Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum (16 page)

Matthew looked back at the bottles. “Oh,
that’s all him, boss.”

Zach’s reaction must have shown doubt.

Matthew got closer and whispered. “Boss, I
swear, I haven’t had a drink.”

His breath was honest—it was bad, smelled of
garlic-laden salsa, but sober.

“Okay,” Zach said. “Keep an eye on him.”

Matthew nodded and went back to the video
control center.

Zach walked outside into the cool night air.
The fireflies had long since called it a night, but the crickets remained in
full harmony.

“Zach to Team Three. Come in Team Three.”

“Team Three is right behind you.” Patrizia’s
voice played in stereo on the radio and behind him. She and Shelly had emerged
from behind the
Demon Hunter
van.

“Hi there. How’s it going?” he asked.

“Kind of boring so far,” Shelly said.

Patrizia nodded. “We got some EMF spikes in
the administration building but that’s about it.

Zach shared his and Rebecca’s experiences.

Shelly shrugged. “There’s always tomorrow
night. Besides, things might pick up when Hunter shows up. You know the effect
he has on ghosts.”

 While unscientific and unproven, there
often did seem to be more paranormal activity on their investigations when
Hunter was present.

Patrizia inched toward the Rosewood main
door. “We should start in the basement. Right?”

“Sure.”

They entered the asylum, passing Rebecca who
was on her way out. She carried the thermal cam. “Maybe we’ll get something
with this outside—”

Shouts coming from inside one of the tents
cut her off.

“Whoever the hell that is, cut it the fuck
out!” Inside, Ray pounded outward on the tent wall.

“You okay, pal?” Zach called out.

“Zach, r’you screwing with me?”

“No. What’s going on?”

There was internal rustling and the whiz of
the tent’s zipper. Ray popped his head out. “Who’s out here?”

“It’s just me and Rebecca.”

Ray stumbled out in shorts and a white tank
top. “No one else? This whole time?”

“I’ve been at the asylum front door for a
while. What’s up?”

Ray surveyed the landscape. “The
tent—someone kept pounding on it. It felt like there were two people—one on
each side.”

Zach peered around, but there was no one.
“You’re sure it wasn’t just a dream?”

“I know the difference between a dream and
someone almost knocking over my damn tent.”

“Easy. I was just…”

“I know what you were ‘just.’” Ray ran his
hands over his face and through his hair. He sighed. “This wasn’t a dream.
Trust me on that.”

“Tell us what happened from the beginning,”
Rebecca said.

Ray shivered. Zach couldn’t tell if it was
from the memory or the cool night air, but his friend didn’t ask for a
sweatshirt. “You’re not filming this are you?”

“Do you want me to?” Zach asked.

“No.”

“Okay, then tell us before someone else
walks up.”

“I woke up—I dunno, maybe a half hour or so
ago. Someone was tapping on the outside of my tent. I asked who was there and
the tapping stopped. No one said anything. I figured one of you guys had mixed
up the tents and knocked at the wrong one.”

“Did you see what time it was?” Zach asked.

“No.”

“Did you fall back asleep?” Zach asked.

“Yes,” he said, squinting at him. “I dozed
off, but I woke up about no less than ten minutes ago and have been
awake
since then, your honor.”

Zach waved his flashlight beam back and
forth over the ground where Ray had indicated the activity had come from.
“There’s some trampled high grass, but that could have happened when you set up
the tent.”

“Go on, Ray” Rebecca said.

“The tapping woke me again. It was harder
this time—less like a signal and more like someone trying to screw with my
sleep. I called out a ‘knock it off’ and that’s when it really started.
Pounding on one side then immediately on the other—like there was two of them.
At first, I thought it was Matthew and Angel or maybe a couple of the Demon
Hunters. I hollered for them to stop and when I hit back, that’s when the
laughing started.”

“Laughing?” Zach and Rebecca said it in
unison.

“Yes,” Ray said. “You guys didn’t hear it?”

Both shook their heads.

“It continued right up until I heard you
guys calling out for me. The tent hitting kept going until just seconds before
Zach asked if I was okay.”

“If it was anybody else but you, pal, I’d
suspect it was a dream,” Zach said.

“Well it ain’t anybody else but me.”

Ray wasn’t prone to either drama or
delusions, and he didn’t look like he’d just woken up. His eyes are clear, Zach
thought. He’s focused and alert. Fired up even.

“Look, buddy.” Zack cocked his head to the
side. “If you believe this was a real experience, go to the cameraman and get
your account on tape. There’s one inside.”

“Where’s Sara?”

“She’s in the outskirt buildings with Bryce
and Rico.”

Before Ray could indicate if he intended to
go public with his story, Zach’s two-way radio buzzed.

“Team Three to Teams One and Two. Come in
please,” Patrizia’s voice called across the radio lines.

“Team Two here,” Zach broadcast.

“Team One listening.”

“Please report to the Technical Command Post
ASAP. Repeat. Please report to the Technical Command Post ASAP. Over.”

“Wilco.” Bryce’s voice sounded official.

“Be right in,” Zach said into the radio.

He stared at Ray. “Are you coming with us?”

“If I’m going to be up and alert enough to
watch video at five o’clock, I’m gonna have to get some sleep. If I decide to
tell my story on camera, I can do it just as well in the morning.”

“Aren’t you two supposed to be investigating
the third floor?” Zach asked upon entering Rosewood’s lobby.

“Well hello to you too, Mr. Crabby.” Shelly
said.

Patrizia snickered and then defiantly stuck
her tongue out at him. This behavior was uncharacteristic of them. Something
big must have happened—after a supernatural experience, investigators were
often giddy.

