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“Shut up,” I told him. “You know what I mean. I don’t know what he is, and I don’t know what he wants, but the Native Americans seem to have known a whole lot more about him than we do. I think he’s confused. I think he might even be afraid. The point is, he took off. He left his post, and that is why the ghosts are coming out. ”
“Because he’s gone? Like, you think that he was somehow suppressing them?”
“Suppressing them? What? No, I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s like that. Everyone talks about him like he’s a guardian. A protector. I think they’re upset that he’s gone. Something has bothered them enough to wake them up and send them on the move, and I don’t think it would have happened if Green Eyes had been there. ”
“Maybe he helps them rest,” Benny suggested.
Jamie furrowed his eyebrows. “Paranormal Valium?”
“Seriously, think about it—everyone talks about the battlefield being haunted, but until these last few weeks no one ever talked about ghosts. Not as much as you’d expect, anyway. It’s a pretty quiet spot, all things considered. ”
“Except for Green Eyes. ” Jamie pointed at Benny with his coffee stirrer.
“Except for Green Eyes,” I agreed. “But now he’s gone. And I want to know why. ”
The guys stared thoughtfully at me, Benny probably thinking about a midnight run to the battlefield and Jamie likely wondering if it would be too obvious for him to check out the girl at the counter again.
“So…are we on? Are Chris and Mike still game to go out there?”
“Oh, yeah,” Benny nodded. “They’ll get out to Chickamauga, anyway. But there’s no telling if they’ll ever make it onto the field. The Great Battlefield Excursion is set to begin—and probably end—at a bonfire party over at Ted’s. But I’m sure you could nab a few of the more sober bodies and walk across the train tracks to spook central. ”
Ted was an older, peripheral member of the downtown group. Most of his popularity revolved around his gift for hosting big parties that involved lots of alcohol. He lived out in the sticks of north Georgia, far enough from civilization that a bonfire wasn’t out of the question; and he was close enough to the battlefield that the more adventurous partiers could wander off to scare themselves in the fog and overgrown greenery of the fields.
“Ted’s place, huh? That’s cool,” I said, but I was privately wondering if I might be better off beginning from a less raucous starting point. But I didn’t want to drive out there alone since my knowledge of the area could best be described as “slim to none,” and I wasn’t certain I wanted to wander the place by myself.
“Tomorrow night,” Jamie added. “Starts around dark-thirty. I don’t have a ride yet or anything, so if you’re driving out there, could I hitch along with you?”
“Me too? I know how to get to Ted’s if you don’t. ”
Benny guessed right; I didn’t have the faintest idea how to get there. I’d heard about the bonfire parties, but I’d never attended one.
I shrugged. “Sure, that’s fine—but only if you can promise me you’ll stay sober. ”
“What?” They said it in chorus, almost in harmony.
“If I’m going to drive all the way down there and let you two tag along, you’ve got to at least keep me company on the battlefield. ”
“What, are you scared to go out there by yourself?”
I recoiled. “Scared? I’m practical. I’ve never been out there at night before, and I understand it’s a tad illegal to march around there after closing. ”
Benny sniffed. “If they were that serious about keeping people out, they’d fence the place off or something. ”
“Are you kidding? It’s huge. Entirely too big to fence off. ” Jamie argued. He sat back in his chair and made a show of flexing his arms as he folded them across his chest. “Besides, there are miles of space where it runs into private property. ”
The girl from the counter walked past us then, carrying a to-go cup. The glass door swung shut behind her, and Jamie partially relaxed. “I’ve been there, you know. I used to date a girl who lived out that way. We used to go out to the Wilder Tower and get stoned after slams. ”
I almost asked him if he’d ever seen Green Eyes, but if he had, I would have heard about it already.
“So you know your way around?”
“Yes. Like the back of my hand—if it were green, grassy, and covered with fog. ”
“And you want me to give you a ride. ”
“My car sucks, and I don’t have any money for gas. That’s a yes. ”
“Benny, do you know your way around?”
