Here's Chapter 2!
Thanks for the reviews from the first chapter. I honestly didn't think people would like this story since it's about an OC of mine. Either way I hope this new chapter pleases you!
xlx
Wendy Manson, 14-year old freshman in Casper High. Recently she's been able to sense ghosts, and on the day Wendy's paranormal curiosity gets the best of her, her project partner and ex-bestfriend Shane happens to follow her. When she meets a mysterious ghost in the abandoned apartment, what of her identity will she be discovering?
CHAPTER 2: Capturing the Day Pt. 2
Walking up to the corner building, the three of us headed up the stoop only to see the door broken down sideways. We peeked in, seeing a devastated living room filled with cobwebs and dust - the perfect signs of a haunted apartment. Then again the place has probably been abandoned for over a decade.
"What a freaky house," Nett pointed out, exploring the living room.
"I know right?" I agreed, kind of enjoying the authenticity of a real haunted house.
"Eh, I've seen weirder," said Shane, picking up a dusty pillow from the floor, only to toss it aside.
I narrowed my eyes slightly at him, and turned off to see another door. Walking over and looking in, I saw it led to the kitchen. Its tiled walls were starting to crack, while most of the wooden shelves remained open, empty of food. The table and chairs were knocked over to the side and left untouched for years. "Good thing I ate lunch," I muttered upon entering the room. No way would I be finding any edible food in here any time soon, if you'd consider anything here food at all.
Coming into the kitchen, I walked across the room to feel the walls. Even they had dust on it's fading color. "I bet this place used to look real nice," I said. "A good family, lots of food. I wouldn't mind living here."
As I walked along I felt an unusual line in the wall. Looking to the side I found the blank wall and a rectangular shape in it. Following down to the center right side I saw a small in handle. Pulling on it and sliding it to the left, I realized it was a door, and stopped moving it after moving it an inch. A smirk appeared on my face. "Bingo."
"Find anything?" Nett asked, the two boys coming into he kitchen from the living room.
I put up my finger to my mouth to signal quietness. "I think I found a door."
"In the kitchen wall?" Shane asked, feeling the hallow door.
Pulling it open, I found a flight of stairs that led to what appeared to be a basement. And strangely enough my curiosity didn't allow me to think twice about heading down there.
"W-Wendy? Wendy hey wait up!" Nett panicked, following shortly with Shane.
Going down the stairs I turned on the lights, revealing the size of the place. It almost just as big as the school gym. "Wow..." I breathed in pure amazement. Nett and Shane behind me also looked around in disbelief. The basement we were in wasn't just any basement. It looked like a secret underground laboratory, test tubes and all. "What a place... I can only imagine what the old owners of the house used to do here."
Nett walked over to one of the tables, seeing a dusty brown leather book on it covered at the side by a spider's cobweb.
"Maybe the owners used to be inventors or something," Shane said, seeing various little machines of various uses all over the room.
"That'd be cool if it were true," I chuckled, coming to the from of the room where a strange circular door stood. "I wonder where this leads."
"Don't you think we're snooping a little too much?" Shane asked unsure. "Sure the place may be deserted and all but who's to say no one really still lives here?"
"Actually he's right," Nett spoke, making the two of us look at the boy. He stood there, holding a brown book with wrinkling pages. "Look at this. This is dated back to the early 2000's."
"Seriously?" I asked running up too him and taking a look at the cover of the book. "Fenton Journal..." I flipped through the pages, colored faintly with old age and the scent of old dust you see in ancient books at the library. It appeared as a real journal. Recordings and drawings all in pencil and back pen - some smudges of ink apparent on some pages. "This is so, cool."
"Weirdo," Shane teased, grabbing the book from over my head.
"H-Hey! Give that back!" Nett shouted, trying to jump for it. Shane wasn't really all that taller than Nett or me. We were all the same height I think, yet Nett still couldn't reach the journal.
I made a thoughtful face at this. It somehow reminded me of our younger days. Right now it looked a lot like Shane making fun of Nett, annoying him with the darn book. However I remembered a scene like this when we were younger, about how a kid-Shane stole Nett's baseball, and I was standing near by laughing. It was all for fun back then. And mindlessly, I began to wonder if it would ever be the same like that.
"Wendy! A little help!" called Nett's voice, snapping me out of my day dreams.
