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I wanted to own up to my mistake and tell Derek about the bats. But when I saw his expression—the intolerant arrogance that said he was right and I was a silly little twit—there was no way I was admitting anything.
“Everything okay?” Simon stood behind Derek, trying to see past him.
“It’s…he’s gone,” I said. “The ghost. ”
“Good, because I think I heard someone coming. ”
“And when were you going to warn us?” Derek snapped.
“I wasn’t going to barge in and interrupt Chloe. ” He turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“Of course she’s okay. ” Tori came up behind Simon. “She’s the one who summoned that thing. She should be asking if we’re okay, after being woken in the middle of the night and totally traumatized. ”
“You weren’t too traumatized to grab your hairbrush,” Simon said.
“As a weapon, okay? I—”
I stepped between them. “Did someone mention we’re in danger of being discovered? Let’s grab our stuff and move. ”
“You’re giving orders now, Chloe?” Tori said.
“No, I’m making suggestions. If you choose to ignore them, that’s fine. Stay behind and explain the dead body to whoever’s coming. ”
“Yes,” said a voice behind me. “Maybe you should explain that, little girl. ”
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A figure stood across the room, only his outline visible in the dark. I turned back to the others, but no one had moved. They were all just looking at me.
“Chloe?” Simon said.
A man stepped from the shadows. His long hair was only streaked with gray, but his face was so lined he looked eighty. My gaze dropped to his sweatshirt, emblazoned with a Buffalo Bruins logo. Then I looked at the skeleton on the floor, twisted just enough for me to see the same logo, faded almost to nothing on the tattered shirt.
“Chloe?” he said. “Is that your name, brat?”
“I-I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to summon you. ”
Simon jumped in front of me. “Look, ghost, I know you can hear me. It was an accident. ”
The man lunged through Simon. I fell back with a yelp. Simon spun, but Derek yanked him aside.
“Who’s Chloe talking to?” Tori asked.
“The ghost she summoned,” Simon said.
“Grab your backpacks,” Derek said. “We need to get going. ”
As Simon and Tori took off, Derek followed my gaze, figuring out where the ghost stood. “She didn’t mean to raise you. She apologized, and we’re leaving, so it won’t happen again. Go on back to your afterlife. ”
The ghost strode over to glare up at Derek. “You going to make me?”
“He can’t,” I said. “And he can’t hear you either. I am sorry. Very—”
He wheeled on me. I shrank away again, but Derek put his hand against my back, stopping my retreat.
“He can’t hurt you,” Derek whispered. “Stand firm and tell him to go. ”
“I’m very sorry. ” I straightened and moved forward. “I didn’t mean to summon you. It was an accident—”
“Accident! That was no accident. You and your punk friends thought it would be funny to drag me back into that—that thing. ” He pointed at the corpse. “You think I haven’t dealt with kids like you before? Drive me out of my sleeping spot for kicks. Roll me for my boots. Now you come here, conducting your satanic rituals…”
“Satanic? No. W-we—”
“Did you hear that?” said a distant voice. “Someone’s in there. ”
Derek swore, then gave me a shove toward the back of the building. Simon and Tori raced in.
“Two men,” Simon said. “Cops, I think. Coming up the front—”
“Back door,” Derek said. “Move. ”
The front door banged open. Simon spun and headed for the rear. We followed.
“Hey!” the ghost yelled. “Where do you think you’re going?”
A shove from Derek kept me moving.
“Oh no, you don’t, little girl,” the ghost said. “I’m not done with you yet. You’re going to pay for that stunt…. ”
He snarled threats right on my heels as we snuck out the back door.
Twenty-three
“IS HE GONE?” TORI asked as I approached.
I nodded and inhaled. The icy night air burned my lungs. I didn’t feel the cold, though—I was wearing my shirt, one of the new sweatshirts with the hood up, and the oversized jacket on top. Sweat dripped down my face as I struggled to catch my breath. I’d separated from the others a couple of blocks back, thinking that without a group, I might lose him easier. I’d been right.
We didn’t know who’d come to investigate the noises. Maybe cops like Simon thought, maybe street people—we hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out.
Now we stood in a parking lot, between a minivan and a pickup. Music boomed from a nearby club. That had surprised me—a packed parking lot and a busy bar so late at night on a weekday. Then I’d checked my watch and realized it wasn’t even midnight yet.
“You shouldn’t have taken off like that,” Derek said.
“I told you what I was doing. It worked, didn’t it?”
“You can’t—”
“Ease off,” Simon murmured. “We need to find a new place to sleep. ”
“Thanks to someone,” Tori said.
“It isn’t Chloe’s fault. ”
“Sure it is. Even Derek said so. ”
“He didn’t mean—”
I held up my hands. “I take all blame. Can we please stop bickering? I know everyone’s on edge, but if we’re going to get through this—”
“If you start a speech about how we all need to overcome our differences and work together, I’m going to hurl,” Tori said.
“Well, I would, but I’m afraid this genetically modified supernatural would be eaten by a genetically modified shark. ”
Simon burst out laughing. “Deep Blue Sea. ” He looked at Derek. “You didn’t see it. Samuel L. Jackson is giving this group of survivors the speech about how they have to stop fighting and to work together. In the middle of it, the shark comes up behind him and eats him. Best death scene ever. ”
“And a fitting one for anyone who makes that speech, which is why I’m not going to. ”
“But you’re right,” Simon said. “Time to call a moratorium on the bickering. ”
“Moratorium?” Tori said. “Oooh, big word. Showing off, Simon?”
We all turned to look at her.
“What?” she said.
“No bickering means no jabs, no insults, no snark, no baiting,” Derek said. “And it means we probably won’t hear another word from you for days. ”
“As for this situation,” I said, “I take the blame, so I’ll fix the problem. Stay here and I’ll find us a place—”
