Ghost town, p.18
Ghost Town, page 18
Leif left, with Blair following behind her.
“Rose is okay? Did you find Johnny?” Rachel asked as soon as they emerged into the hallway. She’d obviously been waiting for them, and she wasn’t alone. Rhonda, Shae, Tammy, and Gen stood behind her, their faces grim.
“Let’s move to the parlor,” Leif said. “Rose needs her rest.”
They all walked together to the parlor like a funeral procession. Silent and grave. But as soon as they passed the threshold of the parlor, the questions came rushing in again.
“What happened?” Gen asked.
“Is everyone okay?” Rachel added.
“We didn’t find Johnny,” Leif answered Rachel’s earlier question. “But Rose says she saw him. He’s alive.”
“Thank God,” Rachel murmured. “We have to get him out of there.”
“We will,” Leif reassured her. “But he was right. This is paranormal. The man who’s been doing all of this…he’s Blair’s old professor. But he’s got something in him.”
“You can’t be serious,” Gen scoffed.
“I am. I know what I saw,” Leif said. “I saw his face transform. And the lights exploded when he was angry.” She looked to Blair, expecting protest. Blair was all about science. It would sting, hearing whatever incredibly logical thing Blair had to say, but Leif was, in her heart of hearts, almost hoping for a logical explanation to this.
“I saw it with my own eyes,” Blair said.
Something inside Leif relaxed at that, despite it confirming her fears. The easy way Blair confirmed what she’d seen, even though she was so invested in having evidence, was nice. A balm for a sore she was used to people poking at.
“I can’t explain what we saw, but I know we saw it,” Blair finished.
“What are we supposed to do?” Tammy asked. “We can’t defend ourselves against something like this.”
“I can’t believe you actually think this could be paranormal,” Gen said. “I know that you’re all ghost hunters, but isn’t this a bit much?”
“Gen,” Blair said slowly. “It’s Dr. Edmond.”
Gen’s expression went from one of disbelief to one of anger. “No, it isn’t. He wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I swear to you, it’s him,” Blair said. She sounded desperate for Gen to believe her. Leif was secondhand frustrated at Gen for Blair.
“Then there must be something wrong with him. Not something supernatural,” Gen said. “Because he wouldn’t do this. Not unless he had a good reason.”
“How could anyone have a good reason to kill us all off?” Leif asked.
“I don’t know,” Gen shot back. “I just know that our old professor wouldn’t do something like this. I know him.”
“Whether he would or wouldn’t do this is beside the point,” Tammy put in. “Because he is doing it.”
“He’s picking us off one by one. We can’t stay here, we’re sitting ducks,” Rhonda added.
“But everyone who tried to leave after you guys has been killed. We’re trapped,” Rachel said.
“Then we need to take the fight to this fucker who keeps trying to kill us,” Leif said. Everyone around the parlor went silent and stared at her. For a moment she wished she hadn’t spoken. Then she wouldn’t be faced with the disbelief, or worse, the fear in everyone’s expressions. Everyone’s except for Blair’s.
“I think she’s right,” Blair said. “We can’t let him keep killing us one by one. If we make a united stand, we might be able to get out of this.”
“What are we supposed to do if he’s a literal demon? I don’t know if I really believe that, but if he is, well…” Gen trailed off. “Wouldn’t it be better to just…stay here?”
“And let him come after us?” Tammy said. The disbelief was audible in her tone.
“I guess not,” Gen said. Her brow was furrowed in thought. “I think I need some air.”
“Wait, Gen—” Blair called out to her friend’s back as she walked out the door. The sound of the front door closing was loud in Leif’s ears.
“Just let her take a lap,” Leif said. “She needs to have some time to think.”
“What if she gets hurt?” Blair said, swaying nervously from foot to foot.
“I’ll go grab her,” Rachel said. “I need some air too.”
Leif watched Rachel leave with a pit in her stomach.
We should probably round up some weapons and make a plan, Shae said.
