Maggie, part 2

Part 1


Continuation of a fictional story based on some of the author's favorite TV personalities and actual events...

The investigation teams split up into three teams: two TAPS members in the main hotel on the fourth floor, two other members in the Manor House (a separate, smaller building designed to replicate the main hotel), and the Fact or Faked team in a first-floor room in the main hotel where the picture in question was taken.  Maggie was able to see all of this happening at the same time, a new experience for her.  She could move in and out of areas as she pleased and she wanted to take full advantage.  Her new-found ability to interact, as she did with Lanisha, was a little too tempting to not test out more.

What Maggie did not expect was sharing this experience with others.  Spirits are curious, especially curious of the living trying to communicate with them.  She knew others were watching, some idling standing by, others attempting to interact.  What concerned her was the man who committed suicide; he just wanted to create havoc and confusion when the investigators just wanted answers.  He seemed to want others to feel what he was feeling: anger, sadness, bitterness, distrust.  He was cursed with experiencing his death over and over and wanted - needed - others to hate this awful pain, to know what it is like.  Maggie was able to exist in peace while he was cursed to exist in turmoil. 

The Fact or Faked team set up cameras and began taking a series of pictures, hoping to create the same image.  From there, they could analyze the pictures and the room and hopefully determine what had created the strange image the tourist had captured.  While Lanisha was taking pictures, Ben suddenly felt sick and developed a piercing headache.  "Guys, I feel awful.  I can't even stand up straight, I don't know what's going on!"  With a sympathetic look, Bill said, "Why don't you try leaving the room and see if that helps."

As soon as Ben went into the hallway, he felt better.  It was as if he stepped off a spinning ride and got his bearings again by not being the in the room.  After a few minutes, he went back into the room to see the team's progress. 

"Doing ok?" asked Lanisha.  Ben answered, "I do feel much better, that was really odd."  Bill then suggested they take the equipment down the hall to analyze the pictures and video they took so they could talk freely without disturbing the guests that were staying in nearby rooms. 

"Guys, you need to see this" exclaimed Lanisha.  Her first picture looked normal, the second with the strange image, almost exactly like the one they were investigating, the third completely black, and the rest normal again.  She had taken about twenty consecutive shots, one within seconds of another.  "Any reason that picture is black?" asked Bill.  "I suppose the shutter could have not opened in time but I have never had that problem with this camera and it never happened again" answered Lanisha, an expert in photography.  "More importantly, why is that image showing up again?"

The team focused on the strange picture, magnifying the image and trying to see what light could have created it naturally.  No matter how they viewed it, it looked just like a person laying on the floor, hands covering the face, and possibly something else over the face.  If it were a natural occurance because of light in the room, why did the other shots not have the same effect?

"You know, it just occurred to me that my personal experience must have happened just after the black image was taken."  Ben announced thoughtfully.  "And when I left, the pictures returned to normal.  The timing seems about right."  "Wow, that is so strange!" Bill said with excitement.  Lanisha added, "You know, maybe we're looking at this with tainted eyes being here, why don't we send it to the rest of the team and see if they can make anything of it."  "Great idea," Ben agreed "go ahead and email those and we'll continue to run some tests to see if we can recreate the picture."

Maggie couldn't believe what she had seen.  The mysterious, angry man had been in the room with the team and wanted so badly to be noticed.  His negative energy was actually transferred onto film, allowing the team to "see" him through pictures but not with their own eyes.  He had died by smothering his face with a pillow while laying on the floor and his torment replayed where ever he went.  His strong energy had caused the camera to malfunction, creating the black picture.  And for some reason also transferred his negative energy onto Ben, making him feel sick.  This has to stop! Maggie thought to herself.

The Fact or  Faked or team worked through the evening trying to recreate the photo using various lights, shadows, and photography techniques but without success.  They then decided to join the TAPS team in an investigation.  Jason and Grant reported that they had some interesting personal experiences including the feeling of being touched, hearing whispers, and seeing shadows.  While TAPS continued to investigate various areas of the hotel grounds, Ben, Bill and Lanisha stayed in the first floor wing with headquarters being shared with TAPS.  Each team member took turns attempting EVP sessions and trying to collect various evidence. 

Maggie stayed close to the Fact or Faked team as she did not want the angry male spirit to cause any more harm than he already had.  In fact, she wanted to help him find the peace he so desperately wanted.  Now she just needed to figure out how to do that. 

Part 3