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Chapter Two
- Email
- From
Cori
- To
Marta
Hi! The webpage was soooooooo cool! Can’t believe
how much you know about computers! Virtual Sidekick,
huh? I like that! Cause it will be like you are right
there with me. That’s nice to know. Ghosts aren’t
usually “out to get” you… but it’s nice to know I’m
not alone. It would also be neat to have someone to
help me with the research.
Cori, The Ghost Hunter
Marta. You Have Mail!
Marta opened and read the
email from Cori.
“Research?” Marta mumbled
the word. “What kind of research do you have to do to
find ghosts?” Marta sent off an email to Cori. Cori
must have been sitting on the keyboards because her
answer was only minutes in coming.
- Email
- From
Cori
- To
Marta
The research is like knowing all about the time when
the ghosts lived. If they are trapped in their
time, like 1776, I have to know things about
1776. It’s to be able to relate to them where they
are. They aren’t really in our time. We are
stepping back into theirs. Like here, in Gettysburg,
people say it is the most haunted place in America
because of the ghosts from the Battle of Gettysburg.
It was one of the worst battles of the U.S. Civil
War. Thousands of men died in only a few days of fighting.
All the ghosts around here have something to do with
that battle. The ghosts that have been seen are still
dressed in uniforms, carrying guns. To them, they
are still fighting in the Civil War.
There. That’s all I know about Gettysburg! J So, I
have a real need for knowledge if I am going
to be able to help any ghosts!
The Ghost Hunter
Cori went about her unpacking.
This was the part she hated about moving all the time.
That and leaving behind friends. But, maybe, this time,
it was going to be different. Her and Marta had
become best friends in the six months Cori’s mom was
working in Texas. Marta was already calling herself
a virtual sidekick… a sidekick in every way except having
a physical presence. Maybe it would be different this
time.
Just then, Cori’s computer
rung in the presence of another email from Marta.
“Yea,” said Cori to herself
as she pulled-up the email. “This is going to work ok
after all!”
- Email
- From
Marta
- To
Cori
A need for knowledge! Gotcha covered! I did
some quick clicking around the internet and here are
some general facts about the Battle of Gettysburg.
The battle was fought on July 1st, 2nd
and 3rd of 1863. On the fourth, it rained
and nobody fought. On the fifth, the Confederate army
retreated and went back to Virginia. Get this! When
they left, they had hundreds of wagons filled with
dead and wounded. The wagon train was 17 miles long!
The battle was kind of an accident. The Confederates
entered Gettysburg looking for food, clothes and shoes.
Mostly shoes. (Guess you wear out a lot of shoe leather
walking from Virginia to Pennsylvania!) Anyway, there
happened to be Union troops entering town from the
other end. They surprised each other. Shooting began…
and well, that’s how it started.
By the end, there were over 166,000 Union and Confederate
soldiers in the battle. Of those, about 34,000 were
either wounded or killed.
Marta, Virtual Sidekick of the Ghost Hunter
“Wow! No wonder the place is so haunted!” Cori said
to herself as she typed-off an email to Marta.
- Email
- From
Cori
- To
Marta
That sure explains why the place is so haunted! All
those men dying so quickly and before their time.
All the things they never had a chance to say or do.
Their spirits feel all those things still pulling
them back to the living.
I have heard that one of the dorms here at the college
is the most haunted building in the city. From all
the stories, it must have at least a couple of ghosts
on every floor! Rumor is…the basement is full of
ghosts! So, I say that’s where we should begin. Tomorrow
night? I’ll give you a call.
The Ghost Hunter
Ring. Ring.
“Hello! Marta speaking.
Virtual sidekick of the Ghost Hunter!”
“This is the Ghost Hunter,”
laughed Cori from the other end. “Ready to go virtual?”
“Computer on!” replied
Marta. “Start streaming that video!”
“Ok,” laughed Cori.
“First, I have to get all hooked-up. Hang with me
for a second. I’m changing you from the cell phone
to an earpiece and microphone.”
“Really? You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” answered Cori,
static coming over the line as she made the changes.
“The earpiece fits better than headphones. The mic
is clipped onto my shirt. Now, I have to set-up
the camera.”
“Where are you clipping
that onto?” laughed Marta.
“Well, I wear an old
baseball cap,” explained Cori. “And, I snap the
camera onto the bill of the cap.”
“What’s on the baseball
cap?” Marta joked.
“What?” Cori asked.
“Does it matter?”
“Just curious,” Marta
answered.
“It’s got a pink diamond
on the front. I got it when I was playing softball.
Our team was called the Pink Diamond Girls,” Cori
explained, not at all excited about revealing the
information.
“Pink diamond girls!”
laughed Marta. “What were you-four?”
“Five,” laughed back
Cori. “Anyway, there. The camera is mounted on the
cap. Let me hook it into the computer in my backpack…
There. Ok, you should be getting some images…”
“Yep!” Marta said excitedly.
“I’ve got video coming in! You’re looking down a
long hallway. There’s a wall-up close and personal.
There are your shoes. Ah, there’s your hand-waving
at me!”
“Sounds like you’re
with me then,” Cori offered. “Ready to go?”
“Absolutely! And, I’m
going to record everything as it comes in-just in
case we need it later.”
“Good idea!” agreed
Cori. “Ok, here we go.”
Marta’s eyes were fixed
to the computer screen. She watched as the elevator
doors opened in a dorm 2,000 miles away. The image
bounced slightly as Cori stepped-in and turned to
face the closing doors. She saw Cori’s finger reach
to press the button marked B. Then, silence.
Cori looked-up at the
lights marking the floors as she descended. Four.
Three. Two. One.
“Ok,” Cori took a deep
breath and exhaled slowly. “Here we go.”
“Right with you,” came
Marta’s voice in Cori’s ear.
The light hit B. The
elevator doors opened. Cori looked out into the
darkness of the basement.
“Oh… my…gosh,” sighed Cori. “Marta, are you seeing
this?”
To see the images Cori’s camera are
streaming to Marta’s computer, click
here:
To buy the book, click
here.
Read CHAPTER
3.
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