Haunted on the Gulf Coast (Gulf Coast Paranormal Trilogy Book 2)

by M. L. Bullock

  “Yeah, I love it. Absolutely love it. You climb much?”

  “Do backyard trees count?”

  He laughed, and it was a slow, silky sound. “I think they count. So, tell me about this cave. It was in your first painting, right? Any characteristics I should know about?” He adjusted his backpack and walked beside me.

  I went over the painting with him again and even paused in the field to open the camera on my phone and show him the picture. “This is it. This is all I have. But I do remember there were also paintings in the cave.”

  “Interesting. I’ve never done an EVP session in a cave. I hope you know what you’re doing. I can’t imagine an elemental is actually going to speak to us. They don’t interact that way.”

  I frowned at him as I held my hand over my eyes. Gosh, it was bright out today. “Have you interacted with elementals before, Aaron?”

  “No. I know I don’t have as much experience as you all, but I believe the stories of my people.”

  My heart softened a little. I wondered what that was like, feeling so connected to your family like that. “I won’t do anything foolhardy, promise. But I really feel like I need to be there. It’s that way sometimes when I have a vision, when I paint something. It’s almost like a compulsion. I have to go and see it, experience it, understand it. It’s funny how the pieces all fall together.” I flicked a grasshopper off my arm and said, “And for the record, I’m not that experienced with paranormal investigation.”

  “Really? You act like an old pro,” he said as he sipped water from his bottle.

  “How do you like your GCP experience thus far? I mean, compared to your last group?”

  “You guys are much more professional, despite the McBrides’ love for a good argument. I really liked my old boss, Jase, but the group wasn’t tight-knit. And not that organized, not like the GCP team. Our team. And I like the camaraderie you all have. You guys have something special. I hope you appreciate that.”

  We had crossed the field and were entering the woods. I didn’t respond, but what was there to add? We did have something special. Gulf Coast Paranormal was much more than a ghost hunting group. We were a family. A weird, paranormal-loving family. In fact, GCP was the only family I had now.

  “Whoa! Did you hear that?” Aaron reached his hand back to still me.

  “No.” I waited and heard nothing. “What was it?”

  “Whispering. I heard two people talking.” After a moment or two, we kept walking. Aaron would pause every now and again, but I still didn’t hear a thing. “You really don’t hear that? Whispering.”

  And just as if they were waiting for him to scold me for not hearing them, I did hear the whispering. Two men—no, more than that. But there were definitely men. And they were speaking in a language I did not understand.

  “We are not alone.” Aaron took my hand and pulled me down to the moss-covered forest floor. He became completely still, like a deer who was afraid of a nearby predator. He put his finger to his lips and then mouthed, “They’re getting closer.”

  Yes, they were. I could hear the voices clearly now. They were certainly not speaking English. Suddenly, Aaron stood up and left me squatting on the ground. “Brother, we are one blood. Chebola Bula! Listen to my words.”

  The whispering stopped, but that was when the footsteps began. They were moving closer now, and I was on my feet holding Aaron’s hand. He continued to try to speak with them. “Brothers, I hear you. My name is Aaron DeSearcy. My people call me Morning Bird. We are one blood! Chebola Bula, listen to my words.”

  When we heard the arrows flying, we began to run.

  Chapter Twelve—Midas

  “Midas! Do you read me?” Cassidy’s breathless voice came over the walkie-talkie, and I immediately clicked on it to return her call.

  “It’s me. What’s going on?” I answered as Sierra ran to me.

  “Aaron and I were in the woods. We heard whispering and then arrows started flying and now…” The connection broke up, and I couldn’t hear her voice. I tapped on the radio and tried again while I reached for my backpack and told Sierra to call Josh. “I’m headed their way,” I said.

  “Got it!” Sierra climbed back in the van, and I could hear her calling Josh on her walkie-talkie. “Josh! Midas needs you to head to the cave!”

