CHAPTER THREE
Julie watched as Caleb came into the room, closing the door behind hm. He glanced briefly at Nick who was still lying unconscious on the floor. Julie flinched as Caleb reached her and leant in close. He looked so calm, so smug. She hated that she could feel him. He had made himself corporeal somehow and it creeped her out. She had to figure out how to get out of here.
Caleb watched Julie as he entered the room. He had thought that he would be able to break her, get the information that he needed. But no, she was stubbornly quiet, claiming that she knew nothing but he didn't believe her. She and the boys must have discussed why they appeared to her and how, when they performed with her, everyone could see them. Apart from here, at the Ghost Club, he hadn't heard of that ever happening. Turning his back on Julie, he reached for a chair and sat down in front of her.
"Let's go over this again Julie. Why can the band be seen whenever they play with you? You have to have figured it out by now. Trust me; you are not going anywhere until I get the answers I want. And no one is coming for you. Even if they figure out where you are, I've made sure that they won't get in."
"I've already told you, I DON'T KNOW. They just showed up one night and it wasn't until I played at school one day and they just appeared on the stage. At first, I thought only l could see them like at home but then we noticed the crowd. It seemed that they could see the boys too. We were all surprised. And none of us know why. I can't tell you something that I don't know."
Caleb sat back and watched her, as he felt his anger growing. This girl held all the power at the moment and he didn't like that and he certainly couldn't let her know that that was the case. He had to keep her scared, had to keep the upper hand.
"You do understand that I am being very nice, for the moment, but if you continue to defy me, I may just use you like I used that young man over there. If I possess you, I can just search your mind at will. Actually, come to think of it, that might just be the easiest course of action. That way I can find out everything that you know, without having to put up with listening to you."
Julie pushed back further into the chair, trying to get as far away from Caleb as possible. If he did that she knew that he would destroy her and he would also find out about last night. About everything that had happened. She didn't want the last thing that she did be something that would lead to the end of the boys and she really didn't want to leave her family. She watched as Caleb stood up and came closer. He reached out his hands to cup her face and her eyes grew larger as he leant even closer to her until his nose was practically touching hers. Only then did she close her eyes and pray. She asked for help, from Luke, from Alex, from Reggie, from God even from her mom. She didn't want to die because she knew that she had no unfinished business and she wouldn't hang around like the boys had. She heard Caleb tell her not to struggle but that caused her to struggle even more. She moved her head from side to side but he only tightened his grip on her face. Just as she felt something weird enter her mouth she also felt a heat encircle her body and she felt a sense of calm overcome her.
The next thing she knew, Caleb let out a yell and she felt his hands fall away from her face. Opening her eyes, she looked up and saw that he had taken several steps back and was looking at her with a shocked expression on his face.
"How? How is this possible? You shouldn't be able to reject me. You are nothing, a young girl. A lifer with no power. How is it you can stop me?"
Julie looked at him mystified. She had no idea what had just happened. And then all of a sudden she heard a familiar voice inside her head telling her to hang on, that help was on the way. Julie started to tear up upon hearing that voice. How could it be happening? What did it mean? All that she knew was that somehow she wasn't possessed and she now knew that she wasn't alone. She felt hope for the first time since arriving at this damn place. Seeing Caleb look so scared was a bonus. It meant that he didn't know what was happening either and for once she had him on the back foot even though she hadn't actually done anything. And then she heard the voice again.
"They're on their way. Stay strong, you will make it out. I will stay with you."
Shaking her head, she could feel the tears fall but with her hands tied, she couldn't wipe them away. It had been a year since she had heard that voice but now it filled her will light and hope and love and she knew that Caleb would not be able to touch her because he mother was here and she would protect her no matter what.
Luke looked up at the building, it certainly looked deserted from here and he was doubtful about how he would get in. He just knew that he had to. Julie was inside and he needed to stop Caleb from whatever the hell it was that he was doing. Before leaving, Willie had told them exactly where Caleb's office was as he suspected that that was where he would be holding Julie. The three boys looked at each other for a moment before they made their way to the front entrance. The door itself was covered with wood, completely sealing the hotel. The boys tried to just poof in once more, to make sure that they couldn't enter that way and when they were forced back, they had their answer. Standing side by side, Luke looked at his friends, not knowing if they would actually make it through this when all of a sudden, a bright warm light surrounded them and a woman appeared in front of them. A woman that they had all seen before. They stood there staring at her, not saying a word. Reggie was the first to speak.
