Saturday, 5PM. Near Jane and Finch. T minus 4 hours until getting hunted by a ghost.

Taking a deep sigh, Gale looked up at Mia’s apartment building. The stained concrete exterior and rusted window frames of each floor said everything about how old this building was. It wasn’t the cleanest, but it was definitely better than his Path given apartment.

He walked over to the door and opened it to the foyer of the lobby. Typing in 247 on the buzzer, it rang at least 6 times before someone picked up the phone.

“¿Quién es?”

“Hi Mia’s mom. It’s Gale. Can I come up?”

“Ah, Gale! Come, come. Food is ready.”

The door buzzed and clicked. Gale pushed through and into the lobby. Walking to the elevator, he pressed the up button. The elevator door dinged, and with a creak, the doors opened. He pressed the 9 button, and the elevator ascended smoothly.

As it ascended, the lights flickered. His heart skipped a beat. Erebus ready to materialize, Phase Touch ready to activate, however, the elevator continued its smooth climb.

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out quickly. Looking left and right, the whole place looked like Mia’s apartment from when he came before, and not a rift. He made it once again. Another elevator adventure survived. Return rate was still at 100%.

Walking to the left, he counted the unit doors from 905… 906… 908… 909… and finally, Unit 910, Mia’s apartment.

A quick three knocks, and the door opened almost immediately by Mia’s mom, Rosa.

“Come, come. Food is ready.”

Gale took off his shoes at the entrance. The apartment was warm, and the Ann Family ring turned off its passive heat almost immediately. Examining around, it still looked the same. A worn couch and a flat screen TV that was definitely the most expensive thing in the house. In the corner of the living room was the same shrine, no candles this time.

In the dining area, Andrew and Jacob were helping Mia set the table with plates and utensils. A pan sat on the stove, quesadillas sizzling inside.

“Gale!” Jacob waved a fork at him. “You made it!”

Gale nodded. Of course he did. A 100% return rate means that he’ll inevitably make it.

Andrew looked up from placing napkins. “You look like you haven’t slept.”

“It’s ok. I’m used to it,” Gale said.

Maybe he had about two hours of sleep. He hugged Dani in bed to sleep but had to unsummon her. She trembled even more than him, making it hard to sleep. Yohan wouldn’t even let him sleep at his place just 3 units over. Something about his bed being too small, even though Gale could just take the floor. It was much comfier than the bed anyway. He’d even get a nice comfy rock from outside.

“Guys, I really think we need to reconsider this expedition,” he said.

“Expedition? It’s just a silly ghost hunt,” Andrew said.

“It’s not even a ghost hunt. One way or another, I’ll prove you guys wrong. Its just a myth,” Mia said as she put the last plate on the table.

“Pfft. Ok, Mia.” Jacob sat down on the chair finally. “You awaken and still think ghosts aren’t real.”

“There’s a logical explanation for that too. There has to be some science behind it.” Mia sat down in the middle of the table. “Magic is just science we don’t understand yet.”

“The Neutral Grounds people did say ghosts don’t actually exist.” Andrew took the seat beside Jacob. “But they said spectral entities are really close. Whatever that means.”

“Spectral entities, ectoplasmic creatures, whatever,” Mia said. “Unlike last time, this time’s going to have a real explanation. Now stop talking and eat. No business at the dinner table.”

“Ghosts aren’t business,” Jacob said.

Rosa sat down beside Mia while Gale sat down at the other side of the table across from Jacob.

“It’s the ghost that’s going to be hunting us,” he muttered, but no one seemed to have heard him.

Rosa served quesadillas to Jacob, almost the size of his plate. Each of them got a serving of quesadillas. Beside the pan were the bowls of pico de gallo, guacamole, and a smaller bowl of salsa. On the side were nachos and tortillas for fillers.

“Andrew, the spicy salsa’s over there,” Mia pointed to the bowl of salsa.

Andrew smiled as he took a handful of nachos and brought the bowl over to his side. He generously took a large dip of salsa on his nacho and ate it with a smile.

Jacob crunched on his quesadilla. “This is so good. Gale, just eat. Stop worrying about ghosts.”

Rosa placed the bowl of pico de gallo directly in front of Gale. “Para ti.”

Gale bit into his own quesadilla and took some nachos onto his plate. After swallowing the first bite of quesadilla, he scooped with the nachos and ate immediately. Everything on the table was good. At least this was some consolation for his racing heart. His last meal before the ghost hunts them.

Andrew spooned the red salsa onto his quesadilla carefully. Taking a bite, his lips were already red, but he kept eating anyway.

For a couple of minutes, there were only sounds of chewing, scraping, and more chewing. The food supply was getting diminished, and Gale tried to keep eating faster. The other two men around the table were basically eating as fast as him too.

“Gale, relax. There’s more food on the counter.”

However, Gale couldn’t relax. Not when D-day was in less than 4 hours.

“¿Cómo van las clases?”

She looked at Jacob, waiting. Jacob looked at Mia, quesadilla hanging from his mouth.

