Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Who Are You Going to Call?

The house had been silent for the better part of the night. Moving in had been quite energy consuming, leaving its new tenants exhausted the previous night. They had almost all gone to sleep early, and while any normal person would have slept as late as possible, Lena was already stirring, close to consciousness. She'd had the poor idea of not placing the curtains above her bedroom window, preferring to do it later, and now the early sun was heating her face. She groaned and rolled over, forcing her eyes shut. She could still sleep, she knew. It was still early, after all.

She had no other choice but to rise, and quite suddenly at that when she heard the ruckus of cardboard boxed falling on the plastic tile floor. Lena suddenly sat, and nervously scanned her room. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest from the burst of adrenaline her brain had sent her, but she took a deep breath to calm herself when she realized that it was nothing. The pile of boxes she'd made to move around her room easily had just fallen over. However, it didn't occur to her that she had stacked them in such a way that it would be impossible without a push.

Now sure that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, she huffed and got up. She didn't even bother with the boxes. She'd have to unpack them later in the day, so no point in stacking them neatly again. She looked at her phone. It was only seven a. m., and she knew her friends wouldn't be up for at least another hour. She decided to pick up her things in the laundry room, and then go for a jogging. If she wanted to make the cut for the track and field team she'd need to get back into shape.

As silently as she could, Lena exited her bedroom. Hers was at the end of the long hall, with Fareeha's on her right, and Angela's on her left. Or was it the opposite? Lena still had a few problems with who's bedroom was where. She crossed the hall with a lightness in her steps, careful not to wake up her friends, and went through the dining room. Across from it stood both the living room, to her right, and an open kitchen to her left. In between both rooms was an old wooden door with faded paint on it. Lena pursed her lips hesitantly. Should she just open the door, or knock first? She decided to knock.

Her knuckles rapped on the door three times, and as Lena retracted her hand the door cricked open. First, only a head passed through. Messy purple hair, tired eyes hidden behind large black-rimmed glasses, and an annoyed grimace on her lips. Lena wondered if their fourth flatmate had even slept the previous night.

"Hey luv'!" Lena saluted the Latina.

"What do you want? Is it breakfast time already?" Sombra asked with irritation.

"Hum no, I'm here to pick up my laundry."

"Oh right."

Sombra opened the door just enough for Lena to sneak inside. For some reason, while they had proposed to find a house which had four bedrooms, Sombra had been completely fine with turning the garage into her personal space. Lena quickly glanced around, before Sombra could hush her away toward the laundry space. The garage door had been blocked by a wall of cardboard boxes. The bulb on the ceiling was a poor excuse of a light compared to what Sombra's two computer screens could do. Her massive computer was actually what took most of the space. Her bed was a simple cot with a pillow and a blanket, and an old teddy bear which Sombra had quickly hidden behind her before Lena could comment on it. At the other side of the room were the washing machine and dryer. It hadn't bothered Sombra one bit that her room also doubled as the laundry room.

Lena opened the dryer and placed her clothes in a laundry basket. Sombra stayed behind her the entire time, arms crossed as if she wanted to make sure Lena wouldn't move anything. Once she was sure she hadn't left anything inside, Lena picked up the basket. She shivered.

"Aren't you cold here?"

Sombra shrugged.

"Cold doesn't bother me much."

Lena walked slowly toward the door, admiring the numerous anime and video game posters Sombra had already attached to the walls. The Latina was almost pushing her out of her room by the time she reached the door.

"It's pretty neat," Lena commented.

"Course it is, it's my room. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"Hum... Alright. I'm going for a run."

"I don't care, you know."

As soon as Lena's feet were out of the door's way Sombra closed it, and Lena could still hear her complaining about what kind of idiot would move in a new place with dirty laundry. Lena decided to ignore her and returned to her room.

Sombra really had been the odd man out of their group of four. When they'd decided to move all three of them in, Sombra had suddenly shown up, declared that she needed co-tenants and that the garage was enough. They'd accepted, mostly because she was Fareeha's best friend's younger sister. But still, Lena found strange that she almost never left her room.

Once Lena was ready, she left a note on the dining table (just in case), and exited through the front door, mindful to lock behind her as she left. She had barely left the driveway that her note was already been torn apart, and the pieces promptly thrown to the floor.

Sombra had spent the night doing research. It was what she did best, after all, but most of her findings had been worthless, or dated information, too old to be exploitable. She was ready to give up and call it a night, but a glance at her clock told her it was rather close to breakfast time, so she decided to go to sleep after breakfast. She opened a new tab and pulled up yet another news feed, just to check if there hadn't been anything new and interesting in the last hour or so.

Suddenly a knocking sound pulled her out of her computer screen. She heard it only faintly, as her ears were covered by rather massive headphones, but she knew she'd heard something strange. Slowly, she pulled her headphones off, and listened closely, looking around as best as she could in the darkness of her room. Her eyes burned from sleep deprivation and over-exposure to the screens' light, but she focused her eyes anyway. The sound seemed to have come from the washing machine.

