The Case of the Haunted House--Part Two
by HA

"Save the Harrison house! Save the Harrison house!" Bart James shouted as he waved the fliers in his hand. "Rally at the old Harrison house! Help the Redington Paranormal Society save a genuine haunted house!"

Unfortunately for Bart, no one else on the Sussex Academy lawn was heeding him. It was lunchtime and everyone was eating, talking to friends, or both. Some students did stare at the budding paranormalist, but they eventually whispered to their friends how weird he was and returned to their lunch.

Bo Sawchuk watched everything from his table. "Poor Bart," he remarked, shaking his head.

"Why's that?" Blake Hewitt asked. "Because he's pursuing a lost cause or because he actually believes in ghosts?"

"Both, actually," Bo answered as he watched Bart try to hand a flyer to a girl. The girl just stared at Bart and passed him without a second glance.

"Still persisting in this supernatural silliness, Mr. James?"

Bart turned around to face Mr. Howie, the history teacher at Sussex Academy. "Mr. Howie, that house is haunted by the spirit of someone who was murdered there," the budding scientist stated.

Mr. Howie placed his hands on his hips. "Mr. James, although someone was killed in that house, it does not mean that there is a ghost roaming its halls."

"The Redington Paranormal Society has proof that there is a ghost at the Harrison House." Bart shoved a flier in Mr. Howie's face. "See? That photo was taken a year ago by someone who actually spent the night there."

The history teacher looked at the picture, which showed nothing but a blob of some kind. "Mr. James, a blurry picture does not prove anything to me." Mr. Howie sighed, rolling his eyes. "You are one of the brightest students at this institution, Mr. James. Why you pursue such nonsense is a mystery to me." With that, the exasperated teacher left Bart.

As Mr. Howie left, Parker walked up to Bart. "Uh, Bart, we aren't making any headway," he said, showing Bart some fliers.

"I can't believe that people can be so apathetic about a haunted house," Bart said, frustrated.

"Bart, that's the least of your worries," Parker said.

"What are you talking about?"

Parker steadied his nerves before telling his friend the bad news. "Well, some of the other members of the Science Club are thinking about voting you out."

Bart was surprised at this piece of news. "As president?"

"As a member." Parker sighed. "Bart, they haven't been thrilled about your interest in the supernatural and paranormal."

"That hasn't been a problem in the past," Bart recalled.

"Well, now that all the science-related clubs are merged to cut back on costs, you have more opposition from the 'serious' science guys. They've really been trying to influence everyone else," Parker informed his friend. "Word is they plan to vote you out at the next meeting, and believe me, there's a significant number of them."

Bart sighed as he and Parker walked towards the table where Bo and Blake were sitting. "Great. Now I'm facing public apathy and a mutiny."

Blake saw how downcast Bart was. "Man, poor guy. This whole rejection thing has really got him down."

"I'm sorry to say this, but he asked for it," Alicia Gianelli said. "That's what he gets for believing in all this weird stuff."

"You know, I remember how some of that weird stuff happened to you," Bo said to Alicia. "Didn't you say on TV once how some creature nibbled on your toes in the shower and made a humming noise?"

Alicia rolled her eyes and turned to the girl beside her. "Shirley, what do you think of all this?"

Shirley did not respond immediately. She was propping her head up with her arm and was in deep thought. Her eyes stared blankly ahead.

Bo rose from his seat and snapped his fingers in front of Shirley's face. "Hello? Shirley? Earth to Shirley Holmes."

Bo's snapping brought Shirley back to reality. "Huh?" she said, dazed a little.

"Shirley, are you all right?" Blake asked.

"You've been zoning out all day," Bo pointed out.

"Sorry. It's just these dreams I've been having," Shirley explained.

"You mean the ones with some girl?" Alicia asked.

"Silver-haired girl," Blake clarified.

"Those would be the ones," Shirley acknowledged.

