The Maelstrom of the Leaf Academy (Gulf Coast Paranormal Book 11) Page 5

  But to what end? I could not say. How could someone think like a maelstrom?

  I shivered as I reached for the camera cases. What good was all this going to do? I had tons of pictures of this place and a few ghosts. Did we need anything else? Oh well, this was my job. Kind of. Best to put a good face on for the rest of the team. It was all hands on deck. Midas was determined to get the proof he wanted—cold, hard evidence that there were such beings known as the October People hanging out here in the crumbling Leaf Academy. Poor Midas. If he thought he could reason with this thing, he was in for a rude awakening, but I took comfort in the knowledge that I wasn’t here by myself. And these people were the best at what they did. Sierra and her abilities as a sensitive, Cassidy and her drawing, Josh and his…what exactly did Josh bring to the table? I wasn’t sure I liked the guy, most days, but like most jobs, you didn’t always like the people you worked with. Not in the let’s be friends kind of way. Once again, Helen and Bruce were supposed to be with us, but they’d essentially dropped off the map and didn’t really do too many investigations anymore.

  And Pete?

  Well, there was no coming back for Pete. He wasn’t welcome, and I couldn’t say I blamed Midas. My ex had always been a bit of a coward. Midas had already given him multiple chances. I can’t say I would have forgiven Pete after discovering his secret hookups with Midas’ ex Sara. Yeah, Midas was a nice guy. Too nice sometimes.

  For some reason, the memory of Midas’ confession came back to me. It had been years ago, during one of those rare occasions when he actually got drunk. It was in Panama City after our investigation in the Sapphire Caves. That was long before Cassidy joined the crew, back when Midas was still with Sara and I was with Pete. We had been the four amigos, the Delta Force of the paranormal before everything went mainstream.

  Yikes. Just thinking about Pete Broadus made me experience deep regret. So why again was I thinking about him? Get your head in the game, Jocelyn.

  I glanced at our leader. His jaw was clenched, that familiar expression of determination on his face. I wondered if anyone else knew that Midas Demopolis was a tormented soul. Somewhere in that handsome head of his, that nagging question rolled around: What could I have done differently? How could I have let Dominic down? He grieved for his cousin to this day. That was how Midas worked. He always took the blame for everything; he took the blame for every bad situation. And it wasn’t like he was one of those guys who just thought the worst about the world and all the people in it. No. Midas took an optimistic view of every situation. And everyone. He was an old soul. He was the guy that you went to because you knew he would get things done. Or at least comfort you. A prime example was me calling him after bolting out of the Leaf Academy. Yep, I ran out of the building with Sherman in my arms. I ran through the mud and the rain and forgot all about my commitment to the truth. And some of my equipment, which I was later able to retrieve. In the full light of day, of course.

  Yes, I too found comfort in knowing that Midas was just a phone call away, that he would be there when I needed him. I both loved and admired that about him, but I could see where it might not be a good thing for him. It wasn’t healthy for anyone to shoulder everyone’s loads, everyone’s problems.

  I looked at Cassidy as I carried the two cases and followed behind Joshua into the open door of the building. I wondered if she knew that about Midas. Or was she too focused on those big muscular arms? Too wrapped up in those dark, soulful eyes?

  “Watch your step, Jocelyn,” Joshua warned me as I tripped into the school. He reached a hand out to steady me, and I murmured my thanks. I carried the cases to the table that Cassidy and Sierra were setting up. I didn’t think putting our headquarters right here in the foyer was a good idea, but I kept my mouth shut. I suggested that we keep our monitoring station in the van, but I was overruled. I did emphatically warn the group during our meeting: Don’t pick up anything. Don’t touch anything. And if you see a feather—run!

  Joshua had laughed at my warning, but Sierra cut him off with a sharp look. He wasn’t that bright, I decided. He would be the first one the maelstrom went after. Intelligent spirits such as this one enjoyed making believers out of non-believers. Everyone in the paranormal community here on the Gulf Coast had heard about the goings-on at the Leaf Academy, and some had heard about the October People. This was as serious as it got.

