Eventually I completed my walk around the park, remembering to keep my promise to assess the situation, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The employees had corrected the directional signs. I jumped over the fence at Rolling Thunder and climbed onto the steps at the first incline, watching the excited faces and hearing the whispered expletives as the chain pulled up train after train of guests. The wood shook slightly, and I felt the wind through my hair. I climbed higher and surveyed the park until closing time.
My fellow ghosts and I had only this week put up the decorations for the upcoming Fright Fest. Now that we're only open on weekends, we're able to help out with more tasks whenever the security cameras can look the other way. I miss the daily excitement, though. And when we shut down for the winter…we all find different ways to cope with it.
Ironically, I hated Halloween. It perpetuates myths about us, but the real issue is that it glamorizes the spirit world. My life is certainly not bad, but it is repetitive, and the thought it not having an end…
I stood up and jumped, landing hard on my side but feeling no pain in this spirit form. It had taken me a few years after my death to gather up the courage to do that. I broke into a run, not wanting to be late for our nightly meeting.
"I'm sure that it was just pranks," Elissa was saying in an assertive voice as I walked in and changed to my bodily form, taking a seat on our raggedy couch. We don't update our clothes or furniture because it would make us look worse by comparison. I saw her breath hitch as I entered the room, and I masked my pain. Females used to gasp when I entered the room, yes, but it was not due to the stench of my rotting flesh.
Ghoulmaster stared into the fireplace, an intense and determined look on his face. "Maybe. I'm not convinced," he said softly, an edge to his voice.
"The security tapes were inconclusive, but you know how terrible our equipment is. I've been begging them to update it for years. Now I know it won't happen for a while, because…funds might be a little lower than usual today." Her eyes twinkled.
The rest of us sat scattered around the foyer/living room, waiting to speak until spoken to. Elissa may have bantering privileges with Ghoulmaster, but all average ghosts present only wanted to contribute facts, not opinions. I stole a look at Norma. I knew that it was a condition in her contract that she will never have to speak at all, and she hasn't so far except to Ghoulmaster when needed. I wondered when she arrived here if she would have a special understanding with our leader, as they both were extremely private and with limited words, but that doesn't seem to be the case so far.
Ghoulmaster unclenched his jaw and looked up. "What did you all find out? Anything?"
I must not have been the only one on a mission today. Feeling useless, I shook my head along with everyone else. "No."
"I don't see any way that you could have prevented this." Elissa addressed all of us. "Everything is fixed, and the park is just mostly annoyed that they lost a little money." Elissa frequently brought us interpretations like this from the park's "higher ups." Most of the board members knew about us, although over the years became more and more distant. Some had even begun doubting our existence as the park's protectors, which was sad but perhaps a good thing, as hunters would become aware if our relationship with the mortals became too cozy. Now, this overnight security guard served as our liaison, and was the only mortal that we truly considered a friend.
"Alright." These meetings usually had a lighter tone, but not tonight. I stayed seated for this conversation until the meeting dispersed.