P.I.E.: A Nymphic Faerietale

Chapter 11

The phone rang.

Ghost walked over, and answered it.

"Hello, this is Johnny Ghost,"

It was a client, asking about them coming to check out their house, as they had a theory that there was a ghost haunting the house. Ghost agreed to come check it out.

Johnny Toast immediately got dressed in his uniform, and Ghost put on his hunter's jacket. Sarah decided to stay behind.

However, when the boys went to the car, Ghostie followed them and phased into the back of the van, as it drove off.

Sarah was relaxed, having no boys in the house to deal with. Carlisle and Mereda were very chill, for once. Sarah decided to start conversation.

"So," Sarah asked. "How did you start living in the Dryad Forest?"

"Well, do you want the full story?" Carlisle asked.

"Sure, why not?" Sarah agreed.

"When I was five, my parents were killed by what I had always been told, was a dryad. My sister was stolen, and I never saw her again, so I'm assuming she's dead as well," Carlisle began. "I ran away, and eventually came to the suburbs. My parents had always lived in the deep forest, so I had never actually seen the city before then. A police officer who was patrolling the area saw me and asked me if I was lost. I told him I was, but also that my parents were killed. He and his friend took me back to the station, and put me in an orphanage that was on a ranch. A few years later, Mereda came after her parents were also killed. She was an only child, so she didn't come with any siblings. This is when we were eight. When we were eighteen, we ran away together. We lived in the forest for over a year, not being able to find our way back to the city. We're both nineteen now, and my birthday is coming at the end of August. I'm a Leo/Virgo, which means my birthday falls on the transition date of the two star signs. Mereda's birthday is in June. We haven't slept under a proper roof in ages."

"Gosh," Sarah breathed. "I feel so sorry for you two! How did you survive?"

"During our time at the orphanage, we learned different survival skills, including archery and fencing," Mereda told her. "I kept one of the swords for myself, and Carlisle crafted a bow and arrows."

"Woah, you guys learned a lot there!" Sarah exclaimed.

Ghost pulled up to the curb and parked the van. The two hopped out, and opened up the back to get their supplies. Toast packed what was needed into a backpack, and closed the van doors. The duo walked up to the door, and Ghost knocked on it. A twenty year old girl answered the door.

"Hey, you guys made it!" she exclaimed. "Thanks for coming. I think I have a major problem. My name's Lucy, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Ghost addressed. "I'm Johnny Ghost, and this is my partner, Johnny Toast."

"So, what signs have you seen that made you conclude that you might be having a ghost problem, ma'am?" Toast inquired.

"I've had random cold spots in the house, small. They are much colder than the rest of the house. When I step into one, I'm immediately freezing cold, but when I step out, I'm warm again," Lucy explained.

"That definitely sounds like a sign," Ghost thought aloud. "Any other signs?"

"Sometimes, at night, I'll just be laying in my bed, and hear voices downstairs, but whenever I go down to look, there's no one there, but the voices are still there."

"That sounds suspicious," Toast started. "But, you could also be imagining things. Ghosts will do that sometimes to confuse their victims, making them think they're going crazy, but other times they won't, and just leave. Some ghosts will do that to play jokes on people."

"Still, I think you should come and check things out," Lucy said, and led them inside. Once the door was closed, Ghostie phased through the doors of the van, and then through the front door of the house. 

Lucy walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Please," she told them. "Have a seat."

Ghost sat in a chair across from Lucy, and Toast did the same.

"So, what I've told you isn't all of it," Lucy explained. "Sometimes, I'll see shotgun shells on the floor. I don't own a shotgun, or any gun for that matter."

"Hmm," Ghost muttered. "I think I have a theory as to who, not what, who this ghost is."

"Other times, I'll smell gunpowder, or hear snickering," Lucy recalled. Just then, they heard it. The snickering. A deep, booming, but quiet sound, as if someone was watching them. The Johnnys turned, and looked behind them, alerted to the sound. When Toast didn't see anything, he slowly turned his head back to Lucy... and shrieked. Ghost quickly turned his head to see what Toast was shouting about, and saw that Lucy wasn't a client.

She was Aimee.