My Grand View

[Captain Kundalini]

Based on the CBS TV Drama Series, "Ghost Whisperer".

Opening Theme (http://www.ghostwhisperer.us/Music/TV%20Themes/Ghost%20Whisperer%20-%20Beginning.mp3)

Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon
David Conrad as Dr. Jim Lucas (Melinda's husband)
Camryn Manheim as Delia Banks
Christoph Sanders as Ned Banks (Delia's son)
Jamie Kennedy as Professor Eli James
Conner Gibbs as Aiden Lucas (son of Melinda Gordon and Jim Clancy)
Bruce Davison as Professor Josh Bedford
Scott L. Spencer as Adrian Sloane
__________________________________________________ _____

Chapter 1:

My name is Adrian J. Sloane.
I own a books and records store in Grandview that I just opened.
I sell books and records, old and news. I also buy books and records from people.
Grandview is a small town and that's why I moved here.
I'd gotten sick of living in the big city.
To make a long story short, the store used to belong to my Aunt Nilda.
Being childless and after her divorce, she willed it to me.
She had a stroke and shortly afterward, passed away.
Now here I am, 30 something with all these books...and records, the store
and the apartment that my Aunt lived in above it.
I drove into town and immediately liked the place, especially with its big, old fashioned town square.
It was only a small matter of a few minutes before I found the shop.
I parked in the small parking place around in back, got out and then walked back around to the front door.
Mom had seen fit to put a sign on the door which read in bold black letters:

Temporarily Closed Due To Death In The Family

I took out the key, unlocked the door, opened it and after a thoughtful pause, took the sign off and went inside.

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 2:

After closing the door, the first thing that hit me was the musty smell. The place must have been closed for at least a couple of weeks.
The drive from NYC had been exhausting.
I just wanted to find the lights, find out what went where, and get settled in. After wandering around, I found some light switches and flicked them on.
The first thing I noticed was the boxes of books on the front counter. Four of them and every single book no doubt needed to be cataloged and put in its respective section.
I walked around and slowly familiarized myself with each section:
History, Science, Biography, Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Travel, Art, Photography, Spiritual and Paranormal.
The Office was in the back and I was pleased to see that it was equipped with a PC, Monitor, Printer/Fax/Copier, 2 line phone, desk with drawers, a small fridge and a microwave oven. A door lead up some stairs.
I walked up the stairs, opened another door and entered what was now my apartment.
It had a Master bedroom, a smaller 2nd bedroom, 1.5 bathrooms, a Living Room/Dining Room Area and a kitchen.
“Not bad”, I thought to myself.
There were no towels or sheets anywhere. Mom had no doubt had the linens and towels removed from the place after her sister died, which meant I had to go shopping.
The Shopping List in my head grew with each passing minute. I’d need food, linens, towels, soap, shampoo and toiletries. During the next hour I unloaded my guitar, amp, mics, stereo, TV, DVR and my computer and lugged them up to the apartment. I took the TV last since it was biggest and heaviest. Just as I got to the door, it slammed shut.
I set the TV down, opened the door, picked the TV up and the door slammed shut again.
“Damn it all”, I said in disgust.
“Need a hand with that”, asked an affable voice off to my right?
“Sure could”, I said, smiling and trying not to grunt.
The kid opened the door, let me in and helped me get the TV upstairs without any further difficulty.
“Thanks for your help”, I said smiling again.
“No problem. Ned Banks”, he said with a smile matching his voice.
“Adrian Sloane”, I said, shaking his hand.
We went back downstairs into the Office and after looking around and a slightly awkward silence, he spotted my guitar.
“Hey, how long have you been playing?”
“Oh, since my college days. I used to play at the Café Wha? in Greenwich Village back in the day.”
“So, what brings you out here?”
“My Aunt Nilda passed away recently….left me the store and the apartment upstairs.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that. She was a nice lady.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, I gotta get going. I’m late to work as it is and if the boss lady tells Mom about it I won’t hear the end of it any time soon. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Thanks again.”
I smiled as he departed. Then with my mind set, I started planning the Grand Reopening of "Nilda's Books and Records".

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 3:

It was time to get down to business. I made a sign saying,

Grand Re-Opening Tomorrow.
9:00AM to 6:00PM.

