came. Finally he put his phone back in his pocket. "If he answers, I'll let you know what he said. That's too weird."
Chapter 16
Josh opened the front door, and before he could yell that he was home, Mom charged in from the kitchen.
"What the hell have you been doing? Do you think I ask you to do things for the fun of it? Because I like hearing myself talk? No. I do it because they need to get done."
A cold feeling drifted through the room, but he couldn't concentrate with her in his face. "What are you talking about?"
"I asked you to go out and look for a damn job this weekend, but did you? Answer me! Did you?"
"No, but . . ."
Her face went red with all of her screaming. She often communicated by being loud, it was in her nature, but he'd never seen her like this. She was on the verge of losing control.
"I knew you didn't. I knew it!"
"Mom, stop."
Her eyes went wide, and her voice rose a few octaves. "Don't you dare tell me to stop! You will go out and find a job, or I'll take away your car. You'll be grounded from doing anything except school. How do you like that? Huh, Mr. Lazy?"
The room grew colder, and excitement flared up, like when the fans at a sporting event sensed something big about to happen. Instead of fighting back like he wanted to, a voice in the back of his mind told him to let it go. He shook his head and walked to the stairs. "I have homework to do." He expected her to follow him, shouting all the way, but she didn't. That strange feeling of excitement drained, and the room felt warmer. Halfway up, he turned to see what she was doing and saw her heading into the kitchen.
That was strange. Something supernatural had been here, but what?
He managed to keep his temper under control and not slam his door shut. He threw his backpack on his bed, figuring he'd get to his homework after browsing the Internet for a few minutes. He pulled out his cell phone to call Whisper. Maybe they could do their math together over the phone. Plus, after bitching about what just happened, he'd feel a lot better.
As he turned on his computer and flipped open his phone, something moved behind him. Freezing air assaulted his back. He whirled around in his chair, and a glowing ghost, that of a man in his late teens or early twenties, lunged at him. Before Josh could move, or even think, its hands encircled his neck and squeezed. They felt as real as anything. He gasped for breath and tried to push the ghost off of him, but his hands moved right through its body. His throat hurt where it gripped him, and a black circle formed around his vision. He knew he was in deep trouble if he couldn't stop himself from blacking out. Would this thing be able to kill him? With the force on his neck, he didn't doubt it.
Josh gasped in one final bit of air and centered himself. The pressure on his windpipe continued, but instead of fighting any more, he dropped to the ground and rolled. It worked. As the ghost lost contact, he willed himself invisible. The ghost looked around with shock registered on its face. He tried reading it, to see why it attacked him, but it disappeared before he could get much.
It had been feeding off his mom's bad mood, all the while fueling it further. It had expected a huge blow up when Josh got home, but when he'd handled the situation with a level head, the ghost became angry. Angry enough to kill him. That information came in a rush of emotions, not the weird voice-over like at the farm. And he hadn't learned if the ghost had been sent by the demon or not. Was that even possible?
He relaxed and tried to sense if it was still around, but couldn't feel anything. He walked to his door and pulled it open. Still nothing. A glance downstairs showed no movement. He didn't know how far his power flowed, but he felt no supernatural presence in his vicinity.
His neck tingled, but he paid it no mind. He returned to his computer and opened up the email. Mr. Baxter needed to know about this. He typed up a replay
Chapter 16
Josh opened the front door, and before he could yell that he was home, Mom charged in from the kitchen.
"What the hell have you been doing? Do you think I ask you to do things for the fun of it? Because I like hearing myself talk? No. I do it because they need to get done."
A cold feeling drifted through the room, but he couldn't concentrate with her in his face. "What are you talking about?"
"I asked you to go out and look for a damn job this weekend, but did you? Answer me! Did you?"
"No, but . . ."
Her face went red with all of her screaming. She often communicated by being loud, it was in her nature, but he'd never seen her like this. She was on the verge of losing control.
"I knew you didn't. I knew it!"
"Mom, stop."
Her eyes went wide, and her voice rose a few octaves. "Don't you dare tell me to stop! You will go out and find a job, or I'll take away your car. You'll be grounded from doing anything except school. How do you like that? Huh, Mr. Lazy?"
The room grew colder, and excitement flared up, like when the fans at a sporting event sensed something big about to happen. Instead of fighting back like he wanted to, a voice in the back of his mind told him to let it go. He shook his head and walked to the stairs. "I have homework to do." He expected her to follow him, shouting all the way, but she didn't. That strange feeling of excitement drained, and the room felt warmer. Halfway up, he turned to see what she was doing and saw her heading into the kitchen.
That was strange. Something supernatural had been here, but what?
He managed to keep his temper under control and not slam his door shut. He threw his backpack on his bed, figuring he'd get to his homework after browsing the Internet for a few minutes. He pulled out his cell phone to call Whisper. Maybe they could do their math together over the phone. Plus, after bitching about what just happened, he'd feel a lot better.
As he turned on his computer and flipped open his phone, something moved behind him. Freezing air assaulted his back. He whirled around in his chair, and a glowing ghost, that of a man in his late teens or early twenties, lunged at him. Before Josh could move, or even think, its hands encircled his neck and squeezed. They felt as real as anything. He gasped for breath and tried to push the ghost off of him, but his hands moved right through its body. His throat hurt where it gripped him, and a black circle formed around his vision. He knew he was in deep trouble if he couldn't stop himself from blacking out. Would this thing be able to kill him? With the force on his neck, he didn't doubt it.
Josh gasped in one final bit of air and centered himself. The pressure on his windpipe continued, but instead of fighting any more, he dropped to the ground and rolled. It worked. As the ghost lost contact, he willed himself invisible. The ghost looked around with shock registered on its face. He tried reading it, to see why it attacked him, but it disappeared before he could get much.
It had been feeding off his mom's bad mood, all the while fueling it further. It had expected a huge blow up when Josh got home, but when he'd handled the situation with a level head, the ghost became angry. Angry enough to kill him. That information came in a rush of emotions, not the weird voice-over like at the farm. And he hadn't learned if the ghost had been sent by the demon or not. Was that even possible?
He relaxed and tried to sense if it was still around, but couldn't feel anything. He walked to his door and pulled it open. Still nothing. A glance downstairs showed no movement. He didn't know how far his power flowed, but he felt no supernatural presence in his vicinity.
His neck tingled, but he paid it no mind. He returned to his computer and opened up the email. Mr. Baxter needed to know about this. He typed up a replay
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