Ghost Trackers (27 page)

Her expression was blank, her eyes as empty as a doll’s. But then she blinked several times, her eyes focused on them, and she frowned.

“Trevor? Drew?” she said. Her tone was soft, her words slurred, as if she’d just woken from sleep. “What are you doing here?”

“Coming to your rescue,” Drew said. “At least, that’s what we thought.”

“A couple of knights in tarnished armor,” Trevor added. “That’s us.”

“Are you all right?” Drew asked. He moved the flashlight beam up and down Amber’s body, checking her for injuries, but there was none—at least, none obvious to the naked eye. He touched a pair of fingers to the side of her neck to check her pulse.

She smiled and removed Drew’s hand from her neck.

“I’m fine,” she said, sounding more awake this time. “Greg didn’t hurt me.” She paused. “At least,
I don’t think he did. He sent me to meet you. He’s waiting in the gym for us.”

Trevor and Drew exchanged a look before turning their attention back to her.

“Is he planning on challenging us to a game of hoops?” Trevor asked.

“I don’t know what he wants,” she said. “I just know we’re supposed to go into the gym.” She frowned. “Actually, that’s
all
I know, and I’m not sure how I know it. The last thing I remember is everyone going crazy at the dance, and then I was standing here in the hallway, talking to you two. What happened back at the hotel? Is everyone . . .” She trailed off, probably because she didn’t want to add the word
dead
to her question.

“They’re OK,” Trevor said. “Drew figured out a way to break Greg’s hold over them.”

She smiled in relief. “Good. So . . . are we going to do what he wants and go into the gym? I mean, it’s some kind of trap, right?”

Trevor wasn’t sure how to react to her. It would be horrible to be someone’s puppet, and if she truly had no memory of Greg controlling her, he was glad. But just because she appeared to be OK didn’t mean that Greg had released her from his control. He could still be pulling her strings, using her to draw them into his trap. Even worse, if he was still in the driver’s seat of Amber’s psyche, he could use her as a weapon against them whenever he wanted. Evidently,
Drew was thinking along the same lines, because even though the two of them had acted like a couple on the dance floor back at the hotel, he made no move to touch her now. Instead of offering reassurance, he was holding back, and Trevor knew that he’d only do that if he wasn’t certain they could trust Amber. It might not even be her talking to them but rather Greg speaking through her. How could they know?

When neither Drew nor Trevor responded to Amber’s question right away, she scowled. “What’s wrong with you two? Why are you—” She broke off as comprehension dawned on her face. “You think Greg might still be controlling me.”

“Please don’t take it personally,” Drew said, “but we—”

That’s as far as he got before she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. He stood there at first, as if he was unsure how to respond, but then she put her arms around his neck, his arms slid up around her waist, and their kiss deepened. After several moments, she stepped back, gazed into Drew’s eyes, and smiled.

“Well?” she asked.

He smiled back. “OK, I believe you’re you.”

When she turned to look at Trevor, he said, “I’m still not convinced. Maybe you should kiss me, too.”

Instead, she punched him on the arm—hard.

“
Ouch
,” he said, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. “
Now
I’m convinced.”

“Trap or not,” Drew said, “we came here to confront Greg, and that’s what we’re going to do. Let’s find the gym.”

Amber pointed down the hallway. “It’s this way. I think.”

The three friends headed in the direction she indicated. Drew shone the flashlight ahead of them, Trevor continued to grip his tire iron—which he felt foolish for carrying into battle against a man who commanded dark psychic forces—and Amber walked between them, holding on to Drew’s arm. Regardless of how the night played out, Trevor was glad that his two friends had admitted their feelings for each other. At least they wouldn’t go to their graves not knowing how they felt.

Greg’s voice whispered in his mind then, and he sounded amused.
What a morbid thought. I approve
.

“Fuck off,” Trevor muttered. “I have an automotive tool, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

When his friends looked at him, Trevor realized he’d spoken aloud.

“Sorry. Greg just sent me a message on his private psychic hotline.”

“He wants to remind us how powerful he is,” Drew said. “Let us know that no matter what we do, he’s the one in charge.”

