I grimaced at the full government name that flew at me. My mom’s hand went to her hip and her brows rose as she gave me the look. I blinked before she could see my eyes could roll into the back of my head as I sighed.

“I just saw a couple of reports pop up on the group page for the ghost hunter group I’m in.” I tried to shrug as nonchalantly as possible. “People were saying things were being moved around their apartments and some people said they saw stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” She leaned forward as she waited for my answer.

“Just, like, ghost stuff.”

“Mhmm, and what kind of ghost stuff did they see?”

“Just, like—shadow people or something.” I mumbled the last part as I turned towards the sink to wash the rest of the peanut butter off my hand. “Honestly, we didn’t find much there anyways. Just a couple of pictures, but we didn’t get any recordings.”

“If you didn’t find anything, then why are you in such a tizzy about me writing an article about it?” My mom sipped from her coffee and the look she’d been giving me relaxed.

Grabbing the towel draped on the edge of the sink, I dried my hands and turned back to my mom. She was still standing in the kitchen with me, but her attention had gone back to the desk where her notes lay open, beckoning her back.

“Well, I was snapping some pictures of the outside of the building with my Nikon, and I caught something in one of the shots.” My mom’s head snapped back in my direction and even though I was nervous about what I was about to reveal, that single motion made me want to smile. “I caught a—uhm—a figure standing in one of the windows.”

“Really? That’s fascinating!” She held her cup in both hands as she sipped from it.

“Well, yeah, sort of.” I nervously rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to figure out the best way to approach what had happened.

“Can I see it?” She set her cup down on the counter with a clunk and crouched down next to my bag that I had dropped by the counter on my way in.

Before I could stop her, she’d unzipped it and snatched up my Nikon. She pressed the power button and thumbed through the photos. I knew the moment she’d found it because her eyes widened in shock right before her brows narrowed and she glanced back up at me.

“I thought I told you to stay away from these cases.” The full weight of the mom look returned with a vengeance.

“You did. But I—well we—I didn’t know it was going to be like that, when I asked them to go.” I gestured to my bag as I spoke, “The articles I printed off just said they thought they saw them, but that it was gas induced hallucinations, so I thought—I don’t know—maybe it was not the same thing.”

Even as I said it out loud, I knew how ridiculous it sounded, and I knew she was still going to be furious with me for going. Mom shoved her hand back into my bag and yanked out the manilla folder. The edges of some of the articles hung out haphazardly and were crinkled from being rammed into my bag. She flipped open the folder and flipped through the printouts and then the newspaper article clippings. It was when she got to the last clipping, the one of Aunt Katie’s accident, that she stilled.

Mom’s hands began to tremble as she stared down at the black and white photo of her sister. She ran her thumb over it and her face pinched as she fought the tears that I knew would be threatening to come out at the sight of it. She cleared her throat and shut the folder. “You should have come to me about this first.” Her voice cracked as she said it, but she didn’t look at me. “I thought you three were going to some graveyard or abandoned church or something like your normally do, but this—.” She shook her head. “You knew this wasn’t okay, and you still went.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” The guilty feeling I’d had early when Jason berated me started to creep back in. “I just thought that maybe if I could talk to someone else that saw him—if I could just get proof, then maybe—.”

“Maybe nothing, Kara.” She interrupted me. “You stay away from this case, and I’d better not hear about you hunting for these—things, again. Leave. It. Alone.”

I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out in protest as I watched her delete the photos of the shadow man and the third story window. She dumped the Nikon back into my bag but kept the folder in a death grip as she rose to her feet.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me while we are having this conversation?” Mom asked. She inhaled deeply through her nose, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled through her mouth. It was a trick that Dr. Harris had given her to help her deal with her anxious feelings following Aunt Katie’s accident.

“I saw Jason Wyatt today."

A vibration rumbled across my nightstand. I leaned back in my chair to grab it and found a message from Isabelle. 

IZZY: We made it home. I think the queso caught up with Josh he’s been in the bathroom for the last 20 minutes. Lol.