"Hey, I remember you. You were working at the Orpheum the night we died. You look a little older but it's you, right?"
"Yes Reggie, it's me. My name is Rose and I am here to help you save my daughter."
Their jaws all dropped and they were struck silent for even longer as they processed what she had just said to them. This was Julie's mum and she knew them from 1995. Alex was the first to recover this time and he asked her if she had sent them to Julie? Rose shook her head and told them that she didn't actually have the power to do that, but she had prayed that they would be able to help her daughter and that someone must have been listening to her and had sent them to Julie. Luke stood there and tried to understand that he was now talking to Julie's mum and that she was going to help them to help Julie.
"If you didn't have the power to send us to Julie, how can you help us now?"
"I'm not sure Luke; I just know that I can help you. It's an inner sense that I have. It is guiding me to help you. I helped Julie earlier by stopping Caleb from possessing her like he did to her friend earlier today. It seems that the powers that be don't want Caleb getting any more power than he already has. He can't get your power, they definitely don't want that."
"But what is my power? And why do I have it? Why do we have it?"
"I don't know the answer to that Luke. I just know that for now, I am here to help you all."
"And after that, do you get to stay like we seem to have?" Alex asked softly.
Rose shook her head and told them that she didn't think so. With a shake of her head, she told them that she was only here to make sure that Julie could move forward and with all that the boys had done for her and as soon as they defeated Caleb, Julie would be able to do that and then she could move on herself knowing that her daughter was on the right path again.
"What about Ray and Carlos?" Reggie asked.
Rose turned to him with a sad smile on her face and tears in her eyes. She told them that she had been watching them as well and she knew that her two strong men had kept her in their hearts but had also taken steps to keep moving in life. Julie, being her daughter as well as sharing her love for music had been hit the hardest by her death and she had been the one that Rose had been most concerned about.
"However, with you boys in her life, I know that she is going to be OK. But for now, let's get my daughter out of here and get her home where she belongs and then we can work out what to do with Covington."
"There's just one problem. We can't get in. Looks like Covington has protected the hotel from us. We've tried poofing in but it doesn't work."
Rose told them that that was where she came in. Reaching out, she told the boys that she would lead them through the spell and get them inside. Once there, it would be up to them to find and rescue Julie. Rose would act as a distraction to lure Caleb away from her daughter.
"Getting out will be easy, the spell is only to keep you from getting in. I'm trusting you boys to save my daughter."
All three boys nodded their heads and told her that she could trust them. They joined hands and were surrounded by a similar glow that had surrounded them the night before and with Rose's guidance, they simple walked through the front door. As soon as they were in the foyer, Rose let her hands drop and pointed up the stairs, telling the boys where to go before she poofed away to confront Covington.
Ray walked back and forth in front of the couch. It had been hours since the cops had been and taken their statements and they still hadn't heard anything more. Carlos and Flynn sat on the couch, whispering to each other and Tia was in the kitchen making more coffee. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know where Julie was and he was scared. He stopped his pacing when there was a knock on the door. He opened it quickly, hoping to see the police but instead it was Trevor Wilson standing there.
"Hey Ray, I was wondering if I could talk to Julie?"
"Hey Trevor, I'm sorry but Julie isn't here right now. Actually, she's been missing all day."
"Man, I'm sorry. Is there anything that I can do?"
Ray told him that there wasn't anything he could do at the moment but he thanked him for the offer and said that when Julie did return home, he would get her to call him. Trevor nodded his head and once again offered to help in any way he could and then he left. He needed to talk to her about the band and how the hell his three friends were her new band mates. He knew that it should be impossible but he had seen them with his own eyes. It had definitely been Luke, Alex and Reggie but he also knew that they had died 25 years ago. They were certainly not holograms, but he didn't want to believe that they were ghosts. He didn't believe in ghosts. Although he had had that encounter at his house a few weeks ago and it couldn't be a coincidence. Bobby had been written on the mirror. Was it the boys? Had they been in his house? He would just have to wait a little longer to get the answers that he was after. Ray watched as Trevor walked away and he just shook his head. He couldn't figure out why he would have come over. Deciding that there were more important things to think about he turned away from the window and headed into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before he returned to his pacing, waiting for news.
