Nightmare by Robin Parrish Read Free Book Online

it.
    We sat in silence for a while as the plane lifted off the ground, and Jordin continued to write. I had hoped to get some time to
do a little studying during this trip, but the silence didn't keep.

    "Something else has been bothering me," she said softly, closing her book and leaning over a little closer than I liked, like a
fellow conspirator. "That day we first talked ... I got the feeling
you don't believe in orbs."
    Orbs were a common phenomenon known throughout the
paranormal world. They often appeared as tiny white globs of
light that flew freely through a given space. The prevailing theory
about orbs was that they were disembodied souls trying to manifest themselves visually.
    "True paranormal investigation isn't about what you believe,"
I told her. "It's about what you can prove. Evidence-pure, scientific, empirical evidence-is the holy grail. It's all about proving
that ghosts and the paranormal are real in ways that even the
most skeptical pundit can't argue with."
    "But has that ever been done?"
    "There's some very, very compelling evidence out there," I
replied. "Most of it collected by people like my parents. But the
world of the paranormal is never eager to reveal itself. My parents' TV show is popular partly because they don't accept everything they find as evidence of the paranormal. Whenever they
come across something odd, their first move is to find a normal
explanation for it. If they can't find one, if they can't prove that
it has a logical explanation, then it becomes a candidate for paranormal activity."
    Jordin considered this. "But ... has real evidence ever been
collected? Has the paranormal ever been proven?"
    I thought carefully, considering the best response to give.
"Any scientist will tell you there are infinite numbers of things in the universe that we cannot explain. And no one will argue that
proving what happens to us after we die is a question we still
can't answer. Whatever label you apply to it-the paranormal,
the afterlife, the unexplained-almost everyone agrees that things
exist that are outside of our ability to perceive. But defining it,
quantifying it, cataloging the exact scientific parameters of what
it is and where it is and how it functions ... no, we've never
achieved that."

    Jordin looked thoughtful. "Then what makes your parents
think they ever will? Why keep searching for evidence that might
not ever be found?"
    I shrugged. "Why do people keep looking for evidence of
Atlantis? Or UFOs? Or any other supposedly `crazy' thing that's
never been proven? No matter how many years pass without
definitive evidence, people just keep searching. Why do you think
that is?"
    "I don't know."
    "It's because no matter how many times these things are
shot down or explained away with logic, it's never a good enough
explanation."
    Jordin was visibly having a hard time with this. "I don't know
what that means."
    "We believe because we want to believe," I said. "We believe
so strongly that no one can change our minds."
    She was frowning. "Are you saying the pursuit of the paranormal is illogical? Irrational?"
    "I'm saying that in my experience, it's very human to want to
believe that there's more to us than this mortal life. And maybe
that desire is inside us for a reason. But don't take my word for it-you tell me. Why are you so eager to experience the paranormal
for yourself? What's your reason?"

    Jordin was instantly uncomfortable, and closed her mouth
tight.
    I smiled without humor, knowing my point was made. "Whatever your reason, no one ever stops searching ... because we
can't."

    We headed in a rental car from the Louisville Airport to Highway 21 and eventually to an unassuming single-lane road that
took us past a small trailer park and a diminutive collection
of apartment buildings and then through a gated entrance. A
narrow road snaked back and forth through woods too dense
to see through.
    One final curve to the left, almost a full U-turn,