Finally coming back into reality, I realized a page was falling from the journal Shane was waving around, trying to keep it away from Nett. The page landed on the floor at my feet, and I bent down swiftly to pick up the piece of paper. I looked on both sides only for my eyes to rest on the original front.
"Ghost portal," I recited form the headline of the page. On it was a pencil drawing of some sort of arch or door in a metallic circle. Lifting the page up, I moved it down and saw the real deal standing at the wall across the room. The same circular door.
While the boys continued to argue, I went over to try and make my own observations. I felt the door void of any dust, as if it had been recently used. However I doubted that. Everything else around it looked untouched. However, looks can be deceiving. Especially here. "I wonder how you open it," I said curiously, looking back at the fallen page.
"Shane come on!" Nett said tiredly, still trying to grab for the new found Fenton Journal.
"Geez, Folly. You know you'd think that at least by now you would've gotten some back bone," Shane said, finally letting Nett get the book.
Adjusting his glasses, Nett went back to exploring the contents of the journal. But upon looking back up with a double take he noticed me messing around with the circular door, alerting Nett and Shane somewhat. Or a lot. Yeah, a lot. "Wendy! What the heck are you doing?" Nett shouted in panic.
"This page says that this is supposed to be some kind of ghost portal," I responded, looking back at them. Looks like they finally stopped fighting.
Nett made a face. I could understand. Me, girl who runs from ghosts, is trying to open a door to the ghosts? "And you're trying to... open it."
"Um... yeah," I said weirdly. "... What."
"It's just, you know," Nett said awkwardly, not wanting to spill my secret in front of Shane. I've only told Nett so recently and he's been very trust worthy with my secret.
"Well maybe this is just where they're all coming from," I made note of. "Maybe if I can figure out how it works maybe it can all just, stop."
"I wouldn't go through there if I were you," said an unfamiliar voice. We all turned around and saw two ghostly vultures fly through the metallic walls of the basement.
I felt the cold chill but I ignored the feeling at the moment. My eyes widened at their sight. "It's those ghost birds I saw before."
"Hm? What? She means us?" asked one of them.
"Well duh oh course, you ding-dong. Who else?" said the other. I remarked inwardly they sounded like two arguing retired grandpas from the army. "Though I do doubt anyone's allowed to be down here. Especially a bunch of kids. And besides, we do have authority to eliminate whoever's down here," he added amusingly, nerve wrecking Shane, Nett, and me.
"What?" repeated the other bird. Maybe he was tone deaf.
"We're in a bad situation," Nett whispered inconspicuously.
"No duh," Shane said with furrowed eyebrows.
"Maybe we should panic," continued Nett.
"Oh yeah that's a smart plan," I remarked sarcastically.
"Hey, they have the journal!" shouted the bird suddenly, eyeing the brown book in Nett's possession.
"And now I'm up for panicking," I said with a bored expression.
"Split up!" shouted Shane as we all went in three separate directions across the basement. Of course the two ghost vultures chased after us, lucky for me after Shane and Nett. I stopped in my tracks near the exit at the realization I wasn't being followed.
"Give us the book!" shouted the ghost vulture chasing Nett. He tried repetitively to grab the teen with its claws, but Nett ducked each time, only barely missing with each try.
"ACK!" Nett shouted, tripping over a paperclip on the floor. Gosh Nett really? He landed on the tilled floor and I slapped my forehead. Ugh. Could this get any worse? The boy pulled up his torso and saw Shane in a distance. "Shane catch!" Using the last of his strength he threw the journal towards the black-haired boy. Being the athletic teenager he was, Shane caught it with ease, as if it were a mere football game.
"You're not getting away that easy," snared the ghost vulture flying after Shane. Catching up with speed, the over sized bird began to approach Shane closer and closer. I saw Shane turn his head towards me as he ran with the Fenton Journal.
"Hey Manson! Heads up!" he shouted, tossing the book towards me.
It spiraled in circles until it landed in my grasp. Catching it, I decided to go back and try to get help, however when I turned around I saw another ghostly figure whom I bumped into, making me back up and hold my forehead. "Gah. I hate that," I muttered in pain, opening one of my blue eyes. However I let got of my head upon seeing who was in front of me. A young man with a black and white jump suit and white hair with green glowing eyes. He had a white glow tint around him, kinda like a- "Ghost..." I said in awe, whether that awe be pure amazement or just plain mortification. I swallowed. Now what? "Uh..."
