-1Chapter Two
Morning came quickly for Fi and she got dressed and out into the front of the bus as fast as possible. She came out of her room to find Molly, Irene, and Jack sitting around munching on bagels.
"Hey, kiddo," Molly greeted Fi. "Why don't you grab a bagel and join us? Jack was just telling us about his research project Ned assigned. It seems to be something you'd be interested in."
Fi sat and looked at Jack, absently picking up a bagel.
"Anyway," Jack started, searching for words, "there's a huge history surrounding the theatre in the next town, the theatre Mom's performing in. The old hotel proprietor took over the theatre back in 1973 after his so-called father, the original owner, passed away. I think it was about… March of '72, when the owner and thirty theatre-goers from around town were trapped in a building collapse, in the back of that theatre. All of them died. It took six months to clear out the mess, identify the bodies, and hold the proper funerals. It took a year after that to rebuild the theatre and make it available to the public once more. The weird part of the story though, is that they never found the body of the owner.
"Since then, the theatre has been said to be haunted by the angry spirit of the dead owner." Jack finished, leaning back in his seat. He then put that Scottish accent into his voice and spoke a bit more. "You know, one never knows when the cry of Nessie is real, as they say down at the Loch."
Molly chuckled lightly. "Okay, you've done the research part. Now what, Sherlock?"
Jack cleared his throat and returned to his own voice. "I intend to prove that all this ghost talk is purely conjecture. These people are being fooled by faulty wiring and creaking floorboards. Nothing more."
"How are you going to prove that without the body of the owner?" Fi asked suddenly.
Jack affected the Scottish accent once more. "Ah, wee duck. Have we lost faith in the magic of photography and hard evidence?" He held up his camera and winked.
The bus slowed to a stop and Ned came back to join the group. "We're here, folks." He glanced at Fi, then to Jack. "I have an idea, Fiona. You and Jack should examine this together. Write a collaborative essay and I'll grade it for both of you."
Fi laughed. "I thought my school year was over… Well, it seems fun. Sure!"
"Yes, we're in business!" Jack exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air in an imitation of Clu on a victory parade.
"You can start now," Ned continued. "Better to meet the proprietor and get your stories straight."
Jack nodded, standing and looking to Fi. Fi leapt to her feet and ran to her room to grab a bag full of her essential ghost finding gear. She came back and stood next to Jack.
"Just in case," she muttered at the amused look on his face.
"You're loving this, Fiona. Admit it." Jack's grin was ear to ear. He obviously was loving it as well.
"This is the first time you've ever wanted to go on a trip through the world of weird with me."
"Don't get used to it, munchkin."
Jack darted out of the bus, Fi following closely behind after grabbing a twenty dollar bill from their mother for lunch and nodding at her, "Hotel by three!"
Fi waited until they were far enough away from the bus that she wouldn't be heard and grabbed Jack's sleeve. "Alright, Bricriu. What's going on?"
Jack paused and looked at Fi. "Now, Little Duck, we had yet to finish our little conversation. As for that one that needs your help… it's your brother."
Fi stared at Bricriu a moment, then shook her head. "What do you mean? What's gonna happen to Jack? And, why could Jack control his body back there? Or was that all you?"
"It was all me, Little Duck. I've been practicing, actually. Your brother has, after all given me a good two weeks to look over his memories. And your brother is in a terrible lot of trouble. That building is home to a malevolent spirit. One who has been known to possess and kill, not unlike Spunkies ironically. You, with that ring, are protected. He won't hurt you. Your brother, on the other hand, has very little protecting him. He is open to all kinds of viciousness." Straightening, Bricriu looked up at the building they'd stopped in front of. It was the hotel, where they'd be able to find the proprietor and get information on the theatre.
"Well, naturally," Bricriu continued, "I tried to warn your brother. I tried to convince him that this was unworthy of his scrutiny. But he refused to believe me, and he even managed to push me out of his own mind. He's a strong one, this boy. Still, he finally gave up when I saved his life down at the river about a week ago. He let me take over his mind long enough to absorb all his memories and mannerisms. For a week, I watched him be himself, then he let me take over. Said I'd have to leave the minute we left Washington, and I'm fine with that, Lass. Just fine with it."
