"Except you didn't create this," Addy says. "The only monsters here are Ennis and maybe Caleb."
"Uh uh," Diego says, then takes a victorious gulp of his orange juice. "You have to trust your intuition with things like this, and Petzeiros immediately compared their experience to a famous supernatural story. What other proof do we need that this is paranormal?"
"Like, actual proof," Addy says.
"And what are we going to do once we have proof?" Diego asks.
Addy smirks. "Well, if we had proof that Ennis and Caleb were behind this, for instance, then we would, A: know that we don't have to worry about any ghosty ghosts, and B: be able to use it against them to make them stop. I honestly don't think we can do anything else until we have absolutely confirmed or ruled out that it was Caleb out there in the fog, or someone Caleb and Ennis convinced into helping them."
"How do we find that out for certain?" Kirill asks.
"I don't think Ennis or Caleb will be cooperative," Anuja points out. "We can't depend on them answering honestly. Not when it's gone this far."
You know exactly who you need to go to. You also know Diego won't like it. As soon as you make eye contact with Addy, then Anuja, and then Kirill, they all seem to know what you're thinking too. Diego is the last one to catch on.
"Oh, come on, people," he says, sinking in the booth. "Do we have to? I wanted to leave her out of this."
"If Ashley's in on this, she's not exactly innocent," Addy says.
"We don't really have any other options," you tell him. "Ashley is the only person close to Caleb who is likely to know anything about this."
"This still seems too strange to be a prank," Kirill says. "Do you think she would even be willing to talk to you?"
"Not without good reason," you say. "We'd have to convince her it's in her best interest."
"And how do we do that?" Addy asks.
"We have a few options," you say, and brace yourself because you know it will be impossible to come up with a plan that pleases everyone.
Next