by Drew Hayes
“Speaking of running, a thought occurs to me,” Auggie interjected. “We do have means of superior transport. The SUV parked down the hill could be used to cover more ground easily.”
“That’s not a terrible idea, but it’s too dangerous. If you accidently hit The Emissary, you might kill the body, setting him loose with a hell of a grudge. Even if you just safely found him, you’d be stuck in a metal container that offered no protection from the kind of hurt that thing can deliver.”
“I feel as though you skimmed over the fact that hitting the body he has would also kill me permanently,” Auggie grumbled.
“What if we didn’t use it to go after Auggie’s body? What if we used it to widen our surveillance network?” Kay walked over to her table and picked up a pair of remote cameras. “We had these left over from our initial stakeout plan. If we plant them in key locations, we may just be able to get eyes on your big bad before he starts the next ceremony.”
“We can point you in the right direction,” Clinton said as he phased through the wall. Art and Irwin followed silently after him. Kay let out a yelp of surprise, and Topher nearly stumbled over, but Clinton kept on going as if he hadn’t noticed. “Last we saw, the evil ghost-man was heading northwest through the forest. He wasn’t changing course much, so I think whatever he’s after is in that direction.”
“Look at you three, actually pulling your weight. It’s enough to restore my faith in humanity,” Velt said. “Okay, new plan. Kay and I grab the car; she drops me off at the edge of the woods then heads out to set the other cameras while I hunt down The Emissary. You three are going to help me track him from the air, just like you did before. Topher and Auggie will stay here to man the cameras.”
“Why do I have to stay behind?” Topher asked.
“Because your friend isn’t nearly old or strong enough to handle manipulating physical objects and the whole point of a surveillance system is to have someone watching who can then tell you what’s going on. As for why you can’t set up the cameras . . . I don’t really get the sense that you’re the technical expert on this team.”
“I could figure it out.”
“Fine; I’ll be honest, if that’s what you want,” Velt said. “The other reason I’m benching you is because you didn’t follow orders. I get that you meant well, which is why I haven’t knocked any teeth out of your head, but you still did the exact thing I told you not to.” Velt turned to Kay, who did her best to put on an innocent smile. “Will you drop me off, and then get the hell out of danger?”
“Can do.”
“See? That’s why she’s going.” Velt walked over to a table near the back and picked up the duffel bag she’d left earlier. “Get your cameras ready. We leave in the next three minutes. And you three spirits, why are you still here? You should be up in the air, finding my target and waiting on my arrival.”
As she spoke, Velt wished she had the luxury of being kinder to these people. They seemed like decent folks, and when she’d told them what a high-stakes game they were playing, each had agreed to help out. They deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, Velt only had time to care about results. She was the one who had to get the job done, no matter what it cost.
That was her eternal lot in life.
* * *
This site was more difficult to uncover than the first. The Emissary never could have found it if he’d been forced to rely on knowledge of the land. No, trees were too quick and failed to stay put over so long a time. It was only the magic that showed him where he had to go: the ripple of energy coursing through the air and culminating in a single area. The magic was eager, anxious really. It had been gathering for millennia, and the time for it to be used was nearly at hand. Tension in the air guided The Emissary as surely as a compass; it would only increase when the magic was freed. Before the night was through, the magic in the air would be so thick, even a being of flesh could swim through it.
Hairs on the borrowed body rose as it stood at the site. Beneath the earth, the magic hummed at a frequency only the dead could hear. Soon, it wouldn’t have to beg for release. The Emissary would clear the dirt and grass from atop it and let the magic roar forth. Once the second site was active, that woman would be a far more manageable threat. She still nagged at his mind, her presence like a smear of shit across the grand tapestry of their inevitable success. It took all of his self-control not to try and go after her, but the wraith resisted. This was why he had been chosen as The Emissary of the ritual, why the blood of his former body was spilled apart from the others: in life, The Emissary had always been the one most focused on the larger goal. Purging that woman was a priority; it just wasn’t the highest priority.
Already-filthy hands dove into the ground, pulling up as much sediment as possible. It was slow work; the roots of the trees that had grown around his goal hampered the digging, but the borrowed body pressed on. When this was done, there were two sites left, and only one of them was particularly difficult. This would be the turning point. This would make The Emissary unstoppable.
This was the beginning of the end.
* * *
It wasn’t until they were in the SUV, buckled up, and moving down the narrow camp trails toward the forest that Velt thought to wonder at the driving capabilities of the woman she’d agreed to let chauffeur her. Or to think about how much hooch said driver had consumed. The inciting incident for the sudden onset of worry was when Kay managed to knock over a small fire pit that had been constructed close to the road. To her credit, the clay it was fashioned from was dark and hard to see at night. To her discredit, when one did forty on roads not made for vehicles, accidents were going to happen.
“Whoopsie.” Kay jerked the wheel and got back on the proper path, leaving the shattered remains in her wake. “Damn things just sneak up on you.”
“Mmm.” Velt gripped the handle of her door and rested her other hand on the latch to her seatbelt. If the need presented itself, she could unbuckle herself and leap to freedom in one motion. “Maybe you could slow this down a bit?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought we were on the clock, trying to prevent the motherfucking apocalypse.”
