by Dale Mayer
“Are you escorting me home?”
“I’d like to confirm if you can see more of the buildings around where everybody is currently working, taking some pictures you might remember later, and then I want you to go home.”
She picked up her camera and clicked away as they approached. It seemed like she didn’t have to work quite so hard this time as the buildings quickly took shape in her viewfinder. Finally she lowered her camera and looked around. She said quietly to Sebastian, “It’s all here. It’s unbelievably amazing.”
“That you can see anything is what’s amazing,” he said in a soft voice. “But remember to act naturally.”
She smiled at Chana as they approached. “Do you need me right now? I was wondering about going home. The heat is hitting me, and the painkillers aren’t taking the edge off.”
Chana was concerned and solicitous. She gave Lacey a quick hug and said, “Go. Go lie down. Get your shower first. Just relax. We’ll be over in a couple hours.”
Chapter 8
With a smile Lacey headed toward the gate. She cast one glance back at the team, catching sight of Sebastian and Hunter, with Jeremiah standing in front of them, their heads together in a deep conversation. Hunter looked up, as if knowing she watched them.
Turning to face forward, she kept walking. She thought the men might come with her, but it now seemed like they wouldn’t, which was probably best so the crew wouldn’t get more suspicious as to what could be going on with her. She felt eerily disconnected from everything around her. At the gate she stopped and turned back to the portion of the dig site where she had been looking at the last time. She could easily see some buildings rising aboveground, other buildings still buried. The roof of this one, the smokestack of that one. Like the ground receded and she could see the buildings in all their glory. Except that most had fallen into disrepair from the damage of the volcano.
But her mind potentially pieced this all together, imagining what she thought should be there. She had no way of knowing and certainly wouldn’t talk to a shrink about it.
She scrubbed her face and turned resolutely toward the apartment.
When she crossed the street, she was careful to look both ways. She made it across, turned once more to look behind her, but found no sign of Sebastian—or Jeremiah or Hunter for that matter. And somehow Hunter appeared to be connected to Sebastian more than the other team members. Just the sight of that conversation between the three men had looked so intense, … and maybe it was her insecurity. but it seemed she’d been the topic of conversation. She walked up to the empty apartment and was delighted to have some time in this space to herself. She took a quick shower, and, when she was dressed, she sat down on the couch. She wasn’t sure if she should make coffee or just sit and relax.
She heard a knock on the door. She got up and answered it, finding Sebastian standing there … alone. He stepped inside and asked, “Anybody else here?”
She shook her head. She glanced at the big book he had under his arm. “What’s that?”
“Something I want to talk to you about.” He motioned toward the kitchen table, set the book down and opened it up to a chapter about one-third of the way in. “There is talk of energy at some ancient ruin sites around the world.”
“Energy?” she asked cautiously. She sat down and studied the old texts and the images. “Are you saying, ghosts?”
“Essentially, yes.”
She stared at him. “I’m not sure I believe in ghosts at the best of times. But in a ruin as ancient as Pompeii?”
“Why not Pompeii?” he asked curiously. “Think of all the souls who died here.”
She winced. “I’ve been trying hard not to think of all the people who died in the volcanic eruption. They’ve been gone thousands of years. Why would their souls still be hanging around?”
“A couple theories involve the dead being disturbed with all the various excavations.”
She settled back and studied his face. He looked so calm and sensible and normal. And then he had brought up the energy, the ghosts. “Do you believe this stuff?”
His lips quirked. “I gather you don’t.”
She shrugged. “I believe what I can see, feel, taste and touch.”
“Maybe you have no experience with them, but how do you explain what you saw and did today?”
She turned her gaze to his book. “I’ve been struggling hard to not think about that either.”
He chuckled, brought out the sketchbook, which he had also brought with him. He quickly flipped to the last pages and showed them to her. “How’s that working out for you?”
She leaned forward and studied the diagrams. “They’re quite good,” she admitted. “But I’m not sure I’ve ever done anything like this before.” She glanced at him suspiciously. “Are you sure I did them?”
He brought out his cell phone, clicked on something and held up a video. Sure enough, it captured her doing the sketch she now stared at. The world around that area held nothing in her drawings supposedly, but she could see something which she had rendered on paper.
“Wow,” she whispered. “You know this is all incredibly far-fetched.”
“Sure it is,” he said. “So either you tapped into an architectural side of your mentality and your creative imagination, or you were tapping into something already here.”
“Yes, but ghosts don’t draw architectural diagrams,” she scoffed. “They rattle chains and moan down hallways.”
At that, he laughed out loud. “Haunting ghosts certainly can. But there are supposedly other kinds as well.”
In spite of herself she was interested. She leaned forward. “So are those the ones who want to be here to protect their loved ones? In this case, we’ve got generations upon generations. They won’t know who belongs to their bloodline anymore.”
“And lots of times people, especially those who die sudden deaths, end up with their souls caught in a specific place,” he said. “Sometimes spirits are so tied to events or things that they can’t let go.”