I snorted and typed back.

ME: I knew he couldn’t handle it.

I locked the screen and sat the phone down on beside my keyboard. This psychology homework was taking longer than I expected, but I knew I would have to cram it in once we got back since I didn’t take any of it with me on the trip.

A loud congested snore rang out and I glanced over my shoulder with a smile. Rikku was curled up on the bed, her face buried in my pillow with. Her favorite monkey toy was clasped between her paws and held close. The tip of her tongue was sticking out between her lips.

IZZY: GIRL. He left the door open to “air out”. I need a gas mask, the smell is soo bad!!

IZZY: How’s home? Is my baby okay? Does she miss me?

My nose crinkled at the first message, and the thought of that awful smell wafting out of the bathroom. I would probably invest in a gas mask too if I had a boyfriend like that. I shook my head opened the camera app, snapped a picture of Rikku snoozing away on my pillow, and clicked send.

ME: MY baby is perfect. She said you can keep your stinky boyfriend, she’s gonna enjoy a nice good smelling nap from the comfort of drooling across my pillow.

I yawned and turned back to my laptop. I still had ten questions left on this assignment. After that, I still needed to study for my test on Wednesday, but I think I can put that off until tomorrow at least. If I studied at all. I know it’s supposed to be better to study periodically through the semester, but as a wise professor once told me, Professor Harvey of Pych 101 to be exact, your brain can only hold so much information at a time before it starts shifting it out. So, respectfully to him, and honestly to my own personal time, I usually crammed a quick study in fifteen minutes before the exam while I’m waiting for class to start.

It’s may not be the best method for studying, especially a class this hard, but it hasn’t failed me yet. The worst part about the psychology homework was that the questions were never multiple choice. They were always written paragraph answers. Like this one: What factors influence people or groups to conform to the actions of others, and how does the presence of others affect individual task performance?

It’s a loaded question that requires a loaded answer and because of that, these assignments took significantly longer to finish than most of my other classes. My phone buzzed again, but I ignored it this time. I yawned again and set to work on finishing the last few questions.

Around eleven o’clock, I’d finally managed to finish my homework. I clicked send on the file and leaned back in my chair, stretching my hands above my head and groaning at the tension in my muscles. I’d been sitting way too long. Shoving my chair back, I stood and stretched again, rising up onto my toes this time for the full body stretch.

A grumble behind me told me that Rikku was now awake. She hopped down onto the floor, her claws clacking on the wood, and stretched long ways as she yawned.

“Oh, big stretches!” I cooed and leaned down to scratch her head.

The pitbull nuzzled my hand and shook her head, causing her ears to flop audibly back and forth. She brushed passed me and padded down the hallway. I grabbed my phone from the desk and unlocked it. It had buzzed two more times while I was working.

IZZY: OMG! She’s so cute!

IZZY: Did you do your psychology homework yet? This is taking foreverrr

IZZY: Josh wants to know if you want to get lunch with us before class tomorrow.

Yawning, I typed out my response and shoved my phone into my pocket. The dog door flapped as I walked down the dark hallway to the kitchen. I flipped the kitchen light on, squinting at the sudden brightness. Mom had gone to bed a few hours ago, she stopped by my bedroom door to tell me goodnight and let me know there were leftovers in the fridge.

There was an old butter bowl on the bottom shelf of the fridge that we used to put our leftovers in. I pulled it out and set it on the counter so that I could get a plate out of the cabinet. There was hamburger helper inside and I grinned as I spooned some of it onto my plate. It may be a simple thing, but hamburger helper was one of my all-time favorite foods. And it was quick and easy to make which made it even better.

I put the butter bowl back in the fridge and carried my plate to the microwave. I pressed the two-minute button and grabbed a can of RC Cola from the pantry. The can hissed as I popped the tab, and I took a long drink from it before setting it down on the counter.

