Two Souls: Into the Fire # 177

warning … adult content

***

At the counter, Zach said, “We don’t know the date, but do you have records that go back two or three years? We know the car, and who owned it.”

The clerk brought up the files on his computer. “Let’s see, here’s a list of makes and models of the cars we took in, as far back as five years,” the clerk said. “You said it was an older T-bird…what color?”

“It was blue and white,” Ghost said.

“Okay,” the clerk said, and he scrolled through the list. In a few minutes he said, “Oh, maybe this is it. Here’s the information on it. It was two and a half years ago, a classic, blue and white T-bird…owner, Steve Finn. Does that sound right?”

“That’s it,” Ghost said.

“Looks like it was totaled out, but wasn’t so bad it couldn’t be fixed up. I guess this Steve couldn’t get it done.”

“But, Steve was in the hospital for awhile and he didn’t even know what happened to his car, until a long time later,” Ghost said.

“What we want to know, is do you still have it?” Zach asked.

The clerk looked back at the screen. “I’ll check,” he said. “Oh, yeah, we do actually have it. It’s in the way back of the lot.”

“I want it…I want to buy it,” Ghost said.

“Let me do some figuring,” the clerk said. He tapped in some numbers, then stated a price. “Seeing as it’s going to need a lot of work, I can let you have it for $1,000.” He looked up at Ghost, doubtful he had the money.

Ghost didn’t hesitate. He pulled out his money, and had Zach count out the amount for him. He then proudly handed it over to the clerk.

The clerk was surprised, as it was all in cash. “This will do it,” he said, writing out a receipt.

“What now, Ghost?” Zach asked. “How do we get it fixed?”

“We can call a tow truck, and have it taken to a repair place,” Ghost said.

“That’s right. I can call one right now, if you want…and I do know a place that could do the repairs. They do a fair amount of business with us, and I never heard of any complaints,” the clerk said.

“Yes, yes, call them,” Ghost said.

While the clerk was making his calls, Ghost and Zach waited outside. “I’m kinda nervous about seeing it,” Ghost said. “I mean, it’s still smashed up, I guess…and…well, Steve was in it, and he was hurt real bad.” He looked down, frowning. “Oh, no…what if Steve don’t even want it. Maybe it has bad karma on it now?” He grabbed Zach’s arm, and looked in his eyes. “What if this is all wrong?”

“Calm down, Ghost,” Zach said. “I’m sure Steve will love it. You said it was his favorite car ever…does he still mention it sometimes?”

Ghost thought a minute. “Yeah, sometimes…sometimes he says he’d rather be driving the T-bird than the one he has now. So, ya think it’ll be ok?”

Zach nodded. “Look, I think he’ll be so surprised you did this for him, that he will love it. Y’all had some good times in that car, too…didn’t you?”

“Yeah, a lot.”

“Well, there ya go…good trumps over bad, all the time.” Zach smiled and hugged Ghost, getting excited for the project.

The tow truck pulled into the lot, and the driver talked to the clerk. They went deep into the maze of junked cars. Then, when they came out, the old blue and white T-bird was loaded onto the back. Zach didn’t think it looked too bad. He looked over at Ghost, and didn’t know what was going through his mind, but could tell there were some powerful emotions being relived, by the look on Ghost’s face.

Ghost was gripping Zach’s arm so hard, he would later find bruises. Tears were falling down Ghost’s face, and a look of extreme pain was in his eyes.

“Ghost? You gonna be okay?”

Ghost sobbed, and managed to say, “Steve was hurt so bad in there, and I didn’t even know about it. And, he was in the hospital…and I didn’t come, and he thought I didn’t care. I just didn’t know, or I would have.”

Zach put his arm around Ghost, pulling him close, and could feel the waves of pain, as Ghost broke down, crying until he was weak. Zach supported him, until he gained some control. He began, at that moment, to understand why Steve loved Ghost so very much. It was because Ghost cared…cared deeply about everything, and about everyone, and wasn’t afraid to show his empathy for other’s pain. He marveled at this person he held in his arms…the likes of which he’d never encountered before. Never mind the voo-doo  shops, and psychic readers, down in New Orleans…this was the real thing…right here.

“Ghost, it’ll be ok. Don’t worry about it,” he said, after a few minutes. “Listen, these guys need to take it to the repair shop, and get paid, and get your ok…all that kind of stuff. So, we need to follow them over there. C’mon, let’s go to the car.” He led the way, and they followed the tow truck down the road.

At the shop, Ghost was doing much better, and could concentrate on the business that had to be taken care of. He paid the truck driver, and got a detailed list of repairs to be done, to restore the car to drivable condition. He even told them to repaint it so it looked like new again.

“How soon will it be finished?” Zach asked. “He needs it before Christmas.”