Bo sighed. "Shirley, didn't you stop staying up late on the computer?"

"I did, Bo, but I keep having these dreams," Shirley said. "They're all different, but they share some elements."

"Like the silver-haired girl," Blake said.

"And a guy with a question mark for a face," Bo recalled.

"And me walking in darkness and a grassy field during a sunny day," Shirley added. "Let's not forget the golden snakes with spikes on their back."

"Shirley, that's the only thing I understand," Bo said. "The golden snake with spikes is the symbol of..."

"The ENIGMA organization," Blake said quietly, knowing how the group had affected his life. Thanks to them, his father had to go into hiding after they tried to kill him.

"ENIGMA?" Alicia looked around the table. "Isn't it that group of mercenaries Blake's dad helped find?"

"That's them," Blake said, knowing who was the real hero, or rather, heroine.

Bart and Parker joined the group, with Bart joining the boys while Parker sat by Alicia. "Hey, guys," Bart greeted. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, we're just psychoanalyzing Shirley's dreams," Bo said half-jokingly.

"You mean you're still having them?" Bart asked Shirley.

"I'm afraid so," Shirley answered.

"You know..." Bart began.

Bo groaned. "Bart, if you're going to say what I think you're going to say..."

Bart ignored Bo and continued. "It could be a ghost communicating with you."

"In her dreams, Bart?" Blake asked, trying to swallow the young researcher's hypothesis.

"Well, it's either that or a psychic," Bart said.

"A psychic? Like one of those people who advertise on TV claiming that they can read your palm?" Alicia looked at Bart disbelievingly. "Give me a break, Bart."

"Okay, you explain why the same stuff keeps showing up in Shirley's dreams," Bart responded hotly. "It's uncommon for someone to keep having the same dream. Ghost or psychic. Take your pick."

Alicia glared at Bart, then noticed that Parker was watching closely. "Parker, what do you want?" she asked.

Parker held out a flier. "Uh, want to go to the haunted house rally? I'll be there," he asked nervously.

Alicia smiled sweetly, trying not to explode in rage at the red-haired boy. "Parker, like I've already told you in the hallway this morning and in class, I have work around that time."

"Oh." Parker withdrew the flier.

Bo resisted the urge to laugh and Blake shook his head. Like some of the other students, they noticed how Parker was trying to get himself and Alicia together. For some unknown reason, Parker became enamored recently with the fashion-conscious Alicia. His efforts to court her were usually laughable. Bo looked at Shirley, who exchanged a knowing look with him.

"Bart, you seem upset," Shirley said after looking over the young genius.

Bart sighed. "Parker tells me that some members of the Science Club wants to vote me out as a member because of my beliefs in the supernatural and paranormal."

"Man, that's cold," Blake remarked. "And after you managed to get more funding for them."

"Yeah." Bart stood up. "Well, I'm going to keep trying to get people to come to the rally. Parker, you wanna help out?"

Parker was staring at Alicia affectionately. "Huh?" he said, snapping out of his trance-like state.

"Never mind," Bart said before he left the table.

"There goes a man with a mission," Blake remarked. "Gotta admit that he's got guts to stand up for what he believes."

"But why the weird stuff?" Bo wondered.

"Why not?" Shirley said. "We all have our interests, Bo."

They watched as Bart continued to call to people to attend the haunted house rally. He waved the fliers in the air, trying to get attention to his cause. He spotted some kids in the distance and shouted to them. Seeing that he was being ignored, Bart ran towards them. Unfortunately, he ran into someone, and both fell to the ground. His fliers flew out of his hand and fell all over the place.

"Hoo boy," Bo remarked as he got off his feet. Shirley and Blake followed him to where Bart and the other person were. As they ran towards them, they saw a small group heading for the same location. Leading the way at a distance was a tall, dark-haired woman in a uniform. She was literally dashing up towards the two people on the ground.

Shirley noticed a familiar face in the group. "Ms. Stratmann?"