"Who are you?" he asked with a look and crossed arms. If anything he reminded me a lot like a parent, like my single mom. Except she didn't glow in the dark or hover above steps. Oh... I just noticed he wasn't on the ground. "Do you have any idea where you are, anyway? You aren't allowed down here." He looked down at my hand. "The journal," he said dangerously. He knew about this, too?
"I-I," I found my self stuttering. Just how many ghosts were there exactly, anyhow...?
At that I saw my visible breath escape my mouth once again. The ghost man and I saw this, and his furrowed eyebrows lifted into ones of astonishment. However I failed to notice his expression due to the appearance of a third ghost vulture behind the ghost man. Great...
I saw a faint smile appear on the man's face. "Well, someone as speechless as you can't be that much of a threat." He noticed the other two running in the back round, and turned to the third ghost vulture to give an order. "Go tell your friends to lay off. It appears we have some unexpected visitors."
And just like that the ghost vulture nodded and left to get the other two. The shouts and screams from Nett and Shane, mostly Nett, came to cease as I continued to stare at this mystery man. Who was he to be able to order around such powerful and scary looking ghosts? Then again what do I know? I don't control ghosts now do I.
"Finally," Nett fathomed out of relief, sinking to the ground now that ghosts were no longer after him. Shane was catching his breath near by a wall.
"Thanks," I said hesitantly to the stranger looking up at him. "Who are you anyway? Do you live here?"
"Something like that," he laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "But like I said, what are you kids doing around here? Obviously you've noticed, but no one's really supposed to be in here."
"Really I haven't noticed," I said sheepishly.
"Liar," glared Shane. I glared right back with daggers in my stare.
The stranger flew over me and over to a chair to sit on. Gosh he can fly so easily, like he's weightless. "Well, someone start talkin'. I'm a ghost and I'm dead and all but I don't have all day."
My mind winched at the thought of talking to a dead person. Unconsciously my arms hugged the journal protectively. "We were assigned a project at school, to write a report on a place in town."
"And you just had to choose this place," Shane voice jumped in from across the room.
"Oh now you talk to me!" I snapped at him before turning back to the ghost whose arms were crossed. "To be honest I saw those ghost birds of yours. I saw them earlier this morning and when I saw them again I just felt like I had to see where they were coming from. So after school today I followed them to this place and, I guess those two ended up following me," I finished, sending a stare at the two boys still exhausted from the chase.
"You saw them?" he repeated, glancing over at the three guilty birds hanging over by a higher ground. They then began to whistle and look other directions until one spoke up.
"Hey it's not not our fault she's smarter than the average monkey and has that ghost sense. Gosh even you were a pain in the behind when you were-"
"Ghost sense?" I repeated from the old bird's story. "What the heck is a ghost sense?"
"It's, kinda what happens when you're near a ghost. You see your breath," explained the white-haired man in front of me.
"My breath? Is that what that was all this time?" I looked down, clutching my hands. Sensing ghosts. Ever since summer vacation ended I've been plagued with that annoying creepy feeling. Now I know why. "But why only me? Why doesn't everyone else get goosebumps on their arms every day?"
Nett and Shane watched from the background in silence. The ghost in front of me wore a look of sympathy. "What's your name?"
That's all he has to say? "Winona Manson." I noticed his green eyes became stern for some reason, as if he came into deep thought all of a sudden. "But my mom calls me Wendy instead."
"Wendy," he repeated. Man, maybe I should've given a fake name. Maybe my last name comes from this family of people who ghosts want to get revenge on for hunting them. But on the contrary, calmness overtook once more on the face of the stranger. Finally he smiled warmly. "You can call me Danny for now."
"Danny?" I questioned. What a weird name for a ghost, but I decided against pestering him about useless subjects.
"Hold on," spoke Nett, getting up from the floor. He and Shane ran over to where we were. "Are you saying that Wendy can sense ghosts?"
Danny leaned back. in his seat. "Basically. And I don't know how or why, but she can. Normal people aren't supposed to be able to do that."
"So, who can?" I asked in emphasis.
"From what I know through my experiences only certain types of ghosts and halfas should be able to sense other ghosts with their breath. It's a complicated process but it's not really that important."
"What's a halfa?" Shane asked skeptically.
"Half ghost, half human - it's kinda easy to get," Danny told. "And in this particular case, I think Wendy here is a halfa." My gaze widened as I felt Shane and Nett stare at me. "It's my only logical guess. I could be wrong but, I wouldn't be able to think of any other explanation."
