Page 90 of Oh No! There's an Incubus in my Hot Spring
Gabe jumps up and throws open the door. The mist instantly clears, revealing the beautiful patio with fresh wood flooring and wicker canopies over the recliners, all decorated with Halloween-themed goodies. He pans around the area, then looks into the first big pool. He follows the bridge over to the second one and looks in.
“There’s no one,” he says, coming back to the computer.
“Bro,” Gum Boy whispers, his voice high with fear.
I follow his pointing hand to the corner beside the stairs where two blue eyes glow in a fog of darkness. They disappear just as quickly, and then a feminine voice comes from the computer speaker. “Water’s warm,” it says, and the EVP meter spikes. “Stay a while.”
“Holy fuck!” Gabe shouts, his fingers dancing over the keyboard. “There’s definitely a presence here. This is incredible. Most action we’ve seen in months.”
Do I feel a little bit bad for pranking these guys for views?
No. No, I don’t.
They love it, and their audience will too. Everyone will be coming here to try to get a glimpse of what they’re seeing right now. Just to keep it interesting—as long as Apollo’s still around—I’ll ask him to make an appearance every great once in a whileso the hype stays high and people go home with an awesome story.
“What’s happening?” I ask, doe-eyed.
“Shh,” Gabe hisses. “I’m crafting a message back in their frequency.”
I peek over his shoulder to see him typing commands into a program I’ve never seen. He writes out, “What do you want?” and hits send. There’s a sudden, sharp noise that’s just barely at the top end of my perception. I wince, holding my ears.
The message ends and we all hold our breath. Gabe pans his camera around while Gum Boy holds a metal rod out toward where Apollo’s glowing eyes had been.
“I’m lonely,” the computer says. “Stay a while. Water’s warm.”
“Did you kill the man here years ago?” Gabe says as he types.
The high-pitched noise comes again, and I really just wish we’d get this part over with.
“Weak heart. Fell,” says the computer, and my soul aches a little. Poor Apollo, having to relive this for others. But the record will be set straight, at least for the ghost hunter community.
“He was pretty up there in years,” Gum Boy says. “If he’d stayed a while because the water was warm…oh, man.”
Gabe’s fingers flash over the keys. “It’s not your fault. Don’t let guilt tie you to this place.”
My stomach squeezes and I hope Apollo is listening. Really listening. Also, Gabe is kind of a sweetie to ghosts.
“Thank you,” is the only reply from the computer.
They wait several long moments before Gabe types. “Are you still here?”
No reply.
Gabe turns on the EMF meter and the light sits silently on green. He does several passes through the room and out to the pools, as does Gum Boy, until they finally come back together and high-five.
“We set a ghost free!” Gum Boy exclaims. They do a little celebration dance, and I smile quietly as I stand off to the side. Apollo’s nails drag over my backside again and I manage to swallow back a gasp.
They chatter while packing up, and then head for the stairs. I’ve become invisible.
Finally, when we get back to the lobby, Gabe addresses me. “This is a powerful place. You’ll probably get more presences coming to hang around. If you do, you can definitely call us back.”
I nod. “You’ll be the first.”
He’s grinning like a fool and it makes me smile too. “Sick. Okay, well, enjoy your no-longer-haunted springs. For now.”
I realize he’s trying to sound ominous so I give him a little gasp and nod, eyes rounding. He and Gum Boy walk out the main entrance and head to their beat-up van, chattering avidly the whole time. Adorable.
I close the door and Apollo mists into existence. He wraps his arms around my waist and whirls me away into the hall to the apartment while I giggle.
