The wind blew through Ben Braeden's hair as he sped down the highway. He needed to find a motel quick, or he was going to pass out. Of course, he hadn't planned to stay at that girl's house so freaking late. Or early, rather. Hell, the sun was going to come up soon. Ben could feel his eyes drooping when he saw her.
A beautiful woman wearing a white dress stood on the side of the road. Her bright clothing stood out in stark contrast to the dark highway.
Ben skidded his motorcycle to a stop and slowly coasted over to her. "Hey," he said, "Do you need some help?"
The woman stared at him with piercing eyes. "Take me home," she said.
Ben blinked. That was certainly an introduction. He'd just left a girl's house, but he didn't even think twice before saying, "Sure, hop on." The woman got on the back of his bike silently, staring at him all the while. He followed the woman's one and two word directions as they rode to her house.
After a while, the woman said nothing. Ben was about to ask where to go next when they rolled up to a broken down looking house. It was in the middle of nowhere, and the house looked like it hadn't seen people in a good many years. Large cobwebs hung in the cracked and dusty windows. Several wooden planks of the porch were missing. Even the door hung ajar in its frame.
"Is this where you live?" Ben asked, "'Cause no offense, but this place needs some serious TLC."
The woman said sadly, "I can never go home."
Ben turned to look at the woman in white, but she was gone. This all gave him a horrible feeling. He needed to get out of there. Just as he was about to turn his motorcycle around, the woman flickered into existence in front of him. Shrieking, she plunged her hand through his chest. Ben cried out as a sharp pain grew from her fingers.
"Get down!" someone shouted. Somehow, Ben managed to throw himself off of his bike as a gunshot rang out. The crazy woman in the white dress was gone.
A girl about his age with curly, brown hair tied up in a ponytail came over and pulled Ben off the ground. "Let me see your chest," she said.
Ben forced a playful grin and said, "Sweetheart, you're not even gonna buy me a drink first?"
The girl gave him a sharp glare and loaded and locked her sawed-off shotgun for emphasis that she was in no mood for his shit.
"Okay, okay, sorry," Ben said. He pulled his shirt over his head and saw that the woman had left angry, red marks where her hand had been.
"No blood," the girl said, "You'll be fine. Now, get on your bike and get out of town."
"You want me to leave?" Ben asked, incredulous, "After what just happened? I want answers, lady."
The girl rolled her eyes and said, "That was a ghost. A woman in white if you want to be specific. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go figure out where she's buried and torch Casper."
A ghost? Was she serious?
Ben walked over to his motorcycle. "No, no, no, no," he muttered under his breath. The side of his ride had hit a large rock when he'd fallen off of it. She now had a huge dent and a deep scratch through the black paint. Shit. As he knelt to pick up his bike, he saw the oil leaking out of the engine. Fuck.
"Hey," he called to the girl, standing up, "How exactly do you kill a ghost?"
The girl stopped short before getting to her bright red sportbike. "Oh no," she said, whirling around towards Ben, "No, you're getting out of here. You're not gonna ask me questions about ghosts or hunting."
"Hunting?" Ben asked.
"Get on your bike and go, jerk," she snapped.
"I'd love to, bitch, but my bike's fucked," Ben snapped.
The girl stepped over to Ben's motorcycle and inspected the damage herself. She stood up and leveled an exasperated stare at Ben. "Fine," she said, "You can come back with me into town and see if a repair guy can pick up your bike, but you are not helping."
Ben grinned and picked his motorcycle up off the ground.
"What are you doing?" the girl asked.
He hauled his bike over to the treeline and laid it down gently. He jogged back over to the girl with the gun and the nice bike and said, "I'm not just gonna leave my baby out in the middle of...where are we again?"
"Didn't you drive here?" the girl asked, mounting her bike.
Ben got on behind her and said, "I've been up for over 24 hours. Sue me."
"You got a helmet?" the girl asked.
"Nah," Ben said, "Never cared for them."
The girl sighed and said a sarcastic, "Awesome."
"What? I don't see you wearing a helmet," Ben said defensively.
The girl stuck her gun in a holster on her side and said, "I don't wear a helmet, because I'd be lucky to die in a motorcycle accident." Ben was about to ask what she meant by that when she said over her shoulder, "Hang on."
She revved up her bike and took off down the road.
"Do you know who the ghost is?" Ben asked after a few minutes.