Leif nodded. “We can storm the place tomorrow. Let’s all rest up tonight.”
“Agreed,” Tammy said, flopping down on the couch. “I’m exhausted.”
Shae and Rhonda joined her on the couch, while Leif excused herself to go check on Rachel, and Blair followed her to check on Gen. They found their friends over by where the cars were parked. Gen looked near tears, and Rachel was comforting her.
“I need to grab something from the tent. I’ll be back in a minute,” Blair said, turning to walk toward her tent. Leif was pretty sure she’d caught a glimpse of tears in Blair’s eyes, and there was nothing in the tent but unused sleeping bags.
Leif gave her a good minute before she followed. She couldn’t let Blair face thinking about what was coming all alone.
“Knock knock,” she said, standing outside of the closed door of the tent.
Blair huffed a laugh from inside. “Who’s there?” she sing-songed back, which Leif took as an invitation to unzip the tent and crawl in.
“Ice cream,” Leif provided.
Blair raised her eyebrows at her. “Ice cream who?” she asked.
“I scream every time I see a ghost,” Leif said, doing jazz hands.
“Not the best ghost hunter then, are you?” Blair said, smiling like she was trying not to laugh.
“Wow, Blair Wyndon coming for Leif’s ghost hunting prowess? It’s just like old times,” Leif said, plopping herself down on the sleeping bag.
“Insert something here about your methods,” Blair said, her smile gone sad around the edges. She paused for a second before meeting Leif’s eyes. “Do you think we really have a chance?” Blair asked.
She sounded so sweet and so sincere. Leif couldn’t bring herself to lie to her. “I don’t know. We might not. But we have to try, right?”
“Never thought I’d die at twenty-four,” Blair said. She was teary eyed, but looked determined. Leif’s heart lurched. Blair was beautiful, inside and out. She didn’t deserve to die. None of them had deserved to die. But here they were.
“Hey, at least when we’re gone, we’ll be in Masonville. If it’s really haunted, we’ll have some company.” Leif tried to cheer her up. She wasn’t sure it was very effective but at least Blair gave her a smile.
“Sure. We can be part of a long history of haunting,” she said.
They sat silently for a moment, the air heavy in Blair’s tent.
“I have a few regrets,” Blair said after a moment or two. “That I didn’t get to say a real good-bye to my aunt. I never published in a peer reviewed journal. And…well. I wasted a lot of time disliking you, when we could have been together.” She seemed to realize what she’d just said only after it was out of her mouth, and she blushed fetchingly. “I mean, if you’d wanted…if you want…”
Leif leaned in, closing the distance between them.
Blair’s lips were soft, and just a little bit chapped. Warm. The kiss was long and slow. Unhurried. Gentle and sweet and enough to make Leif’s breath catch.
“Oh,” Blair said when they broke apart. It was disarmingly cute. Everything about Blair was disarming. Her looks, her smarts. The adorable look of surprise and delight on her face.
“We probably shouldn’t do this,” Leif said. Her voice was breathier than she expected it to be. “We should check on Rachel and Gen.”
“Yeah,” Blair agreed, but didn’t move.
Leif kissed her again. And then again. And when she moved to give Blair some space, Blair followed her lips, kissing her like she couldn’t get enough.
Leif slid her hand up Blair’s shirt, resting it on the soft skin of her stomach. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” Blair said breathlessly. “Do you want to take my shirt off?”
God, yes, Leif wanted that so badly. But she had to be sure. “We would be doing this anyways, right? Even if we weren’t going to die?”
Blair laughed, cute, and almost shy. It made Leif’s heart ache. God, she wished they were somewhere safe. Even now, someone could be lurking outside of their tent, ready to grab them. But Leif figured if not now, then when? They could be dead in just a few hours.
“Yeah. I mean, I hope we would have gone on at least one date first, but yes. I want you, Leif.”
Leif kissed her again, then got Blair all tangled up in her shirt trying to get it off. They laughed as she finally managed to free herself, and then they were kissing again, hot and heavy and perfect.