With carefulness and measured motions, Sombra put her headphones on her desk and got up, the wheels of her chair squeaking as she did. Her eyes were fixed on the white box. She finally knew what had caused the knocking sound. The top of the machine had been closed, and she knew very well it wasn't the wind. One step at a time she got closer to the machine, each of her step producing only a light sound. Her ears were perked up, listening for another knocking sound. As she got to the machine, she reopened it with one hand, raising the lid. She glanced inside, but there was only darkness there, not even the slightest gleam from the drum. She took a step back and waited, expecting the lid to be shut once again. It didn't happen.

Sombra grimaced. She felt suddenly quite stupid. Had she been searching the Internet the entire night for something when it had been under her nose this whole time? She hoped not. She decided to keep it to herself for now. No need to warn the others about something that was only a hunch. At least Sombra hoped it only was a hunch.

Fareeha was already in the kitchen making breakfast when Angela emerged from her bedroom. Her first reflex was to stop by the bathroom to get a painkiller because her back was still killing her from all the boxes they had carried the previous day. She then headed for the kitchen, where she had to stop and take a deep breath. Fareeha was still in her pajamas, or what she used for pajamas anyway – a tank top which barely reached her shorts, which let free strong tan legs. Angela tried to ignore it as much as possible, just as she ignored the heat creeping up her neck.

"Oh, Angela, good morning!" Fareeha managed as she noticed Angela making her way to the glass cupboard.

The blond quickly swallowed her pill and managed a smile.

"Hello Fareeha, how was your night?"

"It was alright, I guess."

As the coffee machine finished feeling Fareeha's mug, she took it carefully and handed it toward Angela.

"Here. I know you need your daily feel of caffeine."

Angela was first surprised, and it was perhaps that which helped her keep her blushing at bay.

"Oh no, I... I can't. It's your mug and..."

"No, no I insist. I can make myself another one. I won't drink that much coffee anyway."

Angela smiled wholeheartedly, touched by the gesture. Fareeha quickly had to avert her eyes and pretended to be focused on the machine itself. Angela took the mug and blew lightly on the hot beverage. Fareeha quickly found another mug and placed it under the machine. It gave her an excuse to focus on something other than the cute blond only a few inches from her.

Angela glanced down the hall, half surprised not to see Lena bursting through her bedroom door.

"Speaking of coffee, where is Lena?" she asked.

Fareeha shrugged.

"I don't know. She wasn't in her bedroom when I got up. Maybe she went grocery shopping?"

Angela seemed to find it unlikely. They all had brought all the food they had left, and the four of them together had quite a lot.

"As Sombra emerged yet?"

"She came to pick up breakfast right before you got up."

Fareeha set the machine, and coffee began to pour in her cup with a loud pumping sound. Angela looked at the old garage door. She'd been the only one opposed to the idea of Sombra moving in with them, in the garage no less. It just felt weird.

"Well that's strange..."

Angela's attention shifted from the door to Fareeha who seemed to be battling with the toaster.

"Is it dead already? It worked perfectly when Sombra used it."

Angela frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"My toasts should be done by now..."

The taller girl frowned.

"It's not plugged in. How..."

Fareeha seemed thoroughly perplexed as to how the toaster had come unplugged. She began to turn it and twist it around, careful of her toast still inside, to try and understand how it could have lost its power source. Angela sipped her coffee. She assumed Fareeha had probably unplugged it by accident, by knocking into it or something. It was the most logical explanation she could think off, anyway.

While there still was no sign of Lena, and it was beginning to worry both of the girls, they bothered themselves with emptying their remaining boxes. Angela had quite a few left to unpack. Her numerous science school books and her entire wardrobe, as well as a few decorative items. She was going at it strategically, placing her cardboard box full of books on her desk chair, to put them on the shelf above her desk. A few she left on the desk to read before going back to school. She was almost at the end of the box when she heard her door cricking. At first, she thought nothing of it, expecting Fareeha, or even Lena, to walk in to ask her something. She only frowned when she heard nothing. She turned around, only to find her door ajar, almost closed, and all of her still full boxes gone.

A cold feeling ran down her spine at the realization. She rushed to the door, afraid someone had taken them thinking them empty. But that was stupid, she knew. Who would take heavy still taped boxes for empty? As she threw the door open, she almost tripped and fell on her boxes. She could feel her legs shaking. They were there alright, four boxes still closed by brown tape. How had they ended up here without her noticing when they were quite heavy, to begin with, she didn't know, and she almost didn't want to know. The thought alone froze her blood in her veins.

"Fareeha!" she called out as best as her strangled voice allowed her.

