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

I clicked YES, then closed the laptop and followed Dad out into the hallway.

The whole crew had gathered in the lobby to say good-bye to Lidia. A few days of possession-free rest had done wonders—she still looked a bit drained, but much more like her old self. Still, Jess hovered around her with a nervous look, as if she expected Lidia to collapse again at any given moment.

I spotted Oscar standing off to the side as the others took turns hugging Lidia good-bye. He smiled when he saw me.

“Jekyll?”

I glanced down at my T-shirt. “Yeah. If I wear it inside out, it says Hyde,” I told him, and he laughed.

“Nice.”

“Thanks.” I glanced outside, where Dad and Roland were loading luggage into the cab. “So . . . I’m going to meet my mom’s fiancé this weekend. And his daughter.”

Oscar made a face. “Well, maybe it won’t be that bad.”

“Famous last words,” I said dryly. “If we were in a slasher movie right now, you’d be the first one the maniac attacked with a chainsaw.”

“Probably.” Oscar’s smile faded, and he stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m, um . . . I’m going to see my dad. Lidia said she’d set up a visit when we get home.”

I nodded, unsure of what to say. We stood in silence, watching as Jess, Sam, and Lidia started heading out the entrance.

“I’m glad, though,” Oscar said suddenly. “I’m tired of worrying about it, you know?”

“Yeah.” I tried to sound optimistic. “And hey, the bright side is, no matter how good or bad things go, at least we’ll see each other again in a few weeks.”

“That’s a bright side?” Grinning, Oscar dodged a light punch I aimed at his arm. “Just kidding.”

“Oscar, let’s go!” Lidia called, and he picked up his backpack.

“Good luck,” I said, sticking my hand out. Oscar took it firmly in his, and we shook.

“You too, Doctor Pain.”

Outside, Dad slipped his arm around my shoulders as Lidia and Oscar climbed into the cab. We waved until they pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner.

Roland stretched his arms over his head and yawned hugely. “I’m starving.”

“Well, we’ve got a few hours to kill,” said Jess. “Want to grab something to eat before the twenty-four hours of nasty airline food begins?”

“You should order the vegetarian meals,” Sam told her mildly as we started walking. “The tofu curry I had on the flight to Rotterdam was delicious.”

“It was pretty good,” Roland agreed, exchanging an amused look with Mi Jin. “Probably because that was pork, not tofu.”

I lagged behind, pulling my camera out of my pocket. Dad glanced over his shoulder.

“You all right?”

“Yeah.” I waved the Elapse at him. “Just wanted to get some pictures, if that’s okay.”

Dad smiled. “Of course.”

I slowed down, taking in the cobblestone street, the cluttered shop windows, the tiny tables set up under colorful awnings. Up ahead, Dad and Jess were chatting away about the architecture (judging from their animated gestures to the surrounding buildings), while Roland and Sam watched Mi Jin drop a few coins into the case of an accordionist squeezing out an upbeat polka. For a moment, all five of them stood still as crowds of people hurried by.

Kneeling, I held the camera up to my eye. “Okay,” I murmured, adjusting the lens until they were in focus. “Lots of motion around them, a slower shutter speed would give the crowd a really cool blur . . . wider aperture, shallower depth of field and . . . perfect.”

Click!

1

Oct 10 • Emily Rosinski

Cannon Beach, OR • Limerick Bed & Breakfast

Creator and producer Lidia Bettencourt grew up in this coastal Oregon town, and her childhood fascination with the haunted lighthouse led her to choose it as the location for P2P’s first episode. The pilot episode included the infamous “dead air”—90 seconds during which viewers lost sound/audio. Fright TV could not explain the disturbance, leading to the show’s slogan: “The most haunted show on television.”

2

Oct 17 • Emily Rosinski

Seattle, WA • Oxford Hotel

The crew investigated room 610 of this hotel, where the ghost of a local author terrorized visitors by attempting to re-create scenes from her horror novel, The Woman in the Mirror.

3

Oct 24 • Emily Rosinski

Las Vegas, NV • Burning Love Wedding Chapel

This episode featured one of P2P’s most popular scenes, in which Sam Sumners attempted to contact the ghost of the Elvis impersonator who haunted the chapel and ended up entertaining the crew with a rousing rendition of “All Shook Up.”

4

Oct 31 • Emily Rosinski

San Diego, CA • Sandoval Studios

This art studio claimed the spirit of a troubled artist haunted its gallery, occasionally making small changes to paintings, such as adding small clouds or extra stars.

5

Nov 7 • Emily Rosinski

Tucson, AZ • Silver Rush Mansion

The crew spent the night in this mansion, said to be haunted by the disgruntled original staff from the early nineteen hundreds.

6

Nov 14 • Emily Rosinski

Santa Fe, NM • Dragonfly Dance Hall

The spirit of a ballroom dancer betrayed by her partner lingers in the dance hall, occasionally trying to tempt visitors into a waltz.

7

Nov 21 • Emily Rosinski

Austin, TX • The Asylum

The crew investigated claims that this popular Halloween haunted house was actually haunted by a restless spirit year-round.

8

Dec 5 • Emily Rosinski

Dallas, TX • OCH Recording Studio

A fire claimed the lives of seven musicians at this studio over a decade ago. The studio was rebuilt and outfitted with new equipment, but occasionally, engineers report the song the band had been recording when the fire started begins playing through the speakers.

9

Dec 12 • Emily Rosinski

Lake Quivira, KS • Crowing Farm

The crew explored the cornfields surrounding this abandoned farm, once the ritual site for an eerie cult.

10

Dec 19 • Emily Rosinski

Madison, WI • Stet News

The owners of this local paper claim headquarters are haunted by the spirit of a disgruntled copy editor responsible for sneaking typos into articles just before the paper goes to print.

11

May 8 • Emily Rosinski

Evanston, IL • Saint John’s Cathedral

The crew investigates local claims