Ghost Betweens (23 page)

He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "I better not. My mom should be home, and I'm sure she'll want to know all about the fight. Hopefully she won't overreact too much."

"Yeah, my parents, too. But we didn't do anything wrong, so we should be fine."

"Let's hope. Should I pick you up about seven? What are you going to tell your parents?"

"That we need to go to the library. It's open until nine. I made sure to check online last night. They'll be happy to let me go for schoolwork. Is that what you're going to tell your mom?"

"I hadn't really thought about it, but, yeah, that sounds like a good plan." He leaned over to her, and they embraced. His mouth found hers, gently at first, and then with increased ferocity. She moaned into his mouth, and he squeezed her tighter. After a few minutes, they eased up. She gave him one final peck on the lips, said goodbye, and got out of the car. He watched her all the way to her door, and then headed for home.

As Josh stepped up to his front door, he could sense something off. It was nothing like the day he'd come home to find the ghosts floating all around the living room, but things weren't right. Once he got in the house and shut the door, his mom stormed over to him, rage rippling through her.

"Car keys, now." She held out her hand to take them, and he noticed it shaking.

"What, why?" He kept his voice calm. The demon had something to do with this, so it was best to play it cool.

"Getting into fistfights at school? And you have the audacity to ask why?" Her voice raised a couple of octaves as she said it.

"It wasn't my fault, Mom. Didn't Mr. Brisco tell you? We got jumped, and we didn't do anything back. They fought, not us."

An evil glare pulsed out of her eyes. "I don't care what anyone says. If my son is fighting at school, he loses all of his privileges."

"Are you even listening to yourself? Why should I lose my car if I didn't do anything? Call Mr. Brisco. He'll tell you."

She slapped him across the face. It didn't hurt, but did stun him to silence. She'd never hit him before. But this wasn't her. She was being controlled by something that wanted to stop him from getting to the farm tonight. He gritted his teeth to keep from fanning the flames.

There was no remorse, no sorrow in her eyes, so he took his keys out of his pocket and dropped them into her hand. Without a word, he walked past her to the stairs. As he went, he probed for Zach or a ghost or whatever was doing this, but she broke his concentration.

"Wait right there." Her voice sounded normal. He turned, hoping now that she had the keys, the possession or whatever it was had worn off. Instead he found himself staring into a vindictive smile.

"You will start looking for a job. For real now, not just shining me on. You can have the car while you look, and when you get one, you can drive to it. That's it. Get used to walking to school. And you're grounded until you're 18, longer if you want to keep living here. No more gallivanting around with that little whore you're seeing. You got it? Now get out of my sight." She stormed off into the kitchen.

Josh smiled. The demon was getting desperate. He and Whisper must've had a real shot at beating her tonight. The demon had to know that this wouldn't work for long; they'd be able to figure out a way to rid his mom from the possession, and everything would go back to normal. But if he and Whisper couldn't stop the ceremony, it wouldn't matter if he was grounded later this week. It wouldn't matter if he had a car or not. No, this proved above all else that they needed to succeed tonight, no matter what. He'd figure out a way to get out of the house, one way or another.

*****

Josh paced his room. What was he going to do? He'd looked down the stairs a few times in past hour, and his mom had pulled a chair from the kitchen table to the middle of the living room to watch TV. She never did that, electing to normally sit in the comfortable sofa that had a better view. This way, since she faced away from the steps, she'd be able to hear him come down the stairs with no problem. She was his warden tonight, of that he had no doubt.

Whisper called not long after he'd gotten home. Her parents were acting weird. They were pissed she'd been in a fight, and they forbade her from going out tonight. "They called you some awful names," she said, and he could hear tears in her voice when she said it. "But they like you. They told me so."

"It's not really them," he said. "They're possessed. The demon knows we can win. I'm assuming you saw Mr. Baxter's email."

"Yeah." All he'd said was that the plan was good, and they should stick with it. "It just hurts that they're acting like this."

"I know." He told her what his mom had done.