I did some quick thinking and went to the nearby Sandwich shop to ask if they did any catering. I got lucky. Not only would they handle my needs, they’d do it for a fair price.
I went back to the store and made a correction to the sign:

Sandwiches and Coffee – 11:00AM to 1:00PM

Everything was ready. All I had to do was shelve the books on the front counter. It took longer than I thought. I had everything put away except a few books that I had to shelve in the Paranormal section.
It was a warm, Spring day and so I left the door open a bit to let in the fresh air. When I got to the Paranormal section, I shivered as the air around me suddenly grew cold. I felt not just cold but uncomfortable, so I shelved the last book, poured myself a cup of coffee and went outside to drink it and to drink in the sunshine.

I’d just finished my coffee when the phone rang. I went inside and around the front counter and answered it.
“Nilda’s Books and Records. May I help you?”
Static.
“Hello”, I said.
Then….

SOUND (http://theghoster.net/Sounds/PhoneGhost.mp3)

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 4.

I dropped the phone like a hot rock.
That voice in the static sounded like my Aunt Nilda.
What the hell was all this about?
I didn't want to think about it now.
I already had too much to think about.
I didn't need extra baggage.
Right now I was hungry and I knew the best thing that would help me take my mind off of ....things would be a good meal.
I went upstairs and grabbed my laptop and then headed for the corner cafe. I felt the need to be around other people.

The Cafe was crowded with college and high school age kids.
I gave the place a cursory glance, spotted an empty table and made my way to it.
I ordered a salad, a glass of low fat milk and a grill cheese sandwich then went online to check my email.
I got an email from my sister, Donna wishing me the best of luck with the bookstore and that she might be in town next week to check on me.
Big sisters. Go figure.
Nothing from Mary. Still. No goodbye. No explanation as to why she left, just an empty closet where her clothes used to hang and an empty drawer.
My face must have clouded up a bit because the waitress caught my look and asked if anything was wrong.
"No, I'm okay", I lied, smiling.
"Well. let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"You got it."
As I continued eating, I looked out the window at the town square. It was quaint, picturesque and not too large.
It had a big, old court house with a clock on the front. There was a movie theater, a Fire Station and your basic little small town shops.
It was as if the town was telling the tourists on the way to the city or the Holiday Drivers, "Nothing to see here, folks. Move along."
After finishing Dinner, I stowed the laptop into my backpack and decided to take a walk around the square to familiarize myself with it. I went by the Computer store first to see if they had anything new. They didn’t, so I kept going.
I went by the local store and they had the linens I needed for the bed.
By now, it was full dark, it was late and I wanted to get some sleep, so I headed home, thru the bookstore, into the office, up the stairs and into the apartment.
I made the bed, got out of my clothes, slipped into bed and not long afterward, sleep.

It was the sunlight streaming through the curtains of the windows.
I rolled over, looked at my clock. 7:30AM. Time I got up and got things ready.
I showered, shaved, got dressed and then went to have breakfast over at the café. Instead of the younger crowd I’d seen last night it was mostly “business people” that I saw there this morning. A couple of them were cops, there were a few guys from the fire station there as well.
One of the Firemen was showing one of the others some pictures from his wallet. He laughed at some and then looked sad, then seemed to shake it off.
They finished their breakfast and then got up after paying for their meal.
The bigger one was putting his wallet away when a picture fell out, unseen by him.
I went over to pick it up and glanced at a picture of a handsome looking fireman. I ran out and called to him.
“Hey! You dropped something.”
He turned around, looked at me and then looked at the picture.
“Oh, hey thanks.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Big time. Name was Jim Clancy.”
“Was?”
He sighed and the sadness came over him again.
“Yeah, he died about a year ago trying to disarm some nut with a gun.”
“I’m sorry.”
He just nodded, then as he was about to say something, the alarm buzzed at the station.
“Hey, gotta run. Thanks for the picture.”
He ran to the station and from there went off to the emergency that had just been called in.
I forgot about Breakfast and had a cup of hot coffee at the Village Java instead.
Passing an alley on the way back to the store, I saw a young woman standing there with a worried look on her face, engrossed in conversation with somebody.
A double take showed me that there was no one there with her. She was looking at a brick wall and saying something about Light.
I shrugged and kept going.
You see people like that all the time when you live in NYC. After awhile you just tend to ignore them.
I got back to the store and put the Open sign on the door and turned on the lights.
Ready for business.
Some people passed by, looked in briefly and walked away. A couple of ladies came by and asked where Nilda was. I told them and they got embarrassed, so they made conversation with themselves and decided to browse.
After awhile a very good looking lady walked in. She had long brown hair and expressive brown eyes. She had a box with her.

