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“Come on! It will be fun!”
“T-To you maybe!”, Siren unwillingly boarded the truck.
“I can’t wait to see a real demon, you know I alway wondered -”
Marie’s fingers shot forward, ungently pressing Smoke’s lips into a tight line, “I don’t want to hear another word from you or we’re leaving you at base.”
Once she deemed the worst to be over, she let go.
“Do that again, I liked that.”
The collective groan of the backgrow of the truck made Smoke’s lips curl into an amused smile.
“Tell me, why is he coming with us again?”, Cowboy tried to stay as respectful as possible, but sometimes it was really hard.
“... I just think he’s funny - HEY!”
Moss ungently kicked the passenger's seat, shooting a nasty glare at the medic.
It was just for her own good.
“Do we have the go from the others?”, ignoring the conversation once it got boring to him - not overhearing the softly mumbled compliment - Smoke leaned out of the car to check with Nicole for her okay.
A shaking hand was lifted into the air, thumbs up meant they were ready to go.
It was an odd idea. A favour maybe?
Marie couldn’t let go of the idea that ghosts were real, maybe.
Maybe they should have stopped her from watching ghost hunting shows, but knowing her a little too well, they were well aware that there was no stopping her.
For better or worse.
Being stationed in England was a rare occurrence, and then all of them together too?
It felt like a belated birthday gift to the medic, she could hardly hide her excitement as the scenery changed around them.
From tight confinement to broad open spaces.
Lush, beautiful green surrounded him, summer wasn’t the time for ghosts, right?
It was common knowledge that ghosts only came out during fall, but fear began to creep up on Siren everytime Smoke made her believe that demons were real.
No matter the time of year.
“Can you just shut your mouth for five minutes?”
“Make me, Moss.”
“Oh you know I would love to -”
Cowboy gently placed a hand on Moss’ shoulder, it wasn’t the best idea to start a fight with their driver, no matter how irritating he was.
And everyone (excluding Marie) seemed to be aware of just how irritating he was.
“What the hell is going on in there -”, on second thought, Rosie didn’t want to know when she was honest. She quietly cursed under her breath, “Pinches gringa…”
“She - …”, the words died on Nicole’s tongue, there were some things she couldn’t excuse, no matter how hard she tried, “... let her have it this once, if anything, we’re all spending more time together.”
“... yeah.”
Matthews stole a quick glance at the other medic that accompanied them, he was a close friend of Marie’s. An American?
He was a tall man, his long black hair tied into a bun.
A lively person, with an odd accent, around New York maybe? New Jersey?
For a moment he stopped his lively chat about the anatomy of frogs with the masked figure sitting in between them.
He smiled warmly at the woman and returned to his conversation.
The last car of the small convoy held most of their equipment as it held the smallest amount of passengers.
“Yeah, if you guys don’t want to go with them, you’re welcome to stay at camp with us.”
Javier took a good look at his passengers.
Xavier seemed unbothered by the prospects of possibly meeting a ghost or a demon, Flo and Francesca were a whole different story.
Only the man was openly showing how nervous he was, while Francesca put on a brave face, “They’re not even real! Why would I be scared!”
But fear swung in her voice, it was hard to hide from Javier. He only shrugged, sometimes she had to be a kid after all.
The drive to camp was uneventful, aside from the first truck swerving at times when Cowboy failed to hold Moss back any longer.
“So what’s the plan now that we’re here?”, Javier helped Matthews unload their supplies.
“I did my research!”, Marie gleefully clapped her hands together, “There is an old farmhouse deep in the woods! After which we should find a clearing and an old bridge.”
“You’re trying to catch the goatman or something?” Francesca laughed to herself for a moment, but didn’t understand the horrified looks on everyone else’s faces before their heads snapped in the direction of Smoke who was visibly unimpressed.
“It’s no fun when you expect me to say it.”
“You can help us set up camp before you leave,” Javier did not mean to ruin their fun, but they had to do a little work before they left to explore.
Everyone was tasked with something different; some gathered wood for the firepit, others helped build the tents, someone else set up a makeshift kitchen with Matthews.
“Are you sure you want to stay back, Lou? It’ll be so much fun!”
The woman gently took Marie’s hands and squeezed them lightly, “Yes my love, I don’t want Javier to stay here alone and I don’t know if baby Debbie might call. I need to stay close to electricity and phone reception.”
A small pout formed on her lips but it quickly faded, “You’re right. I’ll see you later then?”
“See you later. Be careful out there.”
The small group set out, the most daring types in the front, the most anxious at the far back.
“If you’re uneasy you can always go back to camp,” Cowboy smiled softly at the huddled together mess of Rosie, Nic, Siren and Flo, “I don’t think Marie will hold it against you.”
“Yes she will!”, Rosie protested, it was easier to tell herself that than accept defeat so easily.
“She’s right -”, Nic would just simply agree to everything Rosie said.
Flo and Siren remained silent, walking arm in arm.
“Well, I’m just telling y’all that there’s no shame in being afraid.”
