Triple Point

Chapter 43: Haunting Pasts

Filming finished by the early afternoon, but the dismantling and packing of the set took longer than anticipated, and they needed to return to the mainland by dark. What made things even more complicated was that their equipment needed to get dropped off on Alcatraz Island, a smaller island in the same bay, in preparation for the next day's shoot.

Slightly annoyed at yet another change in their security plans, Lee authorized Camilla and Pala to offer assistance again to speed up the ferries, then ordered the entire squad to help offload the equipment. She also allowed for Mack to escort Elsie back to the hotel, but Elsie insisted on staying with the group.

"I heard this place is haunted," Elsie explained to Camilla as they unloaded the cargo from the first ferry. "Someone has to protect you from the ghosts."

"And out of the two of us, who is the one with meta-abilities?" Camilla asked.

Elsie could only grunt as she picked up a heavy box, and Camilla followed her with two of the same boxes levitating above each of her hands.

"Don't you get it?" Elsie panted as soon as she set down her box in the building the crew was using for temporary storage. "How are you going to control a ghost if it's not made of solids, liquids, or gases?"

"I'd give you that—if ghosts were actually real." Camilla set her boxes down gently next to Elsie's. "Besides, what would you be able to do? If we encountered these hypothetical ghosts."

"Isn't it obvious? I'd talk to them."

Camilla looked at her incredulously. "Seriously? Of course you would. Why am I not surprised?"

"It's the perfect strategy!" Elsie insisted as they made their way back to the ferry to grab more things, taking care to keep out of the way of the people carrying things to the building they just came from. "Talk to them, get to know them, and befriend them. Then they won't kill you, and you probably get to hear some cool stories in the process."

"I get the feeling you came here hoping to talk to ghosts, and not actually to protect me as you claim to be doing," Camilla said.

Elsie thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

Fortunately, there was no paranormal activity for the rest of the time they were there, nor was there any the next day when they returned to film.

The scenes utilized several sections of the old prison and it was supposed to serve as the jail where Elsie's enemies were being held. These scenes took place before Elsie and Mack's characters got reunited, so Mack was able to support his guardian duties, much to the squad's relief. Unlike their other locations, they weren't allowed to completely stop the public's access, and more than one curious tour group ended up passing too close for comfort.

Their last day of filming in San Francisco was to take place in various parts of the financial district. With the towering buildings and infinite blind spots, this set troubled the guardians the most out of all the filming locations in the city, especially since each of Exodos's recent attacks had occurred in similar urban environments. Fortunately, they had Mack's assistance again, along with a local guardian squad that was on-loan to them.

Like the previous sets, Camilla was placed close to the crew members, but the high foot traffic of the urban center drew more attention to her than she had received in the other locations. For the most part Camilla didn't mind it since it didn't actively interfere with her job, even when an influx of reporters suddenly appeared.

"Are you sure it's alright?" Elsie asked when she stopped by Camilla during a brief break for a minor set change.

"As long as they don't get too physical, they have a right to be here," Camilla replied, though she knew that didn't really answer Elsie's question.