“Hi, welcome to Nilda’s. Can I help you find anything?”
She smiled and said, “Well, if you are her nephew and the new proprietor of this establishment, then you are the one I’m looking for.
I just wanted to welcome you to our little town, so….”
She opened the box and I smelled what must have been the most wonderful Lemon Meringue Pie ever made.
“I’m Delia Banks.”
“Adrian Sloane. Pleased to meet you…..Oh! Do you have a son named Ned?”
“I certainly do”, she said with a smile.
“Well, he’s a good man. He gave me a much needed hand as I was moving my stuff in yesterday. Tell him I said that if he ever needs a job he can work for me.”
“Will do, but he already has a job over at the Antique store”.
“What kind of antiques?”
“You name it. Some come daily, some weekly.”
“Thanks. And thanks again for the pie.”
“Any time. Mind if I have a look around?”
“Go right ahead. As a matter of fact, I will count you as my official first customer.”
She smiled and that was how I met Delia.

[Captain Kundalini]

To Be Continued......

[Topper]

To Be Continued......

Am I going to read something about snake hide boots?

[Captain Kundalini]

Am I going to read something about snake hide boots?

(blink....blink....) Uh...no.

[Judee]

Cool Captain K! A continuing saga! :arms:

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 5:

Not long afterward the Caterers arrived and started setting up. No sooner did they finish then folks came by to look at the place and eat the food.
Some folks bought Mysteries, some bought old records. One woman came up and bought the one and only album by the super group Blind Faith.
I gave her some background on the album and the history behind the track called “Presence of the Lord”.
“I never knew that”, she said with a smile. “Thanks, I’ll be back.”
The day had gotten off to a good start. Since folks were coming by for the food, I figured they might stay and look around at the books and records I had for sale.
Just after noon the young woman I’d seen in the alley walked in.
She was very beautiful, had dark eyes and a warm smile. She too had a box.
“Hi”, she said. “I saw that you were opening today, so I thought I’d come over and welcome you to Grandview. I’m Melinda Gordon. I own the antique shop.”
She put the box on the counter, opened it and inside was a fantastic chocolate cake. I smiled.
“Thank you. You folks sure know how to make one feel welcome.”
“Yeah, I’ve met some people already and I like them.
“Anyone I know?”
“Well, I met young Ned Banks yesterday. He helped me get my stuff upstairs. And Delia Banks, his mom came by this morning. Both of them, good folks.”
“Ned helps me out at my shop and Delia’s my best friend. Where are you from?”
“From NYC. I’ve lived there for most of my life. Then my Aunt Nilda passed away and she gave me the store and the apartment upstairs.”
“I’m sorry for your loss” she said sympathetically.
“Did you know my Aunt?”
“Yes, she’d come over to my shop and look at some of the antiques that came in that day, we’d have coffee and…..
We were momentarily interrupted by a loud knocking sound coming from the back of the store.
“Excuse me”, I said smiling apologetically. I walked over towards the sounds of the knocking. It was in the Paranormal Section. As soon as I got there, it stopped.
"Hmmmmmmm, must be the water pipes or something", I said to Melinda when I got back to the counter.
The look on her face had changed from one of happiness to concern and I took note of this change almost at once.
"Yeah", she said not sounding sure of herself. "I forgot something in my shop. I need to get back and see about it."
"Okay. Come over again sometime."
She smiled and walked away and I watched her go.

