Chapter 2

“Zach come back, it was just a joke,” his mother called out just before he emerged from the forest.

“Yeah I kind of figured that out on the walk back,” he said sheepishly as he emerged from the woods. The first thing his dad did was walk over to the ‘ghost’ he’d managed to trip despite ghosts supposedly being kind of immune to that sort of thing.

“You need some help there buddy?” He reached his hand down towards the downed figure who groaned before reaching up and grabbing it. The pale figure rose to his feet as Zach saw who it really was.

Standing on the path wearing old clothing, a fake arrow, and a little bit of pale make-up, was his older cousin Trevor, the one who’d moved out of town. He finished dusting himself off just in time for Zach’s father to wrap his arm around his shoulder.

“Oh man Zach,” his father snickered and kept doing so even as he spoke, “I don’t think anyone’s ever done that before. Most kids freeze up or run away when they see Thomas. But my son? Trips the ghost and then books it out of there.”

“Yeah, good job Zach,” Trevor grit his teeth in an irked smile as Zach’s father patted his shoulder. “Man, I am never going to live this down, am I? Hey Aunt Taylor, Uncle Lucas, do you guys mind not telling anyone about this?”

“Not a chance Trevor,” Zach’s father gave his nephew a wild grin. “Everyone’s going to hear about how my son decided to fight back against Thomas Pickerpepper.”

“Of course you’re not,” Trevor sighed before walking away, defeated. “I’m just going to go home now and try to forget about this.”

“Sure thing buddy, thanks for your help,” Zach’s father waved as the young twenty-something reached under his shirt and took out the fake arrow. “We really appreciate you putting on the old costume and playing Thomas out of season like this.”

“So what was this, some sort of prank?” Zach asked as Trevor silently threw a thumbs up behind his back and kept on walking with his head bowed low. With his father still having trouble holding in his laughter, his mother rolled her eyes and started explaining.

“Kids have been walking down this forest path and getting scared by the ghost of Thomas Pickerpepper for as long as anyone can remember. Both your father and I had the pants scared off us too when we were kids. The whole thing usually happens around Halloween, but since we only had a few weeks here, we managed to convince your cousin to wear the costume just for you.” A slight grin came over her face. “But I have to admit, you might be the first to actually try to fight back against the ghost.”

“What can I say, I saw something big coming at me and I just sort of let instinct take over,” he shrugged his shoulders, sending his father on another round of laughter. He glanced over at him just as a stray though crossed his mind. “Wait, does this mean the whole story’s made up? What about the cabin, is it real?”

“Oh no the story’s real,” his father recovered just in time to explain the truth to his son. “The cabin’s real too, but most kids just end up turning back and running away when the ghost attacks.”

“So can we keep going then?” He asked. “I still want to see the cabin. It can’t be that much further ahead right?”

“It’s not like we have to wake up early tomorrow,” his mother pointed out. “We can keep going and show him the cabin, at least for a little bit.”

“I guess you right Taylor,” his father turned back towards the trail. “So, we keep going then?”

The trio kept walking for a while before finally making it to a small clearing. In the center was an old large cabin, bathed in the light of the full moon above. The silvery light was more than enough to see what the countless years had done to the building.

The wood was worn and tearing in several places. All the windows were covered in a thick layer of dust, making it impossible to see through it. Some of the wooden tiles on the roof had fallen off, revealing a hole on the side. And right in front of the door was a rotting porch with a hole in the floor.

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Even if he hadn’t heard the story of Thomas Pickerpepper, Zach would have guessed that this place was haunted just off looks alone.

“Quite the beauty, isn’t it?” His father was the first to break the silence. “Looks just like how it did when I was a kid.”

“No matter how much things change, this old place just stays the same,” his mother added. “You would think it would have started falling apart by now. Old house must be stubborn.”

“So can we go in?”

Both adults stopped before looking down at their son. The pair starred at him silently for a few seconds as Zach clicked his tongue and looked back at the building. “Yeah I kind of figured.”

