The Haunted Mine: A Lorimer Graveskeeper Choose Your Own Adventure Story

Chapter 8: The Lost Lamb

"I've been drinking and my head isn't on straight. I can't go anywhere right now," Lorimer said. "Come back tomorrow night."

The girl growled audibly. She glared at Lorimer and was silent, her rage palpable, billowing in the space between then.

"Tomorrow night?" she said finally. "And then you will come? Do you swear it?" 

"Tomorrow night. I swear. Just let me sleep tonight, please. Then I'll hear whatever you have to say." 

The ghost nodded once and disappeared.

Lorimer's pulse slowly returned to normal. Despite what he told the ghost he was profoundly alert. Liquor couldn't damped this kind of fear. The important thing was that he bought some time to decide his next steps. Should he flee? Run back into the bush and stay there this time, for good? Every foray into civilization made them bolder. He had no evidence to support this, but it seemed like there must be a barrier of some kind between the living and the dead, and this wall, particularly the part around him, was crumbling and weakening every day. When he was still a doctor and faced with a difficult question he couldn't answer, the next step was always to try to get more information to help tip the scales. He threw off his clothes and laid in his bed. Tomorrow he would figure out who this girl was. Resolved, he closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.

The next morning Lorimer woke with a pounding headache. He grabbed a couple of aspirin from his kitchen counter and drank a glass of water, too nauseated for breakfast. His resolution last night seemed much more impossible in the light of day. Who could he even ask about this girl? Who could he tell without sounding completely crazy? Cecile would be a logical place to start. She was the local bartender and knew everyone in town. Maybe she could point him in the right direction. Jim might know something too. He could pretend to just be curious about the history of the place, to be better prepared for his new job. He splashed some water over his face and threw on a button up shirt and shoes.  He started making his way to the bar. 

Cecile was behind the counter. The bar was uncharacteristically full. Her place was the only one in town that served breakfast on weekends. She saw him and looked away quickly. Lorimer sighed. Clearly she was still upset about last night. He walked over to her anyways.

"Hey, Cici," he said quietly, putting his hand on the small of her back. She jumped away.

"Hey yourself," she said, and walked into the kitchen in the back. He followed her. She grabbed a shower head off the wall and started splashing water over a sink of dishes. 

"Listen, I'm really sorry."

"About what?" She said.

"You know." 

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she said, setting down a pile of plates so ferociously that the bottom one broke.

"Cici, I can't get involved with you because it would be a huge mistake. I'm dangerous. You have to understand that after what I told you last night."

"Sounds like a decision you should let me make myself."

"I'm trying to protect you."

"Since when is that your responsibility? Typical man. Thinking I'm some stupid little girl that can't possibly relate to your narcissistic suffering. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you need me to protect you? Seems like of the two of us you're the lost lamb, not me."

Lorimer was quiet, stunned.

"I didn't think about it that way."

"Of course you didn't, because you think I'm weak. Whether you realize it or not you and every other man in this world is always trying to be my daddy."