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Shook Chapter 9: The Train Station
Dyan and the gang find themselves in an old train station. Just when they've regrouped with Navy, he gets a strange idea...
Dyan and Maya ran to Navy and climbed inside the train car he was in. It was completely wooden, from the ceiling to the walls to the floor, and had a sign on a mini pedestal you could read.
There were symbols drawn on the walls of this car.
Navy pointed. “According to the sign, those are symbols frieghthopers used to communicate with each other.”
Dyan voiced her amazement, while Maya kneeled down to get a closer look at the symbols.
“I’ve learned so much since we’ve been here. Like this station’s been around since the 1800’s!” Navy exclaimed.
“That’s a long time!” said Dyan.
“Of course it is. I almost wonder how this place isn’t haunted,” said Navy, which made Dyan’s heart beat faster.
“Please, how could this place be haunted?” Maya asked Navy, hopping out of the train car while Navy climbed down the stairs.
“How couldn’t it be? I mean, passenger suitcases are still in the trains and symbols are written in at least one of the train cars. Who says the passengers' ghosts didn't stick around?”
Navy looked at Maya and Dyan’s silent and worried faces, and a grin grew upon his face.
He put his hands at the sides of his mouth and yelled, “Hey! Train ghosts! Show yourself if you’re in here!”
Nothing.
“See, you only got an echo back,” Maya put a hand on her hip.
“How do we know it was my echo? How do we know it’s not a ghost mimicking me to hide their identity!” Navy hopped at Maya and she stepped back.
Maya rolled her eyes. “Oh, please Navy. I’m not scared of ghosts. They aren’t even real. Watch.”
Maya ran to the center of the station and yelled, “Hey trains ghosts! I’m wide open! Come at me!”
Again. Nothing.
Navy and Dyan met her at the center.
Maya looked at them. “See? No ghosts. Though I kind of wish there was some. I’d love to meet a ghost, and ask them how it feels to be a living glow stick. Well, a dead glow stick, but you get what I mean.
Dyan dreaded this conversation. She could only imagine a ghost popping out of one of these train cars, or crawling out of the vents and chasing her. “Let’s get out of here.” she said, voice wavering.
“What? You scared?” Navy asked her. “Because you shouldn’t be. My ghost theory is just that; a theory. You can yell out for ghosts to come get you and nothing will happen. Go on.”
“No. I don’t want to. Let’s just leave.” Dyan was busy looking all around for possible ghost hiding places.
Navy shrugged. “Whatever. I was already leaving. I saw some trains outside that I wanted to see for myself up close.”
The trio picked a random railroad track to trail, and then followed its twists and turns out into the field where they came up close and personal to the engines laying around out there. They stood on the ledges, laughed, and pretended to be cowboys headed out west.
After a while, Maya said. “We should probably head back to Mom before she starts worrying about where we’ve gone.”
“What a bummer. I could’ve stayed here all day,” Navy said, huffing and climbing off the train.
“I know. We didn’t even meet any ghosts." Said Maya, stomping on a patch of grass.
“Ghosts!? What ghosts! Where!?” Dyan ran over to them quickly. She took a sigh of relief when she realized that the tall black figure she'd seen was only a tree.
“Dyan, we’ve already said there are no ghosts! Maya just mentioned ghosts, We called out for them earlier and nothing happened, remember?” said Navy.
“Yeah but… well,” Dyan trailed off, not wanting to say what she was thinking.
“You're still scared there might be ghosts in here, right?” asked Maya.
“Yeah,” Dyan admitted.
“What helps me face fears is learning more about them,” Navy told Dyan.
“But how could you learn more about ghosts?” Dyan asked shakily.
“By reading about them, or interviewing one. Since ghosts are fake, there’s no factual book about them. As for interviewing one, call out to one. If one comes, they’re real, if one doesn’t, they’re fake.”
Dyan’s heart beat like a drum in her chest. She opened her mouth, daring to call out for a ghost.
Maya put a hand on Dyan's shoulder. “Don’t worry, me and Navy are right next to you. If they were scared to come out when me and Navy called out for them, why would they suddenly come out and try to chase us now?”
This gave Dyan only a little bit of reassurance, but it would have to do.
Dyan tried to act as Spirit would in this situation. “Hey ghosts…i-if you’re there, quit hiding and show yourself already, you big scaredy cats!” she yelled.
“Ooh, bold move taunting the ghost.” Dyan smiled at Navy's compliment.
The three waited in silence as nothing happened.
“Welp. Guess all the ghosts are on a lunch break," said Maya and all three children burst out laughing.
Well, they were laughing until the turntable began to move
Find out what happens next in the next part!
New to Shook? You can find the chapter archive in this post.
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