"It helps to always have heaven to go to. Even if you don't believe in an afterlife and 'heaven' in the spiritual sense, have a place in your mind where you can go that's fit for you in every way. It has all your favorite foods, all your comforts, all your loved ones, and it's wherever you want it to be. It helps to remind us that a safe haven is possible in this life, and maybe even the next. It's certainly comforting for me."
Takigawa did manage to get his cot next to mine, even though there was a good two feet of open space between us. Though it was stupid how I was more aware of the professor's being on my other side instead, empty space in between included.
Why did this feel like all kinds of screwed up?
"You'll do half nights this time," said the professor, who had his eyes glued to the wall of screens. "I learned my lesson last time about your capability. I'll take over around two."
"Isn't half-time midnight?" I said.
"If you went to sleep at 6pm," he typed something into his laptop which was next to the control panel for all the cameras. "But it is nine, so two it is."
Takigawa leaned over to me from his cot, dressed in a ragged t-shirt and flannel pajama pants.
"Is it just me, or does he seem miffed with us or something," he whispered.
"For what reason would I be angry with you," said the professor, making us both jump.
"What the- do you have supersonic hearing or something?" asked Takigawa.
"No," he glanced over, his mouth in that thin line that was the closest he got to a smile, at least most of the time. "You're just bad at whispering."
"I thought I did alright," Takigawa looked to me. "I was pretty quiet, right?"
I couldn't answer. I had been caught by one of those inescapable, jaw popping yawns to end all yawns.
"Whatever. It feels weird to be here without any priests," said Takigawa, flopping back onto his smiley face covered pillow and sleeping bag.
"Church watching," I managed through the tail-end of my yawn.
"Why does that sound so much like graveyard watching?"
"Technically, that's not so far off, given there are a few hundred of the dead below us," said the Prof. "Mai, are you coming or are you going to sit there all night yawning?"
"Probably sit here all night yawning," I said, but I got up and meandered my way over to the watch station.
Once I was seated and situated with headphones, open laptop, more or less all the bells and whistles, Naru just up and left. The door hardly made a sound closing after him.
Takigawa snorted. "So needs to be laid."
"He's always been like that," I said, taking note of the temperatures. "You just have sex on the brain."
"No I..." but Takigawa paused. "Huh, maybe I do. You are attractive, and we're technically sleeping together."
A little warmth rose to my cheeks. "I thought I was only a six."
"Seven and a half. Maybe even an 8."
I could feel my smile twitching at that. "Who would you consider a ten then? Why not go for her?"
"Because ten is, like, makes you stop breathing, angelic perfection, only meant for the stage lights and heaven itself sort of thing."
"And I take it 9 is just your normal celebrity?"
"More or less."
"Well, then I guess I can say I'm flattered. Though you need to shut up now so I can listen."
"Duly noted." He threw his blanket over his face.
I had just gotten into the motions of checking the cameras in and out, both infrared and night vision, when the door closed with a quiet click behind me. A black sleeved arm put a thermos next to my hand.
"Thanks, Boss," I said, twisting off the top to get a face full of sweet coffee musk. "And you remembered how I like it."
"I don't have to remember coffee preferences for that many people."
"Should I be honored?"
"It's coffee." He rapped his knuckles against the headband of my headphones. "Pay attention."
And I would have except yet another visitor came through the door, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, of all things.
"Father Brown," I said as he met our gaze. "That does nothing to help your baby face."
I expected him to smile, so easy to it as he was, but instead he gaped.
"What happened to your arms?"
Oh. Yeah. I had been wearing a long sleeve shirt because, well, it's cold and getting crap on your bandages hurt. But, other than that, I had almost forgotten I still had them from wrist to elbow.
"Oh, I skinned them a little," I said lightly. "Almost healed all the way."
"What were you doing?" he asked, still looking flabbergasted that a girl my age would have skinned her arms bad enough to warrant mummy-like bandages.
"Trying to ride a skateboard pulled by a car. You know, stupid college things."
At least he seemed satisfied with that answer. His smile came back.
"I just finished locking up for the night. You have my number if you need me, I presume? My apartment is quite close so don't hesitate to call."
"Will do," said Naru.
About thirty seconds after the door shut behind Father Brown, Takigawa gave a jackal like grin.
"Mai, you just lied to a priest."
