Ghost Slayers

Chapter Forty

By Relm

Lina let out a huge yawn as she woke up that morning. She hadn't set an alarm to wake her at a specific time but her stomach had its own clock. It wasn't just morning it was breakfast time so up she had to get. She spied a look around the room and was amused to see her ghostly companions still asleep in their respected make shift beds. It was surprising to see that she had woken up before them. It was rare that Lina woke early without an alarm. She did so love to sleep in. Since the room had no windows Lina wasn't even sure what time it was but because her stomach woke her she assumed it had to be morning.

Against Lina's better judgement she turned back on her phone. Since her phone had been turned it off it wasn't going to show how many missed calls she had but it did show how many voice mails and text messages she had. And it was a lot. This however wasn't the first thing to grab her attention when she looked at her phone. It was the clock in the corner of the screen that made Lina's eyes go wide. It was morning alright but not what Lina thought. It was a little after 5 in the morning, this was much earlier than her stomach normally woke her. 'Stupid cheap thai food... no wonder I'm hungry...'

Being as quiet as a mouse Lina tip toed out of the room and headed to the staff lounge room. Lina wasn't exactly in the mood to cook something but at the very least she could have cereal or something. Opening the fridge Lina made a face. It was bright and clean... and empty. Lina didn't need to ponder this fact too hard, she knew why there was no food. And it had to do with a little green man.

The cupboards proved to be just as bare. If Lina was going to eat she would have to leave the building.

This sort of this usually didn't bother Lina too much. She loved to eat out, especially when the meal was a nice hearty breakfast. But given their cash flow it wasn't a good idea to be dining out so much. That is something they had been doing a lot off as of late.

Sighing Lina left the lounge to get dressed and go get breakfast. She didn't bother to wake up Zelgadis or Slimer to let them know where she was going, instead she just left a note on the bed. The last thing Lina wanted to do was to give reason for Zelgadis to get upset or worried. It would be very annoying to have the ghostly librarian pop up in fright when Lina was in a restaurant.

'I'll just get take out and brining it right back to Ghost Slayers HQ. I really shouldn't leave those two alone for too long.' Lina thought to herself as she put her coat on and stepped outside the front doors.

Lina could have drove but she didn't feel much like driving after the tiring day she had previously. And there were several little dinners nearby she could get something to eat. However once Lina got out those doors she somewhat regretted that decision.

The weather had been pretty mild the past week with just a few light storms here and there but this particular morning was an exception. The sky was blanketed in a sea of dark gray and black clouds and city was a haze of constant falling droplets of water. It was raining and it was raining loudly. Though no lightening flashed or thunder sounded it still seemed frightful outside.

The streets were covered in big puddles and the sound of the rain splashing down was almost deafening. A gust of wind breezed by Lina making her shiver.

Lina's gut said go back inside. It was cold and wet and Lina didn't like cold and wet. Lina was from Zelphilia, a warm sunny country. Even when it rained it was never this cold. But Lina's stomach was at war with her gut (strange, aren't they the same thing?) demanding they press on. Food was needed and it wasn't that far away, just a few blocks.

Spying a look at her footwear Lina wondered if her boots would work in this kind of weather. They weren't her usual uniform boots as she was wearing her normal clothing, but zip up fashion type boots. They looked like they were leather and would repel the rain. The logical side of Lina said to at very least change into proper rain boots but again her stomach ruled all. She did snatch an umbrella however and pressed on.

The first block Lina felt confident. Her boots appeared to be doing okay, perhaps they would be fine in the rain. The second block however came as a shock and coldness settled in amongst her tender tootsies. 'Stupid boots! Why are fashionable things so damned useless?'

Knowing this wasn't going to end well for her Lina sped up and raced towards the first open diner she could see.

"Good morning!" A waitress with brown curly hair beamed at Lina. "I didn't think we'd get any customers this early and especially not with this weather!"

"Yeah sure..." Lina grumbled as she sat down at a stool looking over a menu.

"Dining in, or taking out?" The waitress wondered.

"Take out." Lina said without even looking up from the menu.

