Elizabeth, Ramon, and Shana came to Martin's room. Martin knew why; they were not interested in him but in his host, Lucia. The old lady's dementia was quite advanced, which made her a perfect fit to be the new host for Elizabeth.
"You know why we are here, Martin." Shana went straight to the point.
Martin looked at Elizabeth and then at Lucia. There was no point in playing dumb.
"It is for the greater good." added Ramon.
Martin knew they would use something like that.
"Don't sell me that bullshit; I know that with Lucia's help, Elizabeth can save many ghosts from the munchers. I will not oppose that." Everyone's face made a little smile.
"However, in this world, nothing is free." Martin cut their happiness short.
"What do you want?" Asked Elizabeth.
There wasn't much for a ghost to bargain with. The choices were limited at best and nonexistent at worst. However, there was always something anyone wanted or needed; being dead didn't change that fact.
"I want you to train John." Answered Martin.
"No way."
Elizabeth didn't like John from day one; that look he gave her the first day was enough to cause a bad impression on her. The stuff he did later only made things worse; there was no way she was going to help him.
"Okay then. Let's say you will allow him to enter your room for safety until he learns how to leech on his own."
Before Elizabeth could reject Martin's new proposal.
"it is for the greater good," the sly professor added.
"Fine." Elizabeth gave up rolling her eyes.
Martin went out of the room. Elizabeth started leeching from Lucia right away. John had left long ago; getting close to Elizabeth would just make things worse, and he knew it, so he moved away as soon as he saw her.
"From now on, you will stay with Elizabeth during the attacks." Martin told John.
"But she hates me." Reminded John.
"I know, but I cut a deal with her in exchange for my host."
"You could have asked for something else; why do that for me?"
"For you? Don't be silly, kid; I did it for myself. There are three reasons why I asked that: First: There ain't much we can ask from other ghosts. Second: I need you to spy on her as much as possible. Since now you have an excuse, I want you to keep an eye on her. As soon as it gets dark, get close to her and don't lose track of anything that happens or is said in that room." Martin gave John his mission.
"Something is off with those two," said Martin, referring to Willy and Elizabeth. "And I am going to find out what it is."
"What is the third reason?" John asked.
"You mentioned three reasons, but you only said about two."
"Oh, that. I just wanted to annoy her. Everyone knows she doesn't like you." Martin said, smiling.
Martin changed his host to an old man; he was a lot younger than Lucia, and his mind was still sharp. The old Benancio complained a few times that his shoulders were stiff and kind of heavy lately. When Martin wasn't leeching from the old men, John was practicing his skills, but still there was no success; it wasn't an easy ability to learn.
The night came, the walls started making noises, the lights produced the usual flickering, and most of the ghosts took refuge in Elizabeth's new room; however, a lot of them rushed to the entrance of the pantry as soon as she proved incapable of making her new host move.
"Her mind is still too sharp. We are ghosts; we are residues of a life; the only way we have to maybe influence someone's will is if that person has almost no will left." Explained Martin to John.
"Can you do it?" Asked John.
"Not yet; I am still too young of a ghost, or at least thats what Elizabeth and Willy said. According to Ramon, this is the only place where this is possible, as far as he knows. In the outside world, most ghosts don't stay roaming longer than five years; they one day just evaporate like they never existed. It took Elizabeth almost twenty years to learn how to do it; on the outside, no one has that much time, nor does anyone want to. I have talked to Ramon about the outside; as far as we know after some time, our numbness to everything is absolute; even old grudges are forgotten, and once you don't care and are bored out of your mind, you just vanish in thin air."
The professor had learned many things from other ghosts; that was one of the reasons Elizabeth didn't like him; he asked too many questions. Same for Willy; he found the professor's inquiries annoying, and he just wanted to be left alone.
"So, what now?" John asked, watching the lights flicker with a little bit more frequency.
"Go to the pantry; I doubt they will attack tonight, but just to be safe."
John waited until a nurse went into the room and followed her in.
"Well, I heard that they are planning a surprise inspection of the building." A nurse said.
"How can it be a surprise if there are rumors already?" A nurse assistant stated the obvious.
"Well, the explanation is simple. You remember last week Mr. Santana was sent to the hospital in bad condition?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Well, two of his sons went to the hospital to ask questions, and given the bad situation with Mr. Santana, they started lawyering up. Adrian, the son who is managing Mr. Santana's business, found out. It seems he started to talk to his brothers, and the situation turned ugly. So, Adrian called his friends in high positions, and in case the old man dies, he intends to lower the building value by closing it down. That would be easy to do since the place is in serious violation of many regulations. Then Adrian can buy from his brothers for cheap, rework the building, do some repairs, and sell it later for a profit." The nurse explained.
"Rich people fights, their greed knows no boundaries," the nurse assistant commented.
"Well, I don't know what will happen, but I am already sending my curriculum to other places, just in case." The nurse added. "I recommend you do the same."
"Not me. I am changing jobs; a cousin of mine can hook me up at a supermarket. I am getting tired of cleaning old people's asses." The nurse's assistant refused the nurse's idea.
John was standing in the room, listening to every detail. Martin was interested in knowing every rumor and gossip relating to Mr. Santana. Late in the night, the personnel used the quiet times to rest on the pantry sofa. Some went to any room that was unused to take a nap on the bed. However, there was always something: some demented old intern started screaming, roamed out of his room, or someone soiled the diapers and needed a change. There was always something that needed to be done, but the personnel could take a rest every now and then.
The night came to an end, and there was no muncher attack. Everyone went back to do their usual stuff. Most of the dead went to the entertainment room; watching television was the main thing to do. John informed Martin about the gossip and then went back to training. There was nothing new or relevant in the information in Martin's eyes. However, the fact that Mr. Santana was about to die and the sons were starting an inheritance fight was terrible news. The chances that the institution might be closed grew every day.
"I see, thanks, Wilma." Elizabeth thanked another ghost.
Martin wasn't the only one interested in the gossip going around; in the same way the professor used John as an informant, Elizabeth used other ghosts that wanted to gain her favor to collect information.
The news was bad for everyone, and Elizabeth was not the exception. "It will happen soon," she said to herself.
Ramon and Shana also knew about the legal fight between Mr. Santana's heirs; they got the information by talking to the other ghosts in the entertainment room.
Willy was probably one of the last to get the information, but he still got it somehow. He didn't care, though; whatever came would come, and he would deal with it one way or another. For as long as the others didn't mess with him, he was okay.