The door across from hers quickly opened, and Fareeha was about to rush outside to join her when she noticed all the boxes.

"What the..."

"Did you put them here?" Angela asked with a worried voice.

Fareeha frowned.

"Hum... no. What is going on?"

"I don't know. But one second they were in my room and the next they were here!"

Fareeha seemed even more confused than Angela.

"How is that even possible?"

It suddenly occurred to Angela that there was only one person moving around the house so quickly that anyone barely noticed her. She crossed her arms, her feature changing from worry to anger.

"Do you think Sombra did it?"

Fareeha shook her head.

"How could she?"

"Oh come on, there's only one person here who could have done it!"

Angela hopped over the boxes and rushed through the dining room, then the living room, and all the way to the garage door. She banged on it. As she angrily waited for Sombra to open, Fareeha reached her.

"Angela, maybe you should..."

She was cut when the garage door opened violently.

"I was sleeping what do you want?" Sombra asked, her eyes obviously half-open behind her glasses.

"Did you move my boxes out of my room?" Angela asked, barely containing her anger.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Angela began to rant once again about how her boxes had been moved out of her room without her noticing, but Sombra was only half-listening to her. She looked past her, toward the corridor, where large cardboard boxes had been stacked neatly.

"So, did you do it?"

Sombra's attention snapped back to the angry blonde.

"No, I did not. Like I said I was sleeping. I worked all night. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Angela scrutinized the girl a bit longer as if she could tell from her tired face whether she was lying or not.

The front door suddenly opened, and all three women looked at Lena as she made her way in.

"Hi guys! Sorry took me longer than I thought. I met Emily, you know, that girl from Track and Field. We ran together for a bit before going to this Starbuck two block down. It was nice."

Lena left her keys on the hook after locking the door, then took off her trainers and sweat jacket. As she entered the living room, she was surprised to find all three girls assembled on Sombra's doorstep, with the Latina looking quite tired, Fareeha looking both confused and sheepish, while Angela was utterly angry.

"Where have you been?" the blond asked.

"Hum... I went jogging? I left a note on the dining table." Lena replied, just as confused a Fareeha.

Angela glanced at Sombra, who shook her head as if to signify that she was out of it. She then looked at Fareeha, who shook her head as well.

"We didn't find your note."

"Well it must've flown away, I don't know... I mean, I told Sombra..."

Once again Angela's glare stopped on the Latina, who only took in a deep breath, and closed the door on the blond. Angela angrily returned to her room, determined to move her boxes out of the corridor on her own. Fareeha quickly ran toward her, shouting:

"Angela wait! I'll help you!"

Lena only stayed there for a few more seconds, confused and wondering if she hadn't switched dimension at one point during her jogging.

Lena's feeling of being trapped in a different universe only grew as the day went on. By nightfall, it had become rather clear that something was messing with them, though none of them knew, or dared to assume what it could be.

It only slightly bothered Lena, by moving around things she'd unpacked and changing their location from one shelf to another. Fareeha's was a bit less comfortable, to say the least. Every time she tried to turn the water tab on hot water, only cool water came out. This became a real problem when she tried to take a shower and came out shivering. Lena tried it a few seconds later, and hot water did come pouring down.

Angela probably had it the worst, as her boxes kept on being carried out of the room and into the hall, to the point that she decided to leave them there and bring them back one at a time. Like Lena, her belongings were being moved around or even exchanged with other people's. She was still convinced Sombra had something to do about it, but she didn't know how to prove it yet. By dinner time she waited with an angry look on her face for the Latina to emerge from the garage. Fareeha had been glancing carefully at the blond, who'd been cutting vegetables for a salad with a rhythmic tack. She was worried the blond would cut herself without noticing since she kept staring at the garage door.

When the taller girl's attention went back to what she'd been doing, placing the frozen pizzas in the oven, she suddenly noticed it had shut down, and groan. She began to fidget with the buttons, trying to turn it back on, and she huffed when the light finally went back on, only to be turned off instantly after.

"Goddamn it!"

She was almost tempted to hit the oven but realized it would do nothing good. Angela's attention went from the door to Fareeha and back to the door. She was convinced Sombra had something to do with this and had decided the Latina wouldn't have anything to eat until she'd told them the truth. Lena and Fareeha didn't agree with her idea, though.

Finally, the garage door open, and Sombra emerged, stretching her arms over her head and groaning contemptibly when she heard her vertebrae popping back into place. She first looked over at Lena who was done setting the table and was now on the couch, looking at her phone, then to the two other girls still in the kitchen.

"So, what's for dinner tonight?"

"Nothing," Angela replied acidly.

Sombra raised a surprised eyebrow.

"Nothing? You sure? Cause that looks like salad and pizza to me."

Angela angrily stepped into the dining room with her salad bowl, and forcefully placed it on the table, making the content of the bowl jump up in the process.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant nothing for you."