"Not everyone needs to know," I said. "Heck, I wish I didn't know."
Another rap of knuckles from the boss on my headphones. "Pay attention. You've already missed a temperature change on camera 12."
That got me back to work. Fortunately, after some careful examination and checking on other sensors, I was able to conclude that the temperature change was due to the chapel's central air being turned off. Without heat actively pushing it out, a cold current seeped through the window next to the door of the chapel. The same thing happened around the other windows in the camera, but why this one before the others? Perhaps there was a chill breeze in that direction tonight.
Knowing Naru would be expecting me to report in detail on it (he had already head to bed, thank heavens), I got up and went to the window. Fortunately, it had been well oiled and opened up quietly so I was able to lick my thumb and stick it out there.
Yep. Chill breeze. Maybe...southwest?
I brought my hand in, knuckles numb, and returned to my headphones and screens and the nice, hot thermos of sweet coffee.
Overnight, the church slowly settled. The only rooms that didn't change by much were the basement rooms, which were insulated by the earth itself and already kept chill for the preservation of the dead. I watched as the last of the warm air floated to that high arching ceiling, pressed against a belly of cold from the stones. Around eleven, the temperatures stabilized. The chapel was a nice frigid 49 degrees, only slightly better than the winter air outside.
As for sounds, the chapel was eerily quiet. Occasionally I heard that cold wind pick up and press against the windows or whistle, but otherwise the thick, stone walls didn't budge or let anything pass. I couldn't even hear much of the traffic outside, though it would make sense that a residential street like this would be empty.
"I wonder if the lack of creaking is because of the lack of wood," I muttered to myself, making a note on the computer for the inevitable report the professor would ask of me. I ran a quick google search on the sensitivity of wood to temperature compared to stone, but then it needed the specifics of the stone, and as my best bet was granite, I went with that.
Chapel wi-fi does not the best speed make, so while the computer struggled with grandpa internet, I made sure to recheck each of the rooms. I had already passed one and gone to the next two when I did a double-take.
"Thirty-four degrees?" I squinted, just to make sure.
Yes. And dropping.
In the last good-bye room.
My stomach did a little squirm and I quickly took note of that. I had already noted a slight draft around the doors, but since it led to the chapel rather than outside, the temperature had stabilized at a slightly lower number than the ground floor of the chapel. Now, however, it had become frigid and was still dropping, with no discernible currents to explain the change.
I turned up the volume as the number hit 27 degrees.
"Naru," I said. "You might want to see this."
I hadn't spoken very loud. But, then, I hadn't need to. The cot creaked and the next thing I knew he was leaning over my shoulder, smelling of leather and sleep and something distinctly male.
I pointed out the screen.
"Did you note the time the temperature started to decrease," he asked.
"My best estimate," he glanced at my notes. 12:45 am.
"It's not stopping," I murmured between my fingers, which I had folded into a plane beneath my nose for some reason. Probably because my fingers were numb with cold and the warm breath from my nose helped alleviate that. I had finished the coffee around ten thirty.
Naru made a low grunt in his throat.
"I need to see what's going on down there."
I twisted my neck so fast as he walked away it crackled. "Take Takigawa. You shouldn't go alone."
He didn't answer right away, just quietly pulled on his trench coat over his very bland, dark blue pajamas.
"Have him come after me. I can't dally," and he was out.
Feeling a lurch in my chest, and not quite sure why I felt so anxious, I went to Takigawa and shook the foot of his cot. He snored on. Or more like little, clicking snores.
"Oh, come on," I shook his leg. "Wake up, the Prof needs you. Ooo, ghosts!" I slapped at his calf.
Takigawa stopped mid-click-snore and smacked his mouth. He pushed himself up, running his hands down his eyes till all I could see was red and white.
"Wha 'bout the Prof?"
"The pretty dead peeps room is turning into a freezer. Serious activity going down there, he already left, you need to go after him."
"Why?"
"Because he shouldn't go into that high of activity alone," I said impatiently.
"What good would I be?"
"Just go, or I'll never go on a date with you."
He sighed. "You haven't even gone on the lunch one I suggested yesterday."
Yeah, I had slept through it.
I tugged impatiently at his blankets, poked his side—good lord this man moved like a pile of sludge.
