Psychic Science, page 2
Pausing to catch his breath, Caleb added a spooky sound effect to entertain his audience.
Then he went on sharing his accounts where the picture would be posted. Caleb reminded his viewers to contact him if they’d had a similar experience before wrapping up this episode with his usual call for stories. “Any strange beasts or apparitions roaming your house? Give me a call! Well, thanks for watching. I’ll be back soon with another story of the unusual. Stay safe, my friends. I’m out!”
Caleb shut down the camera and uploaded the video. Then he figured he’d check back later to see what his viewers thought. This was a solid story, but he needed a bigger story than this. He was going to have to really dig deep and find something new and special to share with his audience.
Later that evening, Caleb racked his brain to try to think of an idea for another great story. He did a special on bigfoot sightings. He shared reports of ghosts and even a few alien encounters. Because of the strange sinkholes, people tuned in to his channel to see the wild things reported in Foggy Creek. But he felt like he needed a different kind of story. Something new, something really unusual, something to increase his number of followers and get more sponsors, all of which would mean money. He might even be an international paranormal celebrity someday.
Caleb texted Anna.
Caleb: Did you see my upload? You were wrong about the picture. Everybody believes it. I think the yellow eyes really drew them in.
Caleb saw the dots moving. Laughing quietly, he just knew Anna was going to tell him how awesome he was.
Anna: Had a meeting and lots of homework. Haven’t seen it.
Caleb: You missed out. People are loving it.
Anna: I’m busy.
Caleb thought for a minute, then texted:
Caleb: Hey, you are super smart. Any ideas for a new show? I need something huge. Something that’s never been reported before.
Anna: I can’t predict what weird things people will believe. Do I look like a psychic? CU later.
Does she look like a psychic? Of course not. But, a psychic, huh? A psychic? YES! He knew Anna was smart, but this was genius. He was going to go see a psychic. He’d meet with someone who could predict his future, maybe tell a few ghost stories, and he could record the session and share it on his channel. His audience would eat it up!
Speaking of eating, Caleb remembered he was hungry. He grabbed the handle of the fridge and gave it a yank. He looked inside to find something to eat before starting his dreaded homework. He had no use for geometry, trigonometry, or numbers, in general, for that matter—unless those numbers were more followers. The addition of new viewers was definitely his kind of math.
As he snacked on some leftover pizza, Caleb pulled out his phone and searched the web for psychics in his area. He expected to find one or two, but shockingly found an entire page of people claiming to be able to tell his future. Which one to pick? Most of the names in the listing had reviews showing they were big zeros. Total scam artists. He kept scanning. No. No. Nope, scammer. He was about to give up when a name caught his eye. Agatha Dorsett. He knew that name. Agatha had been one of his grandmother’s most trusted friends. If his grandmother trusted her, he could trust her too. Right?
Caleb decided not to wait on his big story. He needed to go right now. After reading her address again, he checked to make sure his phone was charged. Then he grabbed his bike and took off for Agatha’s house. She lived pretty close by, so it wouldn’t take him long to get there.
He arrived at Agatha’s just before the sunset. Caleb practically bounced up the front steps. He straightened his clothes to have a neater appearance and raised his hand to knock on the door. Just before his knuckles touched the wood, the door opened.
“Hello,” a crackly voice said. “How might I help you?”
Then he saw a tiny old woman open the door wider. It was Agatha Dorsett alright. He remembered her. With gray hair piled a mile-high on her head and wire-framed glasses, she was distinct and unforgettable.
“Ms. Dorsett, it’s me. Caleb.”
“Oh, Caleb, my dear child. How you have grown since I saw you last!” She clapped her hands together, clearly glad to see him. “I just finished making tea. Come in, come in.”
The floor creaked as Caleb stepped through the hallway into a dimly lit kitchen. The house was old and so was the furniture. And, if he was being honest, it hadn’t changed in years. Faded wallpaper with pink and yellow roses covered the walls. It looked like something out of a history book.
“Your grandmother and I used to have tea and biscuits every Thursday night. She was such a dear friend. We talked about a lot of things, but her favorite topic was you. She talked about you all of the time, you know.”
“She talked about you too, ma’am. She enjoyed your company very much.”
Agatha poured Caleb a thick brown tea and dropped a few sugar cubes into the cup. She placed a plate of shortbread cookies on the table and lowered herself gently into her seat.
“We could talk all day about your grandmother. She was such a lovely woman. But that’s not why you are here, is it?”
“No, ma’am,” Caleb replied. “I have a ViewTube channel, and I report on the interesting and unusual things that happen in our town. Paranormal things.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what a ViewTube might be. But perhaps you can explain it to me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Caleb said. “A ViewTube channel is just a place where I post videos that I make. I talk about some of the weird things that people see and do in our town. I’ve reported on bigfoot sightings, ghosts, even that time when Mr. Hendrickson tried to convince everyone that aliens were living in his guest room. A lot of people are interested in the stories I share.”
