Exceptional Poltergeist activity becomes personal Paranormal Adventures : The Weak Link by Writingfundimension

Background The Trans Atlantic Paranormal Team has been hired to investigate reports of poltergeist happenings at the notorious Bellingham Estate - site of a double murder. ******************** Previously: The Team has split up for the night. The specter of Charles Bellingham has manifested in the room of Mia and Emma with the intention of possessing the latter. He is chased from the room by a powerful female apparition. Simultaneously, Luke and Mike are experiencing paranormal activity of their own.  ******************** The Tipsy Butler, 4 A.M., February 8, 2010 Rage muddied with fear tightened Mike's throat as the ghost of Catherine Bellingham manipulated time and space to issue her warning: 'will kill...Charles will kill...' "Who will he kill, Catherine? Please, just one word...a name...is it Mia? Mike's voice was thick with tension and he felt ready to throw up. The two stood motionless hardly daring to breathe and waiting for an answer from a visitor that their logical mind told them could not exist. Mike felt a gradual lightening of the thick air that had been pressing in on him. "She's gone," he announced. Luke, who had barely managed to keep his excitement contained, was shaking the fist holding the digital recorder above his head. His face beamed. "Holy crap, that voice came from right next to my ear, Mike.That was so weird. It was like...jeez, I don't know...like it...like some freaky cross between mechanical and human. The recorder is running, so maybe we caught it." He clamped his lips together and his cheeks flushed crimson when he saw the pinpoints of anger in Mike's eyes. In an effort to redeem himself Luke meekly offered, "Emma and Mia...we'd better make sure they're safe." Mike coldly ordered, "Stay here and think about getting your priorities straight, Luke. I'm going to make sure the rest of our team is safe." Luke was stunned by the words but chose not to respond. That's not fair, he felt like yelling. I care, too. Mike turned his back on the young man and slid the spare key-card that Mia had left with him across the shiny surface of the mahogony chest. Heart pounding, he made his way to the other end of the hallway. Low voltage, recessed lights lined the carmel colored walls of the hallway casting a shadow off Mike's hoodie and giving the appearance he was being stalked by a hunchback. "Charles Bellingham, I will personally escort you to hell if you've hurt either of my friends." Mike's menacing mumbling was amplified by the absence of any other sounds in the empty hallway. When he reached the girls' door, he touched his fingers to its exterior and opened his psychic senses to what was on the other side. Within seconds, his scalp tingled and he gagged on the strong odor of rotted eggs that assaulted his nostrils. His gut clenched at the confirmation of his fear that two members of his team were in danger. An insistent pressure against the back of his legs upset his balance. "What the...where the hell d'you come from?" he addressed a white cat who sat at his feet intently staring up at him. In his frustration he was tempted to kick at the animal demanding his attention. Instead, he slid his leg along the carpet, nudging the cat to move along. The cat responded by hopping across his leg and rising its full length to lean on the door. It batted the doorknob just as if it were a fat, tasty mouse to torment. It was then Mike recognized the animal as the one that had, earlier, bemused Emma. He knew she had planned to let the cat sleep with them. In the throes of a full-on panic, Mike jammed the key card into the slot. With each red-dot refusal to let him enter, his dread of what he would find escalated. One more try and then I'm getting the owners up here. Sliding the key card into the slot, again, more slowly this time, he was relieved to see the green dot flash once. Mike pushed on the door lever, hoping that Emma and Mia had remembered his earlier advice to leave the deadbolt disengaged in case there was a need for emergency access. She's not dead. I'd know it...I'd feel it.  Once in the room, a thin line of white originating from beneath the bathroom door enabled him to orient quickly to the room's dim interior. He crossed to the bed and was blessedly relieved at the sight of Mia's dark hair and pale, sleeping face. The opposite side of the bed was empty and Mike surmised that Emma was in the bathroom. In the few seconds he paused to decide the next course of action, several things happened at once: Mia's foot shot out from the bed connecting with his groin; Emma's screamed for help and a screeching cat flew through the air landing in the center of the mattress. The bathroom door nearly left its hinges as Emma threw it open and ran for safety. She stopped just short of colliding with a dark mass preventing her from reaching the bed. Emma reached to turn on the bedside light and was astonished to see the object blocking her path was Mike. Kneeling beside him was Mia. "Mike, I'm so sorry," she was saying. "I reacted automatically when I opened my eyes and saw something big and black standing beside me." "It's not your fault." Mike pushed himself upright. "Just give me a minute, here. Christ, Mia, remind me never, ever to sneak up on you again." "What're you doing in here anyway, Mike?" Mia hid her embarassment in the rebuke. "Luke and I were awakened by loud banging and disembodied voices in our room. I came down here to make sure you two were okay," Mike shot back. "Will you two listen to me?" Emma shouted. "Something freakin' crazy has happened and I need you, right now, to come into the bathroom with me so I can show you!" The two followed her into the bathroom. "Do you see it?" she asked as her shaking fingers pulled the fleshy part of her arm forward. "It burns like someone poured acid on my skin...that's what woke me up." At first, all that was visible was a red, blistered area of skin roughly the diameter of a quarter. As they all watched, the area appeared to grow in size and a dark brown circle stood out from its center. Mike sucked in his breath sharply at the recognition of what they were seeing. Emma's arm had been branded with the letter C. "This seals it." Mia stroked her friend's hair as she shifted into protective mode. "Start getting your things together, Emma. As of now you're off this case."  Recognized Author Notes Members of the Trans Atlantic Paranormal Team: Mike Peterson, team founder and lead investigator; Luke Chadwick, tecnical support/investigator; Mia Langley, team co-founder/Psychic/Medium and Emma Barlow, team historian/investigator. Terms: Poltergeist: Noisy ghost Mike exhibits a psychic ability in this chapter called clairsentience, or, Clear Sensing. Sulfuric odors frequently accompany spirits. The Tipsy Butler is a real bed and breakfast in Maine. However all internal descriptions are fictional. To check out the website of this prize winning Inn, please go to www.thetipsybutler.com. Artwork courtesy of Badger: Polluted Sky Thanks!

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