“Even though they can’t take it with them?”
“Greed knows no boundaries.”
His tone was too serious to think he was joking.
“That includes the divide between life and death.”
She flipped through the chapters of his book, reading sections about why ghosts were surmised to be in existence. Everything was as he had said. “None of this explains what I’m seeing,” she said softly.
“I know,” he said. “But the fact is, you are seeing something. At least I trust you are.”
She stared up at him, her eyes huge. “And the other option is, you don’t believe me and, therefore, think I’m making this all up.”
“What do you think?”
She sagged back and sipped the glass of water she had gotten. “I don’t know how I could possibly have made it up. I’ve never seen visions like this before.”
He pounced. “Visions?”
“I don’t know what else to call it,” she said. “But it’s like these images just appeared. And although real looking, they kind of glowed.”
“But you said they appeared only after you saw them through the camera.”
“If I were you, I’d probably send me back home, me and my weird drawings,” she said bitterly. “Ever since I’ve come over here, my life has been odd. I was ecstatic to be here. Even today, when I was taking the photographs, I was so in tune with everything around me, so in awe. And it seemed like, the more pictures I took, the deeper and deeper I went. Down the rabbit hole apparently.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s bad though,” he said quietly. “I personally am fascinated by this. A couple of specialists are in town, and I wonder if you would mind if I took these sketches to them, see if they have any idea how to verify what might be versus what was.”
She waved at the diagrams. “Go for it. At the moment I can still see everything, so I’m not sure how or why I would want to keep the sketches.” But, as he grabbed them, she
said, “Except maybe digitally.” She frowned, grabbed her camera, stood and took photos of her drawings. “So I have something for myself.”
“I understand,” he said. “I’ll stop tonight and talk to one. I also would like to take you back to the doctor.”
She glanced up at him, surprised. “Do you think I hit my head harder than I thought?” She reached up to her temple.
He waved at the diagrams “Did you ever think you might have done something to your brain?” He waved at the diagrams.
She laughed a little wildly, a little out of control, as she stared at the diagrams. “So, … what? I take a fall, crack my head and all of a sudden start drawing pictures?”
He reached over and laced his fingers with hers.
When he did, she realized she’d been clenching them so tightly together that she had left crescent-moon-shaped indentations on her palms.
Then, still holding her hands, he nudged her chin up. “It’s possible. Just because it’s never happened to you before doesn’t mean it couldn’t have this time.”
She didn’t want to look him in the eye. At the same time, she couldn’t take her eyes away from their hands clasped together. A glow seemed to surround them. “Do you see that?” she asked in a daze.
“See what?”
She snapped her lips shut and refused to say anything else. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was completely off her rocker.
“See what?” he asked in a more determined voice. He gave her hands a shake.
She watched as the white luminance rippled outward and dispersed into the air. She groaned. “Just another sign I’m going crazy,” she muttered. “But, around our hands, there’s a glow. Like a white light.”
“Oh, that,” he said calmly. “Yes, I can see that.”
She froze and stared up at him. “What?”
He raised one eyebrow. “Sure, I see auras. So?”
She slowly sagged in place. “As in real auras?”
At that, he burst out laughing. “Real auras versus fake auras?” He motioned at the diagrams. “Real cities versus fake cities?”
“You know what I mean,” she snapped.
“Yes, I do. And the answer is, yes, I can see auras. I’ve always been able to see auras. I didn’t know what they were when I was a kid. I thought everybody could see the glowing lights around people. Apparently not.”
She stared at him in bemusement.
He just smiled, gave her fingers a squeeze and gently dropped her hands. “We’re meeting the others for an early dinner. Are you ready?”
She nodded and stood. “Aren’t they coming to the apartment?”
He shook his head. “We’re supposed to meet them at the restaurant.”
“What excuse will you give for us arriving together?”
“I don’t have to give any excuse,” he said in surprise. “Why would I?”
She didn’t know what to say. It sounded more ridiculous the more she thought about it. She shrugged and stood. “I don’t know. Apparently I have a concussion,” she announced. “And I can’t trust anything I say … or do.”
“That’s what I was trying to look at, but you wouldn’t let me see.” He rose and gently checked her head under the light. “It’s hardly noticeable.”
“Can you see that in my aura?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “And it did look to be slightly off before but not too bad.” He smiled. “And before you ask, no I can’t see anything off in your aura that would explain what you’re seeing and drawing.”
“Good. If you do, please let me know.” She collected her purse and the new keys to the apartment that Chana had given her. “Shall we?”
He nodded. They let themselves out of the apartment and headed to the restaurant.
As they walked down the street, Lacey wasn’t surprised when Sebastian continued to question her.
“So auras are less of a surprise than drawings of ancient ruins?”
“The drawings are a surprise,” she said. “I can see what’s there. So it seems completely normal to put that on paper. What’s not normal is that you can’t see the buildings too.”
“That’s exactly how I feel about auras. I can see them, and no one else can. So it’s hard to know if people believe me or not.”
“Do you think that’s what this is?” she asked, wondering. She stared down at their hands. “And why is it I can see it right now?”
“I hate to say the blow on the head started this,” he said humorously, “and I don’t know if that has any connection to what’s been going on today at all, but it is the one anomaly over the last few days.”
“You don’t know that,” she said. “Because you don’t know what my days were like before that. You don’t know anything about me.”
“Only what’s in your file,” he agreed.
“File?” Her voice rose higher. “What’s in that file?”
He stared at her steadily. “Do you really think I’d let anybody come onto a site such as this who I don’t have some background information on?”
Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry. Apparently it’s my day to be completely out of touch with reality.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Your photographs and drawings are one issue. Are you having any other trouble with your eyesight? Do you have a headache? Have you had any kind of pain in the back of your neck? Are your glands swollen?” His hands reached up to check under her chin and her throat.
“No, no,” she said, twisting away and taking several steps back. “I told you that I’m fine.”
“Okay, but it’s what you haven’t told me that’s now a problem,” he said. Without asking, he crouched to look at the scrapes she had sustained earlier on her calf. He stopped and stared. “You know that’s not normal.”
“Now what?” she asked in exasperation, bending to see. “Oh, that’s looking much better.”
“Nobody heals that fast.”
“Of course we do,” she scoffed. “This is not abnormal. Now my sketches are abnormal.”
He grinned, looped her arm though his and steered her down the street.
“Where are we going?”
“Ancient Stone Restaurant,” he said. “It’s just around the corner.”
At the restaurant he led her upstairs, down the hallway and out to a rooftop deck. There the rest of the team was gathered at one end of the deck across several tables. As they joined them, everyone shouted out their welcomes.
She slipped into her position beside Chana and smiled at her cousin. “This,” she said, “is spectacular.” She tilted her face to the evening light above them. “It must be truly glorious when the stars are out or when the sun sets,” she murmured.
“It is.” Chana gave her a hug. “How are you feeling?”
Feeling like it was easier to be a little honest and only use a little white lie, Lacey said, “Much better, thanks. A little lie-down helped a lot.”
“You did have a pretty rough accident your second night here, still worked the next day and worked hard all day today too.” Chana’s tone held worry. “You don’t have to push yourself here. You know that, right?”
Lacey squeezed Chana’s hand. “You know I don’t want to get sent home.”
Chana shook her head. “Honestly, you’re better than the last photographer we had anyway. We’re all fighting to keep you here right now.”
Mark piped up. “Absolutely. So far you’ve done a terrific job.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks so much. It’s always nice to be appreciated.”
After that, the conversation turned to dinner and the history of the restaurant. Content to sit back and listen, Lacey studied the surroundings, amazed at the architecture and the openness of the whole region. It was spectacularly beautiful. Her gaze swept the other diners on the restaurant’s rooftop.
The dress code was everything from jeans to dresses. It was lovely to see one table filled with couples in evening clothes. L
acey instantly felt underdressed and dirty. She’d had a shower but didn’t feel quite as refreshed and as classy looking as she would have liked. As she studied the diners, one of the men turned toward her. She’d been caught staring and quickly shifted her gaze to another part of the rooftop. In the back somebody sat alone. He had a tall glass of something dark in his hand. He sipped it gently as he studied everybody around them. Somewhat like she was doing.
“Lacey?”
She shook her head, pulling herself back to her table and smiled at Sebastian. “Sorry. A little lost in thought.”
His gaze was direct, and yet, considering, as if analyzing her response.
She gave him a brighter smile and said, “Honestly, I’m fine.”
He nodded. “We’ve decided to order multiple plates. Everyone can share, if that’s all right with you.”
“Sounds like fun,” she said, glancing around at the others. “Providing you guys leave me something to eat,” she said with a chuckle.
Mark patted his stomach. “I don’t know about that. I’m quite hungry today.”
The others all chimed in to agree.
But Chana said, “Honestly, I’m not. The heat’s hitting me this time around.”
“But you didn’t eat much of your dinner last night either,” Lacey protested.
“No, but I ate several sandwiches at lunch,” Chana said. “Don’t you worry about me.”
They’d been friends and family for so long it was hard not to. From where Lacey sat, she couldn’t hear all the conversations the crew had. She was missing out on a lot. And that kept her gaze wandering to the table with the well-dressed people and on to the single man sitting in the corner.
When she shifted her gaze yet again, she noticed Sebastian had moved and now sat directly in front of her. She frowned at him, and he frowned back. She sighed. “Now what?” she muttered.
“I’m trying to figure out what you’re doing.”
Her gaze widened. “I didn’t think I was doing anything. I’m just studying everybody else up here, wondering about a restaurant with such a beautiful open rooftop deck, a space like this.”