Phasmatta -ch 7-

Chapter 7 - Faith -

Ryan glanced to Daisy who was currently looking over a laptop. All of the equipment she’d purchased could be directly plugged into a computer, or have it’s data downloaded at a later time.

Right now everything was plugged into the computer and she was recording all the information as it came in, into a spread-sheet it looked like. As well as taking notes, her fingers lightly clicking across the keyboard.

With a grin, Ryan looked back to the REM-pod  he was tinkering with.

This particular model came with a number of options that didn’t do much at all most of the time. Unless you could actually see the ghost in question and tinker and tune it till it actually worked.

That and rip out or add a capacitor or resistor or two but… that’s not something I can do right now. Don’t really have the tools for it. Need a soldering gun and a good clamp.

Damn stupid capacitive proximity sensor.

Though, why is the antenna always so fucked?

With a shake of his head, he adjusted the internal setting point of the antenna and then used the tip of his multi-tool to make sure the wiring was solid and tight.

It wasn’t.

Pulling out the antenna, he wound the wiring a bit tighter into the point it was wrapped around and pinched it flat with his plier-tool.

After, he refit the antenna, gave it a nudge, and found it was all tight.

It’d actually work now instead of just randomly firing off.

Good enough for Daisy, I guess.

I’d rather build my own but… that’s a Misha thing.

Not a Daisy thing.

Setting the REM-Pod down near a residual haunting that was passively standing around. Nearly on top of their foot.

Making sure the antenna was perfectly upright, and sticking into the creature, Ryan flipped the device on.

It immediately began going off, beeping rapidly as well as displaying a colored light.

Ryan had no idea what the damn light meant, probably some froo-froo specialized thing, but the sound was obvious.

“I… what?” Daisy asked, looking at the REM-Pod as it continued to go off. The lights blipped and flickered, the beep continued, and it was presenting every indicator it probably could. “You’ve got your phone in airplane mode, right? I’ve turned off all the signals from the equipment and computer and—”

Smiling to himself Ryan didn’t respond to her.

Instead, he picked up the static-sensor that’d been set down nearby. He personally really didn’t like REM-Pods. They had a tendency to throw out constant false-positives.

Unless you did proper investigation techniques and paired it with other devices, you’d never be able to pin anything down.

Ryan set down the static-sensor roughly two feet from the REM-Pod and then moved over to where Daisy was.

Standing there, Ryan went still. He didn’t move, didn’t shuffle his feet, didn’t touch anything, and just made himself a non-entity.

A non-static producing person in a room without radio signals of any sort, with the power turned off outside of the equipment.

The REM-Pod and the static-sensor were both going off.

Which made sense since Ryan had more or less stuck both atop the foot of a residual haunting.

Daisy’s eyes were wide and she was looking at the sensors.

Picking up her video camera she immediately focused it in on the two sensors and began recording. Her eyes were wide, nostrils flaring with each breath, and her hands began to tremble.

Reaching out, Ryan pushed her elbows onto her knees and moved the camera out in front of herself so she could still see it at an angle. It was no longer trembling and the sensors going off were in perfect frame.

Not that it matters if it’s shot well.

Those who believe, believe.

Those who don’t, don’t.

Government doesn’t seem to care as long as it doesn’t bother them ruling over us.

Deciding to help her along, because if she was a believer this was what she sought.

Tonight was going to be a lightning rod experience for her Ryan decided.

Picking up the other REM-Pod and static-sensor she had, Ryan made a show of slowly walking around the basement. There were two other shadow-people here, less so than the main lobby, but that wasn’t a surprise.

Most people likely would’ve died on the main floor, not tucked away in a basement.

Fear from the living doesn’t match the reality of the dead.

How often that rings true.

Though… there’s too many shadow-people in one building.

This is something more akin to being spread out across more than a few.

Strange.

Very strange.

Ryan walked up to the further residual haunting and stuck the REM-Pod and static-sensor atop it. The reason he’d selected this one, rather than the closer one, was this would be in frame for Daisy’s camera without having to move much.

No sooner than Ryan had set it up and moved away, than Daisy shifted the camera to get both into view.

“Ry-Ryan… please get-get the audio recorders near them,” she hissed quietly.

Nodding his head while smiling, Ryan did as she asked and moved the audio recorders to those locations.

He imagined most of tonight would be giving her all the data she could ever want.

All while never being able to provide her with absolute proof.

Today wasn’t her baptism, today was her first true look into the after-life. Misha had clearly experienced her own long before Ryan had showed her that there was so much more.

That and she was paying him a lot of money.

Daisy was barely paying him gas money and he was mostly here to help her out.

If he were being honest about it, she didn’t really have the right equipment to hunt ghosts either. She was approaching this more from an academic viewpoint to get digital records, rather than hunt.

It’s the best I can do for her.

For twenty dollars, at least.

Though the candy bars are nice.

I wonder how she got them all.

I love chocolate.

Chocolate is the best.

