by Alexie Aaron
“No as soon as we can get home. You see Sabine has not returned from bi-locating and Bev wants me to go and look for her.”
“You’re going to do that from home?” he asked.
“No I have to go into the city. Gerald will give me a ride in.”
“Sure, no problem. I’m all set. We can leave now and head back.”
Mia looked to make sure their clients weren’t looking first and then gave Burt a big kiss. “Thank you, bebe.”
Burt blushed. “Let’s hit the road. You’ve got an OOBer to find, and I’ve got to put together a team for this investigation.
~
Bev hung up from talking to Gerald. The nurse would arrive before he and Mia would. She would have to handle the explanation of what was going on and what was needed. Gerald assured her that this Tauni Cerise had plenty of experience with unusual nursing requests.
Bev took the time to type out an email to Father Santos explaining what was going on, asking for his input on what course of action they should take if Sabine did not return to her body. She remembered in her early experimental days that she had left her body alone for twenty-one hours once. She had migraines for a week following her rejoining. After that, she made damn sure she left for no more than two hours at most.
Mia had moved on from simple travel to actually being able to physically move things in her spirit form. She had fought a demon, or at least got its attention, while in her OOB form. Hopefully, she would have more insight as to where Sabine was or what was keeping her from returning.
Bev pushed out with her mind trying to connect with Sabine, but there was no reply. Sabine was too far away to hear Bev.
~
“Why are you doing this to me,” Sabine asked the darkness. “Why can’t I move? I need to go home.”
“You are home,” The man answered her. “Just a few more moments and I can let you go.”
Sabine felt a jostling as the boat slid up on the shore. For a wild moment she thought she had died and the ferryman brought her across the River Styx. Had something happened to her body in the condo? Is this Charon or Acheron? Whatever the label, this man had powers beyond a normal OOBer. Time started to fold in on itself, and she no longer could gauge how long she had been away from her body.
“Why?” she asked again. “What have I done to you?” She heard the boat push off and a motor engaged, leaving them on the uneven shore.
He moved her further away from the water’s edge. “You are precious, my dear. You couldn’t have done harm to a titmouse, let alone me.”
“Then why have you taken me?”
“Because I want you, dear spirit of the city. You belong to me now,” he said as he took his blackness away and stood back to admire his new possession.
Sabine had been in the black void so long that when the starlit sky was unveiled to her she winced in pain. She moved away from the man swiftly. He did not follow.
“Careful you don’t exhaust yourself. I assure you there is no way for you to leave my island.”
“Island,” Sabine said disbelievingly. “OOBs can’t travel over water!” She saw the retreating light of a motor craft, and its engine noise faded in the night.
“If you know the secret, an OOB, as you crudely call us, can go anywhere.”
“Then I can leave.”
The man laughed indulgently. “Sure, you go on thinking that.” He laughed again at whatever secret he was holding from her. “I have to return to my body. We’ll talk later.” He started to leave and stopped, asking, “What is your name, spirit?”
“It’s not for you to know.” Sabine thrust out her chin.
“No matter, I will come up with a name for you. Enjoy,” he said before disappearing.
Sabine moved towards the water and felt the drain of her powers. No, she couldn’t travel over water. She moved swiftly, keeping the water to her left. It took mere minutes for her to find that, yes, she was on an island and, as the sun started to rise, there were no other land masses in sight. Sabine was trapped on an isle with this evil man. What would happen to her? Would Bev be able to find her in time? What if her body died? Would she be trapped in the ether forever? Questions filled her mind and exhausted her. She was in panic mode and nothing would be solved in this state of mind. She centered herself and decided it was time to gain knowledge of her surroundings. If Bev could not reach her, Sabine would have to find a way on her own.
Chapter Nine
“My-oh-my, what has this child been up to?” Tauni Cerice asked as she knelt down beside Sabine. She efficiently took her pulse. She looked over at Bev expecting an answer.
Bev thought, “What the hell, might as well be truthful and see where this goes.” She began, “This child is Sabine. She has been participating in projecting her body into the ether. You would have heard of it as an out of body experience. Or as my niece calls it, a bi-location.”
“Mmm, mmm, she’s been doing this long?”
“Over a year and with a few exceptions never had a problem reentering her body.”
Tauni put a temperature gauge briefly in Sabine’s outer ear. “We had a few travelers on the island where I grew up. They were usually back in a few minutes after spying on their neighbors. Couldn’t travel too far being on an island, no ma’am.” She touched her patient’s face a few times, shaking her head. “She’s dehydrated, we better get an IV in her.” She looked around the living space. “Let’s put her on the chaise lounge over there. I can get to both sides of her easily, better than that monster four poster in her bedroom.”
Bev took instructions from Tauni with feigned good temper. Plastic sheeting went down first, then a doubled up sheet. “Hate to see her fluids ruin this nice piece,” Tauni explained. “We won’t put in a catheter quite yet.”
Sabine was settled on her back, pressure socks covered the slim legs and pale painted toes. Bev wavered between fear and annoyance each time she stole a look at her protégé.
