Chapter 3: Get her!
(Later, at Rosewood Public Library…)
Spencer and Hanna briskly walked up the stairs to the Rosewood Public Library. It appeared Spencer was talking Hanna's ear off the whole time from Columbia to the library.
"As a friend, I have to tell you, you've finally gone around the bend on this ghost business. You guys have been running your ass off, meeting and greeting every Aria in the five boroughs who says he has a paranormal experience. What have you seen?" Spencer asked in concern.
As they entered the South Wing of the Main Reading Room from the Southern side doorway to the Art and Architecture Reading Room.
"Of course, you forget, Spencer, I was present at an undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration." Hanna replied.
Spencer reacted as if Hanna probably heard that story for the umpteenth time and countered.
"Oh, Hanna, the sponges migrated about a foot and a half." Spencer replied.
They slowly converged on Spencer's friend: Aria Montgomery. Aria sat next to a table listening with her stethoscope which was holding under the desk. Spencer noticed Aria and sneaked over then, in a faux zombie voice, uttered Aria looked down at the PC-4 Calculator, she went to the table, Spencer was hidden.
"Aria…" Spencer's voice.
Spencer knocked on the desk. Aria hears the sound. Spencer grabs the book & groans.
Aria perked up. Spencer rapped the table with her knuckles then slammed a hardcover book down.
*BANGS!*
Aria was startled and jumped. He finally noticed Spencer and Hanna.
"Oh, you're here." Aria replied.
Over at the librarian's desk, an employee and Daniel Gean, a library administrator, looked over at the girls. When they saw them, Aria got up and turned to Spencer and Hanna.
"Yeah, what have you got?" Spencer asked in concern.
"This is big, Spencer. This is very big. There's definitely something here." Aria replied.
"Aria, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head, remember that?" Spencer asked in concern.
"That would've worked if you hadn't stopped me." Aria replied.
Daniel walked up behind them and introduced himself.
"I'm Daniel Gean. Are you the girl from the university?" Daniel asked in concern.
Spencer took the lead and introduced himself.
"Yes. I'm Dr. Spencer Hastings. Dr. Hanna Marin. Dr. Aria Montgomery." Spencer replied.
Daniel shook Spencer's hand then Hanna's, and Aria nodded once.
"Thank you for coming. I hope we can clear this up quickly and quietly." Daniel replied.
"Let's not rush things. We don't even know what you have yet." Spencer replied.
Daniel, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna went into the office dividing the north and south wings of the Reading Room. Anny was lying on a table in shock. A man comforted her.
"I don't remember seeing any legs, but it definitely had arms, because it reached out for me." Anny replied.
Hanna held the camcorder on her and Spencer.
"Arms? I can't wait to get a look at this thing. She got more excited and remained oblivious of Anny being traumatized by the incident." Hanna replied.
"Anny, I'm gonna to ask you a couple of standard questions, okay?" Spencer asked in concern.
Spencer sat near Anny.
Anny nodded yes.
"Have you or any member of you family ever been diagnosed schizophrenic, mentally incompetent?" Spencer asked in concern.
"My uncle thought he was St. Jerome." Anny replied.
"I'd call that a big , are you habitually using drugs, stimulants, alcohol?" Spencer asked in concern, as she nodded no.
"No." Anny replied.
"No, no. Just asking. Are you, Anny menstruating right now?" Spencer asked in concern, as she nodded no.
"What has that got to do with it?" Daniel asked in concern.
"Back off, Mr. Gean. I'm talking with her." Spencer replied, as she turned to Daniel.
Aria entered the office and reported the ghost was on the move.
"Hanna, it's moving. Come on." Aria replied.
Aria behind them. Daniel turned to Spencer and Hanna with Aria.
(Meanwhile, the Basement…)
Aria came down the stairs to the basement stacks first and had out her P.K.E. Meter.