"Will you be wanting some coffee dear?" It was clear that the waitress was bored and was trying to coax Lina into having a conversation with her.

Lina however wasn't in the mood. "Yeah I guess."

"How do you take it?"

"Black with three sugars."

The waitress flashed Lina a defeated smile. "Alright I'll get your coffee ready while you decide."

"I already know what I want. I want four of your breakfast specials all with scrambled eggs and wheat toast, and an order each of pancakes and waffles."

The waitress flinched at the large order. "Are you getting breakfast for a family?"

"Nah, just me."

Well it didn't matter if Lina didn't want to chit chat with the waitress, the waitress was going to have to help the cook with that order. "Alright I'll be right back."

While Lina waited for the waitress to come back with her order she decided to go over her messages on her phone. Deciding to go with the voice mail first Lina clicked on the oldest one. It was one from Sylphiel.

"Miss Lina I'm sorry I'm calling again. You've probably turned your phone off but I wanted to let you know that I called Amelia and she's going to come over. I'm not afraid of Gourry doing anything but... I'm scared. What if we can't change him back? He, Mister Zelgadis and Mister Xellos could be stuck that way forever! I know I could well I mean if we shock him I could still talk to him... but it's not the same... I never told him that I... oh why am I telling this to your voice mail for? I'm sorry goodnight Miss Lina."

Hearing that message made Lina frown. She knew that Sylphiel had been upset when she had talked to her but Lina had assumed that was just from shock. But now she realized it was more than just that. Sylphiel was genuinely upset. 'I should have gone over there last night... Oh well not that it matters now. And Amelia went over there so I'm sure she made Sylphiel feel better.'

The next voice mail appeared to be from Amelia.

"Miss Lina I know you're probably asleep but I wanted to let you know I'm going over to Miss Sylphiel's place. She called me and told me what happened. Poor Mister Gourry! Of all the nice people this could happen to why him? And poor Miss Sylphiel! She's so upset Miss Lina. But don't you worry I'll do my best to keep her spirits high! You can count on me a champion of truth and justice to see to our friend in her time of need!"

Hearing that message did make Lina feel a bit better. At the very least Amelia would have been annoying enough to distract Sylphiel. But it was very unlikely that the two of them will have gotten much sleep.

There was three more messages and they were all from Filia. Lina had a fair idea of what sort of messages they were and it made her chuckle just thinking about it.

"I can't believe you just cut me off like that! And now you're not answering my calls! You're supposed to be the boss and what do you do? Leave me high and dry with a perverted creep! Lina I swear I'll make you pay for this in the morning! Gah!"

It was clear that that message was right after Lina had turned off her phone. The next message's time stamp was from almost an hour later.

"Lina he won't get out of my bed! He crawled into there when I was yelling at your voice mail and now he won't leave! I've tried yelling at him and throwing things but the bastard just lays were with that damned smug smile of his! I can't move him and I'm sure as hell not going to sleep in the same bed as him! But it's my room! My bed! This is not fair that I'll have to sleep on the couch! GRRRRRRRR!"

That was the conclusion of the second message. The time stamp of the last one was from two and half hours later. It made Lina wonder if Filia slept at all.

"Alright clearly you're not going to answer your phone tonight. I get that. You're tired and need sleep. I do too. But I have to vent and even if it's to your damned machine then so be it! I busted some old gadgets of mine and made a makeshift zapper. Not the kind we use on ghosts but a nasty little thing that zaps you. I used it on Xellos and kicked him out of bed and out of my room. It felt so good to hit him Lina. Sooooo good! But then the bugger came back! I swear he loves being tortured. I zapped him and beat him four times but the zapper backfired on me... I'm okay but my hair is a mess! Lina it's all poufy and won't go back down! I give up I'm going to sleep on the couch..."

Lina knew she shouldn't laugh at Filia's misfortune but she couldn't help it. It was just too funny. She quickly toggled through the text messages and noted it all was from Filia and it was mostly profanities. One of them was a picture of Filia's hair and Lina roared with laughter. Filia looked like a blond poodle!

"Here's your order." The waitress plopped down the two bags that contained Lina's breakfast and her cup of coffee. "And here's your bill."