The longer it took for him to get up and shuffle to his shoes and coat, the more anxious I became. Once it was clear he would be on his way within moments, I jumped back to the cameras and zoned in on the screen to read the temperature.
14 degrees, except for the warm, male body walking in and around. I switched to night-view vision and got the room in black and white, with a bleaching beam wherever Naru pointed his flashlight. All of Naru was cast in shadow, except for his white face.
And then, there were two white faces.
The other face was shorter, facing the camera, looking into it, straight to my eyes. Just as I pulled away to take note, as calmly as possible, I saw another, and another.
Three blinks later and the professor was surrounded by shades and pale faces, the bleaching beam of his flashlight making all disappear momentarily.
I scrambled for my cell phone. My clammy fingers slipped on the screen, but thank god it was a smartphone and could figure out what I wanted.
I heard a quiet, tinkling tune that sounded vaguely familiar in my headphones as my phone rang. The Prof pulled out his phone, as another bright light appeared to light up his face.
"Yes," he said.
"You're surrounded," I breathed.
The flashlight swiveled around, washing out a row of faces. "By what? There's nothing down here."
"By..." but my breath caught. The faces had moved closer. With each pass of his flashlight they came closer, head and shoulders becoming more pronounced. Narrow, just beginning to broaden shoulders, and a few that still had pudge on them. As they drew closer to Naru, I could make out the faintest shadow outline of torsos.
"They're boys," I whispered.
"What?"
The crowd of faces launched. The bright square of Naru's phone dropped from his hand and his flashlight went to the ceiling. Then it dropped to the floor too, almost bleaching out all of Naru's lower legs.
"Naru!" I stood up, zooming over the other cameras to see where Takigawa was. Just getting down the stairs to the dead room. "You freaking—"
I hurried and hung up to recall Takigawa, who, unlike the professor, took his sweet time answering as he ambled down the shelves of dead. I had enough time to tell he had set up "Killer Queen" by Queen for his ring tone, or at least mine.
"Can't tell you how creepy this is with just a flash—"
"THEY'RE ATTACKING HIM!"
He cringed back from his phone. "Wait, did you say attacking?"
"YES, DIPSHIT, THE PROFESSOR!"
Takigawa had the peace of mind to simply hang up on me and start running.
In shades of gray, Naru clawed at the hands around his throat, or more simply the mass, mouth opening and closing soundlessly. His knees buckled and the faces moved in, a ring of transparent white about his head, almost like a halo.
Suddenly, Takigawa's flashlight burst onto the scene.
"Professor!" I heard him shout over the speakers.
I saw wisps of cloud—of faces, move towards Takigawa. "Crap, TAKIGAWA!"
But just as they came about him, shorter than him by a good few feet, I lost sight of them. The moment Takigawa dropped to his knees and put his hands around Naru's throat to find what he was fighting, then all the faces vanished like fog before a wind.
I listened as Naru sucked in a desperate breath and started to cough and hack. A crushed throat doing its best to reopen.
But just as I began to panic, his coughing calmed down enough that I could hear Takigawa's inquiries into his well being.
Naru didn't answer until he had several mouthfuls of air.
"I don't know," I heard, barely more than a murmur across the headphones.
Shaking, I quickly took note of the slowly rising temperature, the time, and any other descriptions I could remember. The sound of their voices became background noise as they left the good-bye dead people room.
I swiveled around the moment I heard the door click open. Takigawa came in with one of the Professor's arms slung around his shoulders. It was one of the few times I had a chance to compare their heights, and was surprised to find the professor several inches shorter. Had Takigawa always been that tall?
"Put him on his bed," I said, standing up and fluttering to their sides, praying my voice sounded at least calm.
"Calm down, Mai," Naru rasped.
But just hearing his torn up voice made me more upset.
"Why didn't you hurry like I told you?" I snapped at Takigawa.
"I was half asleep!"
"And he was half dead! I told you—I told you—"
"Mai!"
This time, Naru barked. Combined with his torn voice, it was like getting barked at by Batman, which, by the way, is a terrifying experience.
"It was my choice to go on my own," he said, more quietly. "There was no way Takigawa would have known. Usually, spirits are harmless."
"Then why the hell did you get particularly murderous ones two times in a row?" I said, nearly shouted.
