Chapter 31

A shrill scream pierced the air as Koji and George walked out of the kitchen. It was a cry of unimaginable, repressed fury. The unholy sound made even the hairs on the back of George's neck stand on end. It was amazing that any glass around them didn't shatter with the force of that god-awful wail. The only thing Koji could think of that sounded close to it was the shrieking of a banshee.

Koji started to follow the noise, but George hung back. His blue eyes were large and wide and his thin lip twitched. Looking up at the ceiling, he mumbled, "It's her."

"Her who?" demanded Koji as another scream nearly exploded his eardrums.

"Emily."

Two more yells sounded above them, both the cries of frightened men. "Blaine and Gipson," the mortal breathed. Over his and George's heads, footsteps pounded. "I don't know what your sudden problem is, but I'm going to go see what they found."

"That isn't a very wise idea," cautioned George, but he followed behind the young man as he trailed the noises up a staircase to the second story floor. Only once had Koji slowed when he spied Blaine's backpack lying on the floor, but he was in too much of a hurry to bother picking it up. They jogged to a rickety flight of stairs that were barely wider or in better shape than those leading to Leota's secret entrance.

Standing at the foot of the staircase were Dustin, Ezra, Gus, Phineas, and oddly enough, a suit of armor. The four spirits and the tarnished knight-wear turned to look at George and Koji.

With an accusing glare directed at Phineas and Ezra, George demanded, "Did you lead them here?"

"Not both of them," the plump phantom answered. A placid smile spread across his chubby face. "Just sheet boy."

"I take offense to that," quipped Dustin, not really taking offense at all. "True, he and Gus were playing monkey in the middle with that ghost detector gadget of his…"

Gus laughed. "He was the monkey!"

"And Bea chased the skinny one while swinging a sword over her head like a homicidal maniac." He smiled at his sister.

"Now that's a bit un-lady like, don't you think?" Phineas asked, playfully wagging a finger.

A metal glove lifted up the visor to reveal Bea's face. Her freckled face was beaming, despite the energy it must have taken to support the weight of the suit. "Oi! And it was bloody fun too!"

Ezra was still clutching the bed sheet with the eyeholes cut into it. Holding it up, he stated, "Dustin, why is it you were wearing this stupid disguise and your little sister figures out that medieval weaponry is far scarier than a floating blanket?" He waggled it, grinning in his unnerving way.

"Oh, would you drop it already!" snapped the Englishman, knocking the bedclothes out of Ezra's bony hand.

More screaming, three distinct voices, came from the room before them. Something heavy hit a wall and landed with a thud. "You people are such cowards," grumbled Koji as he mounted the stairs.

"'Cowards', he says," Phineas scoffed with a jerk of his thumb.

Koji flung the door open and stepped inside. "It's just a freakin' attic, what's the problem?"

"Who's in there, anyway?" asked Dustin curiously as Koji disappeared behind the slammed door.

"Emily Cavanaugh," Phineas explained. "You know, if you'd actually talked to some of the others, you'd find out that-"

"Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" The attic door flew open and Blaine, Dr. Gipson, and Koji tumbled out. An airborne vase sailed over their heads and crashed into the wall, shattering into hundreds of ceramic fragments.

"Oh, that was a family heirloom," groaned George.

"Screw the heirloom!" screamed Koji. "That psychotic banshee nearly broke my leg!"

"W-who are you talking to, Koji?" asked Gipson.

"No one," Koji lied, scrambling to his feet.

"Amazing," breathed Blaine. "We've never come across such a destructive poltergeist before. The energy in that room was practically crackling! I say we go back!"

Suddenly, there was scuffling and the screeching of something heave being shoved across the floor. It was followed by a thud as it was shoved against the door.

"Or not," muttered Gipson as he shakily stood up. Dusting himself off, he and Blaine finally noticed the armor. They turned and looked at it slowly, as if afraid that fast movement would anger it. Bea raised the blade as if to say, "Guess who?" "Oh no!" Gipson quivered. "Not again!" Nearly knocking each other over, they ran away.

Playing along, Koji sprinted behind them. Falling into step with Bea, he hissed, "Can you get them out the front door?"

Giggling, she chirped, "Righty-o, mate! Ha ha!" Laughing like a loon, she swung the sword at their backsides and watched them jump.

The others were still staring at the attic door, as if it would burst open at any second. George was almost catatonic. Any bit of color drained from his face and his lips were tightly pursed. Occasionally, they twitched up to the left. Staring at the handle, his eyes never fully blinked. One would twitch slightly, but that was the extent.

The thick silence was becoming more and more awkward. Dustin wondered if he should leave. After all, he wasn't getting quite the affect of this attic business that everyone else was. Sidling over to Ezra, he whispered, "What's wrong with him?"

Ezra put a hand on his shoulder and glanced up the staircase. It was odd how serious he could be sometimes. "There are some things even I won't discuss. This is one of them." Looking forlornly at George, he said, "It's best if we just let him be." Face slowly turning to an expression of confusion, he asked, "Hey, wasn't there another one of those guys?"

---

Meanwhile, Little Leota had found Blaine's backpack. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she unzipped it and examined the contents. Most of the things-something that beeped when she touched it, a camera, a notepad, a pack of Twinkies-held her interest for no more than a second. Then one object caught her eye. It was the tape recorder, with a new tape in it. With a little help from some friends, great fun could be had with this. Giggling, she slung the bag's strap over her shoulder and skipped away.

---

Heart pounding, although he couldn't quite place why, Professor Hahn turned the knob of the little, shabby wooden door. Shutting it behind him, he felt blind in the darkness. Slowly his eyes adjusted to it. Faintly, he could make out the dim shapes of things floating in the air. There were spirits in this room, he just knew it!

