Chapter 234
“I beat you this time!” Christian insisted.
Aaron waved him off. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get to Philadelphia now. This could be bad. Really bad.”
“Absolutely,” Christian agreed.
Relieved that I was right, and they’d figured it out, I sat back into the couch a little bit. “You did it, Cass,” Brandon said. “Nice job.”
I didn’t get a chance to reply because the conversation continued, and I wanted to hear it, so I sent him a heart-eye emoji. “What are you talking about?” Elliott asked for the rest of the team.
Aaron opened his mouth to answer, but his phone dinged, and whether he was answering Elliott’s question or reading, I wasn’t sure, but either way the answer seemed to be the same. “Eastern State Penitentiary.”
Christian nodded. “Yes, that has to be where Ms. Riggins disappeared.” I didn’t know who that was, but it made me sad to hear that Gibbon had been claiming victims this whole time.
“What does that have to do with ice cream?” Meagan asked, clearly confused by my sister’s sarcastic comment.
“Nothing. Not that Klondike,” Christian explained. “Klondike was another name for the cell where inmates served time in isolation. It was also known as The Hole.”
“So you think Gibbon is hiding in a prison? Wouldn’t that be the last place he’d want to go?” Aurora asked.
“It’s not a prison anymore,” Aaron replied. “It’s a museum. The prison closed in the 1970s, and the buildings all fell into disrepair. Recently, there’s been a large movement to try to save the buildings, and now it’s a museum.” It seemed like plenty of other people on the team would’ve known what I meant by Klondike and probably would’ve trusted me more than Cadence. I blew out a sharp breath.
“And one heck of a haunted house at Halloween,” Christian added. I’d read about that, too.
“That’s where you thought this Vampire meant, right?” Brandon asked me.
“Yeah.”
“Sorry your sister didn’t trust you,” he muttered.
“What else is new?”
Meagan let out a sharp breath. “Great.” Brandon turned to look at her. Meagan’s face was slightly pale as she continued. “We get to run around chasing a Vampire through a dilapidated prison, dressed up to look like a haunted house. Count me in.” She folded her arms against her chest.
“It’s only dressed as a haunted house at Halloween,” Christian clarified.
“Oh, good,” Meagan sighed.
“But it’s one of the most haunted places in the world,” Christian continued, a devious twinkle in his eyes that made me shiver a little bit, and I wasn’t even there.
“Oh, crap,” Meagan said, returning to her former disposition.
“You hunt Vampires for a living, Meag,” Aurora reminded her. “How can you possibly be scared of ghosts?”
“That’s different. I’m not a ghost hunter!”
“No, but if you were you’d have a heck of a show on A&E,” Elliott chimed in. I was so glad to hear his snarky comments.
Aaron’s voice of reason cut through the silliness. “I would like for all of you to accompany us on this hunt.” He looked back at Meagan. “But if you honestly feel too uncomfortable, you don’t have to go.”
“No, I’ll go,” Meagan assured him. “I want to see this through.”
“This is going to take a very large team to pull off,” Aaron continued. “Eastern State is massive. We are going to need a lot of boots on the ground.”
“I’m sure we’ll have lots of volunteers. Lots of people would like to have a hand in bringing in Gibbon,” Cadence offered. It was the first time she’d spoken since she found out I was right. I wondered if she was going to say anything to me. I wondered if she’d insist I get to go with them. I hoped so, though if I was going to ask for permission, it wouldn’t be from her. I refocused my eyes on Aaron, my only hope of approval, as he continued to talk.
“Cadence and I will put the team together and let you know as soon as we have an ETD. I’m guessing it will be sometime tomorrow morning,” the Guardian Leader said.
“Well, all right then,” Elliott said, slamming his hands down on the table, implying the meeting was over, at least for him. “Until then… I’ve got some football to watch and some Cheetos to eat.”
“God, you haven’t changed at all, have you?” Aurora asked as the team began to funnel out.
“I like to think not,” Elliott answered. Brandon stood, looked at his dad, and started walking toward the door. I heard Elliott add, “Although I swear I am a little taller.”
“And a little more obnoxious,” Cadence yelled after him. Brandon turned to look at her, and I could tell by her smile that she was just kidding, but I still wanted to smack her.
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Elliott admitted. “I will tell you this though,” he said, pausing just before the exit, Brandon stopping just in front of him. “when I meet this Gibbon guy, he’s gonna wish I’d never come back from the dead.”
My sister laughed, and Brandon turned to head toward the elevator, his dad next to him. Once the rest of the team had dispersed a little bit, Brandon said to Elliott, “We’re taking Cass on this hunt, right? I mean, she found the guy.”
“Oh, yeah,” Elliott nodded. “We’re taking her. That was some pretty good detective work, lil girl.”
And I realized he was talking directly to me. Brandon chuckled. “She wasn’t on the whole time. Just the last part.”
“I didn’t ask,” his dad assured him as they filed into the elevator. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the bosses include her, whether they are planning to or not.”
A wave of relief washed over me as I realized he was implying he’d use his secret brainwashing powers if he had to. “Thanks,” I sent to Elliott.
“No problem, lil girl.”
“I’m gonna turn you off now,” Brandon said, and I sort of wanted to respond that that wasn’t possible but thought that might be a bit too forward. “Talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I said, and his feed was gone.
Slowly, I turned to look at my friends.
“What was all that?” Lucy asked. Both of them were staring at me like they were about to call for a doctor—or a psych ward pick up.
“Sorry. I was listening to their meeting. I was right. Gibbon is in the Klondike. They’re going to Philly. And this time, I’m going with them as part of the team.”
“That’s awesome,” Emma smiled.
“Yeah, really cool, Cass. Cadence is okay with it?”
“She will be,” I assured them, “just as soon as she finds out.”
