The Right Thing To Do:
(Narrator: Evelyn Chase)
*
The fire woke me up that night. It was only in my head... but it still burned through my thoughts that whole day. It had been almost two weeks since we trapped Billy, and Cyrus was starting to become impatient with Serena, who for some reason couldn't pin point the exact location of Jimmy Gambino's remains. So there we stayed... in the hotel, our expenses paid for by the strange collector.
Serena's twin sister, Kalina showed up a few days ago to help her find what Cyrus was looking for, I don't understand how it could take so long to find out where some gambler was buried. I hadn't seen much of Dennis... he preferred to hide in his room, in fact I think the only time his door opened was to receive the room-service he had order... but not that I'm spying on him or anything.
For the past three nights I have been having nightmares about fire... and a women engulfed by it. She keeps screaming and screaming as her husband and children watch her burn, helpless to save her. When I awoke from the nightmare I felt as if I were on fire as well, so I decided to do something about it.
"We leave tomorrow!" Alex yelled to me as she ran down the hotel hallway to our room.
"Thank God... I think I'm starting to get cabin fever in this place." I muttered to her. It was one in the afternoon and cold as hell outside, we were at some hotel in Pennsylvania, so I decided to do something right for once in my life... little did I know I was about to alter fate just so I could sleep at night.
"I gotta go do something before we leave tomorrow." I told Alex, walking away from her backwards.
"What?" she asked me, but I wasn't sure if I should tell her, it was after all, pretty insane.
"I'll tell you when I get back in a few hours." And with that I left the hotel, got in my car and began to drive to the other side of the state.
Four hours later I was in a really nice neighborhood on the eastern side of Pennsylvania, the trees were crisp with autumn leaves, it looked just like a sitcom on TV. I looked at the address of the little white house in front of me... it was the same address in my dream. I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, I had no idea how I was going to explain myself to whoever opened the door... but I had to try.
The door opened, a young girl in her late teens with straight light brown hair stood in front of me.
"Uh, can I help you?" she asked me, wondering who I was.
"Is Arthur Kriticos here?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, just a sec... Dad!!!" She called her father to the front door as I unbuttoned by black coat.
"Can I help you?" the dark haired man in his late thirties asked me as he walked over to where his daughter, Kathy was previously standing.
"Yes, I'm-"I was interrupted by his wife who stood next to him.
"Who is it dear?" she asked Arthur in a sweet voice... my heart almost stopped beating when I realized that she was the burning woman in my nightmares.
"Can I come in?" I asked, Arthur nodded as I entered their house.
*
*
*
Evy turned off the transmission on her car, she sat in the drivers seat, alone in the hotel parking lot for a while... thinking about what she had just done, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Then, as she stared at the clock on the stereo, watching the numbers glow 8:46pm, she remembered the faces of Arthur and Jean's two children, and how happy they were that their mother and father were okay. Even though she knew Arthur didn't believe she was psychic, he was still too paranoid to ignore her warning, this Christmas they would not leave unattended smoldering logs in their fireplace!
As she walked into the hotel's entrance with her head down, tired from driving eight hours, Evy bumped into someone, knocking them both to the floor. She then almost immediately realized who she had knocked down by the way he was yelling.
"Don't touch me Damnit!" Dennis shrieked as he tried to get up off the hotel's carpet. "Oh, its you." He said in an almost disappointed tone as he spotted Evelyn.
"Yeah... its me." Evy said sadly as she rose to her feet.
Dennis put his black-rimmed glasses back on his face as he searched for where his bag had fallen. He picked up his one bag with his clothes in it and looked over at Evelyn, who was looking back at his suspiciously.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked sadly.
"I'm getting my ass out of here before Cyrus ships me to New York to catch his next ghost!" Dennis said in an angry tone.
"Why are you so afraid of ghosts?"
"Cuz! They give me a headache! Now if you don't mind... I'm leaving." Dennis tried to push past Evy without touching her, but she wouldn't let him pass. "Get out of my way!" he demanded.
"No. You can't leave..." Evy said staring up at him.
"Oh, and why not!"
"Because... well..." Evy tried to say what she thought, but it was difficult for her to admit.
"Well what?" Dennis sneered.
"We need you, to help with the ghost." She said, hiding the real reason she wanted him to stay.