“Really? And here I thought he was just being an asshole.”

Greg’s thought-voice returned then, and he sounded even more amused this time.
Go ahead and make all the jokes you want, but you can’t hide how you really feel from me. I know how scared you are. But you know something? You’re nowhere near as scared as you should be
.

Trevor didn’t have any smart-ass comebacks for that, so he kept his mouth shut as they continued walking down the dark hallway of the rec center, toward whatever horror Greg had planned for them.

As they drew
closer to the gym, Trevor said, “What’s the plan? We waltz into the gym and say, ‘Hey, Greg, how’s it hanging?’ We came here to rescue Amber, and here she is, safe and sound. Maybe we should get her out of here while we can. You said it yourself, Drew. He’s playing a game with us, but that doesn’t mean he intends to play fair.” Trevor fixed Amber with a penetrating look.

She frowned. “What are you trying to say, Trevor?”

Drew had a good idea of the direction in which Trevor’s thoughts were running. “Greg didn’t need to send you out to escort us,” he said. “We would’ve eventually checked out the gym on our own. I think Trevor’s concerned that he had another reason for having you meet us.” He
glanced at Trevor, who nodded without taking his eyes off Amber.

“Maybe Greg’s not controlling you right now,” Trevor said, “but that doesn’t mean he can’t take control of you again whenever he wants. He could wait until our guard is down and then use you to attack us.”

Drew understood where his friend’s paranoia was coming from. Greg’s psychic taunting had frightened him and put him off balance.

“If he can control me, he can control either of you,” Amber pointed out.

Trevor looked startled, as if he hadn’t thought of that. But then he went on. “Or maybe he implanted some kind of posthypnotic suggestion inside you, one that’ll make you turn against us without knowing you’re doing it.” He turned to Drew. “It’s possible, isn’t it? Especially with the sort of power he wields.”

“I have no idea how his powers work,” Drew admitted. “None of us does. But I think it’s safe to assume he’s capable of manipulating our minds on various levels.”

Amber started to protest, but Drew reached out and squeezed her hand to reassure her.

“But I don’t think he intends to use you against us. I may not understand how psychic abilities work, but I understand enough about Greg to know that whatever moves he makes, they won’t be obvious ones. He wants to impress us with how
clever he is, so whatever we anticipate him doing, you can bet he’ll do something else.”

“Especially if he’s reading our minds,” Amber added. “If he is, then he knows what we’re thinking and can adjust his plans.”

“Great,” Trevor said. “So, not only are we facing someone who can create realistic illusions in our minds—so realistic they can make people’s hearts stop—we’re up against someone who knows our every thought. How do we stand a chance in hell of beating someone like that?”

Amber smiled. “By not thinking too much, I guess.”

Drew reached out and laid a hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “And by sticking together,” he added.

Trevor looked at both of his friends, sighed, and nodded. “All right. Let’s go kick Greg’s supernatural ass.”

Amber continued leading
the way through the rec center’s corridors to the gym. Despite the fact that she’d never been there before, or at least had no memory of being there, she knew the way. Probably because Greg wanted her to know. Not that they needed his help to find it. There were no signs up yet to tell people where to go, but it wasn’t as if a gym was easy to conceal. Down one more corridor, hang a right, and there they were.

When the three of them had been reunited a few minutes earlier, Drew had asked if she was all
right, and she’d said yes. While not a lie, it wasn’t the entire truth. She hadn’t lied when she’d said she had no memory of Greg taking control of her body and abducting her, but now that she knew what he’d done, she was struggling not to freak out. She had no way to know what, if anything, he had done with her—or, worse,
to
her—while she’d been under his control, but the knowledge that he could have done anything he wanted and she’d have been powerless to stop him horrified her. She felt violated in ways she could never have imagined, in both body
and
mind, and it took all of her strength to keep her emotions at bay so she could do what she had to. Greg had to be stopped before he hurt anyone else, and that’s what she’d focus on for now. And then, assuming that she survived, she could deal with what he’d done to her later.

