by Kelex
All they had was more conjecture, witness accounts, and a whole bunch of coincidence.
There was one last chance to salvage the show, but none of them had the balls to go to do it.
“Maybe we need to go back to Minnie’s?” Reese finally said as they scanned through their footage before calling things a wrap.
“Are you nuts?” Jeph asked. “I’m not dying to prove they exist.”
“We could send some of the crew. The gator men didn’t see them,” Reese said. “We load Ricky and Archie with body cams and see what happens.”
“And Ricky or Archie end up hurt or worse—dead—we’re at fault for sending them in,” Nick said. “I don’t like the idea.”
“Even if they did catch something on film, everyone would say it was doctored,” Jeph said. “We need something more substantial than glowing eyes.”
“We could stake the place out. There’s swamp all around that joint. Maybe one shifts and walks into the bar,” Griffin said.
“That sounds like the start of a bad joke,” Nick said with a laugh. “A gator shifter shifted and went into a bar…” He paused. “But it might be worth trying. Far enough away that we won’t be seen. Close enough to film something if it happened. As long as we don’t go in.”
“Let’s take the smaller van,” Reese said, heading for the hotel’s door. “It’ll be a little less conspicuous than one of the RVs.”
They all piled into the van. Three hours later, they pulled into the empty lot with the tiny, ramshackle shed.
There was no sign.
No bar.
Just a dilapidated building that had two of the walls falling down.
“What… the… fuck?” Nick asked, scouting the lot.
“Are we sure this is the right spot?” Jeph asked. “Maybe Minnie’s is farther down the road.”
“Nope, this is it,” Hart said. “I wrote down the latitude and longitude in my research notes when we stopped the first time. It’s a habit I got into a long time ago.”
“You’re such a geek,” Reese said.
“Yeah, but I always know where we are and where we’ve been,” Hart shot back. He walked closer to the door and opened it. A loud squeak of the hinges was exactly the same as it had been a few nights before. “And where we’re going.” Hart turned and met Reese’s stare. “Get the cameras out. Film the whole building and the lot.”
“What good will that do?” Griffin asked.
“I snapped a picture of this place on my phone when we first got here. I can compare the pictures and confirm this was Minnie’s.” Hart said. “And maybe we can see if they put a spell on the place—to hide it from us.”
“And we’ll see that in a picture?” Griffin asked.
Nick pulled Griffin’s camera from the man’s bag and began filming the lot and building. “Just do as he says. I learned that a long time ago.”
Reese scanned the lot again, stunned. But then he saw his friends… working together in a way they hadn’t in years. “I missed you guys.”
They all paused and turned toward him.
“Missed us? We’ve been right here,” Nick said.
“Right here, and yet not really here at all,” Reese said. “The past three days reminded me of when we first started Prowlers on our own.”
Griffin nodded. “Yeah, I agree.”
“Let’s wrap this up and do one last investigation before Jeph leaves us. Let’s send the crew on home and jump a train to Midnight. We can do some of the preliminary research for next season… and hang out and do our thing. Just us. The original five.”
“We need to get this season edited and off to the network,” Nick said.
“But, we don’t likely have enough for this episode. We could film a few teasers about Midnight to potentially add to the end of the episode and end on a cliffhanger,” Griffin said. “We could fill up a good ten minutes with that. Just might save our ass.”
“One last old school adventure,” Jeph said with a smile. “Before I go live a boring, normal life. Sounds good to me.”
Reese grinned and turned to Hart. “You in?”
Hart nodded, smiling. “Oh yeah.”
Everyone turned toward sourpuss Nick.
He lifted his hands. “Yeah, I’m in.”
****
Reese tossed his bag over one shoulder as he stepped down to the platform in Jackson, Mississippi. After wandering out a few feet, he turned and watched as the rest of his friends gathered around him. He glanced down at his ticket before looking around the station for any signs or information. After seeing nothing, he approached one of the conductors outside the train they’d just left.
“How long before the train to Midnight arrives?”
The man turned to stare at him. “Midnight? There’s no train to Midnight.”
“Yeah, there is.” Reese showed the conductor his ticket.
“Sir, that’s a blank piece of paper.”
Reese looked down and clearly saw Midnight, Mississippi on his ticket. Frowning, he turned to Hart. “What do you see on this ticket?”
“Midnight, Mississippi,” Hart said before he showed the conductor his own ticket. “How about mine?”
The conductor scowled. “Look, we’re on a schedule. I don’t have time for whatever joke you’re playing.”
Another conductor suddenly arrived beside them and took Hart’s ticket. He looked it over and smiled. “I can assist you gentlemen.”
The original conductor jumped back on the train as it began to pull away. Reese stared at it a moment, wondering if they shouldn’t jump back on and go anywhere else. Frowning, he pushed the idea out of his mind.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked the new conductor. “Why did they say there was no train to Midnight?”
The man just smiled. “Your train will be here momentarily, gentlemen.” A train whistle sounded in the distance, as if to punctuate the man’s statement. He pulled out a pocket watch and looked at the face before smiling. “Right on time.” He tucked the watch back inside his vest pocket. “You can go right ahead and hand me those tickets while we wait.”
