The Invisible World

Chapter 10: Video Killed the Radio Star

I was still in the right lane while Brian's car was in the left. This might have actually been better. I could get up side-to-side with it drag-race style, and then I could...I don't know. Maybe I could ram into the side and force it to pull over? Then I would have damaged Brian's car, which is the opposite of what I wanted. I could call the police. I could park at some restaurant and use their phone to call the police, or maybe I could drive over to Jack's house and use his phone. No, then the car will have gotten away, and who knows where it would be? I had heard Jenny talk about mobile phones that you could take anywhere with you. Why couldn't I have one of those?

Vigilante justice it was. I couldn't take my eyes off this car for a second.

What did this ghost want with Brian's car, anyway? Did she want to take it somewhere? Was she just being petty because Jack and Brian are terrible ghost whisperers? How did I avoid being accused of stealing the car since Jack already thinks I'm the scum of the earth?

Oh, right. I had an alibi. I couldn't have stolen Brian's car if I was busy hiding in Jenny's.

What was she doing driving this car around? I was genuinely curious at this point. Why did the ghost want a car? She can just float anywhere it wanted, right? Why steal a car? How could she steal a car if her feet would just phase through the pedals?

Where was she going? Was she just driving around just because, or did she legitimately have somewhere to go?

Also, what was I going to do once I got her to stop? I'd have two cars and only one me. I can't drive both, much less the one I'm in right now. I'd just have to cross that bridge when I get there.

Or give up. I could drive home and let the police handle it. Then again, it had been four days, and the police hadn't found it. How useful were they in this situation?

Still, I needed help. I needed to call someone.

I pulled into the first parking lot I saw and watched as that brown car–and possibly my chance to get it back–drove away. I walked inside the building and said, "Excuse me?"

Multiple eyes stared at me. The woman at the front of the store said, "Yes?"

That's when I finally got a good look at where I was. This was the Scotts' grocery store, wasn't it? And I could see that girl Misty Scott helping her mother bag groceries.

I had things I wanted to say, but they weren't important right now. "Can I use your phone?"

"Sure," Mrs. Scott nodded towards the phone on the right-hand wall.

"Thank you." I tiptoed over towards the phone, watching the Scotts' and the customers' gazes follow me. I looked down at myself. Just as I suspected, my upper arms were gone. Not the lower arms. They were just floating beside me. I looked away and reached for the phone.

Who was I going to call, anyway? I had two options: the police or Brian. The police could maybe possibly potentially help me find the car, and Brian deserved to know that his car had been found, even if he couldn't drive it.

Brian came first. He had to still be home. I dialed Jack's number first. Jenny was the first to answer. "Hello?"

"Hi, Jenny. It's me, Cat. I'm calling from the Scotts' grocery store. Could you get Brian on the phone?"

"He's taking a nap right now, but I can take a message."

Napping already? We had barely been out for half an hour. "Okay. I just found Brian's car."

"You did?! Where?"

"I saw it driving past the body shop, so I started following it, and then I realized even if I did get the car away from the ghost, there was no way I could drive his car and mine back home."