Ghost Betweens (3 page)

"Wow, are those pictures of ghosts?" Whisper asked.

"Yeah, pretty cool, right?" Zach said.

Mr. Baxter looked back at her. "What made you think that, Ms. Douglas? You only saw one, maybe two, and from across the room."

"I don't know. Like I said yesterday, I don't really believe in them. That picture, though, sort of spoke to me." She shrugged.

"What's with all the ghost stuff?" Kendra asked.

"Get used to it, baby," Zach said, patting her lower back. Josh wondered briefly if he'd ever gone lower when they were alone. They'd been officially dating for a few months, and as far as he knew, they hadn't progressed past kissing. Not that Zach was one to gossip, but Kendra would have told him. She was great with secrets with everyone but Josh--she shared everything with him. As she and Zach got more serious, he wasn't sure he wanted the influx of information to continue.

"What do you mean?"

"You're going ghost hunting," Mr. Baxter said. "At the abandoned farm."

Kendra rolled her eyes, but Whisper's face lit up. "Ooh, that sounds so fun."

Josh stepped back next to her and said, "It is. Zach and I went a few days ago. That's where we got those pictures."

"Why is there an abandoned farm here in the middle of the city?"

"It's been there forever, and none of us even know when it was an actual farm."

"I can't believe it's not party central," Kendra said. "Probably because it's so creepy. Eww, you guys went there?"

Zach nudged her lightly. "And you'll be there today, too. Welcome to Digital Photography, AKA the Ghost Hunters Club."

"Sigh. Whatever. Like ghosts even exist."

Mr. Baxter cleared his throat. "I can give you a history lesson on the farm later, but for now I want you to get started with the pictures. I'm sure you all have plenty of homework, so don't dawdle too long. The administrators would hate that I'm sending you out to photograph ghosts, but they'd really tan my hide if they realized I was keeping you from your studies."

Kendra clicked her tongue. "Like I'm going to study anyway, Mr. Baxter."

"That's another discussion we'll have to have soon, Ms. Phelps. I see why you and Mr. Riley get along so well, but I really wish you'd take more of a cue from Mr. Hart."

Josh blushed and glanced over at Whisper. Oh, god, he hoped she didn't think he was a nerd. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Could they all hear his heart beating? It sounded to him like it was loud enough to drown out the conversation, but no one seemed to notice.

"My grades are fine, Mr. Baxter. Besides, there are more important things to learn in school than just book stuff."

"Yeah," Zach said. "Like these ghosts."

Kendra threw her hands up. "Whatever. Can we just go take these silly pictures?"

"Yeah, we'll definitely need to talk about priorities sooner rather than later. Both of you. But for today, take these cameras." He passed out four expensive-looking digital cameras. Josh didn't know much about them, but he browsed around electronic stores enough to know quality merchandise when he saw it.

"No need for me," Whisper said. "I have my own." She pulled out a camera from her purse and showed it to Mr. Baxter.

He examined it for a few seconds. "Yeah, that'll do. It's at least as good as mine." He turned his attention back to Josh, Zach, and Kendra. "Remember, those are my personal property, so please be careful with them. Only use them at the farm and bring them back to me tomorrow after school. Got it?"

They nodded. "You have a memory card in here?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, they each have one loaded in. You'll have plenty of space for pictures. Snap one ever few seconds, and don't worry about checking them there. It's better to look on the big computer monitor anyway. And no more than a half-hour. Then home to hit the books. Even you, Ms. Phelps. Understand?"

Kendra rolled her eyes. "How come you're picking on me? Zach does the same amount of work."

"Hey, don't bring me into this."

Josh and Whisper looked at each other and shared a laugh. He wanted to step over just to be closer to her, but that'd probably look weird and make him look like a stalker. So he held his ground and contented himself with sharing the moment with her.

"Fine," Mr. Baxter said, rolling his eyes right back at Kendra. "All of you hit the books equally hard. Especially you two, Mr. Hart and Ms. Douglas. Is that better, Ms. Phelps?"

