It’s all right for you guys, but I’m not a guy an’ sometimes I need to be by myself. To get a little peace an’ quiet. You two rarely stop talking long enough for a thought to form.”

“We’re men of action,” Skippy responded with a shrug. “We don’t have to think.”

“Sit,” Flipper ordered, pointing.

Lassie glared at him. “You may have chosen to call me a dog’s name but don’t expect me to obey like one.”

“Sit down, please?” he amended.

“More like it.”

She sat and Flipper began to apply the make up for the show. It wasn’t real make up. It was more .. altering her appearance by thought and suggestion which flowed thru his fingers. He’d gotten very good at doing this – he’d had a lot of time to practice.

“You’ve been speaking with Peri,” Skippy accused, working on his costume. “I can tell. You’re different.”

“No, I am not!”

“You are,” Flipper countered. “It’s slight but there. You’ve gotten more confident. You’re not acting the part anymore, not just saying the lines. You believe in them. It’s good. I like it. Please, sit still.”

“I can’t help how I am,” Lassie went on, sitting still because he’d asked nicely. “I just feel now that I can say what’s inside me. Skippy, do you want to move on?”

Skippy froze. “I know this place. I feel safe here.”

“But it’s a prison,” she murmured. “She told me what it’s like, what we can expect.”

“Really ..?” Flipper breathed, concentrating.

“Is there .. judging involved in any kinda way?” Skippy ventured.

“Uh huh. When we cross the river.”

“Then .. I think I’ll stay here. My life hasn’t been exactly pure, y’know? I don’t wanna take any chances.”

“C’mon, man, what have you done that’s so terrible?” Flipper asked, sounding impatient.

“I told her that I wouldn’t go unless we all went,” Lassie continued. “I’ve had enough of this place, God knows I have. But I won’t leave anyone behind. We know what it’s been like, the past two decades .. an’ that’s with three of us. Can you imagine what it would be like here alone?”

Flipper straightened to examine his work. “Even more unbearable,” he murmured. “I’m with Lassie on this. I’ve had enough an’ I wanna go but I won’t unless it’s all of us.”

“Oh .. great. Thanks, man!” Skippy said, his voice heavily sarcastic. “Nothing like putting a little pressure on a guy to get him to change his mind. Two against one. Nice. Supposing I say I wanna stay. I’ll have the both of you accusing me every chance you get that I made you stay here.”

“That isn’t why I said it, Skippy,” Lassie sighed. “I’m not putting pressure on you at all .. although, yeah, I guess it sounds as if I am. I just .. feel the time’s right. There’s a reason why we’re here. I don’t know what it is. There’s a reason these people, these .. ghost hunters, turned up tonight – ”

“Yeah, it’s called a whiteout,” Skippy cut in.

“On the surface, maybe you’re right. But maybe it’s .. serendipity. They’re not local. They could have come next week, they may have planned to come here a few days back .. but they didn’t. They’re here tonight. And there’s a reason for that. There has to be. They could be here to find out what our reason is. To help us .. because we can’t help ourselves,” she commented.

“I’m done. What d’you think?” Flipper asked.

Lassie rose and went to the small mirror screwed to the wall. Often she’d wondered about this little piece of vanity because the janitor was nothing much to look at. She blinked and took a step back.

“My God … ” she whispered.

She looked like she’d been in a car wreck. Her face was bruised and battered, her skin scraped and torn. Her hair was wild, half matted with blood. Her clothes were ripped and splashed with blood.

“Is this what I looked like when I died ..?” Lassie choked.

The other two came to stand at her shoulders. In the mirror, she saw their make up and costumes. They looked even worse.

“Just imagination,” Flipper responded thru his broken teeth.

“Not memory?” she asked, staring into his eyes in the mirror.

“No. I don’t remember much about it.”

“Then you do remember something!” Skippy exclaimed.

“Snatches. Noises. A screaming sound. Metal being tortured. I think it was the barrier. Then a sense of .. of falling. Then … ” He frowned. “Pain. And then nothing. I woke up here an’ I thought I’d had a bad dream. I was kinda glad we hadn’t driven on … ” He saw the raw suspicion in their eyes. “It wasn’t till the morning that I realized I hadn’t had a bad dream at all. It had really happened.”

