Cemetery Tours (13 page)

“You know what it is!
  We’re going to ask our ghost questions and listen to the responses on the digital recorder.”

“Kate, how many times - you know what?
  Go ahead.  Knock yourself out.  I’m going to bed.”

“Good.
  Good night.” Kate took his seat on the couch as Luke began setting up his night vision camera.  Gavin gave one final shake of his head before disappearing into his room.  

“Alright, we’re about ready.
  Do you want to hit the lights?” Luke said.  Kate did as he asked, feeling excited, nervous, and though she hated to admit it, a little scared.  What if they actually did make contact with whomever or whatever was inside their apartment?  Would the nighttime anxiety become even worse than before?  And what about Gavin?  

Once all the lights were off, Kate began to have second thoughts.
  The room seemed much smaller in the dark, and much too quiet.  Slowly, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end, and she scurried back to the couch.  

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.

“Whatever is in this apartment is already attached to you.  There isn’t a whole lot we could do to make things worse.”

“What if we make it angry?”
 

Luke was silent for a few long moments before he finally answered, “I don’t want to scare you, but I think it’s already angry.”
  Kate shivered.

“How can you tell?” she asked.

“Working around spiritual energy for so long, you sort of develop a feel for it.  You learn to detect different emotions.  You can usually tell when something wants to beat the crap out of you.” 

“Is that what he wants?” she whispered, hoping he couldn’t hear the newborn terror in her voice.
 

“I don’t think so.
  I think he just wants someone to talk to,” Luke replied.  “And that’s what we’re going to give him.”  He handed her the digital recorder, a rectangular device about the same size as her iPod.  “Would you like to do the honors?”

“I don’t know how it works,” she confessed.
 

“Yo
u just have to push this button.”  He showed her.

“I think you should just hold on to it.
  You’re the expert.”  It really was for the best.  Her fingers were so trembly that she would probably drop it, break it, and then the whole session would be over.  

“Fine,” he sighed playfully.
  “I know you’ve seen how we do this on TV, but just relax, talk, ask questions.  After a few questions, we’ll play it back and see if we hear anything.”

“Right,” she whispered.
 

“Okay, here we go.”
  Although she couldn’t see anything, she heard the faint
click
of a button being pressed.  “Hello?” he began.  “If you can hear me, my name is Luke.  This is Kate.  We just want to talk to you.”  He paused, waited a few seconds, and continued.  “If you’re here, can you make a noise?  Or say something into our recorder?  Anything to let us know you’re here.”  Kate held her breath in anticipation, but they were met with silence.  Luke pressed another button.  “Let’s just see if we got anything yet.”  Kate could hear the recorder rewinding, and suddenly, her curiosity outweighed her apprehension.  Luke hit the play button and his voice came through, sounding digitized and enhanced.

“Hello?
  If you can hear me, my name is Luke.  This is Kate.  We just want to talk to you... If you’re here, can you make a noise?  Or say something into our recorder?  Anything to let us know you’re here.” 
Kate strained her ears to hear anything through the static and white noise behind Luke’s voice, but there was nothing.  

“Don’t get discouraged.
  It takes a lot of energy for spirits to come through.”  Luke stopped the playback and resumed recording.  “If you’re here, we’d really like to talk to you, so if you have something to say, use my energy.  Use my camera’s energy.”  They sat in silence for a few more moments before Luke muttered, “Woah.”

“Are you okay?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, I just got dizzy,” he replied.  “Was that you draining my energy?”  Kate had seen almost the exact same phenomena on his show.  She hated to admit it, but she’d always wondered if maybe he was exaggerating a little for the camera.  Now, however, she wasn’t sure.  

Luke stopped the device again and played back what they’d just recorded.
  Again, his was the only voice they heard.    

“You know, since he or she has been attached to you for so long, they might respond more to you,” Luke t
old her.  “Why don’t you try?”

“Okay.
” Kate cleared her throat as Luke pressed the record button.  “Hello?  Is anyone there?” she asked.  “My name is Kate.  What’s yours?”  Luke stopped and rewound again.  

“Hello?
  Is anyone there?”
  Kate heard her own voice enhanced through the speaker. 
“My name is Kate.  What’s yours?”

“...Trevor
...
”

Kate gasped.
  The voice was rough, deep, and barely audible, but it was there.  Luke was ecstatic.  

“Yes!
  That’s what I’m
talkin’
about!” he cheered exuberantly, the way a football fan might cheer for his favorite team at the Super Bowl.  “‘Trevor.’  Did you hear it?”

“I heard it!” she exclaimed.
  “Oh my God...”

“Go on!
  Ask something else!”  Luke pressed the button and handed her the recorder.  

“Trevor.
  Who are you, Trevor?”  She paused for a few seconds.  “Is there anything you want to tell us?”  She let the recorder run a little longer before handing it back to Luke.  He rewound it.  No response.  He pressed record again.  

“Trevor, what do you want with Kate and her brother?
  Are you following them?”  Again, nothing.  Luke passed the recorder back over to Kate.  

“Why are you here?” Kate asked.

Rewind.  

Play.
 

“Why are you here?”

“... Don’t remember...”  

“Don’t remember!” Luke clapped his hands together.
  “Did you hear that?  That is an intelligent response!”  Kate thought it was cute the way he still got so excited about capturing a spirit voice, even after five years.  

