Page 69 of My Road Trip with a Vampire: Season One
He grunts and looks away.
“You sensed something, didn’t you?” he asks after we let everything settle for a few minutes.
I nod.
“I think I know how to invite our ghost for a visit.”
23
HUNTINGDON'S LADY IN RED: PART 3
“If we're committing crimes together, it would be polite to let me in on your plan,” Dennis says, messing with one of Pratt Hall’s doors.
“It’s kind of hard to explain. Can we focus on getting in first?” I don’t love the idea of getting into real trouble, so I’m ready to get this part over with. “Unless you can’t handle this.”
“I can handle a little trespassing, lovely. It’s part of the job.” He winks at me while he shakes the brass handle. “But sometimes I forget you’re a good girl, Bea. You avoid these situations at all costs, don’t you?”
The tension across the bond has simmered down to a tolerable hum, so we’re back to our regular banter.
“Just do it already!” I whisper-scream to him, flailing my arms.
I check that the coast is clear. Most of the partygoers have found where they’re spending the night by now, and the campus seems pretty empty aside from a couple of random people who stumble back to their dorms in the distance.
Pratt Hall is completely abandoned.
There’s a cracking sound, and Dennis pushes the door open.
“Since this is no longer a residence hall, I should be able to get in just fine,” he says, waving me into the dark building. He steps in behind me. “This place looks pretty outdated. Maybe the school doesn’t even have an alarm—”
The buzz of the alarm system drowns out his speech. I shine my phone light in his face, but he reaches in his bag and tosses me a flashlight and a pouch filled with salt. He only looks mildly annoyed by the inconvenience when he disappears to look for the control panel.
I stuff the salt in my pocket and flash the light by my feet where Darling is rolling around on the floor. There’s a loud whirring noise as the alarms die down. Dead silence drops through the building. I don’t sense any supernatural presence here yet, but it does feel creepy standing around in the dark.
“You’re pretty good at that,” I say, lifting my flashlight toward the footsteps coming from the front hall. The light lands on a woman’s face, her surprised features exaggerated by the shadows beneath her eyes.
Shit.
I can deal with ghosts, but I’m not equipped to handle security guards.
“Where’s your friend?” she asks, the corners of her mouth pulling down. “I don’t know why you kids always mess around with this place. You know you’re probably going to get expelled, right?”
I don’t hear Dennis’ footsteps, but he appears beside me. He wraps his arm around me, his cool fingers resting on my waist.
“We don’t have to worry about that because we tampered with the alarm so quickly that you never heard it go off. You only saw two students leaving the building after it was too late. Nothing was stolen or broken, so you decided to let it go. It wasn’t worth getting in trouble over.”
“I just want to retire. I don’t want to give them a reason to fire me.”
“Exactly,” Dennis says. I can feel the rattle of his compulsion echoing through the bond. “That’s why you're going to turn and leave after realizing that everything is fine. A couple of dickhead students aren't worth ending your career over.”
She nods, her eyes still hazy from the effects of his compulsion. She leaves without another word.
Dennis squeezes my hip before he lets go.
“We should have the place to ourselves now,” he says.
“Just us and our ghost friend, hopefully,” I say. “If she wants to come out. Brittany mentioned the fourth floor, so let's head there.”
“I thought we ruled out the possibility that she’s a spirit tied to one spot.”