Julie sat and waited to hear from her mum again but she heard nothing more. Keeping an eye on Caleb, she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. She had never expected to hear her mum. She had sent the boys to her instead of coming herself so why was she here now? Julie was desperate to see her mum but she couldn't even hear her anymore. Julie wondered if she was still even here or if she had only come to help her when Caleb had tried to possess her. Just as she was starting to tear up again, she saw Nick move and heard him moan. Glancing quickly at Caleb to see if he had heard Nick too. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to either of them at the moment; he was pacing the room talking to himself. Julie tried to get Nick's attention.
"Nick, can you hear me?"
Nick moaned again and she saw him open his eyes. She told him to stay still and to try to be quiet. He opened his eyes and looked over at her with confusion and he tried to sit up. Julie shook her head and told to him to stay down. That he needed to regain some strength. Nodding slightly he lay back down again but didn't take his eyes off her. She glanced again towards Caleb and was relieved to see that he was still preoccupied. She nodded at Nick and then she sat back in the chair and tried to figure out again how she was going to get out of here. She kept going over everything in her head and she couldn't see any way out and she signed in frustration but then she heard it. Someone was singing just outside the door and it got louder and louder, loud enough to draw Caleb's attention as well as Julie's.
She knew that voice, it was her mum's. Caleb looked over at Julie briefly before he left the room. Julie wanted to get out even more now, she wanted to see her mum but her bindings were still too. Even though her mum had gotten Caleb to leave, it wouldn't be of any use if she couldn't get out of here. She was just about to ask Nick if he could come over and loosen her bindings when she saw Luke walk through the door to the office. She called out in joy as the other two boys joined him in the room.
"How? Caleb said that no one would be able to get in. How is this possible?"
Luke walked over to her and started to untie her hands telling her that they had a little bit of help. She watched as Alex and Reggie went over to Nick to check on him. They obviously couldn't actually help him but they could at least let her know how he was really doing. As they got closer to him though he looked at them and asked them in a whisper how they were even here. He thought that Julie had told him that they lived in Sweden. Alex and Reggie looked at each other before looking over at Julie. She looked back at them with a shocked expression on her face. She wasn't sure how Nick was able to see the boys but guessed it had something to do with his possession from Caleb. Maybe it gave him the ability to see them. She told him that they were here to help them and that they were friends. Nick nodded and tried to stand up. Meanwhile, Luke was pulling at the bindings that had her trapped to the chair. When he released her he grabbed her hands and pulled her up without even thinking and both of them were surprised when they were able to hold on to each other again. So clearly what had happened the previous night wasn't a one off thing. Luke smiled as he looked down at Julie and then he cupped her cheek.
"I'm glad we found you. You helped us. You told us about Caleb having you and you mentioned music and we worked it out from there."
"What are you talking about Luke? I haven't seen you since last night."
"I heard you Julie. When you spoke to me earlier today. Your voice was in my mind. And I liked what you had to say."
"Uh guys, we really don't have time for this. Let's get out of here before Caleb comes back. Rose can only distract him for so long."
Julie looked at them one at a time with a shocked expression. How did the boys know that her mother was here? She wondered if the night could get any stranger. And then she got her answer when her mother appeared in front of her and Julie's leg gave out. Luckily Luke was still standing beside her and he stopped her from hitting the floor. She could barely see her mum through the tears in her eyes. Seeing the boys was one thing but seeing her mum was something else entirely.
"Hi baby. We have to go. Can you walk? I think your friend may need your help."
Julie nodded her head and went over to help Nick stand up, then walked over to the door without taking her eyes off her mum. She knew that she had to soak it all in because without knowing how, she knew that her mum wouldn't be able to stay, unlike the boys. The six of them walked out of Caleb's office but they didn't get very far before Caleb appeared in front of them, stopping their escape, telling them that there was nowhere for them to go.