“That place is way too dangerous, even in the middle of the day. The look from outside is the best you’re going to get,” his mother chided as his father chuckled again.

“Remember when Jimmy Beaks tried to sneak in through the cellar and got his foot stuck on a rotten floorboard?” He snickered as his wife huffed and tried not to laugh. “We had to get his grandpa to break him out and then he got grounded for the whole summer?”

“Yes I remember,” she shivered,” I can still hear his screaming…”

The two of them kept talking to each other, but Zach was only half paying attention. Because as he looked over the cabin, something strange caught his eye. On the second floor, behind one of the dust windows, he had seen something. Something moving, something blue, something glowing, something that might have been a ghost.

Now, Zach knew a bit about ghosts. He had spent enough time looking around odd websites and forums to know that ghosts were real, despite what most people would say. Anyone who worked in old buildings for long enough eventually came away with odd stories. Put enough of them together and you started seeing patterns. And so far, everything he’d seen and heard, from the old building, to the traumatic death, the telltale glow, were all signs of a ghost being afoot.

Zach took a deep breath and steadied himself. He was going to have to play it cool and calm if he was going to get to see his first real ghost tonight.

“Alright, let’s head back,” his’s father’s words cut through his thoughts as he made his choice.

“Actually, do you guys mind if I stick around a little longer? I want to look at this place some more. I mean, it is the coolest thing I’ve seen since I got here.”

The two adults glanced at each other.

“I mean he has a point, and the path back is easy to follow, even without a flashlight,” one of them pointed out.

“And it’s not like we didn’t go around these woods at night when we were his age,” the other one added.

The two of them mumbled to each other for a bit longer before turning to their son.

“Okay, you can stay a little while longer. We’ll be waiting for you at the start of the trail,” his mother explained as Zach fought to keep his excitement in check. “I know you’re a smart kid, so you won’t cause any trouble or try to get in right?”

“One hundred percent,” he lied. A small part of himself felt guilty for doing so, but it was quickly drowned out by the much larger part of his brain demanding to see a real ghost for the first time. “I’ll meet you guys in a little bit. I’ll call you guys if anything comes up.”

Just to make his point, Zach pulled out the new phone his parents had bought for him at the start of the summer. It had more than enough battery to last him through the night and get him back home safely.

After another round of worried warnings and a hug from his mother, Zach stood alone as he watched his parents vanish into the woods. He gulped before looking back at the cabin and the window that’d started all of this. For a split second, he could have sworn he’d seen the glow in the window again. It was time to get to the bottom of that.

Phantom Case: the girl in the cabin

Case Start

He started with a quick walk around the cabin. He had his eyes open for two things. The first were blue glows in any of the windows, and the others were entrances. The first of the two had come up empty. There were a few more windows on the cabin, but none of them had the slight blue glow from time to time like the one he could see from the front. But the second had actually turned something up.

Besides the front door, which was behind a rotting, dangerous porch and was probably locked anyway, he had spotted two other possible entrances.

The first was a large window at the back of the cabin. At the bottom of the window was a latch that looked like it could be opened. He would have to climb through, and there would be no way to see what he was landing on, so he silently placed it as his back up choice. No, his main choice was the door to the cellar next to the window.

Not only was it just a simple handle he could pull on, but he already knew it could be opened, and what to look out for once he was inside.

“Thank you Jimmy Beaks,” he silently grunted as he reached for the handles and started to pull. It took almost all the muscle he had, but he eventually managed to get the right door open. He looked down into the dark cellar and frowned before looking back up at the sky.

A few more minutes of work later, both doors were open and letting the moonlight in. More than enough illumination for Zach to see around down there. From where he stood, he could see the stone floor as well as the many wooden barrels scattered around. He knelt down until he could see the whole room and staircase leading up on the other side.

Well this was it. He could either keep going and meet a real ghost for the first time in his life, or he could back out now and head back to his parents. After a few more seconds, he made his choice.

He took slow careful steps as he made his way down the stairs, making sure to test the steps before putting his weight on them.

“Once again, thank you Jimmy Beaks,” He muttered as he descended into the house.