Thursday
They went back to the library after school to get the potion. Miss. Simon led them to a reading cubical and gave them the package. Teddy opened it and inside was five vials of orange liquid. The vials were sealed glass. He wondered how the liquid got inside and Miss. Simon reminded him that a witch made them. A note inside the package said to wait for the spirit to manifest and break the vial at its base.
On the way out they ran into Officer Bishop.
“Hi guys. I thought you might be here. I checked on Alyssa’s family like you asked. I’m pleased to report that no one has ever been in any trouble with the law. As a matter of fact her grandfather is a retired state police officer,” said Officer Bishop.
“Well now what? Who’s the target? I mean it’s good news and I’m happy about it but now we don’t know who to protect,” said Teddy.
“Thank you Officer Bishop. We appreciate your help,” said Erin.
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“My pleasure. And about that second favor consider it done. Just let me know when you’re ready,” said Officer Bishop.
“Wow, thanks. We’re using that as a last resort so it won’t be until late Friday night or early Saturday morning,” said Teddy.
“That’s fine. I’ll keep my cell with me,” said Officer Bishop.
Miss. Simon looked at Erin and gave her a little wink. Erin understood what the wink meant. She shook her head and laughed. The kids thanked Miss. Simon and Officer Bishop for their help and started home.
“What time are you going over to Alyssa’s house?” asked Teddy.
“Mom is taking me as soon as I pack. By the way you’re coming too,” said Erin.
“Really. That’s great. How did you work that?” asked Teddy.
“It was easy. I said I wished that you could see the strange things happen and Alyssa said to bring you along. Just like that,” said Erin.
“What about Mom?” asked Teddy.
“When Alyssa said you could come over I called Mom and she said it was alright,” said Erin.
They got home and packed a bag of clothes. They also packed a bag of gear to record the entity
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and some things they would need if they had to defend themselves. They took the vials along in hope of vanquishing it as soon as they had the opportunity. They got in the car and Mom drove them to Alyssa’s house.
“Have a good time kids. I love you,” said Mom.
“Love you too,” said Teddy.
“I love you Mom. See you soon,” said Erin.
“Ok sweetheart. Call me if you need anything,” said Mom.
The kids started walking to the door.
“Are you scared?” asked Teddy.
“A little. Why? Are you?” asked Erin.
“Yeah, a little. The action is about to start,” said Teddy.
Alyssa met them at the door and welcomed them to her house. They carried their bags in with them and set them down in the foyer. Alyssa led them to the living room to see her grandparents. They all said hello to each other and Grandmom suggested that they take their things to the guest room. Then they could watch a movie or play in the den. The kids took their bags to the guest room and started talking about the house.
“Has anything strange happened today?” asked Erin.
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“Not that I know about but I’m sure something will. Crazy things have happened more and more each day,” said Alyssa.
“We brought four cameras. Where’s the best place to put them to catch activity?” asked Teddy.
The guest room door slammed shut. It startled Erin and Teddy. Alyssa was used to things like that happening and barely reacted.
“If you put one in that corner you can record this room and the hall. That’s as long as the door stays open,” laughed Alyssa.
“The door just slammed shut right in front of us. I’ve seen strange things but that happening so quickly. This ghost is bold,” said Erin.
“That’s nothing wait until tonight. That’s when it really gets active,” said Alyssa.
“Oh man,” said Teddy.
“You should put a camera in the kitchen and one in the den. I guess the last one should go in the foyer to catch the stairs. Sometimes a shadow moves up and down the stairs,” said Alyssa.
When they went downstairs Erin placed a camera above the coat rack. The camera captured the foyer, the hall leading to the kitchen and the stairs. Then Alyssa led them to the kitchen.
“I’ll put one up here,” said Teddy.
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He placed one on top of the wall cabinets. It filmed the entire kitchen and the top of the stairs leading to the den.
“The den is in the basement. It’s nice down there. That’s where I hang out most of the time. It has a TV and a video game player. You’ll see, come on,” said Alyssa.
