Excerpt: Haunted Spirits

“Shane, look out!” Brian yelled as he reached out and shoved him out of the way. His friend crashed into the wall with a grunt and slid down it.

“Brian, what the hell was that for?” Shane replied as he shook his head. “That hurt, you know.”

“Sorry, but it was coming after you again.”

“This is really getting annoying. Just who is hunting who here?”

There was a sigh from the other side of the room and Hannah stepped forward, careful not to trip over the Oriental rug, shaking her head. “The two of your are causing more trouble than you’re worth, in this case. You’re just aggravating the ghosts.”

“Hey, they’re the ones that started it,” Shane pointed out.

“They just want to talk.”

“I am not letting them use my body again. You have no idea what it’s like. You never had them just waltz right into your body and say, ‘Hey! I’m going to take over for awhile, thanks.’ It’s so draining. And they leave horrible memories behind.”

Hannah put her hands on her hips, glaring up him. “I thought you got into this business to help.”

“No, I got into this business to study the paranormal phenomena. There’s a major difference.”

“You’re using the spirits too, aren’t you? I mean, you and Brian are trying to lure them into showing themselves so you can gather evidence of their existence!”

Behind them, Brian stood impatient. “Look, can we just go? Have this little spat outside?”

His sister and friend ignored him. “That’s different! It’s for scientific purposes.”

“I fail to see how that’s any different. You are so insensitive, Shane. They were people too, you know!”

Shane let out a frustrated groan and shook his head. “If you want to help them so much, why don’t you let them take over your body? Huh?”

“I’ve tried, and you know it! They’re drawn to you. Something about you is different than Brian and I.”

They continued their argument, much to Brian’s horror. He could feel the tension start to fill the room, and the air turned cooler. “Um, guys, really. We should go now. We’ve given the spirits enough energy for the night.”

Hannah turned to drag Brian into the argument, but froze. Behind Shane stood the spirit that had tried to find it’s way into his body before. It was more solid than before, and clearly defined. Their energy had fed it, allowing it to manifest into something stronger. Shane let out a swear as a cold hand reached into him.

He managed to let out a faint “not again” before the spirit vanished and his body jerked forwards.

“Are you happy now?” Brian yelled as he reached out to hold Shane steady. His eyes blinked slowly as he looked around the room.

“Where…” he said softly. A shudder ran through his body and his eyes rolled back into his head. Brian gripped him tighter as his body went slack and started to drop.