Authors: Jacqueline Smith
“Mikey!” Luke’s voice finally tore him away from Grace’s hostile gaze.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
But before Michael could reply, Grace’s voice once again rang loud and clear, not only through his ears, but through the cold, loathsome speaker of the Spirit Box.
“
He can see me
.”
Three things happened almost simultaneously.
First, the screens on both night vision cameras flickered before going c
ompletely blank.
Second, the Spirit Box short circuited with a loud
pop
and began emitting a penetrating, high-pitched squeal that continued even after Luke tried to turn it off.
Finally, a bright light, the color of a firetruck began to flash around the room, rekindling the headache that Kate had been fighting since before the vase flew off the table.
“What’s that?!” she yelled as a new loud buzzing noise began to pulsate through the already shrill atmosphere.
“It’s the fire alarm!
She must have set it off!” Luke yelled back, frantically gathering all the equipment and stuffing as much as he could into the backpack, which he quickly passed off to Kate in order to grab his camera.
“I thought they would have taken the batteries out of it!” Michael shouted.
“They probably did!” Luke responded. “Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here!”
Neither Kate nor Michael argued with him.
Less than a minute later, they’d abandoned the chaotic barn and were sprinting blindly through the darkness. It was difficult to see more than a few feet in front of her. Kate had to listen to make sure she didn’t get separated from the guys. She couldn’t help but notice they weren’t on the gravel pathway anymore, and she hoped and prayed that Luke had a better sense of direction than she did.
“Come on, I think the car is this way!”
Luke yelled from somewhere up ahead.
As Kate looked around, trying with all her might to pinpoint his location in the dark, she tripped over something and tumbled to the ground with a loud “Oomph!”
“Kate!” Michael called.
“Give me the camera,” she heard Luke say. Seconds later, Michael was standing beside her. He knelt down next to her, took her hand, and pulled her to her feet. A nasty jolt of pain shot from her knee down the front of her leg and she grimaced.
“You okay?” Luke asked.
“Fine,” Kate managed, hobbling along as fast as she could.
“Here, give me the backpack.”
Michael took the backpack from her and slung it over his left shoulder. He then took her arm and wrapped it around his back, supporting her with the right side of his body. Together, they followed Luke back to the car.
By the time they got there, Luke had already loaded the two video cameras into the trunk and was waiting to take the backpack.
Michael helped Kate into the backseat of the Lexus so she could prop up her leg while Luke finished loading the trunk. Both Michael and Luke had just climbed into the front of the car when the distant wail of a siren filled the air.
“Okay, we’re going,” Luke turned on the ignition and sped off into the night.
“How’s your knee?” Michael asked, turning around to look at Kate.
“It’s fine,” she replied. Truth be told, it didn’t feel as bad as it could. She was pretty sure she’d scraped it and she knew there’d be a nasty bruise there tomorrow, but nothing felt broken.
“We’re still going to put some ice on it as soon as we hit a gas station,” Luke told her.
Kate didn’t object. “Guess you were right about something not wanting us there.”
“What happened back there?” she asked.
“Grace went ballistic. Not the first time it’s happened to me, but that was pretty violent. Not to mention it was totally unprovoked - ”
“No, before that.
She said something. She said... you could see her.’” She turned to Michael. Everything had started happening so quickly after the EVP was captured that she hadn’t had time to dwell on it, but now she was curious. “Could you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he replied shortly, without meeting her eye.
“Oh my God! What did she look like? Was she in a wedding dress?”
“She looked angry,” Michael answered.
“And yeah, she was in her dress.”
“Wow!
I wish you’d said something!”
“Trust me Kate, it’s a miracle you’re getting this much out of him,” Luke remarked from the driver’s seat.
“What do you mean?”
“Luke...” Michael cast him a warning glare.
“Mikey can see ghosts.
He’s been seeing them his entire life, but this is the first time he’s willingly broached the subject. Around me, anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked.
Did Luke really expect her to believe that Michael was some sort of medium or something?
“Nothing,” Michael insisted, but Kate got the feeling that he was talking more to Luke than to her.
“You know Mikey, I think you’re full of it.
I think that if you didn’t want her to know, you’d have tried a little harder to stop me. Hell, if you
really
didn’t want her to know, you wouldn’t have agreed to come along tonight. But I can’t blame you. It must be a real nuisance, trying to keep something like a sixth sense a secret for twenty-seven years. I bet you even feel a little relieved right now, even though you’ll never admit it.”
“You can’t
be serious,” Kate said. Michael turned to look at her, almost like he’d forgotten she was there.
“Why?”
Luke asked.