Shelly continued. “Wait until you hear the
EVPs we got in the basement!”

Matthew and Pierre were adjusting sound
settings on the computer software program that evaluated the high frequency
noises that often were undetectable to the human ear.

“Whatever happened to having our Evidence
Review Team conduct an independent analysis?” Zach asked.

“We’re just playing the recording they took.
We’re not altering it any,” Matthew said.

Before he could consider the implications of
his underlings running the asylum, a blunt force hit Zach between the shoulder
blades. From behind, a huge arm closed around his chest.

“Zachman!”

Bryce was panting. Zach smelled something on
his co-host’s breath, not to mention in his jacket. It was sweet, pungent,
herbal. Marijuana.

Zach broke free of his grip. “Did you guys
sprint up here?”

“Came as fast as we could, my friend. We
came just as fast as we could.” Rico’s eyes appeared equally as distant but he
wasn’t as amped up as Bryce. It seemed he mellowed when he smoked weed.

“Dude, we got some
killer
EMF
readings down there at the administration building,” Bryce said.

“That’s great.”

Pierre cracked open another beer and offered
it to Shelly. She refused it. He left his arm extended with the bottle, but she
continued to refuse. After the third refusal, he gulped down a third of the
bottle.

Two high. One drunk, Zach thought. No wonder
their ratings were so popular.

The pot smell neither dissipated nor faded,
but rather was overwhelmed by the familiar scent of
Sailor Black
and
Pierre’s pipe was nowhere in sight.

Listen to the recordings.

It was a good idea. It might help everyone
calm down and refocus.

“Hey,” Zach said as loud as he dared. “Let’s
listen to Shelly and Patrizia’s EVP recordings!”

A hearty
Demon Hunter
cheer of
pounding fists and wild dog barks erupted around him. Even Shelly joined in.
The cameraman was capturing this entire scene and, when the time came to edit
the video, it would likely air as a bonding moment between the two teams. Zach
had the sudden and terrifying image in his mind as Sara using it as a promo for
the show.

“Let’s play that clip,” Zach instructed.

Matthew connected the laptop that had
isolated and digitized the recording to large broadcast speakers that would
allow them all to hear. He hit play and the recording began:

Shelly:  Is anyone down here who wishes
to contact us?

Female voice [series of noises]  oooou

[pause]

Patrizia:  Can you say something to us?

Female voice: [undistinguishable] eeet me.

Patrizia: Did you hear that?

Shelly: shhhhhh. Is that you? Can you speak?

Female voice: [undistinguishable] kk
oooh  [undistinguishable] eyre.

[barely audible chime and a loud bang]

Shelly (whispering): sounds like a door
slammed.

Patrizia: Are you still there? Talk to us.
Tell us who you are.

Silence and static.

“That’s it,” Shelly said. Her face beamed.

Patrizia looked proud, but a bit lost. Maybe
she didn’t fully comprehend the recording’s significance.

“That’s evidence of an intelligent haunting,”
Bryce said. “Awesome!”

Some of the evidence is tainted.

Tainted, Zach thought. Tainted with what?
His uncle’s warning was rather cryptic and he didn’t know what to make of it.

“I want to listen again,” Zach said. “Did
anyone pick up what she was saying?”

Rico raised his hand. “At one point I think
she said, ‘Eat me,’ didn’t she?”

There were a few giggles and snickers.

“She didn’t say ‘eat me,’” Bryce said. “She
said, ‘feed me.’”

Rebecca and Patrizia were the only ones
besides Zach who apparently didn’t understand that quip. The rest laughed
heartily.

“What’s so funny in here?” Sara with her
cameraman in tow strolled into the lobby. “What are you clowns up to now?”

“Careful who you’re calling a clown, ya
clown,” Bryce called out.

Zach knew before Sara got close enough to
see it in her semi-vacant eyes. She was trying too hard to act casual, but
still remain professional. It was as though she were attempting to play the
part of herself instead of just being herself. He didn’t even need confirmation
from the voice.

She smoked with them.

His godfather’s voice served as apt reminder
for Zach to calm his emotions. He breathed deeply through his nostrils hoping
to disguise his sigh, instead the exhale sounded like a horse’s snort.

 “Can we listen to this recording
again?” Zach asked, hoping to get things on track before Hunter arrived. He was
looking forward to guiding the psychic through the asylum.

Bryce whispered something to Sara and then
explained to her what they were listening to. Matthew cued up the audio for a
second listen:

Shelly:  Is anyone down here who wishes
to contact us?

Female voice (very faintly):  h-hoo
ar  oooou

[pause]

Patrizia:  Can you say something to us?

Female voice:  -eeet me.

Patrizia: Did you hear that?

Shelly: shhhhhh. Is that you? Can you speak?

Female voice:  --akk   --ooh
-- they’re.

[chime and bang]

“We didn’t hear that first sound, did we?”
Patrizia looked at Shelly.

“No. Not when we were down there. It sounds
like she’s saying ‘who are you?’”

Most agreed, but the other phrases were up
for debate and argumentation. Matthew postulated that the second EVP said “see
me,” while Shelly suspected it was “meet me.”

Although it was only mildly humorous the
first time, Rico repeated  his “eat me” joke.

“Can we please,” Rebecca said, “show some
respect for the dead?”

For a few minutes the group maintained a
somber attitude, but soon enough flippant guesses and quips were flying. Sara
seemed intent not to make eye contact with Zach. Conversely, he caught Patrizia
eyeing him guardedly a few times.