Ghost Slayers
Chapter Thirteen
By Relm
"Did he just… talk?" Filia asked in a quiet whisper.
"I did." Zelgadis said more to himself than to Filia. There was a strange expression on his face. He seemed very confused but also kinda happy.
"Filia it's the electricity isn't like the pencil test right?" Lina asked trying to make sense of everything.
"I think so."
Zelgadis' face fell. "So that means it won't last."
"We don't know that for sure. But let's not waste time. Zelgadis do you remember what happened to you?"
Zelgadis shook his head. "I can't remember anything. The first thing I remember is meeting you on the street."
"Do you know why you were haunting Sailune Publishing?"
"No. You guys are the first thing I remembered. So that's why I followed you to this place. I don't know anything." Zelgadis put his face in his hands. "I don't know if I'm dead or alive."
Lina frowned. She was hoping to get more information than this. "Why did you touch the machine?"
"I don't know, I just felt like I should. Is it supposed to shock people like that?"
"No." Filia explained. "That was probably you. Electricity seems to be the key."
"I feel more aware. Before things felt... foggy." Zelgadis tried to make sense of all the thoughts floating around his head. There were memories that he knew where there in the back in his mind though he just couldn't reach it.
"You were kinda spacey."
"Yeah. Tell me what is that green thing that floats around this place?"
"Slimer. He's a ghost but I'll be damned if I can tell you what he was before he died. The best I can figure is that some ghosts can change their appearance like what they are wearing and such. I guess that's what Slimer wants to look like." Lina had spent a lot of time studying Slimer to figure out why he was so different. But it always ended up just giving her a headache rather than answers.
"He seems nice but very very odd."
"Why did you avoid that drawing I did from the vision?" Lina realized she was asking more questions then she should, but she was afraid that Zelgadis would go all spacey and she wanted answers.
"Looking at it made me feel ill. I don't know why I just felt sick in the stomach. Which is weird because clearly I don't have a body. Which supports the theory that I'm dead. And if I'm dead where is my body?" Zelgadis' face was getting gloomier and gloomier.
"What happened?" Amelia and Sylphiel came busting into the room. "The lights were flickering and we heard yelling."
"Zelgadis kinda electrocuted himself. He's okay though and now he can talk." Lina explained.
"We should zap him again." Filia suggested.
Zelgadis nodded in agreement.
"No we're not going to do that!" Lina declared. "It obviously hurts him. And it could be dangerous!"
"If I'm dead who cares? What I'll just die again? And I can deal with the pain." Zelgadis insisted pouting like a little child.
"No we don't know if you're really dead. It could really kill you or any chances of figuring out what happened to you and this situation you're in." Lina said very sternly.
"But I want to stay conscious of things. I want to be able to still talk." He protested sadly.
"Alright if you start to lose your ability to speak or go off into la la land we'll jolt you with more electricity." Lina bargained.
"Well it's not like I can argue with you. My hands go through things." As a demonstration Zelgadis put his hand through the very machine that just shocked him.
"Zelgadis!" Lina screeched. "Are you crazy?" Lina went to swat his hand away forgetting he can't touch him. "Are you trying to piss me off?" She yelled when he withdrew his hand.
"No."
"Well how did you know it wasn't going to electrocute you again?"
Zelgadis frowned with puzzlement. "You know I'm not sure. I just knew it wouldn't."
"The power is off Lina." Filia held up the plug for Lina to see. "I cut the power when Zelgadis first started frying. But the current wouldn't stop."
Lina frowned and glared at Zelgadis. "Okay Zelgadis I don't want you trying and zapping yourself okay?"
Zelgadis grumbled while repeatedly putting his hand through and out of the floor as if to test his transparency. "How does Slimer move and touch things?"
"Ghosts can touch things if they concentrate hard enough. But it's usually very taxing to them. Poltergeists or very enraged spirits can move things more easily but they can't control what they are moving. It's more a tornado of rage. But Slimer is pretty much the exception to every rule. He seems to have boundless energy. But Slimer like all ghosts can't directly touch a living person, he can touch other ghosts though." Sylphiel explained.
"Now that's the party's over how about we all get back to work? Amelia how are you doing with the hacking?"
"Haven't gotten in yet. Mister Zelgadis has some top notch firewalls."
"Okay we'll keep at it. If you don't get in today you can continue with it tomorrow morning."
"You mean I have to stay behind again?" Amelia whined.
Lina nodded. "Well someone has to baby sit Zelgadis here. I doubt our clients would be too happy with us brining ghosts when we're supposed to be getting rid of them."
Zelgadis frowned when Lina said 'ghost'. "Can't we refer to me as something other than a 'ghost'? If you seem to think I'm still alive then why continue using that word to reference me? And I don't need a babysitter."
"Okay no g-word and well look at it this way; with no one here Slimer would be your only company."
"Point taken."
"I wonder what would happen if we shot Slimer with electricity?" Amelia mused out loud.
"Nothing really. I tried that once. He likes the currents but they don't seem to hurt him." Filia explained with a shrug.
"Why were you shocking Slimer for?" Amelia exclaimed in horror.
"He was annoying me."
As if he knew they were talking about him, Slimer opened the door to join the party. His grin was wide and slime was drooling from his mouth.
"Speak of the devil."
