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“Ryker!” I yelled as I ruthlessly shook him.
“What the fuck?” he mumbled as he opened his eyes, glancing around at us confused. “What’s going on?” Then he took in the space around him and his eyes widened as he sat up, fully awake now.
“We're not doing questions just yet. Lincoln is still missing,” I said. He nodded once, not even questioning the weirdness that was our lives.
“This way,” Sully said as we rejoined him and the ghostly child leading us. His voice was urgent, meaning she was moving again.
He looked confused but didn’t argue with Sully’s command. At this point I think we were all too freaking tired and confused to question it.
We emerged on the deck in less than three minutes and I’d never been so grateful for this humid sea air. Disappointment hit me. I had half expected Lincoln to be rushing towards us the moment the door opened. But it was silent outside of the crashing of the waves.
Not caring if it woke up the whole damn town, I took a deep breath and bellowed out Lincoln’s name. It felt like all I’d done tonight was yell and run.
“Brea?” I heard him call out my name before footsteps raced across the deck. His eyes were wild when he came into view and he seemed as relieved as we were. “It’s official, we’re moving into that fucking inn.”
He pulled me into a bone crushing hug that I needed more than I cared to admit.
“I’ve been around this shit my whole life,” I said. “And never has it been his fucking crazy.”
“I’m with Lincoln,” Ethan said.
“Third,” Ben agreed.
“Fourth,” added Ryker sleepily.
“Fifth. Fuck this ship,” Sully added in, making us all laugh as it broke some of the tension lingering around us.
None of us were eager to go back below deck or fall back asleep and the sun was already rising.
“Let’s go pack up our stuff,” I suggested. “Maybe we can do an early check in and get some real sleep.”
“Well, the rest of us,” Ethan deadpanned. “Ryker got his in.”
“Shut up,” Ryker grumbled but it was half-hearted.
“I woke up in the engine room on the bottom floor, so I definitely need a comfy bed,” I said before they could argue in their sleep-deprived state. They all turned to me with wide eyes.
“How the hell did you make it up here then?” Lincoln asked.
“Her,” I said as the ghost flickered into existence. From the gasps they all saw her too.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’m glad we have a friendly face, and I hope that we can help you.”
She disappeared again without another word, and from the way Sully looked around she was officially gone. Her job here was done.
“Come on, Sully,” I whispered as I grabbed his arm and led him back inside. This time I was his guide now that his ghostly one had left.
We’ve dealt with some crazy locations, both on our own and together, but never had we been so forcibly kicked out of one. Rehashing our stories would be interesting, but I was way too tired to process that shit tonight.
The moment the sun rose, we were ready, bags packed and heading across town.
What the hell had we signed up for?
ChapterEleven
Brea
Checking into the inn was a chaotic mess between flustering the desk clerk and getting keys sorted, but the moment I flopped onto the soft bed that smelled like laundry detergent and felt like a cloud, I passed out.
