The Ghost of Graylock Read Free Page B

band?” Bree asked, following Eric to the left of the hospital’s main entrance.
    “Nah. I’m not really talking to those guys at the moment.” The two walked on. Neil and Wesley hung back.
    “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Wesley asked. “Some people think Nurse Janet is totally real.”
    “Yeah, but ghosts can’t hurt you,” said Neil.
    “Where’d you get that idea?”
    Neil thought for a few seconds. Had Alexi or Mark ever actually said that? “I’m not sure. Makes sense though. Ghosts don’t have bodies. So how would they be able to touch you?” Wesley said nothing. Neil worried Wesley didn’t believe him. “The Nurse Janet story is creepy, but I doubt her ghost would really be able to drag anyone down to the lake. Even if she was totally psycho.”
    “There are other ways to hurt people.”
    “Like how?”
    Wesley pointed to his temple, right next to his small brown ear. “What if they can get in here somehow?”
    “In your head?” asked Neil. He thought of his mother, of her crying fits, of her silences, her unrecognizing face. He ruminated upon that shadow person he imagined lurking inside himself, and his stomach clenched. Maybe it had been a mistake to come here.
    A voice called out from around the stone wall. “Are you guys coming or what?” It was Eric.
    “Yes!” Neil answered. Moving forward would keep the memory of his parents in the back of his mind, instead of front and center.
    Neil and Wesley found Bree helping Eric into what looked like a tall basement window that met a slight depression in the ground. The glass had been smashed in. The grass at the base of the wall came up to Bree’s knees. She held Eric’s hands as he lowered himself inside. When Bree realized that the two boys were standing behind her, she blushed, looking like an accomplice to a crime. And it is a crime , thought Neil, isn’t it?
    “There’s a table down here!” Eric called from the darkness beyond the window. “Looks pretty sturdy.” The sound of wooden legs scraping against a gritty floor echoed out of the building. Then Eric’s face appeared inside, at the bottom of the frame. “Here.” He waved. “You can just climb on in now. The drop isn’t far.”
    Bree breathed deeply, then sat down and scooted herself forward. From inside, Eric reached out and helped her. Wesley followed. Neil glanced around, making sure no one was watching them before he too crouched in the tall grass. He sat on the ledge of the window, and for the first time, he caught a glimpse of the hospital’s inside.
    Dusty light revealed a wide wooden floor, a tall ceiling. Bolted high on opposite walls … were those basketball hoops? Had they found a gymnasium? Weird. And kind of cool.
    Neil lowered his bag inside. Below, his sister held it for him. Then he dropped to the table. The safety of the sunlight remained outside. Inside, the world had turned to shadows and dust.

A THICK LAYER OF DIRT CAKED THE FLOOR . Shards of glass glimmered in the dim light at the group’s feet. A slimy green stripe of mildew and moss clung to the wall, dripping down from the makeshift entry. A shadowy horizontal line, about five feet high, stretched around the room, reminding Neil of a grimy bathtub ring.
    Nature was slowly reclaiming the building. The once-glossy flooring was warped from water damage. Rain had repeatedly flooded the room during years of neglect. Paint peeled from the ceiling, bubbled and hanging in long strips like streamers at a party. Great chunks of plaster had fallen indiscriminately around the room, littering the court with even more debris. Playing a ball game here today would involve a strange obstacle course , Neil thought. What penalties would you acquire for tripping over a raised board?
    Bree tapped Neil’s shoulder and held out his bag. She stared at him silently.
    “You okay?” he asked her, reaching inside the satchel and removing his camera again. He realized that he actually appreciated that she’d