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Chapter 23: Lair
The squadron of ant ghosts hit land. There was no civilization to be seen.
The General stopped to speak to her troops. "Lay down to rest! I don't know where we are. Tonight, we continue to the north!"
The moment they stepped out of the library, a loud roar rumbled through the forest of dead trees. Heather grabbed Alex and Ray and flew straight up, but was grabbed and yanked back down. A beast the size of an elephant, with the body of a tiger and head that seemed like a mix of hundreds of animals, roared into her face. Heather didn't have much practice with her ghost ray, but was able to shoot a ray out of her hand just powerful enough to stun the beast. She grabbed her friends and flew away at top speed.
With a terrible cracking noise, the green beast grew giant bat-like wings and flew after them. Luckily, the beast was quite a slow flyer. Once they hit the fog, they were free. The beast couldn't see them through the green clouds.
"That's it, I'm done with the ghost zone for tonight! I want to get home and have a good night's rest," said Alex.
Heather looked around, not knowing where they were. "Well, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Unless we magically happen to find a portal back home, and that portal back home is actually home and not some random place in the middle of nowhere, we're stuck."
"Well, Karma is an hour flight away, isn't he? Maybe he can help!"
Heather landed on a tiny island that barely fit the three of them. "I don't know, Alex. Even with the ghost zone giving me some sort of energy boost, I still have my limits. Unless Karma sees us and helps us from wherever the heck he is, we need to find a place to rest. Ray, get up the map and try to find somewhere safe for the night. Well, night in the human world. Time's a bit weird here."
"I'm on it!" Ray said. He spent a minute looking on his phone, browsing the maps and figuring things out.
"I think I got a place. Well, at least a place that could get us a place."
"And what is this place?" asked Alex.
"Pam's Real Estate. Heather, we're gonna get you a lair."
After a long flight to the central ghost zone, they finally arrived at Pam's Real Estate. It was such a strange thing to see: It was a perfectly square building with a small door and a big sign on top that said "Pam's Real Estate" in big letters. Under the big letters was a slogan: "Find the perfect place to rest in peace!"
They stepped inside. A tiny bell rang as the door opened. Inside there was a tall desk and on the back wall, another door to a back room. Out of the back room came a normal looking ghost. She was eerily human-like; besides her grey skin and glowing green hair and eyes, everything about her looked human.
"Welcome to Pam's Real Estate! I'm Pam. How can I help you?"
"I need a lair," Heather said.
Pam nodded. "What's your budget?" She asked.
Heather didn't realize that they used money in the ghost zone. But then, she realized that they had human money, and it was with them right now. They all still had their school backpacks with them. They had the money from selling the stolen cookies with them. She took out her bag of one-dollar bills. "Do you take human money?"
Pam went wide-eyed and marveled at the sight. "Human money? Real human money? That could buy you the biggest castle in the ghost zone!"
"Show me what you got."
Pam excitedly went to the back room and came out with a huge stack of binders and set them on the desk. "Come, have a seat! Let's look at your options."
So, for the next hour they looked at lairs. Huge extravagant castles. Small castles. Doors that lead to a realm you control. Doors that lead to a small room. Islands that you can build whatever you want on. And they were spread throughout the ghost zone.
Heather was split between a small castle on a forest island with lots of wildlife and a door that lead to a peaceful forest and a small three-bedroom house.
"Ok boys, which should I choose?"
Alex looked at the pictures. "The castle is pretty cool, but it's quite obvious. The door is a secluded spot and has a much prettier forest. Plus, you can control the sky color!"
Ray took longer to answer. "I mean, the castle is awesome. It's a status symbol. But the door is much closer to the center of the ghost zone, and you have more creative control."
The decision was made. For three American dollars (which Pam was so excited over) Heather got her own ghostly lair.
The lair was close by. It didn't take long to get there. Heather seemed to know which way to go. She didn't even ask Ray for the map, because the ghostly weirdness told her the door's location once the deed was in her hand.
She opened the door, and felt right at home.
The trees had purple trunks and abnormally bright green leaves, and were growing fruits of all colors. The purple dirt grew vivid green grass. A pathway of grey stone led her to the house.
It was a one-story house that oddly looked like it was straight out of the 70s. It had huge front windows letting in the natural light. It was made of purple bricks, and the front door was green wood.
"According to my phone, it's almost 9 back home. Man, I hope my parents aren't too worried," Ray said.
"Mine too," Heather said. "Alex, you're lucky you decided to stay the night with Ray before we left. Your parents aren't gonna call the police or ground you for life after this."
Alex smiled. "I know, I know, don't praise me for a coincidence. Lets just hope Karma can save both of your butts. Now, let's get some sleep. I'm exhausted."
Hours ago...
Karma sat in Clockwork's castle, watching the kids' dilemma.
"They need help getting back home. I don't have the energy to make the portal appear. What a sad coincidence," Said Karma in a condescending tone of voice.
Clockwork knew he wasted his energy on purpose. The way his power worked was confusing. "Why don't you make something happen to restore your energy?"
Karma shook his head. "No, no, I don't want to cause harm to those kids. Making portals just happen to appear near them is an extremely difficult feat these days. No, I'll just do something to make their parents have no need to worry about them. That should work."
"No, Karma! You need to help them! If you won't, then set me free so I can!"
"Oh, I don't think so, brother. I don't think so."
One more calm chapter won't hurt, right?
