Chapter One
The lecture hall was full of students. Dr. Joyce Reardon stood at the front of the class. She was a determined woman of 37, with long curly hair that was put back in a ponytail. She wore a navy blue suit, and a light blue seater underneath. Her green eyes were sharp, and bright. She had the stature of power.
"Now, the study of the paranormal has been under scientific scrutiny since its creation," She started. "And before we leave, I want to leave you with a few thoughts; the study of psychic phenomena is an honorable one, and that everything is not what it seems. Just because it may not seems logical, doesn't mean it's out there."
A dark haired teen stood up from the audience. "Hi, Kevin Bollinger with The Beaumont Press."
"Hello Mr. Bollinger."
"Is it true you are leading an expedition into Rose Red? And how exactly are you paying for this?" Kevin asked, a slimy smile formed on his face.
"I assume that Dr. Miller is the one who sent you, and I'm sure he informed you that I have funded this expedition with my own savings," Joyce said, walking over to her desk and sitting on it. "If he sent you here to embarrass me, you have failed; but if you want to hear all about our little adventure, come back next spring."
Joyce smiled at him as he looked at her in defeat. He slowly walked to the back of the room.
"Good bye, Mr. Bollinger," Joyce waved as the boy exited the room.
A few students laughed as the door shut.
Joyce walked up to her office. Behind her, Dr. Miller ran up.
"Hello, Carl," Joyce said, unlocking the door.
"The department heads and I have had enough of your shenanigans," Dr. Miller said, leaning on the door frame.
He was a man of 58. His short, gray hair was combed back to hide the bald spot on the back of his head. His thick-rimmed glasses lined his small, blue eyes.
"And what 'shenanigans' are you speaking of, Carl?" Joyce said, turning to face the man.
"Your little 'spook-hunt', Joyce. You are single handedly making a fool of yourself, and the entire psychology department!" Dr. Miller said, his tone angry.
"My little spook-hunt, as you like to call it, is going to prove what I have been working for all my life," Joyce said, opening the door. "And if you are out to embarrass me, then so be it, but it takes a lot to embarrass me you sad, little man," Joyce said, closing the door in his face.
She sat in the brown, leather rolling chair. She looked at the stack of files on the desk in front of her. She began looking at them, inspecting them. She put most of them to left of her, until she got to a folder marked "Pam". She opened it.
PAM
Pam Asbury sat in the coffee shop sipping her 99 cent coffee. Her luck had been down in the dumps as of late. She was let go of her last job, and had applied to three more, but heard nothing back and it had been almost two weeks. She tucked a piece of her kinky hair behind her ear.
She was what some psychics called a "touch now". She could touch something and see who owned before, and sometimes see what happened to that person. It was both a blessing and a curse, but she was stuck with it. She laid her hand down on the resin-covered table.
A couple, a boy and a girl, the girl is crying. They must've gone through a separation, otherwise why would the girl be crying? There are people staring. The boy gets up, and leaves her. The girl calls out for him but he exits the shop.
She snaps out of it, and checks her watch. She picks up her empty cup and walks out the door after tossing it in the bin. She was wearing a purple sweater that came up to her knees. It was getting colder outside, which wasn't odd for Seattle at this time of year. Winter was her favorite season because she could wear things like she did today. Although her clothes were second hand, she enjoyed them.
The bus pulled up, and this pulled Pam out of her day dream.
"Another unsuccessful interview?" The bearded bus driver said to her.
"You know it," Pam said, putting her coins in the deposit.
She sat in her usual midsection seat. Pam enjoyed watching the buildings pass by. She touched the rail at the front of her seat.
Two men sat in the seats. They were secretly holding hands under one of the men's jacket. It was raining outside, maybe around May. They were both nervous. There was a plan. One would get off first, then they'd meet up after.
Her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She didn't recognize the number, but she thought maybe it was one of the jobs she'd applied too.
"Hello, Pam Asbury speaking."
"Hello Ms. Asbury, this is Professor Reardon from Beaumont University," Joyce said on the phone.
"Please, call me Pam," Pam responded.
"Alright, Pam. I was reading your file you submitted to the university, and was just doing a follow up."
"Yes ma'am," Pam said, shuffling in her seat.
"Well your abilities are outstanding, and we could definitely use them on our expedition to Rose Red. If you would like to join us, there's a spot open for you."
"I-I would love too! But I do have one question," Pam said, tightening the grip on the bar.
"What is it?"
"What's in it for me?" Pam asked.
"$5,000 at the end of the trip."
Pam smiled. This was it.
"I'll do it! You can count on me!" She said excitedly.
"Great, there's going to be an orientation in 2 days. We'd love to see you there."
"I'll be there!" Pam said.
"See you there, have a great day."
Pam hung up the phone. Her mood seemed to lighten, she was happier than she had been in a while. This was her chance.
Joyce hung up the phone. She moved Pam's file over to the small stack of two others. The names on the files were NICK and CATHY. She kept looking at the stack. Passing on Cora the Great, Donovan Caribbean, and stopped once she reached a file called EMERY W. She opened it.
EMERY
Emery sat at the small kitchen table. There were at least a dozen bills spread out before him. He looked at them in disbelief. Could his mother really be that much of a huge shopper? He knew it was, but he would never say that to a domineering woman like her. Suddenly, the phone rang.
"Waterman residence," Emery said in an unimpressive tone.
"Hello, Emery? This is Joyce Reardon at Beaumont University."
"Ms. Reardon," Emery said holding the phone in one hand.
"I know I called the other day, and I just wanted to make sure you didn't want to change your mind."
Emery looked down at the bills again. "If you can make it $7,500, then you've got a deal."
"Mr. Waterman, I am funding this project from my own pocket, $5,000 is all I can afford."
"So, $5,000 is your final offer?" Emery asked.
"Yes, now are you in or out?"
He looked at the stack again. "I'm in."
"Great, there will be an orientation in 2 days, can I assure you'll be there?"
"Yeah, I'll be there."
Emery hung up the phone. He got up and walked to the cream colored fridge, and opened it. He looked at it, it was red and flesh was hanging from the racks and out of the freezer. He stumbled back.
"Not there. Not there. Not there."
He opened his eyes, and the fridge was back to normal. He walked back up to it and took out a pie and whipped cream.
"Emers, please go out and get the rest of the bags out of my car," Mrs. Waterman said, coming in with shopping bags in both arms.
"Mom, I was just looking over the bills, and some of them are past due."
"Cashman's was having a closing sale, the whole store 25% off!" She said, picking up a stuffed bear out of the bag.
"Mom, you've gotta be careful with the credit cards."
"I am very careful with the cards, I am a very smart shopper. Now, go get the rest of my bags," She said as Emery walked out of the room.
Joyce hung up the phone and placed Emery's file with the rest of the group's files. She smiled to herself. Her group was coming together. She looked at one file, it was a different color than the others. It was marked ANNIE.