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It’s hot and sticky, and the front steps of the cabin are digging into Jackie’s butt. And she loves her teammates—genuinely. But she doesn’t want to spend 24/7 with anyone not named Shauna Shipman, who doesn’t seem to want to spend 24/7 with Jackie anymore. But that’s not the point. The point is—
“That is my rifle.”
No one reacts to the new voice. Jackie stiffens. Oh no.
She can’t help but peek over her shoulder. A man stands in the cabin doorway—old, brunette, dressed like a farmer. Or like Shauna.
She places him instantly—dead cabin guy. The same guy that it took five of the others to carry out of the attic. He’s glaring at Ben, who’s still standing in front of the steps, holding the rifle up in one hand and balancing on his crutch with the other.
She clenches her jaw and turns away, pretending to listen to Ben again.
“You,” the man says, suddenly appearing beside her on the cabin steps.
She gasps, flinching away. She hates when they do that.
Ben pauses what he’s saying. Everyone turns to stare at her.
“Uh.” Jackie darts her eyes around. “A-a bug. There was a bug.”
She gets a few judgmental stares.
“Yeah, there are a lot of bugs.” Natalie gestures around at the trees.
“Well, it looked big.” Jackie raises her eyebrows at Ben. “Jesus, it’s gone. Keep going.”
Ben’s lips pinch, but he continues.
“I know you can see me,” the dead freak says in a sing-songy voice right next to her ear. A chill drifts off him, seeping into her skin.
She blinks, staring at Ben as he gives his lecture.
The man huffs, leaning away. He stops talking, but doesn’t leave. He just sits there—watching her.
Ben gives them all a turn balancing the quarter as they dry-fire the rifle. When it’s Jackie’s turn, she stands up, shoulders back, chin high. She has never once in her life held any kind of gun, rifle, or otherwise, but she knows confidence is key. You can do practically anything if you act like you know what the hell you’re doing. Besides, how hard could it be?
Jackie holds the rifle up, finger inching toward the trigger.
“Wrong,” cabin guy says, appearing in front of her, his lips twisted in disgust. “Completely wrong. Embarrassingly wrong.”
Jackie hesitates. She can’t help it—her eyes flick, looking right at him. He pauses, then his face lights up with a smug, obnoxious grin.
“I win.”
Her jaw clenches. She goes to pull the trigger, aiming the rifle right at his stupid head.
“Alright,” he says. “You’re about to make a fool of yourself. I can’t watch this anymore.”
“Any day now, Jackie,” Travis says, with all the scorn of a loser who hates that girls hate him.
She glares at him. “I’m thinking. Just shut up. You’re distracting me.”
Travis scoffs.
“Teenagers, huh?” cabin guy says, right next to her ear.
He vanishes. Ice pierces her veins. Her stomach twists. She freezes. Literally. Her body just stops. She can’t move. She can’t speak. Nothing will listen to her.
“You have got to stop scratching that damn poison ivy. It should definitely not be burning like that,” a voice says in her head.
If she could, she’d be a screaming speck on the horizon with how fast she’d be running away.
”Relax,” the voice says, “haven’t you ever been possessed before?”
Possessed? Like she’s not Jackie Taylor, Yellowjackets captain and best friend of Shauna Shipman anymore? She’s some fucking creep’s puppet?!
”Only for a few minutes. I don’t want to be in here any longer than you do. Your useless little arms can barely even hold my Winchester up.”
Fucking rude.
Her eyes roll without her telling them to. Then her hand slides further down the barrel of the rifle; her body leans forward; her cheek presses harder against the stock.
”You do it.”
It takes her a moment to realize he means the trigger, and she’s too shell-shocked to question why he wants her to.
She squeezes the trigger. The quarter on top of the rifle doesn’t budge.
There’s a beat of silence, everyone staring like they’ve never seen her before.
Then Ben steps up, patting her shoulder. “Wow! That form was perfect. I didn’t know you shot.”
An icy gust slips out of her lips.
“Perfect?” cabin guy scoffs, appearing next to her. “What an amateur. Your elbow refused to get into a better position. You’re lucky that damn quarter stayed still.”
She gives him a dirty look before trudging back toward the steps.
“Guess you won after all,” Natalie says.
Jackie turns to her, still dazed. “Huh?”
Natalie pauses, her brow scrunching. “You’re the one who said there was gonna be a winner, remember?”
“Oh.” Jackie grins, wide and completely fake. “Right. Of course. I-I doubt anyone could do better.”
Natalie hesitates, then makes an agreeable noise, glancing away.
“Ugh,” cabin guy says, watching Travis be a dick again. “Was I that annoying as a teenager?”
Jackie gives him a look that hopefully makes it clear he’s that annoying now.
Unfortunately for Jackie, dead cabin guy does not grow less annoying, and he doesn’t go away. He keeps popping in and out over the next hour, bothering her like he’s found something new to poke at for fun.
For now, she has some semblance of peace. Cabin guy has vanished to do whatever the hell there is to do out here. But he’ll be back. She knows he will.
She forces it from her mind to focus on the other annoying man she has to deal with. Coach Ben has taken them far into the trees and set up bottles for the best at the quarter test to shoot at.
Jackie glances around at the others also waiting for him to give the go-ahead. Natalie only shrugs lazily when Jackie catches her eye. Travis shifts impatiently on his feet, looking like he thinks this will prove to everyone his dick is massive. Mari’s eyes still shine with stars from watching Jackie dry-fire the rifle perfectly. She grins wide when she notices Jackie looking.
Jackie shoots her a practiced smile back, then instantly lets it fall as she looks up, studying the trees that shade the whole area. From here, they look to stretch for miles. They’re unnerving, unknowable. She’d take a ghost over something so large and silent any day.
Jackie crosses her arms tight. She’d like to stop standing around doing nothing under these creepy trees sometime soon.
“Why are we even here?” she asks. “Natalie and I did the quarter thing best. Can’t we go hunt instead of whatever this is?”