“Crashing won’t get us there any earlier,” Velt snapped.
“Look, Ghost Girl, you worry about the exorcism or voodoo or whatever shit it is you bring to the table, and let me deal with driving. I’ve been steering through backwoods and broken roads since I was seven, I think I can drive through a fucking campground.” Kay punctuated her sentence by turning the wheel at the last moment, narrowly missing the rotted-out corner of a nearby cabin.
“Why on earth would a seven-year-old be driving that kind of terrain?”
“Because she lived in a farming community two hours from anything resembling a real town. Kids had to pitch in too, and sometimes, that meant driving to run errands the adults were too busy for.” Kay slammed the gas for an instant, forcing the SUV to jump over a small mound. “It’s a shithole of a boring life, and it’s why I got the hell out of there as soon as I could.”
“Really? To me, it sounds rather . . . peaceful.” Velt was surprised at how wistful her voice came out; she’d only meant to try and soothe Kay’s temper while they were on the road. Yet the truth, once finally given an avenue of release, charged at the opportunity to be heard. “My whole life has always been just, well, this. Angry spirits, impossible missions, and I think this will be my third life-ending apocalypse to stop. Makes a farm seem not so bad.”
“Then go live on one,” Kay replied. She sounded calmer than before, even if the apparent recklessness of her driving hadn’t slackened. “You can do that, you know. Just decide to live the life you want. Or are you some chosen one or some shit that has to keep doing all this stuff?”
“Nah, nothing like that. Fate can be a dick at times, but he doesn’t dictate people’s entire lives. That would actually defeat the point. I’m the reason I can’t go live on that farm, or get a real job, or just try and be nor
mal. I give it a whirl every few years, when I think I’ve finally had enough and it’s time to buck all this shit.” Velt glanced out the window; they weren’t far from the lake, close enough now to see the miniature army of quasi-spirits amassed on the island. “The supernatural world doesn’t need me—not me in particular, I mean—but I need it. Going normal always seems like a great idea, then I’m climbing the walls within a week. I try sticking it out with sheer stubbornness, but it’s only a matter of time until someone brings a job or case and I use their need as justification to jump back in.”
“That is some amazingly self-defeating shit,” Kay said. “And that’s coming from a girl who makes bad decisions like babies make turds.”
Velt laughed at that analogy, a brief spark of genuine mirth. “Well, sooner or later, I’ll try again. Maybe that will be the time it sticks.”
“Maybe. I’d recommend going somewhere tropical to detox from the spooky world. A nice beach with all-inclusive drinks and muscular waiters. Auggie’s sister hit a nice spot last year that she loved; if we make it through this, I’ll get the name of the place for you,” Kay offered.
“I might just take you up on that,” Velt said. “It’s been too long since my last vacation.”
“If you ask nicely, I might just tag along. I promise to bring plenty of fun and at least three different kinds of alcohol illegal in the states.” Kay slowed down—at last—as they neared the forest’s edge. “Pretty sure this is as far as I can take you.”
“This is plenty. Hopefully, I can run that bastard down before he gets the second ritual finished.” Velt reached into the back and pulled out her duffel bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s in the bag? I mean, it’s a ghost. If you have some weird magic to affect them, I don’t know how gear would help you.”
Velt hesitated for a moment before replying. Technically, what she knew wasn’t a secret; it just wasn’t well-disseminated information. As a community, mediums tried to limit the number of people who knew about the weaknesses of spirits. While some were dangerous, the vast majority of them were simply confused or scared, so the fewer people who knew how to hurt one meant the fewer people who might overreact to an innocent attempt at communication. Still, Velt liked Kay. The wild-eyed woman with the tangled hair struck her as a kindred soul, and with the amount of danger they’d be facing tonight, it seemed wrong to leave her defenseless. If it went badly . . . well, Velt had never really been all that popular in the medium community, anyway. She supposed one more reason for them to dislike her wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
“Do you have any liquor with you?” Velt asked.
“What are you, a cop?”
“I’m serious.”
“Yeah, I brought a half-bottle in case it got boring putting the cameras up.” Kay reached down to the SUV’s side-door storage and pulled out her travel-booze to illustrate.
“Good.” Velt took a moment to dig in her duffel bag and produced one of her spare lighters. “Take this. If things get bad with a spirit, I mean really bad, spit the liquor through the lighter at it. Fire hurts them as much as a normal person, if not more.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Fire is pure life, endlessly devouring. There’s almost nothing in this world it can’t damage. But you realize I just told you to perform a carnie trick in a high-danger situation, so only do that if there’s no other choice.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Kay leaned over and grabbed Velt in a hug before the other woman had a chance to resist. “And good luck out there. Try to be safe; I don’t want to call off our beach trip.”
Velt stiffened for a moment at the embrace then gave Kay a quick squeeze of her own. “You, too. Let’s get through the night without adding any more spirits to the world.” With that, she took her bag and exited the vehicle.
Kay threw the SUV in to reverse and backed away, narrowly avoiding two saplings as she careened her way into turning around. The vehicle headed off, taking the headlights with it and leaving Velt in darkness. For most in her situation, such a thing would have been terrifying, but she was more comfortable in the darkness. This was her world, and monsters were her people.
