Ghost Trapped Read online

  Chapter Ten

  Jason

  I rushed over to Wade as soon as I heard him calling, my eyes wide with fear when I realized he was down in what looked like an old mineshaft. He struggled to climb all the way to the top, but it was obvious he was too exhausted to make it. Jimbo and I both gripped his hands and tugged him over the edge. Without thinking, I pulled him to me and held him, probably too tight, but not nearly tight enough.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered into his ear, not even sure he’d heard me. I started rambling, asking if he was injured and what had happened to him, as he trembled from fear or being wet, I wasn’t sure which. He ducked his head and leaned against my chest. He seemed so lost and vulnerable in that moment, and Wade never seemed vulnerable. I looped my arm around his back to help him upstairs, as Jimbo took his other side. Jimbo’s arm shook so badly, I could feel it where our arms met on Wade’s back. We hurried to get him to the top of the stairs, something made much easier with the lights on.

  When we burst out of the door, Dean looked up in shock. He pulled out a chair for Wade, then rushed to get some water and towels to clean him up. “Are you sure you’re okay? I think we should get you checked out. How far did you fall?”

  “I’m not sure,” Wade said, then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. There was blood trickling down his cheek from his forehead, and he was covered in dirt and grime. I moved his hair and tried to get a good look at the wound. He flinched away from me and folded his arms across his stomach as he continued to shake.

  “Baby, I think we need to take you to the hospital, that cut looks like it needs stitches. And I’m pretty sure you’re close to going into shock.” I tried to stay calm, but I knew he needed more help than we could give him. Dean returned with towels and a bottle of water, which I handed to Wade. He drank it down, some of the water dribbling down his front, but he didn’t even seem to notice. I used one of the towels and dabbed at his face; he still had not met my eyes, and he continued to shake like a leaf.

  “I think you need to take him to a hospital, and soon, before he goes into shock,” Dean said, giving Wade a worried look. Jimbo sat to the side, looking confused and stressed.

  “I think you’re right. Jimbo, can you go get the car and pull up close to the door?” I said as I dug my keys out and handed them to him. He ran out the door as I turned back to Wade. He still hadn’t said much, and the haunted look in his eyes didn’t make me feel any better about his mental state. “Babe, are you okay?” I asked, pouring water onto a towel and wiping gently at his face. He had mud smeared everywhere and was wet. He didn’t feel cold to the touch, but he still shivered uncontrollably. I took his hand in mine and shook it, frantic to have him react to me.

  Suddenly his eyes shot to mine, and he jerked his hand away from me at the same time. He scrambled to put more space between us and pushed the chair he sat in back across the floor. He only made it a short distance before it flipped over. As soon as he hit the floor he was on his hands and knees, trying to clamber away. “Wade,” I shouted as I moved toward him. Dean stepped in front of me and rushed over to where Wade still tried to put more distance between us, until he hit the wall and curled into a ball. I moved to go to him, but Dean held his hand up, stopping me in my tracks. He knelt down and gently placed his hand on Wade’s back, causing him to flinch.

  “Wade? Are you okay? Jason and I want to take you to the hospital, would that be all right?” Dean asked.

  Wade slowly uncurled his arms and looked straight at Dean. Blood ran freely from the cut on his head, and he sweated profusely, while his breath came in harsh pants.

  “Get the fuck away from me,” he yelled, before he seemed to crumple onto the wooden floor.

  “Wade!” I hurried over to his side. He was limp and didn’t react at all as I pulled him into my arms. “Wade, please wake up,” I whispered into his hair. I felt him move and pulled back enough to see his face.

  “Jason? We need to get out of here, we did it all wrong. Fuck, we did it all wrong.”

  “I know, I know. Jimbo went to get the car, we’re taking you to the hospital,” I said, simultaneously filled with shock and relief that he was talking and knew who I was.

  “We can’t go down there alone again, Dean has to go, and we have to do everything exactly like Janis told us to. We were so stupid.” He brushed his fingers along his forehead, and his eyes grew wide when he noticed blood on his fingertips.