“You guys kept an unloaded rifle steady.” Travis scoffs, starting to fiddle with the rifle as he waits to go next. “You took twenty minutes to do it, and Natalie completely choked the first time.”
“You’re just mad that we did better than you, Flex,” Jackie says, smirking.
Travis spins around and lifts the rifle, aiming it straight at her. “Don’t fucking call me that!”
Everyone freezes.
“Put the gun down,” Ben says, more serious than ever.
Natalie’s hands go up placatingly. “Dude, c’mon, just relax.”
The rifle flinches toward her next.
Jackie stares hard at the space beside Travis. “Y’know, with how sensitive you are about that name, I’m starting to think it’s true.”
“Jackie!” Natalie says.
A familiar whoosh speeds through Jackie. Dead cabin guy pops into existence in the space where Jackie’s staring, then smacks the rifle upward. It fires off into the trees. Travis drops it, scrambling back.
Jackie sighs, her shoulders loosening.
Chaos erupts, everyone yelling at each other, but Jackie’s only focusing on dead cabin guy as he appears next to her.
He narrows his eyes, scrutinizing her. “Why did I just do that?”
“Relax,” Jackie says, everyone too busy arguing to notice, “haven’t you ever been possessed before?”
The most natural conclusion happened after Travis’ firing mishap—no one wants him near the rifle anymore, and Jackie and Natalie are on hunting duty. Jackie’s thrilled they wasted all that time just to end up doing what she said they should in the first place.
At least, the trees don’t stand stationary anymore. Now they slide by as Natalie and Jackie walk through the forest, the grass crunching beneath their feet.
“You almost got yourself fucking killed,” Natalie says, maneuvering around a fallen tree branch.
Jackie sighs. It’s been hours of this. Ever since it happened, Natalie’s been on this rifle thing. She’s really into gun safety.
“But I didn’t,” Jackie says, shrugging.
Death is whatever. It’s the afterlife that seems to suck. She’s seen ghosts for as long as she can remember, and the only consistent things about them are that they seem bored all the time and can’t touch anything without her. If anything, they should thank her for giving them something to do.
Sure, sometimes it’s: pass me the remote so I don’t have to get up. But it’s important stuff, too!
Like, go trip Randy before he can talk to Shauna in the hallway at school. Or keep an eye on Shauna at parties when she’s drunk. Or go find out what color flannel Shauna’s wearing before school so they can coordinate and Shauna can’t get mad because it’s just a funny coincidence.
Shauna knows about the ghosts. She doesn’t know Jackie can make them do things, and while Jackie shares almost everything with her, this one’s…
Well, it’s a lot of things—weird, rude, useful for anything and everything Shauna. That last one typically sits at the front of Jackie’s priorities. And…
Ugh. Whatever. Shauna would be pissy and tell her to stop, and Jackie’s not doing that, so Shauna doesn’t need to know what won’t hurt her.
“Hello.” Natalie waves a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Jackie.”
Jackie bats her arm away. “What?” she says, with a slight whine in her voice.
“You’ve been staring into space for like five minutes.” Natalie lowers her voice to a mutter. “Not that that’s new.”
Jackie gives her a dirty look. Sometimes, she has a bad habit of getting distracted by ghosts. She’s gotten better over the years, but luckily most people think it’s cute that her head is a little in the clouds. Or annoying, like Natalie, apparently.
“Hey, are you blind?” dead cabin guy—Billy says. He points to the left. Jackie stops, following his finger. On the grass, leaves lie broken and scattered. “Tracks.”
“Oh,” Jackie says quietly. “Thanks, Billy.”
“For the last time, it’s Bill,” he growls.
“Natalie,” Jackie says, “come look at this.”
“What?” Natalie asks tiredly.
“Um, the leaves,” Jackie says. “Tracks, right?”
Natalie’s face clears as she steps closer to where Jackie points. “Yeah,” she says, relief clear in her voice. “Tracks.”
The forest grows denser as they follow the trail. Jackie keeps stepping into high grass or edging around trees she inevitably knocks into. Every new stain on her clothes makes her lips pull into a deeper pout. She regrets wearing so much white. Billy’s judgmental glances at her clothes make her think he agrees.
They follow broken foliage and footprints for at least half an hour, until another set of tracks breaks away at a patch of grass. They stop, looking between one trail that goes forward and the other curving left.
“Were there two and they split up?” Jackie asks hesitantly.
“We’ve only been following one deer so far,” Billy says. “Besides, there’s less damage. Look.” He points at a leaf to the left that’s still identifiable, then at one from the other trail, which is closer to crumbs. “Probably a rabbit from earlier. Keep going. That’s not enough food.”
“This one.” Jackie walks forward, following the trail.
Natalie hesitates before jogging to catch up. “Why this one?”
“The leaves,” Jackie says confidently, like she knew all along. “These were more broken. Bigger animal.”
Natalie raises her brow, but finally nods. “Huh. Good catch.”
Jackie grins.
“By me,” Billy says.
Who Jackie is translating for. They’re both putting work in here.
They all freeze at the snap of a twig.
“There!” Natalie whispers, pointing at a deer grazing in a small clearing through the trees.
They scramble over to a fallen log, dropping to their knees behind it. Jackie leans her elbows on it, her skin scratching against the wood as she waits for Natalie to take the shot. When nothing happens, she glances to the side. Natalie has gotten even paler. The rifle is steady in her hands, but her fingers are clenching hard around it.
“What are you doing?” Jackie asks.
Natalie flinches, then slides the rifle toward her.
“What?” Jackie pushes it back. “No. Just shoot it!”
“I-I can’t.”
“Then why are you here?”
“If you don’t have any issues,” Natalie says, “why aren’t you shooting it?”
Jackie falters. Does she have an issue? Actually having to shoot something hadn’t really occurred to her before. But is it a problem?
She glances at the deer again. It’s standing peacefully under the sun, eating the long grass and wildflowers, not realizing how close it is to death.