"Whatever. You don't need to get all dramatic on us, Mr. Baxter." Everyone cracked up except Kendra, who rolled her eyes again. They said goodbye to Mr. Baxter and headed out to hunt some ghosts.

Josh pulled into the farm's driveway, right behind Zach, who drove the girls. As far as Josh could tell from the tracks on the hard-packed dirt, no other vehicles had been here except them a couple of days ago.

"Did you see the sign?" Zach asked. "It was different."

Josh nodded. "Welcome new friends."

"What did it say last time you were here?" Kendra asked.

"Welcome picture enthusiasts."

"Who changes it?" Whisper asked. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while."

"That's the question," Zach said. "Who does change it?"

"Sometimes the sign stays the same for a year or two," Josh said, "and sometimes, like now, it changes a couple of times a week. It's been like that ever since I can remember."

Whisper frowned. "Signs don't change themselves. No one's ever seen anything?"

"No," Zach said. "The ghosts must wait until they're alone."

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Again with the ghosts?" She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I like you and all, babe, but give that a rest."

"I'm not kidding. Our pictures back it up."

"We'll see," Josh said. Though deep down he knew Zach was right.

Whisper took out her camera. "A mystery for another time. Let's get to the pictures."

Josh walked over closer to her. "You enjoy taking pictures, don't you?"

"Yeah, I've always loved it. My parents used to buy me cheap cameras. I'd wear them out so fast. Half the time I didn't even put film in. I just love looking through the lens. Or the view screen now, I guess."

"No film to worry about with digital cameras, right?"

She smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat. "You got it."

Kendra slid in between them, giving Josh a pointed look and grin. "You two ready to go hunt some ghosts? Even though they don't exist?"

"You don't even know, Kendra," Zach said. "You weren't here. You'll see. There's no way we won't get the same evidence. Maybe even better."

As Kendra went off ahead to argue with Zach, Whisper leaned in closer to Josh. "What was it like? I mean, I don't believe in ghosts, but I felt something about those pictures."

"I don't believe either, but it was actually pretty creepy." He looked up towards Zach to make sure he was out of earshot. "I'm not sure if I'm hoping we get the same kind of stuff or nothing at all."

She looked at him for a second, and then nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

She did? He smiled, and they hurried to catch up with the other two.

"Whoa, you weren't kidding. It is creepy here," Whisper said as they stepped out into the fields. "Like hundreds of eyes are on us."

Josh shivered. "Yeah. Even worse than Monday, if that's possible."

Zach and Kendra frowned and shared a look.

"What?" Josh said. "You don't feel it?"

Zach shook his head, while Kendra said, "It looks like it should wig us out, but I don't feel anything."

Whisper took a deep breath. "I guess we should get to it." She started snapping pictures, not bothering to study the view finder after each. The others followed her lead.

A flash of light passed to Josh's left, though when he looked, nothing was there. "Did you guys see that?"

"No," came the general consensus, though Whisper looked a lot more on edge than the other two.

A thought wormed into his mind that he should snap a few towards the barn, which was still a ways away. He hit the button as fast as possible to get crisp pictures, then clicked back to the first of the three and studied it.

"Guys, come check this out."

"Two of us are girls, Joshy," Kendra said.

"Generic term, Kend. Now hush and take a look."

"That's a person," Zach said.

Whisper shook her head. "Not a person. Look, you can see right through him."

"No way," Kendra said. "It's the light. It's always playing tricks on cameras." She paused, and her voice squeaked to betray her calm. "Right?"

Whisper turned to Josh. "Did something tell you to shoot at the barn?"

"Yeah, did you hear the same thing?"

Her face drained pale. "Yeah. Just before you called us over."

"I didn't hear anything," Zach said.

"Me, either." Kendra rolled her eyes. "Are the ghosts supposed to be talking to us now?"

Josh studied the second and third pictures. "Look. It's completely solid in the second, but almost entirely transparent in the last one." He looked up at Whisper. "If you were going to take your pictures after me, I wonder if it was a different voice talking to you. Maybe another entity wanted you to see it."

"I don't know. I don't think I could describe it if I wanted to. It was just sort of weird and garbled. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman."

