Ghost Hunting

As the party bustled around him, Carlos Garcia adjusted the plastic fangs in his mouth and hoped that the fake blood on his lips hadn't smeared too badly. As he smoothed and adjusted his cape he snuck glances at the girl across the room. She was exactly the type that Steve had told him he should approach: a cute, perky looking gothess dressed as a slutty vampire. Her breasts were equally perky, accentuated by her tight top, and she had long legs covered in fishnet stockings. She seemed to be people-watching, sipping at a red solo cup and bobbing her head in time to the music that throbbed through the room.

Despite Steve's coaching, Carlos wasn't feeling particularly confident in his 'game' right now. Steve had a kind of slightly sleazy but unthreatening confidence that women seemed to love, not to mention the physique of a competitive swimmer (for the simple reason that he was one). Steve was already across the room chatting up a pair of girls dressed as police officers (albeit, police officers who seemed to be missing half their uniforms). He was dressed as Aquaman, which just meant he was wearing a speedo and carrying a gold-painted , plastic trident, and clearly he was going to be getting a lot closer to one or both of those girls tonight.

Carlos, in comparison, was nothing to write home about. He wasn't ugly by any means, mainly just aggressively plain-looking and unmemorable. People tended to forget that he was in the room if he didn't remember to cough from time-to-time to remind them. He and Steve had been roommates since freshman year and now, a year-and-a-half later, Steve had made it his personal quest to get Carlos laid. Steve loved being a wingman even more than he loved seducing women himself and Carlos had become his white whale.

Carlos steadied his breathing and took a gulp of punch from his own solo cup, wincing at the vodka mixed into the drink, to try and gather some courage. He recited the pickup line Steve had suggested like a mantra, trying to get it straight in his head. Steve had planned everything out: the costume, the type of girl to approach and the pickup line to use. According to him, the plan was foolproof.

Carlos wasn't so sure.

He slipped through the knots of chattering students towards the goth girl, careful to avoid letting his cape getting caught or snagged in the crowd. He clenched his jaws on his plastic fangs and slipped into the small, clear space around the edge of the room. As he approached the girl looked up, still sipping at her plastic cup, one eyebrow arched expectantly as he leaned awkwardly against the wall next to her. She eyeballed his cheap vampire costume, waiting for him to make the first move.

Carlos took another drink and, before he could collapse from embarrassment, he leaned slightly towards her and mumbled something unintelligible through a mouthful of plastic.

"What?" the girl leaned closer, trying to hear him over the sound of the party all around them.

Carlos blushed furiously and yanked his fangs out. Part of him wanted to just abort and vanish back into the crowd, but the warm buzz of the vodka in his drink was pushing him to keep going. Alcohol won, although not without consequences. "Who's going to suck...I mean should I suck? Fuck."

"Want to try again, dude?"

"Uh...I was trying to say...who's going to suck who?" The girl was staring at him, trying to decide how to react. The alcohol apparently thought that this meant she hadn't understood what he was trying to say, "Because...because we're both vampires. We, we both suck blood. Or like...other stuff."

"Wow." The goth girl gave him a look of half amusement, half pity. "Oh man. Where'd you get a line like that?"

"Sorry, that was lame." Carlos hung his head, face burning with embarrassment. "My buddy Steve thought it'd be a good introduction."

The girl followed his gesture to see Steve, who was somehow now talking to three girls dressed in police costumes. She let out an impressed whistle. "Yeah, I wouldn't take pickup advice from someone who looks like that. That's a guy who hasn't had to work for pussy a day in his life."

"Tell me about it," Steve was a fun guy but the cavalcade of girls he brought to their room was an annoyance. "Look, I'm really sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, dude," The goth girl's smile set Carlo's heart beating a bit faster, "If it helps, I'm not interested in guys. So you never had a chance to begin with."

Carlos laughed, "I suppose that does soften the blow a bit. Well, hop-"

"Carlos! There you are!"

The familiar voice cut through the din of the party and Carlos turned to see his friend, Becky Winslow. The two had known each other since middle school and both ended up at the local university together as well.