Leif unbuttoned her own shirt between kisses, sliding it off the moment it was undone.
Blair’s hands were on her breasts in an instant, and Leif lost her breath at how eager Blair was to get her hands on her.
“So gorgeous,” Blair said, as she kissed down Leif’s neck. “You’re so, so gorgeous.”
Blair’s mouth was hot on her nipple, her tongue clever as it curled around the hard tip. Leif made soft little breathy sounds as she ran her fingers down Blair’s smooth back. She was so soft, her skin so warm.
Leif pulled away, and Blair stilled. “You okay?” Blair asked her.
“Yeah. Yeah, just, can we take our pants off?” she asked. She was surprised to hear how husky her own voice sounded.
Blair giggled and nodded enthusiastically. “I’d very much like that, yes,” she said.
Leif leaned back and slid her pants off, never taking her eyes off Blair. Blair who was shifting backward, rustling the sleeping bag as she awkwardly attempted to remove her pants. It was somehow the sexiest thing Leif had ever seen.
Blair’s panties were pink, with white polka dots. Leif wanted to lick her through them, then without them, but then they were off, and all of Leif’s higher functioning thought shut down.
She shuffled forward to kneel on the plasticky floor of the tent in order to get closer to Blair. She traced little patterns against Blair’s thighs as she kissed her again.
After a few long, amazing minutes of just kissing and teasing her, Leif slipped her hand between Blair’s legs and found that she was wet and wanting already. That was such a heady rush that Leif could hardly breathe around their kisses.
Leif found Blair’s clit and rubbed it under her thumb gently. Blair gasped and squirmed, her hips canting down to get more friction.
“Um, ah…” Blair managed, obviously trying to speak. “I want…I want to touch you now.”
Leif gave her one last firm rub, and then removed her hand, leaning back and opening her legs for Blair.
Blair didn’t hesitate to reach between Leif’s thighs. Her finger was firm against Leif’s clit, sending shocks of sensation through her body. She rubbed confidently, playing Leif like an instrument as Leif moaned for her.
Soon enough Leif came, her body bucking helplessly. For a moment she couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. She just existed as an exhausted and well satiated lump. But then she remembered that she had a mission. And that mission was to make Blair feel just as good as she’d made Leif feel.
She rolled Blair over and kissed her way down her cute curvy tummy. She stopped to nip at her here and there, just to hear the sweet sounds Blair made when she did it.
“This all right?” she asked, making sure to breathe the words out against Blair’s thigh.
“Yes. Very. Please continue,” Blair said.
Leif laughed, and then set to it.
When she buried her face between Blair’s legs, Blair gripped her hair so tight it kind of hurt. But Leif couldn’t find it in herself to mind as she licked and sucked at Blair’s clit. When Blair came, it was with a shout that she muffled against her hand. Leif thought it might be the most beautiful sound in the entire world.
“Holy crap, that was good,” Blair said after a moment of shaky silence. “We should absolutely do that again.”
“Now?” Leif asked. Because she was very much in favor of that.
Blair laughed. “Sure.”
Leif moved to straddle her, when the sound of the tent unzipping had them both scrambling for something to cover themselves with. Leif ended up with her own shirt held against her chest and Blair’s shirt pooled in her lap, while Blair had had the good sense to shimmy her way under the sleeping bag.
“Hey—” Leif said, only to lose her words at the look on Rhonda’s face.
“It’s Rachel, and Gen,” Rhonda said, without preamble. “They’re gone.”
Chapter Fifteen
Voice Memo 35
Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae are amazing. They sort of light up a room when they’re in it. Rhonda seems like the type who would do anything for you. Tammy is so sweet, but she also has a sassy side. And Shae is so funny and charming. I really like these ladies. They’re fun.
July 18, Masonville
The decision to move up their plan to rush the facility in the woods had been an easy one. With two more of their friends gone, Blair and Leif were both adamant that they’d get Rachel and Gen back safely.