The Grand Reopening had been a great success. Closing time came, so I locked up after telling the last customer of the day to "come back any time".
I grabbed a sandwich at the cafe and as I was looking through the paper I discovered that the local Drive in was going to be playing the new version of "Star Trek". I decided to check out the show.
The drive out of town to the drive in was down a twisting, turning road. The humidity was fogging up the windshield making the driving that much worse.
The dog seemed to jump into my headlights from nowhere.
"Oh GOD!"
I swerved, hit the gravel on the shoulder and skidded out of control. I fishtailed, tried to hit the brake to stop, but the tree stopped the car first.
I cursed as it loomed up before me. I heard the crunch of metal and the shatter of glass. Then the lights went out.

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 6:

Darkness.....then a pinpoint of light. In it stood a woman reaching out to me. Aunt Nilda.
"Where am I?"
"You are in between worlds."
"Between worlds? What are you...?
"There is very little time. You must choose."
I looked down and saw a room full of Doctors working on a badly damaged body. Mine!
I looked at my Aunt and after a moments thought, I made my decision.
She smiled and positively glowed with love...and there was love coming from elsewhere, too. It enveloped me and then...

I think my first coherent thought after the crash was,
"Would somebody please turn off that damn beeping so I can sleep?"
Discomfort. I could feel myself wince.
The beeping stopped.
"Am I awake?"
"Yes you are. Welcome back, Mr. Sloane."
"Thanks".
I opened my eyes and then wished I'd hadn't. I closed them again.
"Why don't you open your eyes", asked the voice.
"Don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Because the room's acting weird. It's blurred and moving around a bit."
"That will pass", the voice said with a chuckle.
I opened my eyes and then after a few moments, my vision cleared.
"Okay. That's better. Uh....who are you?"
"I'm your Doctor, Jim Lucas", he said with a smile.
I looked at the face of Dr. Jim Lucas and studied it, then I saw his badge. The picture of the man on the badge didn't look like this guy at all.
The man on the badge had blond hair and brown eyes with a somewhat wider face.
The man standing beside my bed had black hair, blue eyes, had better muscle tone and was much more handsome.
I was going to remark on this but I felt tired.
"Uh....can I go back to sleep?"
"Alright. When you wake up, we are going to feed you and then run some tests on you and see how everything comes out."
"Okay", I said with a yawn and then I went into a dream.

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 7:

Thankfully, my week in hospital came and went rather quickly..
The food, as usual, was deplorable so I bribed Ned to go out to get me a Roast Beef Sandwich with lettuce, cheese, mustard and mayo for lunch as long as we could both get away with it.
Dr. Lucas caught me on the last day trying to dump the hospital food and unveiling my sandwich at the same time.
"That bad, huh?" he asked with mock seriousness.
"The worst!"
Dr. Lucas smiles and said "Well, all your tests came back and it looks like you can leave today. You scored really good. You shouldn't have any post operative effects."
"Good. Uh, Doc there's something I think I need to tell you."
"What? Something wrong?"
"Well, it seems to me that you've got the wrong badge."
"What do you mean", he asked slightly surprised?
"You don't look at all like the guy on the badge."
"What do I look like?"
"Slightly thinner, black hair, blue eyes, athletic build....."
"Could you wait right here? I'll be back soon."
"Yeah, sure", I said wondering what he was up to.
About 15 minutes later, Doc Lucas walked in with Melinda Gordon. Melinda is beautiful, but now she looked puzzled and concerned. She pulled a picture from her purse and showed it to me.
"Is this the man you see as Dr. Jim Lucas?"
The picture was of Lucas, alright but he was wearing a Paramedic uniform.
"Yeah, that's him." I looked at Dr. Lucas. "That's you. What's going on?"
Jim and Melinda looked at each other.
We sat down and together they told me a remarkable tale of Love, Death, Rebirth and Love reborn.
What none of us could figure out was how I was able to see the soul of Jim Clancy and no one else could.

