Hello all! Argentwind here. A few months ago I wrote this story and submitted it to an online magazine. Unfortunately, it didn't get accepted so I haven't been able to share this with anyone except a select few. (One of them being Sunny!) In celebration of the holidays and a wildly successful fundraiser, I have decided to post this on my blog so you can all read it to. Enjoy "The Hunt".
“Can
you give us a sign?” a voice called out from the dark hallway.
Two
men stood further down the corridor. One
of them held a dish-like device in one hand with a wire extending to a pair of
headphones. An LED flashlight was taped
to the bottom of the dish. His eyes darted around quickly, and he swung the
microphone back and forth with twitchy, nervous motions causing the beam of
light to swing around wildly. He wore
jeans, tennis shoes, and faded Metallica T-shirt.
“What’s
the deal with her, Xander?” asked the man fidgeting with the microphone.
“Them,”
replied the other. “Pronouns, man. Sunny
is a badass. They’re an expert at
ghost-hunting.” He was taller and wore a black sweatshirt and navy-blue track
pants. He carried a digital camera and
held himself with much more confidence. “I’ve
been talking with them online for months now and we’re lucky they were in town
to help us out.”
Sunny
swept their gaze up and down the hall, before turning back to the pair. Their hair was tucked up into a beanie cap,
but a few strands of magenta color poked out.
They wore black skinny jeans tucked into knee-high lace-up boots and a
baggy black jacket over a T-shirt printed with a cute cartoonish character. A small,
powerful flashlight was attached to their left shoulder.
“Have
you got anything yet?” they asked while sweeping a small device back and
forth. “The EMF is quiet so far. What’s the deal with this place, Xander?”
Xander
smirked at the almost identical question. “Cathy’s Cauldron. Coffee shop and bookstore. It’s changed hands a number of times, but
according to numerous accounts, the place is haunted and the newest owner wants
to see if it’s true. So far, not so
much.”
They
had arrived over an hour ago and after setting up the equipment, the fourth
member of the group took their customary spot in the van. Tina, Xander’s wife, was a techno-expert but
didn’t like to go inside spooky places. The newest member of the investigating
team was Jamie, a long-time friend of Xander who had finally agreed to join him
on his obsession to investigate the paranormal.
Sunny
turned to aim their flashlight over the four doors in the hallway. “Bathrooms, office, and utility room. Let’s check them one at a time.” They turned to the door labeled “manager” and
opened it. Inside was a modest wooden
desk, filing cabinet, and a mismatched set of chairs. There was a soft beep from the device in
their hand and Jamie gasped quietly from the hallway which earned him a knowing
nod from Xander. “Barely a blip - could
be just old wiring,” Sunny said softly.
Then in a louder voice they called out, “Hello, Ghost?” They flashed a smile over their shoulder at
the men in the hallway when suddenly, the EMF reader flared to life, emitting
high-pitched whine as every light flashed brightly.
Before
anyone could react, the door to the one of the bathrooms across the hall
slammed open. A wispy trail of mist
flowed out as a voice rasped, “Give me what I want!” Jamie yelped and scrambled down the hall, his
light swinging wildly. Xander calmly took a few steps back as he clicked off
his shoulder light and raised his digital camera. Sunny ducked out of view as they stowed the
EMF reader in one of the pockets in their jacket.
After
a nerve-wracking minute, the mist faded away.
Nothing else happened until Jamie’s voice shattered the oppressive
silence, “What was that? What do we do?”
Sunny
stepped out into hallway again and shared a nod with Xander as he looked up
from his camera, eyes glittering with excitement. Sunny looked over at the cowering novice
member of the investigation team. Their
voice was calm and soothing, “First rule, don’t panic. Second, when things are happening, stay quiet
and get out of sight. And last,” they
paused and looked at the wall to Jamie’s right.
“Pay attention.”
Jamie
turned to look. The word “want” was
scrawled in large reddish-brown letters that oozed slowly down the wall. “Is that… blood?” he asked haltingly.
“Most
likely. Or some ghostly equivalent,”
Xander replied before reaching to his earpiece and tapping it. “Honey, tell me you got something?”
Over
the radio in each of their earpieces, they all heard Tina’s voice filled with
enthusiasm. “The camera picked up some
kind of mist, and based on how you all reacted, it came from one of the
bathrooms? I couldn’t see from the
angle.”
Xander
cursed softly. “My cam didn’t pick up
anything either, but can you see this writing?”