Blair could barely stand the guilt. She’d been hooking up with Leif while their friends had been taken. Blair swore they’d get them back, or die trying. They honestly didn’t have any other choice. Dr. Edmond and whoever else he might be working with would never let them leave the lab alive.
“We’re coming with you,” Tammy said. “You two don’t have to face this alone.”
There’s strength in numbers, Shae said. We can take them on. They’re not getting any more of us.
“Operation take down the creepy lab is a go,” Rhonda said, returning from the kitchen with knives in her hands. And for some reason, a frying pan? At the questioning look Blair shot her, she shrugged. “We need weapons, right?”
Blair guessed she was right.
“Pass me one,” Rose said from the doorway.
“Rose, no. You still haven’t recovered,” Leif protested.
“Oh, my dear,” Rose said, “I wouldn’t dream of abandoning you now.”
“You can hide in the car,” Blair said. “We won’t leave you alone here. If we don’t come back out, take the car and go. You have to get back for your grandson Toby.”
“And if we don’t come back, you need to tell someone what happened here so they don’t get away with it,” Rhonda added.
Rose nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. “Okay,” she said. “You five are so brave. I’ll be praying for you.”
Normally those words would turn Blair’s stomach, but coming from Rose and knowing what they were about to face, they felt soothing instead of suffocating.
“Thank you,” Blair said. “We probably need all the prayer we can get.”
* * *
The car ride back to the facility was full of noise. Planning, backup planning, stressing, and fretting. And a fair bit of yelling “Fuck this guy!” at the top of their lungs.
The plan was to enter through the front of the lab this time and split up once inside to cover more ground as they searched for Johnny, Gen, and Rachel.
Through it all, the silent comfort of Blair’s hand in Leif’s own. A steadying presence. A touch of softness amongst all of the fear and bravado, like a little wildflower poking up through the hustle and bustle of a city sidewalk.
As they drew closer to the lab, the quiet began to seep in, oozing through the crevices of the car like a sickness, stealing their voices away until the interior of the vehicle was as unnaturally silent as the exterior.
Finally, they arrived, as close as they could get without being seen, and Blair felt as though something was stuck in her throat. Like no one in the car would dare break the silence that had fallen on them all like a death shroud.
“Okay, team,” Leif said, keeping her voice down. Of course she was brave enough to break the quiet. Blair was so impressed by her. How she’d ever mistaken her bravery for foolishness was beyond her. “Let’s get him. Rose, if we aren’t back in two hours, you leave without us, okay?”
Rose frowned, but nodded.
They made their way to the front of the building through the brush. It was difficult to keep out of sight, as the woods were thick, but they kept pushing on until they’d reached the front door.
“Okay,” Leif said. “We have two missions. Find Johnny, and find Rachel and Gen.”
“Got it,” Blair said. Leif was adamant that they find Johnny, and it made sense to Blair. If they could get him acting like his old self, they’d have one more member to fight off Dr. Edmond and any associates he might have.
Blair took a breath and grabbed Leif’s hand. “Okay,” she said as they broke from the cover of the brush. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Video Recording Tape 1
What kind of occult ritual could have caused this damage? Were they trying to summon this beast? Could it be that this scene, here in the heart of the library, is what has caused the hauntings in Masonville? We’re going to get to the bottom of this. The Ghost Crew is on it.
The lab was just as creepy as Leif remembered.
There were more posters on the walls coming in from the front. Pictures of smiling faces under the Tannincorp logo. Words like Sustainable Futures for Us All, which felt a little on the nose, considering that this was the place stealing away the futures of her friends.
As they walked in silence, they passed room after empty room. Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae split from them down one fork in the hallway, leaving them alone. It felt wrong to lose the safety of the group, but they’d be able to search quicker this way.
The lab seemed as abandoned as the rest of Masonville was. Leif wondered why. Had Dr. Edmond killed everyone else? He’d brought a man to the room where he’d had Rose tied up. And the food truck man had said us, not me, before he died.
