Chapter 4

That night, Gomer tossed and turned in his bunk, unable to wipe the events of the day from his mind. The strange laughs, the white figure, the cold breeze, none of it made any sense. Still, he wasn't about to stop puzzling until he reached a conclusion. Sergeant Carter's words echoed through his mind and mixed with Sheriff Taylor's. There ain't no such thing as ghosts. Gomer sat up in his bunk.

"He's right. They're both right." He stood up and shook Duke's shoulder in the upper bunk.

"Hey, Duke? Wake up!" he whispered in his buddy's ear. Duke moaned and cranked one eye open.

"Gomer? What time is it?"

"Duke, I've been thankin', Sergeant Carter's been right this whole time."

"About what?"

"'Bout that attic. There can't be no spook in there. He's right, there ain't no such thang as spooks."

"Great, I'll remember that next time I decide to go poking around that attic."

He started to roll over, but Gomer stopped him.

"I'm glad you thank so, 'cause that's just where we're goin'."

"Sounds good… WHAT?"

Several weary soldiers in adjacent bunks shushed them in annoyed tones.

"You mean you're going back there? At this time of night?" Duke hissed.

"That's right. And you're comin' with me."

"Whoa now, Gomer. Let's stop and think about this for a moment."

"There's no use talkin' about it, Duke. There's nothin' you can say that'll change my mind. Now you can come with me or not, but that's where I'm goin'."

With that, Gomer yanked open his locker and pulled out his uniform. Duke sighed and rubbed the weariness out of his eyes.

"Alright, Gome. If you're that determined, I don't see how I can leave you behind."

Gomer smiled as he slipped on his shirt.

"I knew you'd come along, Duke. I just knew it. And don't worry none. We'll prove to Sergeant Carter just how right he was when he said there ain't no such thang as spooks."

Duke rolled his eyes as he slid to the floor.

"Yeah, sure Gome. If we ever make it out, that is."

When they reached the door to the attic stairway, Gomer paused.

"Now, we better go up there real quiet-like, so as not to let whatever's up there know we're comin'."

"Great idea," Duke huffed, "then we can catch the ghost by surprise."

As quietly as he could, Gomer inched the door open and crept up the stairs, pausing after each one. Duke hesitated before following. About halfway up the stairs, the faint sound of gruff voices reached their ears.

"That's great," Duke muttered, "There's more than one up there, and they're talking to each other. They're probably deciding what to do with us once we get up there."

Gomer hushed him and continued on. The voices grew louder as they worked their way up. When they stepped into the attic, the voices lulled. The two Marines pressed close to each other as they glanced about the empty room, almost completely hidden due to time of night. Trying his best to ignore the heaviness in his chest, Gomer inched forward into the darkness. His boot hit a pile of soft fabric. Reaching down, he picked up a handful of the fabric and held it close to his face. It was a ragged white sheet. He handed it to Duke, who also looked it over.

"Seems like we found our spook," Gomer whispered. Heavy footsteps echoed through the room, originating from behind the bookshelves. The steps were followed by the same gruff voices from before.

"Hey, Tucker, how much longer are we supposed to be holed up in here?" whined the first voice.

"Relax, Hemsley" gruffed the second, "we'll only be here a few more days until the excitement dies down. Then, we'll skip town, cash in this loot, and buy two one-way tickets to Mexico where we can enjoy our spoils off the hook."

"But we won't be able to stay holed up in here for too long. We almost had our cover blown twice."

"So what? If anyone else comes along, we'll give him the same show we gave those Marines. By the way, that was a nice touch knocking over that garden equipment. Now that really did the trick!"

Gomer elbowed Duke in the ribs and, picking up the extra folds of bedsheet, crept towards the bookcases. When they reached the furniture, they peered between the shelves.

"I can't see anything, can you?" breathed Duke.

"Naw, it's too dark."

A sharp clatter sounded to the right, causing Duke and Gomer to nearly jump out of their skin. The same gruff voice from before uttered a loud curse.

"Hemsley! I thought I told you to get rid of that fan!"

"I moved it out of the way, didn't I? What did you want me to do, take it to a thrift shop?"

"Well don't put it where my toe is supposed to be!"

While the two men argued, their movements became barely visible to Gomer and Duke, whose eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness.

"Shazam," Gomer whispered, "They must be those bank robbers the police are lookin' for."

"That's what I'm thinking," Duke hissed, "But what do we do?"

They stared at each other for a moment in thought. Gomer raised the sheet to his face. Duke nodded in understanding. Together, they squeezed between the bookshelves and spread the sheet out between them. Standing against the wall, the two thieves failed to notice them until the sheet was fully spread.

"Hey, Tucker," squeaked the first man, "What's that up there?"

"What?"

Gomer and Duke charged, the bedsheet flapping between them. Somewhere behind them, a bellowing shout followed by a rattling clatter filled the attic. The two thieves, paralyzed with fear, both let out a blood-curling screech as the sheet swallowed them.