Ryan hated that cellar. Should he go in? He didn’t want to leave Beth on her own. After a brief

hesitation, Ryan followed. Strange, but it didn’t feel as cold as it usually did. He looked around the

vast cellar, spotting Beth at the other end of the room, opposite the air vent. As Ryan crept up to her,

he caught the tail end of a few whispered words. Beth’s eyes were closed, and she held the sage out in

front of her.

“Um, are you okay?” Ryan whispered.

Beth looked at him, nodding. “She was more than willing to leave. It was only a little girl, poor

thing.”

“H-Huh?”

“The spirit that lived in here,” Beth explained. “She’s gone now.” Her eyes flicked to the small

window by the drop hatch. From the garden outside, Fizz’s voice filtered through to them. “Garden

next,” she said.

* * *

Ryan wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this. When he’d thought of spirits and exorcisms before,

he’d always thought it would be more...dramatic. The way Beth breezed through the pub, apparently

sending spirits along their way, all seemed very...relaxed.

Although, Ryan supposed this was a vast improvement on the dramas of last Saturday night. He’d

rather never have to go through that again. He let Beth wander through the rest of the bar on her own,

and she was outside in the garden. Strange, but he felt oddly calm. Instead of continuing his cleaning,

Ryan poured himself a soda, and spent a few minutes staring into nothing. Traffic whizzed by outside,

and a few pedestrians were about. The pub’s doors were still locked, and would remain so until Ryan

knew what his colleagues wanted to do. He’d wait until Pete or Ginger were awake, anyway. A glance

at the clock, reading quarter to eleven, suggested that wouldn’t be happening just yet.

Fizz bounded up to the bar, a smile on his face. “Ryan? I wouldn’t wake anyone up if I had a

shower, would I?”

“Huh?” Ryan blinked, trying to concentrate. “Um, no?”

“The toilet doesn’t seem to be making a noise now,” Fizz said. “That’s a relief. I always thought

those pipes were gonna break or something! Seem to be fine now.”

“Oh...yeah, that is good.”

“So, I can have a shower?” Fizz asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay. Thanks!” He shot Ryan a happy grin, squeezed past him, and disappeared through the staff

door. His light footsteps skipped upstairs. Ryan raised an eyebrow. Well, at least someone was happy.

Resentment clawed at Ryan’s insides, trying to turn his thoughts sour. Did this mean that he’d lose

one of his very best friends, Ash, to loved up coupledom? Bleh. Certainly seemed that way. But hadn’t

Ryan been the one to encourage it? All for his own gain, of course. Ryan wasn’t sure what he’d hoped

to gain. Things didn’t seem as clear as they had a few weeks ago.

“Ryan?” Beth’s voice startled him, and he jumped. “Sorry,” she said. She placed her hand on his

shoulder. Ryan almost wanted to snap at her, but managed to hold it in. It wasn’t Beth he was angry at,

after all. He wasn’t entirely sure who he was angry at.

Beth seemed to understand. After a gentle squeeze, she pulled back, and settled herself on a bar

stool. “Want to talk about it?”

“Hah.” A humourless laugh escaped. “Not really.”

“It might make you feel better?”

Ryan wasn’t so sure. Yet the images burned in his mind anyway; he couldn’t exactly ignore them. It

was like remembering the scenes of a particularly nasty horror movie. He sighed heavily.

“It...it sounds...kinda stupid.”

“Stupid?” Beth raised a blonde eyebrow, then smiled with understanding. “Ryan, this is me you’re

talking to. I promise, nothing will sound stupid. Just try me. Why don’t we have a drink? It might

help.”

“Hn.” Ryan nodded in agreement. At this rate, though, he may well end up being an alcoholic.

After choosing their drinks, a gin and tonic for Beth, a whiskey and Coke for Ryan, he sat on the

stool next to Beth, leaning his arms on the bar. He told Beth everything, from the weird noises when

they’d first opened the pigeon loft, to Fizz moving in, everyone acting out of character, up to last

Saturday night, when everything seemed to blow up his in face.

He gulped down his drink, then described what had happened in Fizz’s room, with the visions of

blood, the way he – or whatever had been in Fizz – had tried to take Ginger from him, and how Ryan

had reacted. The unexplained cuts on his face, the way that person had attacked him with visions.

Ryan told Beth that it had seemed like the spirit, or whatever he was, had been trying to justify his

actions and by showing Fizz, then Ryan, a vision, and hoped to gain sympathy.

Ryan wasn’t quite sure. “I think the guy was warped, but what they did to him was fucking

horrible,” he concluded, knocking back the last of his drink. “And now it’s all in my head, and I

can’t...I can’t not think about it.”

Beth nodded, placing her hand over Ryan’s. “I’m so sorry, Ryan. I wish I’d known of this earlier, I

truly do. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Hah. Yeah, I guess. And Sammy’s arm is broken. I mean, God. And Fizz almost died.... I can’t get

over it. I’m just...I dunno. I don’t know what to think.”

“It’s okay.” Beth’s hand squeezed his tightly. “You’ve all been through a lot. I’m going to be here,

and I’ll keep a close eye on things from now on. This place had always been a hot-bed of energy. I

guess I hadn’t realised just how much, because...well, usually ‘cause I’m pretty drunk when I come in

here.” She winked at him.

Ryan smiled weakly.

“Seriously, though,” Beth said. “Sometimes bad things happen in life, and it’s all part of existence.

There are horrible things out there, and it’s crap that we have to experience them. However, it’s

important not to let it drag you down. I know it’s a cliché, but when they say count your blessings, it

really does help to do so. You’re all alive, you all made it through. With the exception of Sammy, who

unfortunately got a broken arm, but he’ll pull through. You’re all very strong people. Sometimes...”

She paused, breathing in. Her hand left Ryan’s, and made it up to his shoulder, rubbing gently. Heat

seemed to radiate in from her hand. “Sometimes,” she said, “bad things can make us appreciate the

good things in life. Know what I mean?”

A calming heat warmed Ryan’s skin. He nodded. “Yeah, I know what you’re saying.”

“Some of us have to see things we don’t want to see,” Beth said. “Sometimes it’s inescapable. But,

eventually, the memory of it fades, and we can get by without remembering. It’s fresh in your mind

now, but it will fade.”

“I hope so.”

“It will.” Beth smiled at him, a smile that told him she believed he’d be okay. “If you do find

you’re struggling, though, just come and find me. My door is always open to you.”

“Thanks, Beth.” Ryan managed to smile back. “You’ve...well, you’ve been great.”

“No probs.” Her smile became shy, and she hopped down from her stool. “Well, I have to get going.

I’m meeting some friends in the park. They’re doing poi. Wanna come?”

“Nah, thanks.” Ryan stood, picking up their empty glasses. “I think we’re opening today, so there’s

still a lot of cleaning to do.”

Beth nodded. “Sure thing. Well, when we’re done, maybe we’ll come back in here for a drink.”

“That’d be good. I think we owe you a few pints, at the very least.” After placing the glasses in the

glass washer, Ryan went to the door, unlocking it so Beth could leave.

“Beth...thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She stepped through the door, smiling over her shoulder. “See you later.”

Chapter Twenty-three