They told him it would be ready in plenty of time. Ghost even paid for them to deliver it on Christmas Eve. As they left, Zach said, “That was a good idea to have it delivered, seeing as how you don’t like to drive. I was wondering how you’d get it home.”

“I know, right?” Ghost said. “I just thought of it.” He breathed a sigh of relief, now that they were back in Zach’s car, and the Christmas present for Steve had been taken care of.

~

Now that business was done, Ghost could relax a bit. He was hungry, now, so asked Zach if they could go somewhere to eat.

“Sure, we can,” Zach said. “There’s a lot of choices, here in the big city…what’cha got in mind?”

“Well, do they have any New Orleans food here? You probably miss the real thing. I know Missing Mile don’t have anything like that, and when Steve and I were down there, we sure did like the food,” Ghost said.

Zach laughed. “You’re right about that. I do miss me some gumbo and shrimp…well all that stuff. I try to make it myself, but it’s not the same. I’ll try to find a place like that, ok?” He drove around town for awhile, and did finally find a small restaurant that advertised, Cajun Cuisine. This struck them as funny, but they went in, anyway.

The place was decorated in what was supposed to be authentic New Orleans style, but Zach and Ghost couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of it. “I could tell them a thing or two about how to decorate this place,” Zach said.

“Yeah, me too,” Ghost said, “and I only went there that one time, with Steve.”

They ordered way more than they could eat, just to try everything on the menu. The waiter kept bringing out plates of boiled crawfish, gumbo, fried shrimp, blackened catfish, red beans and rice, and ended with beginets, and coffee with chicory.

“I’m dying…my stomach hurts,” Ghost said, as he pushed away his plate.

“Me, too, but man it was good,” Zach said. “This was almost the same as the real thing. I’m glad you suggested it.”

“Yeah, I wanted to give you something you’d like, for helping me today,” Ghost said.

Zach nodded, and smiled. “Well, you sure did…thanks.”

They practically waddled out of the restaurant, still laughing about the hokey decorations. “Guess we can head home now, unless there’s something else you want to do,” Zach said. “You know this town better than I do.”

“Well, there is that shop I got the demon fighting stuff at,” Ghost said. “It’s pretty cool in there, if you want to go see.”

“Sure, tell me which way to go,” Zach said, as he pulled out of the parking lot.

***

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.

Two Souls: Into the Fire # 176

warning … adult content

***

After leaving Zach and Trevor’s house, Steve suggested getting some lunch over at the diner before going home. Ghost agreed, as he was hungry, too. “We haven’t been back there since that weird day before Thanksgiving. We can see if it ever got back to normal,” Ghost said.

The parking lot was full of cars, when they got there. “Hey, there’s people here, now…not like last time,” Steve said.

Inside, their favorite waitress came up, saying, “Hi, you two. Good to see y’all are back.”

“Yeah, and it’s not a time warp now,” Ghost said.

“I know,” she said, “and I heard that the strangeness was more than just here, that day. Thank goodness it didn’t last long.”

They ordered a pizza, and enjoyed watching people come and go. Sometimes they felt isolated living out on Burnt Church Road. There was a couple in the next booth, with two small children. Ghost was facing them. The kids kept peeking over the top of the seat, behind Steve, making funny faces at Ghost. He made a funny face back to them. They giggled and hid in their seat.

“What the hell are you doing?” Steve asked. He’d only seen Ghost make a face.

“Huh? Oh, nothing…” Ghost said.

The kids peeked over again, and Ghost made another face at them.

“What’s wrong with you?” Steve asked.

“Nothing, Steve…just playing with those kids behind you, that’s all.”

“Kids?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, behind you. They’re cute…look…”

Steve turned around, coming face to face with them. They hollered and ducked down, again. He shrugged and smiled at their parents.

“They like to be silly,” the mom said. “It happens all the time, so just pay no attention, and they’ll stop bothering you.”

Steve waved to them, and said hi. The kids started asking Steve questions, and laughing. “That’s enough, guys…turn around and eat your lunch,” the dad said.

Their pizza came, then, so they began to eat. “That was fun and funny,” Ghost said.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to be around kids,” Steve said.

“Me either, but that was cool, playing with them.”

As they finished eating, and got up to leave, Ghost told them bye, and the kids kept saying bye over and over.

~

When they got back home, Steve made a pot of coffee. He just wanted to relax and look through the books he’d bought. Ghost took Spirit outside in the back, to play, and he also took the phone with him. Steve didn’t notice. As the cat prowled around, Ghost made a call to Zach.

“Hey, Zach,” he said, “is the plan still in action?”

“Yep, Trevor is in a hundred percent, and will call Steve first thing in the morning. I’ll come pick you up as soon as I can, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here,” Ghost said. He hung up, and pocketed the phone. After a few minutes, he and Spirit came back inside. Steve was absorbed in his book, so didn’t see Ghost put the phone back down on the table. Going into his bedroom, he started reading his own books.