Lina took the little slip of paper with apprehension. Even though she cut back the amount she would usually order it was still going to be a big bill. Especially when she didn't even look at the price of the things she was ordering. Still when she looked at the paper the numbers on it must have been a lie! "Is this really how much this is?"

"Well we give a discount to people who order between 3 and 6 am." The waitress explained.

"Why?" Lina wondered as she pulled out her wallet.

"Because that's when it's the slowest."

"If I'm ever up this early again I'm coming back for sure!" Lina declared as she left.

Walking outside with the rain still beating down created a problem for Lina. She had two bags, an umbrella, a cup of coffee and only two hands. 'Crap.'

...

When Zelgadis woke up and found Lina's bed empty at first he panicked. He felt like there was a weight on his chest and the air was as thick as molasses. He didn't know why he was so nervous and agitated. He'd been away from Lina before and he wasn't alone, Slimer was with him. So why was he so frightened?

It was then that Zelgadis saw the note on the bed. 'Gone to get breakfast. I'll be back. – Lina' A wave of relief washed over Zelgadis as he picked up the note. Of course she was just getting food. There was nothing to be worried about, Lina was fine. So why did he feel that way.

'Must be leftover anxiety from a bad dream.' Zelgadis concluded writing his jitters off. However Zelgadis couldn't remember what he had been dreaming about. And he also didn't remember waking up with a start either.

Slimer floated up from his bucket and let out a disgusting yawn/belch. It was so loud that it almost startled Zelgadis. It made the ghostly librarian drop the piece of paper in his hands.

"You're awake too huh?" Zelgadis exclaimed laughing nervously. His heart was still beating a little wildly. He looked back down to floor and realized he had been holding something again without thinking. It didn't quell his frazzled nerves especially given how loudly Slimer announced his wakefulness. But it was interesting. "How about we go to the lounge and wait for Lina?"

Slimer nodded his head enthusiastically before flying through a wall leaving Zelgadis alone in the room.

Zelgadis suddenly had that panicked feeling again so he raced after Slimer. In doing so he came across a very wet Lina trudging through the halls. "Lina you're back!"

"And you're awake already?"

"I guess I'm an early riser." Zelgadis shrugged his shoulders. "You look a drowned rat."

Lina glared at him. "Well it's raining out."

"And you decided to go out in those boots? They don't look like they'll be good for the rain." Zelgadis commented while eying Lina's choice of footwear.

"They're not okay! My feet are cold and soaking wet." Lina grumbled as she walked pasted him towards the lounge.

Slimer sat there waiting holding a knife and fork looking ever so eager.

"Oh no you're not getting any of this!" Lina growled. "You already cleared this place off food and you're a ghost for crying out loud! Ghosts do not need to eat!"

Slimer just nodded his head enthusiastically clearly not understanding what the head Ghost Slayer was saying. Otherwise he would have put down the cutlery still in his hands.

Lina just shook her head and sat herself down.

...

"Hey Carl is this the last of it?" A man named Ben said to his co-worker as they unpacked the new props for the play at Sailune Theatre.

"Yeah, all the stuff in that box should be the rest." Carl nodded as they put the items in their place on the stage.

"Hey this book looks really weird." Ben mumbled as he picked up a strange book from the very bottom of the box. "The writing looks like gibberish and the ink is red."

Carl just shrugged. "The lead role is some bookish type broad. The art people must have just whipped something up that looked like it was old and real. It's not like Naga supposed to actually read from it."

Ben let out a laugh. "Yeah like she needs to read when she looks like that! But still why's the writing red for? Ain't most books supposed to be written in black ink?"

"Probably made it red so it will stand out on stage. Make it look like a real book and not just a fake prop."

"Still did they need to make it so creepy looking?"

Carl frowned. "What are you talking about? Looks just like a plain old book."

"No man it's creepy. I'm getting the willies just holding it."

Carl shook his head. "You're one superstitious dude. Just put the book down and let's go. My head still hurts from all the drinking at the party last night."

As Carl and Ben left the otherwise empty theatre the red ink of the book glowed.