Chapter 3
“Ghost hunters? Ah, Ben gets to do the coolest stuff sometimes,” Ian remarked as they filled their mouth with orange poppyseed muffin.
Addison placed her handlink down on the desk, and grabbed the latte that was waiting for her.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, the most supernatural thing going on in that house is the heroic amounts of marijuana being smoked,” she said, shrugging. She took a long sip of the coffee, eyes closed. “Thank you for this.”
“You are welcome, and no it doesn’t make me feel better knowing Ben’s getting a golden opportunity to rip on a bo… boss.” Ian finished as Magic approached the two. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Magic greeted, eyes slightly narrow. “I’m going to pretend I wasn’t listening just now. So what’s our status?”
“Ben’s a Ghostbuster,” Addison said, “and Ziggy’s 99% that he has to stop his crew mate from falling through a rotted wood staircase in an abandoned psychiatric hospital about 24 hours from now.”
“Oh, I bet Ben’s looking forward to going there,” Magic said with a snort.
Addison tilted her head. “He’s not freaking out, but he doesn’t love it. I think he’ll be fine. As long as there aren’t actual ghosts there, anyway.” She grinned. “Though I can’t say I wouldn’t want to see his reaction to seeing a ghost, if they existed.”
“You never know,” Ian said, wiggling their eyebrows. “You’ve read old project files, right? Some pretty spooky stuff happened once in a while.”
“I’ll let you know if you need to get your cat ears,” Addison laughed, taking the lid off her coffee and blowing on it. “I need to go back in soon. Ben wants me to keep tabs on his… uh, wife.”
“Now there’s an awkward situation,” Ian mused, “if you’re the monogamous type.”
“Well, Ben and I had an agreement when I was supposed to be the leaper: ‘avoid what you can, endure what you can’t.’ I trust him to make the right decisions as situations arise.”
“Arise?” Ian stifled a laugh. “Phrasing, Addison.”
Magic shook his head. “I feel like I’m listening to Al,” he muttered, and wandered away from the pair.
Addison and Ian shared a giggle.
“Well,” Ian said, “I might as well get involved on the ghost hunting. I’ll be watching closely on the monitors for paranormal activity. Who knows? Might catch something they don’t!”
Addison rolled her eyes. “Sounds tedious, but have at it, champ.” She patted Ian on the shoulder, finished her coffee, and grabbed her handlink. “I’ll see you later.”
As Addison entered the Imaging Chamber and materialised in the house, she noted Ben had, in fact, dozed off on the couch. Alex and Joey were on the other couch, trying not too laugh too loud as they watched Saturday Night Live featuring Bryan Cranston, their eyes bloodshot and eyelids drooping.
She tapped her handlink to shift her position to the bedroom upstairs, and she materialised upon Iris not sleeping, but sitting hunched on the bed, looking down at her cell phone intently, furiously tapping at the tactile keyboard. The dim light of the phone was the only source of illumination in the room, and Addison saw only the look of intense concentration on Iris’s face.
“So, not a lightweight, then?” Addison observed, looking at the woman curiously. “What are you doing, exactly?”
And then, Iris tensed up, and turned her eyes towards Addison.
Addison froze in place, as Iris blinked a moment, rubbing her eyes, and then returned her gaze to the phone.
She might not have seen me, but… she did look in my direction. Addison bit her lip. No, she couldn’t have heard me. Right?
Aiming to test the woman, Addison cleared her throat and waved her arms.
Iris’s gaze snapped back to Addison’s general location in the room. She squinted a moment before shaking her head. This time, she didn’t return to her phone, but just sat in the darkness, silently staring into the room.
Okay. This is creepy.
Addison made the snap decision to get out of there. Screw keeping tabs on her! Not if she was sensing Addison’s presence. She was liable to think the house really was haunted. Addison tapped at the handlink, and the hologram broke away, leaving her alone in the Imaging Chamber.
She shivered.
“Sorry Ben, I’ll catch you in the morning,” she muttered as she left the room.
* * *
Ben awoke to the taste of stale beer in his mouth.
Lovely.
He rubbed his stiff neck as he climbed to his feet. Alex and Joey were both passed out, one on the other couch and the other sprawled on the floor, fast asleep in what looked like a terribly uncomfortable position.
The smell of fried eggs filled Ben’s nostrils, and he followed the scent to the kitchen. Iris was at the stove, making the breakfast.
“Sleep well?” she asked as he hobbled in and sat at the kitchen table.
Ben snorted. “Nope. What about you? Feeling any better?”
Iris shrugged. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She turned around. “Was someone else in the bedroom last night?”
Ben shook his head. “No, I would have come up, but I fell asleep down here.”
Iris nodded pensively. “I see.” She turned back around to the cook-top, scraping a spatula across the frypan.
“Why do you ask?” he enquired.
“Oh, I just thought I saw a shadow.”
“Uncle Walter?”
She hesitated a moment. “Uh, maybe?”
Ben grinned. “I guess your aunt isn’t as kooky as you thought. But you know, we should check this place for gas leaks, just in case.”
“Good thinking,” Iris agreed.
“Ben…” a whisper came from the doorway, and Ben turned to find Addison peeking into the kitchen and beckoning him.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, standing from the table, and cocking his head at Addison as he headed for the bathroom.
“Ben, I think Iris sensed me last night,” Addison said as he tiptoed through the living room. Ben looked back at her with wide eyes.
“What?” he whispered fiercely.
Addison nodded. “Every time I made a noise, she looked my way. I ended up ditching the Imaging Chamber—sorry about that.”
“What the hell…” Ben murmured as he entered the bathroom and turned to his fiancée.
“I know,” Addison said, grimacing. “I’m scared to go anywhere near her. What if she thinks she’s sensing a ghost?”
“Or worse,” Ben added, “what if she thinks she’s losing it?”
The two of them took a moment, just staring at one another, attempting to think of what to do next.
“I’ll talk to the others and see if they have any suggestions,” Addison finally said. “In the meantime, I guess get to know everyone. Here’s a few conversation starters: Alex is the researcher of the group, so he should be able to tell you more about where you’re going and why. Joey studied Liberal Arts with you at Penn State a couple of years back. You met Iris in high school—you were class of ’04—and married six months ago in New York City. Your brother Philip was Best Man.”
“That’s a start, I guess.”
“You might be able to do some more research if you’ve got a phone with social media capabilities.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ben said, feeling around his pockets for a phone. He landed a hand on one, and was pleased to see it was an early smart phone—a Nokia E71. He showed it to Addison. “Bingo.”
Addison gave a thumbs up. “Alright, I’ll catch you later. Hopefully we’ll figure this thing out.”