The hairs on the back of Reese’s neck stood up on end as he noticed a part of the conductor appeared… translucent. He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands before looking again and seeing a solid man before him.
He handed the guy his ticket, still a little freaked out.
The whistle grew louder as the train neared. Reese walked closer to the edge of the platform and looked out into the night. He saw nothing—no train, no light, nothing. Yet he could hear the sound of the train getting closer. Fog began to creep in around them.
Reese turned to look at his friends, and they all wore the same concerned looks on their faces.
The fog billowed thicker and higher… until a blast of wind passed over him, and the smell of burning coal filled his lungs.
The moon came out from behind a cloud and seemed to stream through the fog.
A train sat on the tracks where there had been nothing moments before.
“Climb aboard, gentlemen,” the conductor said. “Hurry now. We have a schedule to keep.”
Reese took a step back instead of forward.
He cast a look over one shoulder at Jeph and Hart. Looking over the other, he saw Nick and Griffin.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go,” Reese heard himself say. At least, he thought it was his voice. He couldn’t be sure. It sounded ghostly, disembodied.
“Climb aboard!” the conductor yelled again. “Last chance for Midnight.”
Something about that last chance called to Reese. There was some unknown pull dragging him closer and closer to Midnight. He took a deep breath before stepping up to the train.
“Let me help,” another conductor said. Reese looked up and saw a shine of light swirl in the man’s eyes. Reese stared at the offered hand, growing unsure again.
His whole body shook with fear.
He’d spent his whole life searching for the unknown and right now, the u
nknown was staring back at him.
Was he dreaming?
Reese reached out and took the hand. After climbing the stairs, he turned back to see the others still unsure.
Hart was the first one to follow Reese on. As soon as he climbed up the stairs, he reached into his pocket and drew out his cell phone and started filming.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no cell phones allowed on the train,” the conductor said, grabbing Hart’s phone in a single swipe of the hand.
“Hey!” Hart cried.
“I’ll return it to you at our final destination,” the conductor said with a toothy, terrifying smile.
Jeph was the third to brave the train. Once he was up, it forced Reese to enter the closest car. He only took a single step inside, in case they all decided to bolt on him. When all five were on board, the conductor ushered them to an empty compartment. Unlike the sleek, semi-modernized train they’d departed, this one was fitted like something out of the past.
Reese took a seat in the compartment as the others filed in.
“We should be in Midnight in a couple of hours,” the conductor said as he helped place some of the bags overhead.
Reese was sure he saw through the man once more. He scrubbed both eyes before looking anywhere but the conductor.
“There’s a club car with food two cars up and an observation car at the back of the train, if you’re interested. I suggest that none of you humans go anywhere alone. There’s safety in numbers.”
“Humans?” Nick asked before rolling his eyes and turning to Reese. “A haunted ghost train to Midnight. Really?”
“This isn’t my doing,” Reese said.
“Sure,” Nick said before plopping down in his seat.
“Is there anything else I can get you gentlemen?” the conductor asked.
“I think we’re good,” Griffin said.
“Lovely,” the conductor said, smiling. “My name is Heinrick. If you need anything, just call my name three times.”
The conductor evaporated into thin air.
“What… the… fuck,” Griffin said.
“It was smoke and mirrors,” Nick announced. “Holographic imagery.” He rose to his feet and looked around the compartment. “I see at least a dozen spaces where the projectors could be hidden in the woodwork alone.” Nick turned to Reese. “Lemme guess. This is one of those places that profits off its eerie name and does all this crazy shit for tourists, right?”
The train lurched forward and slowly began to move.
“It’s a tiny town. A few buildings that have seen better days,” Hart said. “I’ve thoroughly investigated the place. It’s a population of about 200, give or take. Most of them live sparsely through the area. This train only goes as far as Yazoo City and we’ll have to take other means the rest of the way.”
“Then why did our tickets say Midnight?” Reese said. “The site said there was a platform in Midnight.”
“I assumed it was either a bus or other service to finish the last leg,” Hart said. “Amtrak does that with some locations.”
Reese didn’t like the sounds of things. “They better not drop us off in the middle of nowhere.”
“Agreed,” Nick said.
Griffin leaned back in the seat. “I guess we better get some rest, just in case.”
Reese was too pumped to sit and rest. He turned to Hart. “Wanna go check out the club car?”
Hart hesitated before finally nodding. “Yeah, if you want to go.”
He and Reese exited the compartment and traveled down two cars to the club. Upon entering, they saw two furry men with glowing eyes and what appeared to be a near corporeal ghost behind the snack bar.
“What can I do for you fellas?” she asked excitedly.
Reese looked at Hart, who looked at him. He slowly sauntered to the bar, watching as he saw the lights coming from outside wavering through her body.
“We haven’t had humans on board in forever,” she gushed once they’d both stopped at the bar. “So what’ll it be?”
Reese looked the female ghost over, noting the 1920’s apparel she wore. “What year did you… ah…”
“Die?” she asked with a smile.
“Yeah,” he responded, still wondering if this was some odd dream.
