The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-7-17

Chapter Five
I may have been scared of ghosts, but I was never scared of
the dark. I was scared of what was lurking in the dark; reaching out
from the corners where we couldn’t see. I was the little girl who
would turn off her light and do a flying leap onto her bed so
whatever was lurking under it wouldn’t be able to grab her by the
ankles. I was that little girl yesterday.
So, naturally, when we were left in complete blackness,
sweat started to bead on my forehead and my heart started
hammering a hole in my chest. I waved my red light around, but all
I could see was a small circle wherever the beam went.
“Okay, where should we head first?” Tucker’s voice came
out of the darkness. He sounded the same as he did when we were
talking in front of Joe Bean’s — completely calm and normal. This
was nothing new to him. He did investigations in the dark all the
time and he was fine.
“Umm ...” I tried to breathe and calm myself down. It was
okay. Tucker was right there, Susannah and Ethan were in the
kitchen, Adrian and Brad were upstairs, and the Masons were in the
living room sitting on the couch. The living had to outnumber the
dead in the house.
“Hey. It’s okay. We only turn the lights out because it will
minimize distraction and heighten all our other senses. The ghosts
aren’t any more present or powerful now than they were with the
lights on. They’re off for our benefit.”
Okay. That was a little reassuring. A little.
After a few minutes, my eyes did adjust a little to the
darkness. I still couldn’t see much, but it wasn’t completely black
all around me at least. And I figured out the best way to position the
flashlight so I could see what was in front of me.
“I think we’ll go and sit with the Masons for a little bit. Make
sure they’re okay,” he decided for me.
I nodded and then realized he couldn’t see me, so I managed
to say, “Okay.” I concentrated on breathing steadily and focusing on
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