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Paul wasn’t certain how to respond, and
turned to humor to lighten the mood. “Dude, you were eating
left-over burritos. That’s, like, begging for evil.”

Stephen chuckled, but it was clearly for
Paul’s benefit. “I wrote it off as a side effect of too much weed,
and maybe bad Mexican food. Then, a few weeks later I found out
something about that cabin that made me lose my shit. Turns out,
the guy that owned the cabin had a little brother who died there
from carbon monoxide poisoning. His dad wanted to sell the place,
but his mother refused to let him. She said that her son was still
there in spirit, and that she sometimes heard him playing with his
toys on the kitchen floor at night.” Stephen shivered abruptly.
“Gives me the willies thinking about it.”

“That’s all sort of creepy,” said Paul.

“What about you?” asked Stephen. “Do you
believe in it, or do you think it’s all bullshit?”

Paul thumbed his beard just under his lip as
he debated how to handle the discussion. “I’d love to believe it,
but I’m more of the hardcore skeptic type. I’m not religious or
anything either. I’m not trying to discount what you saw or
anything, but I have a tough time believing in that sort of
thing.”

“I get it,” said Stephen as he climbed back
out of the storage unit. “My wife’s the same way, and it works out
for us. Helps keep things in perspective. Can I ask you a question,
though?”

“Sure, go for it.”

“What do you think about what Alma saw?”

“I don’t know,” said Paul. “Depends on what
it is you heard that she saw.”

“Well, I got all of the police reports,”
said Stephen. “It pays to have a reporter for a wife. They said
that Alma saw a green fog, and men, or some type of creatures,
running through the fog. She said they’d been staying in
Widowsfield when the rest of the town disappeared, but her father
had proof that he’d been staying at a cabin in Forsythe. The police
couldn’t find evidence of anything at either locations, and they
held her father for as long as they could, but couldn’t come up
with a case to pin on him for the disappearance of Alma’s
brother.”

“You know just about as much as I do,” said
Paul. He didn’t think it would be appropriate for him to elaborate
on any of the other details Alma had shared with him. “Alma doesn’t
like to talk about it much.”

“So what do you think happened? Not with
Alma’s brother, but with the town in general. Why did everyone
just, poof, disappear?”

Paul shrugged. “Who knows? I’ve heard it was
government controlled, and that there was a massive drug cartel
operating out of the town. Everyone got taken away and put into
witness protection.”

Stephen guffawed as if the theory was
ludicrous. “Yeah, sure, an entire town gets taken away by the
government? That’s crazy.”

“Maybe, but it’s the least crazy of all the
theories I’ve heard,” said Paul. “It’s easier for me to believe
that than some of the other stuff people have said. Why? What do
you think happened?”

“That, my friend, is what I’m hoping to find
out. I’m not leaving anything off the table. There was some weird
shit going on in Widowsfield before everyone disappeared.”

“Like what?”

“Well, there’s the whole drug cartel thing
that you were talking about. There was a meth ring that used
Widowsfield as a staging area, but then the government banned the
sale of amphetamine except in small doses. That meant the drug
dealers had to figure out a new way to make the meth in massive
quantity. There’s a theory that one of the concoctions they mixed
up caused a fire, and a toxic cloud was released in the town that
caused everyone to go nuts.”

“Huh, never heard that one before.”

“It’s a lot more plausible than it sounds at
first. The race to create new, stronger drugs has led to a lot of
insane side effects. People aren’t content just smoking a little
weed these days. They’re fucking around with some seriously messed
up chemicals, and the theory is that the dealers in Widowsfield
were trying to mix together meth and ecstasy, but ended up causing
an explosion that sent a noxious gas through the town. And then
there’s the military experiment theory.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s a base just outside of Widowsfield
that’s owned by a company called Cada E.I.B.”

“What is it?” asked Paul, unsure he heard
the name correctly.

