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It was a dark and stormy October’s night; all through the neighborhood the only light came from battery-powered candles lit inside decorated pumpkins as the blackout raced through town. And in the Molina’s studio, four ghosts woke up in a panic to the piercing claps of thunder that shook the thin walls of the garage. In the loft, Willie woke to sheer darkness and froze: to them, it was like waking up in the Dark Room again and suddenly, in their mind, they weren’t safe and sound in their new home at all.
“Willie?” Alex’s voice called softly.
Willie couldn’t answer. Knees drawn to their chest, Willie rocked back and forth on the bean bag, feeling smaller and more childlike than in all their decades of being seventeen years old. Eyes open wide to the darkness, Willie could only think of days and days of being trapped in Caleb’s dungeons, of the pain of the jolts and the never-ending not knowing…
“Willie?” Alex asked again. “Can I touch you?”
Willie thought they may have shaken their head, but they didn’t feel very in control of their body right now. There was the smallest, gentle weight of Alex’s hand in theirs, the other hand on their shoulder.
“You’re safe,” they heard Alex whisper. “The power just went out. It’s just a storm, Willie. You’re safe, with me, at home okay?”
Power outage. That made sense- that made complete sense. Alex reached over, trying the small lamp they usually kept on in the loft, as though to prove the lights didn’t work. They felt Alex wiggle their fingers, heard him breathe out low and slow, for Willie to match his breathing. They thought they were following, but they weren’t sure. Weren’t they a ghost? Did they need to breathe?
“It’s okay,” Alex’s voice echoed against the darkness. “It’s okay.”
The words were repeated over and over again as gentle circles were rubbed against his back, and Willie tried to believe him. They tried to not think of how suffocating the darkness felt, how easy it would be for Caleb to find them in the darkness…
“It’s okay,” the voice was Luke’s now, from the studio below. “Reggie, baby, it’s okay. The power went out. It’s okay, you’re with me in the studio.”
Willie felt Alex tense a little as they realized Reggie was also up, also scared.
“Luke?” Alex called.
“Yeah ‘Lex?” Luke echoed.
“Is Reggie okay?” Alex whispered back, as though they weren’t all awake.
There was a horrible sob from Reggie, powerful enough to pull Willie further back to reality. They didn’t know Reggie very well yet, but it hadn’t taken long to figure out that Reggie shared a similar kind of trauma to their own. Maybe all of his pain didn’t come from an evil ghost running an underground Hollywood cult, but they had heard Luke consoling Reggie after a nightmare more than once.
"It's um...not a good night," Luke replied softly. "Are you guys okay?"
“Not really.”
“Come down here, okay?”
Willie didn’t feel like they had the strength to poof out, they were too paralyzed with panic. It never stormed at the Ghost Club. When he went out to skate, it was almost always either sunny or overcast. It wasn’t dark in the Ghost Club either, not unless they were in the Dark Room. Sure they were aware sometimes that L.A. had a power outage, but why would they go out during a power outage when they could stay in the Ghost Club? Caleb had them convinced they were safe there, until Willie found out what they thought was their home was the least safest place they could have been.
“Come on,” Alex whispered to Willie, “I’ve got you. Hang on, okay?”
They tensed up, like they were on a rollercoaster about to go upside down but instead they were simply poofed a few feet away, landing on the pull-out sofa. Opening their eyes, Willie could see the outline of Luke, holding a trembling Reggie. The bassist wore their red flannel underneath Luke’s oversized jacket, all underneath a blanket. His eyes were red-rimmed as he tried to control his crying; god he looked so much younger than seventeen, Willie thought.
“Reg?” Alex asked. “Hey, I’m here.”
“I’m…I’m sorry,” Reggie sobbed. “I woke up everyone up.”
“You didn’t,” Alex promised, “the storm woke us up. Did it wake you up?”
Reggie shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, as though ashamed and they both realized it had been another nightmare. With one hand rested on Reggie’s knee, Alex hugged Willie with his other arm and Luke scooted closer to Reggie.
“Baby, it’s okay,” Luke whispered, placing a kiss to Reggie’s forehead. He ran his hand through the phantom’s hair and kissed him on the top of the head. “You’re safe, it’s okay.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Alex spoke up, “for anyone. It’s just…god, it’s really dark, isn’t it?”
There was another loud clap of thunder and they all leapt, Luke dramatically yelping as he did. The four ghosts scooted closer together, taking comfort in each other’s presence. Willie closed their eyes, only to find it darker inside their head and snapped them open again in a panic.
“Al-Alex,” they whispered desperately. “I can’t, I…”
They wanted to poof out, go anywhere but here. But the studio was the guys’ home. No matter how stormy it was or how bad the nightmares were, they would still feel more comfort here than anywhere else, and they didn’t want to take Alex away from that. Soft fingers ran through their long strands, and Willie shivered as they tried to focus on that feeling. There was another flash and Reggie closed his eyes tight again, counting quietly until the thunder roared again. Luke swept him up as the studio walls shook and Reggie cried softly again into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Reggie whispered again.
