The words left everyone staring blankly at Jerry.
"I saw one," he said. It might have been the alcohol taking effect, but he now decided to go for it. Everyone leaned forward to listen to what he would say next. "It’s true. I was the lone audience member sitting close to the front row, and I saw something. We all endured about twenty minutes of lecture about the history of weirdness—and then the tricks began. It started when I saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. Some little trick of light, I assume. Then, a little later, I actually saw something."
"That’s freakin' crazy!" Crystal shouted. Even for a bar, it was a little loud. She was also enjoying her drink, it seemed.
"You have to be shitting me," Josh said. "How the hell did the guy manage that?
"I have no idea," Jerry said. He was enjoying the limelight. "I looked around for hidden projectors and such, but I didn’t see anything obvious. I don’t know if it was suggestion that made me see it, or if it was some kind of 3-D projection—I’m not sure. I have to say, I thought for the longest time that you all were messing with me—like it was some kind of setup. I actually expected you all to come busting through the door."
"What did it look like?" David asked. His rumpled face was suspended in an incredulous stare.
"Just exactly like a yard gnome," Jerry lied. For some reason, he didn't feel like describing what he really saw. "It even had pointy ears."
"Oh, bullshit," Josh said. "What fantastic bullshit. If I was going to trick somebody into thinking they saw an elf, I wouldn’t make it look exactly like an elf. You know what I mean? What bullshit."
"I know," Jerry said. "It was nuts. But that’s what happened. I’d love to figure out what that son of a bitch did. Did I tell you it bit me?" He was so intoxicated by the beer and the attention, that he couldn’t remember if he’d divulged this particular detail.
"Noooo…,” Crystal said, looking at the others from the corner of her eye. Jerry realized he was starting to sound like one of the crazy ones. By the look on her face, and the looks coming from David and Josh, he decided against elaborating about the details. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he claimed he was bitten. He didn't actually see what had happened to his leg.
"I just felt a sting on my leg, that’s all. Some weird kind of power of suggestion going on. I don’t know what he did, but I’d love to find out."
The silence that followed made Jerry feel a bit ridiculous, like the rest of them were judging him for believing he really felt something.
"Well, you're going to, right?" The silence was broken by David.
"Going to what?" Crystal said. Her voice was starting to slur a little, but no more than anyone else’s. "Go after the little demon guy? Kick his ass?"
"Not just that," David said, with the bravado that usually follows several beers. "I'm thinking we might spend some more time looking into all of this. Each of us could try to figure out what makes these people believe what they do."
"Why would we?" Josh asked.
"Well," David said in his best professorly voice. "Here's the problem: people like this—the people who believe in paranormal shit—they perpetuate the dangerous notion that science isn't reliable. They believe in these stories without any kind of real evidence to back up their claims, and that's just dangerous for humanity. We’re all intelligent, here. Maybe we can figure out what kind of tricks and mind play goes on to make these people believe what they do."
"Wait. You’re planning on going on a camping trip with the Sasquatch lady, aren’t you?" Josh asked. Jerry wished he’d thought of that first. Everybody was laughing.
"Well, she has invited me," David said sheepishly. "I mean, spending the summer in a sleeping bag with a beautiful woman isn’t exactly the worst offer I’ve ever had."
"You dirty bastard," Jerry said.
"But, seriously. I think we can really make a serious study of our topics and maybe do lots of conferences about the fallibility of personal testimony. It would be a kick ass study. We could examine the claims of the folks who really believe in the different topics, then explain what’s really going on, whether it’s a case of suggestion, or mass hysteria, or tricks of light, or all of the above. We could bring it back to the research conference next year! We could at least liven up next year's meeting. I think people would love it!"
Jerry was glad David was enthusiastic about the topic. He wanted to nail the white-haired bastard from his own session. "I’m game," he said.
"I have to admit that I’m intrigued by the number of people who believe they’ve experienced abduction," Josh said. "I’ll play if you guys do. I don’t have a lot planned for this summer."
"What about me?" Crystal said. "What do I get?"
"Seriously?" Jerry said. He could hardly believe that his boss was willing to go along with such a crazy idea, although it did have potential as a great presentation at next year’s conference.
"Sure," she said. "I wanna play."
"We’re in Savannah," Josh said. "What about ghosts?"
4
Operations Research
Josh placed himself in a dark corner of the airport seating area. He didn't want the others to know what he was up to, just in case they weren't actually serious about this new project idea. He got enough ribbing from them, so he didn't want to take the risk of being the butt of another joke.
He pushed his earplugs into place and twisted his body around to make double sure that his back was to a wall. When he was certain that no one was within range to see what he was up to, he opened the lid to his laptop. He'd seen the video a few times before, but for some reason, he wanted to watch it again and again.
He enlarged the video to fill his screen. There were a few seconds of fuzzy jerking motions before an image started to emerge. It was hazy at first, but gradually, the camera light adjusted, so a pastoral image took form, showing several brown cattle of all sizes. They were dozing in a pasture, all huddled in a small group. There was no sound to accompany the video. The silence made the scene seem eerie.