“Rose is okay? Did you find Johnny?” Rachel asked as soon as they emerged into the hallway. She’d obviously been waiting for them, and she wasn’t alone. Rhonda, Shae, Tammy, and Gen stood behind her, their faces grim.
“Let’s move to the parlor,” Leif said. “Rose needs her rest.”
They all walked together to the parlor like a funeral procession. Silent and grave. But as soon as they passed the threshold of the parlor, the questions came rushing in again.
“What happened?” Gen asked.
“Is everyone okay?” Rachel added.
“We didn’t find Johnny,” Leif answered Rachel’s earlier question. “But Rose says she saw him. He’s alive.”
“Thank God,” Rachel murmured. “We have to get him out of there.”
“We will,” Leif reassured her. “But he was right. This is paranormal. The man who’s been doing all of this…he’s Blair’s old professor. But he’s got something in him.”
“You can’t be serious,” Gen scoffed.
“I am. I know what I saw,” Leif said. “I saw his face transform. And the lights exploded when he was angry.” She looked to Blair, expecting protest. Blair was all about science. It would sting, hearing whatever incredibly logical thing Blair had to say, but Leif was, in her heart of hearts, almost hoping for a logical explanation to this.
“I saw it with my own eyes,” Blair said.
Something inside Leif relaxed at that, despite it confirming her fears. The easy way Blair confirmed what she’d seen, even though she was so invested in having evidence, was nice. A balm for a sore she was used to people poking at.
“I can’t explain what we saw, but I know we saw it,” Blair finished.
“What are we supposed to do?” Tammy asked. “We can’t defend ourselves against something like this.”
“I can’t believe you actually think this could be paranormal,” Gen said. “I know that you’re all ghost hunters, but isn’t this a bit much?”
“Gen,” Blair said slowly. “It’s Dr. Edmond.”
Gen’s expression went from one of disbelief to one of anger. “No, it isn’t. He wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I swear to you, it’s him,” Blair said. She sounded desperate for Gen to believe her. Leif was secondhand frustrated at Gen for Blair.
“Then there must be something wrong with him. Not something supernatural,” Gen said. “Because he wouldn’t do this. Not unless he had a good reason.”
“How could anyone have a good reason to kill us all off?” Leif asked.
“I don’t know,” Gen shot back. “I just know that our old professor wouldn’t do something like this. I know him.”
“Whether he would or wouldn’t do this is beside the point,” Tammy put in. “Because he is doing it.”
“He’s picking us off one by one. We can’t stay here, we’re sitting ducks,” Rhonda added.
“But everyone who tried to leave after you guys has been killed. We’re trapped,” Rachel said.
“Then we need to take the fight to this fucker who keeps trying to kill us,” Leif said. Everyone around the parlor went silent and stared at her. For a moment she wished she hadn’t spoken. Then she wouldn’t be faced with the disbelief, or worse, the fear in everyone’s expressions. Everyone’s except for Blair’s.
“I think she’s right,” Blair said. “We can’t let him keep killing us one by one. If we make a united stand, we might be able to get out of this.”
“What are we supposed to do if he’s a literal demon? I don’t know if I really believe that, but if he is, well…” Gen trailed off. “Wouldn’t it be better to just…stay here?”
“And let him come after us?” Tammy said. The disbelief was audible in her tone.
“I guess not,” Gen said. Her brow was furrowed in thought. “I think I need some air.”
“Wait, Gen—” Blair called out to her friend’s back as she walked out the door. The sound of the front door closing was loud in Leif’s ears.
“Just let her take a lap,” Leif said. “She needs to have some time to think.”
“What if she gets hurt?” Blair said, swaying nervously from foot to foot.
“I’ll go grab her,” Rachel said. “I need some air too.”
Leif watched Rachel leave with a pit in her stomach.
We should probably round up some weapons and make a plan, Shae said.
Leif nodded. “We can storm the place tomorrow. Let’s all rest up tonight.”
