Chapter Two

Billy and Scotch came over soon after breakfast, hoping for Radley and Kalin to ride with the group as they did each day. Radley always looked forward to their rides, and today was no exception. He and Kalin headed out, with Kalin shooting Radley a Look. Maybe they could visit that cemetery he had talked about.

". . . Let's ride out by the old cemetery," Radley spoke when they met up with the rest of the Bunch outside.

"Why there?!" Biff exclaimed in alarm.

"Kalin doesn't remember ever seeing it," Radley said. His voice carried a soft warning the Bunch would recognize. Kalin doesn't remember, so don't talk about that night.

"It's not a tourist attraction," Scotch said.

"It might help explain why there's a supernatural force over the town," Kalin said. "If any of the names are intact, I'm going to try to research who those people were and if any of them could be walking the earth as restless spirits."

Biff blanched. "We don't havta go inside with you, do we?!"

"Not if you don't want to," Kalin grunted. "Although if you think the place is so bad, you should worry if Radley goes in with me."

"We'll definitely worry!" Biff retorted.

"And of course we'll come," Billy said.

They rode off, flying over the dirt and sand as they headed for the open area outside the fenced city. Radley took the lead, as always, and as usual, everyone was happy to follow him.

He always felt so free during these times. He loved his rag-tag group of followers, and Kalin had to admit that they still loved him. The last thing they wanted to do was to hurt him again. Even with something as simple as one of his wheels hitting a small rock and wobbling for a second or two while he straightened it out, Billy and Clint rode up on either side to make sure he had protection against a possible fall.

Billy, Clint, and Virgil were especially protective of him now. They were the ones he had encountered in the mines when they had been forced to work as guards and hadn't helped him. They hadn't known how to take the shock collar off, but they still felt haunted and horrified that they hadn't stayed with him, even just to give him comfort so he wouldn't have had to die alone.

Kalin had to admit he morbidly wondered what it had been like when Billy had found Radley's lifeless body later on and the full force of their betrayal had hit him. Had it really been anything like Kalin's own devastation and grief when he had found Radley washed up on shore after he had sacrificed himself to save them all from Lawton's evil plan? Radley was certainly haunted by it.

They rode out around a side of the mountain Kalin hadn't seen before. There was an old entrance to the mine on this side, and down below was the tangle of brush Radley had described to him. Amid the twisted bushes and rolling tumbleweeds were a few stone markers. Others lay in pieces on the ground. The sunken graves Radley had mentioned were still there too, and probably even worse off than they had been before.

Biff stared at one of those. "Why did you wanna come out here, Kalin?!" he moaned.

Kalin pulled up next to the cemetery and got off, removing his helmet. "Radley explained that. I'm just looking for names to research in New Domino City today." He climbed over the low log fence, ignoring the weeds brushing against his coat as he went.

"You really gotta watch out for the graves," Biff warned him. "Some of them are so covered over by weeds, you can't see 'em at all, and then you're falling in!"

Kalin stepped down and his foot started to sink. ". . . I see that." He carefully moved away and walked over to a small obelisk marker that was cracked and leaning to the left. "'Johnson,'" he read. "You don't suppose . . ."

Radley came over and leaned on the fence with crossed arms. "That's an extremely common name. It's probably no relation at all."

"No relation to who?" Scotch wondered.

"Johnson of the Big Five," Kalin said vaguely. "This place is close to New Domino City, and as far as I know, Johnson's family comes from there."

Radley frowned at the monument. "You know, I think this Johnson was one of the feuding settlers."

Kalin frowned too. "Which one?"

"The one who was shot," Radley said.

"Then that thing's probably haunted!" Biff yelped. "Get away from it!"

Instead, Kalin bent down to try to read it better. He brushed the thin vines and stems of plant life aside as he studied the carved letters. "'Foully murdered,'" he read. "'The restless dead walk the earth.'"

Now Biff looked ready to cry. "Why do they gotta walk the earth?!"

"Seriously?" Scotch frowned, patting Biff on the shoulder. "Who would put that on somebody's tombstone?!"

Kalin straightened. "A vengeful family member or friend, maybe." He looked back to Radley. "Do you remember the name of the other settler?"

"No," Radley said. "I don't think I knew it. He might not be buried there. Crash Town really didn't last long as a silver mining town and everyone left."

