Call On Me by Angela Verdenius Page A

the top
where they drew to a stop. In front of them stood the large pond,
the surface still under the moonlight. On the far side a small
stream wove its way into the dark, the bushes closing in. The
clearing around the pond was small. A plop sounded and a ripple
oozed through the pond.
    “Did you see
that?” Ali whispered.
    “Yeah.”
    “What do you
reckon?”
    “My guess? A
frog, a fish, or we’re about to discover that the bunyip is more
than an Aboriginal legend.”
    The elbow in
his side wasn’t unexpected.
    Laughing
softly, Ghost took the jabbing elbow and steered her towards the
far side of the pond.
    “And we’re
going this way, why?” she queried.
    “Because Parker
reckons he saw the woman’s spirit on the far side of the pond.”
    “Then don’t you
think it makes sense to stay on this side?” Her tone might be
reluctant, but the thrill of the unknown was riding Ali, her every
step matching his.
    “We might miss
seeing her. We need to be up close to get a good look.”
    Even though the
moonlight flooded the area with grey light, Ghost still used his
torch to light up the ground in case of snakes.
    Skirting around
the pond, he led Ali to a small incline before stopping and looking
around. “This is it.”
    ~*~
    Standing beside
Ghost, Ali studied the surroundings. Bushes circled the pond at a
small distance. Dried grass and weeds shifted forward while greener
weeds rimmed the pond. The water shone like silver under the
moonlight. A slight breeze picked up, the warmth caressing her
arms.
    Right now she
could almost fancy herself and Ghost as being the only people in
the world. The stars shone brilliantly in the night sky, the moon
glowed whitely, and the breeze stirred the bushes.
    Another plop
and ripple of the pond water had her peering intently over at
it.
    Ghost lowered
the backpack to the ground before standing up and walking towards
the pond.
    After placing
the video bag beside the backpack, Ali followed. “We might scare
her away.”
    “She’s not due
for another twenty minutes,” he replied. “I just want to check the
pond.”
    “For what?”
    “Dead bodies
floating.”
    “Ugh.” She
screwed her nose up. “Trust you.”
    The deepness of
his quiet laugh was comforting, as comforting as his form in front
of her. Big, muscular, and dressed in his usual uniform of jeans,
sneakers and open long-sleeved shirt over t-shirt, his blonde hair
pulled back in the customary ponytail, Ghost walked with confidence
and no fear. It was his fearlessness that Ali relied on in these
situations. To be truthful, if Ghost wasn’t with her, there was no
way she’d have been out in the bush watching for restless spirits
or creeping through old, abandoned buildings with blood-drenched
legends.
    The only person
with whom she’d ever felt comfortable doing these crazy, scary
things was Ghost. She had total faith in his ability to look after
her. She came along for the thrills, the fun, and yes, his company.
Plus he had a way of making her such a part of everything, even
when she was scared stiff and he was enthralled.
    Like now, when
he reached back without looking and deftly snagged her hand,
pulling her to his side as he stood near the edge of the pond. He
didn’t have to look for her to know where she was, it was like some
weird instinct he had…okay, and the fact that she was almost
treading on his heels, not wanting to be left behind in the spooky
bush.
    “The woman
disappeared from her home,” Ghost said quietly.
    Ali perked up.
The story!
    “Husband was
away on a trip. He rang home that night but there was no answer. So
he waited awhile.” Ghost’s voice seemed to blend in with the night.
“Rang again. No answer. It was getting late and he knew she should
be home. He started to ring everyone they knew, but no one had seen
her.”
    Gripping his
hand, Ali stared out at the pond. “They found her body?”
    “No. The cops
went to the house, found no one. The house was immaculate, nothing
touched.