  “Dean, give me that towel,” I yelled in a panic. He rushed to the table we’d been seated at and brought the towels and bottled water. He didn’t ask, just started pressing the towel to Wade’s head. Jimbo burst in through the door, eyes wide with shock. He froze for a second before he knelt in front of Wade.

  “Wade, dude, we’re going to get you to a hospital, okay?”

  “Thanks, Jimbo, I think that’s a good idea.” Jimbo reached for Wade, but I hurried to help him stand; he swayed slightly on his feet, and Jimbo rushed to the other side to help.

  “Let me get the door.” Dean opened it and watched as we hurried past him. “Call me and let me know how Wade is,” he called out as we crossed the sidewalk to the car that was now parked right in front of the restaurant.

  “I will. Thanks for helping. And Dean—” I helped Wade into the back seat. “—don’t let anyone go into that basement. No one!” I yelled back over my shoulder.

  “I understand, I’ll wait to hear from you.”

  I nodded and slid into the seat next to Wade. There was no way I wasn’t sitting right next to him. I gathered him up and pulled him into my side, kissing the side of his head.

  “Jimbo, hurry the fuck up.” He slid behind the wheel and hit the gas. “We fucked up, Jimbo.”

  “I know, Jason, but we can still fix it.” I hoped like hell he was right, and I hoped Wade could forgive me for putting him in danger.

  Chapter Eleven

  Wade

  I remembered climbing out of that fucking hole, but then everything seemed to get hazy. I knew Jason and Jimbo helped me out, and rushed me up the stairs, but once I was there I couldn’t stop shaking. My head felt like it would split in half, and I couldn’t seem to stop the thoughts and sounds that rushed through my mind. We’d done everything wrong. When we’d gotten here, we’d been so anxious to see what would happen, we ignored what Janis had explicitly told us to do.

  “Jason, we can’t take any more chances. We have to do everything right from now on,” I said, turning to meet his eyes.

  “I know, I can’t believe I was so stupid, I’m so sorry I put you in danger. I—”

  “We’re both guilty, we both knew what we were supposed to do, and we didn’t do it.” I knew he’d try to blame himself; even through the buzzing in my head I could hear his guilt.

  “We’ll be there in just a few minutes,” Jimbo said from the front seat. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been in the car, but it couldn’t have been long. It felt like a few seconds passed and he was pulling up to the emergency entrance of the closest hospital. It was still a little light out, but the bright lights of the entrance caused me to recoil in pain as Jason opened my car door to help me out.

  “I’ll park the car and meet you guys in there,” Jimbo said, as Jason led me to the doors.

  We ended up waiting for a couple of hours. Most of it I slept through, drifting in and out of consciousness, only slightly aware of the dull ache in my side, while Jason and Jimbo sat on either side of me. When they finally called my name, Jason kept his arm around me and helped me stand.

  “Sorry, sir, you can’t go back with him,” the admissions nurse said.

  “I’m his boyfriend, and I’m not leaving him,” Jason said. She nodded without arguing further and led us back to a bed that was surrounded by curtains. Jason helped me to the bed, and I let myself relax on it until the doctor came to examine me.

  “Mr. Rivers, I haven’t seen you for a few years,” the doctor said as he entered.

  “Oh, hey, Doc Evans, long time n
o see,” Jason said as he held out his hand to shake the doctor’s hand.

  “Please tell me you guys have given up the ghost hunting?” he said as he stepped closer and started cleaning my forehead.

  “Ouch, watch it, Doc.”

  “So, what happened this time?”

  “I fell down into an old mineshaft, I’m pretty sure I landed on my head,” I explained.

  “Did you lose consciousness?” he asked, still dabbing at my forehead.

  “Not that I remember. I landed on my side pretty hard, though, and hit a few rocks on the way down.” He helped me take my shirt off, and Jason took in a shocked breath. “I think you might have cracked a rib here, we’ll need to do a few X-rays, just to be sure.”

