At this time of day, the library was less scary than at night. Sunlight flooded through the large windows and students were busy checking out the books they needed for their classes and research papers.

“The desk we used last time is too exposed,” Shawn said in a hushed tone. “Let’s go upstairs, where it’s quieter.” The upper floor of the library mainly contained books on the history of medicine, a topic that was largely unpopular with the students of both sections – healers and doctors alike – and therefore this part of the library was much less frequented than the others.

While Simon set up his camera and equipment, the friends sat down at a table which was designed to be used by study groups and looked at each other for a moment.

“How do we proceed?” Juliet asked bluntly.

Everyone looked at Cole. It did not seem to bother him, however. He grinned.

“My turn, I guess.” He leaned back in his chair and cracked his hands.

“Do you want me to light the incense and start the chant?” Shawn inquired.

“Nah, I don’t need that stuff,” Cole waved his hand dismissively. “I got this,” he touched a spot on his forehead, above his left eye.

Shawn raised a critical eyebrow, a little miffed that Cole had so rudely dismissed his sacred ritual. He crossed his arms and his expression darkened. “Alright, then, ghost whisperer. Show us what you got,” he challenged him.

Simon had finished adjusting the camera’s angle and sat down with them. He switched on his custom-made devices and gave a thumbs-up. “All set. We’re ready to go.”

Helen swallowed and regarded her friend nervously.

Cole seemed completely unfazed. He already had his eyes closed. The way he sat in his chair seemed very relaxed, despite his erect posture. He breathed deeply into his belly and a soft, humming sound vibrated off his lips. A green shimmer appeared above his left eye, which seemed to fill the space of a large scar that started right below his hairline and ran down to the end of his bushy, black eyebrow. Shawn stared at it, completely fascinated.

Maybe this guy wasn’t boasting, after all, he thought. Unable to be a passive bystander, Shawn began his chant, anyway. Cole’s eyebrows furrowed, but he kept his eyes closed and managed not to break his concentration. He focused on the scar on his forehead, a remnant of his own time as a ghost. The scar actually was a rift, through which he would be able to see into the ghost world, the realm between realms. It was a dimension which was only slightly shifted apart from the one he currently moved in, which was why the ghosts were able to see what was going on in the world of the living, but did not fully exist in it, like watching a room through a mirrored glass pane. An inexperienced ghost that was new to that realm, was unable to hear the sounds, unable to touch or manipulate things from the world of the living or make contact to them in any way. They remained invisible and unnoticed. But Cole knew from experience that, if a ghost tried hard enough, the barrier could be broken temporarily, and the ghost would be able to overcome its sprectre-like state for a brief moment, to touch and even move things around. It took a medium, however, to actually talk to a ghost. If black magic was invloved, a ghost could be empowered to appear in its translucent, bodiless form and even do great harm, if it could gather enough power to overcome its boundaries.

Cole sensed the rift open and his third eye started to tingle. A chill began to spread from the spot on his forehead, like an icy liquid that was running down his face, moving down his neck and finding its way across his chest into his heart. His heartbeat seemed to slow down with every second that passed. When his eyes flew open, they had an eerie, green shimmer and gazed unfocused into the distance.

Juliet’s hands flew to her mouth, suppressing a scream that threatened to come out. Shawn and Simon gasped, but did not dare move.

Helen was mesmerised by the green glow in Cole’s eyes and the pulsing scar on his forehead, which she had never paid any attention to before. She wondered if her friend was in a kind of trance, or if he was able to hear and talk to them.

Suddenly, Cole moved his eyes and turned his head, as if looking at the room for the very first time. He was searching for the ghost, Helen realised.

“Maggie, if you’re here, please come to us. Esteemed ghost, please reveal yourself,” Shawn intoned in a melodic sing-song. Cole fixed him with his glowing stare for a moment, then continued his scan of the room in its entirety, including the domed ceiling.

Cole felt restricted in his sitting position, so he got up and slowly walked through the high oakwood shelves which were packed with old, dusty books and periodicals. He was sure that his friends would follow him at a distance, but did not pay attention to them. He wanted to concentrate on his task to find this mysterious ghost. While he was walking through the isles, he pondered the altered view of his surroundings. Everything looked as if a shadow had fallen over the place, tuning down the colours to a foggy grey-green. The air seemed to sizzle, like on a hot summer day in the desert.

There. He had detected movement, straight ahead. Picking up his pace, he walked briskly towards the next corner and peered around the shelf, just in time to see a white blur rush around the end of the row and disappear in the next isle.

