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Authors: Stephen Prosapio

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BOOK: Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum
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Clad in a gray overcoat out of
Tombstone
,
Bryce strode towards Zach with his arms hanging limp at his sides. His
neo-1980s hairstyle was dyed platinum blond.

Zach had never met him in person and had
assumed that they’d be about the same height. He was wrong. When Bryce
unexpectedly embraced him in a hug, Zach’s face met the chest of his counterpart’s
trademark black and pink striped shirt. His stature had been camouflaged by the
height of the other Demon Hunters; Bryce stood at least six-feet, four-inches
tall.

“Zachman, we really appreciate you inviting
us along on this investigation,” Bryce said. Considering his tone, not to
mention the fact that he had
not
invited them, Zach found the comment
subtly patronizing.

Bryce paused to face the XPI team as a
whole, and then pumped a fist in the air with every syllable. “And we shall not
let you down!”

In unison, the Demon Hunters pounded their
fists together and barked like a pack of wild dogs, as a sign of their
agreement and support. Zach had witnessed their signature cheer on every
episode of their show.

Not one
Xavier Paranormal Investigators
team member had uttered a word since the appearance of the motley band of rival
ghost hunters. Sara however, was grinning as though envisioning an Emmy award
on her mantelpiece.

Zach knew he should speak but couldn’t find
the words.

“To the rest of you in
XPI
, I say
this,” Bryce droned on, fist still prepared to pump, “please consider us your
new friends and your new teammates. We-are-in-this-to-ge-ther!”

Again the Demon Hunters performed their bark
and signature fist clunking. Zach was growing tired of the rah-rah; it was time
to get down to business.

“Thank you, Bryce,” he said, and then turned
to the camera. “As you know, Rosewood is
considered
the most haunted
place in Chicago. That makes it a prime target for anything from good-natured
tricks and pranks, to hoaxes and all out sabotage. If people get wind that our
teams are investigating Rosewood, they may look to make a name for themselves.
They’ll deceive us and then after the show airs, go public with the hoax.” Zach
took a few steps around the group’s outer circle. It provided a dramatic pause.
“Therefore, we need to be on the lookout for any evidence of both natural
explanations and fraud. The state may be hoping we’ll debunk the haunting, but
with over one hundred years of reputation, I find it hard to believe we’re not
going to find ample evidence of paranormal activity at Rosewood.”

The Demon Hunters looked to Bryce as if
anticipating a signal to cheer, but he subtly shook them off. Shell-shocked
glares from the
XPI
team let Zach know that they were inspecting his
every move for either evidence of leadership or betrayal. Sara and her
cameraman circled around both groups alternating between shots of Zach’s speech
and the reaction to it.

“We’re meeting the Rosewood custodian at the
site tomorrow at 9 A.M. We’ve got forty-eight hours to collect as much data as
humanly possible. That means, before we go in there, we need to know as much as
we can about the history of Rosewood.” Zach pointed. “Wendy, please be prepared
to brief both groups at the gates of Rosewood tomorrow morning at 8 A.M.”

She nodded.

“We need
extensive
historical
research done.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Patrizia?” Zach turned to the
Demon
Hunters

DemonHistorian
.

In normal terms, Patrizia was a
demonologist. On their show, she wasn’t involved much with the on-site
investigations. Zach thought to call her ‘hot’ would not only be an
understatement, but based on her scowl and icy stare, it might be the last
thing uttered by whoever said it. She had long, jet-black hair and was darkly
complexioned. Her attire of black leather pants, a black spandex top that
exposed her taut midriff and white leather jacket appeared ready for an action
film.

“Would you please assist Wendy and focus
your research on the modern-day occurrences—especially that incident where the
GrocersMart
surveillance cameras captured video of store windows breaking from the inside?
Get to the bottom of that,” Zach said. His inflection inadvertently made it
sound more like a question than a command.

There was an edge to Patrizia, not her
expression so much as her velvet brown eyes which seemed to lose their softness
as he stared into them. They flashed indecision but for a second, and then as
though forcing any uncertainty beneath the surface, she squinted. “Right.”

Zach barely suppressed a shudder. He’d been
wrong. She wasn’t just hot, she was absolutely gorgeous.

She turned her gaze to Bryce, and Zach
looked the other way.

“Tech guys –Angel, Pierre and Matthew, get
together and do a tech inventory. We’re going to need a lot of equipment and
there’s no electricity at Rosewood. In addition to plenty of battery packs, we
need to get a generator,” Zach turned to the camera, “because spirits can sap
the power out of batteries.”

Angel held out his hand to Pierre, their
TechniHunter
.
Pierre was the only
Demon Hunter
with facial hair – an inverted,
triangle soul patch on his chin.

“Geeks of the world unite,” Angel said.

“A pleasure, mate. I look forward to workin
wit’cha.”

Zach joined most of his team in a double
take. The thick Australian accent shocked him.
Demon Hunters
had edited
the show so that Pierre spent plenty of time on camera but had never uttered a
word on the air.

Determined to wrap up the introductory
meeting before any foul wind steered them into even more uncomfortable waters,
Zach spoke. “Sara, Bryce and I are meeting for lunch and will be planning more
of the specifics. We’ll let you know more tonight or tomorrow. Any questions?”

Matthew spoke without raising his hand.
“Since we’ve got two technical guys with a lot of experience, could I help out
in the actual investigations?”

“We’ve got more investigators than tech
guys, Matthew,” Zach said more sternly than he’d intended. “As I’ve told you
before, next season we’ll get you more investigation time. This certainly isn’t
the case for it.”

A dejected look on his face, Matthew nodded.
Zach didn’t even need to glance at Sara to know she’d probably gotten a close
up of that disappointed expression.