  After a few more trips to the van, we had everything unloaded and the front room was full of our equipment. Midas raised his hands slightly as if we were a group of schoolchildren and he a principal. That’s an apt comparison since we’re in an old, deserted school.

  “Well, we’re here. We’ve got three days. Three days to catch all the evidence we possibly can. Three days to find answers for Ms. Shanahan and maybe get to the bottom of these legends.”

  “Why just three days? What’s the hurry?” Sierra asked. I liked her, but we didn’t have very much in common. I wasn’t married with children, and I didn’t dress nearly as sharply as the sassy blonde. Yeah, I felt like a fifth wheel tonight. The odd man out. Funny, I never used to feel that way. I liked being alone, being the free spirit. But suddenly I realized I wanted something more. I blamed it on Sherman. My dog slowed me down enough for me to realize that I needed to love someone. I could keep a living thing alive.

  Not for the first time this evening, I missed Aaron. I was certain that I had almost talked him into coming with me tonight, but he backed off at the last minute with some lame excuse that his brother needed help rebuilding a carburetor. Like I believed that. Aaron was about as handy as Sherman. But I didn’t argue about it and didn’t push him. Aaron’s accident at that amusement park in Gulfport had shaken him to the core. And his grandmother. Not that Aaron was a mama’s boy, or in this case a grandma’s boy, but he listened to his Nina in all things. I wasn’t sure she exactly liked me, but that was okay. It was probably just as well. As a matter of fact, I had been weighing my options. Did I really want to put roots down here in Mobile, Alabama? I wasn’t really sure.

  “Because Adrian Shanahan wants to demo this place. And soon. I guess I could plead for longer if we needed it, but I think that with the level of activity that Jocelyn experienced here, we should have no problem getting some real evidence of these spirits. Anyway, one of the hotspots is going to be in this lower hallway. So if I’m facing the door, it’s the hallway to the right, and down that hallway is the auditorium. The other location that’s on this list is on the second floor—it is the bedroom of Hugh McCandlish, the man who was murdered in the auditorium. I think we covered much of this at our meeting, but I want you to be aware that no place is really off-limits for investigation. It is a lot of ground to cover, but to begin with, let’s focus on the targeted areas. I think tonight after we finish setting everything up, we should pair off and hit these hotspots just to kind of get a feel for the place.”

  “I hope the headmaster’s office is on your list. There were some weird happenings in there the last time,” I said as I raised my hand like a kid at school. I suddenly felt nervous and reached out to fiddle with my dreadlocks when I remembered I no longer had them. Why had I cut my hair off again?

  “Let’s take it slow, guys. I think our normal procedure of working in pairs will keep everyone safe. But this evening, I want us to take turns investigating the same room back to back. So instead of having Cassidy and Sierra upstairs in the bedroom and Jocelyn and Joshua down here in the auditorium, let’s not separate our focus. Let’s investigate one room at a time for now. I want to be close to you guys if anything does happen. I want you to be safe; these spirits can get very interactive, very physical. Don’t forget a guy fell or jumped off the roof. There are also reports that another man threw himself out of a window and a third guy was stabbed on the stage at the auditorium. This is a dangerous place for living people.”

  Everyone agreed and got busy working with the equipment. We placed a thermal camera on the second floor, a laser grid at the end of that hallway and a pr
oximity meter in McCandlish’s room. Next, we put cameras in the auditorium and in the hallway outside it, and then set up the computers for monitoring. When we finished checking connections, Cassidy unfolded a chair and slid it under the table. “I am ready to hit that auditorium. What do you think, Sierra? Are you up to it?”

  I grabbed my camera bag and said, “Can we break some protocol here? How about letting me tag along too? I’ll hang back and take pictures.” It was kind of my way of saying, “I’m not taking no for an answer.” Midas liked that idea, and we gathered up our equipment and headed toward the auditorium. Nobody spoke as we made the long walk down the hall. The floors felt just as gritty as before beneath my sneakers. The boarded-up windows at the front of the school put half of the building in perpetual shadow. It was surreal being back here. I realized that time meant nothing at the Leaf Academy. It didn’t matter what month it was: October, April or January—this place was a home for the dead. They were here. I could smell their staleness, and that strange taste of electricity filled my mouth. Like putting a battery on my tongue. Yes, whether it was rainy or sunny, winter or spring, the Leaf Academy belonged to the dead. I was afraid my teammates were about to have their worlds rocked, and I wasn’t sure they were ready for that.