The girl didn't answer. While he did have to speak up to project his voice over the wind, he knew the road noise wasn't loud enough to drown him out. The girl with the gun must've heard him.
"Or is it who the ghost was...y'know, rather than is," he said, hoping she'd tell him something.
Again, there was no reply.
"Do we stop being ourselves when we die?" Ben asked.
The girl driving the bike released a deep sigh that Ben felt more than he heard.
"Ghosts used to be people, right?" he asked.
She said loud enough for Ben to hear, "I'm not doing this with you, kid." Oh, good. Communication.
"How did you find out about ghosts?" Ben asked.
"Seriously," the girl said, "We're not doing this."
"Can you at least tell me your name?" Ben asked.
Roughly, the girl swerved her bike over to the side of the road and applied the brakes. She stopped the motorcycle and turned around to face Ben. "You want to know my name?" she asked.
Ben nodded and said, "Yeah. No state secrets or anything. Just your name."
"It's Krissy Chambers," she said evenly.
Ben smiled and said, "Well, hi, Krissy. I'm Ben. Ben Braeden."
Krissy rolled her eyes. "I don't care," she said. She turned back to face the road.
Pulling her bike back on the road, it seemed pretty clear that she didn't want to talk to Ben. He had different plans, however.
"C'mon," he said, "I talked to the ghost. You aren't the least bit curious about info or anything?"
"Where are your parents?" Krissy asked.
Ben's breath caught. His head swam for a moment with memories of flames, smoke, and screams. He shook it off as quickly as he could and asked, "Why does that matter?"
"Well, kid, if you've got somewhere you can be-"
"One, I'm 22, and you don't look much older, so stop calling me kid," Ben said, cutting her off, "And two, never met my dad, and my mom's dead."
Krissy took a deep breath before saying, "Sorry about your parents, but kid, until you've seen the crap I've seen, I'm going to keep calling you kid."
Ben bristled at the comment. If he hadn't seen the shit he'd seen, he wouldn't be out here in the first place. He'd be at home with his mom. He'd probably still be in college.
He snapped, "You don't know what I've seen and what I haven't, so I don't know where you get off-look out!"
The woman in white materialized in the middle of the road only feet in front of them. Krissy saw the ghost and narrowly swerved to avoid hitting it.
"Thanks for the head's up," Krissy said.
The ghost showed up in front of them again.
"Shit," Krissy said as she maneuvered around the woman in white again. Krissy kept dodging, and the spirit kept popping up, lunging out, scratching at the motorcycle.
The eighth time Krissy scooted around the ghost, the woman in white appeared behind Ben on the bike. A sharp pain shot through his back, alerting him to her presence. Ben let out a strangled cry. It felt like his spine was being ripped out.
Krissy looked over her shoulder. "Fuck," she hissed. She grabbed her gun out of the holster and shouted, "Ben, down!"
Ben ducked, and she fired both barrels of buckshot over his head. The pain in his back stopped, and Ben looked behind him. The ghost was gone, and a large scattering of what looked like road salt lay behind them.
"Are you firing rock salt?!" Ben asked.
"Works like a charm on ghosts," Krissy said, "Fuck. Hang on." Ben looked around for what Krissy was talking about when she skidded her bike sideways and slid through the ghost again.
"Is she gonna keep doing this until we get to town?" Ben asked, shouting over the wind that had suddenly picked up.
"Probably," Krissy shouted back.
"Watch out!" Ben shouted.
Krissy swerved around the ghost again.
"How do you kill a ghost?" Ben asked.
"I told you, kid, I'm not talking to you about hunting," Krissy snapped.
Ben shouted, "I'm trying to help before this thing gets us killed. How do you kill a fucking ghost?"
The ghost slid through the motorcycle again, scratching Krissy's arm. She hissed in pain and said, "I salt and burn the remains of the ghost."
"Like bones?" Ben asked.
"Yes, like bones," Krissy said.
Ben pulled out his phone and said, "Turn around. We shouldn't lead her too close to town." Krissy groaned, but she turned the bike around anyway.
Speeding away from the town, Krissy kept dodging the woman in white as Ben googled as fast as his phone would let him. He looked up the address of the house the ghost had led him to.
After a few links and a few moments where he was worried the swerving motorcycle would lose him his phone, Ben said, "Her name is Maria Andrews. She's buried in a cemetery not far from here."
"Give me directions," Krissy said.
"Keep taking this road until the bend. Just past the bend, it should be on your right," Ben said.
