House of Spooks (COMPLETE)

Chapter 17

It's definitely not over yet.

I still felt uneasy after the prison burned down, leaving nothing but blackened remains of wood and bricks and all the medical things that could've been kept for research.

We headed back to the old hospital room I had waken up in when I first met the three ghosts. It all felt too surreal. It was like yesterday I had just met them. The others were still in France, making sure the fires were controlled after the prison burnt down.

"Is it...really over?" I asked Samantha, who was sitting beside me and bandaging up a deep cut on my arm I had no idea I had gotten.

"I'm sure it is, Devon. What are you worried about?"

"I'm just...reluctant. There's no way Camilla is really gone. I couldn't have shot her. I don't remember shooting her." 

"You did. I saw it with my own eyes, Devon. I believe it was in the heart, as well, which is usually the spot that works."

"I..." I was speechless. I looked into Samantha's eyes and wondered if it was really her. But...of course it was. She was there, with me, helping with the cut and humming to herself.

"Devon, is everything okay? It seems like you don't trust me. What's up, kiddo?" Samantha asked, frowning.

"No, it's okay, I'm just...is it really you, Sam?"

"What? What are you saying?"

"I mean...are you the real Sam?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"I...I don't know. It just feels wrong." I said, tears coming to my eyes.

"Devon?" 

"I need a hug. I hated every part of having to be in her prescence. I don't wanna go back. I just wanna go home with Celine."

Samantha pulled me into a tight hug. She smelled like cigar smoke and gunpowder, but I didn't care. I just needed a hug.

"Look, kiddo...the afterlife is complicated. We aren't real to some people. People think we just phase through walls and throw things around like poltergeists. We're not all there, but we are. Do you understand?" Samantha asked.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. My voice cracked as I summoned the courage to speak. "Y-yeah. I do."

She released me from the hug and smiled. "You're a cool dude, Devon. Je suis heureux de t'avoir rencontré."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, 'I'm glad I met you.' "

I chuckled. "Thanks, Sam. Will the cut be okay?"

"Yep. Give it a few days to heal and you'll be all set."

I nodded and hopped up from the chair I was sitting in. I looked over at the bookshelf where I had placed my to-go cup of Dr. Pepper from the cool ghost club. I remembered how cool it was to see a bunch of dead people having a party at a club, drinking and dancing to the sweet jazz music.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go back to that ghost club? Just one last time before I leave here and probably not see you guys ever again?" I asked, taking a sip of the four day old Dr. Pepper, not caring that it was as flat as a plank.

"Sure. Tell Celine to tell the others so they know we're heading there. Oh, and ask her if she'd like to join."

I nodded and texted Celine.

Me: hey, Cee Lo. Samantha and I are heading over to this cool ghost club. Wanna go with us??

cool punk gf is typing...

Celine: hell yeah man

Me: alright, we'll swing by n pick u up

Celine: aight

"She said yeah." I told Samantha, shoving my phone back into my pocket. Surprisingly, it wasn't dead yet.

"Alright. Allons-y, then!"

We stopped by Paris to pick Celine up, and soon we were in the Spirit House, a decades-old epic dead people party hotspot.

"Holy shit!" Celine said in a hushed tone.

It was much more busy than the last time. Ghosts speckled the tables and lined the bar.

"Welcome to the Spirit House, Celine." Samantha said, heading over to a table and sitting down.

"Whoa...this is wild, dude!"

"Hey, see that bartender over there? He gave me a free Dr. Pepper the first time we came here. He's super cool." I said, sitting on a barstool and smiling.

Celine sat beside me, eyeing the bartender. "He got electrocuted?"

"Yeah. He's a really nice guy. I think his name is Isaiah."

"W-welcome b-b-back, young m-man. Who is th-this young lady?" Isaiah asked as he cleaned out a glass.

"This is Celine, she's my girlfriend. She's new here."

"W-well hello, Miss Celine. W-what will it b-be for y-y-you?"

"Ah, just a Pepsi, sir." Celine said, smiling.

"A-alright. So, Devon, a-are you planning on s-staying in the g-ghost realm?"

"Actually, no. I have to go back home. Apparently I've been unconscious in a coma for four days now. I'm probably in the hospital right now. Knowing my mom, she probably thinks I'm dead." I said, frowning.

"Hm. We're n-not v-very used to Abovegrounders h-here. It's strange. B-but we w-welcome them with k-kind hearts. Be s-sure to visit sometime, t-though."

"Thanks for understanding, man. I'll try and swing by if I can. I don't know how I'll bypass the coma stuff, though."

Isaiah handed us our drinks and nodded. "D-does your mother k-know about it?"

"Nah. I don't know what she's doing right now. Probably waiting for me to wake up."

"W-when you wake up, tell her a-all about us. Tell h-her you w-want to visit more. Explain with all seriousness."

I took a sip of my Dr. Pepper and thought for a moment. I didn't know how she would react. Would she just say it was a dream? I mean, technically, it was, but I was there. I could feel and touch and live within the dream, I could actually feel pain whenever it hit. It was real.

"I...don't know. She's a skeptic, and I'm a believer. I'm not sure what I'm gonna say to her." I sighed.

"If y-you need to, you could a-always bring something f-from here to show her. It w-would be more convincing, perhaps?"

"Huh...yeah. What do you think I should take?"

"Perhaps o-one of your friends can w-write a note or give you a souvenir."

"That sounds good. I'll ask one of them. Thanks, man. Can I get a to-go cup? One for Celine, too."

"Sure, Devon. Here you go."

Isaiah handed us our to-go cups and smiled. "Keep eachother s-safe. Your lives a-are worthwhile. Don't t-take it for g-g-granted like I did."

I nodded. "I'll be sure to keep her safe. And myself, too, of course. I don't want to die just yet."

Even I surprised myself as I said this. My morbid jokes about wanting to die were reoccurring, but to be completely honest, I'd didn't want to lose my life just yet. I wanted to spend my life with Celine, even if it means dying together.

"You ready to go, Devon?" Asked Samantha.

"Yeah, we are. I just wanna go home and see my cat."

Samantha nodded, and opened a portal.

The next few seconds were a blur to me.