Hide And Spook

Chapter 4

Carlie sat at her kitchen table, map of the underground bunker spread out in front of her. While she sipped on a steaming mug of coffee, her hand reached to a file containing pictures, images and news clippings of the surrounding area. As she scoured the file, she made X marks on the map wherever there had been a documented sighting or possible paranormal event. When she was finished, the map was littered with fluorescent pink X's.

Her apartment door opened and Paula breezed in. "Hey, Oda. Watcha got there?"

"Map," Carlie said, not looking up. "And unless you're as good looking as Swayze, you can stop calling me Oda Mae."

"And here I thought you could use a little Chinese take-out." She dropped a cardboard container and a pair of chopsticks in front of Carlie. "Or am I wrong?"

The heavenly aroma of Chicken Chow Mein touched her nose. "Okay," Carlie said, unwrapping the chopsticks. "I'll be Oda as long as you keep feeding me. But for the record, you are not as pretty as Patrick."

"Am too." Paula tossed her brunette bangs out of her eyes and plopped down across from Carlie. "So, what are you doing here? All I see are a lot of pretty pink marks."

"Yeah, well those pretty pink marks show the locations of all the possible paranormal activities that have occurred in the last several months. Or at least, the reported phenomenon that could be paranormal in nature."

"That's a fair bit of ghost stuff going on in the area." Paula waved her chopsticks at the map. "What are you going to do first?"

"I was thinking about interviewing a few more people. Like the workers who heard the voices, then go through this list of—" She was interrupted by a pounding on her door.

"Someone sounds mad," Paula said and shoveled another mouthful of rice into her mouth.

Carlie grinned and got to her feet. "Yep, and he's going to be even madder—if that's possible—in a few minutes."

"Mad, madder, maddest. At least you're conjugating your words correctly."

"Oh, be quiet!" Carlie stuck out her tongue and crossed the floor to her door, which flung open and bounced off the wall before she could open it.

"You!" Denton stood in the doorway, glasses askew and hair sticking out every which way. His eyes blazed with anger and she half expected him to foam at the mouth. He stabbed his finger into the air in front of Carlie. "You couldn't resist, could you? You had to call the missus and tell her all about it, didn't you?"

"Why Michael," she started, a false tone of concern in her voice. "You seem positively distraught."

"She's put the lab construction on hold. Indefinitely." He swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "All because you think someone grabbed you."

Carlie put up a hand. "It's not indefinitely, so calm down. And someone did grab me."

"She said 'indefinitely'. She was quite clear on that," Michael stated. He pushed a hand through his hair, making the mess even worse, and turned in circle, pausing for the first time on Paula, the maps, and the Chinese food. "What's all this?"

"It's called dinner," Carlie said, slipping passed him. "Which I was having with a friend before you came barging in. This is Paula. Paula, meet Denton, the maniac from upstairs."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Maniac?"

"I had another word but it wasn't right to use it in mixed company." Carlie returned his raised eyebrow with one of her own.

He pinched his lips and turned toward the door. Calling out over his shoulder he said, "I have a word for you too. Kook. Nut-job. Pain-in-the-ass!"

"That's more than one word, Denton," Carlie said with a snort. "Goodbye, I'll tell you all about the tunnels in the morning."

He stopped in his tracks. As he turned, she watched his left eye twitch. "What are you talking about?"

"My preliminary investigation," she said. "We're starting tonight."

"You most certainly are not!" he snapped. "I have plans and..."

Carlie took a swallow of coffee and picked at her box of chow mien. "You weren't invited."

"That's my site. If you're going to investigate anything," he said, curling his fingers in the air at the word 'investigate'. "I'm going to be there."

"Not this time," she said and held up her hand. "Take it up with Mrs. Shepard. She is aware of the plans, and is looking forward to the final report, too."

He sputtered briefly, pointed his finger at her again and snapped his mouth shut.

"Geezus, Denton, pull your shorts out of your crack before you vapor lock, and frankly," she eyed Paula, "I don't like him enough to start CPR until the paramedics arrive."

Michael's face turned stony. "I am not going to vapor lock. But I am not going to put up with this stupidity. I am going out. You'd better have this all sorted out by morning, or there'll be hell to pay."

He stalked toward the door.

"Are you going out right now?" Carlie called after him.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" He said with a sneer.

"Nothing." She said and took another bite of her dinner. "But you might want to go upstairs first."

"Why?" he demanded.

She twirled a finger in his direction, much like he'd done the morning before. "Oh, I don't know. But if it's a date, you might want to run a brush through that mess."

His eyes widened and his lips pinched tight. Any tighter, they'd probably disappear completely. His shoulders jerked upward as he pulled the door shut behind him.

"So that was the infamous Michael-Bloody-Denton, huh?" Paula laughed and glanced at the closed door. "Kinda cute."

Carlie nodded. "He's usually so put together, all neat and permanent pressed. It was nice to see him rattled for a change."

She got up to clear the take out containers. "So are you going to come with me tonight?"

Paula's face paled. "Tonight? With you?"

"Yeah, I need someone with me. Like a spotter if something goes wrong."

"Sorry Oda Mae," she said with a shake of her head. "But I am no ghost hunter. I'd probably pee my pants at the first creak of a floorboard."

"Wear Depends then. And there won't be any creaking floorboards." Carlie grinned. "Dirt and rock floors."

Paula swallowed hard and turned even whiter. Carlie held up a hand. She pushed the witness statements aside until she found the one she was looking for. "Never mind, I think I have another option."

---

"You sure you want me to come with you?" The kid took a look at the mouth of the tunnel and gulped. "I mean, it's pretty dark down there and..."

"That's what flashlights are for, Danny," Carlie said with a grin. "Let's go."

She nodded to the security guard, and crossed through the gate, the guard locking it behind them.

Danny shrugged. "Getting in is easier this time, that's for sure. Just hope we don't have to scale the chain link to get out when that thing chases after us."

"Nothing is going to chase after us," she said with a pointed sideways look. "Because I don't run. Ever. That's how you get hurt."

"You never had anything yell at you to leave before, have you?" His eyes darted around furiously, looking everywhere but at the dark tunnel entrance.

Carlie chuckled and turned on her flashlight. "Yell at me, push me, have rocks thrown at me. You could say I've been discouraged from certain locations from time to time. But I still don't scare easily."

"Seriously? And you still go back for more?" At her nod, he took a deep breath, switched his ball cap around backwards and clicked on his flashlight. "Okay then, if you can do this, so can I. I'm ready."