  I said, “Go ahead, Cassidy. Can you hear me?” Cassidy’s voice came back for a few seconds, but again our communication was broken. And what I could hear didn’t make much sense thanks to the static interference. If they had made it into the cave, that might explain why the signal was breaking up; otherwise, I didn’t have a clue why that would be happening. I began to jog to the field. I heard Josh calling me, but I didn’t wait for him. I had to get to Cassidy. Next thing I knew, Josh was beside me, and together we cleared the field and began walking quickly through the woods. “Try her on your walkie, Josh. Maybe it’s just my radio.”

  “Josh to Cassidy. Come in, Cassidy.”

  “Josh…we’re in the cave…Aaron…”

  “She’s in the cave! This way. What’s that?” I reached down and picked up Cassidy’s backpack. I didn’t see any blood on it, thankfully, and there was no sign of an attack by an animal. I took it with me as we hauled ass to the rock wall.

  Josh paced in front of the wall. “Shoot! I don’t have any climbing gear.”

  “I don’t either, but we don’t have time to go back. I’m going up.” A few minutes later, we had scaled the rock wall and were standing on the ledge that would lead us into the cave.

  I heard Cassidy’s voice calling me. “Midas? In here! Aaron is hurt.”

  She and Aaron were just inside the mouth of the cave, and he had a small wound on his forehead like someone had hit him with a rock. I dug in Cassidy’s bag and pulled out the mini first-aid kit. Tearing open the package of gauze, I asked, “What happened?”

  “We were in the woods when we started to hear voices. Aaron tried to communicate with them, but the next thing we knew, we were being shot at! Arrows were flying around us, and I swear one came this close to my ear. It was so real I honestly thought we were being shot at. We scaled the wall and ran in here. I called you but couldn’t get through. There was some sort of interference. I have never had problems with these walkie-talkies before, and I know my batteries were fresh.”

  “Probably interference from the stone. It’s pretty thick in here,” Josh said as he bounced a flashlight around the cavern. It didn’t take him long to spot the pictographs on the cave walls. He took pictures while I held the gauze to Aaron’s head.

  “You aren’t saying much. What happened? How did you get this wound?”

  Aaron flashed a half smile. “I fell. Nobody shot me, and nothing hit me. I just fell. But I have to tell you, those voices we heard—Cassidy and I both heard them—those were Alibamu. I tried to make contact with Chebola Bula, but he only had one thing on his mind, keeping us out of the woods. Fortunately for me, I remembered to hit record on the digital recorder.”

  “What are you waiting for? Play it back,” Cassidy encouraged him. Aaron accepted the gauze from my hand and with a grimace took the digital recorder out of his pocket. He rewound the audio, and we clearly heard the arrows whizzing around them. Cassidy said, “That’s what I heard too, but the voices didn’t record for some reason. Do you have any idea what they were saying, Aaron?”

  “Yeah, they were telling us to get out. I think it’s safe to say that Chebola Bula is still here and wants to protect Marguerite or at least protect this area.”

  “Let’s do the EVP session and get out of here. I think we have enough to investigate without adding this cave to the list.”

  “But Midas, Marguerite…”

  “I know you want to make contact with her, Cassidy, but it’s just not safe in here. Nor is it safe in those woods. Let’s do this EVP session and then confine our investigation to the field and the pits. Remember, those are the areas we agreed to investigate for Dr. Lundquist. She needs answers, and that’s
why we’re here. Besides, if it’s Marguerite you want to get ahold of, what better place to reach out to her than where she was executed?”

  Cassidy’s disappointed expression did not surprise me, but I had to stick to my guns on this one. Chebola Bula may have had the best of intentions, but he was putting my team in real danger and I couldn’t risk further injuries to them. She would just have to understand. “Why don’t you start?”

  She removed her audio recorder from her jacket and said, “EVP session in the cave with Cassidy, Midas, Aaron and Joshua. Is there anyone here who wants to speak to us?” She waited a few seconds and then asked, “Marguerite Babineaux, are you here? Are you looking for Chebola Bula? Marguerite, are you angry that you were killed?”

  I heard the sounds of rocks hitting the floor, and the hair on the back of my arms stood up underneath my jacket, but I didn’t stop the session. Josh touched my arm and pointed to the back of the cave. He’d heard it too.

