Page 60 of Ghost in the Night

He eyes the slab of wood in Myah’s hand as she slowly sets it down.

“I couldn’t let you do this without me.”

I snatch him up in a tight hug, relieved, both that he’s here and that he wasn’t a ghost or a demon.

“We didn’t want to do this without you either,” I say. “But don’t ever go walking around by yourself again, got it?”

He smiles. “Got it.”

“I have to get him back to the gala,” I say to Myah. “Before his mom freaks out.”

Now that we’re gonna be living with her for who knows how long, I don’t want no smoke with Lena. She paranoid but ain’t all bad.

“Mama’s busy,” Robby says, grabbing the robot and the controller. “She won’t notice I’m gone for at least an hour.”

He kneels on the floor, fiddling with the robot until it pops to life, gears and wheels whirling.

Something thumps from overhead, and the three of us jump.

“What was that?” Myah gasps. “Another rat?”

Only a rat the size of a puppy could make a noise like that. And I’ve only seen those on the New York subway.

Robby grabs the robot, runs out the room, and up the stairs.

“No, Robby, wait!” I whisper, tracking him with my flashlight.

At the top of the stairs, he sets the robot on the landing and runs back down, the stairs creaking and moaning.

“You’re crazy! You could have fallen—”

“This way we’ll be able to see what’s upstairs,” Robbysays, running back into the room and messing with the controller.

CREEEAAAKKKKK.

The sound is so loud it feels like it came from all four corners of the small room. We freeze, staring at each other.

Robby grabs hold of my arms, shaking. Or maybe I’m shaking.

Another thump above our heads makes me jump.

“Robby,” I whisper, not taking my eyes off the ceiling. “The robot.”

Robby nods. He presses some buttons and pulls up the monitor. Using the remote control, he guides the robot down the upstairs hallway. The camera is fuzzy and doesn’t have the best night vision. But light from the moon shines through the cracks of the boarded-up windows, just enough to see something.

Robby drives the robot into the room above us. The thermal meter picks up a large red blob in the corner.

Something is there. Something too big to be a rat.

I glance over at Myah. She’s back in front of her Ouijaboard. She sets down a small heart-shaped piece of wood with a glass circle in the middle. I’ve seen a Ouija board used in movies and TV shows but never in real life.

She closes her eyes and tilts her head. “Is someone in this room with us?”

The piece doesn’t move.

“Are you here with us? Are you close? Can you tell us your name?”

Nothing.