Free Stalking Shadows (Scary Mary) by S.A. Hunter Page A

behind it. He’s our prime suspect. We should investigate him.”
    “How?”
    “Mabel might know something. We should ask her. We’re supposed to come back in two days for our next shift.”
    They were at the elevators again, waiting for a car. She didn’t know what to make of Mr. White. She didn’t suspect him, like Rachel did. He had the gift. She couldn’t imagine someone with the gift doing wrong with it. She knew that was probably naïve, but she had to believe it. She’d been called evil before, but she knew that the ones who’d called her that were wrong. She was different, but that didn’t mean she was evil, and the same went for Mr. White.
    The elevator doors opened to reveal Cy, whose eyes narrowed when he saw them. Mary’s stomach dropped, but Rachel wasn’t as thrown off by his appearance. “Hi, Cy. Glad Vicky’s doing okay.” Rachel edged around him to get into the elevator, tugging Mary with her. Cy stepped in their way.
    “What are you two doing here?”
    “We finished up volunteering and are now going home. It was our first day.”
    “You just decided to start volunteering?” he asked. He sounded suspicious. She didn’t know what he could be thinking. She doubted he’d consider the possibility that Vicky had visited her in a dream and asked for her help, and it wasn’t like she could tell him that.
    “Rachel’s mom is a nurse. She encouraged us to volunteer. It’ll look good on our college applications.” The lie came out without any thought. A while back, she’d accepted the fact that she would have to lie to Cy to have any sort of relationship with him. She tried not to think about the fact that she needed to lie to a boy she liked to get him to like her. She suspected that by doing so, she was somehow lying to herself.
    “Yeah, my mom’s all about creating the stellar college application.”
    He crossed his arms and stared at the floor for a bit before he spoke. “Look, don’t mess with Vicky. I know she has never been your friend, but she’s in a coma. That’s bad. It’s not some opportunity to get one-up on her or something. Just leave her alone. A lot of people care about her, and we’re all praying that she makes it through this. Just respect that, okay? Please?”
    She didn't know what to say. He really thought this was just one big ploy to mess with Vicky? Her world didn’t revolve around Vicky-- though currently she did affect the orbit some, but everything was NOT about Vicky. She suddenly knew what to say. “There are over a hundred patients in this hospital. Only one of them happens to be Vicky. We just spent the last two hours going around and helping some of them. We aren’t here to mess with her. We’re trying to help others. Get over yourself.”
    She stomped into the elevator and jabbed the “door close” button. Rachel slipped in behind her. Cy stared at them as the doors shut. His gaze was sad. She’d snapped at a guy who was worried about his hurt girlfriend. She needed to shake off the guilt that welled up. He’d deserved it, and she hadn’t been that harsh. At least, she didn’t think so. She wasn’t going to apologize.
    Rachel had pressed the button for the lobby, but when the elevator began to move, it rose.
    “Darn, I didn't notice the elevator was going up,” Rachel said.
    Mary wasn't so sure. “What's going on?”
    “The elevator was going up when we got on. Cy must have distracted us too much to notice.”
    Mary raised her hand with a shake of her head. “Where are you taking us?” she asked.
    The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open, “Go to room 308.”
    “Why?”
    The ghost didn't reply. Deciding to humor him, she got off, took a quick look at the room signs, and began going down the hall.
    “Where are we going?” Rachel asked as she caught up.
    “To room 308.”
    “Was there a ghost on the elevator?”
    “Yeah, but he's not very chatty. He only told me the room number.”
    As they walked down the hallway, the