Free Ghost Guard by J. Joseph Wright Page A

“We’ve done dozens of missions. I’ve prepared all the necessary groundwork. All the bases have been covered. Now, we know Sheila Coulson’s ghost might have issues. She tried to attack someone for goodness sake—”
    “Allegedly,” Rev reminded him.
    “Yes, of course. What I’m saying is if you sense something disturbing, it’s probably our ghost. She’s most likely troubled, and you’re picking up on it.”
    “I don’t know,” Rev differed.
    “Can we talk about this later, people?” Abby whispered into her microphone. “I’m kind of in the middle of something, here.”
    The event organizers had erected a speaking platform, and several people were on stage. A priest stood next to a rabbi, who was beside a woman with multicolored dread locks. It looked like the setup to a bad joke. Wedged among the unlikely speakers was Abby, feeling both determined and befuddled.
    “Okay, everyone. It’s Go time,” announced Morris.
    Rev collected into his earthly form next to a group of young breathers shouting and holding up signs. He decided tonight to wear all black, although he was told to blend in with the crowd. A shaved head and metal studs in his cheeks? He couldn’t bring himself to go that far. Besides, his mission was one of stealth, sleight of hand, and trick of the eye.
    “Who the hell are you!” a bewildered girl shrieked at him as he appeared from nowhere. She glanced around. “Where did you come from?”
    Rev squinted at her and smiled , forcing his will into her susceptible mind. She gazed into his eyes and her mouth dropped open. Then she smiled at him as if confused and fascinated at the same time. Still got it.
    “Peace-loving, compassionate people of Portland!” blared a voice over the PA . The crowd quieted down. “I’m assuming you know why we’re rallying today!” Rolling laughter. “Last Saturday night, two young cyclists from our community were viscously terrorized by what has been described as a prejudiced ghost.” Boos, catcalls. The girl next to Rev threw up her hand and gave the thumbs down. He’d never seen such anger toward a spirit.
    “Are you getting this,” he asked Morris.
    “Yes,” Morris heard him loud and clear.
    “Shhh,” Abby faked a smile from the stage.
    “I’m Patricia Golden from the League Against Spiritual Harassment, and I’m here to say No More !”
    Amidst an eruption of emotion, Rev slipped to the center of the crowd. He stopped and awaited his cue. They’d gone over the routine enough times. This was a run-of-the-mill operation. A defensive measure only. If that didn’t work, they’d have to resort to more drastic methods. He hated drastic methods, unless that meant getting into bed with a beautiful woman.
    As soon as he had that thought, he caught a vision of a woman with the most exotic features. Wide-set eyes. He couldn’t tell what color, or even if they had color. Her strikingly blond hair flowed smoothly against her head, fluid like white rain. She had a smile on her blood red lips. Was it blood? He shuddered, not knowing why. He hadn’t been afraid of anything since he’d died. Even the times when he’d come close to extinguishing, he never felt one twinge of concern. Yet this woman. Something about her gave him the sensation of hairs standing on the back of his neck. Funny, since he had no hair. He had no neck. Ghosts didn’t get the chills—did they?
    Before he could get a better look, a rather tall, rather large man wearing denim stepped in front of this intriguing specimen. Then more people changed position, and he lost his view of her altogether. He wanted to rise to the streetlights and look from there. The mission called, though. He had to be ready.
    “Tonight we’re going to do something that I believe has never been done in the history of ghost hunting,” Patricia plucked the microphone from its stand. “Tonight we’re going to combine disciplines, join forces to drive away this hateful spirit once and for