Ghost Hunter: CyberNerf (Alternative Draft)

Chapter 2

Dan dropped the binder on the table above the blaster and quickly stepped into the hallway.

Jessie, eight years older than Ned and around two years younger than Dan, stood near the head of the stairs staring at something invisible between the bannisters. She was sibling number 3 of 7. Lucky Ned was number 5, youngest being Joan. Lucky Dan was number 1, the oldest. Jessie turned and gasped at her brothers, grateful they had come to her rescue.

"Don't worry, Jessie," said Ned. "I'm here." He scanned the hallway for the ghost, augmented reality glasses flickering, but a little broken from the recent incident. "I'll find you ..."

"Help! Get it away from me!" Jessie shouted.

"What's it look like, sis?" Ned asked. He'd seen ghosts of all shapes and sizes... He'd seen Mummies, Broccoli, Mice...

"Spider!" The word squeezed, squished and popped out between her lips. A horrible spider ghost raced through Ned's mind. He'd never seen a spider ghost before.

But then his sister pointed at the floor and Ned saw a tiny black speck. Oh. A real spider. Relief washed over Ned. It wasn't a ghost after all. He pulled off his AR glasses. He wasn't too late. He still had time to stop the ghost invasion.

"See?" Dan said to Ned, pushing his little brother aside and stepping toward the spider. "Ghosts. Are NOT. Real."

As Ned stared at the spider, he wondered if Dan was right. Sometimes Dan made him doubt himself. What if ghosts weren't real? What if Ned was wrong about the ghost invasion?

Dan raised his foot to stomp on the spider.

"No!" Ned shouted as he realized what Dan was doing. "Don't kill it!" Ned dove and swept the spider gently into his hands, cupping them carefully to protect it.

"What do you think you're doing, Ned? You want it to bite you? Drop it. I'll take aim. Put your foam gun to proper use, for once." There was a spark of genuine concern in Dan's tone. Ned wondered if he had sensed it right. For a fleeting moment, he felt warmed by the thought that his older brother might be worried about him being hurt. Dan was actually paying attention to what was happening to Ned!

He brushed past Dan and went down the stairs. That is when he felt the thin sharp sting inside his closed palms. Without making a sound, he quickened his step. He did not stop until he was outside on the porch. He wanted to let the spider out as soon as possible but the sight of the young girl sitting in one of the slatted porch chairs stopped him. A ghost.

"Oh hi!" said the ghost girl. "You must be Ned."

"Yes..." Ned stammered. "How do you know my name?"

"Dan talks about you all the time."

Oh duh. Ned realized that this was Dan's girlfriend. She is not a ghost, Ned.

The girl looked at him funny. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I mean, it's nice to meet you." Ned was about to hold out a hand when he remembered, the sting now feeling like a small hamster wheel faintly turning inside a cage.

"I'm Pam." The girl extended her hand.

Ned simply stared at her hand. The smile held on the girl's face as she frowned, waiting for Ned to respond.

"Okay, buddy, held you long enough. I am going to let you go now." He opened his palms near the floor but the spider just sat in his palm.

Pam saw the bustling legs and her eyes bugged. "What are you doing?!" She shouted, thinking Ned was trying to throw it on her. She ran off the porch as the spider scurried off into the garden.

"Do you want to come inside?" Ned asked.

"Are you crazy?! No. Tell Dan to meet me out here."

Looking at the tiny red mark on his skin, Ned whispered, "It's okay little buddy, I know you didn't mean to bite me. You were just scared a lot more than Jessie and Pam. At least, you're safe now." Ned urged the spider further and watched it safely disappear into the leaves.

He walked past Pam and looked out at the neighborhood. A streetlight flickered. Three houses down on the left he saw a man and woman rush to their car as if they were being chased. The car screeched as it backed up and drove away.

Ned looked at the "For Sale" sign on the couple's lawn. The family had moved in last week and they were already trying to sell their home. More and more of his neighbors had been doing the same thing. Everyone was moving out.

Ned could hear Dan making fun of him inside the house, but Ned knew that he was right about the ghosts. It wasn't normal for people to move into a new house and move out a week later. The ghost invasion was coming.