Becky was about half a foot shorter than he was, with light brown skin, dark hair and large brown eyes. She was currently wearing a Velma costume: a tight orange turtleneck, a red miniskirt and knee-high orange socks. The thick-framed glasses were her own, and her short hair was the right colors but instead of a neat bob, it was a mass of curls.

Becky was normally a loose-fitting, jacket-and-sweatpants kind of girl so Carlos was surprised to see how form-fitting her turtleneck was and how little her miniskirt covered. He'd been to the beach with her, so he knew she had an impressive figure but he was so used to seeing it wrapped in layers of rumpled earth tones that the sight of her dressed like this was a shock.

"Oh...uh. Hi Becky!" He gestured lamely to the goth girl next to him, "This is..."

He trailed off, realizing he hadn't her name at all. The girl grinned at him wickedly, absolutely refusing to help him out. Fortunately, Becky didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, hi there." She muttered, not meeting the other girl's eyes. Becky wasn't one for socialization outside of her small circle of friends and a few online communities that shared her interests. "You don't mind if I borrow Carlos right?"

"Not at all." The still-unnamed goth girl eyed Becky's outfit appreciatively and winked at Carlos as Becky grabbed him by the hand, "He's all yours."

As Becky pulled Carlos through the party he drained the dregs of his cup and tossed it into an overflowing trash can by the door of the frat house. Becky led him outside and the two of them emerged into the chilly October night together. It wasn't currently raining but everything was still coated in a clammy layer of dampness. The deep, pounding bass of the music resonated through the walls and the muffled sounds of the party could be dimly heard as well.

As Becky started tugging him towards the main campus, Carlos tugged back to slow her down. He knew that Becky could get a little single-minded and often took his participation in her current scheme as a foregone conclusion. "Hold on, what's up?"

"We're going to the library." Becky gave him a frustrated look, as though this were more than enough explanation.

"And why are we going to the library?"

"It's Halloween."

"Okay, Becky." Carlos gave her a stern look, "I need you to start over. What's up?"

Becky let out an exaggerated groan of annoyance, a sound she made whenever someone wasn't keeping up with her and crossed her arms under her breasts. As she glared up at him he noticed that she had a strap slung over one shoulder, holding a fancy-looking camera.

"We're looking for ghosts, obviously."

"Oh, are we?" That actually did explain a lot. Becky was an avid believer in the supernatural and a long-time ghost-hunter. In fact, she was so thorough that she had already investigated and dismissed any local supernatural hot-spots. It'd been several years since she had dragged him along on one of her expeditions.

"I was doing some research into the campus and found out the library used to be a converted Civil War hospital. A few weeks ago I set up some EVP mics to record overnight."

"Fuck, Becky. I've told you before, you can't just plant recording devices wherever you want!"

Becky just shrugged, ignoring Carlos' protests as usual. "Anyway, several of the mics picked up possible spirit activity. I figure the best time to capture evidence will be on Halloween, because of the increased astral vibrations."

Having provided all the explanation she apparently felt was warranted, Becky snagged Carlos by the hand again and started to tow him across the damp grass towards the South side of campus. Carlos didn't bother putting up a fight, as it never did any good when Becky got it into her head to go on a ghost-hunting mission. He wasn't particularly into the paranormal but Becky took it for granted that her interests were his as well.

It was just as well that he allowed himself to be carried along on her weird little adventures. When Becky was in one of her investigative moods she gave little thought to things like trespassing, structural integrity or breaking and entering laws. Maybe she insisted on bringing Carlos along because she knew that she'd need someone to keep her in check, or at least help get her out of any hole she happens to fall down?

The two approached the library, which Carlos had to admit did look like a likely place for ghosts. It had old fashioned Victorian Gothic architecture and the electrical system was notoriously unreliable, causing the lights in several of the windows to flicker ominously as they approached.

"So, are we really going to have time for this?" Carlos asked as Becky pulled them towards a side entrance. "Doesn't it close in about 15 minutes?"

"Yeah," Becky paused at the door and peeked through the window. The student worker at the desk was stacking a pile of books, their back turned to this entrance. Becky took his arm and pulled him through the door and quickly led him towards the back of the lobby, out of sight of the desk attendant. "We can lay low until closing. It'll be easier once everyone leaves for the night."