“Agreed,” Tammy said, flopping down on the couch. “I’m exhausted.”
Shae and Rhonda joined her on the couch, while Leif excused herself to go check on Rachel, and Blair followed her to check on Gen. They found their friends over by where the cars were parked. Gen looked near tears, and Rachel was comforting her.
“I need to grab something from the tent. I’ll be back in a minute,” Blair said, turning to walk toward her tent. Leif was pretty sure she’d caught a glimpse of tears in Blair’s eyes, and there was nothing in the tent but unused sleeping bags.
Leif gave her a good minute before she followed. She couldn’t let Blair face thinking about what was coming all alone.
“Knock knock,” she said, standing outside of the closed door of the tent.
Blair huffed a laugh from inside. “Who’s there?” she sing-songed back, which Leif took as an invitation to unzip the tent and crawl in.
“Ice cream,” Leif provided.
Blair raised her eyebrows at her. “Ice cream who?” she asked.
“I scream every time I see a ghost,” Leif said, doing jazz hands.
“Not the best ghost hunter then, are you?” Blair said, smiling like she was trying not to laugh.
“Wow, Blair Wyndon coming for Leif’s ghost hunting prowess? It’s just like old times,” Leif said, plopping herself down on the sleeping bag.
“Insert something here about your methods,” Blair said, her smile gone sad around the edges. She paused for a second before meeting Leif’s eyes. “Do you think we really have a chance?” Blair asked.
She sounded so sweet and so sincere. Leif couldn’t bring herself to lie to her. “I don’t know. We might not. But we have to try, right?”
“Never thought I’d die at twenty-four,” Blair said. She was teary eyed, but looked determined. Leif’s heart lurched. Blair was beautiful, inside and out. She didn’t deserve to die. None of them had deserved to die. But here they were.
“Hey, at least when we’re gone, we’ll be in Masonville. If it’s really haunted, we’ll have some company.” Leif tried to cheer her up. She wasn’t sure it was very effective but at least Blair gave her a smile.
“Sure. We can be part of a long history of haunting,” she said.
They sat silently for a moment, the air heavy in Blair’s tent.
“I have a few regrets,” Blair said after a moment or two. “That I didn’t get to say a real good-bye to my aunt. I never published in a peer reviewed journal. And…well. I wasted a lot of time disliking you, when we could have been together.” She seemed to realize what she’d just said only after it was out of her mouth, and she blushed fetchingly. “I mean, if you’d wanted…if you want…”
Leif leaned in, closing the distance between them.
Blair’s lips were soft, and just a little bit chapped. Warm. The kiss was long and slow. Unhurried. Gentle and sweet and enough to make Leif’s breath catch.
“Oh,” Blair said when they broke apart. It was disarmingly cute. Everything about Blair was disarming. Her looks, her smarts. The adorable look of surprise and delight on her face.
“We probably shouldn’t do this,” Leif said. Her voice was breathier than she expected it to be. “We should check on Rachel and Gen.”
“Yeah,” Blair agreed, but didn’t move.
Leif kissed her again. And then again. And when she moved to give Blair some space, Blair followed her lips, kissing her like she couldn’t get enough.
Leif slid her hand up Blair’s shirt, resting it on the soft skin of her stomach. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” Blair said breathlessly. “Do you want to take my shirt off?”
God, yes, Leif wanted that so badly. But she had to be sure. “We would be doing this anyways, right? Even if we weren’t going to die?”
Blair laughed, cute, and almost shy. It made Leif’s heart ache. God, she wished they were somewhere safe. Even now, someone could be lurking outside of their tent, ready to grab them. But Leif figured if not now, then when? They could be dead in just a few hours.
“Yeah. I mean, I hope we would have gone on at least one date first, but yes. I want you, Leif.”
Leif kissed her again, then got Blair all tangled up in her shirt trying to get it off. They laughed as she finally managed to free herself, and then they were kissing again, hot and heavy and perfect.
