Page 6 of Ghost Walk
Several members of the tour jumped back as if she’d surprised them. As if her yelling had come out of nowhere and wasn’tcompletelyjustified given all the crap she’d endured from this jackass. As ifshewas the one acting crazy.
The jackass in question gaped at her like she’d just hit him in the face with a fish. His jaw literally dropped, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. It was almost funny to see someone so cartoon-character astonished.
“Are you talking tome?” He blurted out, his patriot blue eyes as wide as Frisbees. “Holy fuck, are ya really talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?” Grace retorted. “And would you please watch your language? This is a family program.” Unlike most of the Riveras, she wasn’t an avid supporter of casual swearing.
The man gave a crazed sounding laugh.
Grace didn’t appreciate his attitude. Confrontations made her feel lightheaded and sweaty. Stressful or not, now that she’d started this, she wasn’t backing down, though. “I’m serious. You’ve been harassing me all night and I’ve had it. If you don’t like the tour,don’t take the tour. I’ll give you a refund. But I’m not going to have you yelling at me and callingme a liar, alright?”
“Who’sshe talking to?” The frat guy asked in confusion, looking around.
Grace flashed him a frown. Was he drunk? “I’m talking tohim, of course.” She waved a hand at the costumed idiot who’d been tormenting her for the past forty minutes. “The man in the hat.” That should be perfectly obvious to everyone.
Except everyone exchanged sideways glances, like they’d missed something.
Captain Kidd stepped closer to her, his slightly-hysterical laughter fading. His head tilted like he still didn’t believe this was actually happening. “Can you see me, woman?” He asked in an intense tone. “Reallyseeme?”
Wasn’tthata typical question? “Yes, I really see you.” She rolled her eyes at his conceit. “You’re very handsome, alright? Maybe that works with some girls, but not with me. You’re being a jerk and I won’t tolerate it, I don’t care what you look like.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And stop calling me ‘woman’ or ‘lass’ or anything aside from my name. It’s Grace Rivera.”
He let out a shaky breath, bending forward to brace his hands on his knees. “She can see me.” He wheezed out. “Holy Mother of God, someone can finally see me. Thank you. Thank you.Thank you.” He actually crossed himself in prayer. “I’ll never be doubting again.”
What in the world…? Grace’s eyebrows compressed at his theatrics, looking over at the rest of the group for guidance. She could tell from their baffled reactions that she was missing something, but she had no idea what. “What’s going on here?” She demanded.
“I don’t get it. Is this --like-- part of the tour?” The teenager asked.
“What?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” Bermuda Shorts smiled at the girl, ignoring Grace’s confusion. “Don’t you see? She acts like some invisible guy in a hat has been with us this whole time and we all get freaked out thinking a ghost is following us. It’s a nicetouch.Finally, this damn tour is picking up.”
Everyone else was nodding, like they understood, but Grace was totally lost. Was this some kind of practical joke? If it was, she didn’t understand the punchline. “Invisible? The man in the hat is rightthere.”
Everyone smiled humoringly and kept nodded at her. A few of them snapped pictures of some random spot to her left, even though the guy was clearly standing on herright.
“They can’t see me. No one’s been able to see me for nearly two-hundred and fifty years. Except you, Grace Rivera.” The guy sounded manically happy, now his words coming out way too fast. “It’s a miracle.You’rea miracle. I thought the Good Lord had forsaken me, but here you are! You have no idea how much I’ve missed having someone to talk to, lass. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I can’t believe this is really happening.”
Neither could she.
“What?” Grace asked again, fainter this time. No one else was evenlookingat the guy. Wasn’t it human nature to look at someone when they were talking? The stress she wasn’t supposed to feel began to redline. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t…
Then, from out of nowhere, she suddenly remembered where she’d seen this man before.
He wasn’t on a pirate TV show. His obscenely handsome face was straight off the pages ofHorror in Harrisonburg. Aunt Serenity owned the large tome on Virginia history and Grace had loved it as a girl. The portrait of Captain James Riordan, painted the year before he died, had always stuck in her mind, because of his eyes. The color of the minutemen’s blue coats, they’d sparkled with secrets and mischief. Like he knew some wonderful joke and he was just dying to let you in on the fun.
As a bookish fifteen year old, she’d spent countless hours daydreaming about James Riordan. Knife-wielding lunatic or not, he’d fascinated her. It helped that Jamie didn’t look like a murderer. He looked like the kind of guy who sailedthrough life on his extraordinary charm and staggering good looks. A scoundrel, who, after two drinks at a bar, could somehow convince a nice woman to quit her steady job and travel around the world with him. A pirate, who evaded capture by being just a little bit more daring than all the stodgy people he robbed. A free spirit, who stood at the helm of his ship, the wind in his amazing hair, and justlovedbeing Jamie Riordan.
Even a normal girl like Grace had been taken in by the charisma of the man. His eyes in that picture had glinted with adventure and charm. They promised that he was Robin Hood. Jack Sparrow. Dean Moriarty.
…And those same eyes were staring at her right now.
Oh God.
This wasn’t happening again. She wasn’t going to lose her mindagain. No way. If she just told herself that he wasn’t real and willed him away, he’d disappear.
Except the guy didn’t disappear.
Grace’s vision waivered in panic and she began to hyperventilate. Was she going crazy? She had to be. For the past year, she’d been terrified of this and now it was finally happening. Insanity. She took a step backwards, her mind racing. The stress had finally fried her circuits and now she was hallucinating infamous historical figures.