Flipper shrugged unhappily. “I was driving. Skip, you talk about being under pressure. How d’you think I’ve felt for the last twenty years? We’re here because of me. I screwed up. I killed us. No way round that little fact. I was asleep at the wheel. You say you’re scared of being judged. Guess what? I’m terrified of being judged because I know I did a very bad thing. But d’you know what? I would rather be judged for what I’ve done an’ put up with the consequences than spend another night stuck in his diner. But .. I’ll stay if you decide you prefer it here .. because this is my punishment. My penance.” His eyes went to Lassie’s face. “I don’t remember what any of us looked like in the wreck. This is just imagination. I swear to God.”

She nodded. “I believe you,” she whispered, her throat tight with emotion after his confession.

“Thank you,” Flipper said gravely. He paused then looked up. “Okay. The curtain’s about to rise on this performance of the Mountain Pass Players. We’ve put on plays before but we’ve never had an audience till now. Tonight .. it’s make or break. Let’s go out there an’ make it a tour de force. Ready?”

Skippy straightened his shoulders. Lassie lifted her chin.

“Show time,” Flipper grinned.

*****

Merlin found Bert in the kitchen sketching the layout of the diner onto a napkin and frowning in concentration.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

“Does that look about right to you?” he asked in reply.

Merlin studied it over his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s in proportion. You’ve got all the rooms there. What are the crosses for?”

“They mark the locations where people have seen things. The janitor’s storeroom door, and this area of corridor here. The kitchen store, twice. Well, strictly speaking only once but twice things have happened in there. The men’s restroom. And the diner itself. Cold drafts an’ then you saw all three.”

“Very thorough. What are you gonna do next, now that you have this plan? What’s the plan of action?”

Bert hesitated. “Now I know why the computer’s so useful.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d use it to .. investigate,” he shrugged. “Eighty one. Newspaper reports. I’d be able to find out who these kids were. Are. Where exactly they died. What happened after. Once I got the names, I can find out what happened before they got here. And then … ”

“Yeah?” Merlin encouraged into the deep silence.

“And then I’d probably have to wake Derek an’ ask what to do next because I have no idea how to use whatever I’d learn.” Bert studied the plan without really seeing it. It was just a focus for his thoughts.

Merlin studied him. “You’ve made a good start, Bert. What are you thinking now?”

He shook his head. “I keep coming back to this one question. Why are they here?”

“Here, in the diner?”

“Kinda. More .. why are they haunting? Why didn’t they go on to wherever it is they go?”

Merlin smiled to herself as she patted his shoulder. “Bert, I think if you can find the answer to that, you won’t need to wake anyone to ask what to do next.”

“You think?” he queried, sounding surprised.

“I do. Ghosts haunt for a reason. Often, too much time has elapsed for anyone to find out what that reason is. But this is fairly recent. We may get lucky.”

He nodded. “If I see them, I can ask.”

“They may not know.” She watched his face fall. “Hey, c’mon! We’re smart people. We can figure it out. Then, when Derek wakes up, you can tell him how you solved this one .. an’ he’ll be so impressed he’ll forget to shout at me.” She angled her head. “So .. what’s the plan?”

Bert paused some more. “Before, when I was taking a look around, I was on my own.”

Merlin leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “Never send anyone into the field without backup.”

“So .. this time, you’re here. You’ll be my backup.”

“You can trust me, Bert. I won’t let you down an’ I won’t let anything evil happen to you.”

He glanced round quickly. “Evil? What about just plain bad?”

Merlin bit at her lower lip, her eyes distracted for a moment. “Derek did say you were a member of the Luna Foundation tonight, didn’t he ..?” she queried.

Bert nodded. “For this one night, yeah. One team.”

“Then I’m good to go, no matter what. I’ll back you up.”

“Good .. I think. Does that mean if he hadn’t specifically said that .. I’d be on my own?”

“Not on your own. Just .. not so well protected. But we have nothing to worry about. This is just a ghost situation. What have these ghosts done so far?” she asked. “Nothing I’d call dangerous.”

“They shut Rachel in the cold store,” he pointed out.

“An’ she was rescued real quick. The most damage they’ve done is to Nick’s pride. Man, I wish I could’ve seen that.”