They followed her down to the den. It was a nice den. It was the perfect place for kids to have fun. The grandparents spent most of their time in the living room so the kids had privacy in the den.
“What happens down here?” asked Teddy.
“Set the camera on that shelf. It would be better if I didn’t tell you what happens. You have to see it for yourself,” said Alyssa.
A loud noise came from the kitchen and Erin asked what that was. Alyssa said it was hard to tell. She laughed and said it might be the ghost or her granddad. Erin and Teddy laughed too. The kids stayed in the den and played video games for a while. They heard more noise coming from the kitchen but didn’t pay it any attention. Teddy was curious about the noise and wondered if something was caught on video. That was when Grandmom called them up for dinner. They laughed about thinking the sounds were from a ghost.
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During dinner Erin’s glass slid from in front of her plate to off the table and fell to the floor. Luckily it didn’t break.
“Don’t worry about that Erin. We all drop things now and then,” said Grandmom.
“But I... Yes ma’am. Sorry about that,” said Erin. She reached down and picked up her glass.
“Try to be more careful Erin,” said Teddy with a smile.
Just then Teddy’s glass fell into his lap spilling a half of a cup of water on his pants.
“Whoops, you should be more careful too,” laughed Erin.
The others at the table laughed a little but they didn’t want to make Teddy feel bad.
“Happens all the time son. You go up and change and when you get back we’ll have a little ice cream ok?” said Granddad.
“Thank you sir. Erin come with me,” said Teddy.
Erin and Teddy went to the guest room. As Teddy was getting dry clothes he said,
“I didn’t touch that glass. It was like it jumped into my lap.”
“Did you see my glass? It slid about a foot and fell on the floor. I’m glad it was empty. How
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about the grandparents, they acted like we did it,” said Erin.
“They probably don’t believe in ghosts. For them everything needs a rational explanation. Your glass falling has to be your fault. At least we know we have something on film,” said Teddy.
“She’s active for sure. We should each carry a vial incase she makes an appearance. We might end this tonight,” said Erin.
“Yeah, good idea,” said Teddy.
He took his dry clothes to the bathroom and changed. They both put a vial into their pocket and returned to the kitchen. They had ice cream and then helped with the dishes. Then they went back to the den.
“So how did you like dinner?” asked Alyssa.
“That was pretty wild,” said Erin.
“Pretty funny too. I think the ghost has a sense of humor,” said Alyssa.
“More like a sense of revenge. I think she didn’t like it when I teased Erin so she made a joke of me,” said Teddy.
“What makes you think it’s a girl?” asked Alyssa.
“He’s just using the word she in general,” said Erin.
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“He might be right. Sometimes I see a shadow moving out of the corner of my eye. A few times I thought it looked like a girl,” said Alyssa.
“I just meant it in general,” said Teddy.
The lights in the den started to flicker.
“Don’t worry guys. This has happened before, I call it the light show,” said Alyssa.
The lights continued to flicker. The lamps and the ceiling light seemed to flicker in a rhythm. It seemed like a four count. Then the electronics turned on and off. The TV, the game player, the DVD player and the stereo popped on and off. It was a light show.
“It won’t last long,” said Alyssa.
As the light show continued Teddy saw the ghost. He was startled. She was a shadow moving along the wall. The lights flashed like a strobe. She would appear at different spots as the lights flicked on and disappear when the lights flicked off. She frightened him. She turned the corner and seemed to be coming toward him. He knew she was a killer and he was scared. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the vial. She extended her arms as if she was reaching for him. He curled back into his chair and he threw the vial at her. The lights flicked on and the vial hit the wall. Alyssa and Erin
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looked over at Teddy and saw him pressing his back into the chair.
“Relax Teddy. It’s just the lights and it’s over now,” said Alyssa. “And what was that you threw against the wall?”
“I don’t know. I thought I saw the ghost and I grabbed something off the table,” said Teddy.
