‘Where did you get these cameras from again?’ I asked Josh.
After our discussion in the graveyard with Thomas, he’d ran with the idea of tracking the ghosts using cameras. Next thing I knew, he’d called me over to his house. On his bed was a selection of what was basically spy equipment.
Did I mention he was adorable?
‘Online. Where else would I get them from?’ He tipped the contents of the box onto the bed.
I walked over to the half-finished painting on his easel. A photo of Nathan balanced on the bottom, and he’d clearly been copying it. It was from before he’d gotten sick, but you could see the family resemblance. It was striking. Josh had brilliantly captured the blue in Nathan’s – and by association, his own – eyes. I had to take a step back it was so intense.
‘What do you think?’ Josh asked as he sorted through the box’s contents.
‘It’s amazing. Eerily lifelike.’ Worried how that sounded, I clarified: ‘I mean that in a good way.’
He half-smiled, half-blushed. ‘Thanks.’
I walked over to the bed and sat opposite him. Josh held up one of the cameras. It was barely bigger than my pinky finger. I knew tech like that existed, but I’d never seen it before. And I never expected to use it. I mean, I could already see ghosts. Why did I need to see them through a camera lens?
But things were different now. The town was being haunted and we needed to do something about it. It was impossible to find where the ghosts were if we couldn’t track them.
‘So, where are we going to put them? Are we going to get in trouble for placing them somewhere public? Will they think we’re weirdos?’ I asked, suddenly wondering if this really was a good idea.
‘Relax. No one will be able to see them, let alone trace them back to us. They’re tiny. We’ll put them in public places, too, and if anyone asks we’ll tell them it’s for ghost hunting.’
‘We’ll actually tell them that?’ I said.
‘Yeah. Why not? People will dismiss us as nuts and just ignore us. Besides, they’re infrared cameras. We can’t do that much with the footage.’
‘True,’ I said. ‘So where do you think we should put them?’
If we found the right place to put them, we might be able to track what the recently freed ghosts were doing. The ones who were still around, anyway. Then Mum might finally take me seriously and let me help her in supernatural matters. I hoped.
‘I mostly came up with places not to put them. Like the graveyard, since you said people don’t go there much,’ said Josh.
‘We need to focus on places people do go to. Like the town centre or the parks.’
‘Then we’ll start there.’
*
Josh and I were hanging out, in the dark, on a school night. It almost would’ve been romantic if we hadn’t been wrapped in a dozen layers, wandering around in the freezing cold to put up cameras like some sort of ghost Peeping Toms. I mean, that’s basically what we were, but the reports of ghost activity were increasing. We had to do something.
The newspapers had carried more stories of animals lashing out at their owners, and I was convinced it was because of the hauntings. I hated the thought of innocent animals getting punished when their owners were really the ones acting weird and they were just trying to protect their families.
‘What’s up?’ said Josh as we walked down the hill to the town centre.
‘Just thinking of the poor pets that’ve gotten into trouble for growling at – or attacking – their owners. I hope none of them get put down.’
He reached over and hooked his arm into mine. Goosebumps went up my arms, and not just because of the cold. ‘I love that you’re doing this to protect animals.’
‘Of course. It isn’t their fault. And no one else knows what’s going on except Mum and whoever those two guys are. Someone has to do something. And the longer we wait, the worse it’ll get.’
‘That’s why I’m here helping you.’ He nudged me, smiling. Butterflies filled my stomach so badly I had to look away from him. I hadn’t expected him to want anything to do with my ghost life, but he was turning out to be more supportive than Mum.
Mum had spent years running away from her powers, meaning that I missed out, too. Whenever I asked her, she fobbed me off, saying she’d teach me another day. That day never came.
So, it was time I started doing things myself. I was an adult and it was time she started treating me like one.
Josh and I carried on walking, his hand still in mine. I had to distract myself from it because if I didn’t, my legs would turn to jelly. Why did he have that effect on me? I hated myself for it, but I loved being so close to him.
‘What about if we put the first one in a tree near the library, then another one at the bottom of town, by the junction?’ I said.
‘The market is near the library. That should pick up a lot of people,’ he agreed.
‘If we get it at the right angle, we should be able to pick up at least some of the car park opposite, too.’
‘Perfect.’
My heart pounded in my chest, and I wasn’t sure if it was from being close to Josh or doing something risky. What if we got caught? What would people say? Would we get arrested?