Slimer formed green devil horns on his head.
Zelgadis frowned. "Though he looks ridiculous like that I'm jealous that he can do that and I can't."
Slimer then formed a halo over his head, which was actually pretty gross. The ring formed below his 'skin' and then separated from his head and floated above it.
"Show off." Zelgadis shook his head.
Slimer stuck his tongue out at Zelgadis. Which was also gross, as he actually stuck his tongue, out of his body.
"Slimer quit that! I think I'm going to be ill." Sylphiel put her hand over her eyes.
"Amelia take Slimer back with you to the computer." Lina ushered them out the door.
"So Sylphiel," Filia started with a mischievous grin, "what did Officer Gaberieve want?"
Sylphiel started blushing. "He was trying to call someone else, he dialled the wrong number."
"That sounds weak. I bet he was calling to ask you out but he lost his nerve."
"Filia! He doesn't like me like that." Sylphiel insisted.
"Hey Sylphiel do you have the address for our job tomorrow?" Lina interrupted.
"Yes why?"
"I want to go scope out the place and do some prelim readings. And you can come with us Zelgadis if you want."
Zelgadis shrugged. "Sure."
...
Three of the four Ghost Slayers and one transparent being piled into the Ghost Slayersmobile and started driving towards the hunted house that they would be investigating the next day. The drive was nice, traffic was good and the sun was shining.
Lina smiled as she drove along the residential area of Sailune. Constantly driving through the main city with all the crazy drivers and gridlock traffic it was refreshing to drive where it was nice. But one thing was nagging at Lina as she approached the neighbourhood of where the job they were going to do was at. It wasn't till she pulled up to the street did she figure out why. "Oh my god that's the house!" Lina exclaimed pulling over in front of an old house with a very wild looking lawn full of weeds.
"Actually it's the house next door Lina not this one." Sylphiel corrected double checking the address that Amelia had written down for her.
"Filia and I were talking about this house earlier." Lina explained point to the house.
"Oh this is that house?" Filia exclaimed while turning on her scanner. Its' readings were off the chart.
"What's so special about it and why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Zelgadis shivered while rubbing his arms. "Wait why am I cold? That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah that is weird, but it is cold. That house there was one of my first ghost jobs. There was too many ghosts in that place any my equipment was spacey at best at that time. Only got rid of one. The person who 'cleansed' the house before me botched the job and turned the place into a ghost magnet. At that time there must have been like a hundred, now I don't even want to guess how many are in there."
"Well that would explain why our client's house is being haunted. Probably not enough space left in the ghost magnet house that they are starting to haunt next door." Sylphiel mused with a frown. "So even if we get rid of the ghosts haunting out client's home more ghosts will just show up later on. You know that means."
Lina grinned with dollar signs in her eyes. "Yeah we'll have business for years to come. We should leave our card on the doorstep of the other house next to the magnet. It will only be a matter of time before they'll be fed up enough to with their ghosts and will have to call us."
"No Lina that's dishonest! We have to tell our clients why they are being haunted."
"Says who?"
Sylphiel was going to respond when suddenly a dismembered head appeared right in front of her. "AHHHHH!" She screamed.
The ghost either screamed to mock Sylphiel or in fright and then vanished.
"I think it's a good idea to get back to HQ, now." Filia suggested.
"Yeah we stay too long they're bound to haunt the car." Lina started up the engine and pulled back onto the street.
The further away they got from the street the warmer it got in the car.
The drive back to HQ was uneventful (aside from Sylphiel's constant nagging) and Slimer was in the parking lot ready to greet them. Whether they wanted a greeting or not.
"Yuck Slimer! You're so gross!" Filia flung green slime off her hands.
"Lina we should say something to our clients. It's not right." Sylphiel continued to scold Lina.
"No I'm not going to say anything."
"I'll tell Amelia if you don't." She threatened.
Lina cringed. Sylphiel's nagging was bad enough but listening to Amelia go on was like fingers on a chalk board. "Alright I'll comprise. We do the job tomorrow and I'll contact the owner of the ghost magnet. See if I can get him to hire us. I'm sure he might be desperate enough to rehire me. Of course we'll have to charge much more."
"We'll have to figure out what is making it into a magnet. Otherwise the ghosts will keep coming. And we're going to need more containment boxes." Filia frowned. "I've got the materials to make maybe ten more, but that's it."
"Okay Filia go start on that. Sylphiel open the trunk of the car. I think we should check the power levels of the phase guns. We might have to deal with more than one ghost tomorrow." Lina threw the keys to Sylphiel and checked the scanners in the backseat.
Sylphiel opened the car trunk and screamed.
Lina ran over to the trunk. "What's wrong Sylphiel?" She looked and saw what had startled her. That very same bodiless ghost that had frightened Sylphiel earlier was laying in the trunk of the car. "Great, and we're not even going to be paid for dealing with this one." Lina shook her head.
Slimer came flying over in a flash to greet the new ghost. He went to hug the ghost head but it screamed and vanished.
"Is it gone?"
"Don't know." Lina turned on one of the scanners in her hands and scanned the room. "Well the only ghost I can scan is Slimer. Either it's gone or it took off to another part of the building."
Off in the distance Lina and Sylphiel heard Amelia scream.
"That answers that one. Let's go."