“It was 1928, and to be honest, if there was a time to die, it might’ve been that. I missed the whole depression thingamabob and boy was I lucky.”
Reese lifted a brow. “Yeah, I guess. But you still, you know, died.”
“I don’t do poor well,” she retorted. “I like my hooch and my dresses way too much. Talking of hooch—you want some? I make a mean Side Car. Or a South Side Fizz.”
“How about one each?” Hart asked with a smile. “We can vote on which one is better.”
“You got it,” she said before going to work.
Hart leaned up closer to the bar. “And me with no phone or gear,” he whispered. “A fully formed apparition… serving us alcohol.”
Reese met Hart’s stare. “Pinch me.”
Hart frowned, but did it. Hard. Reese winced and pulled his arm away.
“No dreaming,” Hart said. “I should go back to the room and grab some of the equipment.” He began to leave.
Reese reached out and grabbed his arm. “You remember what the conductor said. Not to go anywhere alone.”
“We didn’t pass anyone in the last car and I’ll only be a couple of minutes,” Hart said before standing taller. “You’re not scared, are you?”
“Maybe a little,” Reese said before the ghost arrived carrying two drinks with her.
“Here you fellas go. Drink up.”
Reese took the one closest to him and slid the other toward Hart. “Bottom’s up.”
He lifted his glass and took a sip. “Wow, that is good.”
“The cat’s pajamas, that’s what it is,” their ghost bartender said.
The door to the club car opened, and he saw an odd look come over the bartender’s face. “We don’t serve your kind in here.”
Reese turned to look behind him. Three men, dressed all in black with light eyes stared across the car.
“Maybe we just wanted the… ambiance,” one of the three said before he drew in a deep breath as he eyed Reese.
“Sit down and soak all you want in, but we don’t have any blood. And no hands on the other passengers. You know the rules,” the bartender yelled.
The three eyed Reese and Hart before taking a seat at one of the small tables.
“Damned leeches. I hate them being allowed into Midnight,” the bartender said in a hushed tone.
“We heard that,” one of the men said from a distance he couldn’t have heard from. “We vampires don’t much care for you ghosts, either.”
Vampires? Reese’s eyes widened before he turned to Hart.
“They’re eyeing you two,” the bartender murmured. “Nothing like fresh blood to tempt them here. You’d better drink up and head back to your compartment. Lock the door behind you.”
Reese nodded, his heart racing. He tried to look cool, but his hand shook with fear. After spilling a quarter of his drink on his hand, he finally got it to his lips and downed the whole thing.
Hart wasn’t far behind him. Once they were done, they attempted to pay for their drinks.
“It’s on me,” the bartender said with a smile.
“Thanks,” they both said before heading out.
It was almost impossible not to notice the vampires getting up to leave at exactly the same moment. Reese’s legs felt like butter as he moved through the next car. He looked over his shoulder and saw the vampires growing closer.
By the time they were in their car, the vamps were on their heels.
“Heinrick, Heinrick, Heinrick,” Hart babbled.
The ghost appeared before them. He looked over their shoulder—dematerialized—and rematerialized behind them and in front of the vampires.
“You gentlemen don’t belong on this car,” Heinrick said, lifting a han
d.
The vampires plowed right through him, only to have him reappear at the door to their compartment. He swung it open and ushered them in before sending a blast of energy toward the vamps—energy that shut the door and turned the lock.
One of the vamps finally made it to their door and looked through the glass. “Invite us in,” he murmured before winking. He placed a hand on the glass and Reese saw a beautiful sun tattooed to the vampire’s palm. “Come, open the door and invite us inside.”
Reese felt lulled by the vampire’s call. He took one step closer…
“No,” Heinrick said, closing the drapes over the window.
Reese snapped out of whatever that had been and eyed the ghost.
“I wasn’t aware we had leeches on the train. I recommend you all remain here for the duration. I can bring you a light meal if you’d like.”
“Yes, please,” Griffin said, not looking up from his e-reader.
Reese glanced at the others. Nick and Jeph were asleep. None of them had apparently witnessed what had just happened.
And once he and Hart told them, they all thought it was a joke.
That was, until Heinrick appeared through a wall with their food. He laid sandwiches and fruit on the table, along with bottles of water.
After Heinrick left, Reese grabbed a sandwich and looked at Griffin. “Go ahead. Eat the hologram.”
Griffin and Nick each lifted a sandwich and stared at them, dumbfounded.
“Boys, we hit the motherload,” Hart said.
Chapter Six
“Paperwork?” Colm asked for the millionth time. The typical chaos ensued, with hundreds of paranormals leaving and entering the station. The cacophony of sound rung in his ears… as it did in his sleep now.
The pretty nymph fluttered her purple and blue eyelashes at him as she handed over her papers. Colm was immune to her flirtation. He scanned the papers and sensed something was off.
He looked a second time, the letters on the document wavering some as he stared.
Colm felt a slim, soft hand slide over one of his.
“You’re very handsome,” she whispered. “I’m new to the city and could use a handsome protector to show me around.”
She was so barking up the wrong tree. “First, you have to gain access to the city.”