"A halfa," I said confusedly, staring into space. "What exactly are they supposed to do?"
"Well for one they can do this," Danny smirked, quickly pointing his finger with a green laser beam shooting from it. It flew right behind us and blew up some broken beakers on a table. The three of us 'normals' baffled in bewilderment at his seemingly harmless demonstration. "Ecto-plasmic blast. Comes in handy."
"AND I'M SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?"
"I dunno. Try," he reacted lazily.
I pouted at him. He makes it look so easy and expects me to copy. "Fine, but I'm not making any promises. Just because I can see my breath in the middle of summer doesn't mean I'm any halfa."
"Sure. Maybe it means your breath stinks so bad it becomes visible," Shane teased with a smirk.
I glared. "You better hope I can't do that ecto-ray thing," I said back before facing a blank wall. After spotting a target of cardboard boxes I let out a quick breath and shot my hand forward. Nothing happened. I did it again, expecting for something to happen.
"Yup, definitly bad breath," Shane commented.
Within the next five seconds the boy was on the floor, my foot on his back and me pulling on his arms. "At least I can still do this, pretty-boy!"
"Argh, get your dirty army boot off my back, woman!" he shouted in the struggle as Nett and Danny watched.
"What's wrong? Afraid my foot's gonna dirty up that expensive shirt of yours? Or maybe you just want to take back that bad breath comment!"
"Ha as if-! AHHH!" I began stomping my foot harder onto his back without mercy as Nett sighed, Danny watching curiously.
"Hey I think I like this girl," said one of the ghost vultures from above, watching in amusement the fight going on at the bottom.
"Are they always like that?" Danny asked questioningly to Nett.
"Um, not as far as I know," Nett replied. I'll admit, I find it weird how I'm acting so normally around Shane. This morning I never thought I'd find myself fighting with Shane Johnson.
Danny closed his eyes with a small scoff. "Kids."
After a short while, we were all in peace again. I was still trying to do the ecto-plasmic ray thing as the guys watched from behind. I heard Shane yawn. Still no dice. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this, Danny," I said turning around sadly.
"You're just a late bloomer. It takes practice - believe me."
"It's getting late, though," Nett noted, looking at his watch. "Our parents will be wondering where we are. It's been four hours since dismissal."
"That long?" I said in surprise.
"You guys better go. I wouldn't want you getting in trouble because of me," Danny advised.
"Nah it wasn't your fault. It was those bird brains, anyway," I said back with a look.
"We're still here," said one of the aggravated ghost vultures.
"Your point?"
"Whatever, let's just get back home now," Nett interrupted, standing up instantly. He didn't look like he wanted to take his time leaving. "I have to use the bathroom and I am not using the john in a haunted apartment building."
"Thanks for sharing that - again," I muttered as my two companions made their way for the stairs back up. Before following I faced Danny, who stayed behind in his seat, appearing to have fallen asleep. "Will I ever see you again?" I asked, knowing fully well he was awake. I noticed him open one eye - one of those glowing green eyes I'll never be able to forget. "I know there's a lot of stuff I don't get about ghosts yet. So I still have a lot of questions and, for some reason, I feel like you have the answers I'm looking for."
After a thought Danny sat straight up from his laid back position. "Tell ya what. Come by tomorrow after school again. We'll talk more then. Is that good enough for you?"
"That's all I ask for," I nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you." I turned around to catch up with Nett and Shane. Danny watched as the three kids disappeared. It was then one of the three ghost birds perched above him flew down.
"Strange girl she is," the bird commented.
"Yeah."
"Want us to keep an eye on her?" asked the bird in his strange old-man accent.
Danny was up for that suggestion, but he knew teenage girls well enough that they liked privacy, especially from green elderly ghostly vultures. "Maybe one day. But for now we'll just let things flow."
"You sure? I know for certain this girl's a halfa and it'd be a waste to just let her get away too quickly."
The snow-haired ghost saw terms of agreement. "If it'll calm you down I'll take some action. But we are not following her. You know very well how I can't leave this place. And I'm not letting you and your bird brains up there loose into the city again to cause havoc."
"Us? Cause havoc? No no no no we are past those days of spooking and terrifying humans for fun."
"So what do you do," Danny asked skeptically.
The three vultures exchanged questioning looks. "Uh, we'll have to get back to you on that," said the leader.
Danny sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. But about the girl, here's the plan."