“You don’t remember why you’re here?” she asked, pressing the record button.
  No response.  “Is there anything we can do to help you?”  Again, nothing.

“Are you the one making Kate’s brother sick?”
  Luke asked.

Rewind.

Play.

“Are you the one making Kate’s brother sick?”

“...Maybe...”  

The voice was the same, but it was much harsher than before; violent, menacing.
  Luke had been right.  He was angry.  

“Why?” Kate asked.
 

Rewind.

Play.

“Why?”

“...Won’t tell you...”  

Kate felt chills run down her spine again for the second time that night.
  She could see how a skeptic might pass off any voices they’d heard up until that point as static, a faulty connection to a radio, or even a glitch in the static.  That, however, was a direct response to a question she’d asked.  It even sounded like it was mocking her.  Luke, however, was absolutely giddy.

“Oh, so that’s the way you’re gonna play, huh Trevor?
  You wanna be a smart ass?” he asked.  Kate stared at him, horrified.  

“Don’t make him mad!
  I still have to live here!”  

Luke ignored her.
  “Talk to us!  Come on, use my energy!  Use it all!”  

CRASH!
 

Kate screamed.
  Luke leapt almost a foot off the couch.  “Get the light,” he told her.  But Kate was shaking too hard to move.  Somewhere down the hall, a door opened with a loud bang.   

“What the hell was that?!” Gavin demanded.
  Kate could barely make out his shadowy figure stumbling around in the darkness.  He switched on the overhead light and Kate had to blink several times before her eyes adjusted.   

“Shit,” Luke muttered.
  Kate looked over his shoulder to see his night vision camera, or what remained of it anyway, leaning up against the wall, still attached to the tripod.  It had hit the wall with such force that bits and pieces had gone flying.  It was only upon closer inspection that Kate noticed the damage done to the wall itself.  

“What the hell did you
do
?” Gavin demanded, staring at the hole in the wall.    “Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost to fix that?”  

“Gav, it wasn’t us - ”

“Kate, I don’t want to hear it,” Gavin snapped.  “I have had enough of this.  You need to
grow up
,” he hissed.  To Luke, he said, “And
you
need to leave.”

“But we - ”
  Luke started to protest, but Gavin cut him off.

“Get out.”
  Gavin wasn’t as tall or muscular as Luke, but he could be tough when he wanted to be.  Luke, obviously not wanting to cause any trouble, grabbed his tripod and camera and stuffed them into his backpack.  

“I’ll pay for t
he wall,” he muttered to Kate.

“We don’t need your help.
  Get out,” Gavin ordered.  

“Sorry about your camera,” Kate told Luke.
  He shrugged.

“Wasn’t one of my good ones.”
  Kate couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.  She handed him his digital recorder.  “Thanks for tonight,” he told her and kissed her on the cheek.  Gavin must have made a threatening move behind her back, because Luke took two steps backwards and threw his hands up, “Hey, I’m going.  See?  I’m going.”  Seconds later, he was out the door.  

Kate and Gavin stood in a tense silence, neither seeming to want to look at the other.
  Finally, Kate said, “It wasn’t his fault.”  

“Kate, just stop talking.”
 

“We didn’t do that, Gavin.
  Something else did.”  Gavin had clearly had enough, because without another word, without even acknowledging her, he turned and stormed back to his room.  She knew she should just let him go, but she didn’t want him to think he’d won.  “Don’t you want to know what we caught?”  Gavin turned and glared at her.

“
Stop.  Talking
,” he snarled through gritted teeth.  Stunned by the furious look on his face, Kate froze in her tracks.  Gavin disappeared into his bedroom, slamming the door in the process.  Kate winced.  If Trevor really was there, she hoped that he would keep his haunting to a minimum once the lights went out, because she had a feeling she wouldn’t be welcome in her brother’s room, no matter how scared she felt.  

The next morning, Michael was exhausted.  Part of it was his fault.  He had stayed up visiting with Gram until almost
4 A.
M.  He wouldn’t have gotten such a late start, however, had it not been for his little cousins, all of whom had stayed up until almost one in the morning, jumping, screaming, eating junk food, and playing on the new Wii that Uncle Carl had brought up for the holiday.  

Furthermore, his Great Aunt Martha, who drew up the room assignments, just couldn’t seem to get it through her head that he was any older than twelve, because every year, she stuck him in the kiddie room.
  His mother tried to make him feel better by telling him that she probably thought the room needed a chaperone.  That theory was disproven, however, when he’d asked Aunt Martha if someone else could chaperone the kids’ room and she’d responded with, “What are you talking about?  You never have a chaperone.”

So he had an uncle who thought he was five years from forty and a great aunt who thought he was prepubescent.
  He couldn’t decide which one he found less flattering.        

It was the Fourth of July, and although Michael knew he had a fun day ahead of him, he was seriously considering driving back home as soon as the fireworks were over.
  He wanted to spend the day with his family, but he’d be leaving first thing in the morning anyway.  If he drove back tonight, he’d be able to sleep in his own bed.

After lunch, the family headed out onto the lake for swimming, kayaking, and fishing.
  Michael opted for fishing, the most relaxing option, even though he’d never caught a fish in his life.  A few of his cousins fished with him for a while, but soon the allure of the cool lake won out over the summer heat, leaving Michael alone on the dock.