“Because it’s - ”
“What? Impossible?” Luke interrupted. “This coming from the girl with the ghost smashing cameras in her living room?” He had her there. Still, she wasn’t quite convinced. She’d had a friend in high school who had sworn up and down that she could see and communicate with spirits, but in the end, she’d been all talk. But then, Michael had never said anything at all. He would have had to say something if all he wanted was attention. She looked back to Michael.
“Can you?” she asked.
He looked like the last thing he wanted was to answer her question. That was enough. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Michael replied.
“They’ve just always been there.”
“Do you talk to them?
Are you like those mediums on TV who stop people on the street to tell them that their dead aunt has a message for them?”
“I’m pretty sure some of those shows are scripted,” Luke commented.
“Is that how you guys became friends?” Kate asked.
“You found out about the ghosts?”
“Not exactly.
But it is the reason I’ve been trying to get him on the show for the past two years,” Luke replied.
“That’s what I don’t understand.
You don’t need me on your show. It’s already what, the second highest rated ghost show on television?” Michael asked.
“It has nothing to do with ratings, Mikey.
Don’t you get it? If all I cared about were ratings, I wouldn’t be giving you the time of day. I’d be off celebrating my success, partying it up on the west coast with a bunch of Victoria’s Secret
models.”
“What do you care about?” Kate asked.
“Credibility,” Luke answered. “When we started investigating haunted locations, we weren’t trying to get rich or famous. We were trying to prove that life does not end with death, that there are still things that we can’t explain. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. Now with the show, some people watch and believe and that’s great. But if you read reviews, most critics out there believe it’s all a hoax. They think we’re just a bunch of dumb kids playing it up for the camera.”
“They’re critics.
Isn’t that their job?” Michael asked.
“If it was just them, then it wouldn’t bother me.
But no one outside of our fan base takes us seriously. Hell, half the people who like the show don’t take us seriously. Have you read some of the articles written about me?
Luke Rainer: Television’s Fallen Angel
.
Luke Rainer: The Spectral Sex Symbol.
They’ve made me out to be a caricature of myself. Instead of a legitimate paranormal investigator, I’ve become some sort of weird fetish.”
Listening to him made Kate realize just how much she’d objectified him.
Yeah, she enjoyed watching
Cemetery Tours
for the ghosts, but a huge part of its appeal was its sexy lead investigator.
“That’s why I’ve been trying so hard to get you on the show,” Luke continued.
“I thought it might make people see us a little differently. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the success we’ve had. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for and I thank God for it every day. It’s just frustrating when you realize that your passion is regarded by so many as nothing but cheap entertainment.”
For a moment, neither Kate nor Michael spoke.
Kate never would have guessed he felt that way. She’d seen every episode of
Cemetery Tours
. Luke always seemed to be having the time of his life, but he never struck her as anything less than professional. He could be a little goofy at times, but he was a guy. To her, that made the show worth watching. She’d tried watching other ghost hunting shows and the way they took themselves so seriously just made the whole thing seem boring. Luke and his friends always seemed so into what they were doing, which drew viewers in as well. At least, that‘s how she’d always felt.
“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry.
The last thing I want is for any of my fans to think I don’t appreciate them. Especially any fans whom I consider friends.” He flashed a quick grin back at her. “I do probably owe you an apology though.”
“Why?”
“I sort of took advantage of you. I knew that Mikey liked you and that he wouldn’t be able to say no if you asked him to come tonight.” Kate blushed as she glanced over at Michael, who looked like he couldn’t believe the words that were tumbling out of Luke’s mouth.
“You know, anytime you
want to shut up would be great.” He tried to sound like he was making light of the situation, but to Kate, he seemed about ready to jump out of the car and hitchhike his way home.
“Fine, I’m done,” Luke conceded.
“But for the record, as of December, we are the
highest
rated paranormal show on television.”
~*~
An awkward forty five minutes later, they pulled into the Riverview Apartment Complex, where Luke dropped Kate and Michael off in front of Building 17. It wasn’t until after they’d watched his taillights disappear into the darkness that Kate finally spoke.
“Interesting night, huh?” she asked as they climbed the flight of stairs up to their apartments.
Kate moved a little slower than usual due to her injured knee.
“That’s one word for it,” Michael agreed.
Once they reached the top, he pulled his keys out of his pocket, preparing to make a mad dash for his front door. “So uh, I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Hold up.
” Kate grabbed his arm. “Did you really think you were getting off the hook that easily?”
“I was sort of hoping,” Michael admitted.
Kate shook her head.
“Not a chance.”
Michael sighed.
He knew he owed it to her. Besides, thanks to Luke Rainer, he really had nothing left to hide.
“Would you like to come in?” he asked.
Kate glanced around at his front door.
“Is there a ghost in there?”
“Yeah. But he’s friendly.”
“What’s his name?”
“Brink.”
“Brink?”