"But if you don't have your car keys, how are we going to get there?"

"I don't know. I'll figure something out. We'll meet like we planned. I promise. Okay?"

"Alright. I think Kendra did this. To my parents, I mean."

"Why?"

"I sensed her, but I know she wasn't there. I'm guessing she's the one who possessed my mom and dad. Do you think Zach got your mom?"

"Maybe. Probably. I scanned for him, but I was so busy trying to sort it out and searching for ghosts that I didn't pinpoint anything."

 
They said they loved each other, promised they'd see each other at seven, and hung up. Since then, Josh had been monitoring his mom, trying to find any breaks in her security system. He thought about going out his window, but that brought two problems, three if you counted he needed to go downstairs for his car keys anyway. First, there was a screen that didn't come off very easily. Even if he did manage to keep it from falling down to the backyard patio below, his mom was sure to hear him scuffling with it. Second, even if she didn't, how was he supposed to get down? He'd always figured in a fire or other emergency, he'd hang from his window and drop, hoping the whole way he landed right and didn't turn or break his ankle in the fall. While he was sure he'd make it down with only minor bumps and bruises if he tried, there was no way she wouldn't hear him. He was better off just trying to bolt past her in the living room.

When the clock showed him it was five to seven and no inspiration struck, he knew he had to wing it. He headed downstairs to see what would happen. Maybe she'd make a mistake, or maybe a brilliant idea would pop into his head. Or, most likely, he'd grab the spare keys in the closet, take off for his car, and hope for the best.

She didn't acknowledge him until he hit the bottom of the stairs. She turned in her seat and screamed, "What are you doing out of your room?" Her eyes bulged, veins stood out, and it had to be his imagination, but her teeth looked sharper.

He held his ground. "I wanted a drink. What, does the grounding include dehydrating me?"

She calmed down and looked more like herself. "Fine. Get your drink." She turned back to the TV, which had on an old sitcom from the 90s. One of Zach's favorites. He also sensed a bit of Zach in her. It must've been what Whisper meant when she knew Kendra had possessed her parents.

Instead of heading to the kitchen, which would put him in full view of her, he headed up the stairs again. He had his idea, but he didn't want to be where she could see. If Zach couldn't see him when he was invisible, would his mom fair much better? He made it back to his room and turned invisible. She'd still be on high alert, and if the closet door opened, she'd know it, so he'd have to be careful.

He grabbed a bag of marbles he used to play with, a small rubber bouncy ball, and a handful of pennies he'd been saving since the fifth grade from their jar. This plan should get him out. Sure, she'd know he was up to something, but as long as he got his car out into the street, he'd be fine.

He shoved the marbles and rubber ball into his pocket, keeping the pennies in hand, and headed down the stairs. When he got to the bottom, she didn't notice him. He walked to the closet and stopped before opening the door. She still didn't acknowledge him. In fact, she sat motionless, only moving to breathe. At least she was doing that.

He grasped the handle of the closet with his left hand and threw the pennies hard at the far wall. As soon as they clattered against it, she jumped up and focused over there. He opened the door, snatched the key off the hook, and shut it as quiet as he could. She turned around and examined the room, but couldn't see through his invisibility. After a quick glance around, she grunted and sat back down.

He let out a breath and headed to the front door. He slipped the key ring around his fingers so it wouldn't get lost, took out the rubber bouncy ball, and focused towards the TV. If his aim was true, it would bounce off the screen, ricochet on the coffee table, and land near the sofa. It'd keep her attention while he slipped out of the house.

He tossed it in an arching rainbow. It smacked against the screen and followed the trajectory he'd anticipated. She didn't make a sound, but watched the ball the entire way. While she did, he opened the front door, dumped the marbles out of the bag in the entry hall, and ran for his car. If she chased him, he hoped she wouldn't hurt herself on the marbles. None of this was her fault, but he needed to get out of here. For some odd reason, he figured that even if she did fall, her possessed form would protect her from any real injury. Was that to ease his conscious, or did he actually know that as a Ghost Between? Either way, he didn't look back as he raced out.