“Cada E.I.B. No one knows much about them,
but they seem to be pretending to be a European Investment Bank. Or
at least they were. Right after the event in Widowsfield, the
entire facility shut down. No explanation, they just closed up shop
and got the hell out of the area. Turns out, this same company was
involved in brokering weapons deals between countries. They were
setting up deals between the United States and places like
Scotland, Greece, Romania, and all sorts of other places. It’s
shady stuff. The theory is that they were testing out some
biochemical weapon and accidentally released it.”

Paul glanced at the abundance of equipment
in the storage unit. “That sounds interesting and all, but I
thought you were in this for the paranormal side of it.”

“I am, but I also want to make sure to
explore all options. I want to treat our viewers like they’re
smart. If we can find real evidence of paranormal activity, then
that’s awesome, but I’m also going to look for real world
explanations for stuff too. I want the show to be smarter than the
rest of them out there.”

“So, this show is on the internet, right?”
asked Paul. The amount of equipment in the storage locker seemed
excessive for a small internet venture.

Stephen looked coy, like a boy whose
mischief had been uncovered. “Well, you want to know the truth?
You’ve got to keep it on the down low, because no one’s supposed to
know.”

“Okay, sure.” Paul was an intensely private
person, and thought it odd that Stephen was willing to trust him
with any secret, let alone an important one. Stephen spoke as if
Paul had been his friend for years.

“We got optioned.” He beamed with pride and
excitement.

“What’s that mean?”

“Rachel and I were approached by a cable
channel. I can’t tell you which one – they were real strict about
that. They paid us to have first rights on any show we put
together. That’s why I got all this stuff.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. Congratulations,” said
Paul.

“It’s been a bit overwhelming, but we’re
trying to make sure we do everything we can to make this pilot
professional.”

“And it’s just the two of you?” asked Paul.
“I would think you’d have a whole crew going along. You know, for
lighting and sound and cameras. You’re just going to try and do
this by yourselves?”

“No,” said Stephen and he pat Paul’s
shoulder. “I’ve got you along for the ride.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” said Paul. “You’re
trying to bribe me with beer and barbeque. You’re a tricky
one.”

Stephen laughed as he closed the accordion,
aluminum door of the storage room. “Honestly though, it’s not as
hard as you might think. These days, with reality shows and
everything, viewers have a really low expectation of quality. A lot
of the shows on the air don’t bother hiring even half the staff
that they used to. I’ve been in the news business for a while, and
even the quality of our remote reports is better than most
primetime shows. We actually take the time to set up lights and use
proper mics. Most of the reality shows out there are a clusterfuck
of amateur mistakes.”

“I hate reality shows,” said Paul.

“You’re in good company,” said Stephen.
“They’re the bane of the industry at the moment. A hell of a lot of
good people have lost jobs because the American public doesn’t seem
to give a shit about quality anymore.” He scratched at his temple
and shrugged. “I say that, but I’m just about to go out and try to
film a show without a crew. I’m not usually that big of a
hypocrite, I swear.”

“And you’re planning on shoving all that
stuff into a single car?” Paul pointed at the storage locker as
Stephen was locking it.

“I was going to rent a van. Speaking of
which, I should probably call up the rental place.”

“I’ve got a buddy with a van,” said Paul.
“He’s not doing shit these days. I bet he’d be willing to drive us
if you paid him whatever the cost of a rental would be. Then you
could use him as an extra pair of hands for filming your show.”

“You think he’d come along on such short
notice?”

Paul nodded sullenly. “Yeah, he’ll be happy
to get out of town. He caught his old lady cheating on him and
moved out. He was going to get a new place, but then he lost his
job after he blew up at work.” Paul felt like he needed to assure
Stephen that he wasn’t trying to invite a mental case on the trip.
“He’s the most passive guy you’ve ever met, but the dude got pushed
too far. He got sick of getting shit on at work, and combined with
what he was going through at home, he just reached his wit’s end.
Anyhow, I’m sure he’d be happy to come along.”

Stephen seemed apprehensive at first, but
then nodded. “Sure, man. If you vouch for the guy, I’d love to have
someone else that could help with the show.”

“I’ll give him a ring.” Paul got his cell
phone out to call Jacker.