He walked toward Jamie and pointed his hand-held camera at the writing.
“Yeah,
that is creepy!” She paused before
adding, “That’s good, Sunny! I can see
the door in camera three now and …” She trailed off for a moment before
continuing in a louder tone. “Activity
on camera one. In the stacks!”
Xander
immediately spun and bolted back down the hall with Sunny close behind
him. Jamie trailed after them, his eyes
still wide with fear. They moved into a massive
open room with high ceilings and exposed ductwork above. To the right was a large counter along with a
half dozen circular tables with the chairs upended on top. The left side of the room was filled with a
maze of tall bookshelves. Halloween decorations covered almost every surface:
ghosts hung from the ceiling, carved pumpkins and black cat figures adorned
various flat surfaces. A full-size
skeleton stood vigil in the corner. The temperature in the room was noticeably
colder and the trio could see their breath puffing in front of their faces.
“Where
are we looking, Tina?” Xander asked and after a brief pause, he spoke louder,
“Tina?” There was only a crackling hiss
from the radios.
Sunny
sucked in a sharp breath and muttered softly, “That’s not good.”
Jamie
turned toward them with alarm and asked in a fear-filled voice, “What? What’s
not good?’
Sunny
locked eyes with him and spoke softly, “First rule, Jamie.”
He
looked at them blankly for a moment before replying, “First rule. Right! Stay calm.” Then he dropped to the ground as a heavy book
thudded into the right side of his head.
“Jamie!”
Sunny said in a harsh whisper. Xander
looked in their direction and rushed to his fallen friend, kicking aside the
microphone that he had dropped. The two
grabbed the lifeless man and dragged him behind the tables.
After
examining Jamie’s head for any serious damage, Sunny looked up at Xander and spoke
softly. “He’ll be okay. Just dazed.”
Already,
Jamie was starting stir and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around with growing horror and
opened his mouth to shout, but Sunny put their hand over his mouth and made a
soft shooshing sound. After a few
seconds, Jamie nodded and worked to control his breath which was no longer
visible.
“Are
you all okay?” Tina’s voice came through on the radio. “I saw someone fall just before the cameras
glitched out.”
Xander
was the first to answer. “Yeah, we’re
fine. Jamie got clocked by a book.”
“Wait. Actual manipulation of physical objects? That’s crazy!” Tina’s tone was equal parts excitement and terror. “Is Jamie alright?”
Jamie
sat up rubbing his head as he responded, “Yeah I’ll be fine. That was one heavy book.”
Sunny
glanced over where he had fallen and spotted a large, leatherbound tome. They scurried over to retrieve the volume and
brought it back to hand it to Jamie with a smile, “There, a souvenir for
you.” He chuckled softly but grimaced
and rubbed his head.
“We’ve
got a problem.” Xander’s voice made them
both look up. He was standing at the
front door, looking at them with a grim expression. “It’s locked and it won’t
open. Tina, can you open it from the
outside?” He listened before speaking
again, “Tina?” Static was the only
answer
“Dude,
look behind you.” Jamie said, his voice quavering.
Xander
looked to see the word “Give” written on the window of the door, the blood-red
letters dripping down the glass. He
looked down at his camera and slowly moved it around the room. Once his back to was to the door again, he
immediately looked up in alarm. A figure
flickered into view between him and his friends. It was a woman in a fashionable dress, but
the clothing was tattered and stained.
Stringy dark hair hung down over her shoulders and she stared at him
with eyes full of malice and hatred.
Dark bile spilled out of her mouth and over her chin. She pointed over toward the counter and she
hissed a loud gurgling growl.
Xander
looked back and forth frantically, unsure what to do. The ghost’s eyes flashed, and she reached out
with long, bony fingers to wrap around his throat. At their feet, a circle of frost formed on
the ground and began to stretch outward in all directions. He gasped and choked while struggling to pull
away the now solid fingers.
From
Sunny and Jamie’s view, the ghost had disappeared, and they could only see
their friend’s hands wrapped around his own throat. However, they could see two sets of
footprints in the frost. Sunny exploded
into motion, pulling a lighter and small bundle of wrapped twigs and herbs from
their pocket. Once they were within a few feet of Xander, they lit the bundle,
known as a smudge stick, and a sweet, pungent smoke filled the air. The hazy figure shimmered into view once more.