"No you don't, you and Alex are psychic, right? You two can cut it without me!"
"No! We cant! You are more intuitive than the two of us put together, and you know that!"
"So?"
"So, you're staying!" and with that Evy grabbed Dennis' luggage and marched away to her room.
"Wait! Bring that back!" Dennis screamed running after her frantically.
"No!" Evy yelled back.
Alex was coming out of her room when she caught sight of Dennis and Evy playing tug-o-war with the black bag.
"What in the..." Alex said to herself as she walked over to the two.
"Damnit! Let go!" Dennis said in anger.
"You'd actually leave us to die!?!" Evy yelled back, trying with all her might to hold onto his luggage.
"Yes... I would!" he said smartly.
"What are you two doing?" Alex asked confused.
"He's gonna leave before we get to New York... you know that we can't catch ghosts without him!" Evy told her, still holding onto the bag, trying to pull it from his grip.
"He can't leave... he doesn't have anywhere to go!" Alex corrected them.
Dennis let go of the bag, sending Evy to the ground.
"Ouch!" Evy squealed as she got up off the floor.
"So what! I don't have a place to live, or money to live on! I'm still not stupid enough to have a brain hemorrhage because I need money!" Dennis said in his usual fidgety manor.
"You've been having to put up with your head like that all of your life, but now you decide that it's a problem! Come on! You're just afraid of ghosts!" Evy mockingly suggested.
"You think I'm scared of them! Hell no!"
"Then prove it! Go to New York with us, prove that you're not afraid of some stupid ghosts!" Evy had challenged him, but would he accept it?
"Fine! You want me to-" Dennis reached down and grabbed the bag off the ground. "I'll show you!" he marched off to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Evy looked at Alex and sighed.
"Man I love reverse psychology!" Evy said triumphantly, her and Alex then went into their rooms.
"I don't know why you wasted your time with him, its not like we really need him around!" Alex stated.
"Sure we need him, he can point out the ghost's exact location, it saves us a lot of time. Easy way to make money if ya ask me!" Evy said deviously as she pulled back her long curly light brown hair.
"You are so evil!" Alex said sarcastically as she shook her head at Evelyn.
(Narrator: Evelyn Chase)
*
The fire woke me up that night. It was only in my head... but it still burned through my thoughts that whole day. It had been almost two weeks since we trapped Billy, and Cyrus was starting to become impatient with Serena, who for some reason couldn't pin point the exact location of Jimmy Gambino's remains. So there we stayed... in the hotel, our expenses paid for by the strange collector.
Serena's twin sister, Kalina showed up a few days ago to help her find what Cyrus was looking for, I don't understand how it could take so long to find out where some gambler was buried. I hadn't seen much of Dennis... he preferred to hide in his room, in fact I think the only time his door opened was to receive the room-service he had order... but not that I'm spying on him or anything.
For the past three nights I have been having nightmares about fire... and a women engulfed by it. She keeps screaming and screaming as her husband and children watch her burn, helpless to save her. When I awoke from the nightmare I felt as if I were on fire as well, so I decided to do something about it.
"We leave tomorrow!" Alex yelled to me as she ran down the hotel hallway to our room.
"Thank God... I think I'm starting to get cabin fever in this place." I muttered to her. It was one in the afternoon and cold as hell outside, we were at some hotel in Pennsylvania, so I decided to do something right for once in my life... little did I know I was about to alter fate just so I could sleep at night.
"I gotta go do something before we leave tomorrow." I told Alex, walking away from her backwards.
"What?" she asked me, but I wasn't sure if I should tell her, it was after all, pretty insane.
"I'll tell you when I get back in a few hours." And with that I left the hotel, got in my car and began to drive to the other side of the state.
Four hours later I was in a really nice neighborhood on the eastern side of Pennsylvania, the trees were crisp with autumn leaves, it looked just like a sitcom on TV. I looked at the address of the little white house in front of me... it was the same address in my dream. I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, I had no idea how I was going to explain myself to whoever opened the door... but I had to try.
The door opened, a young girl in her late teens with straight light brown hair stood in front of me.
"Uh, can I help you?" she asked me, wondering who I was.
"Is Arthur Kriticos here?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, just a sec... Dad!!!" She called her father to the front door as I unbuttoned by black coat.
