The Listener

The Paranormal Investigator Book 2

by Christopher Carrolli

Found face down in a puddle of blood, Sidney Pratt is rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnose cerebral hemorrhage as the culprit. Comatose, Sidney enters the realm of white light and takes a mysterious journey within it, where he questions his mortality. He meets the dead face to face and soon, the events of his life are played out, but his untold memory of a boy's voice unravels the team's next case…that of The Listener.



Excerpt

It was a slight twinge of apprehension, a dark, fleeting fear she couldn’t define that caused her to suddenly stir and stare ahead at the building. Sidney had been inside for far too long. Almost ten minutes had passed since he was to meet her in the parking lot. She’d left him in room 208, the paranormal investigative team’s headquarters, where he was closing up shop, distressed and anguished over the death of Tracy Kimball. They were on their way to a somber, post-funeral gathering at Marcia Ross’s house, and now they were late as Sidney lingered inside.

Leah Leeds slammed the door of the van with a sigh of exasperation. Sidney hadn’t wanted to go to Marcia’s; he couldn’t face Tracy’s parents, as he blamed himself for the tragic car accident that claimed her life. Leah became angered as she thought of his abounding ego that had displaced certain logic. She feared another explosion of heated words, picturing him basking in a flood of tears and sitting stubbornly motionless at the conference table. Either way, she had to go back inside to retrieve him.

It took five minutes to reach room 208. She pulled the heavy door slightly ajar and could hear the innate sound of rushing static coming from within. The tone of it sent chills through her, especially after the past three days of Hell that had enwrapped Tracy Kimball like a custom-made shawl. The monotony of the static’s drone reached out into the hallway, but no other sounds could be heard.

“Sidney?” She called inside, pulling the heavy door wider.

“Sidney?” There was no response. She stepped inside, almost hearing the quickened beatings of her heart over the static. Her eyes caught the culprit producing the noise: the team’s giant screen TV. But it hadn’t been on when she’d left the room fifteen minutes ago.

Where was he?

She called out to him again, but this time, her voice stopped when her eyes met something on the floor behind the right side of the table. She stared in disbelief for what seemed like minutes, though it was only seconds. Sidney lay on the floor, face down, the blood smearing the side of his face and staining the carpet. She dropped her purse to the floor.

“Sidney!” She screamed out to him, her fleeting fear finally identified as he lingered near death in front of her. She fell to her knees beside him, touched his clammy skin, and checked his pulse. It was a slow one.

He’s not dead. Oh God, not yet! Her thoughts moved fast.

Sidney!” She screamed out again, and the pain in her voice brought the tears. Again, there was no response. She flipped open her cell and dialed 911.

 

"The Listener" - Christopher Carrolli

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Genres

Paranormal
Drama

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