A bright sun cast it’s morning rays across the sea and into his window. Rolling out of bed he padded barefoot across the floor and stood looking out. The Pacific spread before him stretching six thousand miles across until it reached China. A soft mist already curled from where the cold sea met the swiftly warming sand. Days like this were rare here, but when they did get them, it became a never ending green paradise. Next door he heard someone moving around. So, Kylie was awake. He heard a soft voice saying something and leaned closer to the door that divided their rooms to catch the words. Smiling slightly he realised that she was singing along to the stereo. Imitating the singers voice to perfection, without a note wrong. Grabbing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt he began to get dressed.
Kylie looked at herself in the mirror. The blue denim shorts stood out against her suprisingly tanned skin. The tight black top emphasised every curve. She knew that in roughly an hour it would be plenty warm enough, and ‘till then she would stay here. Her hair was still up in the cute schoolgirl plaits that she had taken to wearing in bed. If any of the guys came around now she’d die of embarrasment.
Standing out on the small balcony she let the cool breeze drift around her. Dotting the shifting silver of the sea islands shrouded in mist would vanish and then reappear. There were hundreds of them, each with it’s own magic. The beach stretched for miles in both directions. The tide lapping gently at the wet sand begged to have footprints in it. A thrill of excitement went through her as she thought of the horse and rider that galloped along the shore every night. They had all been too tired to stakeout last night, but tonight...
The place was deserted. People had been told, and vanished as quickly as possible. One thing the newspapers hadn’t said was the number of people under twenty who had completely disappeared. Most of them had gone down to the beach close to midnight and never come back. Now was the perfect time to do some investigating. The gorgeous guy at the desk could probably help. Undoing her hair she let it fall to her shoulders and, after pulling a quick brush through it left the room.
“ Excuse me?” A pair of deep blue eyes looked at her, making her feel slightly breathless. “How can I help?” The guy asked. “ I wanted to know about the so called ghost that’s been here.”
“ Unfortunately the ghost definitely exists. It’s supposedly the ghost of a girl who committed herself to the sea in 50A.D. The legends written up in a local book in the library. If you go there and just take it, as long as you give it back they won’t mind. Everyone’s left now. They say she’s here for revenge. I’m going. You’ve already paid, and anyone who stays here is insane.” For the first time she noticed the suitcases, looking into his eyes she saw the slightly haunted look that lay in the brilliant blue depths. Laughing weakly she replied, “ I’m not scared of any ghost. Good Luck. Will there be anyone else here?”
“The manager might come in sometime tomorrow, but it’s doubtful, everyone’s terrified.”
Thanking him she walked out of the front door. This WAS freaky. The place was like a ghost town. There was something that no-one was letting them in on. But what? It was only about a quarter of a mile to the library. But when she got there the very look of the place made her wish for her P.K.E. and Blaster. Dark, deserted, and a building that creaked with every breath of wind. Inside, It was an amazing room. The ceiling was painted with all sorts of fantasy themes, and the floor was a brilliant mosaic of random shattered colour. As soon as she found the book, she got out. The beauty did nothing to hide the feeling of abandonment and emptiness. She began a hurried walk back to the hotel.
Eduardo, Garrett and Roland were on the beach. The two older Ghostbusters lay on their backs with their eyes shut, soaking in the sun. Garrett was staring dreamily out to sea. It was amazing, he thought. So peaceful so quiet and...
He snapped himself together. What was happening? It was freaky how you got wrapped up in the surroundings. They were the only one’s left in the hotel. Kylie had disappeared. Something niggled at the corner of his mind, but anxiety and worry for her safety couldn’t get past the barrier of serenity that had swamped all of them.
“ This place is like a ghost town.” Kylie’s voice made him turn around. Looking her up and down, he raised an eyebrow at the extremely short shorts but said nothing until he noticed the thick book she held. “ Researching already?”
“ Well, somehow I didn’t see that any of you were likely to bother.” She sank onto the warm sand and leant back until she lay flat out. “ That’s a typical girl thing to do.” Eduardo’s voice said next to her right ear. “The instant there’s any sun, she sunbathes.” Roland interrupted quickly, stopping any fights before they started. “ So, are we going on a stakeout tonight?”
“ Could do. But I’m not really bothered.”
“ Edwina, if we don’t tonight then we’ll be here forever.” They all waited for some agreement from Kylie. Silence. Eduardo opened an eye and looked at her face. “ She’s fast asleep!” Taking the book from her he opened it looking through the pages until he found the right one.
The tale was gruesome, of murder and mystery, of vanishing people and horrible creatures. “I hope this has been exaggerated.” The other two read over his shoulder at the old text. ‘In the year 50 A.D. The Schonja tribe roamed this island. They slowly vanished out, became extinct as the white men came. The ghost of a young girl is seen to ride the shores at night. She is The Countess de Cartier. Killed by her fiancé it is said that she has the last of the highly evolved tribe under her command. People have been disappearing ever since the year she was killed, it is said that both she and< the horse she rides seek freedom from the curse of the shoreline. They must wait and find the leader of this extinct tribe who has the power to break the curse. They ride from the crumbling ruins of her family< home to the forest where the ancient peoples once dwelled. Anyone who sees or follows her is killed, found eventually with brutal slashes across their necks, made by an animal, but no-one has ever lived to describe it, or them.’
“ Yuck.”
“Sounds about as gruesome as you get.” Garrett looked at his two colleagues and said. “ So, we're going to the woods then?” They nodded in agreement, and began to prepare for what could be their last night alive.