The more I thought about Josh’s excuse that we were just looking for ghosts, the more I realised that the truth was the best thing to tell anyone who asked us what we were doing. Either they wouldn’t believe us, or they’d think we were so crazy they’d leave us alone. It worked.
And for the record, I wasn’t crazy.
I could just see – and talk to – ghosts.
See? Crazy.
The pedestrianised marketplace was made out of beige slabs, decorated with metal plaques to commemorate the town’s heritage. Some had Nottinghamshire phrases on like ‘cheers me duck’, some had poems by Lord Byron on, and others had pictures from the mines on.
Trees were peppered around the area, with metal fencing covering them to stop people from getting too close. Not that it was going to stop us, but it wasn’t like we wanted to harm the trees. We were trying to help the local community. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
The ground was littered with red and gold leaves, wet and sparkling in the light from the street lamps. It gave everything an eerie glow, making what we were doing that much more sinister.
Josh pointed to a spot about seven foot up on the tree. He could reach it; I could barely see it. ‘What about here?’
‘Can we take it down if we don’t like it?’
‘Only if we don’t want to secure it properly,’ he said.
‘Damn. OK, hold it where you were thinking and I’ll open the app.’
He lifted his arm as high as it would go and went onto his tip toes. It was a funny sight, him standing there and pinching something so tiny it was hard to see. He glanced over his shoulder. ‘You see it yet?’
‘It’s still loading.’
‘My arm hurts! You really need a new phone.’
‘You really need a new arm.’
He stuck his tongue out at me.
The app loaded and I glanced down at my phone. There wasn’t much to see; there was no one about, human or otherworldly, so everything was varying shades of yellow, with the occasional hint of orange. ‘Can you rotate it a little to the left?’
He did as I instructed.
‘There!’
From that angle, the camera picked up the opening of the graveyard and most of the car park, giving us a good vantage point for two of the main points of entry into the town centre.
Josh attached the camera to the tree, then stretched his arm in front of him and massaged it. ‘I hadn’t expected to get a workout tonight, too.’
I massaged his arm, trying to release some of the tension. ‘This was your idea, let’s not forget that.’
‘You saying my pain is my fault?’
‘Yes, yes I am.’
*
We attached another camera to a lamppost at the opposite end of the town centre – which was basically just one long street – and one near the town’s big car park. The last one picked up a ghost dog, scurrying across the car park, but too far away to notice us. I couldn’t help but wonder what’d happened to him or her. The poor thing must’ve been so lost without its owner.
For me, that was the worst part of being able to see ghosts: knowing that something had gone wrong with that person or animal, and not being in a position to help them. I could try, sure, but who’d take a seventeen-year-old stranger who knocked on their door and said they have a message from a deceased friend or relative seriously? People struggled to believe Mum. Usually they slammed the door in her face the first time. They weren’t going to believe a teenager with black hair, pale skin, and ripped jeans.
Not to mention I didn’t even know how to go about it. ‘Hi, I have a message from the Other Side for you. No, you can’t speak to them, but I can pass a message on.’ Yeah, I could see that going down great.
When Josh and I got home, it was almost two in the morning. Would our parents notice we’d snuck out? Tilly might give me away, but it would be worth it. Mum would understand. Once she’d calmed down.
I leaned into Josh so that I could whisper into his ear without waking the neighbours. ‘Thanks for your help tonight.’
He ruffled my hair. I swatted him away, grabbing his hands and pulling them to me. He laughed, resting his forehead against mine. ‘Any time.’ He ruffled my hair again, then walked off, leaving my heart fluttering.
Time to face Mum and Tilly. Who’d wake up and tell me off first?
Tilly bounded down the stairs as I unlocked the front door. She jumped up, her claws scratching my legs through my jeans. I bit my tongue, trying not to yelp. For a small dog, she had a lot of power behind her claws. It didn’t help that my legs were frozen from the cold, either.
I picked her up, letting her shower me in westie kisses in the hopes that she’d stay quiet and not give me away. She didn’t always bark when we got home. If I gave her what she wanted, she’d be less likely to.
Still wearing my coat, I carried her into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa.
The light turned on. I jumped, letting go of Tilly. She climbed on me anyway, looking in the direction of the armchair. Where Mum was sitting. Busted.