Animals aren’t usually ghosts. They go… wherever the hell the non-ghost dead people go. People always smile before they vanish. It wouldn’t be like she’d be doing something cruel. Maybe it’ll go to animal heaven. Maybe she’s doing it a favor. Maybe she should take the chance and use the rifle to blow her own—
“Goddammit. Fine,” Natalie says. She takes a deep breath and aims the rifle again. “I’ll do it.”
Jackie doesn’t linger on her gratitude before focusing on the spot beside the deer, waiting for the gust to blow through her body. Billy appears next to the deer and wrenches its head up with a strength no human should have. It squeals in surprise, but can’t move as Natalie squeezes the trigger, shooting it through the head.
The gunshot is still ringing in Jackie’s ears when a chill washes over her. The deer steps out of its body and calmly tilts its head at itself. Within seconds, it vanishes.
Jackie relaxes at the sight.
“Making me hold it in place,” Billy says, suddenly next to her again. “Really?”
She ignores him to share a smile with Natalie.
By the time they get back to the cabin, Jackie’s arms are aching, sweat drips down every inch of her body, and there’s still a grin on her face.
They arrive to cheers, and she basks in it all—the attention, the praise, the admiration. For a moment, everything feels normal again.
Then the stick digs harder into her shoulder, the sweat drips into her poison ivy rash, and she remembers she is in hell and hopes this entire forest burns down once she gets out of here.
She and Natalie drop the deer to the ground. Jackie gets some pats on the back, but she’s had her fill. Her gaze darts around, searching, until it finally comes to a stop on Shauna, who’s standing near the back. When their eyes meet, Shauna walks closer, and Jackie straightens, anticipation filling her.
Jackie will get a hug, and then Shauna will probably say something like: ‘You’re amazing. I’m so proud to have you as my best friend. You look so beautiful, Jackie. Would you like me to carry you around for the rest of the day? I love you so much—‘
“Nice job,” Shauna says with a small smile. She steps toward the deer and stares down at it, putting her back to Jackie.
Nice job. Nice job? Nice job?! That’s it?
Snickering sounds beside her, and Jackie turns her head, glaring at Billy. He laughs harder. “You’d think she just stomped on your little chicken heart with how devastated you look.”
Jackie grinds her teeth, looking away before she loses it in front of everybody.
“Right across the throat,” Ben says as Jackie turns forward again.
She frowns, trying to understand what’s happening. Shauna and Ben are huddling over the deer, and Shauna’s handling the knife. She brings it to the deer’s neck and slides the edge along its throat. Blood drips to the forest floor. Jackie only lasts a second before darting her eyes away, nausea growing in her gut.
Seeing Natalie shoot it was one thing, but this is up close and personal in a way Jackie will never be able to stomach.
“Huh,” Billy says, studying Shauna. “Not bad. Your girlfriend is staring at it like a little creep, though.”
Jackie whips her head toward him. Girlfriend?!
“Oh,” Billy says. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind gay people anymore. I got over that once I realized he hates us all pretty equal.” He gestures around. “Y’know, considering.”
Jackie stomps away from him. “I am not gay,” she hisses as she opens the cabin door.
Lottie pauses on the other side, her hand halfway to the doorknob. “…Okay. Thank you… for letting me know.”
Jackie flushes up to her ears and pushes past her. She tries to figure out a place to talk to Billy without looking crazy, and he points toward the attic. She makes a face.
“You see ghosts, but you’re afraid of dead bodies?” Billy asks.
“No,” she says. “Your gross corpse stunk up the place.”
“Watch it,” he says, glaring. “We’ve been having fun so far, but I’m not taking any insults from you.”
She steps toward the attic, but changes her mind, marching to the bathroom in the back of the cabin instead.
“Now you’re just being a bitch,” he says, following her. “There’s less chance of hearing you from upstairs.”
Great. A man who’ll be around constantly, calling her a bitch whenever he doesn’t get his way. Just what she needs. She doubts she can bat her eyes to make him stop, either. He hasn’t looked at any of them twice.
When Jackie closes the bathroom door, she spins around to find him standing by the tub, giving her an annoyed glance.
She narrows her eyes. “First of all, I’m not gay! Second, call me a bitch again, and I’m making you do the worst stuff imaginable.”
He watches for a long moment, his expression growing eerily calm, then he leans closer.
“Keep making me do stuff, and I’m gonna possess you until the day you die, Jackie.”
She glances at the ceiling, and he pops into existence, falling to the floor with a loud thump.
“What the fuck?” he groans. “That… hurt?”
“Next time it’ll be the roof,” she says, smugness dripping off every word.
He glowers, then appears beside her, pushing into her body. Ice courses through her veins. Her arm raises, then her fist jerks back toward her face, punching herself in the nose. She cries out, cradling her bloody nose as Billy trips out of her body, holding his own bleeding nose.
“Jackie!” The door flings open, and Shauna appears, her eyes flicking over her. She rushes forward, cupping Jackie’s cheeks. “What happened? I was coming to find you when I heard you yell.”
Jackie stares, her pulse jumping. It grows even faster when Shauna lifts her flannel sleeve to Jackie’s nose, staunching the blood dripping out.
“Jackie?” Shauna asks.
Jackie glances at Billy, whose bloody nose has already healed. He raises his brow, amusement in his eyes. She looks back at Shauna. “I-I tripped and fell against the tub.”
Shauna studies the tub for a second too long. “Oh.”
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Jackie winces at how nasally she sounds.
“It can wait,” Shauna says. “It wasn’t important.”
Jackie squeezes Shauna’s wrist. “It’s fine. Just tell me.”
“I was coming to make sure you were alright.” Shauna’s jaw twitches. “You’re not the best at being outdoors. I was surprised when they said you went hunting. You’ve never even shot a gun before.”
“So you were worried about me?” Jackie says, perking up. “Is that why you didn’t congratulate me more?”
Shauna hesitates, and Jackie’s face falls.
“Yes!” Shauna says. “Um, y-yeah. It was just that. Nothing else. I was only worried. But that deer you and Natalie killed was huge, Jax. You really saved the day…” She trails off, voice growing weak.