“Just take it easy. Even if you did see the ghost it can’t hurt you. No one has ever been hurt by a ghost, right Erin,” said Alyssa.
“That’s what they say on the TV shows,” said Erin.
“Well I was scared. Didn’t either of you see it?” asked Teddy
“I couldn’t see anything with all the flashing,” said Alyssa.
“Me either,” said Erin.
Teddy remembered the video camera and thought the ghost might be on tape. He didn’t want Alyssa to see it so he kept quiet about the camera. Alyssa suggested that since the light show was over they could watch a movie. Feeling stunned by all the activity they agreed with Alyssa.
Alyssa said they could choose a movie from the TV by using the menu. Teddy said he didn’t want to watch anything scary.
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“We can pick a comedy. How about Ghostbusters or Beetlejuice,” said Alyssa.
“Very funny. No scary movies and no movies with ghosts. I’ve had enough of both tonight,” said Teddy.
“I’m just kidding. Why don’t you pick the movie? What’s you’re favorite?” said Alyssa.
“My favorite is the Resident Evil series but I don’t feel like watching that tonight. Lets watch an action movie like Spiderman or something,” said Teddy.
“I like Spidy lets watch it,” said Alyssa.
The kids watched the movie without any more strange activity. They went up to the living room and told the grandparent they were going upstairs. The grandparents told them goodnight and granddad said not to stay up all night playing. Then they went up to the guest room. A TV was on a dresser and Erin turned it on. Alyssa said there were board games in the closet. Teddy opened the closet and looked in.
“Look at all these games. They have at least twenty games in here. That monopoly game is from the seventies,” said Teddy.
“Grandmom loves to collect board games. She says it’s nice to have them if someone wants to play and they have all their pieces,” said Alyssa.
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Erin walked over to look at the collection.
“Wow that is a cool collection. Have you played all these?” asked Erin.
“No, We played the Clue game and the Yatzee game once when she had some friends over but that’s it. I have my own games in my room so these don’t get used very often,” said Alyssa.
Erin noticed a game near the bottom of one of the stacks. She could see only the side of the box. It was dark brown with a black frame around the edge. There was no writing on the side of the box. She thought she recognized it from one of Miss. Simons training classes. She didn’t mention it at that time.
“Do you guys want to play Clue?” asked Erin.
“I’ll play,” said Teddy.
“Alright with me,” said Alyssa.
They set up the game on one of the guest beds. Teddy was Professor Plum, Erin was Ms. Scarlet and Alyssa was Ms. White. Each of them mixed and picked a card from their deck and put it in the packet. They dealt the cards and started the game. Alyssa was the first to make an accusation. She said it was Coronial Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick. She put the Coronial Mustard game figurine and the tiny candlestick on the kitchen spot of the board.
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“Can you prove me wrong?” she asked.
“Look at that,” said Teddy.
The tiny candlestick was spinning. Then the little lead pipe stood on end and started spinning. Then the little knife and the rest of the tiny weapons were spinning. Next the game figures moved from room to room.
“That’s enough for me,” said Teddy.
He lifted the board and spilled the pieces onto the bed.
“This is getting a little crazy. And we’re sleeping over. I don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep,” said Teddy.
The girls were putting the game away.
“I’ve slept here my whole life. You’ll be fine. Remember ghosts don’t harm people. Think of it as a fun house. It’s just a show,” said Alyssa.
“He’ll be ok, it’s kind of surprising when it happens. We’re not use to it that’s all,” said Erin.
“Maybe we should call in a night. I’m tired anyway. I’ll see you in the morning,” said Alyssa.
Alyssa left the guest room and Erin and Teddy got ready for bed. They brushed their teeth and they got in their beds.
“I’m glad you’re in here with me. I don’t think I could stay here if I was alone,” said Teddy.
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“I know how you feel. Try to remember that we’re not her targets. She won’t hurt us,” said Erin.
Somehow they drifted off to sleep. The night passed without any more incidents.