"Hey, something has just occurred to me," he utters, rather excitedly. He glances around the group to check no one's listening. "The scenario with Carmen last week, with her obtaining the ability to see and communicate with Annabel. Perhaps Annabel had slipped into her open state. I've not quite read as far as--"
"Her what now?"
Jamie grunts, then glances around the group again. We're currently on our way to a haunted wall. Yes, a haunted wall. As in bricks. Haunted bricks. Ever the eavesdropping type, Annabel has joined Jamie and me. I was a little surprised she wasn't here for the tour initially, but I think even she's bored of these crazed ghost hunters by now.
"You know," Jamie continues in a hushed tone. "Considering you're the one with the abilities, you've not exactly read up on the topic, have you?" I'd argue back, but it's a fair point. I'm horrifically disorganised. Jamie rolls his eyes. "When regular people communicate with the deceased, it's believed to be due to that particular spirit entering an alternative state of being to the one they generally reside in."
"Oh wait, yeah, I remember reading something about that, so anyone and everyone can see them, right?"
Jamie nods. "I've not found anything stating how a spirit achieves this state quite yet; I'm not entirely sure it's known, but it seems logical as Carmen is no longer able to communicate with her."
I nod back in agreement. "C'mon, give us your theory," I say, turning to Annabel as we finally arrive at the infamous haunted wall.
She doesn't say anything in response, but her eyes are glazed over, so I know she's contemplating the whole idea. She mentioned a similar idea to me a few days ago, probably because she also reads up on this shit, suggesting the whole scenario could be to do with her accidentally making herself visible to Carmen. Considering no one else had the chance to see her that night, as she slipped away as help arrived, we don't know if everyone could see her, or just Carmen.
"It makes sense," she finally says. "I just want to know how the hell I did it."
"Oi!" a voice calls, forcing the three of us to shoot our heads up towards the group of people crowding the wall. "What are you two doing lagging behind, keep up!" Carmen calls, a wicked grin on her face. "You're missing out on some major wall action here, guys!"
Jamie and I catch up to everyone, and slip back into the group. The wall ghosts have a relatively interesting story--something to do with execution, I wasn't fully listening--but I'm still bored half to death. This is the last attraction, so I'm willing for the whole thing to end. We're in the city's main square, and I'm able to find a bench to sit on, so I can at least pretend to listen in comfort. Well, it's slightly damp, freezing cold and made from hard metal, so hardly luxurious, but at least it's something.
As the tour comes to an end, a confusing mixture of relief and disappointment spreads through my body. The last trip with this society was so eventful, what with the Tracker, the little spirit boy, and the wise female ghost. This one being the complete opposite is kind of gutting, I guess, especially when I'm so desperate for answers.
I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that it takes me a while to realise there's someone sitting next to me on the cold bench. The crowd has dispersed slightly now, with individuals having separated into smaller groups to discuss the snooze-fest that was the spirit walk. I lift my gaze to see Ava sitting beside me, but as I look around the rest of the square, I can't spot anyone else from the flat.
Annabel's sitting on the concrete ground in front of me with a somewhat dejected look on her face, but that's it. She's probably just as disappointed by this as I am. I turn back to Ava. She still looks on edge. If anything, she looks even more uneasy.
"Do you feel ill?" I ask her, remembering what she said to me earlier.
She shakes her head rather aggressively, but is looking at the floor. "No, it's not--It's just... hard to explain." She lifts her head to look at me, and I'm not sure if it's a result of the artificial city lights clashing with the sky's darkness as it tries to seep through, but her eyes look such a deep brown they're almost black. "Something just doesn't feel right."
"Something does feel kinda off, Felix," Annabel interjects, making me glance at her. The strained expression remains on her face. "I feel weird."
Really? Her too? Not being funny, but these two must be baked or something because I feel fine. I try to reassure Ava that everything is okay, but she just violently shakes her head again. I can't recall a time I ever saw Ava unhappy--well, minus the time she and her father trekked into their local country lanes to find me lying unconscious on the side of the road with Carmen, I imagine, but I can't remember that so it doesn't count.
