The others jogged down the corridor. Quest refused to budge. “This is such a drag, man. I worked so hard to make this place our home. I can’t just give it up.”

Xander’s stomach started to get queasy. He felt really bad for getting these people in trouble.

“They’re going to have to live on the streets this winter, and it’s all my fault,” Xander said to Priya. “All I wanted to do was play Spirits and Specters in a new setting.”

Priya cracked a smile. “That’s it. Good idea, Xander!”

“What? What did I say?”

She shouted after Rainbow, “Hold up! We can fix this so you don’t have to leave.”

The group turned around and looked at Priya.

Quest said, “They’re going to search the hospital. They’re going to know we’re here.”

Priya shook her head. “I know a place where they won’t look.”

Rainbow beamed. “Really? Well, it’s worth a shot.”

Sage pulled at his beard. “No way, man. The fuzz aren’t going to stop looking until they find us.”

“Not if we give them our explanation for why people are here,” Priya said.

Xander frowned, confused. “Why else would Li call the cops?”

“The game,” she said.

Her words hung in the air for a second before Xander figured out what Priya meant. “Yeah! It just might work.”

“I don’t get it,” Quest said. “How is your game going to help us?”

“Our friend called the police because she saw you here,” said Priya. “All we have to do now is make them think this was all a setup for our ghost-hunter game.”

Xander pulled the portable speaker out of his backpack. “We’ll say that the voices Omar heard were so realistic that his imagination got the better of him.”

“But the only way it will work is if we clear all your stuff out of the morgue,” Priya said.

“What are we waiting for?” Quest said. “Let’s split!”

The group sped through the maze of corridors.

On the way Xander texted Li.

The squatters are ok. We’re helping them. Will explain later.

A few seconds later, Li’s reply pinged back.

WHAT?

There was no time to explain everything right now. Li was just going to have to trust him.

Tell them you only heard people in the basement. You didn’t see anyone. And text me when the cops show up.

In the morgue, everyone was gathering their gear. They loaded sleeping bags, lanterns and tools into garbage bags. Ratty suitcases that were duct-taped together were stuffed with clothes just as ratty-looking.

Priya grabbed one of the lanterns and set it on the metal examination table screwed into the floor. “Leave this here.”

“Why?” Rainbow asked.

“We’ll need it for the story we’re spinning for the cops.”

“Hurry up, people,” Quest said. “We have no idea when the fuzz will get here.”

Xander shoved cans of food into a green garbage bag and surveyed the morgue. It was going to take at least an hour to clear everything out of here. His phone pinged. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. The text on the screen was the news he had been dreading.