The afternoon was easy, and uneventful. Later in the evening, Kinsey called them. “Hey, Steve, just checking in with y’all.”

“How are thing going, Kinsey?” Steve asked.

“Great…we’re in New York City…got here this morning. Terry’s making us do the whole tourist thing…seeing all the sights. We went to a broadway show, and ate a bunch of good food. We’ll be here another day, then we’re on our way to Florida, for some deep sea fishing. Should be home a couple of days after that,” Kinsey said.

“That’s great, Kinsey. We’re fine here, just the usual. We miss y’all, though. Everyone asks about when y’all will be home.”

Kinsey laughed. “So, the town can’t do without us, huh? I love it. Well, we’ll see everyone soon enough. Got to go see some more stuff, Steve. Talk to ya later.”

“Was that Kinsey?” Ghost asked.

“Yeah, they’re still having fun. They’ll be home in a few days.”

“Good, ’cause I miss them,” Ghost said. “And, we get to have a show when they get back.”

“That’s right, and we need to plan that out a little better, too,” Steve said.

It was getting late, so they made a simple supper of sandwiches, and sat at the kitchen table. Steve went over their show plans, and plans for selling their book, and CD. Ghost knew Steve couldn’t read his mind, so kept thinking of the plan he had for the next morning. Steve was trying to keep everything else on his mind, so as not to think of his plan for Ghost’s Christmas present.

~

The next morning, Ghost was fidgety. He couldn’t sit still, couldn’t concentrate on breakfast, tv, or anything Steve wanted to talk about. He kept jumping, every time he heard a noise, thinking it was the phone call.

“What’s got you all riled up, Ghost,” Steve asked him.

“Nothing,” Ghost said, as he paced around the house.

“Well, why don’t you take that nothing, and go outside and run around…burn off some of that energy.”

So, he did, and when the phone call did come, he missed hearing it. Steve took the call, then hollered out the door, to Ghost. “Hey, come here.”

When Ghost got to the porch, Steve said, “I just got the strangest phone call from Trevor.”

“You did?” Ghost asked. “What did he want?”

“He wanted me to come over there and help him with something. I couldn’t quite make out what, but sounded like move some furniture, or paint some furniture…I don’t know what he was going on about. He said Zach wasn’t going to be there to help, and could I come over.”

“Are you going?”

“Yeah, guess so…you want to come, too?”

Ghost pretended to be thinking about it, then said, “No, you go on. I don’t like moving furniture.”

“Well, let me get my keys. Will you be okay here by yourself for awhile?”

“Yeah, me and Spirit will be fine,” Ghost assured him.

“See ya when I get back then,” Steve said, and drove away.

A few minutes later, Zach pulled up into the driveway, and honked for Ghost to come out. He came running, and jumped in the car, all out of breath, but grinning.

Zach was laughing. “This secret stuff is kinda fun, Ghost.” He drove out on the highway toward Raleigh. “So what’s the scoop?”

“The what?” asked Ghost.

“What’s the plan? Where do we go first?”

“Oh, go to the bank. I’ll need some money.”

“You got it,” Zach said.

“You drive fast,” Ghost said, and kept cringing, when Zach passed other cars.

“Guess I do, but don’t worry, I’m a good driver.”

“Steve drives fast, too.”

“You don’t drive?”

“I can a little bit, but I don’t like to,” Ghost said.

“Hmm, I figured everyone liked to drive. Oh, here we are, the bank. Do you want me to go in, too?” Zach asked.

“No, it won’t take long,” Ghost said. He went into the bank building, and asked an employee to come help him in the safe room. He’d have to trust the person, because they’d have to count out some money for him. He didn’t really know how much he’d need, so he told them he was buying a car, and to give him however much they thought it would cost.

The employee was helpful, giving Ghost a large amount, from his and Steve’s safety deposit box.

Back in the car with Zach, Ghost told him to drive to a certain junkyard for wrecked cars.

“Ghost, I know it’s a secret for Steve, but why here?” Zach asked.

“Because, this is where they took Steve’s wrecked T-bird. I want to get it fixed for him. He loved that car,” Ghost said.

Zach smiled. “Wow, that’s a great idea,” he said.

At the junkyard, Ghost told the clerk what he wanted to do. Clearing his throat, he then said, “A long time ago, there was a wreck, and Steve’s car was brought here. It’s a T-bird, an old one, and do you still have it?”

“How long ago was this?” the clerk asked.

“I think it was…” Ghost looked to Zach for help. “Zach, do you know?”

Zach shrugged, “I never even lived here, then, Ghost. Let me see what I can find out. They have records of what was brought in, I think.”

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.