Hands shaking with excitement, he reached into one of his khaki pockets and took out a small night vision camcorder. It was yet another tool of Blaine's making, but he knew this one worked. He turned it on and put it to his eye. Laughing happily, he stared up in amazement at the floating musical instruments above him. Staring upwards, he began to walk the length of the room. He hadn't even noticed the table.

He nearly knocked it over, but grabbed it with his free hand just in time. Something heavy wobbled. When he looked down to see what it was, he dropped the camera in shock. "Oh, my god."

Unsteadily, he picked the camcorder back up and placed it to his wide eye. Through the lens, he could see the image of a woman's face smirking up at him. It blurred, slowed, and twisted in and out of focus, like the video from a cheap web cam. Out of the little speakers came her voice, shaky and faint, and hollow and echoey. "Good-good evening, Prof-Professor Hahn."

"Uh, he-hello," he said, his voice equally shaky. Electronic interference had nothing to do with it, though. "Who are you, spirit? Why are you here?" Standing back a bit, he held the camera up as steadily as he could. He was actually getting an interview! This was beyond his wildest dreams!

Her form flickered, twisted by wavering lines. "I-I'm Madame Leota, clairvoyant."

Hahn struggled with the sudden urge to bow. He gave in. "Good morning, Ms. Leota. Oh, tell us," he intoned dramatically as he stood up, "wise spirit, what business do you have here?" Luckily, he was able to fight the temptation to hop from foot to foot and squeal.

The gears of her mind turned, pushing out schemes that, in turn, were grinded back though again. Things would be diverted from the plan a little bit, but, oh, the opportunities that would arise because of it! Green eyes locked into his, she said in a sweet voice, "My g-good sssir, we just want to be seen." Tilting her head, she distorted grotesquely again. "People need to know we ex-exist."

With a high-pitched giggle, he crowed happily, "I knew it!" Hugging the camcorder, he added, "And I have the perfect proof!"

"Oh, sorry, Prof.," Leota cooed condescendingly. "I was thinking of something a bit bigger."

A huge harp that had been content just to hover near the ceiling came whooshing down, targeting Hahn, it's twanging notes singing his impending doom. Right before it hit him, Hahn could have sworn it was playing the Jaws theme. The force of the impact broke the small camera and he hit a wall, head first. Unconscious, he lay in a crumpled heap.

"Whoops," the psychic mumbled, staring at his body. "Well, at least we'll be able to have some fun when he wakes up then." Closing her green eyes, flickers of the future danced across them. "Ooh," she chuckled throatily, "I do so love broken hearts."

---

Gipson tugged on the door of the van, found out it was locked, and then fumbled for his keys. Blaine snatched them away from him. "Gimme those!" Behind them, Bea stepped out onto the porch, posing threateningly. In reality, she felt as if she would collapse at any second. After the other got the door open, Gipson shoved Blaine aside and clambered in. Koji thought they were acting more like two children fighting over seats before the start of the family trip to an amusement park, than respectable adults.

"Koji! Get in!" shouted Blaine, grabbing the young man by his coat and hauling him in. Feverishly, he locked all of the doors, and sat for a moment, panting. After he had relaxed a bit, he noticed something lying on the floor. "My bag? How'd that get here?"

"Bl-Blaine!" Gipson tugged on his sleeve. "Start the car NOW!" Bea was running towards them, aiming the tip of her blade at a side window. Blaine jammed the keys into the ignition, put pedal to the metal, and they screeched away.

Luckily, for the female ghost, she was out of their line of sight now. The suit of armor crashed down around her and she dropped the sword. Weary and invisible, she floated back into the mansion. She would have to take a good, long nap to get her energy back, especially if she wanted to pull off her plan that night.

She made faces at everyone she passed.

---

"Maybe…maybe some music will calm our nerves." After shoving his thumb against several wrong buttons,Blaine finally hit the one tabled "TAPE". One would think an institution that relies on the most sophisticated of technology would have a compact disc player in the company vehicle. Well, some expenses just have to be skimped.

Blood running cold, they listened to the singing emanating from the speaker.

If you would like to join our jamboree,

There's a simple rule that's compulsory.

Mortals pay a token fee,

Rest in peace, the haunting's free.

So, hurry back ,we would like your company.

With a voice that sent chills down to their bones, Little Leota pleaded, "Hur-ry ba-ack…hur-ry ba-ack. Be sure to bring your death certificates…if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now. We've been, hmm hmm, dying to have you."

"That place is evil!" Gipson shrieked. "It's evil!"

Realization slowly dawned on Koji's face. "We forgot Hahn!"

Blaine didn't take his eyes off the road. "Screw 'im. He wants ghosts, he can stay with 'em. He'll get a ride back later."

Looking down at the cobblestones rushing past, Koji figured it wasn't a good idea to jump out. Hahn knew the way out, right? He had a cell phone, he could call a cab. Guilt nagged at Koji's conscience. He wrapped his coat around him tightly and pushed down his fedora. There would be no way he could get back, find Hahn, and get out and away before Destiny got home. And, this idea made him feel smug, he wanted Hahn to get caught. He would be the one to face Destiny's wrath!

Laying his head back against the seat, Koji pulled his hat down over his eyes, and drifted off into a nap. He dreamed of every possible humiliation Hahn would be put through.

---

A/N: The Leota effect was an homage to the remake of House on Haunted Hill. The song lyrics were written by X. Atencio, © Disney. They can be heard as you exit the ride.