  We ended up spending a few hours there. When I was finally released around midnight, Doc Evans said I had a slight concussion and bruised ribs. He glued the cut on my forehead closed and made me promise not to fall headfirst in any more holes in the near future. We pulled up to my house around one, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

  “Come on, baby, let’s get you to bed,” Jason said, practically carrying me into the house. “Jimbo, you’re welcome to stay, it’s late for you to drive all that way back to Coloma.”

  “All right, thanks, man. I’m beat, I’ll probably just sleep a couple of hours then head back in time for the breakfast rush.”

  “Sounds good,” Jason said, and led me to the bedroom. He set me gently on the bed and knelt to take my shoes off. Much as I had taken care of him, now he took care of me. I smiled down at him as I struggled to stay awake.

  “Go ahead and lay back, I’ve got you,” he said, smoothing my hair back from the bandage that now covered my forehead.

  When I woke up again, it was dark out, Jason held me close, and his even breaths comforted me and made me feel even more at ease. But then I remembered what had happened, and I noticed my phone light up. I moved to pick it up, and the pain in my side reminded me of my injury. Looking at my phone, I squinted at the bright screen, and saw a text from Janis.

  Wade I told you it would only work if you did exactly what I said to do. You need to go back, as soon as you can and do it right.

  I read it a few times before tapping out an answer. We’d go back, and this time be more prepared and do everything exactly like she’d told us to. No more fucking around. This time we’d be ready.

  I know, we really fucked up.

  Call me tomorrow and give me all the details, we’ll go over again what you guys need to do. But the longer you wait the worse it will be.

  Okay, I’ll call. Thanks Janis.

  “Who’s that?” Jason asked as he propped up his head on his hand.

  “Janis. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

  “You didn’t, are you feeling better?”

  “Yeah, my headache is only a slight roar now. Jason, thanks for getting me out of there. I couldn’t have done it without you and Jimbo.”

  He reached for me with his other hand and settled for taking my hand and resting it on the bed between us. “I was so worried about you,” he whispered, leaning closer to me.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of it to happen. I thought I saw something and followed it out there to get a closer look. As soon as I started to fall, I knew I’d screwed up.”

  “Shh, don’t. We all fucked up, we knew exactly what we needed to do, and we didn’t do it. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt any worse than you were,” Jason said.

  “We can’t wait to go back; Janis said the longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be. Can you call Dean tomorrow and see when he’s able to make time for us again?” He gave me a hard look for a moment before answering.

  “Are you sure? We don’t have to go back. We can contact another ghost-hunting group and see if they can take over.”

  “Jason, you know we need to do this. But we need to do it right. Janis tried to prepare us, and none of us took it serious enough to make sure we followed her instructions.”

  “I know you’re right, but I can’t stand the idea of you being in danger. What if you’d hurt yourself even worse when you fell? You could have broken a bone and not been able to climb out. Or you could have been knocked unconscious and we wouldn’t have been able to find you until who knew when.”

  I could feel the panic starting to rise in him. He’d been strong for me at the hospital, but he was scared for me. Something I understood after what had happened at The Vineyard House. “I won’t take any chances again. I didn’t even think about walking out there. I knew from when we’d been there before it was smooth and flat out there, and there weren’t any obstacles. I never even thought about there being an old mineshaft.” I shook my head and winced.

  “Hey, there was no way you could have known about it. Let’s get some sleep and we’ll figure it all out tomorrow. I’ll call Dean and see when he has time again. I love you, Wade, and I’m so damn glad you’re okay.” He gently kissed the top of my head, and I lay my head on his chest. My last thought was how much I loved him too, and how much our lives had changed. I’d fight for him, no matter who or what stood in the way. We’d survived The Vineyard House, and we’d survive this too.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jason

  I woke up before Wade and let him sleep. He was reluctant to admit how badly he was hurt, and I tried like hell not to keep thinking about it. I used the bathroom and walked out into the living room; the sun was barely beginning to rise, and Jimbo was just pulling his shoes on.