"They're the only two I asked you to come on. I had several very calm cases over winter break—" his voice cut off into a coughing fit as Takigawa settled him on his cot.
I was a flutter, all in the air, shaking, hands almost as pale as my bandages. As soon as he had the professor down Takigawa stepped over to stop me by my shoulders.
"Mai, calm down. He's okay. Everything is okay."
"But he—but he-" Crud. I'd caught sight of Naru's eyes in the too-bright screen light and seen red. Burst blood vessels in his eyes from lack of oxygen. If I hadn't been hyperventilating before, I sure was now.
Takigawa pushed me back into the chair. My knees buckled down of their own accord.
"Slow down," he said. "You're breathing too fast. Look, the professor's fine."
"His—his eyes are red, we need to get him to a doctor—I'm so sorry I yelled at you, Takigawa I—"
"No, he is fine. Look, he's breathing and even giving you that haughty look that says he thinks he's smarter than you are."
Naru wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Did you have to make that comment?"
"The 'you're stupid' look," I gasped, managing a very small, very shaky smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."
"So breathe, Mai. Come on. It's okay."
It was hard, but I closed my eyes, clenched my hands to my knees, and forced myself to breathe into my gut, then hold it in for what seemed to be an eternity, but was only three seconds.
Then I looked back at Naru. At the 'you're stupid' look.
Slowly, I could feel my heart winding down.
"I think it's more interesting that Mai had the foresight to say I shouldn't go alone. She could sense the danger before it happened. Take note of that, Mai."
I did so, thinking it weird to write a note about my own abilities. But I was so freaking relieved...so freaking relieved...
I dropped my head near the keyboard and whimpered, suddenly beyond exhausted.
Takigawa's warm hand patted my head.
"Bedtime for the psychic."
"It's not two," I moaned.
"I'll take up the watch. You just worry about staying relaxed, okay?"
"I'm not the one who needs to relax, it's Na—the Professor that's hurt."
"And I won't be sleeping either," interjected Naru. "Takigawa's report on his watch were horrendous."
"Jeeze, then why did you even ask me to come?" Takigawa said, obviously miffed.
"Because you're strong, mentally and spiritually, and you recently added a parapsychology minor to your repertoire. In time you'll realize you can't do music and parapsychology at the same time."
"I don't recall you knowing me well enough to say what I can or cannot do, professor."
"I don't need to know you," said Naru, still managing to sound distant and cool despite his raspy voice. "A music major is the most demanding of all subjects, requiring hours of practice and rehearsals as well as the usual homework and class time. You have a job too, if I recall. It's only a manner of time."
Takigawa's expression didn't look all that happy. "So, basically you're trying to win me over to parapsychology."
Naru snorted. "No. I'm preparing you in case you do. You and Mai will be the first generation of certified, professional ghost hunters that the world will see—a world, may I remind you, that is still very skeptical and confused about all and anything remotely supernatural. I can't allow any one of you to ruin all the progress those ahead of you have made."
With that, and another coughing fit, he swung his legs down and did his best to man-stride-no-weakness to the nearest spare chair, which he snapped next to the office chair Takigawa would be using and plopped down.
Both Takigawa and I tensed up.
"Naru—" I started
"Prof, you need the rest more than any of us."
"Like I could sleep after that," he said dryly. "You forget. This is my passion, my livelihood. No, I'm seeing this through, by first making sure you learn how to work night watch and report with all the precision of the CSI."
Takigawa heaved a heavy sigh.
"Well, I got into this knowing you were a stickler."
And with a roll of his shoulders, Takigawa sat down in the office chair I had been keeping warm all night and went to adjusting the headphones.
When I just stood there stupidly, still shivering, cold, and uneasy, Naru turned his blood stained eyes to me.
"Go to sleep, Mai." And for the first time that night, his raspy voice gave way to a gentle softness as rare as his smile.
"You will be okay?" I asked, unable to stop from sounding like a child asking if the boogie man was good and far away.
"Yes. My throat hurts and my eyes sting a little, but I'm okay. You've done a good job for your half of the night. Please, get some sleep."
Sniffing, unaware that my eyes had started to water, I nodded and shakily made my way to the cot between the two men. I kicked off my worn brown slippers. Unzipped my flannel-lined sleeping bag. Snuggled in till all the softness swallowed me whole.
And faster than I expected, I was out.