Well, it wasn’t exactly what Jackie wanted, but she still has Shauna cradling her face and telling her nice things. So it’s something.
Jackie knocks Shauna’s arm away and steps into her chest, squeezing her around the shoulders. Shauna startles before relaxing into her arms.
“I wish you would’ve at least told me before you left,” Shauna says, sliding her hands up Jackie’s back to hold her just as tight.
“Right,” Jackie says. “I’ll let you know next time.”
Laughter fills the room. Jackie pulls out of Shauna’s arms, glaring at Billy.
“Who is it?” Shauna asks.
Jackie flinches, instantly dropping her gaze.
“Dead cabin guy,” Jackie mumbles.
“Ah,” Shauna says. “Makes sense.”
Jackie can hear the indulgence in every word. Six-year-old Jackie telling her best friend about the ghosts she could see was fine when they were kids, but it became an issue when Shauna realized Jackie wasn’t playing a game. She would’ve preferred that Shauna thought she was a liar. Instead, she thinks Jackie is crazy.
Shauna wipes under Jackie’s nose. “The bleeding stopped,” she says softly. She brushes her fingers through Jackie’s hair, treating her like glass. “Do you want to go sit with me? I’ll get some water to clean your nose. I-I want to hear all about the hunting stuff, anyway.”
Jackie melts under her attention. It’s the one part that makes Shauna’s doubt worth living through. Shauna always becomes sweet at the reminder. (She always looks oddly relieved too, but Jackie doesn’t understand that part.)
Shauna grips Jackie’s hand, tugging her out of the room.
Billy appears beside Jackie and gestures toward her nose. “We’re even.”
Jackie glares.
Billy goes to speak, but pauses as Misty walks up.
“Oh wow!” Misty says, her eyes sparkling. “What happened? I’ll take a look—”
“No,” Shauna says, stepping in front of Jackie. “I’m doing it. Leave her alone.”
Misty’s shoulders hunch up and Shauna looks a second from snarling, and Jackie would usually be annoyed, but Shauna is acting like this over Jackie, so she wants to swoon and—
Fuck.
“Let’s go, Shipman,” Jackie says, tugging Shauna away.
She avoids Billy’s eyes for the rest of the evening.
It’s odd having Billy become a constant over the following days. Not because he’s a ghost. Because he’s a middle-aged man. A cranky, immature, middle-aged man at that. But he has some uses.
Not right now, though.
“No,” Billy says, “wrap it under, not over.”
Jackie sits on a log in front of the cabin, tucking one end of twine under the other.
“No,” Billy says. “The other way.”
“There is no other way!” Jackie throws the twine to the ground. “Why am I even doing this?”
It takes her a moment to realize that the clearing has gone quiet. She looks up to find everyone staring at her.
“How should we know?” Van asks. “No one is making you do that.”
“Oh.” Jackie looks down at the twine. “Right.”
Shauna drops beside her, pressing close. Instantly, Jackie pushes back, already feeling better.
“You’re doing it to practice twine… knotting.” Shauna smiles uncomfortably at their audience. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Jackie nods shakily, and they walk toward the trees. She grabs Shauna’s hand, sighing in relief when Shauna gives her palm a soft squeeze instead of pulling away. Mid-step, Billy appears beside Jackie, shooting her an annoyed glance.
“You forgot the damn twine on the ground.” He looks over his shoulder as they step into the treeline. “Someone else better pick that up. You know how important twine is?”
Jackie groans as she steps over a hole in the dirt. “Oh my god, he’s ranting about fucking twine now.”
“Dead cabin guy?” Shauna asks.
Jackie chews on her cheek. “Yeah.”
“So he’s still around?”
Jackie studies her profile, but Shauna keeps looking ahead, thumping through the dirt, giving nothing away.
“Yeah.”
“The same one doesn’t usually hang around this long.”
She’s right. They usually either move on to the wherever place, or get bored and leave Jackie alone. But they also have other ghosts to talk to. Billy has no one here.
“There’s not much else to do out here,” Jackie says.
Shauna nods slowly. “Is he the one who hurt your nose?”
Jackie’s eyes widen. “I-I told you I fell—”
“Jackie,” Shauna says, tugging Jackie to a stop in a small circle of trees. “If you fell into the metal tub, you’d look a lot worse than this.”
When Jackie purses her lips, Shauna darts her eyes away.
“You’re bluffing,” Jackie says. “You don’t know that for sure.”
Shauna’s expression hardens as she finally looks back, and now it’s Jackie who can’t meet her gaze.
“Jackie.”
“Fine.” Jackie sighs. “Yes. He…” She trails off, unsure how to put this without sounding even crazier than usual.
Shauna steps closer, rubbing her back. “He what, Jax?”
“He possessed me and made me punch myself in the face.”
Shauna’s hand freezes over her spine. “He what?”
Jackie groans. She tries to pull away, but Shauna grabs her arm, digging her fingers in. When Jackie turns her head, Shauna catches her jaw, too.
“No,” Shauna says, tugging Jackie’s head back toward her. “Come here. What are you talking about?”
Jackie shifts in place, uncomfortably warm. She glances over Shauna’s shoulder, relieved to see Billy made himself scarce.
“Stop that.” Shauna flexes her fingers. “You can’t just drop that on me and try to ignore it.”
“Shauna,” Jackie mumbles. “It’s fine. He’s not hurting me. It was… we were just arguing. And…” She exhales, tired of pretending Shauna isn’t pretending. “You don’t have to indulge me. I know you don’t believe me about all this. You probably think I did it to myself.”
The wind whistles through the trees. Shauna hesitates a second too long.
“I never said I didn’t believe you.”
Jackie laughs under her breath.
“Jackie… I…” Shauna’s eyes dart over her face. “I believe you see something, okay? I believe that.”
Jackie tightens her lips, trying not to cry. That was the closest thing to ‘I think you’re insane’ that Shauna has ever said.
Shauna starts to speak again, then slowly closes her mouth.
“Let’s just head back,” Jackie says.
