Ghosts of Philadelphia

Nine

Almost as soon as he'd climbed onto the Ghost Coach, Rob'd stretched out on the bed at the very back and veritably passed out. His eyes'd rolled up in his head before it ever hit the pillow, then fluttered shut like he'd simply laid down for a nap back home. Bret'd simply chuckled and warned the next-to-youngest brunette to just leave him be, 'cuz whether he'd passed out or simply dozed off, it was the best thing for him right now.

        Richie still couldn't help but bite his lip as they headed back to the paranormal team's headquarters, even as he nodded. He didn't know what was wrong with his new friend, 'cuz he'd never seen anyone do what he'd done under that Tree outside his parents' attorney's office. No doubt that'd something to do with why he'd passed out, 'cuz he'd seemed to struggle to get out to the Ghost Coach. But since he clearly wasn't gonna get any answers just yet, the best he could do was help the others keep an eye on him till he regained consciousness again.

        In the meantime, they all agreed that they needed to get back to work on the cases in any way they possibly could. Well, that was provided they were feeling up to it, 'cuz even Blues understood that the younger Medium might be feeling a lil too drained to even go over their current stockpile. However, he surprised them by saying he'd at least keep going through his psychic teacher's Pagan books, both for his own Curiosity and to help with the ongoing investigation.

        While the next-to-youngest brunette wouldn't deny that he was more than a bit intrigued by the section about Gnomes, Elves, Dwarves, and Leprechauns, he couldn't have been more bored by the one on Mountains and Mounds. For that reason, he pretty much skipped over that one and went straight into the next, which was about Sacred Circles. That one was actually interesting enough to do more than just skim over it, but he wouldn't deny that he still didn't think it was his thing. Next in the list was a section about Trolls, which made him grimace as he skimmed over it before moving on to the one about Bridges. But just as he started wanting to give up on this particular endeavor and close the book he'd picked up, he got to the last section under Earth Witch Lore–which was about Caves.

        Even though he didn't have the slightest idea why that section was Calling to him, as Rob'd be apt to say, he dove right into it like his Life depended on it. Reading through that short section made Richie's eyes widen, 'cuz something started to niggle at the back of his brain as he did. He was more than familiar with the part about Caves usually being connected with some sorta local folklore, 'cuz he'd heard all sortsa tales that'd fall into that category. Another thing that wasn't surprising was that they were said to be inhabited by Spirits of all kinds, not to mention Dragons. Whether those kinda tales were actually true or not, it sparked an idea that made him sit up straighter as he laid the book down on the table in front of him with a thump.

        "Ya all right, kid?" Bret asked, glancing up from what he'd been going over for prolly the fifth Time when he heard that Sound.

        "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, nodding. "Any idea if Rob's awake or not?"

        "Didja manage to come up with something?" This was asked by Rikki, whom he realized had also looked up from what he'd been pouring over.

        "Maybe, but I'm not sure," the next-to-youngest brunette admitted. "I wanna run it past him since he's the one who's most familiar with the Metaphysical."

        "Run what past who?"

        Glancing behind him, Richie was more than a lil relieved to see the man he'd just inquired about walking into the conference room they'd commandeered. "I might have something, but I'm not too sure."

        "Lemme get coffee, then," the oldest brunette yawned. "Getting your ass reined back in earlier took more outta me than I thought it did."