CHAPTER TEN

Broken Codes

March 10th, 2012

Alma followed Rachel down the street in the
affluent neighborhood. The sun was already setting and she was
shocked at how long they’d managed to spend shopping. Alma wasn’t
the type of girl that normally spent more time at a store than it
took to run in, get what she needed, and get out. It was something
that Paul always said he loved about her, but Alma would be lying
if she said she hadn’t enjoyed the day’s decadence.

Rachel had taken her to various shops in the
city that Alma had never heard of before, and they had lunch at an
outdoor café that overlooked the shopping district. During their
trip, three different people had approached Rachel, recognizing her
from television, and told her that they loved her work. One even
asked for an autograph, and Rachel complied although she looked
embarrassed while doing it.

“Did you have a good time?” Rachel was
headed up to the steps to her apartment when she turned and smiled
at Alma.

“Are you kidding?” Alma held up two arms
filled with bags. “This was amazing. I still feel guilty that you
bought all of this for me.”

“Don’t mention it. I was happy to do it. I
felt like a complete bitch after what happened with your dad. I
swear, I never in a million years thought he’d follow us back here
to find you.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” said Alma. “He’s
a nutjob.”

“Still though, buying you a few nice things
is the least I can do to apologize.” She paused at the door with
her keys near the lock. “What do you think Paul’s going to say? Do
you think he’ll like your new look?”

“I don’t know. He’s never seen me looking
like this. Heck, I’ve never seen myself looking like this.”

“Well, you look great, Alma. Absolutely
gorgeous.” Rachel saw the bashful way Alma turned her head,
unwilling to accept the compliment. “I’m serious. You’re a gorgeous
girl, and Paul will be lucky if you decide to take him back.”

Alma and Rachel had spent a good part of the
day chatting about Paul, and Alma’s history with him. Alma revealed
a lot of things that she’d never told anyone, and she attributed
her admissions to the fact that Rachel was a good listener. She was
always quick with an opinion, but seemed genuinely interested to
hear what was going on in Alma’s life. Rachel was a talented
interviewer, and Alma enjoyed talking to her.

“Thanks, but I haven’t made up my mind about
Paul yet.”

Rachel coyly smirked. “Yes you have. Don’t
try to lie to me.”

Alma blushed.

“He’s a lucky guy,” said Rachel as she
turned the key and opened the door.

“There they are.” Alma heard Stephen’s voice
from inside. “Do we have any money left?”

“That depends on how much you spent on your
ghost detecting crap,” said Rachel as she went in. “Where’s
Paul?”

“He’s out back with his friend,” said
Stephen. “They’re loading up his friend’s van with the equipment.
He was able to get us someone else to come along for the trip and
help out.”

“Oh,” said Rachel. “That’s helpful.” She set
her bags down in the foyer and turned to present Alma. “So, what do
you think?”

Stephen whistled. “Hot damn, girl! Look at
you.”

Rachel spun her finger to instruct Alma to
model her new look. Alma held her arms out to the side with the
bags still looped around them and turned for Stephen to inspect her
new black dress.

“You look beautiful, Alma. Honestly.”

“Thanks,” said Alma. “But you guys spent too
much on me.”

Stephen waved away her concern. “Think of it
as a down payment on what I owe you for denting your car.”

“Oh my God,” said Rachel. “I totally forgot
about that. We’re paying for that,” she said as if scolding
Stephen.

“I will, I will,” said Stephen in defense.
“Come on in and chill out. I’ve got burgers and brats on the grill,
and Paul warned me that you were a vegetarian, so we got some of
those veggie burgers too. And we picked up some beer that Paul said
was your favorite,” he said and looked at Alma.

“You guys are being too nice to us,” said
Alma. “I feel like you’re buttering us up for something.”

Stephen smiled and laughed, but Alma
detected a slight bit of reservation in his response. “Well, I
still have to get you to sign the wavers and stuff. Once you do
that, I promise I’ll start being mean to you.”

“Okay.” Alma put her bags down beside
Rachel’s. “That sounds more like it. I’m not used to people being
so nice all the time.”