“For a second .. yeah, it was very funny,” Bert admitted, grinning. “Lucky for me, I never got the chance to laugh. Okay. Well, I guess the most manifestations have happened in there,” he said, pointing toward the kitchen store. “Last time .. I never went in. If I’d gotten stuck, they wouldn’t have rescued me so quick.”

“I’m right here. I’ll wait outside. If the door shuts on you, I’ll open it.”

“Okay.” He still didn’t move. “Peri .. did you mean what you said about me telling Derek I’d solved this all on my own? I mean .. you’re helping me. Shouldn’t we share the credits?”

“I’m guiding you, Bert, not giving you the answers. Credit where it’s due.”

“Usually .. that’s right after prop master, set decorators, electricians, grips, wardrobe and make up.”

She leaned closer. “Not this time. This time .. you’re the Executive Producer. And that comes right after the stars’ names an’ a long way before the director. Go for it, boss.”

Bert felt his head clear a little. He wasn’t muddled or confused but he did have an underlying concern which shadowed all his thoughts that, somehow, he was overstepping the limits of his authority. A Production Assistant had very little say. An Associate Producer didn’t have that much more – he was .. a troubleshooter on the set. He dreamed of rising thru the ranks as a reward for being diligent and a hard worker. And, tonight, he was top of the tree. The success of this entire production rested solely on his shoulders. Bert knew they were broad enough to handle it. In his dreams, he’d done this job for years.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

As he headed past the griddle and the stove and the microwave, he wondered what it was about Merlin that made him feel so confident that he could turn his dreams into reality so easily. If anyone else had said what she’d just said to him, Bert would have grinned and remarked something like ‘yeah, right, whatever’. Maybe they would have joked around for a while and then he’d have gone back to the day job and been Bert Burko again. Mouse more than man, but a mouse with a smart mouth. But Merlin had a way of talking that .. made the day job seem only the first step on the ladder. There was .. some quality in her voice which made him raise his sights, look into that spotlight, and say I can do this. For this one night, I am the Executive Producer. Tomorrow, yeah, I’ll go back to the day job but I’ll be different. I can feel it in every nerve in my body. I’ve changed. And it’s all down to her. When I chose the Luna Foundation as my research subject, I never imagined this would happen. It’s really rather remarkable. Once, I would have said unbelievable .. but I believe it.

He went into the storeroom. The diner was very quiet now. Outside, it had stopped snowing but the layers were deep and sound was muffled. Inside, no one was doing anything much. The freezer motor had shut off. Bert could hear his own breathing, his heart thumping steadily. He glanced back. Merlin moved like a cat – he hadn’t heard her following but she was there.

Bert went to the freezer and opened the door. A gust of bitingly cold air chilled his face and he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again and stepped into the cold store. His vanilla ice cream was on the floor where Rachel had put it. Bert picked the container up and replaced it on the shelf. It was a big store, deeper than he’d realized from the cursory, initial examination. He eased past the buns and the meat patties, the bags of chicken pieces, and the big plastic drums of ice creams, and the desserts. This time, he didn’t really notice the food. Hs mind registered the fact they were there but they were meant to be there. Bert glanced back again. Merlin stood by the door, a rock of normality, an anchor to the real world.

Bert wasn’t sure what he expected to happen. In most movies he’d seen involving ghosts, séances seemed to occur. Invariably, bad things happened as a result but it appeared to be one surefire way of making contact. Maybe .. he should try saying something.

“Er .. is anyone here ..?” he whispered, his confidence not yet strong enough for him to want Merlin to hear him. “I want to help. Please, if you’re here, let me se-”

He finished turning back and the words choked into silence. There were three mangled bodies at the back of the cold store. Mangled, broken, smashed … Bert let out a strangled gasp.

“Bert? You okay?” Merlin called.

“F-Fine,” he stammered, telling himself it was the cold. He crept closer, bending forward. Two guys, one girl. The blood was dried but it looked fresh. The trauma looked recent. Frost covered their clothes and gleamed crisply on their hair, on their eyelashes. This had to be them.

“I think I’ve found them,” he called back to Merlin.

Then one of the guys opened his eyes, grinned horribly thru a torn and bloodied mouth, and said, “Boo!”

Bert fainted.

Continue to Chapter 12 Return to Home