But he turned back to his own group, led by Moss, Marie and Smoke.
“I really don’t want to know what those three are talking about,” maybe he was only half joking.
Even though Runa’s mask did not betray any emotion, her voice did, “Oh trust me, I don’t want to know either.”
“Do you think that ghosts and demons are real?!”, Francesca closely examined Xavier’s face, she was convinced that by now, she had gotten better at reading people’s faces.
“Depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“I don’t know, what do you believe in? Like, religiously?”
Was he joking?
Franscesca buried her face deeper into her thick jacket, Javier wouldn’t let her leave without one, “Man if I only knew…”
If the purpose of this nightwalk wouldn’t have been ghost hunting, it might have been quite nice. The sounds of their chatter and laughter broke through the silence of the night.
Twelve little lights illuminated the path ahead of them.
It didn’t seem like many people ventured into the woods to see the abandoned farmhouse.
… maybe they just had smarter friends.
“And what are you going to do when you see a ghost?”
Moss’ voice cut through all other conversations, everyone else fell silent, waiting for Marie’s response. She was the reason they were here today after all.
“... I’d ask why it’s still here… maybe we can help it move on.”
“Oh my God,” they groaned but they pulled Marie closer, hugging her tightly as they walked on before they shot Smoke an angry glare.
“I didn’t even -”
“You’re thinking about it!”
“Guys look!”
Charlie shone his light on the remains of an old treehouse, “I think we’re close!”
“I-I think - uh …”, Flo’s voice died in his throat, he didn’t want to go back alone but he also didn’t feel brave enough to push on.
“Have you guys ever watched the Blair Witch Project?”, Smoke couldn’t help himself but chuckle as he heard soft gasps from the group behind him.
“Shut it, little man,” Runa sighed before she turned to the small group behind her, “Don’t listen to him, okay? He’s just trying to be funny.”
“No I was-”
One ungentle kick from Moss was enough to shut him up for a while.
“Hey were is Marie - Maria come back here -”
Siren seemed to forget her fear for a moment as she dashed past the rest of the group to chase after her friend.
There once was a little path that led to the house, but it had been long overgrown, but in her panic, Siren didn’t bother with the grass that got tangled in her steps.
She nearly fell into the house, searching for her friend.
“The door was unlocked,” Marie carefully examined her surroundings.
Only when everyone else slowly entered the house, it dawned on Siren that she could not easily remove herself from the situation.
The best bet in her mind was to stick close to Runa, who seemed like the most level headed member of the group.
“Did you just storm in?”, it was a simple question but there was firmness in Runa’s voice that was unusual for her when she addressed Marie.
“Of course not, I asked for permission to come in and announced myself. Unlike you lot.”
She had a point.
“It really seems like nobody’s been in here for ages,” Xavier examined the thick layers of dust.
“Not surprising really, not everyone wants to go fucking ghost hunting in their time off,” Rosie was slowly growing more and more agitated, feeling Nic squeeze her arm tightly.
“I mean it is kinda fun,” Charlie shrugged lightly, trying to defuse the growing tension in the group.
“Hey, here’s an old photo!”, Flo reached out but stopped himself quickly, there was no need to upset the ghosts. If there were any.
The family looked friendly enough, but nobody would be excited to know that strangers broke into their house, right?
It felt hard to move, not because they were all expecting something to happen, but their group was too large.
“We should go upstairs,” Marie carefully tested the old staircase, smaller groups had better chances at catching a ghost.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, ma’am,” Cowboy gently pulled her back, “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt, even with so many medics around.”
“... fine.”
Their journey through the house continued, every now and then one of them asked a question but they never got a response.
The old floorboards creaked, surprised that someone disturbed their peaceful slumber.
Many of the rooms had been empty, maybe someone had taken what they needed?
But the house had been long abandoned.
There was no telling what had happened in this place before they had come here.
Charlie carefully pushed open an old door, their (regrettably) fearless leader Marie pushing forward into the room.
“Oh… I think this is the kitchen?”
It felt like time was frozen, old pots on the stove waited for the owners to return home. The cupboards were undisturbed, nobody dared to open them, honouring the last owner’s wishes.
For a moment, it felt as if they truly intruded in someone’s final resting place.
Siren quietly shivered, rubbing her arms.
It was a bad habit at this point, she could never dress warm enough.
“Here,” Marie gently wrapped her jacket around her friend, “I’ll be okay.”
Just as she said that the temperature in the room droped violently, out of the corner of their eyes, a few members of the group watched a large shadow move through the room.
Panicked screams escaped them, alerting the others before they ran outside.
Only Runa remained in the house.
Quietly, she placed an offering of food and drink in a dark corner, apologised in silent words and closed the door behind her for good.
“What the hell was that -?”, Flo was as pale as the moon above them.
“Calm down son - what are you talking about?”, Cowboy had been alerted by the panic but hadn’t seen what caused the commotion.
Rosie cussed out Marie while Nic tried to calm her down.
“Where the hell is Xavier -”, Moss desperately tried to keep count of the group but couldn’t find him.