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 8:

It felt good to be back in my own apartment again (heretofore known as my Aunt's apartment).
I did feel somewhat disappointed though that Mom didn't even come to see me while I was in the hospital.
"There you are!"
"Ma!" I gave her a hug and she hugged me. "Why didn't you...?"
"I did, but you were either asleep or getting tests run, so I came back here and I've been watching over the store."
"Is Donna here?"
"No, she's still in New York. Auditions."
"Oh."
"Now, don't worry. She's been doing this kind of thing for a long time. She knows how to take care of herself."
"I know, but some of these 'Producers'".... remember that guy who said he was from LA? That's just the kind of..."
"Now, you know she has a good eye and good judgment."
"If you say so", I answered. "Where are you staying?"
"Oh, I've been staying at a local Bed and Breakfast. It reminds me of..."
A man who had been walking towards us seemed to be talking to himself when he bumped into me as he passed.
I was about to say something rude to him but then I noticed something about him. The shadow he was casting didn't seem right somehow.
"Hey buddy!"
"What?",he said stopping to turn and look at me with a frown.
"Want to watch where you're going?"
He was a dignified looking gent. Medium length silver hair, glasses, nice suit, needed a shave though...and something had him on edge.
He sneered at me and kept walking.
Ma had noticed me staring at the guy and after a moment asked me if I knew the man.
"No. I've never seen him before."
As I watched, he crossed the square and walked into the Real Estate Office. The sign said "Banks and Cutler.
Suddenly I saw Ned, Melinda, Dr. Lucas and another man approach the Gazebo in the center of the square.
After some dialogue, the man next to Dr. Lucas, a man with dark hair, took a book and walked across the street and into the Office.
A couple of SWAT vans pulled up and 2 teams of SWAT Cops took up position right across from the Office.
"Ma, I think we'd better take cover."
We ran and took cover behind the corner wall of the nearest building.
Delia came out and SWAT escorted her to safety.
The man with dark hair followed soon afterward. He had just made it to the gazebo when I faintly heard an anguished cry of "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

SOUND (http://www.ghostwhisperer.us/Sounds/Boom.mp3)

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 9

The blast knocked everyone to the ground.
Smoke, fire and debris from the explosion went everywhere!
The SWAT Team moved into the building, guns out.
Ma was shaking.
"Oh my God! What happened?"
I heard someone say the word "bomb". I looked around at the widely scattered debris and wondered why or how something like this could happen in such a peaceful little town.
Then I saw it, lying on the ground about 20 feet away. One of the fingers twitched and was still.
I felt my gorge rise, looked away and forced myself under control.
"Ma, get back to the shop. Take the alley around to the back and go in thru the fire exit."
"Adrian....."
"Mother, do it now!"
And she knew not to argue with me when I called her "Mother".
I watched her as she walked quickly away, then my eyes returned to the gazebo.
Melinda, Delia, Ned, Dr. Lucas and the dark haired man were just picking themselves up.
"Excuse me, sir but are you a Medic?"
I looked around and saw a SWAT Officer looking and pointing at me.
"No sir, just a shop owner trying to get back to my apartment."
"Did you witness what happened?"
"Yeah. Some guy with silver hair walked into the Real Estate Office over there and then..."
"Name, Address and Phone number?", he asked, taking out a pen and paper.
"Oh....uh....436 Hazen Street. Grandview, NY." I gave him the phone number of the shop.
"Okay. We'll be calling you in case we need any statement. In the meantime, this is a restricted area. I need you to move out. Now!"
"We're cool. I'm doing that right now", I said with a hopefully reassuring smile.
He nodded and walked towards the spot where the severed hand was laying on the ground. He spoke into his radio unit and barked some orders about needing a HazMat team.
I headed back to my shop, passing the gazebo. Delia was crying inconsolably but was being comforted by her son, Ned, Melinda, Dr. Lucas and the other man.
A couple of Cops went to the group and I suppose started getting statements from them. One of the cops was nodding and writing something, then he looked over in my direction, looked at the group and then came walking my way.
"Officer Jeff Mooney", he said introducing himself. "Listen, we need a base of operations here. Can you help us out? Those people over there also need a place to get themselves together while we get statements from the witnesses."
"Not a problem", I said.
Melinda and the others made their way over to my shop and I took them in. They all greeted me and went over to one of the reading tables to sit and talk. I approached.
"If any of you need anything, I'll be close by."
Thank you's from everyone except Delia. She just nodded.
I got them some tea, introduced them to Ma, they introduced me to Dr. Eli James and as Ma went to the store to get somethings for our guests, we just sat at the table and tried to make sense of the madness that had unfolded before us.

[Captain Kundalini]

To Be Continued....and concluded.

