The Phantom Crystal

Keeping Promises

“Thanks again for coming, Jackie,” Rose says as we walk through the darkened tunnels. I offer her my best smile as I do my best to curb my anxiety.

“It’s no problem, Rose, I’ve been thinking of checking out this club for a little while, so you just gave me the perfect reason to actually do it,” I state, shooting quick glances at the dark corners. Phantom floats next to me, snickering but I refuse to acknowledge such behavior. I still remember that creepy feeling the last time I walked these tunnels at this time at night and I’m not going to forget all the warnings I’ve been given from all the ghosts I’ve met so far. For all I know, Phantom’s sister could be waiting just around a corner or inside a wall to rip the crystal right out of my chest. Which has a high probability of killing me and I very much want to stay alive for as long as possible.

Rose, unaware of my inner turmoil, beams at me, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she grins.

“Honestly, I’m glad you said yes. Everyone is gonna go nuts. We haven’t had a new member since me and Nathan joined last fall semester. We have in total eight members. There’s me, Nat, Hope, Bubba, Jen, Tim, Lea with an ‘a’ instead of two ‘e’s, and Victoria.” Rose counts on her fingers as she names off names. “And then, as you know, Ian is our advisor. He approves all of our ghost hunts and sometimes he even comes with us. Since it’s not October, he should come on a few more hunts then last semester.” Rose wiggles happily as she clasps her hands in front of her. “I love when he comes with us, we always seem to have the best luck when he’s there and he just knows what he’s doing and educates us as we go.” A flush spreads across Rose’s cheek as she glances at me, a small smile on her lips. “But I’m sure you already know that seeing that you’ve gone on professional hunts with him and your parents.”

I chuckle, tensing briefly as we turn a corner and enter the tunnel for the Union.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t stop me from being in awe of them. They make it look so easy and I’m still learning.”

‘Of course you’re still learning, sweetheart,’ Phantom states, floating to hover over my head. ‘You’re still a child in most people’s eyes, living and dead. You have much to learn about the Ghost Dimension. But don’t worry, you currently have an expert of the Ghost Dimension living inside you.’

I roll my eyes up to look at him.

‘Yay me,’ I think dryly causing the entity to laugh.

Rose suddenly shivers with a small frowns and glances around, eyes narrow.

“Did you hear something?”

Panic spikes in me and I quickly shake my head.

“Uh, no? What...What did you hear?” I ask, shooting Phantom glares as he snickers and returns to his spot to my right.

Rose pauses and instantly the tunnel goes silent without our footsteps. Unease threatens to creep into my chest as my friend slowly does a 360, eyes flickering around us. Rose purses her lips before shaking her head, sighing deeply.

“I guess it was nothing. I thought I heard a quiet laugh, but honestly, it could have just been another student or even my imagination.” Rose laughs and runs a hand through her hair. “I guess us talking about Ian and your folks just made me rather jumpy. BSU might be old but I haven’t experienced anything on campus to tell me that it’s haunted.”

My eyebrows shoot to my hairline.

“What? Really? You mean you guys haven’t investigated the library here or the basement of Pine?”

Rose grabs my wrist, her eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.

“No! Why? What have you heard?”

My lips quirk as I tilt my head.

“I’m surprised Ian hasn’t said anything. Mom and Dad have told me about so many different stories about ghosts haunting this campus and I even had an encounter in the basement of the library and in the small rec room in the basement of Pine.” I tap my chin. “Maybe he doesn’t want there to be investigations on campus? Dad used to tell me how they’d get in trouble by some of the staff because they’d get caught in certain places on campus when the building was supposed to be closed.”

Rose gasps and frantically searches her pockets for her phone.

“Anything else? Is there any other places on campus that might be haunted?” Rose manages to locate her phone and opens a note taking app. “Maybe we can do these hunts on days that Ian has to go down to the cities.”

Amusement dances within me as I watch her type in the words ‘library basement’ and ‘Pine Hall basement’ on the new document. I scratch my cheek as I try to wrack my brain.

“Well, the library and Pine are the first that come to mind since I actually encountered ghosts down there. I vaguely remember Dad saying something about spirits wondering around at Diamond Point park. I think he would say 1 am was usually when they would appear?” I slyly glance at my friend. “Then there’s a bookstore in downtown that is haunted by something that maybe if granted permission, could be investigated.”

Rose nods, frantically typing as I talk.

“And what was the bookstore called?”

“It’s called ‘Books & Me’. It’s actually quite cute. It’s small, has books all over the place.” I shrug as Rose lifts her eyes to me. “I heard about it and wanted to check it out. Apparently the entity’s name is ‘Max’.”

Rose brightens at Max’s name and types it down.

“Wow, Jackie! You’ve already given us four new places to check out! Hopefully we can get Ian to get us permission to do the library and Pine Hall.” Rose giggles as she shoves her phone back into her pocket. “The guys are gonna love this. We were gonna use this meeting to brainstorm some locations we can check out and with all of these within walking distance, we don’t really have to worry too much about gas and transportation.”

I nod as we start walking once more. If I can help other college students save on gas, then potentially having them meet a poltergeist might just be worth it.

‘As long as Max behaves and doesn’t try to hurt anyone,’ I think with a mental wince. Phantom places a hand on the back of my neck, his icy touch causing shivers to course through me.