He paused for a moment, gearing up to ask about what he came for. “I thought people might want to hear from someone who can predict the future. I thought that maybe you could share some stories with me and my audience. It might even help me to grow a larger audience.”
Agatha tapped her long, wrinkled fingers on the table. She looked at the ceiling and closed her eyes. She breathed in deep breaths. She opened her eyes and stared right into Caleb’s face.
“No,” she said.
Wait . . . what?
But before Caleb could ask, Agatha began to talk.
“Something is coming, Caleb. Something sinister. Something scary. Something that will change this town, and not for the better.” She reached out and patted Caleb’s hand.
Caleb swallowed hard and stared at Agatha intently. Beads of sweat collected on his forehead and his clothes suddenly felt like they were choking him.
“What do you mean?” he asked. His foot tapped nervously under the table.
She continued, “A storm is coming. It will be devastating. People will change. Are you listening?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
She continued talking. “One thing will remain constant. You must rely on a friend and trust in her. It will be the only thing that can save the town.”
“Um, ok. I, um, ok.” Caleb was shaken. He wasn’t exactly sure what Agatha meant, but she seemed so serious.
“Go now,” Agatha whispered. “You must get ready for the storm.”
Caleb got up from his chair quickly. He almost tipped it over, but he caught it and set it right. He watched Agatha’s face as he walked backward down the hall. Her voice had been so eerily calm. He tripped on the rug and fell into the wall on his way to the door. Agatha’s dark eyes held his gaze so intently, following him until he was out the door. Caleb was scared. Shivers ran up and down his arms and goosebumps appeared, even though he didn’t feel cold. He pulled the screen door closed quickly and had to hold onto the porch railing to keep from falling as he turned and stumbled down the steps.
4
Caleb went looking for a story, and WHAM . . . it hit him hard. It was like a slap in the face. He stood at the bottom of the porch steps and looked out, trying to slow his breathing, thinking about what Agatha said. A pitch-black sky had settled over the town. While the air up to now had been still, a light wind started to blow. Small pockets of what looked like heat lightning lit up the sky with bright blasts of blinding white light. Caleb quickly hopped on his bike and pedaled toward home. As he pedaled, the winds began to blow harder. As the winds blew harder, it felt like hands were pushing at him and he struggled to keep his bike upright. A light rain sprinkled down. Claps of thunder boomed so loud and strong that it felt like the ground was shaking beneath him.
By the time Caleb reached home, the rain was falling in huge droplets, splashing on the ground with great force. Blue, yellow, and orange lightning lit up the sky. The thunder continued louder and stronger; it shook the whole house as he carried the bike up the porch steps and brought it into the house. He leaned it against the wall in the entryway and bolted the front door.
Caleb walked to the front window and pulled back the curtain. As he looked out of the window, he saw the strong winds pick up a chair from his neighbor’s porch and drop it in the street. It rolled and bounced until he could not see it anymore.
Plants were pulled out of the ground by the roots and spun and twirled in the air, showing him a strange and scary dance. Caleb had experienced storms before, but nothing like this. Running downstairs to take shelter in the basement, he felt safe until a huge bolt of lightning struck outside. Then everything went dark. Caleb held his breath. The silence was now deafening. He couldn’t hear the rain or the thunder. When he finally let the air out of his lungs, that was the only thing he could hear.
Now what? The power was out, and his cell phone had no reception. Nothing. Silence. Caleb had never been more scared. While he was sitting on the basement floor, time seemed to stand still. Maybe because the AC was off, maybe because of his fear, Caleb felt unbearably hot and sweaty. Feeling like the worst of the storm had passed, he slowly went back upstairs. In the living room, he grabbed a magazine off the coffee table. He waved the paper in front of his face, hoping the movement of the air might cool him. He turned back and looked out the window. At just that moment, a loud crack of lightning lit up the sky. It struck a large tree in his neighbor’s yard and caused a chain of sparks and pops. The trunk of the tree split and crashed to the ground, smashing down on top of his neighbor’s car.
When are Mom and Dad getting home? He wondered. They’d gone out for dinner with friends. But where were they now?
It might have been twenty minutes. It might have been one hour. But the storm finally dissipated. Once he was sure that the wind had died down, he gathered his nerve, unlocked and then pulled open the front door. He cautiously stepped out onto the front porch. He thought he could survey the damage and see if any of his neighbors had power. That’s when the howling started. Not just the usual cry of the coyotes that lived nearby. This was haunting. High pitched, almost sad sounding, and it seemed to go on forever. It wasn’t just one voice either, but a symphony of voices layered one on top of the other like the mythical banshee’s cry. Then it stopped, just like that. The power returned. Although the storm ended, a light rain still fell.
And that was when Caleb realized he had not recorded one single moment of it. Not one.