Krissy asked urgently, "Can you shoot?" Before Ben could reply, Krissy reached back, handing him a handgun.
Ben took the gun and quickly aimed it at the ghost that appeared again. He shot at it, and the ghost dissipated.
"Did I hit it?" Ben asked.
Krissy said, "Does it matter? Hold on." She pushed her bike faster as they raced to the cemetery. They got there quickly with Ben only having to shoot the ghost once.
"You're sure she's buried here?" Krissy asked.
Ben nodded, scanning gravestones for names. He glanced over at Krissy to see the woman in white behind her.
"Get down!" Ben shouted. Krissy dropped to the ground, and Ben fired a round through the ghost. It disappeared again.
"Yeah, she's around here somewhere," Krissy said, getting up. After a moment, she called, "Here."
Ben ran over, and sure enough, there was the grave of Maria Andrews.
"You got a shovel?" Krissy asked.
Ben gave her a look and said, "Yeah, let me just pull one out of my ass. Why don't you have a shovel? You're the one who knows so much about hunting ghosts." Krissy returned the look and said, "I have a shovel. In my truck. At the motel. In town. Somebody didn't want to lead the ghost into town, so I'm a little under-prepared right now." She looked around for an alternative. Ben spotted an open grave next to a nearby mausoleum. There was a shovel leaning against the mausoleum. Jackpot.
"There," Ben said, pointing out the shovel.
The woman in white materialized in front of Krissy and shoved her hand into Krissy's stomach, making her double over in pain. Ben shot the ghost, causing it to leave Krissy as he made a break for the shovel. He grabbed it and started to run back to Krissy when the ghost appeared before him.
"I can never go home!" she shrieked.
"That's your problem!" Ben shouted, shooting a round of rock salt through the spirit. He ran to Krissy and said, "I think I'm out of ammo. But hey, I got the shovel."
Krissy took the shovel and asked, "You don't happen to have any salt on you, do you?"
Ben said, "Sorry, I hadn't exactly planned on fighting a ghost when I hit the road today."
"I only have enough salt for the bones. Shit," Krissy said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a weird looking set of brass knuckles. She tossed him the shovel and said, "Dig fast."
"Are you going to punch a ghost with brass knuckles?" Ben asked, confused.
Krissy said, "They're iron, so yes. Don't ask questions, just dig."
Ben pushed the shovel into the ground, pulling out as much dirt as he could manage. The ghost appeared, and Krissy actually did punch it in the face. Just like the rock salt, it made the ghost disappear. Ben kept digging, adrenaline fueling him when his arms and back started aching. Krissy kept swinging at the ghost, occasionally jumping across the hole Ben was making to keep the thing at bay.
Finally, Ben hit something hard. He scraped away dirt quickly until a terrible pain cut through his neck. The ghost had him by the throat when Krissy jumped into the grave and smashed through the woman in white with the iron knuckles.
Krissy helped him clear off what was left of the coffin. They wrenched it open, and she pulled out a small bottle from a pocket further down on her pants.
She tossed it to Ben and said, "Squirt this on the bones."
He did as he was told, trying not to look too closely at the skeleton lying before him.
Krissy whipped out a lighter and a shotgun shell. She opened the shell and spread the salt within over the remains. "Climb out," she said.
Ben pulled himself out of the hole he dug only to be grabbed by the ghost again. He struggled to breath through her hand doing further damage to his chest.
"Take me home," the woman hissed.
Krissy climbed out of the grave and said, "You got it, bitch."
She flicked the lighter on and tossed it into the open grave.
Flames leaped from the coffin as the ghost released Ben. She screamed as a different set of flames devoured her essence. It was done. The woman in white was gone.
Ben collapsed on the ground, breathing heavy.
Krissy huffed a small laugh before landing on the grass next to him. "You good?" she asked.
Ben nodded, trying to remember how to breathe. They'd just killed a ghost. Holy fucking shit.
"You know we've gotta find her kids' graves now, right?" Krissy asked.
Ben closed his eyes. She had to be kidding. "Please, tell me you're joking," he said.
Krissy replied, "Partially joking. Women in white happen, because their husband was unfaithful, and they go crazy, kill their kids, and kill themselves. Their ghosts become that thing we had so much fun with tonight. Usually, the kids move on, but it's good to be on the safe side. So, we are gonna have to salt and burn the kids, but not this second. I'll take care of it tonight."