  “We know you were innocent, Marguerite. We know you didn’t burn Elizabeth.” Another scattering of rocks echoed through the cave. Cassidy paused, and we all stood up. “I’m playing it back.” We listened to the playback and heard Cassidy’s voice clearly but could detect no response from anyone else. “Wait, do you hear that? It’s like a hum.”

  Aaron paced around and said, “We need to get out of here. Let’s leave the cameras and audio running. I’d like to leave this area before it gets dark.”

  “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Josh, let’s get that camera up on the ridge. Aaron, can you handle setting the camera up pointing into the cave?”

  “Sure,” he said as he dug through the gear.

  “Cassidy, find a good spot for the digital recorder and let’s take some pictures in here for Sierra.”

  “Got it.” After we finished the setup and pictures, we carefully navigated the rock wall and facing the woods we had to trek back through to get to the field. “I’ve got a trap camera here. I’d like to set it up facing the woods.”

  Josh and I strapped the camera to the tree, and then the four of us hiked back to the field. Josh called Sierra to tell her we were on the way. “Thank God,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  “Tell Bruce and Helen to meet us, and we’ll go grab a bite to eat before tonight’s investigation,” he said.

  “Roger that,” Sierra’s happy voice answered on the walkie-talkie.

  Forty-five minutes later, we were bellied up at Myron’s Bar and Grill ready to eat and get back to the site. Fortunately for us, we had the room to ourselves and could talk pretty openly about the upcoming part of our investigation.

  “Here’s what we have—the sounds of arrows in the woods, the voice of someone we think is Marguerite near what may have been the fort’s gallows asking for help and the ghost lights we saw last night. And that buzzing sound. Are we any closer to knowing what we’re dealing with?” Josh asked as he swiped his fries in a pile of ketchup.

  “I think so,” Sierra replied as she polished off a pickle spear. “These investigations are never cut and dried, sweetie. You know that. I’m hoping we get to see those lights again. I’d love to see them in person. They kind of lose their magic when you watch them on video.”

  He finished off his drink and reminded her, “Hey, you stay in the van, Sierra Kay. No matter what.”

  “Okay, Joshua McBride. Don’t get overprotective. I’m not going to wander off and get lost.”

  As we finished up our dinner, I decided now was as good a time as any for a pep talk. “Sierra’s right. We need to focus on the lights. Dr. Lundquist is looking for answers. So, we’re going to let the audio in the cave run overnight and turn our attention to the pits. Let’s take shifts and walk the fields. I’d like to stay out of the woods after dark…too many ways to get hurt. Agreed, Aaron?”

  Aaron’s dark eyes met Midas’ and after a moment he said, “I’m a team player, Midas.”

  “I never doubted that, but no more running through the woods. And if you decide to have an EVP session, record it and let your fellow investigator know about it.”

  “It all worked out,” Cassidy said, flushing as she defended him.

  “No, he’s right. Those arrows sounded so real; I should have never put you in danger, Cassidy. I am sorry about that. I guess I got ahead of the investigation.” Aaron reddened and didn’t say anything else.

  Having made my point, I decided to change the subject. “Bruce, what do you have for us? Anything we can use as trigger objects that might attract elementals?”

  Bruce chuckled and downed his coffee. “I wouldn’t even know how to begin attracting an elemental, but I do have some artifact reproductions you’re welcome to use. I’ve got jewelry, a small knife that you wear on your hip and lots of hats.”

  “Anyone want to wear my bonnet?” Helen said as she poked him in the ribs. “No offense, Bruce, but I hate that thing. I feel like Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.” Everyone got a good laugh out of that, and Josh offered to wear the hip knife and one of the hats.

  “I’ll wear the bonnet, Helen,” Cassidy whispered.

  “Good,” Helen responded with a smile.

  “Great. Let’s go, guys. It’s time to get in place and investigate.” I paid the bill and walked out to the SUV. My team rummaged through Bruce’s knapsack, and by the time we got back to the site, we all looked like a bunch of half-baked reenactors.

  I hoped it would be enough to stir up the activity we were looking for. I wanted to know if there was any truth to this elemental story. But if we found one? I wasn’t so sure what we’d do then. That would be a first for us.

  I hoped we could do it without anyone getting hurt.