Caleb needed to talk to Anna. If anyone could help him understand this situation, it was her. He thought about what Agatha said. And how she had made it clear that he needed someone, someone he could trust. It had to be Anna. In spite of all their differences, she is the one person that had his back.
Caleb: Can U meet me tomorrow?
5
Anna was actually interested in what Caleb had to say. After last night’s strange storm, she needed to talk to someone. She always relied on science to explain how things worked or why things happened. Last night, too many unexplained things took place. To start, she had set up some equipment to measure the wind speed and the precipitation. But none of her equipment registered any activity. None. She’d never experienced that before. Even with the power out, she should have been able to collect some data. It was weird how quickly the storm began, how powerful it was, and then how it stopped so quickly. Then, of course, there was the unusual howling. Just thinking about it made her shiver. Now that it was over, she thought maybe her imagination was getting the best of her. There must be a logical explanation. Even if she hadn’t figured it out yet.
When she arrived at Bee’s Coffee Shop, Caleb was already there with her favorite coffee—hot and waiting, full of sugar and cream. It made her feel good that he could still be so thoughtful.
“Thanks for meeting me, Anna. I really need your help right now. Please just hear me out before you decide to argue with me. Please. Just keep an open mind.”
Anna nodded her head and took a sip of her coffee.
“I went to see Agatha last night. Agatha Dorsett.”
“Your grandmother’s old friend? Why go to see her? Is she okay?”
“Did you know she is a psychic?” Caleb asked.
Anna choked on her coffee a bit and began coughing. She shook her head from side to side.
“Okay, so clearly you didn’t know.” Caleb continued, “You know I’ve been looking for another story. One that would wow my audience. Help to grow my presence, right?”
Anna just nodded her head, still recovering from her coffee mishap, wiping her mouth and the table, which was splattered with coffee.
“So, it was cool, but a little creepy. She just knows things. She told me about the storm before it happened. She told me that this is just the beginning. Even though the storm has passed, it isn’t really over.” Caleb stopped and looked at Anna.
“Oh, Caleb,” Anna almost whispered. Then, she dissolved into a fit of laughter. Her head bobbed, shoulders shaking, and she grabbed her stomach as she continued to laugh out loud.
Caleb dropped his head, looking down at his shoes as Anna continued laughing.
Once her laughter died down, he spoke again. “Anna, you have been my friend forever. We used to be so close. You are the only person in this town that can help me. Agatha predicted it. She said I would need you to save our town. Please, Anna, I need you.”
The tightness and desperation in Caleb’s voice caught Anna’s attention. She felt a little sorry for laughing at him. She knew it had to be a big deal if he was asking for help from her. She just didn’t believe what he was saying. A psychic prediction of doom? Come on. This was too much.
“Listen, Caleb, you are right. We have been friends for a long time. If I were in trouble or needed a friend, I would call you for sure. However, I just have a hard time believing in a seer of the future. I have studied the weather reports and listened to the news. The storm is over. The skies are clear. And, other than some relatively minor damage, everything is back to normal. Just look at this.” Anna pulled up the local weather report and it showed the usual warm temperatures and no rainfall in the near future.
Scrolling through the reports, she didn’t find any other news reports of continued wild weather. The only reports showed some of the damage from the storm.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get your big story this time, but I’m sure you will find another one soon. There is plenty of weirdness in this town,” she said.
6
For dinner, Anna and her parents went to the Foggy Creek Diner for meatloaf night. The diner buzzed with people laughing and talking. Tonight was special as the family was celebrating Anna’s conditional college acceptance. She felt so good and was excited to think about going away to college. The idea of living in a dorm on campus, meeting new people, and having access to a bigger lab excited her.
She gazed out the window of the diner, expecting to see the usual bustle on Main Street. Families shuffling in and out of the grocery store, running into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, or stopping at the ice cream shop for a chocolate milkshake.
BAM!
Something hit the window with such force Anna thought the glass was going to shatter. A hairy, sharp-clawed creature was banging against the glass like it was trying to break through. It was making a horrible screeching sound and dripping a purplish foam from its mouth. She thought it resembled a rabbit, but she’d never seen one this aggressive or wild. Maybe it had rabies?
As quickly as it attacked the glass window, it flopped on the ground, then bolted down the street. The families in the diner were scared. Most people in the diner were frozen, clearly afraid to get up from their tables. A few guests took out their phones to try to video the beast. A few small children cried. Anna couldn’t believe what she just saw. She had volunteered at the vet clinic last summer and knew animal behavior could be different when an animal was sick or scared. But, she had never seen anything like this before.
Anna texted her science club partner, Stephanie.
Anna: I just saw something that I can’t explain. Have you ever seen an animal with rabies?
Stephanie: Nope. Read about it.
Anna: I could have sworn what I saw was a rabbit, but it had these really sharp teeth and claws. Missing fur. Purple foamy mouth. Attacked the window at the diner.
Stephanie: That is not rabies.
