Haunted Barn

I stood outside the high school, facing down four jocks.
I'd been walking outside, halfway between the school newspaper and play practice, when they'd shown up. They were coming back from the stadium after football or something. When they'd seen me alone, they'd decided to declare it Pick On Lou Day.
"Back off," I said warningly.
They surrounded me, one on each side. I was unarmed---I hadn't really thought to bring my whip to school. I turned, shifted into a fighting stance like I'd learned, and balled my fists. My gym bag with all my books in it was slung over one shoulder. I slid it down my arm, letting it dangle and wrapping the strap around my wrist.
One of them moved toward me. I swung the gym bag, and he jumped back. Another one, behind me, came closer, and I spun, swinging at him and driving him back, too.
They stopped and stared at me, the kid with the glasses that was holding them back.
"I don't believe this," one of them said.
"No more warning shots," I said. "Get lost."
One of them made a grab for me. I swung the gym bag, clipping him in the side of the head. He staggered back, clutching at his ear.
I didn't wait. I swung the bag again, catching one in the neck. I turned and kicked the first one. The other two moved back, out of range, and I stepped forward, swinging the bag with some heat.
"That's not fucking fair!" the one I'd hit in the face claimed.
"Like four on one was so nice?" I said. I took a step forward again, and he dodged way back.
All of them were in front of me now; I'd herded them into a cluster. They were looking more hesitant than they had. I came forward again and swung wildly, and they all ran, getting about twenty feet away.
"Get out of my sight," I said. "Don't make me tell everyone how I beat four of you."
They retreated, heading back for the stadium.
I shrugged and headed to play practice.
Just another day.

In the dark, I walked across the lawn. It was late October, a little chilly, and I was wearing my green denim jacket and bright blue Slatington sweatshirt. I was looking for some kids.
My mother was two doors down at a PTO meeting with several other parents. Most of their kids had been sent out to go play in the neighborhood, and I'd been asked to go corral them and make sure they weren't in trouble. I walked over toward the yard where they'd been playing.
As I got closer, I looked around the property. I could see the kids, several of them, scattered throughout the yard. They were crouched in the grass and approaching the neighbor's property, hiding behind trees, and crawling closer to the neighboring house. I watched them for a moment.
"Hey!" I called. "What are you guys doing?"
They all turned around, saw me, and ran to me all at once. Lisa, Brian, Jamie, Suzie, Renee, Jason, and Danica---All kids i knew. They gathered around me and began frantically explaining, all talking at once.
"Hey! Hey! Down shift!" I held up my hands, quieting them down. I turned to Lisa, marginally the most mature one. "Lisa. Explain."
"It's almost Halloween, and we were talking about ghosts," said Lisa. "And, like, the old barn over there, we think is haunted, and Jason and Brian dared each other to go and find out, so...."
"Oh christ," I said.
"So we were going to go explore it and find ghosts," said Renee.
"Oh my god, no," I said. "That barn has been in ruins since before I was born! You guys could have been hurt! What were you thinking?"
"We just wanted to see if we could explore a little," said Suzie. "Please don't tell our parents on us."
I looked at her, considering.
"No," I said. "I won't. Your parents sent me over to keep you busy. I'm going to teach you how to do this right."

"Here's my pack," I said. "I usually have some adventure stuff on me."
We were all sitting in a circle on the grass. My backpack was a battered blue thing that Kline had given me. I began pulling items out to show to the kids.
"Camera. Look. I got a Polaroid. This thing develops pictures in minutes, so you know right away what you got. I've got some spare flashes for working in the dark. And a couple of flashlights, too. You never know when you're gonna need one. I mean, what were you guys planning on doing? Just stumbling around a haunted barn in the dark, crashing into things?"
"We didn't think that far ahead," Renee admitted.
"Yeah, well, you'd have needed this, too. First aid kit. I always carry one. When you get hurt, it's too late to go and find one." Mine was in a big metal box that Kline had stolen from one of the school buses, and we'd filled with first aid stuff. I opened it to show the kids.
"What's this stuff?" asked Suzie.
"Science stuff. Litmus paper. Filter paper. A beaker. That's more for hunting water monsters, but I use it all sometimes." Kline had stolen all that, too.
"Can we hunt water monsters?"
"One thing at a time."
I pulled out my binoculars. "Binoculars. They're for watching from a safe distance. A lot of ghost hunting is just waiting for stuff to happen. You hear the part about the safe distance? This way, you don't go stumbling around a dark yard and getting killed."
"We didn't get killed," pointed out Brian.
"You didn't get killed because I showed up before you could get to the barn. I also always carry my Swiss army knife and my whip, in case I need them."
"Can I try the whip?" asked Jamie.
"No. Now, what makes you think the barn is haunted?"
"We hear noises in there," said Lisa. "Sometimes it sounds like screaming."
"Okay. We're gonna go take a look. We are staying safe." The fact that I myself had not always made a policy of being safe was something I ignored for the moment. "Everyone stays behind me. Do not run off. Do what I say, no matter what. Understand?"
They all nodded.
"Okay," I said. "I'll even let you guys hold one of the flashlights. Let's go."

We walked up to the barn, looking around the outside. I said,"Okay, let me turn on my official ghost detector." I clicked on the flashlight. "Hey. There any ghosts in here?"
Nothing happened. As we walked along the side of the barn, I saw a spot where a few boards were missing, leaving it open. I said,"We'll go in there, but let me check first."
I slipped in through the broken boards. I shined my flashlight around. The inside was big. And rickety. I could see moonlight through holes in the roof. The floor was packed dirt, and there were stables on each side.
It certainly looked haunted.
I took another step inside. A moment later, someone was slipping in through the cracks beside me. Suzie.
"I told you to wait outside," I said.
"I wanted to see," she whispered.
I nodded. "Let's check it out. Stay behind me."
We walked further in, into the center aisle of the barn. Suzie said,"Hey, Lou? I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For doing something dangerous. I didn't know."
I looked at her in the flashlight beam. "It's okay, Suzie. I'm sorry I yelled at you guys. I just don't want you to get hurt."
She smiled. "Okay."
"Come on," I said. "Let's go get the others."

All together, we walked into the barn. The kids behind me, shining our flashlights.
"Everyone stay behind me," I said. "Do not touch anything. Step where I step."
There was a noise from up ahead.
I felt Jamie grabbing my arm. "What was that?"
"Careful. Let's find out."
We carefully turned the flashlights, looking across the barn. Lisa pointed. "There!"
We looked at something moving, up ahead on the other end of the barn. I shined my flashlight on a raccoon, crawling across the floor. It looked up at me for a moment, then continued on.
"There's our ghost," I said. "There's raccoons living in here. They make a lot of noise, and sometimes even a screaming sound. I used to hear them a lot on the farm when I was little."
"Mission accomplished," said Renee.

We gathered back outside the barn, standing in the moonlight.
"That was fun," said Brian.
"We solved it," I said. "A lot of them come out like that, something you can find and explain. A while ago I went looking for Bigfoot and found a horse. Everyone learn something?"
They all nodded.
"Now you guys can do it, too," I said. "But be careful. Always. Stay safe."