The Tampa Terror

Part 9: Cole

"He was agreeable?" Carey practically screams at his five undead companions, a look of pure astonishment on his face. "I would not have expected that sentence to come out of your mouths in a thousand years!"

"He looked like he was preparing to attack me at first," Mikom explains to my startled teammate, who is still in disbelief. "However, he then calmed himself down manually. He seems to have concluded that peace solves more problems than violence does. This could all be a trick, but nothing in his face or voice indicated that he was joking. On the contrary, he appeared to be serious."

"Perhaps he is truly educating himself on how to be a decent person," I suggest, capturing the attention of the other seven beings in the room. "Or a decent ghost. Whatever. Either way, I hypothesize that attempting to murder Gustav changed something in him. He had some revelation that made him recognize his actions as unethical."

"When he tossed me at the stands, I glanced up and expected to not see him there," Gustav, noticing that his own name has been mentioned, chooses to add to the conversation. "I wouldn't have thought that he would remain in the same place unless it was to witness my slow and painful death. When I looked up at the ceiling, though, he was still in the place where he had thrown me from. Also, the expression on his face was one of pure terror and regret."

"So he may have had second thoughts about attempting murder," Jane notes, pausing to adjust the sleeves of her dress. "He told the five of us that his primary motive was getting revenge on the person that ended his life. Tom passed away about three and a half years ago after a confrontation at a bar in Tampa turned nasty and violent. There was a game between the Canadiens and the Lightning the night of his untimely demise. That is why he sought revenge on you and not his murderer. Tom doesn't know where his killer is or how to discover his whereabouts, but he knows exactly where the Canadiens and the Lightning are. So when he first started his haunting, he figured that torturing a few of the players was the closest thing he could get to retribution."

"However, we believe that he has finally realized his mistake," Elias continues. "Of the three of you, only Carey is still actively playing for the same team he was loyal to on November 3, 2018. Gustav and Cole were both in high school and still months away from being drafted by their respective clubs. Many players participating in this series were not playing at the professional level yet. Either that or they were members of teams other than Montréal or Tampa Bay. Tom asked himself why he bothered you when so many of you were not even playing in the game he watched on that dreaded evening."

"We were able to get him to agree with a plan we created," Catie explains further. "To prevent future arguments or aggressive behavior between you and Tom, we decided to let you choose what you wanted to do with the information we just delivered to you. We suggest carefully approaching Tom and attempting to consult with him, but this is only one option of many. Again, what you want to do is completely up to you. We will not interfere with any choices that you make."

"We will visit him once more," Neebin announces just as she and her four acquaintances prepare to leave the room. "During this second visit, we intend to convince Tom that acting violently towards you three in the case of a disagreement or conflict is unacceptable and unnecessary. But, of course, we cannot guarantee that this will work. Still, I believe communicating clearly and patiently will help him stay calm."

"Perfect," Gustav interjects for the first time in a while. "Thank you very much, Neebin. Thank you all for coming to our assistance."

"It is our pleasure, young one," Neebin replies, her cheeks dimpling as she smiles. "We desire a peaceful conclusion to this situation as much as you do. Good luck in the fourth game of your series tomorrow night."

Neebin is correct about Game Four being tomorrow. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that all players participating in the game get at least eight hours of quality sleep tonight. I realize that it is already fifteen minutes past six. Jumping up, I inform Carey and Gustav that I will be heading home for the night and will talk to both of them tomorrow.

Thinking about anything but Tom proves to be impossible. I know that Carey, Gustav, and I should get adequate sleep to be completely ready for the contest tomorrow evening. Still, the thoughts of Tom filling my head make it difficult to drift off. My goal for tomorrow is to convince Tom that haunting is terrible and that he should cease doing such an activity.

However, I cannot predict how he will respond, even though Carey's ghostly allies reported that Tom cooperated very nicely with them. What if he becomes furious and attacks us? What if he attempts to murder one of us and succeeds this time?

Despite the worrying thoughts that run through my head without stopping, I eventually fall asleep. My nightmares all involve Tom reacting negatively and violently to my pleas for him to just leave the Canadiens and Lightning alone.

Game Four is a high-speed battle for glory. It intensifies exponentially after Patrick Maroon ties the game with just over six minutes left in the third period. However, Montréal's desire to not get swept is a thousand times stronger than Tampa Bay's desire to win the Stanley Cup right then and there. Josh Anderson scores the overtime winner for the Canadiens, and I get the single assist on his incredible goal.

There is exciting conversation and celebratory shouting in the Canadiens locker room after the game. The music is blasting so loud that people in the United States are probably covering their ears to block it out, and the level of happiness in the room is unbelievably high.

I am momentarily distracted by the celebration, but I know that I can't let my mind stray too far right now. So, after showering, I quickly change into street clothes and wave Carey Price to my stall.

"If your undead acquaintances are finished talking to Tom, let's go and meet with him," I suggest quietly so that nobody around me finds out what I am planning. "After we find Gustav Nordin, of course."

Carey nods in agreement. "The sooner we do this, the better. I have a hunch that we are moving in a positive direction. Forming some kind of peace treaty with Tom should be all that's required to save our teams from the terrible haunting we have been experiencing since the beginning of the series."

Carey believes what he is saying, and I have confidence in it too. This should be the most challenging part of our quest, but Carey's optimism is contagious. I genuinely believe that things will work out in our favor.