Velt headed into the forest, where only the barest trickles of moonlight broke through the canopy. Within ten steps, the darkness had swallowed her whole.
Chapter 9
“Any luck?” Clinton asked, floating over to Art. They were all searching different areas of the forest, but since each was above the trees, it made keeping track of one another a simple process.
“Nothin’ so far.” Art glanced over to Irwin and gave a small wave. Irwin returned the gesture and then emphatically shook his head. “Looks like Irwin’s come up dry, too.”
“We need to hustle, I just saw Velt get out of the car.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find him. For now, just point her toward the last spot you saw him at,” Art said. “Irwin and I will keep hunting.” The two split apart, Art continuing his search and Clinton zipping through the trees to be a guide for Velt.
Across the sprawling treetops, Irwin had finished shaking his head and was staring down in to the forest. He wasn’t quite sure, but he felt as though something had snagged his attention. It was almost more instinct than visual stimulation. He wasn’t sure why, but Irwin followed it, drifting below the highest branches, following the strange pull that was calling to him.
* * *
“How are you feeling?” Auggie asked.
“Been worse. Remember when I fell off that crypt in Louisiana trying to get a shot of the whole graveyard?”
Auggie set his head in his hands and pressed on his temples. “A fractured shoulder and two broken ribs. How could I forget? That was also the day we implemented the policy that I would approve all locations before you and Kay went to them.”
“I thought you were being a bit overbearing at the time, but damned if my injury count didn’t drop.” Topher leaned forward and slightly adjusted one of the monitors. So far, there was nothing of interest to report; all of the monitors were showing a mundane, if creepy, summer camp at night. Well, all save for the one connected to the camera overlooking the island. That was taking in a scene that might have been at home in a high-budget blockbuster, an army of spirits huddled around a throbbing, red portal. Topher tried his best not to look at that monitor.
“Yes, during our first year, we could barely go an episode without you getting hurt.” Auggie looked at his friend staring fervently at television screens and wondered how Topher would fare if things didn’t go well on this shoot. “Listen, if tonight turns out badly, make sure you hire someone to fill my safety-scout role. We’ve gotten into far more dangerous places over the last few years, and I wouldn’t want you joining me sooner than necessary.”
Topher looked up from the monitors with wide eyes and a creased brow. “Auggie, what the fuck? Why would you even talk about that?”
“Because I’m pragmatic. I always have been. I’m the planning yin to your impulsive yang, and I would like to shuffle off this mortal coil with some assurances that you’ll be taken care of.”
“Okay, for one, I’m an adult and can handle myself; and for two, this is an all-or-nothing situation. If Velt doesn’t stop him, then the whole world goes under.”
“Possibly,” Auggie said. “But there is also the chance that she’ll be able to stop him, just not while keeping my body safe. My physical form could be killed, broken, or outright destroyed in the process of saving the world. That is a real possibility we have to come to terms with.”
“Screw that. I’ve got faith in Velt. She said she would get your body back.”
“And I have every reason to believe she’ll try, but, Topher, let’s be realistic. We’ve known this woman for only a few hours, and in that time, the situation has steadily gotten worse. She’s trying to stop the apocalypse, so she gets the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn’t mean she can just
magically set everything right. There are things at risk right now. Our lives collectively, yes, and also just my own.”
“Auggie, enough.” Topher rose from the hub of monitors and walked over to his incorporeal friend. “We’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. Velt will stop this undead asshole, and we’ll go back to trying to figure out if we have to debunk a shadow on the lens, or if it’s genuine paranormal activity. Which, now that I consider our situation, sounds just a little bit insane.”
“I really hope you’re right,” Auggie replied. “However, I have reason to suspect that the second ritual has already begun.”
“What?” Topher jerked his head back toward the monitors, expecting to see some supernatural display. All that greeted him was more of the same camp he’d been staring at. “How can you tell? Nothing looks different to me.”
“It’s nothing I see, it’s what I feel.” Auggie pressed his spectral hand to his stomach, charting the progress of the strange shivering that had already begun sweeping over him. “And it feels like there’s another change coming on soon.”
* * *
The first camera had gone up easily: Kay had just needed to drive about halfway up to the top of the cliff and get a good vantage point overlooking as much of the camp as possible. It would have taken forever on foot, but thankfully, the trail was wide, if rocky, and allowed the SUV to plow across the terrain in no time. From her spot staring down at the campgrounds below, Kay realized how peaceful this place seemed from far away . . . if one didn’t include the island of half-ghosts clustered around the red dot.
If things had gone differently, they would probably be snapping creepy shots of that island right now. Topher would be trying to go somewhere that Auggie had forbidden, Kay would be egging him on, and Auggie would be threatening everything up to and past bloody murder in their earpieces to get them to stop. They would have (eventually), and Topher would be placated by Auggie saying he’d gotten some shadows on a remote camera and they should go check it out. Then the big lug would dash off, complaints forgotten in his nearly-palpable cloud of excitement over new possibilities. It would be a fun night, with usable footage for a half-decent episode.