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“Isn’t there some fancy software that can detect movement or something?” Eli complains as he tosses his headphones down and chugs half of his energy drink in one go. “This is horrible.”
“There is but we’re missing something here,” Jayce argues. “Otherwise, we’d have seen something by now. It does indicate when it catches movement but none of it was our guy.”
“If you need to take a nap, take one,” Lucien reassures Eli. He’s always the one to try and de-escalate the others when they get worked up.
“I’m not going to be the wimp tapping out early,” Eli argues as if he’s offended by Lucien’s offer.
We all settle into tense silence, the hours passing by at a turtle’s pace.
“Holy shit!” Eli’s voice is so abrupt that the rest of us are startled. Jayce spills popcorn on his laptop and curses while Lucien is half out of his chair, ready to defend us.
“What?” I grouch, too tired for being scared out of my mind.
“I found him.”
That’s enough to wake us all up. We are surrounding him in seconds, staring at the blurry still frames of a man in a hoodie. He has on a mask and hood so all we can see is a quick shot of his eyes. It’s clear he’s a man from stature and eyes alone, but that’s about where the important factors end.
It’s far too dark and blurred as he hurried by, to catch any distinguishing features. As I realize that they’ll be useless, my heart sinks.
“The sheriff couldn’t do a thing with this,” I point out. “There’s nothing to make him stand out. At most he’ll promise to be vigilant.”
“Shit,” Eli curses as my words sink in. “So, again, we’re at nothing. This is just great. A wasted night.” He’s so mad that he pushes his chair back, forcing us all to hop out of the way, and storms out.
“I don’t even have the energy to go after him,” I admit. “I’m going to bed. We all need a reset.”
“We do,” they agree, following me into the shared room we’d set up for now. Eli isn’t sleeping when we go in, he’s far too tense, but seeing him on the bed is enough for me to settle into my own covers and give in to the exhaustion pulling me down.
The mood the next afternoon when we drag our asses out of bed isn’t any better. Every word is spoken with a grunt or side eye, even Lucien is much more stoic.
“I’m going into town,” Jayce announces after he shovels in his breakfast at lightning speed.
“For?” I demand.
“Cameras and some outdoor lights. Probably extension cords, we don’t exactly have outlets in the older buildings. Or working ones at least.”
“I’ve got class this afternoon,” Lucien says as he glances at his watch. “Honestly, I should have left by now.” He brushes a quick kiss on the top of my head and beelines for the door, grabbing his work bag and coat before heading out without much more of a goodbye.
The fact I can see us falling apart but can’t do anything to fix it is infuriating. And the fucking icing on the cake is that it’s escalating to new heights. Not only are we facing ghosts, we’re facing a possibly dangerous stalker. The footage is enough to prove that.
“Do you mind if I sit this one out? I want to try and connect with Pandora again. She might have something more for us here,” I explain.
“I’ll go with you, Jayce, I have a feeling you’ll need help with all that,” Eli says reluctantly. “Will you be okay here, Raven?”
“Of course,” I say, actually excited to have a moment to myself. “We’ve got protection here and it’s daytime.”
“Call us if anything happens and keep your phone close.” I can tell the guys are reluctant to go, so I up the stakes a bit.
“Look, it’s harder for ghosts to appear to multiple people. And Pandora is struggling with her energy, I think. This might give her a real chance to talk to me,” I plead. “The bad ghost hasn’t been around in the daytime; it’s mainly nightmares and I’ll stay out of the old buildings.”
The last promise has them relaxing, but they both take off their protective charms and load me up with them. If it makes them feel better I’ll accept it.
After another hour the guys finally leave me alone. The silence is nearly defeating but I have a really good feeling about it all.
Stepping out back with a tub of salt in hand, I listen for any sounds, half afraid the stalker will be back. When nothing pops up, I finally give in.
“Pandora? Uncle Marx?” He wasn’t the nicest guy but if he had answers, I’ll take anything at this point.
Something crashes inside the barn. That’s enough for me to take off running, throwing open the barn doors, and propping a crate in front so they can’t just close on me.