Intrigued, he followed the apparition and stopped short, when he suddenly stood face to face with the ghostly image of a girl, wearing a white summer dress with a flower print on it. He could not see any feet; the ghost hovered in front of him, floating effortlessly a hand’s width above the floorboards.

The girl lifted a hand to her mouth and giggled behind her palm. Her laugh was melodic and as clear as a bell. Then she turned around and floated further down the isle, apparently determined to continue this little game of hide and seek with him. Cole did not want to waste any time chasing her, so he reached out a hand and called her.

“Hey, wait a minute! Don’t go away!” he pleaded.

The ghostly girl stopped abruptly and slowly turned around. He saw her eyelids flutter in surprise. She looked around, as if to make sure that she was actually the one who had been addressed, then focused back on Cole.

“Are… are you talking to me?” she asked, incredulous.

Cole smiled at her. “Of course, I am talking to you. Would you mind waiting for me, please? I’d really like to speak to you for a moment.”

The girl’s boneless jaw dropped. “You… you can see me!” she exclaimed. Suddenly, she seemed very excited and energized. She even dared float in his direction for a bit. Cole stayed right where he was. He did not want to scare her off.

“Yes, I can see you,” he said calmly.

The girl’s eyes went wide. “And you can hear me, too! Amazing.” She seemed lost in thought for a moment. Cole remained silent. He assumed that time had no meaning for her and did not want to rush into things. It was important that this ghost felt comfortable talking to him. He wanted to neither anger her, nor scare her off. He waited.

When her unfocused gaze shifted to him again, Cole dared to ask her the next question.

“Is your name Maggie?” he ventured.

“Marguerite, if you please. But all my friends used to call me Maggie, so I guess that’s okay. It’s strange to see how names lose their importance when you are simply unable to address anybody, and no one has spoken to you in ages.” She folded her hands in a hopeful gesture. “I am so glad that you finally came along. What’s your name, stranger?” Maggie the ghost asked.

Cole pointed at his chest. “I’m Cole. My friends and I would like to talk to you about something, if you don’t mind.”

“Are you kidding?” the young woman exclaimed. “I have been alone for so long that I would simply talk to anybody right now… Wait, that didn’t come out right…”

“It’s okay, Maggie.” He chuckled. “How about we go over to the table in the back and I’ll introduce you to my friends. We’d really like to know more about you, Maggie, and maybe we can help you, too.”

“Help me?” She frowned. “Help me how?”

Cole shrugged. “Well, to find a way for you to make peace with this world and finally cross over to your afterlife.”

Cole was surprised to see that Maggie was taken aback by his comment.

“What? No! I can’t leave. I have to warn them!”

Now it was Cole’s turn to frown. “Warn them? Who? And why?”

“Not to make the same mistake I did,” Maggie said ominously.

“Can you really see her, Cole?” a shuddery voice behind him said.

Cole immediately turned around, to look into Shawn’s awestruck face. Cole could tell that Helen’s new friend was very excited, so he had probably been unable to hold back. Simon had picked up his camera from the tripod and followed his friend, in order to properly document this event for their research. His self-constructed measuring device hung from a strap around his neck. The needle was stuck at maximum level, at the very top of the red area of the scale.

Cole quickly turned back around, trying to gauge whether the interruption had bothered his new ghostly friend. Apparently, Maggie seemed more amused than aghast about her unexpected visitors.

“Maggie,” Cole asked carefully, “would you mind following us? It is more inconspicuous to sit at the table as a group and chat, rather than standing in a corridor, with me talking to an allegedly empty space,” he added.

Maggie readily agreed, so they settled back down in the group study area. Shawn nervously drummed the tips of his hands on the table top and his eyes darted around the room.

“Is she still here?” he asked Cole. The latter gave him the eye.

“Yes, Shawn, she’s still here.” Cole found himself unable to banish the annoyed tone from his voice. Shawn ignored it.

“That’s fantastic!” Shawn said in awe. “Quickly, ask her a question!”

Cole leaned back in his chair and folded his muscular arms across his chest.

“No way. You go ask your questions. I’m just here to translate.” He pointed at his own chest.

“Suit yourself,” Shawn said. He was thrilled that he would actually be able to talk to a real ghost. It was a little overwhelming, but holy mess – it felt good. He pondered this for a moment. He wanted his first question to be eloquent and meaningful.

“Maggie, during our last séance, you informed us via the ouija board that you died here,” he began. “Would you mind telling us a little more about that?”

Maggie giggled. “Are you going to tell him that I’m sitting over here?” she asked Cole. Shawn had turned his face in the opposite direction, assuming that the ghost he was talking to was sitting to his right. Cole chuckled softly and shook his head. Shawn was irritated for a moment and glared at Cole.

