Infinite

The Journey's Just Begun

𝄃 𝄞♬♪ 𝄂
There were times we wondered
Were we gonna go under?
Rainbows or thunder, we didn't know
Through the tears and the laughter
Whether happy or sadder
The before and the after made us all so close
The journey isn't done
Just look how far we've come
𝄃 𝄞♬♪ 𝄂

"William, you're done for the night." Caleb told the depressed ghost. Willie had been trapped away for far too long, but he'd resigned to the fact that this was how the rest of his afterlife would be. He nodded, walking to the back of the club, where he'd retro-fitted a room to keep him from going mental with boredom.

"Not too shabby, if I do say so myself." Willie turned around to see Alex, Luke, and Reggie. For whatever reason, a reason he didn't know, they were smiling. The good kind, not the kind that Caleb gave, which unsettled the receiver even if they didn't know why.

"What are you guys doing here?" They should leave while they still had the chance. Caleb wanted them so desperately that he was willing to do anything. Including forcing Willie to cross over.

"We're here to save you. Where is Caleb?" Alex asked. A bolt of confidence running through him, but he knew it wouldn't last long. He needed to do this before he lost the resolve.

"No. You guys need to leave. I'll get out eventually." That was a lie and all four of them knew it. "Please. Do it before Caleb realizes you're here."

"I'm not leaving without you." Alex marched right out the door and saw Caleb lurking in the hallway.

"I was wondering when you'd be by. You know, you're always welcome to come, though I hoped it would be while we were open." Caleb straightened up, sizing up the ghost in front of him with his eyes.

"I'm happy it's not." Alex had a fire in his eyes that wouldn't be extinguished with one intimidating look.

"Oh?"

"I want Willie released from this club permanently." Alex took a step forward. "And I won't let anyone else trade for his spot."

"I'm sorry, but that's not something I can do. He signed a contract." Caleb shrugged, a smirk hidden in his not-so-friendly smile. "As it so clearly states, there is nothing I can do to break the contract unless it is a mutual agreement to dissolve it. And I can't let such a bright ghost like Willie leave my club."

"You can and you will." Alex took another step. Then, he took all his strength and pushed it to the magical contract Caleb held in his hands. He had to try to break it without that mutual agreement.

And, it had started to get there, glowing a bright yellow before it turned to blue with Caleb's magic.

"Oh, Alex. You visited my dear friend, Hugh. You'll have to tell him I say hi, but that isn't going to work. Frankly, I'm surprised you thought it would." Soon, the magic died and the contract floated to the ground. "There are many protections I put on each one to ensure they are not broken before their time. Of course, Willie can always cross over. That is also an option."

"You must not have had that when we left your club," Alex pointed out and Caleb was nearing rage.

"I can't go revealing every secret I have, right? But Willie is too far gone. You're always welcome to join him here, however." That was when Alex saw red.

And he channelled every emotion and thread of power into the contract and, before Caleb could stop him, it had dissolved into thin air, only golden dust lay on the floor where it once was.

"How did— dear boy, you still have to get Willie out of the Hollywood Ghost Club." Caleb turned his rage to something he could use. Alex might've destroyed the contract, but getting Willie out would prove to be much harder. Or, for that matter, his friends. They wouldn't escape his clutches again.