Picking up a Twix, he made sure it was the left one and prmoptly bit into it with a grin as Daisy rambled off quiet notes to her video camera. Her eyes wide, the corners of her mouth upturned.

Kinda fun.

The enthusiasm of Misha and Daisy both kinda… make me appreciate the career more.

What he didn’t say, or think, was how grateful he was to not be home alone.

At night.

In a dark apartment.

Grimacing, Ryan shook his head, and was suddenly thankful for Daisy more than he had previously thought.

Let’s… make sure she gets readings on every device she has. Just to make sure she has the best time of her life tonight.

Yeah.

***

Ryan yawned and blearily peered up at Daisy.

At some point, he’d fallen asleep on the ground. Not too far away from where she’d been busily taking notes, recording things, and moving the devices around to test locations.

Thankfully the shadow-people Ryan had set them up by, just hadn’t moved. Allowing her test the location over and over with multiple devices.

To the point that she’d acted as if he hadn’t existed and was entirely honed in on her studies.

“Ryan. It’s daylight. We’re only allowed to be here till nine-am when the custodian comes to check on the building,” Daisy murmured. “I’ve already loaded the easy stuff to my car but… can you help with the heavy stuff?”

“Oh, gladly,” he mumbled, smacked his lips, then chuckled. Daisy had dark bags under her eyes and her rather pretty looks seemed a bit marred by a night spent wide-eyed. She’d also ditched her hoodie at some point.

Daisy had a figure that’d make swimsuit models take notice. A heavy bust, narrow waist, and somewhat flared out hips. She wasn’t a unique beauty or anything, but she would turn heads anywhere she went here in West Virginia and maybe some heads in a place like California, too.

“Your night eventful then?” he asked and stood up. Then shifted his weight around as he got to his feet.

“I… yes. You dropped… a water-gun and crucifix,” Daisy remarked, one hand pointing to the ground. “You have more experience with this then you let on. Don’t you? I knew it.

“The way you were fiddling with my equipment. How it just started working. You have a lot more experience in this. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ryan snorted, bent down, picked up his gun, his crucifix, and stood back up. He met her stare then shrugged.

“Because I didn’t want to pull the ‘knowledge’ card on someone so enthusiastic to experience things,” he admitted. “Why ruin your eagerness? No point in that. It’d be like spoiling the ending to a movie.

“Now… the heavy stuff? Just point it out and I’ll lug it like the good assistant I am.”

“Near-near the door,” Daisy mumbled, lifting a hand and pointing. Her delicate brows pressing toward one another. “Thank you.”

Nodding his head, Ryan trooped over to the door, found two large equipment cases, grabbed one in each hand, and began trooping them off to Daisy’s car.

Surprisingly, Carl was sitting atop Ryan’s car. His legs hanging down past the passenger side window. No sooner than he saw the kid than he waved at him, though Ryan couldn’t really wave back.

Walking up to Daisy’s trunk, Ryan set the equipment cases down.

“Sup,” Ryan said to Carl and a glance his way.

“Nothing at all! But good job! Also, someone stole your temporary plate on the front of the car!” Carl said with a warm and rich laugh. “You’ve completed your side-quest! And with extra points to spare for it! Daisy will never forget last night and it’s sharpened her curiosity. Sharpened her awareness.

“You earned so much experience with this one, you’ll level up with even the simplest of side-quests after this. Congratulations!

“Though… it’ll be a tough road for her. She’s psychically dead. She’s blind to the after and the after is blind to her. Neither can see the other. She’ll have to rely on equipment forever.”

Blind to and from the after?

Both?

Though… uh… doesn’t that mean that the fact that the after is aware of me more… problematic? I thought that was just kinda nonsense but maybe it isn’t.

Maybe it’s exactly what it said.

But why would they be aware of me?

The trunk popped and then opened.

Ryan hadn’t even realized Daisy had clambered into the front seat and hit the trunk release.

Starting fractionally Ryan grabbed one of the equipment cases. Heaving one than the other into her car, one after the other and closed the trunk shut.

Walking over to her driver’s side window he found her rifling through a small black purse. It was literally all black.

Now that it was daylight, he could see the inside of her car was mostly clean, though there were decoratrive pieces here and there.

The best category Ryan could now ascribe to Daisy in the daylight was ‘goth girl’.

Blacks, silver, dark things, halloween decorations, and some things that were likely tv-shows. It all lined up to that conclusion.

“Here you go. I-that-thank you for last night. That was probably the best experience I’ve ever had,” Daisy said and gave him a bright smile, handing over the money that he was owed.

“Way to make a guy blush, Daisy. That’s not something I’ve ever been told but I certainly would love to hear it again in the future,” he blurted out with a laugh. What she’d said had just been too picture perfect to not act on.

Daisy’s mouth hung open and despite being already pale, she somehow grew even more so. The blood draining away from her face completely.

With a blink she closed her mouth and then turned a bright flaming red color. As if she were a lobster that’d been freshly cooked.