As they approached the gym doors, she glanced at the tire iron that Trevor held in his hand.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got an extra one of those that I can borrow,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said. “This is it. You’re welcome to it, though.”

She considered taking the makeshift weapon, if for no other reason than for the reassurance the weight of it in her hand would bring. But even after what Greg had done to her, she didn’t think she’d be able to use it when the time came.

She shook her head. “Thanks, but on second thought, I’m good.”

The gym doors were light yellow wood with small rectangular windows set into them and chrome metal bars instead of handles or knobs. Drew put his hand on one of the bars, but he didn’t push right away. Instead, he turned to look at Trevor and her.

“Remember that Greg can make us see and hear whatever he wants, and while his illusions may not have any physical substance, we know they can kill if someone believes they can.”

“And it might be even worse than that,” Trevor said. “We don’t know the extent of his powers. Don’t forget, both Sean’s and Jerry’s bodies had some very nonillusory physical residue on them.”

Amber felt a chill upon hearing Trevor’s words, but she forced a wry smile and feinted another punch to his arm. “Don’t be such a pessimist,” she said.

Trevor made a show of rubbing his arm as if her punch had connected, but he smiled.

Drew took a deep breath and let it out. “Ready?” he asked.

Amber and Trevor nodded. Drew pushed the gym door open, and the three of them stepped inside, Amber reaching for Drew’s hand as they entered.

At first, the beam from Drew’s flashlight cut through the darkness, illuminating a polished wooden floor. But then the light cut out, and she felt a sudden wave of dizziness overtake her. Her
legs weakened, and she thought she might collapse to the floor. She tightened her grip on Drew’s hand for support—or at least, she tried to. She’d been holding his hand when the flashlight cut out, and she hadn’t let go, but she couldn’t feel him now.

Panic welled within her, and she cried out Drew’s name. Once, twice, three times, but he didn’t answer. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she told herself that despite appearances, she wasn’t alone. Drew and Trevor were still there, and even though she couldn’t feel it, she was still holding on to Drew’s hand. Greg had used his powers to make it seem as if she was isolated in some dark limbo, and for all she knew, Drew and Trevor were experiencing the same thing. But they were still together, still in the gym.

Greg’s voice whispered in her mind.
Still in the gym? Don’t bet on it
.

The darkness eased up a bit, the stuffy air in the gym grew cooler, and Amber felt a gentle breeze kiss her skin. Small pinpricks of blue-white light appeared above her, and while she first thought that they were on the ceiling of the gym, she sensed that they were much farther away than that, and that’s when she realized that she was looking up at the stars in a night sky.

The flashlight beam came back on, and she saw Drew and Trevor once again, both of them standing close to her. Except that it
wasn’t
them,
not exactly. They were younger and thinner, and although she could scarcely believe it, she realized that they were teenagers again. Drew wore a blue windbreaker and jeans and carried a backpack and a flashlight, a different one from the one he’d had a moment ago. It wasn’t quite as powerful, and its beam did little to push back the darkness. Trevor’s hair was shaggier, and he wore a black suede jacket he thought made him look cool.
How could I have forgotten that stupid jacket?
she thought. Trevor had worn it all the time, even when it was warm out, taking it off only during the hottest part of the summer.

She looked down at herself and saw that she wore an oversize red Ohio State sweatshirt instead of a coat.
It’s my dad’s
, she remembered. She’d borrowed it so often from him while she’d been in high school that he gave up pretending it was his and let her keep it. She reached up to touch her hair and found that it was long. She’d worn it that way when she was a teenager, nearly down to her waist. She’d started wearing it short in her early twenties because she’d grown tired of taking care of it. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed having long hair until now.

This was how they’d looked in the picture on Drew’s laptop, the one he’d shown her and Trevor yesterday. Their clothing and her hair had meant nothing special to her then, hadn’t sparked any memories. But she remembered these details
now, so strongly it was as if she’d never forgotten them.

The three of them stood on the front lawn of the Lowry House. The house, miraculously restored, loomed before them like a hulking black mass, blotting out a portion of the night sky. Off to the side sat a smaller dark shape, which she knew was an old, lopsided barn on the verge of collapse.