Leif unbuttoned her own shirt between kisses, sliding it off the moment it was undone.
Blair’s hands were on her breasts in an instant, and Leif lost her breath at how eager Blair was to get her hands on her.
“So gorgeous,” Blair said, as she kissed down Leif’s neck. “You’re so, so gorgeous.”
Blair’s mouth was hot on her nipple, her tongue clever as it curled around the hard tip. Leif made soft little breathy sounds as she ran her fingers down Blair’s smooth back. She was so soft, her skin so warm.
Leif pulled away, and Blair stilled. “You okay?” Blair asked her.
“Yeah. Yeah, just, can we take our pants off?” she asked. She was surprised to hear how husky her own voice sounded.
Blair giggled and nodded enthusiastically. “I’d very much like that, yes,” she said.
Leif leaned back and slid her pants off, never taking her eyes off Blair. Blair who was shifting backward, rustling the sleeping bag as she awkwardly attempted to remove her pants. It was somehow the sexiest thing Leif had ever seen.
Blair’s panties were pink, with white polka dots. Leif wanted to lick her through them, then without them, but then they were off, and all of Leif’s higher functioning thought shut down.
She shuffled forward to kneel on the plasticky floor of the tent in order to get closer to Blair. She traced little patterns against Blair’s thighs as she kissed her again.
After a few long, amazing minutes of just kissing and teasing her, Leif slipped her hand between Blair’s legs and found that she was wet and wanting already. That was such a heady rush that Leif could hardly breathe around their kisses.
Leif found Blair’s clit and rubbed it under her thumb gently. Blair gasped and squirmed, her hips canting down to get more friction.
“Um, ah…” Blair managed, obviously trying to speak. “I want…I want to touch you now.”
Leif gave her one last firm rub, and then removed her hand, leaning back and opening her legs for Blair.
Blair didn’t hesitate to reach between Leif’s thighs. Her finger was firm against Leif’s clit, sending shocks of sensation through her body. She rubbed confidently, playing Leif like an instrument as Leif moaned for her.
Soon enough Leif came, her body bucking helplessly. For a moment she couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. She just existed as an exhausted and well satiated lump. But then she remembered that she had a mission. And that mission was to make Blair feel just as good as she’d made Leif feel.
She rolled Blair over and kissed her way down her cute curvy tummy. She stopped to nip at her here and there, just to hear the sweet sounds Blair made when she did it.
“This all right?” she asked, making sure to breathe the words out against Blair’s thigh.
“Yes. Very. Please continue,” Blair said.
Leif laughed, and then set to it.
When she buried her face between Blair’s legs, Blair gripped her hair so tight it kind of hurt. But Leif couldn’t find it in herself to mind as she licked and sucked at Blair’s clit. When Blair came, it was with a shout that she muffled against her hand. Leif thought it might be the most beautiful sound in the entire world.
“Holy crap, that was good,” Blair said after a moment of shaky silence. “We should absolutely do that again.”
“Now?” Leif asked. Because she was very much in favor of that.
Blair laughed. “Sure.”
Leif moved to straddle her, when the sound of the tent unzipping had them both scrambling for something to cover themselves with. Leif ended up with her own shirt held against her chest and Blair’s shirt pooled in her lap, while Blair had had the good sense to shimmy her way under the sleeping bag.
“Hey—” Leif said, only to lose her words at the look on Rhonda’s face.
“It’s Rachel, and Gen,” Rhonda said, without preamble. “They’re gone.”
Chapter Fifteen
Voice Memo 35
Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae are amazing. They sort of light up a room when they’re in it. Rhonda seems like the type who would do anything for you. Tammy is so sweet, but she also has a sassy side. And Shae is so funny and charming. I really like these ladies. They’re fun.
July 18, Masonville
The decision to move up their plan to rush the facility in the woods had been an easy one. With two more of their friends gone, Blair and Leif were both adamant that they’d get Rachel and Gen back safely.