Suddenly, there was a brief, bright flash of light to make the screen go white. When the cows came back into view, it appeared that a few of the animals had attempted to bolt, but they stopped, abruptly. They were encircled in light, and they appeared to be frozen into place, except for their eyes. Their faces were all locked into twisted grimaces, but their eyes were darting wildly. They had the look of terror.
After a moment, there was one small movement that came from the center of the group. It was a small calf, and it stumbled around a bit, appearing to struggle for its balance. In the next moment, it appeared that the calf was jumping, but the unnatural movement of its legs revealed that the calf was, instead, rising from the ground.
Josh was mesmerized as he watched the calf rise into the air. Slowly, it lifted as its body twisted wildly, upward it moved toward what now seemed to be the source of the soft light. Josh watched until the calf disappeared into the top of his screen.
He closed his laptop and slipped it into its case. He knew exactly how and where he would spend his summer.
5
Unexpected Findings
"What's for supper?"
Jerry could smell the familiar aroma of his favorite meal as he came in the front door of his home after the long drive from the airport. The truth was, he knew before he got out of the car what he'd be having for dinner. Any time he was away from his house for more than a day, which wasn't that often, his wife treated him with her special chili with shredded cheese and corn chips—even if it was a warm outside, like today. But he had to act like he was surprised, so she could chastise him for forgetting. Neither of them would dream of disappointing the other when it came to their rituals.
"You silly old fool," she yelled from the kitchen. "Crank up the air, it's chili night!"
This was another part of their homecoming ritual. Jerry had to lower the thermostat until the digital numbers counted down to 67 degrees inside the house, so they could pretend it was wintertime and curl up
together on the sofa to watch a movie. It was the only way to enjoy summertime chili.
"Give us a kiss," he said as he wandered into the kitchen where he knew he'd find her hovering over a stove, stirring a large pot. It never got old, coming home to this woman. From her spiky, dark-rooted hair to her tattooed white ankles, he loved every inch of her.
It had taken him two attempts, but he had found the woman of his dreams nearly ten years earlier, and they'd never grown tired of spending time together. He'd hardly been able to believe his luck the first time she'd agreed to go out with him. He was a poor graduate student at Ohio State when he bumped into Vivian, a part time art history lecturer, in the small upstairs room of the library that was set aside for special collections. Jerry had been fascinated to learn that Vivian's grandfather had worked as an aide to John Kennedy, and the two of them had hit it off immediately. Jerry was going through a messy, painful divorce at the time, but meeting her that evening was the new beginning that he'd so desperately needed, and after suffering three horrific years in a dysfunctional, twisted union filled with drugs and bouts of rage, the chance encounter in the library had saved his sanity.
"How was your trip?" she asked, while twisting her right cheek toward him to receive his kiss. "Anything interesting happen?"
"Don't ask," he mumbled. He'd been dwelling on the bizarre conference incident all day, but he still wasn't comfortable enough to open up about it. The more he'd thought about the weird incident at the conference, the more the whole thing bothered him. Not only did the vision of the strange little creature leave a vivid image in his mind, but the wound in his leg seemed to be growing redder and more painful. He wasn't sure how to process everything yet, so he wanted to give it more time before he confided in Vivian. He pulled a clean spoon from a drawer and scooped a sample bite of chili from the bubbling pot. Although he'd expected a swift swat on the arm and some push back for his behavior, he realized that Vivian seemed preoccupied by her own thoughts. She wasn't behaving normally. He pulled a chair from the small kitchenette and settled into a seat. "I'd rather hear about your day," he said.
Vivian tapped the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot and stared intently downward. "I think you'll need to sit down," she said. "I've got something to tell you."
"I'm already sitting," Jerry said. A sick feeling was starting to swill in his gut. It wasn't like her to be so distant. "What is it?"
"Please don't be too upset, honey," she said as she turned to finally face him. "I know you'll be disappointed, but Luke won't be joining us tonight."
"That's it?" he said. He loved his son and all, but he didn't mind him going out with friends. He wasn't naive enough to expect him to stay his best pal forever. He was a teen now.
"That's not quite all." Vivian walked over to join him at the table and slid into a chair next to him. "It's Karen. She's decided she wants to spend some time with him." Her voice was thick with sarcasm.
The words had a noxious effect. After years of merciful silence, his irrational, self-destructive and quite insane ex-wife had decided to enter the scene to try her hand at motherhood, once again. It was the last thing he needed to hear. "Oh my god," he said, burying his head in his hands.
"Listen," Vivian said as she smacked the back of his hand. "She's crazy, I know, but things are a little bit different, now. He's not five years old. At least Luke is old enough to look out for himself if she goes on a drug binge or forgets that he's in the house."
"Don't remind me," Jerry said. "He rubbed between his eyes to relieve the tension he suddenly felt.
"And I'm sorry I didn't stop him from going," Vivian said. "You were already in flight and she just showed up at the door. Poor Luke didn't know how to act, but he did seem like he was happy to go with her. I didn't have any right to stop her, you know."
"I know," Jerry said. He felt for his wife, who didn't deserve to have to deal with his ex, although she had been forced to deal with her several times. "And you're right, the boy is old enough, now, that I don't have to be terrified that she'll leave him at the grocery store or something worse. Thank god I got him that phone. Now he can call me if she goes off."