  “You out of here?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll give you a call later on. I need to work this morning and do a few things around the restaurant,” Jimbo said as he moved to the door. “Take care of him, I know he doesn’t want to acknowledge how bad he was hurt, but . . . well, you know . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor, seeming unsure of what he wanted to say.

  “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry. We won’t be stupid this time,” I said.

  “This time? What are you saying?”

  “We have to go back, Janis said we shouldn’t wait. I’m going to call Dean this morning and see when we can return.”

  He moved closer to me and lowered his voice. “Jason, he could have been killed. I didn’t want to say it, but you know it’s true. It seems like everything we do makes the next ordeal that much worse.”

  “We’ll be careful, I won’t let him be hurt again.”

  He looked directly into my eyes, and after a few seconds, he nodded. “I know you’ll take care of him, but we need to listen next time. And do exactly what Janis says. I’ve fought her advice my whole life, and looking back, if I’d just listened to her, I could have saved myself a shitload of trouble. She warned me about The Vineyard House. The day after I took the job, she showed up at my door, told me it was a mistake, to stay away or I’d find out how real the other side was. I laughed at her, told her to sell it to someone else. I knew weird things happened around the two of us, but I didn’t want to admit what it really was.”

  “Hey, I get it. I knew how uncomfortable Wade was with the supernatural. I still made him go with me to play ghost hunter.”

  “You didn’t make me do anything, I went because I loved you,” Wade said from the bedroom door as he slowly started toward me.

  “Let me help you,” I said, rushing to his side to help him sit on the couch.

  “Thanks, I’m really feeling it this morning,” Wade said, brushing his lips against mine.

  “And with that, I’m off to work. Talk to you guys later,” Jimbo said, then practically ran out the door.

  “What can I get you?” I asked Wade, watching as he gingerly moved around, trying to find a comfortable position, but he ignored my question. “Nothing? Okay, I’ll just get your phone.” When I walked back out, his eyes were shut as he relaxed back on the couch. I started to leave his phone next to him, and he grabbed my arm, startling me.

  “Don’t forget to call Dean, we need to finish this.”

&nbs
p; “I’ll do it right now.” He settled back on the couch and seemed ready to fall right back to sleep. Not wanting to put it off any longer, I dialed Dean. “Hey, Dean, this is Jason, just calling to see when it’s a good time to come back again.”

  “Hello, Jason, is Wade okay?” Dean immediately asked.

  “Yeah, we took him to the ER, and he has a slight concussion and bruised ribs. Bad enough, but not anything serious. Sorry I didn’t call you sooner,” I added.

  “That’s okay, I’m just relived to know he wasn’t injured worse than he was. Jason, I need to ask you something, and I want you to be honest. Do you think I’m asking too much? Is the situation at the restaurant more serious than any of us thought?” he asked.

  I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts before I answered. “I know this all seems crazy, but we’ve dealt with much worse. I know you’re aware of what was going on at The Vineyard House, and honestly, this is pretty bad. But at least we’re not stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no one to call for help if we need it. We just need to refocus our efforts and do exactly what Jimbo’s sister told us to do. None of us did that, we all rushed in blindly,” I said, and glanced over to where Wade seemed to have fallen back to sleep.

  “I’m not sure there’s a right and wrong way to do it. I think the spirits that seem to be under the restaurant are very powerful. The Vineyard House was terrifying, I hated working there. But this is on a whole different level. I keep thinking about how lucky Wade was to not have been injured more than he was,” Dean said.

  “I hate that he was injured, and I can’t help but blame myself. I know more about the supernatural than he or Jimbo. But Jimbo’s sister gave us specific instructions on how to proceed safely, and we were so ready to get in there, we didn’t do it. There’s a few things you need to know before you commit to having us return,” I said earnestly.