“She’s asking how classes are going,” Mia said, scooping guacamole onto her plate.

Jacob swallowed quickly. “Oh! Good. Really good. I passed math last semester. Mia’s going to help me this semester. Right, Mia?”

“Sure, whatever,” then Mia looked to her mom and translated to her in Spanish.

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Rosa nodded approvingly, patting Jacob’s arm, then turned to Andrew.

“¿Y tú?”

Andrew swallowed the last bite and said, “Same question?”

“Same question.”

“Mine is great. Passed all my classes last semester.” He reached for his glass of water. “Gale just registered for the same classes as us too.”

Rosa then turned to Gale. “Mia me dijo que desapareciste por un mes. ¿Estás bien?”

“She heard you disappeared for a month,” Mia said. “She wants to know if you’re okay.”

“I’m… uh… I went to a training program!” Gale piled more pico de gallo onto his third quesadilla. “Yeah, that’s it. I missed the last part of the semester, but it’s ok. I’m good now.”

Mia translated, and Rosa nodded at her words.

“¿Eres despertado también?”

“She’s asking if you’re awakened too.”

Gale nodded.

“¿Ya eres un Jedi?”

Jacob stopped chewing as he looked to Mia. “I heard Jedi.”

“I told her you wanted to join something like the Jedi Order,” Mia said. “She’s asking if you’re a Jedi now.”

“Tell her yes!” Jacob puffed out his chest. “I’m basically a Jedi now! I have powers!”

“You have regeneration. That’s not a Jedi power.”

“Healing is totally a Jedi power! I just need to find it in one of the books.”

“¿Qué es un Jedi?”

“Now she’s asking what a Jedi is.” Mia rubbed her temples. “Thanks, Jacob.”

“Tell her it’s like a space wizard monk who fights evil with laser swords and the power of friendship.”

“Didn’t see the power of friendship in the trilogies, though,” Andrew said.

“I’m not telling her that.”

“Tell her!”

Mia said something in Spanish that took about three seconds, and Rosa forced a smile as she nodded to Jacob. Then she took her attention back to Andrew.

“¿Y la chica que me contó Mia? ¿Cómo está ella?”

“Mama,” Mia groaned.

“What? What did she say?”Andrew asked.

“She’s asking about a girl,” Mia said. “I may have mentioned you were talking to someone.”

“Ooh, that wasn’t a girl I’m talking to. That was a Neutral Grounds employee,” Andrew said. “Apparently, my tracking skill is hot up there in demand.”

“She kept calling you.”

“Not my fault this idiot beside me wanted to keep asking about ghosts. And that whole conversation with her sounded more like interviews.”

Rosa smiled and then turned back to Gale.

“¿Y tu novia, Gale? Mia me dijo que tiene el pelo rojo.”

Mia grinned. “She’s asking about your girlfriend. The red head.”

“Rachel isn’t my girlfriend.”

“Really? Last I remember, you stayed at her mansion last time we saw her.”

“Um… it’s complicated. She did say we’re more than friends, though. But definitely not girlfriend.”

“Everything’s always complicated,” Andrew and Mia said at the same time.

“¿Es bonita?”

“She wants to know if she’s pretty.”

Gale nodded. Rachel was indeed pretty. No reason to not say she’s pretty. Lily was pretty too. And Ollie was handsome. But Kyle and Clyde did say they were the most handsome even though Witch Moura said they were annoying. He smiled at the thoughts.

“What you smiling for?” Mia asked.

Then Gale put on a serious face. “Next time, I think we can go ghost hunting with my other friends. They’re also awakened.”

“Is Rachel part of them?”

“Yeah.”

“Figures,” Jacob said.

“What about Oliver?” Andrew asked.

“Him too. All of us can go ghost hunting and be safe.”

“Yo, guess what. Today I fell on the stairs. Didn’t even break a bone. Just a tiny scratch!” Jacob laughed.

“You’re seriously proud of that? Bet you’re also proud of breaking your parents’ hardwood floor,” Mia said.

“Did you actually break the floor?” Andrew asked.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Dad said he’ll fix it anyways.”

“Anyways, it’s almost 8,” Andrew said as he pushed his plate forward, signalling he was done eating. “We doing this or what?”

Jacob and Mia did too. “You guys go ahead to my room. I’m going to help mom clean up the plates.”

“Sweet,” Jacob said, then grabbed Gale by the arm, who was still munching on nachos. “Come on, we got a surprise for you.”

Jacob pulled Gale down the hallway and into Mia’s bedroom. Andrew followed behind, bag slung over his shoulder.

The room was just as it was before. Small room, especially cramped with 2 other people in it. Her desk had the same PC tower below it. The science posters were still there, but there was now an extra one of a movie called ‘The Witching School’ that looked to be about a magic school.

That was the only thing that changed. Though, that was expected. It’s only been a month on Earth.

Andrew dropped his bag onto the bed. Laying down the items one by one, he explained what each one was. “Two EMF readers. Four flashlights, that’s one for each of us. A spirit box. One thermometer. Two UV flashlights. And three cylinders of salt.”