"It doesn't matter," she suddenly announces, perking up. "I might just be sensitive at the moment. It's a strange time of the month."
"You sure?" I ask, not quite understanding her quick change of mind, or the comment that followed.
"Yes. So, whoa, I've been meaning to speak to you actually, alone," is her reply, to which I wither inside a little. Please don't be ghost related. "Do you actually like Carmen, or are you just messing her about?"
Oh, okay. Not really what I was expecting. Also not much better than I was expecting. If anything, worse than what I was expecting. Naturally, I just stammer. Annabel laughs. Ava's eyes are digging into me, and though the concerned look from earlier still lingers on her face, it's slowly being replaced by a look of accusation. For someone who's almost a whole foot shorter than me, she sure can be intimidating.
As I've apparently forgotten how to speak, Ava tries again. "If it helps, I think you're genuine and can really be quite adorably clueless, but whoa, you can be a bit of a dickhead." Her voice is sing-songy, and it's throwing me a little. "You know, with the inconsistency, the flip-flopping, etcetera. But then you're, like, totally all over the place as a person, and should probably consult a therapist, so I don't think it's your fault."
Well that's a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. I mean, at least it started with something nice, sort of. Sure, it ended with being called a dick before being told I should seek professional help, but it's something. She's probably right though. I mean, I did put Carmen through finding me on the verge of death, alone in a dark country lane just the other day. Not too smooth, that.
"I'm not messing her about," I reply rather dumbly. "I mean, I don't mean to, I just--I don't know. I like her." Wow, great answer, Felix, ten out of ten for insightfulness. I quickly try to save myself from sounding too dumb by asking, "why's that anyway?"
"Jesus Christ." Annabel groans from the ground.
What? What's wrong with that question?
Ava simply smiles. "See. Adorable."
Huh? What the hell? Ava tries to keep the smile on her face, but it's soon wavering, and the strained expression returns. Before I have the chance to respond to her, she's on her feet. Most people have left now, and so I follow her as she wanders towards those who remain.
"Why's that anyway?" Annabel says in a mocking tone as we walk ahead, which I respond to with a look of confusion tinted with a slight glare. "Because she fancies you, you idiot, like proper fancies you. She's obviously worried you're going to break her heart, and all that melodramatic stuff you non-dead people stress over. I know guys are meant to be bad with this, but holy shit, you take oblivious to another level." She sighs. "God knows why she does, mind you. I'd rather lose all four limbs than want to go anywhere near you if I were alive, and well, not your sister."
She's not exactly boosting my self-esteem here. I can't respond to her properly considering Ava is right beside me, so rely on bitchy stares. Don't get me wrong, I realised Carmen and I had this thing, but I didn't exactly know what it was or what should be done about it. I still don't, really. It's all a stark reminder of why I've literally never had a girlfriend before.
We're still following Ava, who's now on the phone to someone, and we're heading away from the city's square and into a side street. I sigh. Ava's right though, I've not half messed Carmen around. One moment I'm falling asleep with her after she saved me from hypothermia, and the next I'm barely acknowledging her for days because I'm so wrapped up in all this ghost crap. Holy shit, I am a dickhead, aren't I?
"Don't you feel that?" Annabel asks, catching my attention.
She's looking at me with wide eyes as we follow Ava across a road, but other than the recent realisation that I'm an arsehole, I feel fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. I shake my head to her, and she bites her lip. I turn to Ava, and I don't know if it's because I've just not been concentrating, but she doesn't look on edge anymore. She looks angry.
Just as I'm about to ask her what's up, we turn a corner that leads to a small grassed park, and she comes to a halt. Hell, she stops so suddenly that I almost trip over her, but when I turn my attention to what she's fixated on, it makes a lot more sense. Sitting on a patch of grass are Tom, Jamie, and Carmen, and in the middle of the circle they've created is a Ouija board. My attention doesn't stay on them long though because lingering above one of the small trees of the park is a large, black mass.