"Wait," Fi fumbled over her words a moment. "You'll willingly give his body back? You're trying to help? I don't understand…"
"I think there's nothing to understand, Little Duck. Jack is a special medium, the only one of his kind on the planet. I have been sent by those spirits that wish no harm on you or your family to protect Jack. He's the only person on this earth that we can use for our own gain."
"So, you help Jack so that you can use him?"
"In a way." Bricriu reached a hand behind his back and scratched at an itch. "Wow, that really does work. Anyway, Jack is the only person in the world that can be possessed without losing himself. We can occupy his body and mind, but he can still control himself. It doesn't usually work that way, Little Duck. It usually only works that we can take over and the person we possess goes into… well, into cold storage. So, you see, Jack's ability to control himself makes it easier for us to get around. We contact him. He contacts the ones we love. And through Jack, we finish that oh so terrible 'unfinished business' you humans talk about. Well, they finish their business… I have no unfinished business, for I never lived as a human, but that's beside the point."
"So you're helping to protect Jack because he has the ability to help all the spirits that just want to go to peace?" Fi motioned as if counting in the air, then stopped and looked at Bricriu.
"Quite right, Little Duck. Now, shall we. I'm sure we'll be needing the proprietor's help to get into the theatre when we need to." Bricriu stepped into the hotel, holding the door open for Fi.
Fi stood still a moment, staring at her brother, then stepped into the hotel next to him and followed him to the counter. She watched in awe as Bricriu imitated her brother perfectly, not missing a beat, even remembering to scratch at his right ear as he spoke, a nervous habit Jack never quite defeated.
"Hi, my name is Jack Phillips, here with the Molly Phillips band. She's my mom actually, and this is my little sister, Fiona. Are you the proprietor of the hotel and owner of the theatre?"
The man behind the desk smiled at Jack, a kindly image that Fi hadn't seen on the faces of too many elderly. It was always nice to see an elderly man or woman who hadn't been so tormented by kids their age, that they smiled and never judged. "Why, yes. I am, Jack. My name is Jonathon Curier, the owner and proprietor of both establishments. What can I do for you? It seems your party's already been checked in."
"Yeah, that's actually not what I was curious about." Bricriu let Jack's hand fall from his ear and he started to get down to business. "Our bus driver, Ned Bell, is sort of also my teacher. He told me I have a project due soon on the history of this place. I did a little research on your theatre, and I thought I might be able to get a couple pictures of the place, maybe catch some of this 'haunting' on film? It's not something I completely believe in, but the history behind it, and forgive me for bringing it up, just interests me. Do you think my sister and I might be able to snoop around a little bit today, and maybe some tomorrow? We wanted to get a look at the place while it's empty, and I hear it's closed during the day."
Jonathon chuckled and shook his head. "You're not the first ones. Sure, I can let you take a little adventure through the theatre, but I have to warn you. There are terrible things that go on within those walls when the doors are locked. I wouldn't want the two of you to get hurt, so you be careful, Jack. And take care of your sister." He turned away for a moment, fumbling with a small red pouch. He turned back around and smiled once more. He dropped a key into Jack's hand. "You know where it is, right?" Bricriu nodded slowly. "Good. Now, I can come by a little later and give you a full history of the place, brick by brick, but that will have to be around one. Is that okay?"
Bricriu nodded again. "Sure will be. Thanks a lot. This is actually my final grade of the term before summer, so I wanna go out with a bang, you know. And even if I don't prove anything exists in there, I'll still have a great history report with everything I've found and the stuff you could tell me. Thanks again."
Bricriu turned and began to head out the door. He turned and gave a lopsided smile and a wave before stepping outside. Fi smiled at Jonathon and followed her "brother" outside.
Bricriu was standing with his back against the outer wall of the hotel. His arms were folded across his chest and he watched Fi closely as she approached.