*BUZZING*
Hanna was close behind him with the camcorder. Aria was serious and focused. Spencer came down last, lacking any interest and rolling her eyes. She started to make scary hand gestures at Hanna. They found an incredibly tall stack of books in an aisle.
"Look!" Aria replied.
Aria swept her P.K.E. Meter around the stack and stated it was hot.
"This is hot, Hanna." Aria replied.
"Symmetrical book stacking." Hanna replied.
Hanna recalled the term, Symmetrical book-stacking. Spencer and Aria looked down & up at the book stacking. Spencer & Aria turned to Hanna.
"Just like the Philadelphia mass turbulence of 1947." Hanna replied.
Spencer and Aria nodded yes.
"You're right. No human being would stack books like this." Spencer replied.
"Listen! Do you smell something?" Hanna asked in concern, turned to her head.
Instructed everyone to listen then asked them if they smelled something.
Aria looked down at P.K.E. Meter to Buzzing. Spencer sniffed the air. They came across the card catalog that Anny ran away from. Cards were still all over. Clear hued Ectoplasmic was strewn all about.
"Talk about telekinetic activity. Look at this mess." Hanna replied.
"Hanna, look at this." Aria replied.
Aria zeroed in on the Ectoplasm and clued Hanna in.
"Ectoplasmic residue." Hanna replied.
"Spencer, get a sample of this." Aria replied.
Aria held out a Plastic Petri Dish and Spencer to get a sample.
"It's the real thing." Hanna replied.
Hanna slowly backed away and followed Aria. She grave Spencer to a sample.
"Somebody blows their nose, and you want to keep it?" Spencer asked in concern.
Spencer grumbled.
"I'd like to analyze it." Aria replied.
Spencer scraped Ectoplasm from a drawer into the petri dish.
"There's more over here." Hanna replied.
"I'm getting stronger reading here." Spencer replied.
Around the corner, Hanna noticed more. Aria confirmed stronger readings further on. It was not working and some of the residue got on Spencer's hands.
Spencer groaned, grunted, & grabbed ectoplasmic residue for a sample.
"Oh. Oh! Ah... " Spencer yelled.
Spencer to his right hand to ectoplasmic residue.
"This way." Aria replied, as turned to her head.
Spencer turns to her right head and her hand is still ectoplasmic residue, her right hand still.
"Come on." Hanna replied.
"Oh…" Spencer replied.
Spencer tried to flick it away. Some got on her face. Hannah told Spencer to come on. Spencer grunted. She started slapping books and wiping random book spines. She stepped on some slimed cards and yelled.
"Gah!" Spencer yelled.
Spencer yelled, as she lifted her foot and tried to shake the cards off.
They turned another corner.
"Aria, your mucus." Spencer replied.
Spencer caught up and handed Aria the petri dish.
A green wood bookcase creaked and suddenly fell down face first behind them onto the floor. Spencer hopped back a little. They all stared at the bookcase. As the dust kicked up in the air.
"This happen to you before?" Spencer asked in concern, calmly turned to Hanna.
Hanna slowly shook his head 'no'.
"Oh. First time?" Spencer asked in concern.
Hanna slowly nodded 'yes'.
They continued on. They emerged from the aisle. The P.K.E. Meter lit up.
*BUZZING*
They went down the next aisle. The arms on the P.K.E. Meter rose up and Aria held out her hand to the others to stop. She stepped out of the aisle, swept around to her left then turned right, and paused in surprise at what she saw.
"It's here." Aria replied.
Spencer, Hanna, and Aria looked & It was the Library ghost. She was looking at books.
"A full-torso apparition. And it's real." Hanna replied, excited and softly.
The ghost began reading a book. Hanna & Aria were softly.
"So what do we do?" Spencer asked in concern.
Hanna & Aria were silent and looked at each other.
"Could you come over here and talk to me for a second, please?" Spencer asked in concern.
Spencer rolled her eyes, she pulled Hanna by the ear into an aisle. The ghost looked over at them.