[Topper]

Your doing a great job, thank you

[Judee]

:notworthy

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 10:

It was the day after the blast.
I heard that the President of Rockland University was the silver haired guy and it was he who had the bomb. Why he blew the Real Estate Office up I'm still not quite clear on.
In my mind, he must have flipped out from the pressure at the University and the added weight that his mother had just died.
Reporters had come and gone. Photographers had come and gone and Insurance people had come and gone, too.
GPD (Grandview Police Department) and some reps from the US Military were still on scene gathering evidence and cleaning up.
I learned a new word today in regard to US Military Property, especially like the bomb that had gone off in Delia's office: Ordinance. Unexploded Military Ordinance.
How the hell did an ammo dump get dumped here?
Lots of questions.
I went by Melinda's store to ask her if I could check in on Delia, but much to my surprise, Delia was there.
Melinda's shop had also sustained some damage from the blast. Fortunately, the wall between Melinda's and Delia's was hard, strong and thick, so it took the brunt of the blast.
She was helping put the things away that had been knocked off the walls or off shelves by the concussion of the blast.
She was holding up okay and smiling in spite of what had happened.
"Hi!"
"Hi Adrian. Good to see you."
"Good to see you, too. How are you doing?"
"I'm good. I'm just grateful for what I still have."
"When I first came here I thought it was just going to be a nice little sleepy town. Instead, it seems that there's never a dull moment."
Delia shrugged good-naturedly just as Jim and Melinda walked through the door.
"Adrian, we were just looking for you," Melinda said.
"Well, you got me", I said with a smile.
Jim motioned with his head towards the back room. Since there were customers around, I figured what needed to be said needed to be private.
We went.
"What's up", I asked?
"I had a talk with Jim and with Eli and since you can see Jim for who he really is, we think it's time to fill you in on....why all this happened."
The told me about Eli's powers and about the mysterious Book of Changes. Eli and Ned were the custodians of the book and together they had to make sure that it didn't fall into the wrong hands....the hands of people such as the late Josh Bedford, for instance.
"So he wanted to get his hands on it because of ....what?"
"Power", Jim said.
Melinda nodded.
"So....he wanted this book to...."
"....empower others or even possibly twist reality to his liking. We don't know", said Melinda.
"God! This is huge. Why isn't the Government involved in its protection", I asked?
"They don't know that it even exists. If they did....."
"They'd probably put it in some big warehouse somewhere like the Lost Ark of the Covenant or something like that", said Jim.
"Okay, so why are you telling me", I asked.
"We might need your help."
"That's a tall order", I said. "I need to think this over."
They agreed with me, nodded and we went back into the main part of the store.
I went back to my shop feeling apprehensive and doubtful. I knew I'd have to weigh all the pros and cons for this before I made my decision.
What I didn't know was about the Shadows that lurked in my shop and that soon they would make their move against me.

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 11:

The first attack came in a dream....no....more like a night terror.
I was in the Grandview Cemetery and it was the middle of the night.
I knew that if I was in such a place during the night there was going to be nothing but trouble.
I had to get out. The gate was what looked like a football field away. I started walking towards it. It was easy. I only felt uncertainty about my surroundings.
A sound came from my left. I looked over and to my amazement, I saw a mound of earth rising. It was 3 feet away. It was a hand.
Another hand followed. Something....or someONE was trying very hard to claw its way out of a grave. I caught a glimpse of a name: Moreno, or something like that.
With a sudden heave, it brought itself waist high out of the grave.
The stench was ghastly....overpowering. It was female with dark hair. Its eyes glowed like white fire!
Then I ran and I ran hard.
The gate which was my exit had a light above it. I knew that if I made it there, I'd be safe from the thing that was now coming after me.
I ran around trees and jumped over tombstones in attempts to lose it.
I heard it running behind me.
My God, how could a dead thing run so fast?
I tripped over a grave marker on the ground and went sprawling.
I tried to act on my Survival training (which I took after 9-11)
and roll with the fall. No good.
My right ankle made a sickening crack and agony shot through my foot and leg.
The gate seemed that much further away...and the undead thing chasing me seemed that much closer.
But I was determined. I jumped up as best I could and did my best to run.
I was half way to the gate when I heard something on my right.
I looked over and to my great joy, I saw Jim standing there motioning me towards him. I hobbled over to him and smiled.
"Good God, I'm glad to see you."
Jim said nothing. He just looked at me and smiled.
Then I noticed something ....not right about him.
"Jim, what happened to your shoulder?"
There was a hole in his shoulder. It had been patched up.
Bullet hole.
As it dawned on me that this was not Dr. Jim Lucas but none other than the reanimated body of Jim Clancy, his hand shot out and grabbed me by the throat.
"........"
"Give us the Book and this can all be avoided", Jim rasped in a slurred voice.
The Moreno thing came and stood beside him. I turned my head and was sick.
"Get the book! I don't want to be dead. Get the book." This from the Moreno thing.
"But what if I can't find it?"
The Jim thing held up his other hand. most of the flesh on his fingers was already gone, leaving a kind of claw.
It lunged at my face and I heard a sickening, tearing sound.
I screamed, I fought and then I fell, hitting my head on the floor, the sheets tumbling off the bed with me.
I got up, untangling myself from the sheets and went over to my desk. I punched in the numbers on the phone.
"Hello....", came the sleepy response.
"Please forgive me for calling you in the middle of the night, Melinda. I need your help."
"What happened?"
"I've just been given a warning."

