Mira's head wobbled like a bobblehead doll. "But what if it's not a prankster? What if it's a real ghost that might hauntat night?
I'm genuinely scared," she confessed.
Beverley pondered for a moment, her voice thoughtful, "If it can look like Kane, surely it can take on other forms, too. We might
need to call in a medium to help it cross over, to help it find peace and leave us alone."
William blinked, mischief glimmering in his eyes, "Or, we could go ghost-hunting and catch the spook ourselves."
"I'm in," Skyler declared without hesitation, the thrill of the glighting up his face, "Sounds like a blast."
Nova, not fully grasping the plan but catching the excitement, clapped her chubby little hands together, chanting, "Catch the
ghost, catch the ghost."
Mira shook her head vigorously, "But it's a ghost, here one minute, gone the next. How can we catch it? And what if it possesses
us? | don't want to be haunted."
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"Don't worry, and I'll protect you." Skyler threw an arm around her shoulders, his voice brimming with confidence, "I'm the
toughest one here. No ghost is going to mess with me."
"But ghosts are sneaky," Nina chimed in, "We never know where it might pop up next. How do we catch it?"
"I know a few tricks to summon spirits," Beverley said, her eyes shining with excitement, "At the stroke of midnight, sit in front of a
mirror, light a candle, and the little spook will show itself."
"But once it shows up, how do we catch it?" Nina asked.
"With an oak wand," William suggested, "Ghosts hate those."
"There's an apple tree in the garden. We could whittle sbranches into stakes," Skyler proposed, already heading toward the
door.
"Let's do it." The others agreed in unison, following Skyler to the garden to gather their materials.
Skyler made a 'shush' gesture with his finger to his lips, "This is our little secret. No adults need to know."
"Got it."
William and Kane lagged behind the others.
In a hushed tone, Kane voiced his concern, "William, don't you think this gmight be getting out of hand? If Beverley, Mira, or
Nina find out we're behind this prank, they'll be upset."
"It's fine as long as they don't find out the truth," William said slyly, "Skyler is in on it, too. Look how much fun he's having. It's an
immersive ghost-hunting adventure. As long as they don't know what's really going on, Beverley and the girls will have a blast,
too."
"Okay," Kane shrugged, remembering Leopold's words to keep William's identity a secret until Geoffrey's threat was neutralized,
for William's own safety.
In the toolshed, Skyler picked out a saw and crafted a simple stake for each of them.
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Armed and feeling brave, the children's fears began to dissipate.
"So, with this oak wand, no ghost will dare cnear me, right?" Mira asked earnestly.
"Right." William nodded.
Mira's face lit up. She brandished the stake like a sword, mimicking a scene from a TV show and declared, "lI am Mira, the Brave."
"Alright, we're setting up a temporary team," William announced, raising his makeshift weapon, "We hereby form the Ghostbusters
Brigade to catch the ghost of Mossy Rock Retreat."
Just then, Beverley gasped as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head, "Oh my gosh, I think | know who the ghost might be."
"Who?" Nina and Mira asked in unison, their curiosity piqued.
"It's Kane's brother, Liam." Beverley exclaimed, "He didn't just look like Kane because he's Kane's twin."
William choked on his own breath. Beverley's thought processes were always so wild, and she even figured this out.
The chilling atmosphere suddenly turned somber. Mira's eyes fell, her voice tinged with sadness, "I understand now. Liam probably
just wanted to play hide and seek with us. He wasn't trying to scare us."