Then Gale pointed to the last one Andrew pulled out, which was a cross. “What’s that?”

“A crucifix. Essential to any ghost hunt,” Jacob said, grinning.

Gale picked up the crucifix. It was wooden, light, and there was a human at the centre of it. “Can I take this?”

“Yeah, sure. You’ll be front line anyways.” Andrew said.

Gulp. Of course he was. That was his job. The vanguard, they said. But there was no point in being a vanguard if the ghost could zip right past him.

The crucifix dematerialized into his space storage. There was also the ghost powder. He could sprinkle it on the crucifix and then use it as a weapon against the ghost. Make it twice as effective.

Jacob zipped open his own bag with a huge smile on his face. Pulling out a box, a small camera looking thing, and a chest harness, he pushed it to Gale. “GoPro, baby. Put this on your chest and we’ll be famous ghost hunters. We’ll get stupid rich on YouTube with this.”

“You’re an idiot.” Mia appeared at the doorway, hands on her hips. “You didn’t even ask Gale if he wanted to record his adventures for your stupid channel.”

“Our channel. You’re in it too.”

“I’m the skeptic that explains science. That’s different.”

Gale looked between them and sighed. He fumbled with the straps, and the GoPro fell from his hands onto the carpet. “How do I get this thing on?”

“Yeah! Easy. Here, let me help.”

It was not easy. Gale tried to put his arm through what turned out to be the torso strap. Then he got the shoulder strap twisted. Then he somehow put the whole thing on backwards. Jacob grabbed one end while Andrew grabbed the other, and Mia watched from the doorway with an unamused look on her face.

Finally, the harness sat correctly on his body. Gale clipped the GoPro onto the mount. Jacob pressed a button on it, and a red light turned on, meaning it was recording.

“I think this is still dangerous and a stupid idea, just like last time,” he said.

“Dude.” Andrew zipped up an EMF reader into a side pocket. “You beat up a skinwalker with your bare hands. How are you afraid of a ghost?”

“This and that are different.”

“How?”

“A skinwalker is terrestrial. I slashed it to death. Ghosts?! I tried and it didn’t work.”

Mia rolled her eyes. “Relax. This isn’t an abandoned asylum in the middle of nowhere. Old Finch Avenue is a tourist spot. Kids go there all the time to take photos. Couples go on dates there. Nobody has ever disappeared or gotten hurt. This should be completely safe.”

Gale’s whole body went rigid. It was too late. She already said the dooming words. “That’s a black flag. You really had to say that?”

“What?”

“Why did you say that? ‘This should be safe.’ That’s exactly what people say before something terrible happens. Now we’re doomed. We’re absolutely doomed.”

“Gale, you ok?” Jacob asked.

Gale didn’t answer. Didn’t even register the question. His heart was racing, his lungs were hyperventilating. He needed to hug something.

Presence Between activated and searched for Dani in his voidal pocket. She materialized into a passively summoned state in the physical plane into his embrace. Her single large eye blinked at the other three in the room once as its pupils contracted at them.

Andrew stumbled backward into the desk, hitting the wall behind him.

Mia caught her breath.

Jacob gulped and took a step back.

However, Dani started trembling in Gale’s embrace. She turned around and pushed herself further into his chest.

“W-w-what,” Mia said, “the hell is that?”

“Dani,” Gale said, controlling his breathing. “She’s my emotional comfort pet.”

“A pet? That’s not a pet,” Jacob said. “That’s an eyeball. With wings. On your chest.”

Mia stepped towards Gale and curiously reached a hand towards one of Dani’s wings jutting out from his arms.

Dani’s trembling stopped momentarily when she touched her wing. Her eyes squeezed shut, then started trembling again.

“It’s ok, Dani. There’s no ghost. Mia said it’ll be safe,” Gale said.

“Really didn’t expect you to be so scared of ghosts,” Andrew said.

“No wonder Gale was so scared last time,” Jacob shrugged.

“I’m not afraid of ghosts!” Gale said immediately. “I’m afraid of things that can’t be hit!”

He’d rather take on a 3 garbage truck-sized beasts than face Casper the Friendly Ghost. There was no point in killing or hitting something that was already dead!

“You tried before?” Andrew asked.

“Yes! The learning centre had a ghost!”

“Oh shit, I remember that. Didn’t know that was real. Rumours disappeared a month ago though, so maybe someone cleaned it up?”

“Probably. Spectral entity MIB cleanup crew,” Jacob chuckled.

“The Path clean up crew,” Andrew muttered.

“Poor thing. It’s ok little Dani, there’s no such thing as ghosts.” Mia petted Dani even more, calming her down. “How’d you even get Dani?”

“That’s a long story.”

“We have 45 minutes in the car.”

“It’s a longer story than that.”

“Try me.”

“Mia.” Andrew picked up all the items on the bed and started packing up. He handed a flashlight to all of them. “We can ask him later. Let’s go. It’s almost 9PM and traffic’s still a bitch at this hour.”

Jacob grumbled. “Toronto traffic sucks.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep