The Forgotten
Page 28
“Don’t worry,” said the government woman. “Will, you take her to the doctor. When you come back, you won’t know anyone’s been here. People are waiting to come in and help. They’ll get him out of here and clean up like it never happened. You stay quiet. Got it?”
Will looked at Maggie. “I can live without all the legal hassles. Can you?”
“Yes. My animals will be locked in a room downstairs. Make sure no one bothers them.”
“Will do.”
“Do you want me to help you dress?” Felicia asked.
Maggie gazed at Will, almost looking pain-free. “He can help me.”
Epilogue
Fall flirted with the late-summer sun as Will and Maggie stood over Michael’s grave. Maggie bent and laid a bunch of yellow daisies before the stone. “I’m so glad you found out the truth,” she murmured.
Will hugged her, careful to avoid the arm in a sling. “He hasn’t been back since,” he said, looking at the old baseball cradled in his hand. “In a strange way, I miss him.”
“Gabe and Kevin sure won’t miss the Cockburns.”
He chuckled. “No, they won’t.” Two weeks after Pete disappeared, leaving his wife and her gun-toting friend to run the cable company with Mickey as the manager, all of the new cable boxes had disappeared. Strange behaviors, like Mickey’s tin foil hat paranoia dissipated quickly, but many of the ghosts remained, though the ones Will knew of were weakening fast. Or, more likely, people’s brains were restoring their wiring. Kevin was a quick healer; he barely saw the ghosts now, but Gabe was still unnerved once or twice a day. It would pass, much to David Masters’s sorrow. The writer was spending most of his time in town visiting haunts, still the kid in the candy store.
“I wonder what happened to Pete.”
“Maggie, he’s gone. That’s all that matters. I don’t want to know what happened to him—I’ve seen too many X-Files reruns.”
She laughed. “You’re right.” Studying the grave, she said, “I’m sorry Michael died so young.”
“Me, too.” He looked at the baseball, his throat tight. “It’s time to say good-bye. He doesn’t need to hang around here anymore now that I know the truth.”
“Bye, Michael,” Maggie said. She stepped back, into the shade of the old live oak.
Will knelt. “Thanks, big brother. Thanks for everything.” He placed the old baseball over the flower cup, like he had so many times before, but those were all fake good-byes. This was the real ball. This was the real thing. Sorrow welled up and hot tears fell silently onto the grave.
I love you, little brother.
The words floated around him, through him. Never even wondering how real they were, he smiled. “I love you, too. Good-bye, Michael.”
See you later, Will.
Will swiped his hand under his eyes then rose and turned to see Maggie smiling as if her heart would break. “I heard him,” she said as he bent to kiss her. “He said ‘See you later,’ and it was his voice. It was his voice.” She looked at him. “I mean, I saw Gabe and Kevin’s ghosts, but this was different. This was real. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes. The Cockburns were residuals.”
“Old cat crap.” She grinned. “But Michael. . .”
“The real deal,” Will said, taking her hand. “The real deal.”
Author’s Note
It’s true. E.L.F. waves have been used covertly (and overtly) since the mid-twentieth century. With slight variations of degree, these microwaves can cook your dinner, transmit a phone call, subliminally suggest that you refrain from shoplifting, or fry your brain. Hauntings, particularly poltergeist activity, occur at a higher than normal rate near electrical currents.
The Navy recently showed off a microwave gun that cooks the enemy. They have H.A.A.R.P. and other big projects. Mind-altering microwaves have been used in riot control for years. Technology exists that allows a satellite to send suggestions or feelings of unease or illness to a mass of people or zero in on just one. The mention within this book of the Cold War antics between the U.S. and the Soviet Union is based solidly in fact. You can look it up.
Ever read a conspiracy-oriented book about mind control? I found them highly amusing and imaginative until I delved into books geared toward consumer awareness and the nuts and bolts of electromagnetics. For good basic information, I suggest Electromagnetic Fields by B. Blake Levitt. After you have the facts, try one of Jim Keith’s books on conspiracies, and see what you think.
For more reading suggestions, visit my website, www.tamarathorne.com.
Dear Readers,
Ivy-covered halls. Tweedy professors. Homecoming. Football. Quarterbacks. Cheerleaders. Fraternities. Animal House and Skull and Bones. Keggers and cramming. These are the things we associate with college life.
But don’t forget the sororities, especially Gamma Eta Pi, a very special one at expensive, isolated Greenbriar University, just a stone’s throw from Caledonia. Only very special young women are considered for this elite group, and only a few of those are invited into the inner circle, a secret society known as Fata Morgana, where pledge initiations are taken to new highs, problems are solved with magic and murder, and mysteries are waiting to be solved by the right initiates.
Sorority sisters are sisters for life . . . and for death in Fata Morgana. These girls don’t just have school spirit, they have school spirits!
Watch for THE SORORITY trilogy, coming to bookstores everywhere in June, July, and August, 2003. And if you or a loved one is thinking of joining a college sisterhood, you might want to think twice before even attending a rush party at Gamma. They can be murder. Watch for updates and background goodies on THE SORORITY, THE FORGOTTEN, and my other books at www.tamarathorne.com.
As always, thanks for inviting me into your home. If you do again, I promise not to steal any silverware. . . .
Tamara
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Copyright © 2002 Tamara Thorne
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ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-029-6
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First electronic edition: September 2012