“That’s just evil,” she murmured, looking at her steering wheel.

Ryan snorted at that, took a step from her vehicle and pocketed the money.

“Uh huh. Call or text me when you want to meet up again,” he replied, knowing full well that the ineundo would happen even if his words were benign.

“Yeah,” Daisy stated and stuck her car key into her car.

Ryan nodded, turned away, and headed for Carl.

There was a series of clicks behind him followed by nothing at all.

The noise was something Ryan knew really well.

Because he’d had a shit box car that liked to drain his battery for no reason at all. Not that a light was left on, it just bled electricity constantly.

Ryan stopped, turned, and looked back to Daisy.

She was staring at her steering wheel with a look of confusion. Her shoulder shifted and Ryan heard the same series of clicks he’d heard earlier.

“Did ya leave an interior light on? Glove box open? Something to drain the battery?” Ryan asked. “Or maybe it’s just an old battery going dead?”

“I don’t-I-” Daisy fell silent and turned the key in the ignition again.

Once more a series of clicks and nothing else.

“So, my car’s a rental. I ditched mine before I moved here, otherwise I’d have a jumper cable set,” Ryan explained. “Best I can offer is to take you home personally. You can buy a battery or a set of jumpers and come back with a friend later. Or… if you’ve got a jumper at home, I’ll just come back with you and we can do that real quick.”

Daisy closed her eyes, lowered her head, and pressed her brow to the steering wheel.

“It’s not flat, it’s dead. I need a new one. I just thought I had a bit more time,” she muttered, her head against the steering wheel. She held that pose for three more seconds, then rolled her window up.

Ryan had a moment of confusion before he realized it was a manual window. She was rotating it up.

Grasping the door Ryan pulled it open as soon as Daisy had gotten the window set and gave her a smile as she stepped out.

“How about we consider it as a debt that you owe me,” Ryan murmured and pulled out the money she’d only just given him. She’d likely need it more than he would in the immediate future.

Holding it between two fingers, he moved it toward her hands.

Reflexively she took it.

He hadn’t given her much of a chance to do anything else other than take it.

Grinning, Ryan eased her away from the door, reached in, hit the lock, then shut the door after making sure she had her purse on her shoulder.

“Well, let’s go then,” he said with a chuckle and went to the passenger side door and pulled it open. His parents were no-contact anymore, but they’d both done their best to raise him as best as they could.

That meant a basic belief in some older manners that didn’t quite fit in todays’ world.

Daisy stood stock still where she’d been.

One hand holding the money, the other resting on her purse.

Blinking several times she shook her head, put the money into her purse, then got into his car. To which Ryan closed the door with a gentle thump.

Getting into the drivers seat he stuck the key into the ignition, turned it, and got them moving toward the street.

“Alright,” he said and came to a stop at the point the exit became the street. “Left or right?”

His words were said with a smile as he watched Daisy.

Last night had been the first night in a while he hadn’t actually woken up to a nightmare, or slept badly.

Despite it being on the floor, without blankets, no pillow, no air control, surrounded by ghosts, and with a woman he didn’t know.

It’d been peaceful.

He’d be happy to help her.o

“Right,” she said, then gave him a sad smile. “We’re… we’re heading to the edge of Noxfield. It’s uhm-unincorporated territory but considered part of Noxfield.”

Rural.

Let’s see how the pretty goth girl lives.

“We heading into a gully or a ridge?” Ryan asked, smiling to himself as he made the turn.

“Gully. Well, maybe more like a trench,” answered Daisy in a near whisper. She muttered a different word by Ryan couldn’t quite catch it. “Just… uhm… maybe… a bit down the road from my place? I don’t mind walking the last bit. It’d be better for me than driving up. I can just tell him my car broke down and that’d be better.”

Right.

Goth girl has a dad that is stricter than she wants to admit for her age. A man driving her up to her driveway in the early morning after a night out and that’s not a great look.

Which maybe explains the goth girl aesthetic. Might be because she’s rebelling.

Makes sense I guess. I can do that.

Not a big deal.

Though now I’m curious.

“Will you need a ride back into town later for the new battery?” Ryan asked, glancing over at her as he got up to the speed limit.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to-wait, you’re offering to drive me?” she asked, meeting his glance when it came her way.

“I don’t see a reason not to. This was just day one of being your assistant, wasn’t it?” asked Ryan. “Wasn’t the plan to go back out tonight?”

“Originally but I’ve got so much data now. I’ll-that is-we’ll not be meeting up again tonight. I’ll need a few days to organize everything I got after I pick up the equipment.

“I don’t need a ride, but thanks for offering. I can handle that. Really appreciate it though. Already doing too much for me.”

“I disagree. Now, how about you verbalize your thoughts about last night to me,” Ryan suggested instead. “No reason to not try and organize your thoughts now.”

Which was all the permission Daisy needed to bulldoze him with her observations for the rest of the car ride.