Chapter 16: Rescue

When Conner saw Sara fly upwards, he turned towards another ghost nearby.

“Please keep searching while I check with Sara,” he said.

The other ghost floated into a nearby building. Conner ascended and zipped over to meet with Sara.

“We’ve found her!” said Sara.

“Is she alive and well?”

“Yes.” Sara gave Conner the address.

“Excellent! Can you guard her, in case they try to move her? I’ll notify my group and then go tell Ed.”

“Will do. I’ll meet you back here once you return.”

Conner zipped back to his group of ghosts. He told them they could either join Sara or return to the cemetery. They all wished to see this resolved before leaving.

Next, Conner zipped towards Ed’s apartment complex. It was early in the morning, and Ed was likely at home.

It didn’t take Conner long to arrive. He floated into Ed’s bedroom.

“Wake up, Ed!”

Ed slowly rolled over and opened one eye to see the cause of the disturbance.

“Conner??”

“We’ve found her. I need you to call it in.”

Ed reached over to the bedside table and picked up his phone. He dialed the tribal police officer.

“Hello?”

“Officer Ouray, I have the location for Abey. Are you ready with a pen?”

“Go ahead, I’m ready.”

Conner told Ed, who passed on the address to the police officer.

“I’ll handle it from here. Thank your friends for me.”

“Will do.” The call ended.

“Conner, I passed on the address. He said to thank everyone involved.”

“We recruited all the ghosts we could for this. I must return and thank them all. Sara is there, in charge.”

“Please check in with me later. Now let me sleep,” said Ed.

“Good night, Ed,” said Conner. He left.

Abey lay on the floor in a dark room. She couldn’t remember how she got there. The last she remembered was leaving for the gathering. A van pulled up and everything went dark.

She soon discovered her arms and legs were bound and she was gagged.

What she couldn’t see were several ghosts floating nearby. In reality, they were there to protect her until help arrived.

Time passed. How long, she couldn’t tell.

Suddenly, a door opened, and a light shined on her.

“She’s over here!” said a voice. She couldn’t tell who it was.

“Abey, this is officer Ouray. You’re safe. Let me untie you.”

Soon, she was free. Ouray guided her outside of the building and into a waiting ambulance.

“Thank you!”

“You should thank the medicine man. He found you.”

Conner returned to meet Sara, hovering over the location.

“I met with Ed and he passed on the address,” said Conner.

“Good. Response time should be under thirty minutes. I have ghosts everywhere, in case they try to move her,” she said.

“If they did, let lose the poltergeist on them.”

“Yes. That’s a great idea.”

Conner looked around, waiting for lights and the sound of sirens. It wasn’t long before he saw them in the distance.

“Here they come!”

“I’ll direct the other ghosts to back off. No need to interfere with their rescue effort.”

Sara descended and entered the building. Soon, ghosts left in all directions.

Sara returned to Conner.

“Can you follow the girl to the hospital?” asked Conner.

“Yes, I can do that.”

Police vehicles and an ambulance converged on the building below them. Most of the ghosts floated above the scene.

“This was fun,” said one ghost.

Conner, ever quick, asked, “Would you like to help with future adventures?”

“Sure. Just stop by the cemetery. I’m game.”

Conner turned to Sara.

“We’ve got the resources for similar searches in the future.”

“Yes, we do. I see them bringing the girl out. I’ll go wait in the ambulance.”

“Once it’s over, I’ll herd the ghosts back to the cemetery. See you later.”

Ed didn’t receive a phone call until after he awoke in the morning. He was enjoying his morning cup of coffee when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Ed, this is officer Ouray. Your lead was good. Abey is safe in the UW medical center.”

“Awesome. I’m so glad she’s okay.”

“Please tell your friends that was the fastest search in history. They should be proud of their achievement.”

“Will do. I expect I owe several favors to my friends. I understand they recruited all the spirits from a cemetery.”

“Whatever the cost, it was worth it. Call me if you need anything.”