"Could you just me over here and talk to me for a second, please? Right over here. Come here, Aria. Come here." Spencer replied.
Spencer, Hanna, and Aria into an aisle.
"What do we do?" Spencer asked in concern.
"I don't know. What do you think?" Hanna asked in concern.
Hanna wasn't sure what to do and turned to Aria. Aria took out a calculator and started typing.
"STOP THAT!" Spencer yelled.
But Spencer yelled at her to stop that and knocked it out of his hands.
*CLATTER*
It tattered on the floor. Aria got mad at Spencer.
"We've got to make contact. One of us should actually try to speak to it." Hanna replied, as she turned to Aria.
"Good idea." Aria agreed.
They both looked at Spencer.
Spencer sighs & huffed over the silent vote. She walked out of the aisle. Aria took over the camcorder. Hanna followed and quickly snapped photographs and pulled out the pocket with her phone.
Spencer greeted the ghost and introduced himself.
"Hello. I'm Spencer." Spencer replied.
Spencer smiled, Hanna's phone to take a photo, Aria looked at Hanna's camcorder.
"Where are you from? Originally." Spencer replied.
"Shh." The ghost replied, as she turned to only shush Spencer.
Spencer stops to smile and turns to Hannah's phone to take a photo, while Aria looks at Hanna's camcorder.
"All right. Okay. The usual stuff isn't working." Spencer replied.
Spencer returned to the aisle, corralling Hanna and Aria back into the aisle.
"Okay, I have a plan. I know exactly what to do." Hanna replied.
Hanna instructed them to stay close and do exactly that.
"Now, stay close. Stay close." Hanna replied.
They inched back out and slowly moved closer.
"I know. Do exactly as I say." Hanna replied.
The ghost pulls the book and turns to them.
"Get ready. Ready? GET HER!" Hanna replied.
The ghost transmogrified into a monstrous form and screamed at them. Spencer, Hanna, and Aria were all screaming. They cried out and Hanna and Aria backed away almost in unison. Hanna and Aria were screaming continues. The tune from the soundtrack's "Cleanin' Up The Town" played. Hanna, Aria, and Spencer hurried outside and down the stairs outside. Pigeons flew away. Daniel came out the door after them.
"Did you see it? What was it?" Daniel asked in concern.
"We'll get back to you." Spencer replied.
"Wait!" Daniel replied.
Daniel tried to get them to wait. He stopped in disbelief. People looked at them as they ran away.
(Later, at Rosewood University…)
Spencer, Hanna, and Aria had returned to Rosewood University and walked through campus alongside the Low Library.
"Get her." That was your whole plan. Get her. It was ghost." Spencer laughs.
"I just got overexcited. But wasn't it incredible, Spencer? I mean, we actually touched the etheric plane. You know what this could mean to the university?" Hanna asked in concern.
Aria was a few steps behind them performing calculations.
"Yeah, it's gonna be bigger than the microchip. Hanna, I'm very excited." Spencer replied.
Aria looked up then back down at her PC-4 Calculator as they talked.
"I wouldn't say the experience was completely wasted. According to these new readings, I think we have an excellent chance of actually catching a ghost and holding it indefinitely." Aria replied.
The gears turned in Spencer's head and she hurried up to them.
"Well, this is great. If the ionization rate was constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we could really bust some heads. In a spiritual sense, of course." Hanna replied.
"Aria, you serious about this catching a ghost?" Spencer asked in concern.
"I'm always serious." Aria replied.
Aria placed the P.K.E. Meter in her right pocket down.
"Aria, I'm gonna take back some of the things I've said about you." Spencer replied.
Spencer got out of a Crunch bar and told Aria, she was going to take back some of the things she said about her. Spencer was about to hand it to Aria but hesitated then gave it and told her.
"You- You've earned it." Spencer replied.
Hanna grinned and chuckled as Aria looked at the bar.
To Be Continued…