"Can I help you?" the dark haired man in his late thirties asked me as he walked over to where his daughter, Kathy was previously standing.
"Yes, I'm-"I was interrupted by his wife who stood next to him.
"Who is it dear?" she asked Arthur in a sweet voice... my heart almost stopped beating when I realized that she was the burning woman in my nightmares.
"Can I come in?" I asked, Arthur nodded as I entered their house.
*
*
*
Evy turned off the transmission on her car, she sat in the drivers seat, alone in the hotel parking lot for a while... thinking about what she had just done, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Then, as she stared at the clock on the stereo, watching the numbers glow 8:46pm, she remembered the faces of Arthur and Jean's two children, and how happy they were that their mother and father were okay. Even though she knew Arthur didn't believe she was psychic, he was still too paranoid to ignore her warning, this Christmas they would not leave unattended smoldering logs in their fireplace!
As she walked into the hotel's entrance with her head down, tired from driving eight hours, Evy bumped into someone, knocking them both to the floor. She then almost immediately realized who she had knocked down by the way he was yelling.
"Don't touch me Damnit!" Dennis shrieked as he tried to get up off the hotel's carpet. "Oh, its you." He said in an almost disappointed tone as he spotted Evelyn.
"Yeah... its me." Evy said sadly as she rose to her feet.
Dennis put his black-rimmed glasses back on his face as he searched for where his bag had fallen. He picked up his one bag with his clothes in it and looked over at Evelyn, who was looking back at his suspiciously.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked sadly.
"I'm getting my ass out of here before Cyrus ships me to New York to catch his next ghost!" Dennis said in an angry tone.
"Why are you so afraid of ghosts?"
"Cuz! They give me a headache! Now if you don't mind... I'm leaving." Dennis tried to push past Evy without touching her, but she wouldn't let him pass. "Get out of my way!" he demanded.
"No. You can't leave..." Evy said staring up at him.
"Oh, and why not!"
"Because... well..." Evy tried to say what she thought, but it was difficult for her to admit.
"Well what?" Dennis sneered.
"We need you, to help with the ghost." She said, hiding the real reason she wanted him to stay.
"No you don't, you and Alex are psychic, right? You two can cut it without me!"
"No! We cant! You are more intuitive than the two of us put together, and you know that!"
"So?"
"So, you're staying!" and with that Evy grabbed Dennis' luggage and marched away to her room.
"Wait! Bring that back!" Dennis screamed running after her frantically.
"No!" Evy yelled back.
Alex was coming out of her room when she caught sight of Dennis and Evy playing tug-o-war with the black bag.
"What in the..." Alex said to herself as she walked over to the two.
"Damnit! Let go!" Dennis said in anger.
"You'd actually leave us to die!?!" Evy yelled back, trying with all her might to hold onto his luggage.
"Yes... I would!" he said smartly.
"What are you two doing?" Alex asked confused.
"He's gonna leave before we get to New York... you know that we can't catch ghosts without him!" Evy told her, still holding onto the bag, trying to pull it from his grip.
"He can't leave... he doesn't have anywhere to go!" Alex corrected them.
Dennis let go of the bag, sending Evy to the ground.
"Ouch!" Evy squealed as she got up off the floor.
"So what! I don't have a place to live, or money to live on! I'm still not stupid enough to have a brain hemorrhage because I need money!" Dennis said in his usual fidgety manor.
"You've been having to put up with your head like that all of your life, but now you decide that it's a problem! Come on! You're just afraid of ghosts!" Evy mockingly suggested.
"You think I'm scared of them! Hell no!"
"Then prove it! Go to New York with us, prove that you're not afraid of some stupid ghosts!" Evy had challenged him, but would he accept it?
"Fine! You want me to-" Dennis reached down and grabbed the bag off the ground. "I'll show you!" he marched off to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Evy looked at Alex and sighed.
"Man I love reverse psychology!" Evy said triumphantly, her and Alex then went into their rooms.
"I don't know why you wasted your time with him, its not like we really need him around!" Alex stated.
"Sure we need him, he can point out the ghost's exact location, it saves us a lot of time. Easy way to make money if ya ask me!" Evy said deviously as she pulled back her long curly light brown hair.
"You are so evil!" Alex said sarcastically as she shook her head at Evelyn.