Ouray hung up the call. Ed took a sip of his coffee. He had to leave for work soon.

Ed drove to work and pulled up outside Dysnatech.

“Hey, Ed. Are you ok? You’ve looked terrible recently,” said Blake.

“Another rough night.”

“You should be careful. Don’t give them a reason to fire you.”

“I’ll do what I can. Someone I know got into serious trouble and I had to help them. I’ll get more sleep tonight.”

“Is your friend okay?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Ed arrived at his cubicle and turned on his computer. He got to work on the software bug fixes.

Later, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Ed, it’s Ellen. Any news?” asked Ellen.

“Sorry, I hadn’t called you yet. They found her early this morning. She’s safe.”

“Awesome! How are you doing?”

“I got hardly any sleep last night.”

“Would you like to visit tonight? You can just relax. I have lots of guest rooms if you needed to stay over.”

“I’d love to, but I’m really burned out. Can I get a rain check?”

“Sure. Call me when you’ve rested.”

“Will do. As soon as I’m rested.”

Ed ended the call and resumed his work.

At quitting time, Ed drove home to his apartment complex.

Fortunately, no ghosts were waiting for him.

Ed went to bed early and was soon asleep.

Next morning, Ed awoke feeling refreshed. He’d slept well last night.

He showered, dressed, and brewed a pot of coffee. Two cups of Seattles finest made Ed feel much better. He was surprised that nothing bad had happened.

Ed drove to work and pulled up outside Dysnatech. He searched for Blake, but didn’t find him.

Ed stepped out of his car, and a dog approached him.

“Excuse me, are you the one known as Ed?” asked the dog.

Ed did a double take. He didn’t expect something to happen outside his workplace.

“Yes, my name is Ed,” he said.

“Good. When is a good time to talk? I’m aware you’re just going to work.”

To others, talking with a dog would appear strange. Ed was used to crows and bears and bobcats. What’s a dog compared to that?

“I don’t know. How about after work? You could meet me here around six pm. We can drive to my place and talk.”

“That works for me. I don’t have a watch, but I can estimate the time.”

“Good. See you then.”

Ed left the dog and entered the building.

Midmorning, Ed received a call.

“Hello?”

“Ed, this is Pana.”

“Hello, Pana. How can I help you?” asked Ed.

“Two things. Washta is home again, and she wants to thank you when you have time to visit. My granddaughter Abey is home again, too. Thank you so much for that. Your presence has been a blessing on our community.”

“I’m glad on both counts. I have an appointment after work tonight. Perhaps I’ll have time to visit tomorrow evening. I’ve got your number now, so I can call to confirm.”

“Great. Call if anything changes.”

The call ended. It amused Ed how busy he’d become. So many people to see. His calendar was full. It wasn’t long ago when he rarely had any appointments.

Ed resumed his work. He half anticipated Conner to arrive next, with another request for something.

Fortunately, Conner was busy elsewhere.

At quitting time, Ed shut down his computer and left the building.

As he approached his car, the dog arrived. Ed shrugged and opened the passenger door. The dog jumped in and Ed entered the driver side.

“Good evening, Ed,” said the dog.

“Good evening,” said Ed.

He drove to his apartment complex and parked in the parkade.

“No barking please, this is supposed to be a no pets building.”

“Understood.”

They took the elevator and went into his apartment. No one saw them.

“So, how can I help you?” asked Ed.

“My name is Adam. When I recently died, I returned as a dog. I need a kind family to live with. I won’t last as a stray dog without ending up in the pound.”

“So, the family is like a cover?”

“Kind of. I can’t go live in the wild. I need to live with a family who will care for me.”

“Do you have any special needs?”

“I’ll behave well. I require food and water and a place to sleep. They’ll need a license and I’ll wear a collar and all that.”

“And you think I can find you a family? I’m not exactly running a pet adoption business.”

“You’re my only hope. Perhaps you know someone?”

Ed scratched his head as he tried to think of someone. Then he had a sudden insight.