"Yeah, mine too." He chuckled, though he was sure his nerves showed through. "Or even if it was human."

Zach and Kendra snapped a continuous flood of pictures at the barn and all around the field. "C'mon voice, I want to hear you, too," Zach said. It might have been funny if the mood wasn't so heavy, so dark.

Whisper spun and took a number of shots towards the far edge of the fields, on the opposite side of the barn. "The voice?" Josh asked. She nodded.

He looked over her shoulder at the view screen as she rewound to the first of the pictures. The first looked blurry, as if a heavy fog stood in front of them. The second appeared a bit clearer, and it revealed shadowy figures standing about. The next few showed what looked like old-timey farmers working on the fields. In the last, they stopped working and stared at the camera. Goosebumps erupted all over Josh's body. The ghosts knew they were here. The fog flowed back in the final picture.

"I'm not sure I like this," Whisper said. "I don't think they want us here."

The strange feeling hit Josh again, and he brought the camera up and took a bunch of snaps towards the barn again. Whisper watched him, and when he brought the camera down to check the screen, she stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noticed how close she stood, but the ghostly pictures and creepy feelings pushed the thought away.

Before he could focus on the pictures, a flash of movement caught his attention towards the barn. He noticed Whisper's head swing that way, too. "Zach, Kendra, start taking pictures towards the barn."

"Dude, when did you get all ghost sensitive?"

"How do you call yourself his best friend?" Kendra said. "He's always been like that."

"What? No. He doesn't even believe in ghosts."

"I never said he called them ghosts."

They continued taking pictures as they bickered.
 
Josh barely heard as he scoured the barn area, and then turned his attention back to his camera. If there was anything worth seeing over there, Zach and Kendra's cameras would capture it.

"Is that true?" Whisper asked. "You've always sensed stuff?"

Josh gave a curt nod. "But let's talk about it later. Check this out. Are these the same ghosts?"

She leaned in close, and he got a whiff of her hair. Wow, she smelled good, like a mix between flowers and spun sugar. He shook his head real quick to get back on topic.

"It's hard to tell on the small screens, but I bet they are. Maybe Mr. Baxter can put them up side by side tomorrow."

"That'll be cool, but if it is, they're coming towards us. Maybe we should move somewhere else." He glanced towards the barn. "I really don't like that place."

"We should check out the house," Zach said. He clicked through his pictures and frowned. "I'm getting the balls of energy and stuff, but not the same things you guys are."

"I don't know if it's because I'm listening to you guys or what," Kendra said, "but this place is starting to freak me out."

Josh checked his watch. They'd already been there over twenty minutes. "We got less than ten minutes left. Let's head to the house."

He glanced around. If he took a picture right now, he'd capture something, no matter which way he aimed. He didn't dare press the button. Whisper did, however, and Josh let out a yell. An apparition of a farmhand appeared right in front of him, and disappeared just as quick.

Whisper's voice came out strained. "Was this what you saw?"

She showed him the camera, and he gasped. "That was him." He studied the ghostly face, which couldn't have been much older than him. This ghost could be just another kid at school if he'd lived today. Except for the evil that bled out of it, an evil he could feel through the camera. This ghost wanted to do him harm. The big question was if it actually could.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Zach said. "You saw it, Josh? Right in front of you?"

He nodded, but words wouldn't form to elaborate. Instead he motioned for them to follow him to the farmhouse, though he wished they could head for their cars and go home. None of this would go away just because he wanted it to.

Zach pushed into the lead with Kendra, who'd become uncharacteristically quiet, clinging to his arm. He still managed to snap pictures with his other hand as he walked. Whisper walked close to Josh, occasionally looking over at him, as if checking to make sure he was okay.

He glanced over at her and smiled. "I'm fine. Just a bit shaken."

"I'm not sure I would have been had I seen it. I felt that you did, though, and I could tell it wanted to hurt you." She paused, and when he looked over, she blushed.

"What?"

Her cheeks burned brighter. "Nothing. I was just marveling at how brave you're being. You probably think I'm a big wimp, huh?"