Blair could barely stand the guilt. She’d been hooking up with Leif while their friends had been taken. Blair swore they’d get them back, or die trying. They honestly didn’t have any other choice. Dr. Edmond and whoever else he might be working with would never let them leave the lab alive.
“We’re coming with you,” Tammy said. “You two don’t have to face this alone.”
There’s strength in numbers, Shae said. We can take them on. They’re not getting any more of us.
“Operation take down the creepy lab is a go,” Rhonda said, returning from the kitchen with knives in her hands. And for some reason, a frying pan? At the questioning look Blair shot her, she shrugged. “We need weapons, right?”
Blair guessed she was right.
“Pass me one,” Rose said from the doorway.
“Rose, no. You still haven’t recovered,” Leif protested.
“Oh, my dear,” Rose said, “I wouldn’t dream of abandoning you now.”
“You can hide in the car,” Blair said. “We won’t leave you alone here. If we don’t come back out, take the car and go. You have to get back for your grandson Toby.”
“And if we don’t come back, you need to tell someone what happened here so they don’t get away with it,” Rhonda added.
Rose nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. “Okay,” she said. “You five are so brave. I’ll be praying for you.”
Normally those words would turn Blair’s stomach, but coming from Rose and knowing what they were about to face, they felt soothing instead of suffocating.
“Thank you,” Blair said. “We probably need all the prayer we can get.”
* * *
The car ride back to the facility was full of noise. Planning, backup planning, stressing, and fretting. And a fair bit of yelling “Fuck this guy!” at the top of their lungs.
The plan was to enter through the front of the lab this time and split up once inside to cover more ground as they searched for Johnny, Gen, and Rachel.
Through it all, the silent comfort of Blair’s hand in Leif’s own. A steadying presence. A touch of softness amongst all of the fear and bravado, like a little wildflower poking up through the hustle and bustle of a city sidewalk.
As they drew closer to the lab, the quiet began to seep in, oozing through the crevices of the car like a sickness, stealing their voices away until the interior of the vehicle was as unnaturally silent as the exterior.
Finally, they arrived, as close as they could get without being seen, and Blair felt as though something was stuck in her throat. Like no one in the car would dare break the silence that had fallen on them all like a death shroud.
“Okay, team,” Leif said, keeping her voice down. Of course she was brave enough to break the quiet. Blair was so impressed by her. How she’d ever mistaken her bravery for foolishness was beyond her. “Let’s get him. Rose, if we aren’t back in two hours, you leave without us, okay?”
Rose frowned, but nodded.
They made their way to the front of the building through the brush. It was difficult to keep out of sight, as the woods were thick, but they kept pushing on until they’d reached the front door.
“Okay,” Leif said. “We have two missions. Find Johnny, and find Rachel and Gen.”
“Got it,” Blair said. Leif was adamant that they find Johnny, and it made sense to Blair. If they could get him acting like his old self, they’d have one more member to fight off Dr. Edmond and any associates he might have.
Blair took a breath and grabbed Leif’s hand. “Okay,” she said as they broke from the cover of the brush. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Video Recording Tape 1
What kind of occult ritual could have caused this damage? Were they trying to summon this beast? Could it be that this scene, here in the heart of the library, is what has caused the hauntings in Masonville? We’re going to get to the bottom of this. The Ghost Crew is on it.
The lab was just as creepy as Leif remembered.
There were more posters on the walls coming in from the front. Pictures of smiling faces under the Tannincorp logo. Words like Sustainable Futures for Us All, which felt a little on the nose, considering that this was the place stealing away the futures of her friends.
As they walked in silence, they passed room after empty room. Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae split from them down one fork in the hallway, leaving them alone. It felt wrong to lose the safety of the group, but they’d be able to search quicker this way.
The lab seemed as abandoned as the rest of Masonville was. Leif wondered why. Had Dr. Edmond killed everyone else? He’d brought a man to the room where he’d had Rose tied up. And the food truck man had said us, not me, before he died.