Kalin took a picture of the grave with his phone and stepped back. "I'll see what kind of information the historical society has on this Thaddeus Johnson." He took pictures of several other graves with legible names before coming back to the fence and rejoining his friends.

"So are we going road-trippin' today?" Scotch chirped.

Radley smiled. "If you all want to come."

Scotch punched the air. "Yes! Of course we wanna come! Party in the big city!"

Radley chuckled. Scotch had used to be so quiet, but he had certainly started to open up more. Malcolm's defeat and the rebuilding of the town had definitely had a positive change on him. Although there was a part of Radley that wondered if Scotch's drastic personality changes were at least somewhat to try to make up for or distract from Billy's reclusiveness. Maybe he didn't want Radley to worry about Billy, since at the moment nothing seemed able to be done. But of course Radley noticed and worried anyway.

"I'm done here." Kalin got back on his motorcycle and put on his helmet. "Let's go now."

Everyone was agreeable to that, and they all climbed on their motorcycles. Radley paused as a chill breeze wafted out from the cemetery and hit him in the back, blowing his hair around.

Kalin frowned in concern. "What is it?"

"It's nothing." Radley put his helmet on. "Let's go."

But he paused again as he started to rev his engine. Suddenly it was occurring to him that when they visited their friends in the City, they might say something about the last adventure they had all been on together. He and Kalin hadn't even told the Bunch what had happened, not wanting to burden them with the information. But suddenly hearing it from someone else would be worse. He frowned. What should they do?

"Radley?" Billy came up next to him. "Are you okay?"

Radley turned to look at him. "Yes, I'm fine," he insisted.

Billy sighed. ". . . We all know something happened the last time you and Kalin left Crash Town," he said. "You've been so shaken up ever since you got back."

"You knew?" Radley said in surprise. "We tried to make everything look normal."

"Maybe it would've worked once, but we've all been through so much and it's got harder for you to hide when you're upset," Marty said.

"Or maybe it's just that we're better at reading you now," Clint said.

"Not to mention you and Kalin keep being sacked out on the couch together," Virgil said. "We've seen you like that sometimes when we've come over early."

Radley sighed but smiled in resignation and took off his helmet. Next to him, Kalin was doing likewise.

"We didn't want to tell you because we knew it would hurt you so much," Radley said. "But I just realized that when we go into the City, our friends there will probably talk about it. You deserve to hear it from us instead of having it sprung on you out of thin air."

"We know you went off to stop Lawton from taking over the Duel Monsters' world or something wacky like that," Virgil said.

"And we know you kicked him into next week!" Scotch grinned. "Man, I think he's still in the prison hospital!"

Radley and Kalin exchanged a look. "Yes, I stopped Lawton," Radley said. "He was going to murder who knows how many of the group, including Kalin. I had to defeat him to shut off the Blast Spheres he'd set up around the area. But . . . there was a price to pay for stopping him. I died." An involuntary shudder went up his back.

Dead silence from the Bunch.

"W-What?!" Billy finally choked out. "Again?!" He swayed, turning pale.

"Again," Radley sighed.

"But . . . Kalin revived you again," Marty stammered.

"No." Kalin shook his head. "This time, I couldn't do a thing." His voice thickened with the horrible memories.

Scotch just stared at Radley. "Then . . . how?" He came closer, looking like he wanted to reach out and touch Radley to reassure himself their beloved leader was really there and alive.

Radley laid a hand on Scotch's shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "Well . . . it's still really hard to explain," he said. He went red.

"An angel brought him back," Kalin interjected.

". . . You're serious," Virgil said in disbelief.

"It's what happened," Kalin insisted.

"But . . . why?" Billy asked. "How?"

"I don't want to question it too much," Radley said. "But I can't help wondering about it every day."

". . . Oh Radley . . ." Scotch choked on a sob and suddenly threw his arms around his friend. Some of the others came over to do likewise.

Radley smiled at them all, deeply touched. "Hey, I'm okay now," he said soothingly. He placed his hands on Scotch and Clint, the ones nearest to him. "I'm no worse for wear." He patted Scotch's cheek.

"But . . . just the thought of you dying," Scotch stammered. "I thought that was all behind us. . . ."

"It wasn't any picnic for me, I'll admit," Radley said. "But Kalin suffered worse."

Kalin looked away. He didn't want to talk about that.

". . . Did you . . . go to Heaven?" Biff asked.