  Ready or not, here we come, I thought as I walked behind tiny Sierra and athletic, toned Cassidy. Yeah, I was the third wheel for sure, but I knew something they didn’t. I knew the power of this place. I knew that tricksters lived here who wanted nothing more than to bring Sierra and Cassidy into their ranks. And me. Like Midas, I decided then and there that it was my mission to keep everyone safe. They were walking into unchartered territory.

  “By the way, y’all. If anyone asks if you’re human, just say yes,” I whispered as the two of them paused outside the yawning cavern that used to be the auditorium doors. I pushed ahead of them and stepped into the room with my camera at the ready.

  And it was a good thing too.

  There was a performance of sorts going on. Yes, we were just in time.

  Chapter Eight—Cassidy

  In the center of the stage were three crows. Not massive paranormal-looking creatures, just plain old everyday crows. None of the three were large enough to sport the gigantic black feather I found in my house yesterday. They were waddling around, absently pecking the grimy floor as if they owned the place. They spotted us immediately, their black eyes pinned to our every move. As if we could read one another’s minds, we all froze. Jocelyn lifted up her digital camera slowly and snapped a photo, but the soft whirring of the flash set them to squawking.

  “Jocelyn, I don’t think that’s such a great idea. Back up…slowly.”

  I reached for her, but she did not move. Not a muscle. Sierra was clearly spooked. I said, “Shoo! Go away, birds.” The crows tilted their heads in strange ways, and one bird hopped to the edge of the stage as if to challenge us. Not knowing what else to do, I ever so slowly reached for the walkie-talkie and tapped on the speaker button. “Midas? Are you getting this?”

  “Yes, proceed with caution. They’ll probably leave in a minute.”

  Proceed with caution? That’s the best advice he could come up with? Wow, way to help out, Midas.

  Jocelyn glanced back, her camera still in front of her face. “He’s right. Let’s leave them alone and just wait it out.” I nodded in agreement, but I wasn’t sure how to proceed. I didn’t know much about birds; I was just getting the hang of cats. Suddenly, the crow at the edge of the stage made an ear-ringing noise, a kind of cackle and caw all at the same time. That’s when the smell hit me. I don’t know how I could have missed it before—I smelled decay. But that wasn’t hard to imagine, not in a place like this. The whole place was rotten, and this room was no exception. The auditorium itself was large for a school, especially a school for boys. But as Midas mentioned earlier, the local orchestra used to have their performances here too, and the headmasters were always open to hosting community events. I could very well imagine the place full of excited music lovers. I could almost see the finely dressed orchestra raising their arms, obedient to every flick of the conductor’s baton.

  But as hard as I tried, nothing in here stirred me to sketch or draw or paint. The image burned in my mind was of the handsome young man I’d started to work on the other night. And as far as I knew, he wasn’t a part of the October People legend.

  After staring at the birds for a full two minutes, Jocelyn suggested that we move ahead. “I think they’ll leave if we get closer, but we should do it together. There’s only three of them.”

  “There’s three of us too,” Sierra complained as she shook her head. “But you’re right. We can’t do any investigative work with these birds around.”

  “Then it’s settled. On the count of three, we go to the stage. They can fly out through that hole up there. I’m pretty sure that’s how they got in. You ready, Cassidy? Sierra?”

  I shrugged. “Sure, but what exactly are we going to do?”

  With a confidence I hadn’t expected, Jocelyn answered, “We’re going to make a lot of noise and wave our hands around. That should scare them.”

  Sierra’s expression said it all. She wasn’t too keen on this idea, but if we were going to do a proper investigation in here, we had to get rid of the crows. On a quiet count of three, Jocelyn, Sierra and I rushed the stage waving our arms and screaming like wild banshees. What we weren’t prepared for was the dozen or so crows on the ground in front of the stage. We hadn’t seen them from our earlier vantage point.

