Dead Air by Michelle Schusterman (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

“Did the batteries die?”

Before anyone could respond, a distant crash caused us all to jump. A split second later, a scream echoed through the tunnels.

Hailey leaped to her feet first. She was halfway to the cell door when Jamie grabbed her wrist.

“What are you doing?” Hailey yelled, trying to tug her arm away. “Someone might’ve gotten hurt, we should—”

“You know the rules.” Jamie’s voice cracked a little. “We can’t just go running around looking for them. Dad would flip out. We don’t even know where they are. We’d get lost.”

Hailey opened her mouth to retort, but Oscar waved his walkie-talkie at her. “That’s why we’ve got these, right?” Without waiting for a response, he held it up to his mouth. “Aunt Lidia? Is everyone okay?”

My heart pounded in my ears as we waited for a response. Ghosts aside, there were plenty of ways someone could get hurt in the tunnels. The last thing Dad needed was a broken leg or something. After a few seconds of silence, I pulled out my own walkie-talkie, cramming the paper back in my pocket. “Dad?” I said, trying to sound calm. “Mi Jin? Is anyone there?”

For a moment, there was nothing but a soft crackle. Then someone spoke, but it didn’t sound like Dad or anyone else on the crew. The voice was distant and echoey, like a soft whisper in a large hall. But the words were very clear.

“Help her.”

The four of us stood frozen, staring at the walkie-talkie. Then Hailey wrenched her arm out of Jamie’s grasp and sprinted into the tunnels.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DEAD WOMAN WALKING

P2P WIKI

Entry: “Possession”

[Last edited by AntiSimon]

Possession refers to a ghost or spirit taking control of a person’s body, including motor and cognitive functions. To date, P2P has not recorded or reported such an event.

I raced after Jamie, Oscar right behind me. I could just make out Hailey’s curly brown ponytail as she whipped around a corner. Seconds later, Jamie stopped so abruptly, I slammed into him.

“Which way?” he said frantically. Rubbing my shoulder, I squinted in the dim light and realized we were at a fork in the tunnel. “Which way did she go?”

“I don’t know.” I took a deep breath. “Um, try your walkie-talkie again.”

Jamie fumbled with his walkie-talkie. “Hello? Jess, Mi Jin . . . anyone there?”

I swallowed hard, willing my pulse to slow down. Maybe I didn’t believe in ghosts, but between the Ouija board, the dark tunnels, and that creepy voice . . . Well, being a little freaked out was understandable.

After a few seconds of static-filled silence, Jamie let out a frustrated groan. “Nothing. Should we—”

THUD.

A cry of pain ripped through the air, and goose bumps broke out all over my arms. Without a word, the three of us raced down the path on the left, toward the noise. I heard shuffling sounds around the corner, and voices—one familiar voice in particular . . .

“Dad!”

“Look out!”

Jamie went flying through the air in front of me, landing hard on the dirt. I managed to skid to a halt right in front of the thing that had tripped him. When I realized it was Jess lying on the ground, a scream rose up in my throat. I leaped backward into Oscar just as Jess sat up with a sigh. “Cut!”

Relief flooded through me as my eyes adjusted. Roland lowered the camera and hurried over to help Jamie while Dad pulled a very irritated-looking Jess to her feet. Behind them, a huge sack lay on the ground in front of one of the trapdoor slides.

“What happened?” I asked. “We heard screaming—”

“Flour,” Roland interrupted, kicking the sack. “Or sugar, I’m not sure. Came shooting down the slide and knocked Jess over.”

I watched Jess angrily swipe dirt off her jeans. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” she muttered. “That was great footage, and now we can’t even use it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you three can’t be in the show,” Dad said with a sigh, and I winced. “You got in the shot when you came barreling in here. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

Roland stared up at the trapdoor. “How long have you guys been wandering around, anyway? Did you do this?”

“We haven’t . . .” I hesitated, confused. “Do what?”

Nudging the sack with his toe, Roland glanced at Oscar. “This. As a joke. Because Jess could’ve been seriously hurt.”

Oscar’s eyes widened. “What? I didn’t—”

“We’ve been with Oscar the whole time,” I interrupted, glaring at Roland. “We were in the cell and there was a crash and someone screamed. Hailey ran off, and we all went after her, but we lost her, and—”

“You lost her?” Without waiting for a response, Jess whipped out her walkie-talkie. “Lidia? Sam? You there?”

Roland groaned, rubbing his forehead. “We lost the network VP’s daughter. Perfect.”

“Hello?” Mi Jin’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, and we fell silent.

“Mi Jin, do you have Hailey?” Jess said immediately.

“Um . . . yeah, she’s right here with me.” Everyone let out a collective breath, and Jamie’s shoulders slumped in relief. “But I can’t . . . I . . .”

Mi Jin’s voice was breathy and strange. “Are you okay?” Jess asked, brow crinkled. “Is Lidia with you? Mi Jin?” No response, just a long, crackly silence.

Jess lowered the walkie-talkie. “Okay, let’s find them. And we need to keep filming.” She held her hand out, and Roland handed her the camera. “Jack, can you take these guys back to the cell, please? Roland, come with me.”

Jamie shook his head. “But Hailey—”

“I’ll get her, and then the four of you are going back to the hotel,” Jess said shortly. “We can’t afford to throw away any more footage.” With that, she set off down the tunnel with Roland, speaking in hushed tones.

Dad turned to Jamie, who was rubbing his elbow. “Do you need the first-aid kit?”

Jamie shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Guilt burned in my chest as we followed Dad through the narrow tunnel. What if we’d ruined his first episode? Then again, no one could possibly expect us to just sit in the cell when people were screaming bloody murder and the walkie-talkies weren’t working . . .

“Help her!”

I stopped cold, staring at