Only Shadows

Chapter 5

James, approximately one year before the disappearance

James hunched over his phone on his bed staring at the footage of Heritage Hall, his back up against the wall. How was he going to make a video out of this?

If the stories were true, at least four ghosts haunted the old antebellum mansion – the most famous being a woman and baby that died during childbirth in the master bedroom long ago. Employees said they heard the baby's cries echoing throughout the house, and some people even claimed to see a ghostly woman wandering around upstairs. The house itself used to be a plantation home with over a hundred slaves, so who knows what else happened there? No wonder it was haunted.

But what did he find? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He should've expected it. Saturday morning tours weren't exactly prime hours for ghost hunting, but it was the only time he could sneak off with the truck. He sighed and ran a hand over his short brown hair. There must be a way to salvage the footage. Maybe as part of an ongoing series? He'd still need to find a way to go back, though. After dark, this time.

He chewed on the edge of his nail. His eight or so viewers weren't exactly demanding updates, so it's not like it mattered. Of course, without good content, he'd never get more. How could he even hope to grow the channel with footage like this?

"Jimmy!" his brother Bo shouted, slamming the front door to the house. James dropped the phone, startled. His eyes darted to the half-open window. Was there time to slip out? He heard someone giggle.

"Jimmy!" Bo yelled again, flinging the door open and busting in like a Boomer on black Friday. Bo was freakishly large for a high school senior, spending almost all his time playing football or lifting. With the steroids he ordered off the gym bros on TikTok, he'd been bulking out like the Hulk. And just like the Hulk, he had anger issues.

"Dad needs you to run to the store!" Bo flung the car keys at James, narrowly missing his head. They skittered across the floor out of reach. Half hiding behind Bo was some basic blonde he'd seen a couple of times before. Tracy or Stephanie or something.

Unlike his older brother, James was only medium height and wiry, with a slight build. In contrast to his brother's square jaw, his was narrow and pointed. As for sports? He had little interest besides soccer, and even then, he'd just played with the neighborhood kids. It'd been years since he touched a ball outside of gym class.

"Can't you go? I'm working here," he said, looking back down at his phone.

"Aw, making your little movies again," he sneered. "When you gonna grow out of that, huh?" He turned to the girl and jerked his thumb at James. "Thinks he's going to be a big YouTube influencer." She peered into the bedroom.

"Content creator, not influencer," he muttered, rolling off the bed and snatching the keys off the floor.

Bo and James had shared a bedroom his whole life. Actually, shared was a generous word. It was Bo's bedroom; James just slept there. Bo's sports trophies sprawled across the room with pictures of University of Georgia Bulldogs football players and Falcons merch. The wall was decorated with glossy posters of girls wearing more makeup than clothing, just the way his brother liked it.

In James's corner of the room, the only decor was the dirty laundry pile next to his mattress on the floor.

The girl playfully hit Bo. "Hey, you never know. Maybe he'll make it big and make like a million dollars? You should be sweet to him."

Bo gave her an indulgent smile and snaked his arm around her shoulder, hand dangling just above her chest. "You should be sweet to me." He spared a quick glance in his brother's direction. "What are you waiting for, perv?"