“I’m here. I stepped out to… ya know,” he gestured vaguely.
“... yeah yeah I know, don’t go into detail,” they really didn’t want to hear it.
“That was so cool -”
“Marie for the love of GOD,” Charlie tried to stay serious but he couldn’t help but laugh, “It was but… I think that’s enough. I really don’t want to upset whatever is out there.”
“Well I haven’t seen what’s out there yet! What if there’s a demon guarding the bridge?!”
“No - NO - Marie, I love you dearly, but no,” Siren finally admitted defeat, “I want to go back to camp, please.”
“Me too,” Francesca was still shaking, being brave sometimes meant admitting defeat.
“I don’t want to see her face right now,” Rosie had already turned around in the direction of the camp. Nic mouthed an apology and comforted her girlfriend.
“Fair enough. I will go alone then.”
“No you won’t.”
“Oh yeah she will not and I will not leave you alone with her, pissboy,” Moss gestured to the rest of the group that they got the okay to leave.
The ones that dreaded arriving at their destination most were the first to leave, alongside Charlie.
Runa and Xavier stood back, watching the small group around Marie head towards the old bridge.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” For a moment they only looked at each other, Xavier felt his face redden, “I didn’t expect anyone to figure out it was me. I was just trying to prank them.”
“It doesn’t matter. There’s no reason for us to disturb this place, I offered an apology and I think they are grateful we left this quickly. Come, let’s join the others.”
The way back to camp felt a lot shorter, more peaceful. They laughed and sang the only songs they still remembered from their childhoods. It was a choir of voices singing in different languages.
It was a peace offering.
“Do you think I could offer myself to the bridge demon as a sacrifice?”, Smoke pranced towards the old wooden construction.
“It’ll know you’re not a virgin and throw you off,” Moss couldn’t help but roll their eyes.
“... they meant virgin as in never having been used as a sacrifice in a ritual, you know that right?”
Marie was quiet, she felt the cold slowly creep up on her.
Was this a good idea?
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
A tired smile formed on her lips as she only shook her head in response, it wasn’t that the shock or anger of her friends had done enough to sway her.
“You know… I always wondered…”, she walked to the middle of the bridge, “If ghosts are real because it would give me a chance to properly apologise to the people who died under my hands. They must have had unfinished business.”
“Is that why you’re so desperate to find a ghost?”
“Yeah, it’s childish isn’t it?”
Marie laughed but her teeth began to clatter from the cold, she had underestimated how cold it got during the night.
Her eyes wandered up to the sky as she watched a few clouds drift by, fully revealing the moon to her.
Cold fingers intertwined as she leaned her head on Moss’ shoulder, she was met with the soft bump of their head against hers as they watched the moon.
She felt a heavy weight fall on her shoulders, it felt warm.
“Oh wow, a showcase of human decency, didn’t think you were capable of that, Smoke.”
“I don’t need her sneezing on me all the way home tomorrow.”
Marie couldn’t hide her smile as she wrapped the jacket tighter around herself, “Let’s go back to camp. I’m hungry.”
“Fuck… me too…”
“Don’t get me started.”
Back at camp, the first group gathered around the warming campfire, gratefully receiving generous portions of the food Matthew’s and Javier had prepared for them.
Charlie was handing out hot chocolate to the ones who had been most shaken by the experience, even though they were all laughing now.
“Nobody at base will believe us,” Siren shook her head, still cuddling into Marie’s jacket.
“I don’t think anyone would believe us,” Flo gratefully accepted the cup Charlie handed him and took a generous sip.
“I think… I know people who would but I don’t want to get lectured,” Franscesca avoided all eye contact with Javier.
Matthews couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head, it was like taking care of a bunch of unruly children.
Baby Debbie had indeed called her, she was a little upset that aunt Marie wasn’t there to say hi, but she had been curious about the new friend her mother had made.
Oso was quiet, but he was incredibly attentive. He always kept a close eye on Matthews and their camp, making sure that everyone would be comfortable.
He checked on the first arrivals, even though they were laughing and holding each other.
“... do you think Marie and the others will come back soon?”, Rosie gently kicked the rocks in front of her, she began to feel bad about what she had said before leaving.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon, no need to worry about them,” it felt a little odd to say that when Cowboy felt his own stomach turn with worry.
“They’ll be back here any minute,” Runa quietly mumbled, she had chosen to only warm herself by the fire, still uneasy with the thought of eating in front of others, but still enjoying their company.
Nic and Xavier quietly watched the treeline, curious if the others would return with exciting news.
“There they are!”
In his excitement, Xavier nearly spilled his drink all over himself, but he caught it last second.
Arm in arm, the small group of three walked towards the bonfire.
“The only demon out there was Smoke,” Moss teased, a pleased smile forming on their lips as they watched everyone laugh.
“You guys should stop with this nonsense for the night and join us,” Javier gave them their share of dinner and gestured to them to sit down around the fire.
It was a clear night, their bonfire grew with each passing hour, each hour that was filled with laughter, chatter and the soft strumming of two old guitars.