[Captain Kundalini]

Chapter 12:

As Melinda's battle loomed, so did mine.
I could tell that the darkness was crowding in on Melinda. At first the changes were subtle, but then became more pronounced.
Melinda and Eli both coached me in regard to what I should do should I get attacked again.
Eli did his best but unfortunately he'd just had a root canal and when he tried to say certain words, I had to almost bite thru my tongue to keep from laughing. He told me later that the Dentist said,
"You're going to feel a pinch." He said the translation was something to the effect of, "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THIS IS GOING TO HURT LIKE A SWORD GOING RIGHT UP YOUR TUSH!"

I went to church and made a full confession. Then much to the amazement of the Priest, I grabbed a vial of holy water and put it on my chest, face and hands.
"What are you doing?"
"Arming myself for battle", I answered.
Father Pritchard looked at me as though I were crazy, at first but then seeing that I was in earnest, nodded, came forward and made the sign of the cross on my forehead.
"I will pray for you", he said.

I'd felt light headed that morning, but now I felt strong. As I walked into the shop there was a strong gust of wind and an almost audible sigh from...something. The gloom that I sometimes felt there was gone. I got to work.
On my way to Lunch I once again came under attack. This time it was physical. I caught sight of the hearse just in time as it veered violently towards me. I got a glimpse of the driver. He was grinning at me maniacally. I ran for the gazebo, vaulted over a bench, tucked and rolled into some bushes. The Hearse barreled towards me unmindful of pedestrians or other cars. The hearse slammed into the bench, blew a tire and lurched to the left, slamming into another car but bringing the vehicle to a stop.
I got up slowly, out of breath and looked at the hearse. People were starting to gather around it and I already heard a police car siren in the distance.
I caught snatches of conversation as I approached.
"What the hell is wrong with the guy?"
"Whoa! Did you see that? He tried to...."
"He looks bad. Look at the blood...."
"Somebody call 911!"
"...most have torn that engine up good."
"Yeah, the engine oil smells....I don't know....scorched."

