Page 3 of Taunting the Ghost

The sky lit up with a lightning strike overhead. Caleb held his breath and counted the seconds before he heard the rumble. Five seconds. He felt it in his chest, deep and far too close.

“Fuck, we need to outta this storm. C’mon, there’s a cabin up this trail. Give me a hand.”

Caleb picked up one side of the cooler, heart pounding, half-expecting Ryan’s hand to pass right through it. It was Halloween. Strange things happened around here on Halloween.

Like a ghost pretending to be a friend. Could ghosts do that? Take on the appearance of someone else? What if-

Ryan grabbed the handle. Ryan was real.

Ha ha, of course he was. Fuck. Ghosts weren’t real. This was Ryan. Caleb knew Ryan. He’d spent too long alone and in his head.

“You get caught in the storm too or something?” Caleb asked over his shoulder, leading the way up the trail.

“Or something. You were left to carry all of this yourself? Don’t worry, the ghost will scare him straight.”

“You really believe in ghosts?” Caleb said, trying to sound casual while his knuckles turned white on the cooler’s handle.

“Don’t you know? The ghost lures you into a false sense of security. Makes you want the forbidden. Then when you’re least expecting it - he swallows you whole.”

Caleb gulped.

“It’ll have to go through me to get to Isaac.”

“He’s lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”

Caleb sputtered and stumbled, almost dropping the cooler.

“Why does everyone always assume that?” Caleb grumbled. “We’re just best bros. His girlfriend broke up with him. Of course I’m going to look out for him.”

“Oh. I wish I had a friend like you,” Ryan said wistfully. Almost sad.

“You could have come back to the fall festival with me last year. The guys can be intimidating, but you’d be safe with me.”

“You’re cute, but no.”

“I am not!”

“Would you prefer handsome? Masculine. Strong. Fuckable.”

Caleb’s voice caught in his throat. No one, not even his girlfriend, complimented him like that.

“You look a lot like him,” Ryan said.

“Who?”

“My old crush. He was big and shy. Like you.”

“What?” Caleb laughed. He couldn’t decide which was worse, cute or shy. He was the enforcer for their team for a reason! He was big, mean, and ready to throw down to protect his bros.

They reached the cabin, a set of muddy footprints leading right up to the front door. A light flickered inside, a familiar shape moving about. He’d found Isaac.

Caleb froze on the threshold. Wait. He recognized this place. This was the haunted house! The one all his bros said to avoid at all costs on Halloween!

“To think, I tried for hours to get you into my cabin,” Ryan said. “And here you are, just walking in on your own…”

Caleb gulped. Wait. This cabin? This was the haunted house? The one everyone said to stay away from, especially on Halloween? The one that even had the ghost skeptics leaving it creeped out?

“What do you mean it’s-”