Surprise Me.

Chapter 17- This is News.

"It sounds stupid, I know." I said to the camera. "I feel less...alone having the camera here. You know, I'm not afraid of being alone. I'm afraid I'm not alone. Sam handed me this stupid thing and I'm gonna try it." I pulled the Ovilus out of my pocket and showed the camera. "It's called an Ovilus, it essentially scans radio frequencies and will spit out words that it picks up." I flicked it on and sighed.

"Is there anyone with me?" I called, looking down the halls. No response. "Any doctors, nurses, patients, nuns, you are all welcome to come up and talk to me through this device. I just ask that you don't touch me or any of my friends. We are all protected by our Savior, and we will not be staying for long."

"Cross." The ovilus chirped.

"Cross? I'm wearing a cross necklace." I pulled my necklace out and laid it flat on my chest. The same necklace that Colby had fixed.

"Cured."

"Were you cured in this hospital?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Young."

"How young? What's your age?" I pressed.

"Thirteen." The ovilus said after a moment.

"Thirteen? That's so young. What were you being treated for?" No reply came. Even when I pressed further or asked questions about the child's symptoms.

"It doesn't look like there's anything else here. On to the next hallway." I sighed, walking back to the crossway. I tried over and over in the other hallways, but every question I asked any spirit would never get a proper answer. After one or two questions, it was like they'd get bored and walk off.

A commotion at the other end of the hallway drew my attention away. I slowly moved towards the noise when two figures came towards me.

"Maddie!" They called. I recognized Nate and Seth as soon as they got closer.

"Guys? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Something touched Nate and made the fucking lens fog up." Seth answered.

"What the fuck?"

"That's what we said."

"I talked to a thirteen year old kid. They got cured here, but they wouldn't tell me what they were being treated for. None of the spirits I ran into wanted to talk for more than a few minutes."

"Where are Sam and Colby?" Nate asked, checking the time on his phone. "It's three o' five."

"Maddie!" Colby yelled from the stairs.

"Speak of the devil." I mumbled as we made our way to the stairs.

"You're not gonna believe what we saw." Seth said as the boys descended the stairs. Suddenly, Sam went flying and fell down nearly a whole case of stairs. I rushed to his side, helping him sit up.

"Are you okay?" I asked, shining my light in his eyes to check his pupils.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't trip, something grabbed my leg." He answered.

"Are you sure? I believe you, but you fell pretty suddenly." Seth said, looking back to the stairs.

"Something fucking grabbed my leg. I'm not joking."

"Dude, all I saw was you going flying." Colby added. "I think I got it on camera, but you didn't just trip, it was like you got pushed."

"That's what I mean, something grabbed my leg."

"Let's do the last investigations and get the fuck out of here." I said, helping Sam up. "We don't need anyone else getting hurt."

The boys wanted to do a final Estes session in the chapel. I decided to do my own form of the Estes. I sat in a pew and wore noise-canceling headphones and a blindfold just like Seth and Colby had on, but mine wasn't connected to a spirit box. I was just saying whatever I heard from the spirits. I said a lot of odd words and phrases, but the ones that scared me the most were phrases like "I like this one," "pretty girl," and "this one will work." I felt a strong male presence that seemed to feel in control of the other spirits in the room. The rest of them felt sad and hopeless. Sam tapped me and I took off the equipment, allowing my eyes to get used to the bright lights again.

"We're getting out of here." Sam announced as everyone gathered their things. We all agreed and made our way to the doors. I looked back and saw the little girl I saw during the tour.

"Colby." I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the girl. "The little girl is back."

"Mommy said people like you can help us. Thank you." She said, smiling.

"You're welcome."

Seemingly satisfied with her goodbye, she waved and turned around, walking down the hall and disappearing into the shadows.

"Mads?" Colby asked.

"She's gone. She said her mother told her that people like us can help them. She thanked us." I replied, closing the front door.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Maddie saw the little girl again." Colby answered, holding my hand as we made our way down the steps again. "She thanked us."

"This is insane."

"I agree. It's also colder than a witch's tit and I'm tired. Let's go."

"Shotgun!" I announced, racing Colby to the front of the car. I beat him by seconds.

"Dammit." He sighed, sliding in the back with Nate and Seth while I sat in the passenger seat and Sam drove. We were sitting mostly in silence until Seth spoke up.

"This is gonna sound super weird and I'm sorry in advance." Seth announced. "Maddie, is there something going on between you and Colby?" My eyebrows shot up my forehead and Colby grinned, burying his head in his hands.

"Yes." I sighed as Sam grinned at our embarrassment. "We've been going out for a few weeks."

"That explains a lot." Nate chuckled. "I saw you guys holding hands and I was like 'wait...'" The boys all laughed while Colby and I practically drowned in embarrassment.

"Just be glad they didn't kiss." Sam teased. Colby was the one to speak up.

"Sam!"