“What’s so funny? It was a serious question!” He pouted.

“Nothin’.” Cole struggled to suppress his grin and tried to show his serious face. He looked at his ghost friend. “Are you ready to talk about that subject, Maggie?” he probed.

Maggie’s shimmering face turned sad. “That was a foolish thing we did,” she said quietly.

“I was studying to become a nurse, like my grandmother. She worked as a nurse during the Serpentine War. We were very close and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. She was a very courageous woman, and truly dedicated to her profession. I have always admired her deeply.” She fumbled with her ghostly hair, which framed her face and hung loosely around her shoulders. “Anyway, we were a tight group of friends. My best friend Claire, who was also studying to be a nurse, her boyfriend Todd and our friend Angus, who were both aspiring to become doctors. There was also Jack, but he wasn’t there when it happened. He… he did not approve of what we were doing and we had a fight before the rest of us decided to go through with our plan, despite his reservations. Now I wish I had listened to him. Our last words had been spoken in anger.” Maggie lowered her head, as a wave of sadness washed over her.

“But what happened, exactly, Maggie?” Cole pushed forward. He was intrigued and wanted to get to the bottom of this, preferably before Shawn interrupted them again.

“Todd came up with this idea that it would be a grandiose scientific experiment to find out what happened after death. If everything just ended, or if there was something else waiting there, for the soul that departed. So he tried to talk us, his closest friends, into shutting down his body, until he reached a comatose state and, eventually, clinical death. His heart would stop, flatline. Then, after a pre-determined period of time, we would reanimate him and bring him back to life. He was obsessed with the idea, wouldn’t stop talking about it. He begged us to go through with it.”

“And… did you?” Cole said, holding his breath.

“What is it?” Shawn piped in. “What’s she saying, Cole?”

Cole wanted to sigh, but masked it with a cough. Dutifully, he recounted the story Marguerite had told him, for his new friends’ sake. When he had finished, he looked expectantly at Maggie, raising his bushy eyebrows at her.

“Unfortunately, we did go through with it,” Maggie said on a sigh. “That started a chain of events which might otherwise not have happened.” She buried her face in her hands. It looked odd to Cole because he could still see her features through her translucent hands. He saw shame and regret there. “We hid in the building till after closing time, then met in the morgue to perform our experiment. Todd lay down on one of the stainless steel tables and we sedated him. Then Claire gave him the injection and his heart rate slowed down, until it flatlined. We took away the mask and held his body temperature at a constant level. After a full minute had passed, we started reanimating him. It was a shocking sight, to see a friend in a state like that and it rattled us all, but we did not have time to think about it because with every second that passed, his brain was in danger to suffer degradation. After another minute, we managed to bring him back. It took him two days to fully recover, but otherwise, he seemed fine. But he changed after that experience. Had very deep thoughts and kept rambling about how fascinating and enlightening the process had been. I was awed by what he had done, gruesome as it had been to watch, and I asked him a lot of questions. During my time at the hospital, I worked at the intensive care unit and I talked to a lot of people who had been brought back after an accident or complications during surgery had occurred. They all recounted similar experiences. Some of them said they met the spirit of a dear relative that had passed away long before them, to guide them into the afterlife. Their reports were mesmerising. I could not let go of the thought what it might be like to experience the same.”

Cole’s stomach constricted. He had a pretty good idea where this was going. To postpone the inevitable a little longer, he lifted a hand to interrupt her and quickly summarised what Marguerite had told him for his friends. Everyone was shocked and they practically held their breath while Cole was listening to the rest of Maggie’s story.

“When Todd had recovered and seemed absolutely fine, I became restless. I could not shake the feeling that I should try it out, too. An idea formed, that I could base my thesis on the subject of near-death experiences, officially as a conclusion of my practical studies at the hospital, but inofficially, based on my very own experience. So I approached Todd and asked him to repeat the experiment, with me as a volunteer. Said I would last even longer, a full two minutes, so he could use the data for his research. He said no. Told me he had been okay with it, as long as it only concerned his own life that was hanging in the balance, but he did not want to be responsible for someone else’s life. I wouldn’t let go and begged him to perform the experiment on me. He insisted we discuss it with our friends, since they would all need to be there for the experiment to work. That’s when Jack and I had our argument. He told me I was crazy and that he wouldn’t be part of such a foolish endeavour. He did not want to stand by and watch me killing myself, so he refused to help. I wish I had listened to him.” She paused to regain her composure. Cole used the break to recount what she had said to the others.