“Back on the island, a girl like this would be too busy with wooing menfolk and parties to be farting around with bi-location.” Tauni shook her head as she accepted the cup of coffee Bev had brewed for her. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Please, Bev would be better. Ma’am is hard on these ears.”
Tauni laughed heartily, “Bev it is.”
“Tell me, Tauni, how did you get in this line of work?”
“My daddy was a doctor on the island. I didn’t want to spend all that time in schooling but liked the family business, so nursing seemed to be the next logical step for me.”
Bev imagined this sturdy woman of color dressed in West Indian clothing, administering to the sick under mosquito nets. “What island are you from?”
“Mister Shem didn’t tell you?”
“No, Gerald was a bit busy to give me your resume.”
“He and I go back a ways.”
“He said that. So you met in in the West Indies?”
Tauni shook her head and let out a belly laugh. Once she calmed down, she looked at Bev with bright eyes and said, “You have it all wrong. I didn’t meet him in the West Indies, good god no. I’m from Long Island!” She resumed laughing.
Bev felt like an idiot but appreciated the humor of the situation and laughed along with Tauni. The more she laughed the better she felt.
~
Gerald’s car was in the apron of the drive when Burt and Mia arrived. Mia got out as Burt waited for the gate to slide open. She walked up to the town car and Gerald’s chauffer got out. “Mister Shem’s on the phone.” He walked around to open the door for Mia but she waved him away.
“Tell him I have to pick up a few things. I’ll be back in a moment.”
The man nodded and got back into the air-conditioned luxury vehicle.
Mia walked swiftly into the garage where Burt had already circled his truck with salt. She smiled at how he took her rituals seriously. Mia believed that spirits could hitchhike onto her property by attaching themselves to vehicles. She also drew a line
of salt across the drive where the truck disturbed the original barrier.
She had come to the realization that she couldn’t help seeing the dead, but she didn’t want to have to see them in her home. Her home had many deterrents to the wandering spirits. She took something from every culture and applied it skillfully to her landscaping. Her house was built on a peninsula and rested on a foundation that discouraged any tunneling entity. Gone were the days of waking up to screams and dragging chains. She rested quite well in the retreat she had designed herself.
“I better pack a bag just in case,” she told Burt as they walked into the house, careful to step over the crushed brick and kosher salt.
“I’ll be heading to Kansas. I need to pick up a few things I left in my apartment. So be careful. This knight in t-shirt and denim is going to be out of reach for a while.”
Mia smacked his behind as she passed him on her way to the storage closet where she armed herself with supplies of the paranormal variety.
“I’ll be fine. Bev is formidable, and Gerald seems to be able to finesse or buy his way out of most problems. I am worried about Sabine though. She is too trusting and doesn’t have much common sense.”
Burt called to her from the bathroom. “What about Murphy?”
“Murphy,” Mia asked as she poked her head around the corner. “He has limited range. He’s not going anywhere farther than the hollow.”
“Too bad, because he comes in handy.”
Mia thought about her axe-wielding friend and how he had protected them when the hag raised her army. She loved the old farmer and knew he would be an asset, but unlike her, he was bound to the earth in which he was buried in.
“You know, I have a thought.”
“Not thinking again, are you?” Mia teased. “You know how much trouble that gets you in.”
“Hey, now, mean teasing costs you Burt love dollars.”
“Damn, and I almost had enough for a unicycle.”
Burt grabbed her and held her still for a moment. “If Grandma Hofmann can move from house to house because the chair is moved…”
“You think Murphy can move around how?” Mia asked.
“His axe. We just need to find his axe.”
“They buried the axe with him. And how do you know he wants to leave the hollow?”
“You could ask him.”
“True, maybe I will one day. I really hate to disturb his grave though.” Mia wrinkled her face. She liked thinking about Murphy in his ghost form. Handsome but thin, the harsh world of farming in the upper Midwest had etched lines into his face. She didn’t want to see his remains. She felt like it would be a betrayal somehow, as if she would be peeking in the shower when he was exposed and vulnerable. She shook off the thought and concentrated on getting her gear together and getting out the door.
Gerald smiled as he saw Mia navigate her way to the car. Her paranoia made her life harder than it should be. He had worked with many sensitives, including Mia’s aunt, and each had peculiarities that stunted them somehow. Was this Mother Nature’s way of evening the odds?
His driver took her duffle from her and set it in the trunk before opening the door so she could get in.
“Hello Gerald!” she said with glee. “I understand we are off to find a missing OOBer.”
“I believe in her case it is a great out of bodier or a GOOBER!” He laughed at his own joke.
Mia studied the handsome, mature man’s face as his eyes disappeared when he was consumed with mirth. She loved the richness of his dark skin. She understood, maybe for the first time, Sabine’s need to touch things, to take in the beauty and power that radiated off some people.
“Go ahead touch my face, but don’t tell your aunt. She is a green-eyed bitch.”
Mia startled. She had forgotten that Gerald Shem was more than a facilitator, he was an empath. She laughed and started him laughing again.