"Don't be sorry," Luke murmured back.
The guitarist glanced up to the drummer, exchanging worried looks and Willie knew what it meant: this was a Really Really Bad Night. They had no idea what to do now. They needed help.
Another thunderclap and everyone flinched violently. Willie grabbed their head, trying their best to block out how the jolts felt like being struck by lightening over and over again. But if they looked up, they were afraid they would see Caleb’s silhouette in the shadows, coming back for them…
“Are you sure we can’t go to Julie?” Alex asked.
Though he looked desperate for help, Luke bit his lip and shook his head.
“She has that big test tomorrow morning,” Luke reminded him. “She made us promise not to bother her."
There was a particularly loud thunderclap and it felt darker than ever. Reggie buried his head further against Luke, as to block out the darkness of the room completely in favor of the comfort of his boyfriend. Willie just sat frozen, clinging to Alex. Another flash of lightening, and Reggie only counted until five this time before thunder exploded around them. Without warning the studio door opened and they all screamed. Willie was so certain it was Caleb coming for them all that they nearly mustered all their strength to poof far, far away until…
“Hijos?”
There was a sudden blinding light, and they all stiffened before realizing it was from a flashlight. It was Ray, Ray had come to check on them.
Ray shined the flashlight around the studio as he called out for the guys, finding the four phantoms huddled together on the pull-out sofa. His heart sank as he right away noticed Reggie clinging to Luke, eyes red-rimmed and shaking all over, wearing multiple layers even as he shivered. He noticed Willie, stiff as they were held by Alex, a haunted look in their eye.
“The power’s out,” Ray told them, as though it weren’t obvious. The four ghosts blinked back at them as he hovered by the door, holding his umbrella. “I wanted to check on you boys.”
So maybe he had woken in a panic to one of those last super loud cracks of thunder to find Carlos and Julie in his bed with him. It had been some time since they had seen a storm like this, bad enough to knock the power out. It hadn’t been since their mother was alive, Ray realized, and he felt just as much grief realizing that he was now alone in comforting his kids during storms as they felt fear. Then he immediately thought of his four phantoms out in the studio, riding out their first storm in twenty-five years.
For Willie, he realized, it might have been even longer.
“We’re okay,” Luke answered for the group, voice too high-pitched, clearly lying.
Reggie whimpered as thunder struck again, confirming he was anything but okay.
“We wanted to go to Julie,” Alex confessed, “but we know she has that test.”
A sympathetic smile crossed Ray’s face as he carefully stepped through the garage, moving to sit on one of the armchairs by the bed.
“The storm should pass pretty soon,” Ray told them. “Hopefully the power won’t be out long.”
“H-how do you know it will pass?” Reggie asked.
“The weather app.”
Taking out his phone, he pulled up the radar and handed his phone to Reggie; the guys’ eyes all went wide, impressed when they realized they could track the storm in the palm of the phantom’s hand.
“Woah,” Reggie breathed, “neat.”
Normally, he might have offered a grateful smile but instead Reggie sniffled, and Ray’s heart tore in two. Willie still hadn’t moved from Alex’s hold, and it was obvious Luke and Alex both had their hands full trying to comfort their boyfriends. He knew the guys were used to only having each other for comfort, but they weren’t alone anymore. The ghosts had him and his family now, and right now, it was more than obvious that what the phantoms needed was a dad.
“Reggie?” Ray asked first, sensing that Willie wasn’t feeling up to talking. “Are you cold?”
The temperature had turned cooler a few days before, triggering symptoms of anemia that Reggie had when he was alive. Not that he understood how it worked, but it was Ray’s understanding that some of the physical problems the guys had followed them into the afterlife- like anxiety, hunger, tiredness, and even anemia. Even if the physical problem it wasn’t real the symptoms felt very real to Reggie. Since ghosts were normally cold anyway, latley Reggie had been miserable from the cooler temperatures. He tried to hide it, but the phantom was paler than normal, wore even more layers than normal, and the rest of the band watched him like a hawk. Ray learned to pick up on the signs that made Reggie wasn't as okay as he claimed. and now was definitely one of those times. Nevertheless, the bassist insisted:
“I-I’m okay."
“Baby,” Luke whispered, combing his hand through Reggie’s hair. He looked up to Ray, obviously grateful to have his help. “He was really tired today, he’s been colder than usual.”
“I’m really, I’m-" lightening flashed violently and the bassist drew in a deep breath, insisting: “I’m okay, I…I just had a nightmare. And…maybe I’m a little cold, and I just, I…”
Ray held his breath as he scooted over to the bed and held his arms out for the phantom to hug him. As Luke let him go he wiped his hands over his tired face while Willie kept clinging to Alex.
“It’s not the storms,” Reggie finally murmured. “I woke up, and it was dark like…like it used to be at home. I’d get my brother and we’d sleep in the closet, in the dark to hide, on bad nights. I woke up and I thought I was back there.”
