The Guidance - By Marley Gibson Page 0,85

that both you and Loreen were feeling the presence of the entity," Celia reports in a very scientific manner.

"That's amazing."

Taylor's digital images show mists and formations and shadows of a figure. The infrared picked up what we all think was Major Fair, and there's plenty of documentation of the windows banging and doors flying open. Even though Miss Evelyn and Stephanie were there, this will make one hell of a reveal if they'd like to go over it with us.

"The longer we do this," Celia says, "the better our evidence gets."

"It's véritablement stupéfiant!"

Becca grimaces. "English, Tillson! English!"

"Truly amazing," she says with an innocent grin. "What do you have, Becca?"

"The mother lode of EVPs. I'll play a few."

Feeling the need to reach out to her, I say, "You know, you've done an amazing job with all of this. I can't tell you how proud I am and how much help you've been."

She beams up at me. Not her usual don't-give-a-damn Goth-girl grin, but a genuinely warm, friendly smile. "That means a lot to me, K."

"You betcha," I say. I'm really glad to have her as a friend and to know she's not still upset with me for—

Wait. What's going on?

My left temple quivers slightly, as if a blood vessel has gone majorly insane underneath the surface. I freeze in place. I count to ten. I take a deep breath. Something is ... here...

While Becca's cueing .wav files up on her software, I try to ignore the psychic sensations that are starting to swell within me. I'm getting the same sneaking feeling that I got the last time I was here. Something is calling to me, despite how hard I'm trying to ignore it.

I'm kind of busy right now ... can you come back another time?

Nothing responds, so I hope I've dispelled the curious spirit.

"Listen to this one," Becca says, unaware of my inner struggle. "Leeeeeeeft for deeeeeeeeeeeead."

"Cool beans," Celia says. "'Left for dead.' That's a clear one."

"It sure is!" Taylor says enthusiastically. "I got chills hearing that."

"What about you, Kendall? Pretty clear?" Becca asks.

I nod, only half listening. I move my eyes about the room, trying not to draw attention to myself as my friends are fascinated with the EVPs. Besides, I know what happened last night. I saw the major with my own eyes. I don't need further convincing. I do, however, need to know who's trying to contact me right now.

Please help us.

My heart hammers away; the blood is rushing to my head and making me dizzy. I have to hold it together. Maybe I'm just a little weak and overly sensitive after the connection with Major Fair last night.

Becca's playing another EVP. "Sounds like it says, 'You can see us.'"

"Us? Like more spirits?" Taylor asks.

"That's an old house," Celia says. "Lots of spirits around there, more than likely. Right, Kendall?"

She knocks me on the arm. "Huh? What?"

"There are probably other spirits in the Crawford house, 'cause it's so old."

"Oh, sure," I say, not really listening.

Celia kneels in front of me. "Are you all right?"

I hear a distinct whisper in my left ear.

Must heal her.

A lump forms in my throat, making it hard for me to utter anything coherent.

Celia's eyes are dark with concern. "Kendall? You're not, like, channeling anything, are you? You're not ready for that."

Shaking loose from my trance, I say, "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's..." I plead with Becca with my eyes. She looks toward the door to the trophy room and then back at me.

Her gaze tells me no, but then she says, "Someone's here?"

The voice whispers to me again in such an affectionate, tender way. It's like I'm sitting on a fluffy cloud of trust and comfort. I repeat what I'm told, although I have no idea what it means. "Granny Gama's here?"

Celia and Taylor exchange glances. "Who's that?"

Becca's mouth falls open.

I struggle with the pronunciation. "Gran-Gomma? No, it's definitely Granny Gama ... Gahhhhma. Like mama with a g. Does this mean anything to any of you?"

"No clue," Becca says flatly. Then she hands two sets of headphones over to Taylor and Celia. "Y'all mind giving a second listen to this sound file for me? I may not have caught everything."

"Sure."

Becca carefully lifts herself off the floor, goes over to the trophy room, and motions for me to follow along. I don't say a word; I do as I'm told.

Once we're inside the dark, dusty room, Becca closes the door and bursts into tears. Huge, chubby drops roll out of her overly