The next day the group met outside the hospital. The building looked way less creepy in the daylight. The police were long gone. Xander and Priya walked around the parking lot, searching for signs of Quest and his friends, while Li and Omar remained outside the fence.

Xander cupped his hands and yelled at the roof, “Quest! Rainbow! Sage!”

Either the squatters had gone inside the building, or they were too high up to hear him. Xander and Priya gave up calling and returned to their friends.

“Tough luck, Li,” Priya said. “I think your backpack and tablet are long gone.”

“We have to get my stuff,” Li insisted.

Omar held up his hands. “No way. I’m not about to get arrested.”

Xander scanned the block. No one was around. “Okay, you can keep watch. I’m going in.”

“Forget it,” Omar said. “We promised we’d stay out.”

“It won’t take long. You stay here. No sense everyone getting in trouble.”

Xander jogged to the window entrance, grabbed the edge of the plywood and pried it away from the wall. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Going somewhere?” a voice whispered.

His breakfast lurched to the back of his throat. Was it the cops?

He slowly turned around. Priya grinned at him. “Gotcha!”

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I know my way around the hospital. We’ll get in and out faster if I come with you. I told Li to text us if she spots trouble.”

“What about Omar?”

“He left. He’s halfway home by now. He didn’t want any part of this.”

“You know, I always thought Li was the chicken,” Xander said. “But I guess Omar’s got her beat.”

“She’s only scared when it’s a game,” Priya said. “Omar’s petrified when it’s for real.”

They climbed into the room and headed to what had been home base. Their things were spread across the counter just as they had left them. Priya picked up Li’s backpack while Xander cleared out the props on the counter. He noticed the bag of kitty treats.

“You think Rainbow and Quest are okay?” he asked as he picked up the bag.

“Want to check on them? Maybe they can tell us where the real ghosts are,” Priya joked.

He laughed. “Okay, just give me one sec.”

Xander headed toward a closed door down the hallway and shook the bag. Behind the door, the cat meowed. Xander scattered the treats onto the floor and opened the door. The cat strolled out and started to eat the treats.

“Now we can go,” Xander said.

Priya chuckled. “Never took you for a cat lover.”

Xander smiled. The two of them then headed up to the chapel. The room was empty. No sign of the squatters or their gear.

“Maybe they’re on the roof,” Xander said.

Priya opened the door and peered out. “No one’s out here either.”

“Where did they go?”

“Maybe the police found them,” Priya suggested.