All of them were now where Bart and the other person was. Bart was apologizing to the other person, who happened to be a girl. She had brown hair done in a ponytail and was wearing a scarf over her neck. Seeing that she was about her age, Shirley saw that she was not wearing the Sussex Academy uniform.

The woman in the uniform knelt at the girl's side. "Miss Knight, are you all right?" she asked her, glaring at Bart. "Did this young man hurt you?"

The girl shook everything off as she was helped off her feet. "I'm fine, Bernadette. Really," she assured the uniformed woman.

Bo helped Bart to his feet while Blake started picking up the scattered fliers. "You okay, Bart?" Shirley asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Bart said. He turned his attention to the girl he knocked down. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine," the girl said. She looked at the ground. "Has anyone seen my glasses?"

The uniformed woman searched the ground and picked up a pair of glasses. "I found them, Miss Knight," she declared, handing them to the girl.

"Thanks, Bernadette," the girl said, putting on her glasses and adjusting them on her nose. Shirley saw that the girl's glasses resembled goggles. "Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention where I was going," the girl apologized.

"No, no, it was my fault entirely," Bart apologized as Blake handed him his fliers. "I wasn't looking where I was running."

The rest of the group caught up and Ms. Stratmann faced Bart. "Mr. James, what is the meaning of this? Explain yourself."

The uniformed woman glared at Bart. "You heard your headmistress, boy! Explain yourself!" she bellowed to him. She glared at the crowd of students starting to form around the little group. "What are you all looking at?" she demanded loudly. The students responded by walking or running away and relegating themselves to watching from afar.

While Bart stuttered out an explanation, a dark-haired man in a business suit spoke. "Don't worry about it, young man. It was an accident. It was no one's fault." As the man spoke, Shirley noticed the white hairs in his hair, especially around the temples.

The uniformed woman stood at attention. "If you say so, Mr. Knight."

Ms. Stratmann's demeanor also changed. "Well, since you think so, Mr. Knight. Still, I feel that I should apologize..."

"Please don't, Ms. Stratmann," the man said. "You don't have to. It's not really necessary."

A woman walked up besides the man. "Since no one's hurt, I'm sure we can drop all these possible lawsuits," she said with a grin.

The man looked at Shirley and her friends. "Well, here's an opportunity to talk with some Sussex Academy students, Ms. Stratmann. Guess I won't have to interrupt a class after all," he said cheerfully. "I think introductions are in order."

"These students are Bart James, Shirley Holmes, Boris Sawchuk, and Blake Hewitt," Ms. Stratmann said, motioning to each of the kids. Bo winced as he heard his full middle name.

The man nodded. The woman elbowed the man playfully in his side. "Nathan, don't be rude. Introduce us."

The man laughed and motioned to the girl. "The young lady Bart ran into is my daughter, Lucy." He motioned to the woman besides him. "This charming and wonderful woman is my wife, Regan, and I'm Nathan Knight."

"Hi," Lucy said cheerfully with a wave.

Blake stared at Mr. Knight. "Knight? As in head of the Knight Foundation?"

"The one and the same," Mr. Knight said with a grin, then he motioned to the uniformed woman. "This is Mrs. Bernadette LeMarche, my chief of security. As you can probably tell, she's too good at her job," he remarked with a light-hearted chuckle.

Mrs. LeMarche stood at attention without making a sound. If she found Mr. Knight's joke funny, it did not show on her stern face.

"Nathan," Mrs. Knight said, pointing to a girl behind her.

Mr. Knight slapped his head. "Oh, I'm so forgetful...this young lady behind me is Katrina Mansfield. She's one of Lucy's cousins."

Katrina stepped out from behind Mrs. Knight. Immediately, Shirley and her friends gasped. Their eyes widened and their jaws nearly fell in amazement.

Standing before them was the silver-haired girl from Shirley's dreams.

END OF PART TWO