His face tightened with pain as Ray kissed his head and Luke reached over to rub his hand up and down his arm.
“You're safe, mijo,” Ray promised him softly.
He looked to Alex next, who mouthed ‘Dark Room’ and Ray nodded, understanding. Well, Ray didn’t exactly understand how the Ghost Club or Dark Rooms worked at all, but he knew enough to know that Willie didn’t typically do well with darkness. Normally Willie and Alex had a mini lamp that stayed lit when they slept in the loft. Instead, the studio was completely dark, and he felt sick imagining how triggering that must be for the phantom right now.
“You guys should sleep inside tonight,” Ray told them. He really preferred they sleep inside every night, but the guys felt at home in the studio, they felt safe and that was the least he could give them. “It’s warmer inside, and I’d feel better if you were in there with us while the power is out. Come on. Think you can give me a lift?”
The phantoms could poof lifers with enough energy use, and the four of them they reached out, poofing him right back into his bedroom. Carlos and Julie were fast asleep, curled up on the edge of the bed and he nodded, waving toward the bed and signaling that it was okay for them to get in.
Reggie hesitated, arms wrapped around his middle.
“Reggie, it’s okay,” Ray told him again. The phantom met his eyes, trembling, as though trying to convince himself it was okay to accept his help. “No one can hurt you anymore.”
Ray hugged him again, trying to convey best he could as he held the phantom that he was safe in this home. With a small nod and an even smaller grateful smile, Reggie broke away and let Luke help him climb into the bed and bury under the blanket and comforter. Willie was even more hesitant to move and Ray felt helpless, knowing that he couldn’t even begin to understand the trauma they had endured under Caleb.
“How long has it been since you’ve been through a storm and blackout like this?” Ray asked Willie.
He didn’t expect Willie to be able to answer, and that would have been okay, but to his surprise the phantom replied hoarsely:
“Thirty-five years.”
Alex pulled them closer, looking to Ray again for help. Ray let out a sharp breath, trying his best to hide how furious he was that anyone could ever allow this child go through pain and torture like he had, even as a spirit. His soul was so damaged, he knew it could take years of haunting their home before Willie would even begin to heal.
And if that’s how long they needed, that was okay.
Ray walked over to Rose’s old nightstand and pulled out a small flashlight and handed it to Willie. The phantom accepted it numbly, like they had no idea what to do with a flashlight.
“You can keep it,” Ray explained, glancing from Willie to Alex. “That way if the power goes out again or if you ever find yourself in the darkness, you’ll have a light.”
“Thanks Ray,” Alex replied, offering him a tiny, soft smile.
Willie turned on the light experimentally and their lips peered up just slightly; they nodded in appreciation before letting Alex help them into bed too. As the lightening flashed again, Ray could have sworn he saw Rose’s form in the bed with them, her arms wrapped around their kids and watching over the phantoms too. Altogether in his and Rose’s bed, arms around each other and heads buried into the pillows, all of his kids at least looked a little bit more at ease. Reggie shook less in Luke’s arms while Willie’s eyes looked a little less haunted. They kept the flashlight close, hugging it, ready to turn it on the second it got too dark. But for now, Ray realized, having him there with the bigger flashlight lighting up the room was enough.
"Guys?" Julie called groggily, lifting up to see the phantoms had also climbed into her parents' bed. "Dad?"
"It's okay, mija, go back to sleep," Ray told her.
He walked over to kiss both her and Carlos on their foreheads.
"We're okay," Luke promised to Julie. "You okay?"
She nodded and offered him a soft smile before her eyes fluttered shut and his daughter fellt back to sleep. Ray at last felt like he could breathe easier, seeing that all of his kids were- at least for now- safe and sound in bed.
They were all going to be okay.
They’d survive another night.
“Buenas noches, niños,” Ray called out quietly.
Ray could sleep in the morning, after the storm passed.
“You doing okay?” Alex whispered into Willie’s ear.
His boyfriend shrugged and Alex snuggled up to them closer, placing his hands over Willie’s hands that held the flashlight. Willie didn’t remember much of their childhood. They honestly couldn’t remember their last big storm or when they last climbed into their parents' bed or when they were last held by someone like Alex. When they first met Alex, they had helped him calm down from a panic attack caused by all of the constant change that came with becoming a ghost. What Alex didn’t know yet was the afterlife was full of constant change. Constantly seeing people come and go, be born and die, move and move on. They had no idea how long the Molinas would be in their afterlife, and that should scare them enough to be afraid to get attached. Instead, as the thunder rattled on and they stole a glance over to see Ray, trying to not nod off in the settee across from them, Willie only felt comforted.
“You’re okay,” they heard Luke say softly to Reggie.
“You’re okay,” Alex echoed, murmuring in Willie’s ear. “You’re home, you’re safe.”
With the light from Ray’s flashlight illuminating the room, in the bed he cuddled up in with his brothers and sister, with their own guardian angel watching over them, Willie could finally bring themselves to believe him.
They were home, they were safe, and at last, they fell back asleep.