The sun slowly started to peak above the horizon when Krissy said, "C'mon, dude. We gotta get out of here before we get charged with grave desecration."
Ben slowly sat up. He was exhausted. He felt tired in his muscles, in his head, in his very being. But it was a good exhaustion. It was an exhaustion he could get used to.
Krissy helped him to his feet, and they made their way back to her motorcycle.
"So, this is what you do? Hunt ghosts?" Ben asked.
Krissy hopped on her bike and said, "Among other things, yeah."
"Other things?" Ben asked, curiosity piqued.
Krissy said, "Nope, no. I'm not talking to you about hunting. It's not happening."
Ben sighed and said, "Fine, but can you still give me a ride back to town, so I can get my bike fixed?"
Krissy laughed and said, "After everything that happened tonight, yeah, I'll give you a ride."
They got to the town without any ghostly opposition. As they pulled up to the motel Krissy had been staying at, Ben knew he had one last shot at this. Sure, it had been the first time he'd ever taken on a ghost, but it was the first time in months that he'd felt like he'd actually done something. He wasn't just coasting through life. He'd actually done something.
"So, I get that you don't want to talk about hunting with me, but can you take me with you?" he asked.
Krissy got off the bike and stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. "I hunt alone," she said flatly.
"Come on, Krissy. You could train me. I helped out a lot with this ghost. I might come in handy," Ben pressed.
"Why?" Krissy asked, "Why in hell would you want to hunt with me?" Ben furrowed his brow. It was a good question. He didn't exactly have anything better to do, but that wasn't it. That wasn't why he felt like going with this girl he'd only just met. And it wasn't just that it broke through the fog he'd felt ever since his mom died. It was something else, something deeper.
"It feels right," Ben said, hoping Krissy would hear his sincerity, "It feels familiar."
Krissy sighed and motioned for Ben to get off of her motorcycle. She walked it over to a black truck with a flatbed.
"You have any family? Any friends who would miss you?" Krissy asked.
Ben shook his head. Whatever ties he'd had had died with his mother.
She lowered the gate on the truck and used it as a ramp to put her bike on the flatbed.
"Before tonight, did you ever have anything supernatural happen to you?" Krissy asked.
Ben said instantly, "Yes." He wished he could have any other answer.
"I don't mean that you and your friends from school messed around with a ouija board once," Krissy said.
Ben said evenly, "My mother burned to death in a fire that had no origin. She was bleeding on the ceiling when it happened. If that's not supernatural enough for you, I don't know what to tell you."
Krissy nodded as she absorbed the information. "You'll die if you come with me," she said.
"You don't know that," Ben countered.
Krissy laughed bitterly and said, "I had a group of friends that I hunted with, and I'm the last one standing. Trust me, you'll die. Everyone does."
"I want to come with anyway," Ben said. He wasn't sure why he wanted to go with so badly, but it felt like something he really had to do. He'd never fought something like he had that night, but he knew with a bone deep certainty that he wanted to do it again.
"Alright," Krissy said, "Get in the truck. We'll go pick up your bike and head back here. You'll need to rest up before we take out the kids tonight."
Ben beamed and hopped in the passenger seat of Krissy's truck.
She put her keys in the ignition but didn't start the engine. She turned to face Ben. She said, "Ground rules. We hunt together, that's it. No emotional attachment. We aren't friends, we aren't besties, and if you ever try to so much as kiss me, I'll cut off your dick in your sleep. Clear?"
Ben tried not to be intimidated, but it didn't do any good. He had no doubt Krissy would kill him if he tried anything with her.
"Crystal clear," he replied.
"Another thing," she said, "There's no turning back from this. There's no getting out of this life after you're in. This is a life sentence."
"I get it. I'm still in," Ben said.
Krissy started the truck and headed for the house they'd met at. After Ben's bike was placed securely next to Krissy's on the flatbed, Ben climbed back in the passenger seat. Part of him really wanted to go to sleep. He was so freaking tired. Something drew his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked in the backseat and pulled out a small crossbow from the duffle bag sitting back there.
"How do you use one of these?" Ben asked.
Krissy drove back onto the main road towards town and said, "Well, it's easier to fire it if the safety's off."
Ben looked at the crossbow for a safety switch or something. He fumbled around with it until the small arrow popped out of the back of the weapon haphazardly.
Krissy laughed and took the crossbow away from Ben. She said, "Looks like we've got work to do."