Rikku started barking, and I rushed to the door to shush her. When I flicked the porch light on and opened the screen door, I found her laying on the porch, staring out at the yard. Her massive head swiveled to me and her nub tail wagged slowly. She huffed and faced the yard again. I stepped outside and knelt beside her, running a hand over her raised hackles.

“What do you see out there?” I asked as I tried to follow her line of sight, but the porch light only shown as far as the first section of sidewalk past the steps. Anything beyond that was still pitch black. I couldn’t even see the fence’s gate from here.

Rikku lowered her head down on to her paws and gave a low whine. I shushed her and kept petting her. The hackles didn’t smooth out, but she leaned closer to me, pressing her body against mine. Her ears perked up, picking up a sound that I couldn’t hear, and she bared her fangs. A low, deep snarl ripped from her throat that had chills running down my spine.

I’d never heard that kind of sound come out of her before. I looked out at the yard, squinting into the darkness, trying to find whatever it was that was setting her off. But I still couldn’t see anything. Rikku rose to her feet and kept her head low as she snarled again. She stepped in front of me, putting herself between me and the porch steps.

My heart began thundering in my chest as I frantically searched the darkness. Nothing. There was nothing there. I reached for Rikku’s harness strap, intending to pull her inside, but before I could get my fingers around the loop she bolted. She ran at full speed, snarling, into the darkness.

“No! Wait! Rikku, come back!” I jumped up and started down the stairs but remembered that my eyes couldn’t see through the dark like hers could.

Fuck! I turned and ripped the screen door open. I ran through the kitchen back to my bedroom and yanked on my sneakers. I could still hear her snarling when I rushed back to the kitchen. Jerking open the drawer closest to the fridge, I frantically rifled through it trying to find the flashlight. My fingertips brushed the cool metal of the handle, and I yanked it out, clicking it on and off to make sure it worked. Satisfied, I whirled to the door.

Before I could touch the handle of the screen door, a low whine to my left stopped me in my tracks. I cautiously glanced over my shoulder to find Rikku sitting on the couch with her front paws resting over the back of it. Her ears were drooping, and her brown eyes were fixed on the screen door. The snarling outside grew louder, and my stomach twisted. If she was inside, then what was—.

The snarling stopped. My throat dried out as I felt something staring at me through the screen door. Rikku whined again, hunkered lower on the couch. She rested her chin on the back of it.

“H-hey, Wigglebutt.” I choked out. “A-are you okay, babygirl?”

Rikku’s heaved swiveled to me and she barked. One loud, high-pitched bark. I jumped at the sudden sound. I took a step towards her, and she whined again, looking back at the door behind me. Please, God, don’t let there be someone standing in that doorway. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a breath, collecting myself.

Something heavy slammed into the kitchen door, shattering the glass. Shards of it sprayed across the yellow linoleum and cascaded around my feet. I screamed and covered my head, trying to protect my face from any flying debris. That’s when I heard it.

The gargling sound filled the room, growing louder and louder until I had to cover my ears to dampen it. I angled my head so that I could see the door and my eyes widened in horror as Aunt Katie stood there on the porch. Her long black hair fluttered around her as if she were still underwater. Her face looked so peaceful, like it did the day before the accident. Her hazel eyes were bright and welcoming. And despite the fear that was roiling through me, and the fact that I knew she was dead, I wanted to run to her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and bury my face into her should and inhale her jasmine scented perfume.

Aunt Katie lifted a ghostly pale hand and held it out to me, palm up. She curved her fingers, beckoning me towards her. But I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t real. I knew it wasn’t real, but the scared little girl in me wanted her aunt to hold her.

Rikku’s whine had me taking a step backwards instead. My hip brushed the cool edge of the counter and I placed my shaking hand on it. Something solid. Something real. Disappointment flash across Aunt Katie’s face. Her eyes darkened and she angled her head to the side with a sound like crackling bone. My throat dried out as her mouth opened and water began gurgling out. Then her jaw dropped further than was naturally possible, and it jerked aggressively to the side with another bone crackling sound piercing the air.