"I don't think I went anywhere this time," Radley said uncomfortably. "It was like my spirit was . . . sleeping in my body, I guess. . . . Maybe because I was going to be brought back. I'm just fine with that too. One out of body experience was more than enough."

Billy looked away. He still wasn't sure how to feel about the knowledge that Radley had watched him break down upon finding his lifeless body after the betrayal.

"Well, anyway, if anyone brings it up, now you won't be surprised by it," Radley continued. He squeezed Billy's shoulder. "Let's get going, okay?"

The Bunch agreed and slowly put their helmets back on, as did Kalin and Radley. With that, Radley drove off, leading his friends into the wilderness that stretched between Satisfaction Town and New Domino City.

xxxx

The group made good time on the journey; it took less than an hour to get to New Domino City. It was always a culture shock after Satisfaction Town, but it was nice.

"Wow," Scotch exclaimed. "It's even bigger than when we were here last time!"

"I've heard they have Duel Lanes on the highways now," Virgil said. "Is that true?"

"Yes, Yusei's talked a lot about those," Kalin said.

"I still don't get Turbo Dueling, but that's cool," Marty said. "Everything was tense before, and now it looks like everybody gets along."

"I'm surprised myself at how quickly most people adjusted to the changes," Kalin said. "I guess most people in New Domino City and Satellite really did want to make up and be a united city again."

"Do you know where the historical society is?" Radley asked.

"I looked it up before we left," Kalin said. "I'll lead us there." He took the lead and soon brought them to a small building not far from the museum. As they pulled up en masse in front, one worker looked out the window in shock and then quickly snapped the blind back.

Radley gave a weary sigh. "I don't know what kind of reception we're going to get in there," he said. "Just let me and Kalin lead and don't mouth off at anyone."

"I'll try," Virgil frowned, but from his expression, he probably still would mouth off if someone made him mad.

The receptionist, who had been the one looking out the window, definitely tensed as the group of motorcyclists entered the building. "C-Can . . . can I help you?" she stammered.

Radley gave her a winning smile. "We're wondering about the past history of Crash Town," he said. "We'd like to see all your records and information about it and the people who lived there."

"Oh," she said in surprise, apparently not having expected a legitimate request at all. "Of course. Right through that door. Ms. Ishtar will help you find what you need." She nodded to a door that only went up halfway and opened into a room with tables, filing cabinets, and microfiche machines.

"Ishtar?!" Kalin and Radley echoed in surprise.

"Ishizu?" Radley asked.

"Yes," the receptionist said with a blink. Stunned, she added, "You know her?"

"We've met," Kalin said.

Feeling more assured now, the group headed through the door. Virgil rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air when something started to beep. "What the . . . ?! A metal detector?!" He scowled. "We're not packing heat . . . or knives . . . or any other kind of weapons!"

"Maybe the Duel Guns set them off?" Radley mused. "Or our jewelry. . . ."

"Perhaps both," Ishizu said as she appeared from around a corner. "We have this problem every day when Marik comes." She smiled. "Hello, friends."

"Hello," Kalin said in surprise. "I thought you worked at the museum."

"I do both," Ishizu said. "Now that things have changed so much, I decided I wanted to be on the historical society as well, to preserve the memories of this area's past." She smiled. "It's good to see you, Kalin and Radley, and it's nice to meet your friends. You're looking for information on Crash Town, I believe?"

"That's right." Kalin held up his phone. "And I took some pictures of some of the graves in the old cemetery. We're hoping there might be information on these people."

Ishizu looked as he scrolled through the pictures. "I believe I have information on some of them, at least," she said, "particularly this Mr. Johnson."

"Is he related to our Johnson?" Kalin asked.

Ishizu paused. "He may be," she said. "It was our Johnson's parents who came in recently looking up information about him."

". . . They're still alive?" Biff blurted in surprise.

Billy swatted him. "Well, obviously they're alive!"

"Do you happen to know the identity of the person he was feuding with?" Radley asked.

Ishizu hesitated. "The Johnsons learned that information through our research. . . ." She looked to Kalin with regret. "Unfortunately, his name was Kessler."

Kalin grimaced. "Oh."

"Are you serious?!" Scotch exclaimed.

"Maybe there was more than one Kessler family in the area," Radley said.

Kalin sighed and shook his head. "It's a much less common name than Johnson. It's not likely."

"Well, you're sure not to blame for anything your ancestor did," Billy said.

"I know," Kalin assured him. "But still . . . it's not a happy discovery."

