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Oliver dropped to his hands and knees in the mud and watched as Cody dodged and danced around the clearing, working to keep Demetrius’s back to Oliver. Cody really was putting on quite a show, weaving and ducking, reaching in to lightly smack Demetrius’s cheek to keep his attention. Oliver kept adjusting his position to stay in line with Demetrius, and when he saw his chance, moved sideways to bump against the back of Demetrius’s legs. Cody ducked and moved in close, shoving Demetrius hard and sending him toppling backward over Oliver.
Cody was on Demetrius in a second, struggling with him and pinning him to the ground. Oliver secured Demetrius’s legs beneath an arm like he’d done with Dave, and Katherine taped up his ankles before securing Demetrius’s wrists. Cody took the tape from her and used the last of it to hogtie him in a similar manner to Dave. They stepped back and assessed their captives, all of them breathing heavily and coated in mud.
“Good work, team,” Cody said, tossing aside the empty cardboard tube that had been at the center of the duct tape.
“Are we official members of the Critter Catchers now?” Oliver asked.
“Absolutely,” Cody said.
“What the hell’s a Critter Catcher?” Katherine asked.
Before Cody or Oliver could respond, Katherine was yanked backward and dragged away, her heels trailing through the mud and eyes wide with shock.
“Katherine!” Oliver shouted, taking off after her.
“Ollie! Take this!”
Oliver turned and miraculously caught the iron poker Cody tossed to him. He turned back in time to see Katherine disappear into a clump of bushes, her hands at her throat as if struggling against an invisible arm.
Running as fast as possible in the slippery mud, Oliver crashed into the bushes after her. He followed the trail of broken ferns and tree branches, wishing he’d brought one of the flashlights as he held the poker in front of him like he was wielding a crucifix against a vampire. Several yards into the bushes, he came upon Katherine on her feet struggling to get free. The same brunette woman he’d seen in the clearing stood behind her, an arm around Katherine’s throat and a cold, vicious expression on her face. The ghost flickered every now and then as she tightened her arm around Katherine’s throat. Katherine gasped for breath and tried to break free, but she couldn’t get a grip on Rebecca’s arm because her hands kept going through it.
Oliver had a moment to wonder how Rebecca could be choking Katherine when Katherine couldn’t touch her, then decided it wasn’t the time to ponder the metaphysical laws of other planes of existence. He held the handle of the iron poker under one arm like it was a jousting lance, and ran it through Rebecca’s midsection. She opened her mouth in a furious scream and dissolved into white wisps. Katherine dropped to her knees, gulping in air and holding a hand to her throat.
“You okay?” Oliver asked, staying on his feet beside her and looking around the woods as he held the poker like a sword.
“I’m okay,” Katherine said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Can you stand?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“We should get back to Cody.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Oliver helped Katherine to her feet and led the way through the trees back to the clearing. Dave and Demetrius were still bound and rolling around on the ground, and Cody stood over the well, tying a loop in one end of the rope. He looked up as they approached.
“You two okay?” he asked.
“Yes, thanks to Oliver,” Katherine said, shuddering as she rubbed her throat. “Her touch was so cold.”
“Worst hand job in history, I’m sure,” Cody muttered, then made a face. “Sorry, inappropriate. I usually have him to mumble those things to.” He gestured toward Demetrius who rolled back and forth in the mud.
“You going to try my idea of lassoing the body?” Oliver asked, handing off the poker to Katherine before he peered down into the well.
Katherine shouted a warning, and they turned to see the ghost streaking toward them, her hands reaching out and her expression twisted with rage. With a primal scream, Katherine swung the poker, essentially cutting the ghost in half, and Rebecca Hawkins vanished.
She reappeared on the other side of the clearing and repeated her attack. Katherine moved to their other side and swung the poker, releasing another guttural scream as she cut through the ghost.
“I don’t think we have time to try lassoing a fucking skeleton and hauling it up from the bottom of a well.” Cody put a hand on Oliver’s shoulder and smiled grimly. “Ollie, old pal, how do you feel about enclosed spaces?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Why did I let you talk me into this?” Oliver shouted.
His voice echoed off the stone walls of the well, slick with water, moss, and algae. He clung to the rope looped under his arms and resisted the urge to kick his dangling feet. Above ground, Cody grunted, and Oliver dropped a few more inches before jerking to a stop. He shined the flashlight beam down and swallowed hard as it illuminated the skull looking up at him.
“This was a bad idea,” he muttered, then cried out as he dropped another few inches before jolting to a stop. “Easy up there!”