The cops arrived and cleared the crowd away. I looked at the driver of the hearse and could tell that he was in a bad way. Another siren told me that the EMS guys were on the way.
The driver opened his eyes slowly, whites showing. His face seemed to blur and swim and I saw several faces on him.
I saw Jim's face, Bedford, a laughing man, a creepy looking guy* and a man with rage filled eyes**.
He seemed to look right at me and a voice in my head said, "This is just a warm up act for the Main Event." Then the mans face was gone replaced by that of the moaning Hearse driver.
The Police questioned the witnesses, came to me at last and got my statement. The officer nodded and thanked me, saying they would be in touch.
"Hey, is this town usually so....?"
"Uh-uh", said the cop. "Weird, huh?"
"Yeah."
I found out later that day that the Hearse Driver was soon going to be a client for his employers. He hadn't been that badly hurt in the wreck, not badly enough to.....well to make a long story short, he died at in the ER.
As night fell, I called Melinda from my shop but Jim told me she wasn't home. I tried her antique shop. Melinda answered but her voice sounded strange.
"Melinda, are you okay?"
"Melinda isn't here." *CLICK*
Main Event, I thought to myself. "Oh my God."
I ran to the door and turned the nob but the door wouldn't budge.
I tried the back door. Stuck!
I went back into the shop, picked up a chair and threw it against a window. It didn't break. As I stared at the window in mute amazement, Bedford walked into view outside. He smiled at me and shook his head.
"Give us the Book."
"Never!"
"Then suffer!"
The Shadows seemed to ooze from every corner of the shop. I felt agony as their assault began. They didn't seem to be bothered by the holy water that was on me.
Darkness whirled about me as I made another lunge for the door. Bedford laughed at me and made a mockery of my pain.
The door held. Another bolt of pain as another of the shadows hit me.
I stumbled blindly towards the hiding place of the book.
If they wanted it it THIS bad....I'd GIVE it to them!
I grabbed for the book as another wave of pain hit me and made my way down the Aisle on which the Bibles and other such books were kept.
I stopped in the center of the aisle as a window upstairs shattered.
Suddenly, Bradofrd was there in front of me. He was joined by a man in a hospital gown wearing an oxygen mask of some kind. Next to him was a girl whose lips were sown shut.
Together they radiated a powerful evil.
I began to despair, both for myself and for Melinda.
I held the book out, holding onto it with both hands. A look of triumph came to Bedford's face.
Then it happened. Through the window came an explosion of bright light.
I stood there transfixed by it. Then I smiled.
Melinda was fighting and something....or someone was helping her.
But she was on the other side of the square and I knew that I had to fight MY battle alone.
"You want it? Come and get it", I said as a hot grin spread slowly across my face.
I opened the book.
The book opened to the exact center page and as it did, the Light leaped from it!
In my head I heard the sound of glass shattering and what sounded like a thousand voices screaming. I saw the bodies of the three ghosts before me shatter. The noise drove me to my knees.
The last thing I remembered was saying "You lose!"

When I came to, the Light from the book was gone and the natural darkness of night had returned. There was nothing frightening about it.
I knew that somehow Melinda had won and so had I.
I saw her the next day and she looked radiant.

I entered her shop and Delia was with her. Ned came out of the back room and greeted me.
"Melinda Gordon, I thought that when I moved here it would be a quiet little town off the beaten path. So much for that."
That brought chuckles from them.
"I guess we won the fight last night."
"Yeah", Melinda said. "I heard you had one yourself."
"And he did quite well for himself although I was worried for a moment", said a ghost who suddenly appeared at my side with a smile.
"Who are you?"
"I'm one of the Watchers, but you can call me Carl."
"Watchers?"
Delia gave me a hug and excused herself seeing that she couldn't see who Melinda and I were talking to or about.
"Long story", Melinda said, smiling.
Jim came through the door with Aiden in tow.
"Hey, we still on for Lunch?"
"Wouldn't miss it", Melinda said.
I took that as my cue and headed for the door.
"Hey, I'll see you guys later."
Jim looked at me with a look of mock sternness.
"Wait a minute, where ya goin'?
"Well...uh...I thought..."
"Nah, come on. You're with us."
Ned called to his mother and she rejoined us.
From that moment I felt as though I belonged.
Eli was waiting for us at the restaurant.
As we sat down to order I looked at Melinda.
"Hard times are over?"
She nodded, smiled warmly at me and then said, "Yes. For awhile."

THE END

End Theme (http://www.ghostwhisperer.us/Music/TV%20Themes/Ghost%20Whisperer%20-%20End.mp3)

(*the creepy lawyer/stalker from "No Safe Place")
(**Tom Gordon)

[Captain Kundalini]

I would like to thank the following talented and gifted people who made "Ghost Whisperer" so unforgettable:

Jennifer Love Hewitt
David Conrad
Aisha Tyler
Camryn Manheim
Jay Mohr
Christoph Sanders
Jamie Kennedy
Bruce Davison
Conner Gibbs
John Grey
Ian Sander
Kim Moses
Justin Fisher
Maryann Winkowski
James Van Praagh

And thank you, gentle reader for reading.