Free Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) by Kevin Weinberg Page A

Blu-Ray. We could make a thing of it! I know,
first we’ll watch the originals, and then the special edition.
Then, we can watch the new trilogy. Wait, actually we should watch
the new trilogy first, since it’s in chronological order and then
you could … Wait, that’s a bad idea too. I don’t want your first
Star Wars experience to be soiled by 'Phantom.' Okay, here’s what
we’ll do, we’ll—”
    “ Jack, stop for a minute. I need to
talk to you.”
    “ Oh? What’s up, Melissa?”
    They took seats on a low to the ground section
of the giant water fountain. She enjoyed the moist, delicate wind
that caressed her skin as it cooled off from the fountain behind
her.
    “ This isn’t going to be easy for me
to say, but there’s some things you need to know.” She tried to
think of how to tell him what she must. She needed a delicate way
to explain to him why he might not be able to return home for a few
nights.
    As she opened her mouth to speak, the phone in
her pocket went off. “Just a sec, Jack.” She raised the phone to
her ear. “This is Melissa.”
    “Melissa, thank god you’re okay.
It’s Paro. Are you with the Harris kid?”
    “ Umm, yeah, he’s right here. It’s as
I thought, but there’s not much to worry about. He’s exactly what
we thought him to originally be. No link whatsoever.”
    “ No, you’re wrong. Listen, we
found out some stuff.”
    Melissa tensed as Paro spoke. She shook her
head instinctively as she listened to his theory.
    “ No, that’s not possible,” she said.
She turned to Jack. “Jack, you were with your mother all day,
right? I mean, after you got home from school?”
    Jack looked puzzled. He definitely had no idea
what the phone call was about or who she was speaking to. “Umm, no,
I didn’t get home until about a half-hour before you showed up. I
was busy doing some stuff with a friend.”
    For the second time that day, she felt the cold
touch of fear.
    “ Melissa, we’re already on our
way. Just keep him there and don’t do anything
stupid.”
    “ Wait a minute, Paro. You’re wrong
about this. I’ve gotten to know him … It can’t be.”
    “ You should know by now that
anything can be. It might even be possible he doesn’t realize what
he has done. Who can tell what is inside the mind of a killer? But
what we do know at this point is that we have every reason to
believe he is either an initiate of the original killers or solely
responsible himself.
”
    Melissa looked over to Jack, who was now
oblivious to the conversation. He seemed to be preoccupied reading
some kind of black-and-white comic book on his phone.
    “ It’s almost impossible to
believe.”
    “It often is. Just hang tight,
and don’t let him leave. We’ll be there within five minutes. And
Melissa, thank God you’re okay. We were worried sick about you.
Just hold on and be safe.”
    Melissa gulped as she hung up the phone. So,
this was the monster they were looking for? Without realizing it,
her fear turned to anger.
    Don’t worry, Paro,
she thought to
herself.
He’s not going anywhere
.
Not unless it’s over
my dead body.

Chapter 7: Ambushed

    Jack watched Melissa flip her phone shut and
turn his way. She looked a bit off. Just a few moments earlier, her
eyes held comforting warmth, yet now they held a strong sense of
caution. Had the friend she spoke to earlier told her of some
disturbing news?
    “ Is everything okay, Melissa?” Jack
asked.
    It was like she’d seen a ghost, and Jack felt
concerned. They were still sitting on the corner of the park’s
giant fountain, bathing in the gentle breeze from the wind bouncing
off the water.
    “ Everything’s fine. It was just my
Mom asking me if I remembered to turn off the stove. I’m not really
sure if I did or not, so I got a bit nervous. But thinking back,
I’m pretty sure I did.”
    Jack had the overwhelming sense that something
had changed about her in the last few minutes, but he decided to
drop it for the time being.
    “