Darkwood Falls Paranormal Investigators Book One: The Dead Truth

Chapter Twelve

     "Oy," Axl mumbled.  "I've never been more relieved to see a trash panda in my life."

     I clutched my chest, hoping I wasn't going to have a heart attack at the young age of twenty-six.  Nick reached over and took the water bottle from me, opened it, then handed it back.

     "I loosened it," I said, trying to make light of the situation.

     "I opened it," Nick said, grinning.

     "Good point," I said, bringing the bottle to my lips and taking a quick drink.  "Okay, I know you all have seen this stuff before, but that was severely fucked up.  How are you all not freaking out?"

     "We are.  We're just trying to keep it minimal for you," Ruby admitted.

     For the first time since we'd all be outside, I noticed her hands were shaking as she still clutched her unlit candle.  I looked to the others, who seemed just as shaky as she was.

     "Well, I'm not going back in there," I said defiantly.

     "Shawn. . . . " Brandon started to say.

     "No," I said cutting him off.  He fell silent.  Out of all the others, Brandon looked the most guilty, as if he had betrayed me by not telling me about the appearance of the ghost.  It was as if he thought arguing with me wouldn't be fair.

     "You're going to have to," Richard said, rubbing his tired eyes with his scarred hand.

     "Excuse me?"

     "You heard me," he said, fixing me with a stern look.  "You're going back in there."

     "No, I'm not.  You don't need me.  You all have obviously been doing just fine without me.  There is no sane reason I should have to walk back into that room."

     "You were the only one the spirit would respond to," Richard pointed out.

     That was true.  We hadn't been able to get so much as a bump or cold breeze until I had spoken up.  I wasn't about to admit I knew that, though.

     "Well, you'll have to have someone else fill in for me.  I'm not some psychic or ghost whisperer, or spirit guide, or whatever the fuck you want to call me."

     "That's actually not what a spirit guide is.  A spirit guide is a ghost or an archangel, not a human," Axl said.  I glared at him and he closed his mouth immediately.  "But that doesn't matter right now," he said, grinning sheepishly.

     "I'm no more qualified to talk to a ghost than the rest of you are.  As a matter of fact, I'm the LEAST qualified," I went on, shaking the water bottle at them.

     "Be that as it may, that doesn't change the fact that he only responded to you.  It would be a waste of time for the rest of us to go back in there, try to make contact, and get nothing while you're sitting out here because you're a grown woman too fucking scared to walk into a damn room."

     I stood up abruptly, dropping the water bottle to the ground, splashing everyone's feet.

     "Richard!" Nick said angrily.

     "Shawn!" Brandon reached out to me to touch my shoulder gently.

     "Oh, shit," Axl said, taking a step back.

     Ruby looked frightened as she looked back and forth between Richard and myself.  I stared up at him, contemplating on whether I should just start screaming at him, or simply walk off.  He stood waiting for my response, arms crossed over his chest with a stupid smug look on his face as if he had already won the argument.  This made my blood boil.