  Chapter Thirteen—Cassidy

  Joshua and Midas were set up on the sides of the field, monitoring the acreage with IR and thermal cameras. Bruce and Helen were in Pit Three, and Aaron and I were in Pit One. It seemed weird to be outdoors and not traipsing around an old house or a dirty work site. And the dirt pit had all the comforts of a mud hole. Aaron’s expression mirrored my own, but we hunkered down and hoped for the best. It was colder than I expected, and our equipment confirmed that the temperature was dropping. It was twenty degrees colder in the pit, but at least we had boards to sit on.

  According to Dr. Lundquist, all the artifacts had been removed from this pit and no bones had been found, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that my fellow investigator and I were sitting in a grave. I shivered and rubbed my arms furiously to warm myself. While we took readings, we poked our heads up from the pits occasionally to look for the lights. We’d seen them the first night until Zachary interrupted us, and I hoped they showed up again. On the other hand, what would we do with an elemental? It had ended badly for anyone who had ever communicated with this one, at least as far as I knew. “Tell me about elementals, Aaron. Do they mainly stick to the woods?”

  He lifted his phone to scan the surroundings. That guy sure had some nifty apps on his smartphone. “No. They can be anywhere in nature, like near waterfalls, lakes or caves. They like isolated places and steer clear of people for the most part.”

  I squinted into the darkness beside him. “Until now, right? You think the elementals are unhappy that these scientists are out here? Maybe they don’t take too kindly to strangers walking all over their haunting grounds?”

  “Haunting grounds. Now that’s funny. I’ve never heard it put quite that way. No, I don’t think elementals care one bit who is out here. But for some reason, they are drawn to certain places—and certain people.”

  I shivered again remembering Elizabeth’s screams. “You think the elemental that burned Elizabeth came from that cave? I know it went in there when Chebola Bula and Marguerite were hiding. Maybe the cave was its home? Maybe it laid a trap for them, to get them to come in there? I can’t explain why, but I’m drawn to that cave for some reason.”

  Aaron’s breath fogged around him for a moment. He looked quite a sight in Bruce’s tri-corner hat and leather vest. “I’
ve never heard of an elemental setting someone on fire. Driving them mad, yes. Burning them? No. My people, the Choctaw, don’t advise interacting with them, but we have a healthy respect for them. From what you’ve said, the people in the fort didn’t fear the elementals, even after the Alibamu warned them.”

  I thought I saw a shadow move for a second, but it was really hard to tell out here in the inky blackness of Forrest Field. “Yeah, that Edward Bosarge was an angry man. He had so much hate for Marguerite. I suppose it was really grief for his daughter that drove him to do such a horrible thing, but that’s no excuse. And I wonder what happened to Chebola Bula…”

  “I guess we’ll never know.”

  “Sierra to Cassidy,” the walkie-talkie squawked to life.

  I jumped and then laughed as I answered, “Go ahead, Sierra.”

  “There’s movement behind your pit—about ten feet from the wood line. I keep seeing a shadow, a tall shadow. It looks like it’s pacing back and forth. Midas wants you two to check it out with the thermal; he’s too far away.”

  “We’re on it, Sierra.” Aaron and I climbed out of the pit and immediately began walking toward the fence line. I was filthy and cold, but the adrenaline rush kept me moving forward. With careful sweeps, I eased the thermal from right to left hoping to pick up any obvious anomalies.

  Aaron grabbed my arm. “Wait, I saw it. I think she’s right. It’s walking back and forth. Over there, by that big oak tree.”

  “Got it. I’m looking now.” I waved the thermal but didn’t see a thing. “Nothing on here, Aaron. Do you still see it?”

  He paused and removed his hat. “No, it’s gone. I don’t know what it was. I want to go in there and check it out.” He pointed at the woods with a grin.

  “We’ve got specific instructions to stay out, Aaron. Wait, did you see that?” I stared at the thermal and watched a blob of heat enter the screen.

  Aaron leaned over my shoulder to take a look and then swore under his breath. We both saw it—a flickering light moving across the field. “Get down,” he whispered, dragging me down to the cold ground. He didn’t have to tell me twice.