Shauna nods. As soon as her grip loosens, Jackie pulls away, crossing her arms. She glances at Shauna out of the corner of her eye, and the look of a kicked puppy plucks at her heartstrings.
“Are you feeling okay?” Jackie asks.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Uh, your period, duh?” Jackie says. “Natalie dragged me out of bed this morning to hunt. She didn’t care about my cramps at all.”
She exaggerates her pout and grins at Shauna’s tiny smile. But the smile quickly dwindles, a deep frown growing on Shauna’s lips instead.
“What’s wrong?” Jackie asks.
“Nothing.” Shauna stares down at her feet. “I guess I’m just lucky. No period yet.”
Jackie thinks about it for a moment but shrugs it off. Girls don’t always sync up. And Shauna’s probably not the only one without. She’s just the only one Jackie would ask.
“Eww,” Billy says, popping in beside her. “Talk about something else.”
“Are you twelve?” Jackie asks.
Shauna side-eyes her, and Jackie clamps her mouth shut.
“Is he?” Shauna asks, suddenly enthusiastic. Jackie raises her brow. “Twelve.”
Jackie and Billy both stare at her. “You saw his dead body. He was like 6 feet tall. He looks forty.”
“Thirty-seven,” Billy grumbles.
Jackie rolls her eyes. “Thirty-seven.”
“Right. Sorry,” Shauna says, scrunching the ends of her flannel in her hands.
Jackie taps her fingers along her still-crossed arms. “His name is Billy.”
“Bill,” he grits.
Shauna giggles. “No, it isn’t.”
“Yeah!” Jackie grins. “I’m serious. It’s Billy.”
“Um, okay.” Shauna glances around. “Hey, Billy. Please don’t hurt Jackie anymore. She’s uh… fragile.”
Jackie melts. If this were a cartoon, she’d have big hearts in her eyes. Shauna is defending her from a ghost that she doesn’t even think is really there. That’s so romant—
Nope.
“Tell her no,” Billy says.
“He said yes,” Jackie says.
He huffs, but vanishes again as Jackie reaches out for Shauna’s hand, grabbing on tight. Neither of them let go until they return to the cabin.
“Hmm.” Billy’s brow scrunches up. “Try that cabinet. Top shelf.”
Jackie opens it, but even on her tiptoes she can’t see the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. “Why the hell did you put it there?”
“I’m not an annoying little brat.”
“You are in such a mood today.”
Someone leans on the counter beside her, and Jackie looks up, finding Lottie studying her curiously. Jackie’s breath stalls in her throat. What had Lottie heard? Lottie’s eyes flick around the room once before falling back on her again.
“Do you need help?”
Jackie breathes easier. “Yeah.” She points at the top shelf. “There’s a…”
“Whetstone,” Billy says, frowning at Lottie.
“A whetstone,” Jackie repeats. “Can you grab it?”
Lottie easily plucks the gray bar from the shelf and hands it to her. “For Shauna?”
Jackie’s grip tightens. “Yes.”
“Okay. I’m glad I could help,” Lottie says.
Jackie forces herself to relax. Lottie’s being a little weirder than usual, but it’s fine. She’s not doing anything wrong. “Thank you.”
“Stay away from her.” Billy nods toward where Lottie is stepping out the front door.
Jackie blinks up at him in surprise.
“You’re too warm. I could sense it as soon as you got here. I’m guessing we all can.”
That would explain why random ghosts sometimes pop up to chat like they already know she can hear them.
“She’s…” Billy wiggles his hand back and forth.
“What?”
“All over the place,” Billy says. “Chaotic? I don’t know. Just stay away from her.”
“Right,” Jackie says doubtfully, still having no clue what he’s talking about.
Jackie leaves the cabin, pushing the conversation out of her mind as she finds Shauna sitting on the logs outside. She drops beside her and hands her the whetstone with a pleased smile.
“You found something to sharpen the knife?” Shauna asks.
“Yep.”
“That was fast,” Shauna says. “Thanks.”
Jackie’s smile widens. “Billy told me where to look.”
Shauna falters, glancing at Jackie as she hesitantly says, “Um, thank you, Billy.”
Billy grunts what might be a “you’re welcome” from the log across from them.
Jackie beams. Shauna’s been saying things for Billy more. Like she doesn’t think Jackie’s lost it.
Shauna eyes her for a moment before looking down, fiddling with the whetstone in her lap. Jackie would be content like this—sitting beside Shauna as Shauna shyly avoids her gaze, a calming quiet between them—but it doesn’t last.
A scream comes from the cabin before Mari bursts out, smacking herself. Shauna leaps up, sprinting over to help her. After a beat, Jackie stands too, but stays back from the steps, watching Shauna and Akilah pat Mari down.
“I was standing under the trapdoor when something fell down my shirt,” Mari says, flicking her eyes around.
“There’s nothing there, Mari,” Shauna says.
“Maybe it’s the ghost,” Tai teases from Jackie’s right.
Jackie looks at Billy beside her, but he shakes his head.
“Don’t say that,” Mari snaps.
“Um,” Shauna says, glancing at Jackie, then away again. “Maybe we should hold a séance.”
A séance? Shauna usually only plays silly games like that when Jackie makes her.
“What?” Tai asks. “You want to hold a séance?”
“Yeah, i-it could be fun,” Shauna says, staring at her feet.
The rest of them exchange glances over her head, and Jackie opens her mouth, prepared to back Shauna up even if she’s completely lost.
“Sure,” Van says, shrugging. “Why not?”
Tai sighs, but nods. “If you really want to, I guess we can, Shauna.”
“Maybe I can ask him why he’s throwing things at me,” Mari mutters.
Jackie watches them disperse, her chest twinging. Have they always been that willing to go along with what Shauna wants? It didn’t even seem like influence. It was more… affection?
Would they have been so willing if Jackie had asked?
“Hey,” Shauna says, stepping closer. “I hope that was okay. I just… um.” She looks down, the apples of her cheeks flushing red. “I thought it’d be nice. And maybe it’ll really work, and Billy can finally say something back to me.” She chuckles awkwardly.
