Can You Handle the Heat?

Chapter 32

We arrived outside Hong Kong Palace; I stepped out of my vehicle and stretched my limbs. Everyone follows suit. I walk over to Gaege and wrap him up in a hug. He kisses the top of my head, and we make our way to the front of the group. I lead the way in. We reach the host stand and a young lady leads us to our table. We all sit next to our respective partners. The waiter comes by and asks us for our drinks. The table engaged in idle conversations and catching up with each other. Eventually, the conversation of content came up,

"So, what and all do you all want to film?" Mully starts. I look around at everyone waiting for any input, but most of them turn to look at me.

"Well, it mostly depends on what y'all want to do. I can find just about anything; I just need a general direction." Nods were shared across the table. The first thing we decided on was to go to a haunted place. I grab my phone and search for places in Georgia that I've heard or seen about in Ghost shows. I found the Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. It was only recently shut down. However, it looks like they don't do ghost tours. I frown a bit at my phone, before looking around for some phone numbers. I rise from my seat and walk outside.

"Hi, I'm (Y/N), I was wondering about the Central State Hospital?" A chipper voice on the other end of the line pipes in,

"Good afternoon, Ms. (Y/N), what is it you'd like to know?" I pause to gather my thoughts and think about what I need to ask.

"Do you have ghost tours or anything of that nature that would allow me and my crew to be able to film on-site?" I refrained from using content creators, as usually that carries a bad mojo. She sighs,

"Sorry ma'am, we only have a trolley tour that covers the campus grounds," she pauses, "But, I might be able to pull some strings really quick and see if I can get access to one of our safer buildings. You see most of the buildings have been condemned due to them basically falling apart." She lets me know she'll be right back before making some calls. I stand outside waiting for a bit before hands fall on my waist. I freeze until Gaege makes himself known,

"Hey baby, whatcha doin'?" he mumbles against my shoulder. I smile and explain that I'm trying to get us access to some of the hospital. I notice the woman comes back to the phone.

"Hello?" she calls out. I acknowledge her and wait for her to continue.

"Well, I was able to pull a few strings and luckily, somehow, we can have you in one of the buildings. I know that may not be a bunch to film, but hopefully that will do. There is one condition though, you have to have law enforcement there in case something does happen. They won't have to be exactly right there, but they have to be on site and close enough that they can stop you before you or any of your crew make a dumb decision." I nod along with her. It does make sense. If the buildings are falling apart, we don't need somebody falling through the floor. Plus, if it's abandoned there's a high likelihood of squatters being there and to be honest, I don't feel like fighting ghosts and homeless people.

We stayed on the phone for a bit longer, discussing details and electronically signing release of liability to the current caretakers of the historical site. Before she hung up, she put me on the line with the sheriff's department. I explain my situation and the receptionist puts me on the line with one of the deputies. His name was Frederick, 'Erick' for short. I explain that I along with my friends are content creators and would appreciate it if he would come along to the Central State Hospital to be on standby. He agrees and even sounds enthusiastic about it. He explains that he's always been interested in the paranormal and that CSH sounds like a great time to throw himself in the deep end. I smiled at that, before giving him my phone number and explaining that we will head there tomorrow and that I'll give him a call when we are an hour out. I also plan on paying him for his time seeing as if he hadn't agreed we wouldn't have been able to go in the first place.

Eventually I got off the phone and headed back inside, Gaege trailing behind me. I take his hand as we walk back to our seats. I noticed that there's come sesame chicken at my spot on the table. I squeezed Gaege's hand and began chowing down on my food. It was perfect and hit the craving that I didn't know I had. After finishing my plate, I explained to everyone at the table what was happening and stuff like that. When I mentioned that Deputy Erick was going to be with us there were sighs of disappointment.

"I get that it isn't ideal, but it's better safe than sorry. Most of those buildings have been around for way too long without any care towards maintaining them. It's just safer for us to have someone on standby that can provide aid in case something happens. Plus, there could be people or animals that could also be inhabiting the building." My explanation seemed to get some heads nodding in agreement. We came to an agreement about times, and I sent a message to the deputy about times. He sent a thumbs up and I put my phone away.

We enjoy all of our food and as I finish my plate, I feel full. I sighed in contentment and relaxed back into my chair. As I looked around, I wasn't the only one. Most if not everyone else in the table had leaned back into their chairs. I turned to Gaege who looked like he was one peaceful song away from falling into a food coma. I grab his hand and place a kiss onto it. He turns to look at me and copies my actions. I give him and smile before I stand up and go to the restroom.

I finished up my business and made my way back to the waiting group of friends. I sat back down and looked for my check only to see that it wasn't there. I turned to Gaege who not so subtly had both of our bills in his hand. He sneakily tried to place both bills into one billfold where his card was. I frowned and tried to grab my bill from him, only for him to refuse to hand it to me. I sigh and give up. There was no sense and trying to win on this one. The waiter returns and I hand him $30 for the table for a tip. He smiles and thanks me.

Once all of our food is paid for, I rise from my chair and make my way back to the vehicles. It's going to be a nice trip back home with some of my favorite people on the planet.