"Becky..." Carlos heaved a heavy sigh but he had been expecting something like this, so he wasn't particularly taken aback. He decided not to argue. "Fine...but we better not get caught."

Becky led him to a maze of shelves in the back where they could easily avoid being found by any wandering students or librarians. He leaned against a shelf and brushed drops of water off the edge of his cape. Becky was alert, peering around the corner of a bookshelf with the alert posture of a military lookout. The two of them waited in silence for a while, listening to the announcements of the library closing and waiting out the clock. Carlos fidgeted with his cape and wished he had charged his phone. A lot of Becky's expeditions involved waiting for long periods of time for absolutely nothing to happen.

Desperate for something to do he tried some small talk. "That's...uh...that's a good sexy Velma costume."

"Sexy?" Becky looked over her shoulder at him. "No, I don't do those. I just found this one in my closet. It's from a few years ago but it still fits okay."

As she checked around the corner again, Carlos eyed her costume again. He did remember that she had dressed up as Velma for a few years back in high school. That must have been before she came into her full figure: now the skirt barely covered her rounded ass and the turtleneck was stretched tightly over her breasts.

He pulled his eyes away and tried to change the subject. "So, I think I did hear that there was supposed to be some kind of ghost called the Gray Lady in the library. Is that what you're looking for?"

Becky hmmphed disdainfully. "Definitely not. Every old building is supposed to have a Gray Lady. It's like ghost-hunting 101...if you hear anyone talking about the Gray Lady they're full of bullshit."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," Becky didn't seem to catch his sarcastic tone. "But I did some more digging on its history and down in the basement was a tuberculosis ward which had over 300 casualties in 12 years. That's a lot of potential negative energy accumulated."

Carlos zoned out as Becky nattered on about spiritual vibrations and psychic manifestations. It was about 20 minutes after closing when the main lights clicked off, throwing the entire building into stark shadows. The secondary lights provided enough illumination to navigate the shelves but the effect was still unsettling.

"Okay, we'll give it five minutes," Becky nodded in satisfaction "Then we should be able to get down to the basement. We'll want to be careful though, might still be some staff around."

"Great," Carlos muttered, "Look, Becky, I'm dressed like a cartoon vampire, okay? We can't stay here all night."

"Fine, the increased vibrational energy will peak at midnight anyway. We can go back if we don't find anything by then."

Carlos checked his phone: it was approaching 10:30 PM. Another hour and a half shouldn't be a problem. He wasn't particularly interested in heading back to the party and Steve was probably already back at their dorm with one or more girls anyway. Killing some time with Becky was at least a bit more interesting than wandering around campus in a cheap vampire costume.

After waiting in their hiding place for a few more minutes the two skulked through the empty shelves. Occasionally Becky would stop and take pictures of a few seemingly-random corners, check her camera for something and shake her head in dissatisfaction. Eventually, she led Carlos down to the basement, a maze of off-white concrete walls housing meeting rooms, sorting rooms and archival areas.

Becky seemed to know exactly where she was going and led him to a hallway towards the Eastern side of the building. She peered down the hallway, where a single row of fluorescent lights flickered intermittently.

"We're almost there." She snapped a few photos of the hallway, fiddled with the settings on her camera and snapped a few more.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I set up a recorder in that conference room," Becky indicated a room down the end of the hall, its door slightly open. She fiddled with the camera a bit more. "The EVP recorder picked up the sound of rattling furniture, which may be an indication of poltergeist activity. And when I recovered it this morning, I found damp patches on the table. Probably ectoplasm."

"Of course." Carlos rolled his eyes.

"Come on."

Becky crept down the hallway and Carlos followed after her. He had to admit that the place was a little bit creepy: the buzzing hum and flickering of the lights put his nerves on edge. But he tried to keep any sign of his nervousness from showing and followed along after Becky.

And then he heard it.

The sound was a soft, rhythmic thumping. He could not immediately identify the noise, but it was unmistakable. Becky looked over her shoulder back at him, eyes wide. She heard it too.

They both instinctively slowed down, creeping silently towards the door. It was clear that the noise was coming from inside and as they approached Carlos could see some kind of shifting pattern of light playing out from inside.