He thrust the key into the ignition and cranked it. The car started up smooth, and he backed out of the driveway, careful to make sure no one was coming. He'd made a clean escape--his mom hadn't come out the front door--so it would be awful if he crashed into someone leaving the driveway. Both ways were clear, though, so he got out with no problem, and accelerated towards Whisper's house.

*****

He pulled up in front of Whisper's house, figuring she'd be waiting for him. It was already ten after seven. Instead, just as he put the car in park, she zipped out of her front door and sprinted to his car. He reached over and pushed the door open so she could jump in faster. She hopped in, and he had them moving before she had her seatbelt on.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "They were watching me like hawks. I was able to slip out while invisible." She frowned. "I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner."

"I did the same thing." He related his tale of escape, leaving her laughing at the end.

"That was brilliant. Reminds me of a cartoon or kid's movie or something."

"That's where I get all my best ideas."

She laughed again, and gave him a careful hug so she wouldn't interfere with his driving.

As they approached the driveway of the farm, the sign practically sang to them. "The end is here." What would other motorists and neighbors think of that saying? Actually, he wondered if anyone but he and Whisper could see those messages anymore. Would everyone else just see a dilapidated piece of wood that used to be a sign? He didn't know, and didn't bother bringing it up. It sounded right. He pulled into the driveway and hoped they'd be pulling out victorious before the night was over.

They turned invisible and headed out into the fields. Dusk faded fast into night, so they needed to hurry. The scene looked so much like the dream it was scary. They'd been calling it a dream, but it wasn't, not really. As Mr. Baxter said, it was a vision of the future. Hopefully a future that could be changed.

Zach and Kendra weren't yet on the wooden stage erected just inside the white picket fence. The demon, however, was already in position. Just as the dream showed, she retained her physical form, but was bigger, as if she'd been run through a copy machine that enlarged her image.

"Start shooting," Josh said. He got off three shots before stopping and turning back invisible.

The ghosts had charged when the pictures were snapped, but now turned their attention back to the stage. "Fools!" roared the demon. "They're right there."

Many of the ghosts turned to look but still couldn't see them. Rage bubbled to the surface of the demon, and a strange white light flashed off of her. Josh felt his invisibility drop, and when he tried to concentrate to get it back, it didn't work. The ghosts charged them.

"Invisible together," she said. He grabbed her and concentrated, and this time they disappeared from the ghosts. The demon snarled and looked around. It worked on her, too.

"We can't take pictures like this, but at least we can get to a safe place," Josh said.

"Let's drop it, get some pictures in, and then freeze and banish the nearby ghosts."

Josh nodded. "Yeah, and then before more get us, we can start the whole thing over."

"It's a plan. Ready?"

"Yeah. Go."

They let go of each other and snapped off some pictures. As the spirits advanced, he grabbed her and they stunned the nearby ghosts, and then banished them. The demon snarled as they took more pictures, but she wouldn't leave the stage. Would it disrupt or stop the ceremony if she did? It was something to keep under consideration.

Josh reached for Whisper, intent on becoming invisible again. Right before he grabbed her, something rammed into his back, and the camera dropped from his grip. It flashed off a picture of nothing but dirt. The ghost that rammed him pounced on his back, but Whisper reached down and they stunned that one as well as a new batch. A quick banishing cleared the way for a few more seconds.

"Invisible," he yelled. The ghosts out of their banishment range stopped charging and turned back towards the stage.

"Enough games," the demon yelled. She motioned towards the back of the stage. Zach and Kendra climbed up and stood in front of her. The ghosts crushed closer to the stage, giving Josh and Whisper a good ten feet of clear space around them.

"My camera went off," Josh said. "She wasn't in the picture, so it's worthless now."

"Mine's still good. We'll get her."

He nodded. "How many more pictures?"

"A ton." She checked. "I've only taken seven."