Radley sighed. "I'm sorry, Kalin."

"Oh well." Kalin walked farther into the room. "I don't have a good relationship with my biological family anyway. This is just one more reason to want to distance myself." He looked back to Ishizu. "Let's see what other information you have."

They all lingered at the historical society for a while as they explained the supernatural problems in town and Ishizu helped them find records, photographs, and even old newspaper articles about the original Crash Town. Discovering one about the feuding settlers and how tragically that mess had ended was especially unsettling.

"It says Kessler didn't die in Crash Town and went to Domino City," Kalin frowned.

"He didn't even go to jail?!" Biff said in disbelief.

"Or get executed for murder?!" Marty exclaimed.

Kalin looked through the microfilmed page again and shook his head. "No one could prove exactly what happened," he said. "He claimed that Johnson pulled a knife and started to throw it, so he shot him. When they took the body from the wreckage of the carriage, he did have a knife drawn. The problem is, he could have had it for many reasons."

"Even in the Old West, Crash Town was a lawless town," Radley said. "There was no sheriff. And apparently, since they couldn't prove what happened, they decided to just let Kessler go free."

"Is there an obituary for this guy somewhere?" Kalin asked Ishizu.

"I believe so," she said. "But he died fairly poor. The Kesslers of Domino City were never very wealthy."

"I guess your dad wouldn't have any info on the family," said Jimmy, another of the Bunch.

Kalin scowled. "If he did, he wouldn't care about it," he said. "I don't want anything to do with my father. He was abusive day in and day out."

"I hear ya," Scotch sighed. "It's better just to leave crumbs like that alone."

Billy had been quietly going through the filing cabinet to find the few photographs that existed. Finally he looked up. "Here's something," he announced.

The group gathered around and he held up a picture of several men standing in front of the old general store. Kalin stiffened as he looked at it. Even in such an old photograph, with a wide-brimmed hat largely hiding a particular person's features, he could make out eyes that were cold and hard. ". . . This one is Kessler," he said.

Billy looked at the back of the photograph, where names had been written. "You're right," he said in surprise. "How did you know?"

"He looks like my father," Kalin grunted.

Radley gave him a sympathetic look.

". . . They seem to like the store," Kalin commented.

"It was run by Mr. Kessler's friend," Ishizu said. "I believe he was an ancestor of the Thorton brothers, who own businesses here in the City."

Radley raised an eyebrow. "I bought my pendant at Thorton's Antique Mall when I first came to this place."

"Yes, he is one of the brothers," Ishizu said.

"There's not much of the old Crash Town that's preserved now," Kalin frowned. "I wonder if any of the supernatural problems could be because of that."

"I guess it's possible," Radley said. "There's a handful of old building remnants, including the hideout where West and Nico like to play, but mostly everything was torn down when the new settlers got there. They wanted everything to be new. Maybe that didn't sit well with the ghosts."

"Oh great!" Marty threw his hands in the air. "How would we fix something like that?! Make up replicas of the old buildings for them to play in?!"

"I'm sure they could tell the difference," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. "And they probably only care about the original locations. That's what ghosts fixate on, isn't it? The locations?"

"Many certainly do," Ishizu said.

Clint shuddered. "That is . . . really creepy." But then he tried to mask his dismay with a smirk. "It's a good thing I'm around to protect all you guys."

"I don't really know what our next move should be," Kalin frowned. "Should we try to talk to the ghosts?"

"That is likely important," Ishizu said. "But actively contacting the spirits may open up more trouble for you if they are not receptive to you. If they have been making duel damage real in Crash Town, as you say, they may very well be malicious or even malevolent."

". . . That's bad, right?" Clint stared.

"It's really bad," Kalin said.

"Maybe we should look through the kids' hideout," Radley suggested. "Since it's one of the original buildings, there's a slim chance something might still be wedged between the boards or under the floor that would tell us something important about the town."

"Let's do that," Kalin said. "I'm sure the kids would love to help."

"May I also recommend speaking with the Big Five before you go home?" Ishizu said. "Johnson may have some new light to cast on the mystery. Perhaps, even, he should go back with you when you attempt to contact the ghosts. He may be able to reason with his ancestor, if they are indeed related."

"It's worth a try," Radley said.

Kalin nodded. "Of course, if one comes, they'll all come," he knew. "I just hope they'll be safe. . . ."

"I hope we'll all be safe," Biff gulped.