Quadruple Duty

Her eyes were wrong. That was the first thing she noticed.

Something’s wrong with the way she—

The woman screamed once more, this time the loudest of all. The sound sent a spike of terror through Kara’s soul.

“STOP IT!”

There were tears streaming down the apparition’s cheeks — tears that were almost mirrored by the abject fear in Kara’s eyes. Then, strangely, the woman turned and stomped off. She moved with a halting, shuddering gait that was definitely not of this world.

At the other end of the room, the ghost-woman passed straight through the wall.

Silence settled in again, almost like it had never been broken. There was a strange ringing in Kara’s ears.

“You got that, right?” she asked when she could finally breathe again. “Tell me you got that.”

Logan shook his head slowly back and forth. “Sorry, no. My phone’s still charging. Plugged into the bathroom outlet.”

SHIT.

Kara drew her legs against her chest. She was suddenly very cold. Logan approached her cautiously. When she didn’t protest, he settled onto the bed beside her.

“You okay?”

“No.” Kara looked down at her bare legs. She was shaking all over. “Not even a little bit.”

Gently he folded his arms around her. She didn’t stop him. They felt incredibly good right now… warm and strong. The skin on skin contact made her feel safe. Protected.

“Any idea what the fuck that was about?”

Kara let out a short, nervous laugh. “None.”

“You didn’t owe that bitch money or anything? Because the way she looked at you. Screamed at you…”

She laughed softly. It felt good to laugh. Even in Logan’s arms.

Especially in Logan’s arms…

He held her for several minutes, until she stopped shaking, then got up and crossed the room. Kara looked on curiously as Logan began examining the opposite wall.

“What are you—”

“This is where she passed through, right?”

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Close enough.”

Using the rim of his thumbnail, Logan picked at the top edge of the hideous wallpaper. It came away without much of a fight. Slowly, carefully, he began peeling it backward, toward himself.

The faded image of what was once a door frame appeared beneath it.

“Damn,” Kara swore. “Good work.”

Logan smoothed away the glue and plaster, then blew away the dust. The outline became much more distinct.

“Where do you think it leads?” Kara asked.

“More like where it did lead,” he offered. “It’s blocked off now.”

He rolled the paper back up and pinned the edge beneath the molding. It still looked like shit, but could pass for undamaged at a quick glance.