freaked me the hell out."
Nodding, I slowly move over to where Taylor's seated. She opens up the LCD screen and hits Play.
My eyes grow wide as I watch myself on the video. It's me, yet it's ... not.
"Kendall! What the hell is going on?" Jason screams on the taping.
On the screen, I slump over and begin to twitch. Then I stop moving. Jason drags me into his lap. Celia is to my right. Taylor zooms the camera in on me.
On the recording, Becca gasps in horror. "Holy shit! Is she okay?"
"She's channeling," Loreen explains from off camera; you can hear her telling everyone to remain calm.
"Why are you here?" I hear myself ask. Okay, well, my mouth moves, but that's so not my voice. It's a scratchy voice, deep, like a whiskey drinker.
"What's going on, Loreen?" I hear Taylor ask. "Can you help her?"
"Kendall's okay. She's stepped away so this spirit can come forward. Who are you?" Loreen asks.
In Jason's arms, I twitch and twist. "Who are
you?
"
"My name is Loreen Woods and these are my friends."
People introduce themselves as I lie there breathing hard. Chunky intakes of air to sustain this spirit overcoming me.
"You know our names. Can you tell me who you are? Are you Mayer Holt?"
"Daddy?" Shelby-Nichole pipes up.
My teeth grit together. "I am no man!"
"What's your name, sugar?" Donn asks so calmly you'd think she is a professional investigator herself.
My eyes shoot open and I'm glaring in Donn's and Loreen's direction. "My name is Sherry. Sherry Biddison. You're in my house. Aiding them."
"Aiding who?" Celia asks.
"Them!"
Loreen is the voice of reason. "Tell us what we can do to help you, Sherry."
"No-no-no one can help me," I growl. Bitterness laces this spirit's every word. "Where were you when they locked me away? Who was here to help me then?"
Celia leans into the frame. "You were locked away? In this house?"
More growling from me. Deep in my chest, like I'm tamping down the pain from this woman. "Treated like chattel. No way to live." I squirm and my eyes close again. "The blond woman who lives in my house will pay for what happened to me. You all will."
"Kendall, what's happening?" There's almost a begging in Jason's voice. "Come back to me!"
The camera wobbles, and the image becomes crooked as everyone moves near me. A melee of voices talking over one another fills the audio; sleeves and arms cover the screen. This is when Jason and Celia start yelling at me, while Celia smacks the ever-loving boogink (my Grandma Ethel's word for
shit
) out of me. Ouch!
"Whoa," I say when I'm done watching the video.
"Do you remember any of that?" Taylor asks.
"Nope.
Nada.
Zilch."
Mayor Shy gnaws on her bottom lip. "What did this Sherry Biddison mean about my paying for what happened to her? Does she think I'm responsible?"
Loreen wrings her hands together. "That's probably why you've been having these body aches. This Biddison woman is attached to your house and is uneasy with the living."
Shelby-Nichole clears her throat. "I wonder if this is the woman I've seen."
Celia's attention spins to Shelby-Nichole, as does Donn's. "You've
seen
her, sugar?" the mayor asks her stepdaughter.
The girl's eyes fill with tears behind her glasses. She tugs them off and dabs at her face with the back of her hand. "I've tried to ignore it 'cause I didn't want to admit anything was there. But yeah ... I've seen a woman."
"Do you think you could describe her to Celia? She can draw amazing pictures based on descriptions," I say.
"Let's do it," Celia says.
"Right now?"
"No better time," Celia tells Shelby-Nichole.
The two of them go off into another room to work on the drawing. Becca threads her headphones over her ears and starts reviewing her EVPs. Taylor excuses herself to go outside and get some air. If I had the strength to follow her, I would. Instead, I stretch my arms in front of me for a hand up.
Loreen and Jason help me to my unsteady feet, and Donn wraps her arm around me. "Can I get you some water?"
"Yes,
Nodding, I slowly move over to where Taylor's seated. She opens up the LCD screen and hits Play.
My eyes grow wide as I watch myself on the video. It's me, yet it's ... not.
"Kendall! What the hell is going on?" Jason screams on the taping.
On the screen, I slump over and begin to twitch. Then I stop moving. Jason drags me into his lap. Celia is to my right. Taylor zooms the camera in on me.
On the recording, Becca gasps in horror. "Holy shit! Is she okay?"
"She's channeling," Loreen explains from off camera; you can hear her telling everyone to remain calm.
"Why are you here?" I hear myself ask. Okay, well, my mouth moves, but that's so not my voice. It's a scratchy voice, deep, like a whiskey drinker.
"What's going on, Loreen?" I hear Taylor ask. "Can you help her?"
"Kendall's okay. She's stepped away so this spirit can come forward. Who are you?" Loreen asks.
In Jason's arms, I twitch and twist. "Who are
you?
"
"My name is Loreen Woods and these are my friends."
People introduce themselves as I lie there breathing hard. Chunky intakes of air to sustain this spirit overcoming me.
"You know our names. Can you tell me who you are? Are you Mayer Holt?"
"Daddy?" Shelby-Nichole pipes up.
My teeth grit together. "I am no man!"
"What's your name, sugar?" Donn asks so calmly you'd think she is a professional investigator herself.
My eyes shoot open and I'm glaring in Donn's and Loreen's direction. "My name is Sherry. Sherry Biddison. You're in my house. Aiding them."
"Aiding who?" Celia asks.
"Them!"
Loreen is the voice of reason. "Tell us what we can do to help you, Sherry."
"No-no-no one can help me," I growl. Bitterness laces this spirit's every word. "Where were you when they locked me away? Who was here to help me then?"
Celia leans into the frame. "You were locked away? In this house?"
More growling from me. Deep in my chest, like I'm tamping down the pain from this woman. "Treated like chattel. No way to live." I squirm and my eyes close again. "The blond woman who lives in my house will pay for what happened to me. You all will."
"Kendall, what's happening?" There's almost a begging in Jason's voice. "Come back to me!"
The camera wobbles, and the image becomes crooked as everyone moves near me. A melee of voices talking over one another fills the audio; sleeves and arms cover the screen. This is when Jason and Celia start yelling at me, while Celia smacks the ever-loving boogink (my Grandma Ethel's word for
shit
) out of me. Ouch!
"Whoa," I say when I'm done watching the video.
"Do you remember any of that?" Taylor asks.
"Nope.
Nada.
Zilch."
Mayor Shy gnaws on her bottom lip. "What did this Sherry Biddison mean about my paying for what happened to her? Does she think I'm responsible?"
Loreen wrings her hands together. "That's probably why you've been having these body aches. This Biddison woman is attached to your house and is uneasy with the living."
Shelby-Nichole clears her throat. "I wonder if this is the woman I've seen."
Celia's attention spins to Shelby-Nichole, as does Donn's. "You've
seen
her, sugar?" the mayor asks her stepdaughter.
The girl's eyes fill with tears behind her glasses. She tugs them off and dabs at her face with the back of her hand. "I've tried to ignore it 'cause I didn't want to admit anything was there. But yeah ... I've seen a woman."
"Do you think you could describe her to Celia? She can draw amazing pictures based on descriptions," I say.
"Let's do it," Celia says.
"Right now?"
"No better time," Celia tells Shelby-Nichole.
The two of them go off into another room to work on the drawing. Becca threads her headphones over her ears and starts reviewing her EVPs. Taylor excuses herself to go outside and get some air. If I had the strength to follow her, I would. Instead, I stretch my arms in front of me for a hand up.
Loreen and Jason help me to my unsteady feet, and Donn wraps her arm around me. "Can I get you some water?"
"Yes,
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