Jackie’s lips part as she realizes—Shauna is trying to be supportive. Is she saying she does believe Jackie, or is this just her being kind?
Jackie lets it go and steps forward, squeezing her in a hug. “Thanks, Shipman.”
Shauna sighs against her ear, and Jackie shudders.
“Of course,” Shauna says. “I know you think I don’t believe you, but I promise, I believe you’re seeing… something.”
Jackie burrows her face into Shauna’s neck, trying to stop the burning in her eyes.
Something. That’s all Shauna will ever say.
Later, Jackie studies the attic, looking over every corner.
“What did you brats do with my stuff?” Billy snarls.
Jackie blinks out of her thoughts and looks over her shoulder at Shauna. “Do you know what they did with his stuff? He’s having another tantrum.”
Shauna stiffens, stepping close. She wraps her fingers around Jackie’s wrist. “Is… he going to hurt you again?”
Jackie glances down at the hold, wondering if it’s to restrain her from hurting herself. Shauna’s thumb caresses her skin, and Jackie’s mouth dries.
“No,” Jackie croaks, then clears her throat, trying again. “He’s been grouchy, but I think you really put him in his place the other day.” She nods sagely.
“I can make you throw yourself out the window if you want,” Billy says, walking over to said window and looking outside.
Shauna grins, pleased, and leans into Jackie’s shoulder, making Billy’s comment easy to ignore.
Jackie presses back before scrutinizing the attic again. “So, what’s your plan?”
“Plan?” Shauna repeats.
“For the seance…”
“Uh.” Shauna flicks her eyes around. “We sit in a circle and ask if Billy can hear us?”
When Jackie realizes Shauna’s serious, she sighs. “God, you suck at this stuff.” She turns around, picturing what the space could be. “You need to make it a game, Shipman. Let’s see… we’ll light some candles, get something witchy, maybe draw that symbol on the floor.” She nods to herself. “Yeah, that’ll work. Shauna, go find candles.”
Shauna doesn’t move, and Jackie finally turns back. Shauna is staring at the floor, her arms crossed.
“Shipman, we only have so much time.” Jackie waves at the attic entrance. “Candles, c’mon. I’ll figure out the witchy thing.”
It takes a moment, but then Shauna walks stiffly toward the ladder and stomps her way downstairs.
Jackie looks to where Billy is standing, watching her with a raised brow. “Shit. I should’ve asked you where the candles are first.”
Billy glances at the attic entrance, then back at her. “What symbol are you drawing on my floor?”
“The weird one you had sitting on your table.” Jackie puts her pointer fingers and thumbs together. “With a triangle.”
Billy stiffens. “Use something else.”
“Why?”
“Because.” He pops in front of her, face unnaturally close, the chill from his skin bleeding into hers. “I said so,” he snarls.
She gasps and stumbles backward, landing hard on her ass. Billy vanishes. Shauna’s head appears at the attic entrance, and her eyes widen. She scrambles up the rest of the ladder and hurries over, gripping Jackie’s shoulder.
“What happened?” Shauna glowers at the room. “Was it Billy? Did he hurt you?”
Jackie swallows hard, leaning into Shauna’s grip. “No, he just scared me. He told me not to use that symbol.”
“Why?” Shauna asks, absently rubbing Jackie’s back.
“If you can get him to tell you, I’d love to hear it.” She starts to stand, Shauna helping without hesitation. “He’s an asshole, and if he doesn’t want to give me a reason, then I’m not listening. Anyway, you weren’t gone long. Did you already find some candles?”
Shauna studies her.
“Do you need help finding them?” Jackie asks.
Shauna roughly shakes her head. “No, uh… no. I got it.”
“Great.” Jackie claps her hands, giving her a sweet smile. “What would I do without you, Shipman?”
Shauna avoids her eyes, a tiny grin curling over her lips. Jackie lingers on it before forcing herself to turn away.
“Alright, I’ll go figure out my part. Start setting up the candles when you find them.”
She doesn’t look at Shauna again before climbing down the ladder.
After sundown, most of them gather in the attic, sitting in a loose circle with silly childish grins. Billy is back, sulking in the corner, frowning at the symbol on the ground like it offends him.
“Okay,” Jackie says, standing to the side of the circle with Shauna. She hands Shauna the blindfold. “So you’re going to be the one—”
Shauna pushes it back. “I think you should do it.”
“What?” Jackie frowns down at the scrap of fabric.
“Yeah,” Shauna says. “You do it and get some answers from Billy. Maybe it’ll make them feel better.”
Jackie’s face scrunches up. “Billy is not a comforting presence. Besides, everyone just thinks it’s a game.”
“I don’t,” Shauna says quietly.
Jackie’s lips part. She searches Shauna’s face, but all she can find is sincerity. She squeezes the blindfold. “Okay, I-I’ll wear it.” She catches Shauna’s sleeve. “But you have to sit next to me. The blindfold. I don’t want to be…”
Blind and vulnerable without you there to make sure I’m okay.
She can’t say that out loud. Ever. But luckily, Shauna seems to understand. With a solemn nod, she takes the blindfold from Jackie’s limp fingers. She slides the fabric over Jackie’s head, her fingers trailing alongside it until it rests over Jackie’s eyes, leaving everything dark.
“Now what?” Shauna rasps.
Jackie squeezes the denim of her shorts. Shauna’s voice sounds oddly rough.
“You have to, uh…” Jackie licks her lips, trying to get her thoughts in order. “Grab the bowl I brought! Draw something on my forehead.”
Shauna’s footsteps retreat and come back so fast that Jackie can’t even get nervous.
“I have it,” Shauna says.
Familiar fingertips brush Jackie’s forehead. Shauna takes her time, gliding her fingers up and down twice, both ways. Jackie’s unsure how her heart hasn’t beaten out of her chest yet.
When Shauna finishes, she grips Jackie’s bicep and leads her a few steps forward. Her hand lingers there, almost glued to Jackie’s arm, before she finally pulls away.
