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“Rooms? Zoe, you didn’t mention that the locals would be so accommodating…“ Swindleton glanced at Spooks as he attempted to begin a conga line with Cerberus, leaving a trail of custard on the ground. “Or so unusual...”
“You know each other?” Spooks glanced between the pair, before he drew an excited breath. “Oh, do you work together? Zoe’s told us all about it!”
“Is that so?” Swindleton glanced at Zoe suspiciously. “What exactly has she told you?”
“Oh, she’s told us how your company turns towns into gold mines.” Zoe’s stomach churned as Spooks babbled excitedly. “We’ve heard all about Paradise Heights, Serenity Meadows, and Whispering Pines. And we’ll be next!”
Zoe barely dared to breathe as Swindleton’s lips pursed, sensing something was amiss. “And you’re… happy about that?”
“You bet!” Spooks broke into a wide grin. “Finally, our motel will be filled with guests again. And we couldn’t have done it without her help!”
Swindleton’s eyes widened, before he let out a hoot of laughter.
“You think she’s here to help your town?“ Swindleton shook his head, before peals of his mocking laughter echoed across the barren town. “I must admit, I didn’t think you had it in you, Zoe.”
Zoe drew a shaky breath. “Swindleton, please...”
“You know, I could fill a library with the tall tales I’ve spun in this job. But I’ve never thought of this one.” Swindleton flashed his overly whitened teeth into a smile. “So, what was the story? Were you a tour guide? A hotelier? A…”
“A travel blogger!” Spooks cartwheeled across the ground, before he sprang onto the top of a nearby truck. “Someone who travels the road, and transforms each town she visits. Isn’t that right, Zoe?”
Zoe’s mouth turned dry as she glanced between Swindleton and the hapless specters. Before she could answer, Swindleton stepped closer, a wide grin etched into his face.
“Oh, we transform towns alright.” He glanced at the workmen knowingly. “Don’t we, boys?”
Tears bloomed in Zoe’s eyes as Gus and the workmen broke into a series of guffaws. She whispered pleadingly to Swindleton, her voice laced with desperation.
“Don’t, Swindleton.” She looked at him beseechingly. “Please.”
“Oh, I think it’s only fair that your friends see the truth for themselves.” Swindleton pulled a handful of files from his car, brandishing them like weapons. “You said you wanted to be the next Paradise Heights? The next Serenity Meadows? Well, perhaps you should take a closer look at them.”
With a sneer, he tossed the files towards Spooks. The playful poltergeist snatched them with ease, and eagerly flicked through their contents. But his smile faded as he was greeted with pictures of mines, of oil rigs, and smog-ridden power stations, until he scratched his head in confusion.
“Huh, these look a little different to what I expected.” Despite the poltergeist’s confusion, he drew an excited breath as he reached the final report. “Hey, there’s our town!”
Zoe’s stomach churned as she recognized her old report. She tried to snatch it from the poltergeist’s hands, but he climbed higher onto the truck, until he was out of reach.
“No, Spooks, don’t–”
“An abandoned motel occupies the current site, a dilapidated dump where no one living or dead would want to be seen... yadda yadda yadda... A prime location for drilling; certainly no one living would mourn its loss...” Spooks shook his head, until he turned to Zoe uncertainly. “Wait… I don’t understand.”
“I…” Zoe drew a shaky breath. “I can explain.”
“Why don’t I explain for you?” Swindleton paced before the specters, like a showman performing in a circus ring. “Zoe doesn’t breathe new life into towns. She destroys them.”
“Destroys them?“ Misty fanned herself frantically, and shook her head. “But she wouldn’t…”
“Perhaps it’s easier if I show you.” Swindleton clapped his hands and called to the workmen. “Boys?”
Gus guffawed, and unloaded the machines. With the press of a button, a drilling machine scuttled across the ground on its spider-like legs, until it quivered as it sensed nearby energy. Its long, spear-like drill whirred to life, before it punctured the earth in an explosion of rock and debris.
Spooks yelped at the sight, as the noise of the drill filled the air. “What is it doing?”
Beneath a thick layer of custard, Misty’s face paled. She watched as the machine absorbed the magical golden energy of the land, until it shimmered inside the tanks secured to its body.
“It’s feeding...” She cried in outrage at the sight, as the machine greedily gorged on the magic of the Underworld. “But why?”
Swindleton laughed coldly, enjoying every moment of the woman’s discomfort. “Well, we have to keep the lights on somehow.”