While Sombra was a bit surprised by Angela's anger, she knew it wasn't unfounded. She'd spent the day in her room doing more research or sleeping.

"Okay, I get it. I know I didn't help much today, but I was working. You just have to tell me when, and promise, I'll make dinner tomorrow, alright?"

Angela crossed her arms even more angrily.

"You were in your room, hum? Then who moved my things, or Lena's? Who played with the water so that Fareeha only had cold water?"

Sombra frowned, confused. It couldn't be, really, but it all seemed exactly like the kind of things he would do.

Lena and Fareeha had joined them in the dining room, if not to calm Angela then at least to hear what Sombra had to say.

"It wasn't me, but you probably won't believe me if I tell you who it was."

"Oh, of course! What a convenient excuse!"

"Angela, just calm down, alright..." Lena tried.

"No, Lena, I..."

But before Angela could continue her rant, the light in the dining room began to flicker. All four girls looked at the light-bulb above the table, and the switches along the wall. Soon enough the entire house was turned into a light show, every bulb flickering uncontrollably. Lena was terrified by the sight, while Fareeha clenched her teeth, ready to protect her friends. Angela had dropped her angry mask for that of confusion and she felt her legs shaking, ready to give under her at any second. Only Sombra didn't look scared, just mildly annoyed and exasperated.

Suddenly all light went off, and no one dared to speak. Just as Angela was about to ask if it was over, a frightening laugh echoed around the house. It was deep, and gravely, and it sent shivers down the girls' spines. Soon enough, the laugh was accompanied by a cloud of dark smoke, rising above the table. Angela was screaming now, scared to death, while Sombra was even more exasperated. Before the whole show could unfold, she yelled:

"Gabe! What are you doing here?!"

It seemed to calm everyone, even the ghastly shape. The three girls shot a confused look to the Latina, then back to the cloud. It was now quickly disappearing, evaporating into nothing. The laugh continued, but it was less tainted with evil intents and felt warmer. The shape of a man appeared suddenly, floating over the table, holding his belly as he laughed wholeheartedly.

"Oh you should have seen your faces, it was just priceless!"

"Dad, the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be hunting with Jesse." Sombra asked once again, her arms crossed, visibly annoyed by the man's presence.

Lena, Fareeha, and Angela, however, watched on quite confused and almost intrigued. Sombra's father was a ghost? There was no denying it, the fifty looking man floating over their dining table was gray, and transparent.

"Oh hija, you should learn how to check your pockets!" he declared as he laughter slowly died down.

Sombra huffed and rushed to the coat-hanger. Meanwhile, all three girls continued to stare carefully at the ghost still floating above them. None of them dared to move, unsure what the procedure was when coming face to face with a ghost.

"Goddamn it!"

Sombra came back quickly, holding in her hands a black woolen hat.

"Hijo de puta! I'll call him, and he'll come pick you up! I don't care, we made a goddamn deal!"

But before Sombra could rush back to the garage Lena cleared her throat. She had passed the shock of coming face to face with a dead man. All eyes turned to her, and she cleared her throat once again before asking:

"Hum, what is going on?"

"My dad is a ghost." Sombra simply replied.

"Yeah... I gathered that much."

She gave a look to Sombra which seemed to be asking for more. After a groan, the Latina replied:

"Well, basically, my dad's soul's tied to this old hat, and Jesse was supposed to take it with him when he left. But this son of a bitch tricked me and placed it in my coat pocket!"

"Oh, you better call him now. You know how he is, always keeping miles away from civilization!" Sombra's dad declared with a smirk.

"Shit! Well, I guess you're going to have to stay here, at least until I can get a hold of him."

Sombra was about to turn around and return to her bedroom, but Angela shouted:

"Wait a minute, you mean we are going to have to live with your father now?"

Sombra smirked.

"Oh yeah. But don't worry, he's a shitty poltergeist."

"Hey, I can hear you, you know!"

"I'm warning you if he pulls the same things he did today..."

"Oh come on, it was just a few harmless prank!" the ghost defended himself.

Sombra took a deep breath and crossed her arms.

"Alright Gabe, if you want to stay, you're going to have to listen. No more pranks, no more evil laugh, and no wandering in the bedrooms, alright."

"Especially, the bedrooms." Fareeha agreed.

"Alright, alright, I'll just stay on the couch then..."

Gabe floated away, his head passing through the ceiling as he reached the living room. Sombra threw the woolen hat on the couch, and he sat next to it.

"Don't worry," she declared "he's mostly harmless."

All three girls shared a glance, and Fareeha declared:

"Let's talk about this another time. I'm hungry when I'm nervous."

"Oh yeah, pizza night!" they could hear Gabe shout from the living room.

"No conseguirás nada!" Sombra shouted back.

"Por el momento..." Gabe replied.