After a moment, Shauna speaks to Jackie’s left. Jackie’s shoulders ease at knowing she’s close.
“Umm, everyone else draw a mark on your forehead with… whatever this is, too,” Shauna says.
“Dirt and deer blood,” Jackie interjects.
There’s some shuffling, then cold drifts toward her from her right. “Am I possessing you for this?” Billy asks, amusement lacing his voice.
Jackie quickly shakes her head.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
She rolls her eyes behind her blindfold.
“Fine,” he says.
She feels a tap on her calf and flinches.
“Sorry,” Shauna says, tearing her hand away, “but I said the spirit was here.”
“Oh, shit.” Jackie clears her throat and speaks as dramatically as possible. “I hear the spirit now. He says his name is… Billy.”
Giggles break out.
“Bill!” he says. “It’s Bill! How many times do I have to say it?”
“Where’s the pendulum?” Lottie asks.
“Don’t need it,” Jackie says. “He’s very loud.”
“Okay,” Van says. “Dear dead hunter guy… did O.J. do it?”
“Who the hell is Orange Juice?” Billy asks.
“He’s a football player,” Jackie says, exasperated. “They think he killed his wife.”
“Why would I know that?”
“I don’t know! Do you talk to any other ghosts?”
“Do you see any other ghosts around here?” Billy asks. “Even the ones from your plane moved on.”
Jackie groans. “He doesn’t know who that is.”
“Wow,” Van says, her chuckle stilted. “You’re really getting into this, Jackie.”
Jackie shuffles uncomfortably, feeling multiple eyes on her.
“She’s just good at playing her part,” Shauna says. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah!” Misty says. “It’s like performance art.”
“Uh, sure,” Shauna says. “Anyway, ask some useful stuff, guys. Maybe it’ll make us feel better.”
“It’ll make us feel better to have Jackie tell us some bullshit?” Natalie asks dryly.
“Yes,” Jackie says. “Because it’s not bullshit. I’m talking to Billy.”
They all laugh.
“Right,” Van says. “Sorry, let’s hear from dead hunter… Billy.”
Dammit. Now that Jackie hears it out loud, it does sound stupid.
“Alright, technically, it’s Bill,” Jackie says. “I just like Billy better.”
Billy groans. “Fine, you can call me Billy. Tell them to call me Bill. I mean it, Jackie.”
“Okay,” Jackie says, tipping up her chin with a small smile. “He said you guys have to call him Bill, but I can call him Billy.”
“Well,” Van says, “we wouldn’t want to offend your ghost BFF.”
“They’re not best friends,” Shauna snaps.
Everyone goes quiet, the air growing awkward. Jackie’s grin widens.
“Uh, anyway,” Shauna says. “Who’s next?”
“Okay. I’ll go,” Mari says. “Is Principal Berzonsky screwing Ms. DeWine?”
“Why would I know that?” Billy asks.
“He says constantly,” Jackie says with a serious nod.
More laughter.
“Hunter guy,” Akilah says, “if we hadn't crashed, would we have won Nationals?”
“Dude!” Van says.
“Why aren’t they asking me about the area,” Billy asks, “or hunting?”
“Yes,” Jackie tells Akilah, “we would’ve.”
Obviously, they would’ve won. They would’ve dominated the tournament.
“Alright,” Shauna says, laughter in her voice. “Someone else, c’mon.”
“Dear spirit.” Misty clears her throat. ”I need to know the truth. Does the person I like like me back?”
Jackie goes over who she could mean. Everyone with eyes knows Misty has a crush on Coach Ben, but Misty can’t seriously think she has a shot.
“She means the faggot downstairs,” Billy says.
Jackie flinches away from him.
“Shit, sorry,” Billy says, speaking faster. “Old habits.”
Jackie exhales heavily through her nose. The word has nothing to do with her. Get over it.
“Whatever,” she grits under her breath. “Just answer.”
“I feel like my first answer did answer that.”
She hesitates. What if Billy is making stuff up like he does with Jackie?
“He whimpers the name Paul in his sleep sometimes,” Billy says, sounding extremely uncomfortable.
Well, kinda hard to argue that one.
“You okay, Jax?” Shauna asks.
“Yeah, sorry. Um…” Jackie says. Dammit. She can’t do it. Misty would be crushed, and in front of everyone at that. “He says maybe. H-he’s unsure.”
“No, I’m pretty sure,” Billy mutters.
“Okay,” Shauna says. “Next question.”
“Are we all gonna die out here?” Javi asks.
The air shifts uncomfortably, and everyone goes silent. As the seconds pass, Jackie stiffens. But it’s not from the quiet. Something is wrong.
Billy’s chill grows colder, becoming downright freezing as he inches closer.
“Take off the blindfold,” he says, clipped.
Jackie doesn’t question him for once, ripping it away and blinking at the spots in her vision. She looks down at Shauna, who’s already staring up at her.
“I told you not to use that symbol,” Billy says.
“You could’ve explained what it means so I knew why,” Jackie says.
“It means Bill told you something and you should learn to listen!”
The attic window slams open, blowing out the candles.
Lottie screeches.
Jackie stares, paralyzed, until Shauna rushes past her and drops to her knees beside Lottie. Billy grabs Jackie’s bicep, yanking her backward. She cries out, nearly falling, and everyone whips around to stare at her. Shauna immediately starts to rise.
Jackie waves them off. “I-I’m fine. Just focus on Lottie.”
Shauna takes a second longer than everyone else to turn away.
“I think she's, like, possessed,” Akilah says.
“No,” Billy says to Jackie. “You’re the only one I can interact with out here. A ghost would need to touch her to possess her.”
“Billy says she’s not possessed,” Jackie says, having to speak louder over Lottie’s ravings.
“Stop playing the fucking game, Jackie!” Natalie says. “It’s over!”
“Jackie, wasn’t she in your class?” Shauna asks.
“What?” Jackie must’ve missed something.
“French!” Shauna says, gesturing toward where Lottie is now speaking French.
“We both suck at French!”
“Well, damn it, Jackie, try not to!” Van says.