  “Holy crap!” I shouted as the birds flew up and around us. One bird tugged at my shirt; I didn’t think it was intentional, but it scared the heck out of me. Sierra’s blond hair was being pulled, and she had a scratch on her arm. Multiple scratches. “Sierra! Get down and cover your head!” I covered my eyes with my hands to protect them, and through my splayed fingers, I could see Sierra squatting down. Jocelyn was nowhere to be found, and Midas was screaming into the walkie-talkie. The birds lifted and circled above us, blocking out the little bit of light that streamed into the decrepit auditorium. I heard Jocelyn swearing, so I knew she was close by. I wanted to call out to her, to reach her or Sierra, but I was frozen with fear. Then I heard the sounds of running footsteps, and without looking I knew that Midas had arrived on the scene.

  “Get out of here! Get out now!” Joshua and Midas yelled in concert at the swirling birds that quickly evacuated the auditorium.

  “Sierra? Little Sister, are you bleeding? What about you, Jocelyn?”

  “Yeah, I think so. My arm is stinging. One of those birds bit me or scratched me or something. Cassidy? Are you okay?” Sierra moved her hair out of her face while Josh examined her wound.

  I nodded and said, “I’m still alive. I had no idea all those other birds were down there. Did you see them before we came closer?”

  “No. But at least they’re gone now. Ouch, Joshua! It hurts.” Sierra withdrew her arm from her husband’s probing fingers.

  Joshua looked at Midas and said, “I think I need to do a little doctoring here. Does anyone else need first aid? Anyone else have scratches or claw marks or anything? It’s really important that we take care of your wounds because there’s no telling what kind of infection you can get from a place like this.”

  Still clutching Midas’ arm, I shook my head. “No, I’m okay. A little shook up, but I’m okay. What about you, Jocelyn?”

  “Yeah. I’m good. Like you, just a little shook up. Well, we got rid of them. Sorry I put us in danger. Like you, I didn’t see the rest of that flock. I just assumed it was a couple of birds…I’m really sorry.” Jocelyn was getting upset, but it wasn’t really her fault. We knew what we were up against coming to a place like this. There were always animals, birds—things lingering in closets and in dark places. It was part of our job description. Luckily, Sierra put Jocelyn’s mind at ease, and she and her husband left the auditorium to get the first-aid kit from the van. We didn’t normally bring it inside if we were goi
ng to set up a monitoring station in any building. But we always had it close by. Just in case.

  “If you two are up to it, let’s continue and I will monitor from the front room. I guess the element of surprise has been eliminated, but we have to try, right?” Midas’ steely expression reminded me that I was here to do a job. Adrian Shanahan depended on us, the Gulf Coast Paranormal team, to determine whether there was an actual maelstrom spirit at the Leaf Academy. What she would do with that information, I wasn’t sure, but I was going to do my part. I rubbed the dust and dirt off my sleeves and tidied my hair as best I could. I slid the walkie-talkie back onto my belt loop and reached for my digital recorder. It was still in my pocket and still in good working order.

  “We’re ready when you are, Midas. Just give us a minute to get our bearings.” Jocelyn checked the camera and grinned at me. I just knew she was having the time of her life. Yes, fearless. Be more like Jocelyn, I instructed myself. Midas left us alone in the auditorium, and thankfully there were no more birds or other animals in sight, so we set about doing our first EVP session together at the Leaf Academy.

  “This chair was where I was sitting in the picture. The one that I found. Yeah, right there. I think if we start there and then move to the stage, we might get some kind of response. Strange to think that students used to call this place home, right? Can you imagine being away from home and having to live in a place like this? I mean, it’s not even Hogwarts cool. It’s more like a prison for kids.”

  I held a recording device in my hands, unsure what to say. If Jocelyn thought she could connect with the ghosts of any kids lingering around here by saying negative things, then maybe we would get a response…but I wasn’t sure what kind. I clicked the audio recorder and put it on the back of the chair that Jocelyn identified.