Chapter 11: Phoebe's New Friends

(Meanwhile, later…)

Podcast paused and readied his boom mike as he and Phoebe with his friends: Max Bauman and Connie Kelly walked through town.

"Okay, we're speeding. Three, two, one." Phoebe said.

"Yeah, just introduce yourself and tell me what you ate for breakfast." Podcast said.

"Um. Phoebe." Phoebe said. "Toast."

"Okay, um, maybe a little more. Tell me a joke or something." Podcast said.

"A joke?" Phoebe asked.

"Mm-hm." Podcast said, as his idea and his boom mike.

Phoebe gulp.

"What do you call a dead polar bear?" Phoebe asked.

Podcast, Max, and Connie nodded.

"Anything you want. It can't hear you now." Phoebe said.

Podcast, Max, and Connie laughed at Phoebe. Podcast took his headphones off.

"That was funny." Podcast pointed.

"You're funny." Connie said.

Phoebe smiled and walked.

"Pretty hilarious joke." Phoebe said.

"Fun fact: Did you know Chamberlain has more dead residents than living ones?" Max asked.

"Yeah, that's how cemeteries work." Phoebe said.

Podcast pointed out at Wertheimer's Hardware.

"Wertheimer's Hardware, run by the Illuminati." Podcast said.

"Lizard people." Max said.

"Lizard people?" Phoebe asked.

"Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and Beyoncé? How do you think we got the pyramids?" Connie asked as she Podcast and Max walked back.

"Slaves?" Phoebe asked.

"Movie theater." Max pointed to Napier Theatre. "That one's haunted."

The signage advertised "Bingo" at 3 pm and "Cannibal Girls" at 7 pm to sun.

"I don't believe in ghosts." Phoebe said.

Podcast, Max, and Connie stopped and turned around to Phoebe.

"What?" Podcast, Max, and Connie asked.

"How can you-? I mean, all the evidence! You don't believe in spirits?" Podcast was shocking and pointed out.

"No." Phoebe said. "I think we're all just kind of meat puppets."

Podcast got an idea.

"There's something you need to see." Podcast said, as he dashed off. "I'll grab his wheels."

Podcast, Max, and Connie turned around and walked. Phoebe followed Podcast, Max, and Connie.

(Later at Shandor Mining Company…)

They walked down the gravel road to the entrance to the Shandor Mining Company property. The broken fence was still not repaired from Egon ramming it.

Podcast, Max, and Connie got an idea to convince Phoebe that ghosts exist. They went to the Shandor Mining Company property. Phoebe the read the warning signs:

EST 1927 SHANDOR MINING Co, ROAD CLOSED AHEAD, NO TRESPASSING.

"Are we even allowed to be there?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, yeah." Podcast

"Totally." Max said.

"The mine's been closed since the '40s." Connie said.

"They just put all these signs up 'cause of hazardous chemical leaks and on account of dynamite. I do this." Podcast said.

Podcast demonstrated his safety measures, covering his nostril and mouth with his shirt. As Phoebe, Podcast, Max, and Connie walked towards a giant old cloth covering an entrance into the mine.

"The whole town was basically a mining operation. They bore out this mountain like grapefruit and smelted everything into cold-riveted selenium girders." Podcast said.

"Why would you make a steel beam out of an electric conductor like selenium?" Phoebe asked.

"Right?" Max asked.

"Weird." Connie said.

"Until one day, they were forced to close down the whole enchilada." Podcast said.

"Why?" Phoebe asked, as she turned to them.

"One by one, miners who had worked for years began leaping down the mine shaft to their death. They called it the Shandorian Curse." Podcast said.

Podcast, Max and Connie backed up behind a raggedy cloth covering up an entrance and vanished. Phoebe peered in and followed. They looked at carvings against a stone wall that matched those on the mountain.

"Who built these?" Phoebe asked.

"Depends who you believe. One day, they just showed up without explanation." Podcast said.

"Too." Max said.

"Yeah." Connie said.

"Cool." Phoebe said.

Phoebe looked up at the carvings.

(Later at the Farmhouse…)

Trevor ratcheted under the hood of Ecto-1 in the barn then closed it. A headlight casing fell off. He sighed, picked it up, and walked to the driver's side. He pulled the cover off, revealing all of Ecto-1.

"What a shitbox." Trevor said.

Phoebe, Podcast, Max, and Connie walked alongside the gravel road to the Farmhouse.

"So, what's your podcast about?" Phoebe asked Podcast.

"Oh, um, mostly mysteries and the unknown, conspiracy theories, occasional restaurant reviews." Podcast said.

"Maybe I could check it out sometime." Phoebe said.

"Really?" Max asked.

"Yeah." Phoebe said.

Connie handed her a My Little Pony flash drive and gave Phoebe.

"The show really finds its voice on Episode 46." Connie said.

"Okay." Phoebe said, as she accepted it and tucked it in a pocket.

"Uh, hey. Look, this is totally cool if this is a "no." Zero presh. Uh, but, um… Do you wanna be my lab friend?" Podcast asked.

"Well, I don't think we're gonna be doing any labs, but yeah. Yeah, sure, I'd love to." Phoebe said.

"Cool, cool. All right." Podcast said.

"All right." Connie said.

Podcast, Max, and Connie were happy.

"Well, this is me." Phoebe said, as she turned his head and pointed.

Phoebe revealed the Farmhouse was her stop.

"The Dirt Farmer's house, right?" Podcast asked.

"Yeah, he was my grandfather." Phoebe said, with a smile.

"No way, Phoebe!" Connie said, with surprise.

Podcast, Max, and Connie were surprised and Podcast then got out his camera phone and held it horizontally.

"So you're just gonna your body in?" Podcast asked.

"Are you recording me?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, just in case your body was pulled apart into tiny pieces by an unseen dark force." Podcast said.

"Too." Max and Connie said.

Phoebe nods.

"All right. Bye." Phoebe said, her wave to goodbye Podcast, Max and

Phoebe going to the Farmhouse.

To Be Continued…