Page 14 of Soul Keeper

Zoe groaned as the poltergeist cackled at her plight. She staggered out of the wardrobe, before she sneezed from the thick layers of dust that coated the bedroom.

“This place sure has seen better days.” She glanced at a disused vacuum in the corner, and brushed the cobwebs from its body. “Haven’t you heard of cleaning?”

“Madame, no!”

At once, the vacuum roared to life. Spooks yelped as he was sucked into the nozzle, until his muffled voice echoed from within the bag.

“Madame, help me! The Spooks Express appears to have taken a slight detour into a rather dark and cramped tunnel.”

“Hold on…” Zoe cursed as the bag moved and squirmed. “Oh!”

At once, the vacuum bag exploded in a cloud of dust that covered her from head to toe. With a delighted cackle, Spooks cartwheeled out of the vacuum, his blue tunic turned ashy and gray.

“Madame, you saved me!”

Zoe spluttered on the thick layers of dust that clung to every inch of her clothing. “Well, I guess that explains why you don’t use the vacuum cleaner.”

“There’s no greater threat to ghost kind than a wind tunnel blowing in the wrong direction. Many a specter has made grand plans for world domination, only to end up trapped in one of those machines for eternity. And don’t get me started on what can happen if you get caught in the gusts of a hairdryer…”

“I guess the Ghostbusters knew their stuff.” Zoe shook the layers of dust from her hair, before she glanced at the room in despair. “We should get this place cleaned up. It looks like a volcano erupted in here.”

“I’m afraid the Spooks Express won’t wait! All aboard!” Spooks grabbed Zoe’s hand and emitted a merry whistle. “Toot toot!”

At once, they resumed their journey, careening through the house like a runaway train. Zoe yelped as they rode the staircase banister to the lobby, before they raced through the maze-like structure of the motel. As they sped into each room, Spooks announced their location like a train conductor, before he continued their whistle-stop tour.

“Dining room! Billiards room! Library! The master’s study! Oh, he sure does hate it when I go in here.” With a gleeful cackle, Spooks sped across a row of filing cabinets, causing the drawers to burst open and their contents to rain down in his wake. “Oh, this is simply marvelous. I haven’t had this much fun in years!”

“I take it the others don’t share your sense of fun?”

“They just don’t understand my comedic genius.” Spooks shook his head, sending a merry jingling from his jester’s hat. “That’s why we need to put the spotlight back on the Underworld Motel. To fill this place with crowds that will appreciate the art of my performances. And that’s where you come in.”

“Me? Whatever are you talking about?” But Zoe drew a startled breath as she looked at the tracker once more. “Oh, it’s beeping again!”

“Say no more! Next stop, Spooks’ Laboratory! Toot toot!”

Zoe braced herself as Spooks resumed their tour once more. They burst into a dimly lit chamber, where strange contraptions and bubbling liquids lined the shelves.

“Behold my invention room! Home to the greatest, most comedic inventions known to all of ghost-kind!” Spooks gestured to each of his creations as they whizzed through clouds of brightly colored smoke and strange-smelling vapors. “Marvel at the Wailing Whoopie Cushion! Gaze upon the genius of the Haunted Hula Hoop! And where did I put the Invisible Banana Peel?”

“The invisible what-now?” Zoe yelped as her foot slipped on something on the ground, before Spooks propelled her onwards. Her eyes widened as they approached a giant water gun, filled with a strange liquid that glowed in the dark. “What is that?”

“Oh, it’s my best invention yet! Made from the finest ectoplasm in the land. I call it the Ecto-3000!”

“And what exactly does that do?”

“For years, I’ve toiled to and troubled to bring chaos and bedlam everywhere I go. To bring laughter into the world. To help people crack a smile, and live a little. But there’s one thing standing in my way. The ability to be seen.” Spooks lifted the giant gun, before his eyes lit up jovially. “Most mortals don’t share your talent for seeing ghost-kind, you see. No matter what stunts I pull, or what tricks I perform, they remain oblivious to my talents. But one blast from this, and I’ll glow brighter than a reindeer’s nose at Christmas. And then, no one will be able to miss me. I’m just waiting for the perfect moment to use it!”

“I see…” Zoe looked at the contraption more closely, before she drew a startled breath. “Hey, are those parts from my car?”

“Let’s just say I’ve had to be enterprising when it comes to finding the right tools for the job.” Spooks giggled mischievously, before he let out a gasp of excitement. “Oh, your fleshie machine is beeping again! And I know the perfect shortcut!”

“Spooks, wait–”

Zoe yelped as she was pulled through the corridors once more, as if trapped on a runaway roller coaster with no escape. She gasped as they burst through a crumbling wall and into the cool air of the snow-covered courtyard garden beyond. Zoe studied the tracker once more, to see the signal grow in strength with each passing second.

“We’re getting closer!” She glanced at the ground, where gray rocks emerged from beneath the snow and ice, each of them shimmering with a faint golden light. “It must be something to do with these rocks…”

“Oh, those aren’t rocks, fleshie. They’re roots!”

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