Ghost Killer Collection

Chapter 10

During the cab ride home, I emailed the pictures from my phone so I could view them on a larger screen. When I arrived at the apartment I went straight to my laptop. As the pictures were downloading, I grabbed a beer and walked over to my bay window and gazed out, unseeing, for a few minutes. I was putting off the viewing for three reasons. First, what if the pictures showed two different men, wearing similar clothing, one disabled, one not? What if the pictures showed the same man, one disabled and one not? Lastly, what if they showed the ghost? I didn"t know much about ghosts; in fact, my knowledge was limited to what I"d seen in movies, and I didn"t put much credence into Hollywood"s knowledge of the paranormal beyond making money off it. Could ghosts be photographed?

differentsameIf there were two separate men in the pictures, then I needed to reconsider my previous declaration regarding insanity. After all, I"d convinced myself that I had some sort of ghost or demon killing power, to the extent that I went out and tried to test it. However, if there was only one man in two different conditions, what did that actually mean? That I had the ability to find and extinguish evil spirits that plagued the living? That I could heal and save the living from these spirits? I wasn"t actually sure which was more problematic at this point.

As I turned to go to the computer, I heard voices in the hallway. It sounded like Justine talking to someone. I ran to the door and looked out the peep hole. She was there, speaking loudly to another elderly neighbor, one who was very hard of hearing. I opened the door and she saw me and smiled. The elderly neighbor had turned to go back to her apartment and was shuffling in the opposite direction.

“Hey Justine, how was your luncheon?” I asked.

“George, my dear! Those people are such snobs,” she snickered. “However, I do enjoy the ballet and must put up with the committee.” She shook her head in mock disgust.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course dear, anything you like,” she replied kindly.

“The little boy from this morning, is he going to be okay?”

She frowned, a look of confusion crossing her face. “Why do you ask, dear? He seemed just fine to me. I saw him not ten minutes ago in the lobby. He was laughing and jumping around just like all boys do. They"re so full of energy at that age.”

Of course he was, and why shouldn"t he be? After all, a demon was plaguing him just a few short hours ago, and now it wasn"t. I was good and scared now, because that little boy was sick and I"d helped to cure him. It was real, and even though I hadn"t viewed the pictures yet, I knew what they were going to show me.

wasJustine"s brow furrowed. “Dear, are you sure you"re feeling all right?”

I nodded. “Maybe not as well as I thought. I think I"ll lay down for a bit; thanks Justine. Have a good afternoon,” I said as I walked back into my apartment. I leaned against the door and sighed heavily. It was time to look at those pictures.

They had loaded onto the screen and I clicked a few buttons so that I could view them side by side. The images were clear and crisp. The vet was sitting, head hung, crutches to one side, his only leg jutting out onto the sidewalk. Behind him, the bay, sailboats, tourist ferries, and other maritime craft were clearly visible, but no ghost girl in sight. There was one thing though; a slight fuzziness could be seen on the screen where the ghost teenager had been standing. I enlarged the photo and zoomed in on the spot, but only saw just a tiny bit of blurriness. It was almost as if a fly or something had flown past just as the photo was taken.

I went to the second picture and compared them side by side. The men were identical in every way, except for the missing leg in the first picture and two legs and two athletic shoes in the next. I was seeing ghosts and I was killing them. More importantly, I was saving people that these demons were haunting.