"I don't like the feel of this, Fi," Bricriu managed in Jack's voice. "It may not go about the way I think it will, but I'm still worried that we might lose Jack in there."
Fi shrugged and leaned against the wall, standing next to Bricriu. "Jack will be fine." She looked up at the sky, then across the deserted street at the theatre. "Do we know where it is?" She laughed. "Nope, missed it when I looked out the window."
"Some people miss simple things like that." Bricriu straightened and walked across the street, looking back once to make sure Fi was there. "Clu missed something simple that could have tipped him off that I wasn't exactly me at the time. It was a small slip-up. Had to do with what I called him. I used his full name, by accident."
"Whoa, what happened?" Fi sped up to walk side by side with Bricriu.
"He didn't do anything. Just kept on with… whatever it was he was blathering about." Bricriu shook his head. "The sad part is, he's not really as dimwitted as you all think. Clu is a very intelligent young man. He just prefers to make people think he's slow. He doesn't want any attention drawn to his intelligence, because he feels then he'd just be a fact machine for everyone around him. He'd cease being Clu, and begin being… The Clu-tron 2000. Or something like that."
"How do you know that?"
"I was looking over a few of Jack's old memories last night. There's one where… well, hold on." Bricriu reached out and unlocked the door to the theatre. They stepped inside and he shut and locked the door behind them. Once they were alone in the main room of the theatre, Bricriu snapped his fingers and a giant screen appeared in front of the two.
"I thought you said it was too dangerous to go to the Nexus." Fi looked around suddenly, but found no green mist, no rocks, nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well, it is. That's why we're not in the Nexus." Bricriu grabbed Fi's arm and pulled her into one of the chairs by a table in the back of the room. "As long as no one else can see, I can change the matter around me. It's just easier to do in the Nexus, because everyone else is frozen in time. They'd never see your shenanigans. Take my meaning?"
Fi nodded slowly.
"Good, now watch."
The screen flickered and an image of Clu appeared. He was sitting next to Jack, talking.
"I don't suppose anyone would understand it, Jack. I just don't want to talk about it."
Jack shifted in his seat. "Clu, I'm your best friend. Even if I don't understand, I won't persecute you."
Clu sighed heavily. "I'm not dumb. I'm not slow. I'm not stupid, ignorant, challenged, or chemically imbalanced in the brain. In fact, according to my grades, I'm very smart. Too smart… Listen, Jack. Ever since I was little, I had this knack for remembering just about anything. Facts, images, numbers, license plate codes. They all just… stick, ya know? And Mom and Dad thought I was absolutely amazing all my life. Bragged about how they had this perfect child. I stopped parading it pretty quick. The attention was too thick. I just wanted to be a kid, not a fact machine."
"Wow, Clu."
"Yeah, I know. So, I guess I sorta act dumb, so that I won't look too smart. It works. I'd rather be slow and funny, than facts and numbers. I'd like to stay Clu for a while, not turn into some… Clu-culon or something."
"Okay, Clu. Fine. I promise, I'd never do that to you anyway. You're my best friend and that means that I give you your space when you need it and I listen when you need someone to listen to you. End of story."
"And we play video-games together, Jack. Don't forget that."
"Right. And we play video-games together." Jack stood and put an arm around Clu as he rose to join him. Clu leaned down a little to keep level and dropped an arm around Jack.
"Say, Clu?"
"Yeah, Jack?"
"You'll still… uh… help me out with my chemistry homework, right?"
Clu wrapped his arm around Jack's neck and grabbed him in a choke-hold. The two boys wrestled each other to the ground, laughing.
And the screen turned off, as though the camera had run out of film on the reel. Bricriu smiled across at Fi.
"See, your brother Jack has quite the taste in friends."
Fi smiled. "I'd probably never have figured that about Clu. It's kind of neat getting to learn something like that. Though, kind of sad that he'd never tell me."
"Ah, Little Duck." Bricriu stood and began to walk out of the main room, shaking his head and laughing.
"Hey!" Fi jumped up and followed him.
End of Chapter Two. God I love Bricriu.