"You guys are really awesome for doing this," Craig said, after he'd shown them up to the attic. "Seriously, awesome."
"It's our pleasure," Gerard said, then wrinkled his nose. "I mean, not pleasure, we're not pleased this happened to you. But like, you're welcome. I mean, we want to help you."
"That wall I mentioned is over here, Gee," Bob said, herding Gerard away from Craig.
"Craig, I wonder if you have any of these items available?" Brian moved in, showing Craig the list Gerard had give him. "Can you show me to your kitchen?"
Craig nodded, leading Brian back to the attic stairs. "Yeah, of course. Anything you need. This is awesome of you, really."
Mikey rolled his eyes at Frank when they'd gone. "That guy is way too excited."
"Right?" Frank grinned. "This is awesome, Mikey! Don't you think it's awesome? You guys are awesome!"
"He's enthusiastic!" Gerard said, looking over. "I think it's cool. It makes me feel less guilty about taking his money."
Bob was kneeling next to what looked like a plastered-over door on the other side of the attic. He had his ear pressed to it and he was doing that knocking thing Mikey had seen his Dad do before. "This is definitely hollow."
"If we knock it down, isn't the ghost going to come whooshing out?" Frank wanted to know.
"I don't feel anything from up here," Gerard said, shrugging. He looked up at Mikey. "Do you feel anything?"
Mikey didn't see why he would know, but he put his head on the side and tried to listen, or something. He didn't feel anything except dryness in his throat from the dust, though. "No," he said after a minute. "I guess not."
Bob picked up his axe - they'd liberated it from the house of this crazy woman in Maine who was into fun with succubi, and it was seriously Bob's favorite thing in the entire world - and tugged a mask up over his mouth and nose. "Stand back."
They all retreated to the far side of the attic and watched Bob lift the axe up over his shoulder.
Mikey was always worried, when Bob got to knocking shit down like this, that something would, in fact, come whooshing out, but so far it hadn't and this time was no exception. It wasn't like it was on TV, with shrieking and rattling chains and screamy faces whizzing past you at a hundred miles per hour. It was just Bob, smashing the shit out of the plaster, and working up a serious cloud of dust, and it was the rest of them creeping forward to peer into the yawning hole he'd created, showing a tiny, curved staircase leading down to an empty, dark doorway, and it was a creeping feeling of unease crawling slowly up Mikey's spine and sliding its cold, spindly fingers around his ears.
"Gross," said Mikey quietly.
"Yeah," Frank agreed. He looked at Ray. "We ready?"
"Maybe I should go down first after all," Bob hedged, moving some rubble out of the way with his foot. "Just to check."
"Just to check what? It's not like we don't know what's down there," Frank said.
"We only think we know," Gerard said. He was on his knees on the dirty floor, opening his bag and setting things out around him; candles, little vials of oil and water. He looked up at Mikey. "Okay, after Ray comes out, I need you to go down and set this stuff out on whatever surface you can find, okay? Light the candles, and use one of them to come back up the stairs and lead me down to Frank. The rest of you can follow me."
"Does that include me?" Craig said, appearing suddenly at the top of the other stairs with Brian. He was holding a tray with a bunch of stuff on it - Mikey could make out a glass of water and a half a slice of bread on a plate. "Or should I leave? I don't want to be in the way."