Carlos' heart began to hammer in his chest as he faintly made out the sound of heavy breathing. This was insane. He'd occasionally seen weird stuff while exploring abandoned hospitals or old theaters with Becky, but this felt different. He considered grabbing Becky's shoulder and running but there was no way she would leave and he didn't want her to face this alone.

Becky knelt by the door and leaned forward to slowly peer through the cracked doorway. Her eyes were wide and Carlos could see the strange lights playing on the lenses of her glasses. Carlos bit his lip nervously but finally gathered the courage to lean over Becky and peer through the door himself.

The rhythmic thumping was the sound of a slightly wobbly table rocking back and forth, causing its uneven legs to bounce against the carpeted floor. The light came from a tablet balanced on the table, playing a video. It was hard to make out the precise details from this distance but it looked like a blond woman going to town on a pair of monstrously oversized cocks. The tablet seemed to be muted so if there was any further context, it was unavailable.

A woman stood in the room, from her age and outfit she was probably a librarian. She had wavy, dirty-blond hair that spilled over her white blouse. The buttons of her blouse were undone and she was massaging her breasts through a lacy black bra. He could see she was wearing a matching pair of black panties because her dark blue skirt was hiked down around her knees and her legs were spread as far apart as this would allow.

With her eyes glued on the tablet, she was rubbing the front of her panties against the corner of the table.

Carlos' heart was pounding in his ears and he could feel a matching throb in his crotch as his dick swelled, pressing uncomfortably against his pants. The woman's breathing became heavier as she pressed harder against the edge of the table. She rose up on her tip-toes, putting more of her weight against the rounded wooden corner. He could hear her letting out soft, tiny whimpers as she picked up the tempo of her movements.

He suddenly remembered that he wasn't alone and looked down at Becky. At some point, she had turned her head and was no longer staring through the slightly open doorway. She was looking directly at his waist, her mouth slightly open in surprise.

Steve had a girl over more nights than not and this meant that Carlos didn't have a lot of alone time in their small dorm room. It had been almost a week since he last jacked off and so the scene inside the room had gotten him as hard as a rock, his dick pressed cartoonishly against the front of his pants.

Before Carlos could say or do anything, Becky glanced up at him and met his eyes. Her eyes went wide in surprise and embarrassment and Carlos was sure he looked the same. His face felt hot and he opened his mouth to try and say something but no words came out. As his eyes were locked with Becky's he could hear the woman let out a shivering, orgasmic gasp as she climaxed.

Becky spoke first, in a hoarse whisper, "We...we should get moving."

"Y-yeah," Carlos swallowed nervously. "Yeah, let's go."

The two crept backwards down the hallway, taking a turn to put some distance between them and the librarian's room. Becky stopped at a water fountain and took a few gulps of cold water. Carlos leaned against a wall, waiting wordlessly while she finished.

When she turned he thought he saw her eyes briefly snap down to his waist before she met his eyes. Embarrassment had already withered his erection and he had been trying to think of a way to apologize or some joke he could crack to diffuse the tension.

"The second location is just around the corner," Becky piped up before he could say anything. "Let's get going."

"Oh...sure, sure." Apparently, they were just going to pretend nothing had happened. That was probably for the best.

Becky turned away, fiddling with her camera again and trotted down the hall. Their destination was what looked like a staff break room of some kind: a small little room with a tiny kitchenette, a break table and a long, cushioned couch. Becky walks around the room, snapping pictures of every corner of the room. She seemed to be more thorough than strictly necessary, even opening cabinets and a small pantry closet full of paper towels, instant coffee packets and styrofoam cups.

"So...what's the story here?" Carlos decided to break the silence. "More...I mean, is it like poltergeists?"

"Four days ago at around this time, the EVP recorder caught what definitely sounded like human voices." Becky was still preoccupied with taking more photos "There were also distinct moaning noises. I think it's the sound of patients from the tuberculosis ward."

"Spooky."

"Ghosts can't hurt you," Becky's tone was exasperated, which was kind of a relief after the prior awkwardness. "Don't be a wuss. We should turn off the lights to get a better look at-"