"That's right. He's old enough to look out for himself and call us if he needs us. But there's something else."
"What?" Jerry said. He braced himself for a horrific twist. He'd known Karen for a long time and he knew that nothing was out of the question when it came to his ex. "What else?"
"Well, she's apparently managed to marry someone, and the poor soul she married seems to be loaded. She came in here with an armload of gifts and she said she's living on a farm with horses. That's why he was so willing to go with her. Maybe he'll have a good time."
Jerry let out a deep, involuntary sigh. He thought he was having a weird day already, but now things had taken another unwelcome twist. "What did I do to deserve this?" he said.
"Come on, now," Vivian said, as she pushed away from the table. "I'm not going to let this ruin our night. Go get cleaned up for dinner and I'll find us a movie. Let's make the most of this night."
She'd always had a way of cheering him up, and tonight was no different. When he thought about it, he was relieved that things were much different now that Luke was older. Years ago, when he'd had to let Karen go off with Luke, there were so many possibilities that terrified him and kept him awake all night. She really was a walking disaster, and she had done some pretty stupid and mindless things to put their son in real danger. But it was different now. He had to believe that. And perhaps Luke deserved to get to know his mother now, even though he might not like what he finds. He'd had this discussion with Vivian a few times, and they'd both known that this moment was coming. Luke would get curious, or Karen would get a hair up her ass, and the two of them would be spending time together at some point again, Jerry knew. The time had simply come, and it was, as Vivian had reminded him, probably better for Luke to get to know his mother than to feel abandoned and unloved for the rest of his life. Jerry decided to pull himself together and make the most of this night with his sweet wife. "Did you get dessert?" he asked as he stood to face her.
"I got you a cream horn from the bakery," she said.
"God, I love you." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the butt before heading for the bedroom in the back of the house. "Give me ten minutes to clean up and we'll eat," he yelled over his shoulder as he hobbled down the hallway.
And just like that, he realized he was hobbling. He'd have to take a look at the wound in his leg, which was now making the entire bottom half of his leg throb. He limped his way to the bed and pulled his shoes off before lifting the leg of his jeans to reveal the ugly red lump with two puncture wounds in the middle. The area felt warm to the touch, and streaks of pain radiated away from the area. Jerry knew that was not a good sign. What the hell is going on? he thought to himself. At that moment, a movement beside him startled him and he jerked backward on the bed. He had seen a dark flash that seemed to cross over his feet, running from left to right and ending near the open doorway. But now—there was nothing there. And then, another flash of shadow movement hovered in the doorway for a second before flashing back up the hallway, toward the living room—and toward his wife. What in the holy hell, he thought. I am losing my mind.
Jerry grabbed a shoe and ran up the hallway with it held over his head. He was acting on instinct, not yet realizing how bizarre it might look to Vivian, whom he ran past while holding the shoe in a threatening clutch.
He froze after he past her, and he felt her stare.
"Do we have mice?" he asked.
"I— don't think so." Vivian's face registered somewhere between shock and amusement. "Did you see something?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, I think I did." Jerry knew he was sounding insane, but he couldn't really sort crazy thoughts from rational ones at the moment. He looked around the living room, where he now stood, and searched for any sign of movement. There was nothing.
"I'll call someone in to take a loo
k," Vivian said. "But I really doubt it. Mice don't invade until fall, when the weather turns." She was laughing a little as she spoke. "Now go get yourself ready for dinner. I'm starving."
"Okay," Jerry said, realizing his voice sounded like that of a small child. This was bewilderment, he realized. He had never felt it before, but he was totally bewildered at the events of the past few days, and he had no idea what was happening. Maybe it was his mind, some residue from the hypnotic experience during the conference that was making him hallucinate now.
Josh would know. Josh was a psychologist. He'd call Josh tomorrow and tell him everything, and Josh would have an answer. But for now, he needed to find some pain killers.
6
Data Fabrication
"I have to be honest with you, man, that's just not something I know much about."
Jerry closed his eyes, slumped forward on the couch seat, and let his phone slip down below his ear in frustration. This wasn't the sort of response he'd hoped to get from Josh. He desperately needed to find out what the hell was going on in his life, but Josh apparently wasn't capable of shedding any light on the situation. And so far, Jerry had only told him that he was seeing flashes of shadows; there was no way he was ready to open up about the wound in his leg, which was getting worse by the hour. "Well," Jerry said, "Do you know of an expert on the power of suggestion or something? I mean, it has to be something like that going on."
"Actually, the power of suggestion is a something a little different. Suggestion can be used to modify how you behave or respond, but it isn't something that would make you hallucinate, as far as I know. Hypnotic suggestion, maybe. Can I talk to a guy I know and get back to you?"
"That would be great," Jerry said. At least it was something.
"So, you're going forward with our project? I mean, it sounds like you're onto something. If you figure out what's going on with you, with the visions and all, then you have some good stuff to say when we present our results next year. I'm really getting excited about this idea."
Paranormal Solved Page 3