‘Max isn’t the strongest poltergeist out there, darling,’ Phantom states, lightly dragging his fingers across my skin and I have to resist the urge to smack at his fingers, least cause Rose to become paranoid. ‘At most, he might throw a few books at them or shove their equipment around. But he isn’t strong enough to drag a living being or pick them up. Unlike from what I’ve heard and read about that poltergeist you dealt with two weeks ago.’

My nose twitches at that unpleasant reminder. I still have bruises from that, all turning a nasty shade of yellow and green.

‘I just don’t want anyone getting hurt.’

‘Oh, I know, dear heart, I know,’ Phantom coos, his lips twisting into a smirk. ‘So, I guess you’ll just have to go with them on these ‘hunts’ to make sure nothing goes wrong.’

My eyes narrow. He seems awfully happy about all of this. Does he WANT us to run into more ghosts? Or does he have something else entirely in mind? Phantom chuckles at my suspicious gaze and pats my cheek gently.

‘Oh, don’t worry, darling. I merely want you to have a good time.’

‘Why do I feel like that’s a lie?’ I think back but Phantom only smirks wider before vanishing from my side. Rolling my eyes, I quicken my pace to match Rose’s as we finally enter the food court in the Union.

Rose offers me a smile as she leads up a flight of stairs and nervous butterflies dance in my stomach. It’s one thing on making new friends when you go to a new place, it’s a whole other thing to meet people who idolize your parents and could become very disappointed in you if you don’t live up to their expectations.

Rose, as if sensing my thoughts, reaches back and takes my wrist in hand, rubbing her thumb over it soothingly.

“Don’t worry, Jackie, everyone here is goin’ to be very nice and we don’t expect anything from you.” She smiles softly at me. “You’re just gonna be a new member to us and we’re gonna treat you like any other new recruit. Some hazing may apply.”

A weak chuckle escapes me but I nod anyways. Voices are already filtering down the dimly lit hallway and I bite the inside of my cheek as the thought of just turning around and returning to Pine seems like a much better option. Reaching up, I go to adjust my beanie only for my hand to meet hair instead. I instantly stop, ice pouring into my stomach. Rose turns, her eyebrows furrowed, when my hand leaves her grasp.

“Jack?”

“Rose, I can’t go in there,” I frantically whisper, both hands covering the white in my bangs. Rose’s eyebrows shoot up and she frowns.

“And why’s that?” Her eyes glance at my hands and she sighs. “Jack, no one is gonna make fun of your hair.”

I shake my head, heart pounding as I shoot the only door emitting light panicked looks.

“It’s not the other students I’m worried about, Rose,” I whisper hoarsely. “It’s Ian. He has no idea about my bangs and I just know that he’s gonna tell my folks about it.”

Surprise shoots across Rose’s face before softening.

“Jackie,” she says, voice aspirated but fond. “Ian barely ever comes to one of our meetings. He’s far too busy. We usually have to shoot him an email of the notes and where we’re planning on going on Saturday hunts. I highly doubt he’s gonna be in there right now.”

I worry my bottom lip.

“That’s not what he said on Saturday when I saw him.”

Rose blinks, confusion evident on her face.

“Saturday? Why did you see him on Saturday?”

I tilt my head. Oh, that’s right. I didn’t tell anyone I was meeting up with Ian. But then again, he’s practically my uncle, so why shouldn’t I see him?

“I needed to talk to him about some research I’ve been doing and he agreed to take me to lunch to discuss it.” I shrug when a conflicted look morphs over Rose’s surprise. “I’ve known him since I was born, Rose. He’s practically my uncle and he IS my sister’s godfather, so I think I’m allowed to hang out with him on weekends without it being weird.”

Rose’s shoulders relax and she weakly chuckles as her hand messes up her hair once more.

“No, you’re right. Sorry. I know that he works with your folks but I keep forgetting that he’s your sister’s godparent. It’s just weird to me that all of my childhood heroes know one another and that I’m friends with one of their son’s and didn’t even know for the last six months.”

I grin, fingers flexing in my hair.

“Glad to know that I at least made a good enough impression that it wasn’t needed right away.”

Rose smacks my bicep before linking our arms together at the elbow.

“Of course you didn’t need it, silly. It’s now just an added bonus,” she says, winking causing me to laugh. “But I’m serious. I’m sure Ian was merely joking about being here. He has so many classes that I doubt he’ll have the free time right now to come join us.”

“I...I guess you’re right,” I say, shoulders sagging. “I’m just so scared of how my parents are gonna react when they see this.”

Rose shakes her head as she coaxes us into walking once more.

“I’m still shocked that they would be so gun-ho about you dying your hair. It’s not like it won’t grow back. Nor is it permanent.” Rose misses my grimace as I glance off to my right. “So, honestly, there is so much worse things you could be doing to your body right now that dyed hair should be low on their list.”

“You’d think,” I grumble as we stop outside the slightly ajar door. “But they’re not.”

Rose, unsure what to say, merely offers me a reassuring smile before pushing opening the door.

“Hi, everyone!” Rose says as she pulls me in. “I brought us a new recruit!”

Heat rushes to my face as the voices instantly stop talking and everyone turns to look at us. I force myself to smile as Rose starts to pull me further in when she abruptly stops, causing me to stagger.

“Rose?” I ask softly as I notice that her eyes are wide and her face has paled a little. She quickly glances at me sideways before looking ahead again. I follow her gaze and my stomach hits the floor.

“Hey there, Jackie,” Ian says from his place at the table, his smile sharp and something flashes in his blue eyes. “Nice hair.”

Oh dear gods. Kill me now.