Ghosting

11

Thomas had seen his fair share of creepy woods, but the ones Kate was leading the small party through had to be the creepiest. Very Blaire Witch Project vibes. 10/10 would not recommend. Maybe if he kept making jokes about it he'd stop being creeped out.

... Nope, not working.

"Here," Kate called, kneeling by an evil-looking tree and clearing some leaves away from the base. She grabbed something- a ring, but it was attached to the ground, and turned back to them. "Someone pull on this."

Valerie nodded, bending down, grabbing the ring, and pulling. It didn't budge.

"Pull harder," Kate ordered, "As hard as you can."

She pulled again, and a bit of the ground budged. Roman looked like he was about to try and help, but she planted her feet and yanked as hard as she could. A chunk of the ground flew out, spraying everyone with dirt and old leaves, revealing a hole in the ground.

Wow. Okay.

"Someone grab the trunk."

Roman floated over and, at Kate's instruction, disappeared down the dark hole. A few moments later, he floated back up, this time carrying a huge steamer trunk. He set it heavily on the ground. Thomas stared at it.

When had his life become a movie?

"Let's take it back to the house," Kate got to her feet, "I feel like Damien deserves to see this too."

-

The table buckled as Roman and Remus set the trunk on it. Roman waited until everyone had gathered around before flipping the catches. He struggled a bit with the heavy lid, but eventually managed to force the old trunk open.

What was inside made everyone go dead. Silent.

It was gold, like, a ton of gold, with a few really expensive-looking gems scattered throughout. Everyone stared, wide-eyed, then turned to either kate or Aya and Royce. Damien picked up a piece almost as big as Thomas' fist.

"California Gold Rush, 1848," Royce explained. Wow. Okay. Thomas' life had officially become fiction. There was no way this was real. He was going to wake up back at the hospital, think "whoa, that was weird," then go on with his life. There was actually no freaking way-

"Now there's just the matter of what to do with it," Kate said, grabbing a piece.

It was a good question- what were they going to do with it? How could they explain suddenly having thousands of dollars worth of gold and jewels?

"I think it should be split," Aya said. "Half to Val, half to Thomas."

"My thoughts exactly." Kate tilted her head towards Tomas. "Young man, you have done many a great service today. You'll get half of this with which you can do whatever you wish. Valerie, you'll get the other half."

Patton smiled. "Now you'll be able to do whatever you want with the hospital."

Thomas was reeling even worse than when he'd first met the ghosts. But if this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. "Oh, wow... um... thanks?"

Suddenly, Damien shot at Thomas, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," Royce said, putting a hand on Thomas' shoulder and smiling. "We'll never forget you."

Something was... different. When Damien pulled out of the hug, the burns on his head were just... gone. His hair had grown out a bit, and his eyes were no longer bloodshot.

"Thank you," Damien whispered. He walked over to his parents and took their hands. Then, with one last glance back, the three vanished.

Wait, what?

"What... just... happened?" Thomas looked over at Kate. She smiled.

"They've moved on to the next world. Their business here is done, they've been reunited."

"Thomas..." Thomas turned to the others, and his heart stopped. They were flickering, starting to fade around the edges.

"Of course..." Logan whispered, staring at his fading hand. "Damien's pain must have acted as an anchor... but now that he's moved on..."

So that was it. They weren't anchored to the mortal world anymore.

"That's right," Kate said, putting a hand on Thomas' shoulder. "It time for all of you to move on. To say your last goodbyes."

Logan took a step towards Thomas. "Tell me one thing, Thomas, before you go. What are you planning to do with that old hospital?"

"I've..." He took a deep breath, "I've been thinking about turning it into a group home. For kids."

"A wise endeavour." Logan smiled, shoulders relaxing. "We will meet again, Thomas. I'm sure of it." And then, he faded away.

"I'll miss you," Patton said, hugging Thomas tightly. "You're a good person. And have some cookies," he giggled, "You've earned them.

Once Patton faded, Roman and Remus stepped up. "Thomas, can you do us a favour?"

"Anything."

Roman held out a piece of paper. "Our mother, Rosalie Arthur... she's still alive. She believes in ghosts and that such, so can you just... contact her? Tell her that Roman and Remus love her?"

He took the paper and nodded, "Of course."

"Thank you, Thomas."

Then, they were gone too, leaving only Virgil. He rubbed his arm. "Thomas, I know this is a lot to ask, but my body... it's still in the woods. It's in a cave about a mile out. Can you see if you can find it? And maybe return it to my family? Their names are in my file."

"Of course, Virgil."

"That's all I can ask." He pulled Thomas into a tight hug, then stepped back... and disappeared.

Thomas stared at the spot where the ghosts had been, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The ghosts had moved on. All of them. He knew he should feel happy for them, but it kind of... hurt. He was going to miss them.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Valerie exclaimed, making both Thomas and Kate laugh.

At least they're okay, Thomas thought, at least they're happy.