“Il veut toujours du sang,” Lottie chants.
“She said, ‘It always wants blood,’” Billy says.
“You speak French?” Jackie asks.
Billy gives her a look, and she turns back, wincing. “Um, ‘It always wants blood.’”
There’s a collective shudder through the room at the word ‘blood.’
“Il voulait plus de sang,” Lottie says.
Billy grunts. “It wanted blood.”
Jackie repeats it.
“Le sang coule ici.”
“The blood is flowing here.”
Jackie throws her hands up. “This is just a rant about blood.”
Lottie gets up, turning toward the window, and Billy has to pull Jackie back again before she gets run over.
“What’d she say?!” Van says, oddly vehement.
“T-the blood is flowing here,” Jackie says. “Whatever the hell that means.”
“Here?” Van asks, glancing around. “There’s blood here?”
“Ici. Il faut…” Lottie says, clutching the window frame.
“Here. It must.” Billy shrugs.
“You must spill blood,” Lottie pants, suddenly back to English. “Or else…”
“Or else what, Lottie?” Jackie asks, wide-eyed.
Lottie jerks her head back and throws it forward, smashing it into the window. She wails, loud enough to shake Jackie’s eardrums. Jackie has to fight not to cover them as she inches backward into Billy, clutching his flannel with trembling fingers. She can feel his eyes on her, but keeps staring as Lottie falls to her knees, some of the other girls surrounding her and trying to help.
“The power of Christ compels you!” Laura Lee yells, running in.
“The nun?” Billy mumbles.
Jackie doesn’t correct him, only hiding in her corner as Laura Lee keeps yelling at Lottie. Finally, she throws her Bible.
Everything stops.
“Ow! What the fuck, Laura Lee?” Lottie says, sounding normal.
Jackie slumps, breathing easily again.
When they finally settle down to sleep that night, Jackie and Shauna press a little closer than usual, their knees knocking, their biceps pushing together.
“Do we think it’s still up there?” Akilah asks hesitantly from her bed.
Jackie sits up at the same time as Tai.
“No,” Jackie says. “The symbol is gone. Everything is fine now.”
“What’d your ghost friend tell you that?” Van asks.
Jackie presses her lips together.
“She’s saying it because nothing was there in the first place,” Shauna says, sitting up, too.
“Alright,” Van says, gesturing to the ladder. “Why don’t you go sleep up there, Jackie? Show us.”
Jackie swallows hard. With all the hunting, she’d forgotten that Van wasn’t her biggest fan after the crash, and Jackie hasn’t tried doing anything to fix it either.
“Van,” Tai says, frowning.
“She doesn’t have to do that,” Shauna says, gripping Jackie’s forearm.
Billy appears, sitting beside Jackie. “You should do it. You’ll get some privacy, and in a few months, it’ll be freezing here. The attic is the warmest place in the cabin.”
Jackie gives him a searching look.
“Nothing is there anymore,” he says. “I promise.”
Jackie exhales shakily and gets up, grabbing her blankets. “Fine. I will.”
Van sits straighter, her face shifting. “Uh… you don’t actually have to. Just let it go. I don’t care.”
“No,” Jackie says with a sniff. “I don’t mind. I’d love the privacy. Anyone else want some?”
Jackie doesn’t even have to look at Shauna before Shauna gets on her knees, scrambling to get her things to follow. Jackie’s stomach settles at the sight. Tai inches up as if she’s going to come too, but after glancing between them, she eases back into her bed.
Upstairs, Shauna sets up her bed on the floor. Jackie glances around at the wide-open space, then places hers down next to Shauna’s, close enough that their blankets overlap. Shauna smooths the seam, flattening it before sitting down.
“Thanks for coming up with me,” Jackie says, dropping to sit beside her.
“Of course, I came up with you,” Shauna says. “I wouldn’t let you sleep up here alone.”
Jackie smiles slightly, but it falls. “Billy keeps saying it’s the symbol that did it. But I think he’s full of shit. H-he promised there’s nothing up here, though. And I believe him about that.”
“You do?” Shauna says slowly.
Jackie nods, peeking at Shauna from the corner of her eye. She looks oddly troubled.
“He didn’t do anything tonight,” Jackie says. “If that’s what you’re worried about. He was nice—well, no, he called Ben a slur, but, uh, he wasn’t hurting anyone.”
Shauna blinks. “What slur?”
“He says Ben is gay.” Jackie waves her hand. “Use your imagination.”
“Oh.” Shauna’s brow raises. She shrugs. “I guess, I could see it.”
Jackie makes an agreeable noise and plants her chin on her raised knees.
“What now?” Shauna wonders aloud.
Jackie side-eyes her. Shauna stares down at her hands, bringing her pout and the little curve of her nostrils into view. There’s only one thing Jackie can think of doing right now.
“Cuddle me? No one to judge up here.”
Shauna glances at her in surprise, then smiles. “Yeah,” she says, shifting onto her back and opening her arms. “Of course. C’mere.”
Jackie eases into Shauna’s chest with a deep sigh. The pounding of Shauna’s heart sounds beneath her ear. Shauna’s arms tighten around her. Their legs tangle. As Jackie settles against her, Shauna presses a kiss into her hair. Jackie’s breath catches.
“Sorry,” Shauna says, growing stiff beneath her. “I’m not sure why I did that…”
“It’s fine,” Jackie mumbles. “I don’t mind.”
Slowly, Shauna loosens under her again.
“Shauna,” Jackie says. She feels comfortable and safe, and she can’t take this anymore. She needs to know. “What do you think I see?”
Billy pops into existence, leaning against the wall behind their heads. He stares down at Jackie silently, not interrupting.
“…Ghosts,” Shauna whispers.
All the air in Jackie’s chest releases at the same time. Her eyes sting, and for once, she doesn’t hold back the tears. She lifts her head and kisses Shauna’s jaw, then drops back against her chest, unable to look at her. Shauna’s fingers tighten in her shirt.
“Okay,” Jackie croaks.
Within minutes, she falls asleep.