Chapter 30

Day Four 11:30am

Ariel led the way down the hall with a brisk pace, her frustration at being paired with Mandy evident. The medium trailed a few steps behind in silence, her lips pursed. Only the sound of their footsteps and occasional huffs filled the air.

"Here," Mandy declared, stopping at a door Ariel had already walked past.

Ariel glanced back with a raised eyebrow,

"We don't need to check the temperature of every room, Mandy. Let's proceed to the foyer..." she said, motioning down the hall.

Mandy shot her a look, then turned, opened the door, and stepped inside. Ariel watched with clenched teeth.

Typical Mandy.

Ariel approached and peered into the room. Standing still in the dark room's center, Mandy had her eyes closed. Sighing irritably, Ariel extended the thermometer and noted the temperature. When she looked up again, Mandy was adjusting herself and gave Ariel a self-satisfied glance.

"Nothing," Mandy said as she walked past Ariel back into the hall.

Ariel glared after her, ready to retort but suddenly turned her head sharply. A shadow—a figure—hovered at the edge of her vision. Ariel stared intently around the room but saw nothing more. Curiously, she held out the thermometer: 58.7 degrees. Consulting the chart confirmed it—there had been a five-degree drop.

With a slight frown, Ariel scanned the room again. Still empty and dark.

Was it the old man...?

Shaking off the thought, Ariel moved on. Mandy hadn't looked back once and was nearly at the foyer by now. Typical Mandy—oblivious to someone standing right there in that room. Figures.

By the time Ariel caught up, Mandy had already spent several minutes there, eyes closed, attempting to sense something Ariel knew she couldn't detect. Watching critically as Mandy floated from one spot to another in the large foyer, Ariel rolled her eyes and decided to gather reliable data instead. She held out her thermometer as Mandy neared the doors.

"Ariel."

Startled, Ariel spun around to see Leroy stepping out from Mr. Warner's earlier location. Feeling relieved it was only Leroy, she smiled as he softly closed the door behind him.

"Hey," he greeted, walking over to join her.

"Hey," she responded while scribbling down the room's temperature notes, "what were you up to?"

The monk's smile shifted into a smirk, accompanied by a nonchalant shrug. "Just following Jasper's orders."

Ariel glanced up at him, matching his smirk. "I see, and...?"

The monk rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyeing the door. "I think it's just a storage area; I could hear the generators outside."

"So, your exorcisms were successful?" Ariel teased.

"I'd say so, not a cursed rose petal left," Leroy replied with a wink.

"What about those Magnolias? Mr. Warner believes they're evil," Ariel pressed, her seriousness growing.

The monk nodded knowingly, "Something else to consider."

At the sound of footsteps, Ariel and Leroy turned to see Mandy approaching, her arms stiffly crossed. "I'm done here," she declared pointedly.

Ariel pursed her lips but held back from saying she probably shouldn't. She looked at Leroy. "I'll let you know when we're finished."

The monk nodded. "Alright, you know where to find me."

Mandy studied them suspiciously for a moment, but before she could speak, Ariel breezed past her. "Coming Mandy?" she called over her shoulder as she headed down the hall.

The medium eyed the monk briefly before following Ariel. Unfazed, Ariel moved forward without looking back at her rival. Moments later, Leroy's deep, muffled chant reached Ariel's ears, bringing a slight smile to her lips.

Deeper into the theater, navigating yet another corridor (hoping she remembered the way to the dressing rooms...), she heard the distinctive creak of a door opening. Ariel halted and glanced back down the hall. Her gaze landed on an open door some feet back.

That Mandy.

Ariel exhaled sharply and marched back down the hall toward the room.

If she thinks there's nothing here, why does she feel the need to inspect every inch of this place? Once again, Ariel found her standing in the center of the room, eyes closed as if in deep meditation. The floor creaked beneath Ariel's foot, alerting the medium to her presence. Mandy's head turned slightly towards the doorway where Ariel stood, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Ariel frowned as she pulled out the thermometer.

Of course. She does this just to irritate me.

With great satisfaction, Ariel noted the temperature and then stuck her tongue out at the oblivious medium before turning to leave. But she froze before even facing the door.

There, standing in the hallway mere feet away, as clear as day, was the old man. As usual, a finger was pressed to his lips, but Ariel couldn't suppress a small gasp of surprise. The floor groaned under Mandy's weight. Released from her trance, she glanced at Ariel upon hearing the gasp.

"What?"

Ariel swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze away from the spectral figure before her.

"Uh, um..."

The medium crossed her arms and walked up beside her, peering into the hall.

"What is it, Kinsley? What are you looking at?"

Struggling to maintain a neutral expression as the ghost pressed his finger to his lips even more urgently, inspiration struck. She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed her foot.

"Looking at...? What do you mean? I just stubbed my toe on my way out," she replied, hoping her wince looked convincing enough. For good measure, she hobbled into the hallway, loudly lamenting her pain.

Mandy followed closely behind, watching this act with clear disapproval.

"I have no idea why I'm so worried," she muttered as she walked away from Ariel's dramatic display.

That Mandy.

Once Mandy was out of sight, Ariel risked another glance where the old man had been standing—but he was gone. Her head whipped around to scan the room; it was still and silent. Heart pounding in wonderment and fear, Ariel gazed further down the hall and then back towards Mandy's direction—but there was no sign of him. She let out a relieved sigh and brushed a strand of hair off her face.

That was close.

Steadying herself, Ariel started after Mandy again but couldn't resist one last look behind her. One thing was clear: she was being followed. As she reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, there was Mandy pausing outside yet another door. Narrowing her eyes with determination, Ariel took confident steps toward the medium with every intention of passing by without glancing back.