“Anything else?” Zach asked.

The moment Zach saw Sashza, the transvestite
Demon Hunters medium, raise her hand, he regretted ever having asked the
question.

“Zachary,” she called out in her falsetto
voice, “before we go our separate ways this afternoon, might we perhaps unite
in a circle so that I may bless our undertakings?”

Zach tried to make his face stone-like to
avoid showing any emotion on camera, but mentally castigated himself for not
suggesting that
he
lead them in prayer. Now, he could not say no without
offending her and the Demon Hunters. By his study of their show, Zach gathered
that Sashza’s “religious beliefs,” were an eclectic combination of Buddhism,
Native American Paganism and Schizophrenia.

“I guess that would be okay.” He made a
mental note to lead them in the Lord’s Prayer prior to tomorrow’s
investigation.

“All right everyone,” Sashza broadcast
loudly. “Please join hands with each other and let’s all form a united circle.
She extended her left hand toward Rico, the
Demon Hunters
Jersey-accented
Lead InvestiHunter.

Sashza grasped Ray’s hand in her only
slightly smaller palm. The glare Ray gave Zach ensured he’d not be stepping
into the boxing ring with his best friend again any time soon. Zach suspected
Ray’s punches to his headgear might not be love taps next time. The rest of
XPI
complied with Sashza’s request even without their traditional grumbling. Once
hands had been joined, Sashza asked for a moment of silence for all spirits—
living, departed and lingering. Zach sighed as his thoughts turned to his
recently passed mother. A memory flashed through his mind; one of the few
remaining he held of her smiling, really smiling.

When it came, Sashza’s alto screech startled
everyone. “Gods of the heavens and gods of the stars join us here. From the gods
of the earth to the gods in the sea, from the gods in the air to the gods of—”

Sashza gasped. She looked skyward but her
eyes were white. “The gods of fire!” She leaned slowly backwards and then
lurched forward. Her movement was so violent that it broke Ray’s handhold.
Sashza fell to the ground face first, her arms not extending to break her fall.
Her chest and shoulders hit the earth squarely. Her muscular body thudded on
the ground.

One look at Bryce’s reaction convinced Zach
this was not scripted drama. His new co-host had broken the circle and was
rushing to her. It took both Bryce and Ray to flip Sashza over. Someone put a
balled-up jacket under her head.

“Sashza?” Bryce lightly slapped her face and
caressed her forehead.

From up close, Zach noticed for the first
time how much makeup she wore to cover what was not feminine skin. Her eyes
rolled around behind closed lids which fluttered a moment before reopening.

“Sashza, what did you see?” Bryce asked.

Her mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t
speak.

“Can someone get some water?” Zach called
out.

Sara and her cameraman swirled about them
filming like war reporters on a battlefield.

Sashza bolted upright. “Someone is going to
burn for their sins!”

“Shhhhhh. It’s okay,” Bryce said. “It’s only
a vision.”

“No. No, it’s not,” she said to him. “I
cannot be a part of this. Someone’s lies are putting us all in danger.”

 

Zachary’s Past—Age Three

 

Beth Kalusky was halfway through a videotape
of Friday’s “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” when keys rattled outside the
door of their modest duplex. Gary entered. He turned and made a point of
locking the deadbolt before looking in her direction. Beth was not about to let
him off the hook easily.

She glared at him as he stood frozen just
inside the doorway. “You reek of alcohol and cheap perfume!”

Gary sighed and shook his head. “I
absolutely do not.”

“Crawling in at nearly three in the morning
when you’ve got a wife and a baby is not acceptable behavior.” Beth pointed to
the clock.

Gary gritted his teeth and stared at the
ceiling the way he did when he was bottling his rage. She wished once, just
once, he’d let it out and show her that he cared. Show her the man he was
before she’d given birth to his—

“It was my brother’s fucking wedding, he
said. “You left early.” Harsh as they were, the words came out monotone—no
feeling in them. No passion.

This isn’t the same man I married.

“Brother’s wedding or not, you’re drunk and
irresponsible. How dare you drive like that? How dare you disrespect me and
your family that way!”

“My family? My family?”

There was a flicker of anger–quickly
suppressed, but where was the passion? She knew with the turn of a screw, she
could open him up. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said. “I know—sorry darling, you
never promised me a rose garden...”

“Goddamn it, Beth, enough with the
melodrama. I was with my family tonight. My entire family. You’re the one who
ran out of there as soon as the clock struck ten.”

“Your son had to get home, Gary. Believe it
or not, three-year olds need sleep.”

“He was fine sleeping on the coats and
blankets my sister laid out. You’re the one who bailed on family tonight.”


We
are your family, Gary.” Her voice rose and she took a step toward him. “Zachary
and I are your family!”

Before he could respond, if he’d intended on
responding at all, the room instantly turned ice cold. The vague scent of pipe
wafted by, and not just any pipe smoke:
Sailor Black
brand. By his facial expression, Gary must have
smelled it too. He exhaled. A stream of his breath looked as thick as smoke.
Even on the crisp, October night, it wasn’t this cold outside.

“What is it?” she asked, staring deeply into
Gary’s eyes. She believed in the paranormal; he did not.

“Henry. He’s here?” He uttered the words as
though trying to convince himself that they were true.

Two months prior her eldest brother Henry
had died.

The first chime of the clock struck. Its
harmonious tones were still ringing when Zachary screamed.

They bolted for his bedroom and arrived
before the clock’s third chime. The toddler was standing on his bed. His eyes
were wide and he reached toward the corner of the ceiling. It may have just
been shadows, but the darkness stirred there.

“But,” he said. “Don’t want come.”

BOOK: Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum
5.17Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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