He took a deep breath and settled down. “Mia, I know this is new ground for you. I’ve never been able to bi-locate so I am of no help. Bev thinks that you and she together can find Sabine and bring her home. In your experience, what could stop her from coming back to her body?”
Mia closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Water, I’ve never been able to cross it unless several factors are in play. There has to be a bridge with a ley line under it. One time when I was camped out in my father’s apartment, I didn’t know about the water restriction. I had crossed the Chicago River and returned by the same bridge when I was through exploring, but one time I thought I would wander further afield and tried to take another bridge. No go. I faced a solid wall that sucked the power out of me. It took me a while, but I retraced my steps and crossed over the river on the right bridge.”
“So you’re thinking that she got in the same predicament?” he asked.
“Maybe, but I think even our drifty Sabine would have figured it out by now.” Mia frowned. “I didn’t mean to call her drifty. That wasn’t kind.”
Gerald waved his hand and said, “I don’t think Bev would disagree with you. But I wouldn’t say it in front of Sabine. It may hurt her feelings.”
She thought and he said, “Ever the politician.”
Mia laughed and said, “You owe me a coke.”
“You find Sabine, bring her home safely, and I’ll buy you Coca Cola,” he said adjusting his cufflinks.
“Deal,” Mia said and bumped knuckles with him.
~
The young man returned to the river and waited. The boat slip was empty. If a boat leaves it should eventually return, he reasoned. Not having ever been on a watercraft, he could only take what information he could glean from books and the internet as being true. He moved closer to the water and stood just outside the drain zone. He tested different areas and found that he could venture carefully along a direct line down into the marina without harm.
The sound of a motor powering down caused him to look up. The cruiser was returning. He retraced his steps and stood back out of sight. He waited patiently for the captain to tie up the boat. Brian fidgeted while he waited for the girl to appear. He prayed it was just some joke, and she would emerge from the boat with a story to tell and maybe an apology for frightening him. But when the man got off and secured the craft without the young woman or the caped darkness leaving, he knew he had been wrong not to step in when he first saw the purple pulsating bi-locater follow the icy-blue princess.
He wasn’t a hero, but he was dressed as one. Brian chose to attire his out of body form in the leather and chainmail of a knight of the round table. He could see how she could make the mistake of asking for his help. But what could he do? He moved quickly home to the long care facility his parent’s paid dearly for. The disease had made living on his own too difficult. He needed his lungs suctioned frequently or he would drown. He wasn’t a hero but a victim of a disease the doctors were always working to cure. His only freedom was bi-location. No, he wasn’t a hero, he thought, and just as he settled into his body he heard her voice again in his head. “Help me.”
Chapter Ten
Mike scanned the data that Burt brought back with him. He regretted being out of play. He couldn’t complain because it was his choice to spend another week with the lusty preschool teacher instead of taking care of PEEPs business. The photo Beth sent was amazing. At first he thought it was a hoax. He hadn’t heard of an object-bound spirit being able to pick up, let along navigate, an electronic device before. Sure, televisions popped on occasionally, and the radio was a wonderful toy for poltergeists, but a ghost who came with the furniture tended to stay with the furniture.
Then again, the information on paranormal entities changed daily. He and Burt weren’t the only ones trying to make a living at ghost chasing. The internet was full of teams from all over the world. Once you weeded out the charlatans, the fakers, and the attention seekers, you would still be left with an impressive list. Paranormal Entity Exposure Partners wasn’t the only group producing real, scientific data.
Mike put a manicured hand through his expensive haircut. Burt funded his money back into the company. Mike used his to have his teeth veneered. While the others spent hours after an investigation going through tapes and videos, Mike headed for the gym. He was the man in front of the camera, and he had to look his best. He recently had been lobbying to have his face adorn the PEEPs vehicles instead of the marshmallow chick, but he was shut down three to one.
“So you’re dragging us back to Illinois for a little old lady rocking in a chair are you?” Mike asked Burt.
“No, there’s more going on there than the chair. There are the missing pistols, the destruction of the Benz, and look at the pictures of the nursery. Burt tapped the enlargements Ted had made. “What kind of entity can turn a baby’s crib into wood chips? Can you imagine if the mother didn’t get those kids out in time?”
“I’ll let you know what I decide,” Mike said, handing the photos back to Burt.
“You decide?” Burt said incredulously.
“I am the leader…”
“You are a partner, half of the founding partners. More accurately, you have one vote out of four in the direction PEEPs goes. Remember the revised incorporation papers we all signed after Cold Creek Hollow. You don’t get to decide.”
“It’s my face in front of the camera.”
“Doesn’t have to be,” Burt said furiously, stuffing the paper data into his satchel. “Beth and Ted are quite photogenic.” He finished clearing Mike’s mother’s dining table of all the PEEPs material before pointing out, “You have been a pain in the ass to deal with since the fan mail started rolling in. I suggest you take a good look at yourself, and I’m not talking admiring your new teeth in the mirror. Meanwhile, the rest of us will be doing all the work as usual. Come join us if you can find your way out of your own ass.”
Mike waved him off and watched as Burt left the farmhouse, stopping only to give his regards to Mike’s mother.