The Reluctant Medium - Chapter 3

WHAP! The book slammed shut. I jumped backward and let out a squeal. Panting, I exclaimed, "Okay, you're scaring me". I tried to calm my nerves and focus. There was a puzzle here - a case to be solved. I was frightened beyond words, but I knew this was not going to be an easy spirit to get rid of. It was aggressive - the most aggressive I had ever encountered. I drew in a breath, closed my eyes and slowly released the air from my lungs, putting me in a slightly euphoric state. I left my eyes closed for a few seconds and tried to clear my head.

"Okay. I'm going to help you, okay? I'm really scared right now, but I'm trying, so just - be patient." There was complete silence and calm in the room. The thought that I was talking to the spirit of a dead person caused chills to rise up in me. I had never done this before. I had never agreed to this before. I had shunned it, but now here I was agreeing to do this. I had no idea what I would encounter, but I knew I had to do it.

I blew out a forceful breath, opened my eyes and said, "Okay. You're not in this book."

The book flew open and the pages turned back and forth wildly again. My eyes widened and I gulped hard. I shuddered and swallowed hard, waiting for the book to fall open on its resting place again. Suddenly I realized that the book was opening to the same page each time; a detail I had been too frightened to notice before. I gritted my teeth. A knot forming in my stomach again. I was afraid to look, but I leaned forward and placed my hand on the open pages.

"You're a cold case?" I asked, a quiver in my voice. No response. "Okay, I'm going to guess that means yes". My mind started racing. What did this spirit want me to know? I wasn't very good at guessing. I decided to just throw something out there - anything. It was like an otherworldly game of 'Taboo'.

I started to read the words on the pages before me. The case was of Bobby Jo Oberholzer and Annette Schnee.



They were camping when they were murdered. Both were shot. One of the bodies took six months to find. I could feel every hair on my body standing on end. "Were you shot?" I half whispered, my voice cracking. No response. "Okay", I answered. "And your body hasn't even been found yet?" No response. I gulped and the tears formed pools in my eyes. "Oh my gosh. This is terrible", I moaned. I blinked hard and the hot tears ran down my face and hit on the pages of the book. "So you're somewhere out in the woods?"

WHAP! I gasped and jumped back. "Okaaay. That means no." My eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. Where are you?" The book flew open again. "Are you buried somewhere in this area?" WHAP! I breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. That would be too much."

"Why me?" I asked. "There are mediums out there. People who are experts at this. Why don't you talk to them? And my friend, Brandon, totally would have talked to you. Why didn't you try to communicate with him?" There was no response, but I had this very strong thought running through my mind that the spirit had tried and Brandon wasn't receptive to it. He certainly wanted to be, but he didn't possess the gift. It was like the spirit was putting thoughts into my head. "You tried, didn't you?" I asked. The book opened slowly and the pages flipped again.

"Wow. So I'm like your last hope or something, huh?" The book laid open. Nothing moving. I sighed a long, exhausted sigh. Emotionally, I was drained at this point. "Well how old are you?" Suddenly the television clicked on. I gasped and jerked my head in the direction of the TV, scooting backwards until my back was against the sofa. The TV was staticky. It gave me the chills. I watched as the number 2 popped up on the screen, as if the spirit was pressing the buttons on the remote. I glanced quickly around the room. Where was the remote?

Suddenly I saw it on the couch next to me. I shuddered. I wondered if I reached out, if I could feel it. I was sure it was right there on the couch by me now, pushing the remote buttons. I glanced quickly back at the TV. The number 3 popped up next. The number 23 on the screen, the TV still staticky. "You're 23? And you're female, right?" Nothing. Just to test it, I asked, "Or are you a guy?" Still nothing. Perhaps I was misinterpreting signals. A few seconds passed. I sat there puzzled, furrowing my brow, trying to figure things out. WHAP! The book slammed shut. I yelled and jumped. I grabbed the remote and shut the TV off. The static was creeping me out even more.

"Oh my gosh! OKAY! You're a woman. Got it". I started to think about this young woman trying to communicate with me. It was all so surreal. I began to wonder what she looked like. Suddenly lost in thought, I spoke without realizing at first, "I wonder what color your hair was." I felt a tingly feeling on my head and a clump of my hair on the left side started to raise up. I gasped and started batting at my head, scooting across the floor to the other side of the room. "Oh my gosh! Don't touch me. Don't touch me! You're creeping me out. I can't do this right now. I'm freaking out. I just want this to stop. I wish I could just wake up and..." My home phone suddenly rang. I gasped again and glanced over and then glanced around the room cautiously. "Are you going to let me answer this?" No response. I jumped up and ran to the phone, longing for a voice, a human voice - a LIVE human voice.

"Hello?" I panted into the phone.

"Heeeyyyy", the warm, familiar voice responded.

"Brandon!" I shouted excitedly.

"You okay?" he inquired.

I heaved a big sigh and looked around the room again, seeing nothing - the book lying still on the floor. "Yeah. Good. " I said, realizing it didn't sound very convincing. There was a beat of silence. "Where did you go? When did you leave? I woke up this morning and you were gone and I was looking all around my condo and I wondered what happened to you. I was scared!" The words were pouring out of me uncontrollably.

"Geez! Did something happen? Did ghostie come back?" he laughed.

"Okay, that is NOT funny!" I said, angry that he was even speaking about this presence. I felt scared all of the sudden. I had the sense this spirit didn't appreciate this other involvement.

"Calm down! You could've called me! Did you just get up?" Brandon asked, a chuckle in his voice.

"No. I've been up a while" I said softly into the phone and glanced around the room again, looking over at the book. All was still. I walked briskly past it and sat myself on the couch, hoping I could have a bit of real conversation and get a break from the insanity.

"Wanna go do something?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, sitting forward on the couch. I felt suddenly lighter. "Yeah. Get me out of here. I could use some fun."

"All right. Cool. I'll come get you" he said. Just then the book flew open and the pages started turning. My eyes widened, I gulped and slowly turned my head in the direction of the book. I don't even know what Brandon said after that. I could hear a voice through the phone, but my mind was elsewhere, my eyes fixated on the book. It was back on the page - the same page it always flipped open to. "Hello?" I heard Brandon saying over and over. I snapped back. "Hey", I answered.

"What are you doing over there?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I just...." I sighed heavily. "I can't do anything right now. I..."

"Okay, seriously - what's going on?" Brandon's tone was stern.

I grabbed my forehead with my free hand and attempted to massage my temples. I heaved another big sigh and then started in. "Okay, you know how you stayed on my couch last night? Well, this spirit in my house tried to communicate with you."

There was dead silence on the other end.

"Hello?" I asked.

His voice spoke in a hushed, quivering tone, "Are you....serious? "

"Yeah", I breathed.

"Oh my gosh. I like have the biggest chills right now. How do you know that?" he asked excitedly.

"Because it's here right now - communicating with me", I said in a dramatic, low voice.

"Holy crap! That's crazy! You're playin' me, huh?" He thought he was on to me.

"No. I'm dead serious." I said very slowly and adamantly. "I can't hear a voice or anything. We've found other means of communicating. But there's a story behind all of this. It's....complicated".

"Dude, I'm so there. Tell the spirit to hang on, k?" He sounded giddy.

"No!" I shouted. "No, you can't. This is serious. This person has been murdered, Brandon. MURDERED!" I said the last word in a very dramatic, slow tone.