Mystic Co.

The engine tumbled to a grumbling stop. The sky outside their front windshield was pink with pre-dawn light as seagulls flew overhead and cawed their morning greetings.

“Here we are,” Viktor said, unbuckling from the driver’s seat.

Dee already had one foot out the door. “There better be somewhere to eat around here, Vik. The last place you took us only had one diner in the whole town, and some of us can’t live on mystery meatloaf alone.”

The back door opened as boots thudded onto the pavement beside her. “True, but kinda sketch of you to shade other beings’ dietary restrictions, Dee,” Jason said as he stretched, finally free of the Mystic Co. He tousled his dark locks back before turning to Viktor. “You think there’s a butcher shop in a one mile radius of this happy little suburb?”

“I thought you were on a vegetarian week.” Viktor surveyed them with that all-knowing gaze that struck chills up Dee’s spine.

Jay crossed his arms. “Stop keeping track of my cycle, Vik. It’s kinda creepy.” He glanced at Dee and cracked a smile. “At least we haven’t synced up yet.”

On instinct, Dee flipped back through her mental calendar. Was today the 12th, or the 20th? What month was it, even? Life on the road was a blur sometimes, going to sleep in one city and waking up in another. “You’re an idiot.”

“Play nice kids, there’s a sandwich shop a few blocks from here with enough meat and vegetables to make everyone happy.” Viktor led them across the empty lot towards the nearby harbor. “But that’s not why we came here.”

“It never is.” Jay sighed. “So what is it this time? Zombies? Little kids stolen out of their beds at night?”

“Not a paid contract, I’m afraid,” Viktor explained. A hulking mass of sharp-angled steel took shape along the horizon as they continued walking. “But I have to check here every few years, just to clear it out.”

“I’ve never been on a ship before,” Dee said and Viktor sent her a sidelong gaze.

“Oh, really?”

The enormous flight deck of the U.S.S. Hornet was dotted with cranes and helicopter propellers. Dee’s stomach roiled, empty as it was. “You know, maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t eat yet.”

“What, are you gonna get seasick on a ship that hasn’t sailed in fifty years?” Jay snorted. “It’s big enough you won’t even feel the waves.”

“I think we buy tickets over here.” Viktor gestured to a small wooden stand with a dark blue awning at the base of the ship.

“Really, tickets? We can’t just walk on?” Jay asked.

“Like I said, this isn’t a paid contract,” Viktor shrugged, pleasant as ever despite their bickering. “Consider it community service.”

Just like that, it was settled. After all he had done for them, Viktor’s word was enough - paid contract or not. Dee and Jay fell in line behind him.

The ship loomed closer and closer on the horizon, stark gray against the Alameda fog. “What did you say this case was again? Is someone building a nest here?” A potential vampire threat might explain Viktor’s personal interest in the matter. Dee felt for the stake in her jacket pocket, which she always kept handy.

There was a stagnant pause. Then Jay jabbed an elbow into her ribs as he laughed. “A nest? C’mon Dee, aren’t your spider senses tingling?”

“My what–”

Viktor cut in smoothly. “What Jay means to say is, this is a ghost hunt. We’re here to look for any wandering spirits who might have died during her time as a warship. I’ll go grab the tickets. Don’t cause trouble.”

What kind of trouble could they get into in an empty parking lot? Dee stamped her feet as she watched the morning fog roll in.

“I’ve never seen the Pacific Ocean before,” Jay said absently, as he kicked at a piece of trash in the parking lot. A gust of wind kicked up the collar of his flannel shirt.

“Really?” Dee listened to the distant roar of waves crashing to the shore. A harbor bell rang in the distance. “I used to come here all the time. I think.”

“Well, yeah, you’re from L.A.”

Was she? The words struck something solid yet hollow inside her chest. She tried to picture her childhood. Did she grow up on a beach like this one? The salty bite in the air was somehow familiar.

She remembered this: boarding the Mystic Co. van with Jay and Viktor in Nevada and heading west. Leather car seats and Bon Jovi playing on the stereo. Viktor always favored the classics.

But nothing of the sea and the sky before her, of grains of sand crushed softly beneath her heel. Before she had a chance to voice her doubts, Viktor had returned.

“I got us passes for the audio tour too.” He handed a ticket to Jay with a smile. Despite the fog, he still wore his sunglasses. “There’s just so much history in this place!”

There were a surprisingly large number of people in their boarding group as they entered - an elderly couple decked out in matching visors and bright tee shirts caught Dee’s eye. They kept to themselves even as Dee and Jay waved at them in greeting.

The tour guide grinned as she led them into the bowels of the ship, gesturing to empty halls and laminated placards as she spun the history of the old war vessel.

“When was the first time the ship saw combat?” Dee asked, but the tour guide ignored her, speaking instead of the drafting process that brought most sailors to the ship.

“I think it was 1944,” Viktor murmured, pointing to a signpost at the end of the hall.

“That’s a long time for a ghost to roam around.”

“They can get trapped in a loop. Stuck in a thought, a mood, or a feeling, it can be years until they begin to process what happened to them,” Viktor whispered, voice quiet so the tour guide wouldn’t overhear him.

The idea of being stuck like that was horrifying. Not knowing who you were, or why you were - Dee shuddered.

“How do we help them?” she asked.

Viktor turned to her now, giving Dee his full attention. “Don’t you remember?”

They had stopped in the middle of the hall. Dee looked at the rest of their tour group, rounding the corner without them, and then back at her friends. They were frowning at her with twin expressions of concern.

She thumbed through the pamphlet Viktor had picked up. “It says here that they don’t even know if the ship is haunted.”

“Dee...” Jay said, his tone uncharacteristically grave. Viktor put a hand on Jay’s shoulder and the younger man fell silent.

“Dee, do you remember how we met?” Viktor asked, leveling her with a serious gaze.

“We met-” Dee began. “We met in Pasadena.” That was right, they had met in west Pasadena, not too many months ago.

“That’s right. Why were we there?”

“We were there because,” she paused, grasping for the answer. It was just there, right out of reach - heavy and thick, sifting through her brain like honey. “Obviously we were there because - well.” She stopped and started again. “I was at a friend’s house, and I–”

A jolt of electricity shot through her as her mind flashed white. Her heart beat in her ears like the ticking of a clock. Heavy breaths echoed in her mind - labored, desperate, gasping for air. Was she having a panic attack? Was she dying?

“We met in Pasadena because–”

Screams rang in her ears.

“Because–”

“Yes?” Viktor’s voice prompted.

“How did you find me?” another voice asked, long, long ago.

The pamphlet fell through translucent fingers.

“Because I’m dead.”