The
ghost released Xander, who dropped to the floor in a heap. She spun to hiss in Sunny’s face, but before
she could attack, Sunny turned and ran back toward the bookshelves, dropping
the smudge stick behind them. “Stay
down!” They called out to Jamie who was still sitting on the floor, gaping in
astonishment.
Jamie
could only nod as he watched the spectral form, now fully visible as she
stalked across the room. Sunny moved quickly
among the bookshelves and weaved between the twisting maze of books. Every time the spectre came into view, they
ducked out of sight around another corner. After a few tense minutes, the ghost
seemed to lose interest and disappeared.
In moments, the chill in the air faded as well.
A
panicked voice suddenly exploded from the radio. “Xander!
Anyone! What’s happening?” Tina was on the verge of hysteria.
Jamie’s
voice was shaky as he replied, “Xander’s down, but I think Sunny saved
him. I’ll go check.” He crawled over to Xander and leaned down
over the fallen man’s chest. “Yeah, he’s still breathing.” He looked up at the door to see the writing
was still there. He looked over at Sunny
as they stepped out from the bookshelves.
“How do we deal with this thing?” he shouted.
Sunny
looked around with a grim expression and then pointed to the door as they
replied. “She obviously wants something.
If we can figure out what, maybe she’ll leave us alone.”
Jamie’s
eyes darted around the room anxiously. Giving
a shout of excitement, he stood and rushed behind the counter, feverishly
searching for something. “Power! The power is off!” They both turned to look at the hallway
before looking back at each other, a mix of determination and fear in their
eyes.
After
a deep calming breath, Sunny said, “I’m on it. Stay out of sight.” With a last
look at the unconscious form of Xander, they set off at a brisk walk out of the
room.
The
hallway before them was, at most, ten yards long but it felt closer to one
hundred. Dread and fear welled up in
Sunny’s chest as they reached into their pocket for another smudge stick. The door at the end of the hall led to a
combination utility room and changing room, and that was where they had to
go.
Moving
as slowly and quietly as possible, they closed the distance. At the door to the manager’s office, there
was a sudden burst of movement as a chair came hurdling out toward Sunny. They barely managed to duck back out of the
way as the chair shattered against the opposite wall, sending fragments of wood
in all directions.
Sunny
stepped carefully through the debris, but more rattling and scraping sounds
came from the office. They looked into
the room to find the ghost standing perfectly still, with her back to the
door. The remaining chairs were moving
as though unseen hands were pushing them around. Suddenly the ghost turned her head and locked
eyes with Sunny.
Moving
quickly, they lifted the smudge stick and lit the bundle, letting smoke waft
into the room. Then they dropped the
smoking mass inside, pulled the door shut, and sprinted down the hall to the
utility room. They frantically opened
the door and stepped inside while shutting the door behind them. Looking back and forth, they spotted the
breaker box on the wall where a red light gleamed in the darkness.
The
light mounted to their shoulder started flickering and approaching noises in
the hallway caused their heart to beat wildly.
“Crap!” they muttered in a breathless whisper, but they rushed across
the room and pulled the switch on the breaker.
Then they scrambled over to the changing area and squeezed into one of
the over-sized lockers.
Barely
able to breathe, they fought to control their rising panic. The door to the room scraped open and softly
thudding footsteps moved inside.
Fingernails scratched the walls and the ghost let out a low angry
growl. “I demand to speak with the
manager,” she hissed. Sunny fought down their
terror and stayed silent, but their heartbeat thundered loud in their ears.
“Order
up!” A voice called from the front room.
The ghost looked in that direction before rushing out the door. Sunny counted to three before stepping out
from the locker to see the room was empty.
They moved cautiously but quickly down the hall to the front room where
they stopped to stare in astonishment.
Jamie
was behind the counter, standing perfectly still, his face pale and his hands
shaking. His gaze flicked over to Sunny
before moving back to the ghost standing on the other side of the counter. The woman looked more solid now and held a
steaming cup in her hands. She seemed to
sip at the hot drink before placing it back down on the counter and
nodding. Then with a satisfied sigh, she
faded from view.
Sunny
walked slowly over to the counter, an amazed look on their face. “What was that? What did you do?” They picked up the cup and smelled it. “Pumpkin Spice?”
Jamie
nodded. “I worked as a barista for three
years and I’ve had to deal with so many people like that. As for the drink of choice…” He trailed off and waved his hands toward the
decorations around the room. “It’s that
time of year.”