“The following night, we met again in the morgue,” Marguerite continued. “Everything was prepared perfectly. Todd had agreed to let me flatline for one and a half minutes, then begin to resuscitate me. I remember him asking me if I was sure about going through with it, before he put the mask on my face. I was determined to move on.” She let out a shuddery sigh. “Unfortunately, I suffered from a heart defect none of us knew about and they were unable to bring me back. I remember watching them trying hard to revive me. I was fascinated by their efforts and I felt sad to see the person on the table die. Only then I realised that it was myself I was watching. My spririt had already left my body. I was terribly confused and I tried talking to my friends, tried to touch and comfort them, but I could not reach their consciousness. It suddenly occurred to me that I was a ghost. I could not even hear them talking, or any other sounds, for that matter. It was totally weird. Took me a long time to figure out how to form some kind of a connection to this world again.”

Cole nodded. He knew exactly what Marguerite was talking about. He had been a ghost himself once. He, however, had been lucky – surrounded by many other ghosts, he had learned quickly how to communicate with the world of the living. The love for his friends and the passion for his calling had made it possible for him to touch and manipulate solid things when he had concentrated hard enough. Marguerite, however, did not have anyone to help her.

“That’s awful, Maggie, I’m so sorry this happened to you. You must have felt very lonely.”

Maggie nodded sadly. “Yes, it was frightening. I could see my friends suffer, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to comfort them because I was unable to reach them, despite the fact that I was floating right next to them. It was really frustrating. I followed them around for a while. That’s when I found out I could not leave the campus. It seems I am bound to this place, to haunt these halls for all eternity.”

Cole told his friends what Maggie had said, then a thought occurred to him.

“Maggie, when did this happen? Do you remember?” he asked, truly curious.

Maggie frowned, trying to remember how much time might have passed since her body had died. She shook her head.

“I am not sure. Time has no meaning in this realm I exist in. I saw my friends graduate and leave the Academy. Sadly, they were no longer friends. After what had happened to me, they had a big argument and hardly spoke to one another after that. I felt especially bad for Jack. He blamed himself for not being able to prevent my death, for not trying harder to convince me to give up the experiment. He left the Academy, without graduating. I don’t know what became of him. I wish I knew if he’s okay. I fear he might have suffered from depression, and once you go down that hole, it’s nearly impossible to resurface without outside help.” She buried her face in her hands again. She was crying, Cole realised, but no tears came, since she was a ghost. It saddened him that she was denied so many things in her state, even her tears.

When he had finished recounting her story to his friends, Helen had tears in her eyes herself. She looked in Maggie’s direction.

“I am deeply sorry that this happened to you and your friends, Maggie. If you want, we will try to find your friend Jack and see how he is doing. What do you think, Cole?” she addressed her brother.

Cole straightened himself and let his fist crash into his palm.

“Yeah. That’s a great idea, Helen.” To Maggie, he said, “Maggie, we will find this Jack and bring him here, so you can talk to him. I will tell him what you said. Maybe you can make peace, then.”

Maggie folded her hands above the spot where her heart used to be. “Really? Oh, you two are so kind! Thank you so much. I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me.” She smiled happily at them.

“No problem.” Cole was relieved that he would get the chance to help this poor soul.

“Maggie, if I may,” Shawn said, this time looking in the right direction to address her. Everyone looked at Shawn. Cole nodded, as a sign that he should continue.

“You said you did not want to leave because you needed to warn someone about not repeating your mistake. What exactly did you mean by that?”

Maggie turned her head to look down the balustrade, at the busy students bustling about on the floor below. She sighed. “There is a group of students who meet in secret from time to time. I once overheard them talking, sitting right here, in this quiet corner of the library, mentioning some kind of an experiment. I was floating by when I caught that word and stopped to listen, but I could not figure out what they were talking about exactly. Apparently, they had already finished their discussion and dispersed before I could find out more. I followed one of them, but he went straight to the gates and I was unable to move on beyond that point, so I lost sight of him. I can tell they are planning something sinister, but I need to spy on them a little more to find out what it is.”

“Who are they?” Cole asked, after he had told the others what Maggie had said. “Did you catch any names?”

“Sadly, no,” Maggie said. “But I will recognise them when I see them again,” she added, a hopeful tone in her ghostly voice.

“Alright. I will return to campus with Helen tomorrow and meet with you here. When you spot one of them, let me know. We will get to the bottom of this, Maggie, I promise you.”

“Thank you, Cole.” She looked at the others. “I thank all of you, for helping me. It feels so good to finally be able to talk to someone. You are all so kind.”

Cole touched Helen’s arm. “I’ll talk to Zane when we get back. He’s good at finding people. Maybe he can find out where Jack is. I do hope he’s still around,” he added quietly.