Chapter 98
Baily’s heart skipped a beat when she dropped that bombshell on him without warning.
Lately, the whole team had been on edge, prepping for a new reality show called Ghostly Guidance, a series steeped in the supernatural and unexplained. Now, with someone casually handing out a Charm, it was enough to give anyone the creeps.
Horace and Grace instinctively glanced over at Winnie.
Horace was proud to watch Winnie beat back, while Grace was one of pure curiosity.
Eventually, Baily couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the deal with this?”
He knew that Winnie was about to attend the Supernatural Department at the local college, but he had no idea if she actually had any real skills or not.
After all he had only accepted the invitation of Director Bagot and agreed to do the show as a publicity stunt.
Winnie shook her head slowly, her clear eyes locking onto his, “I’ve just noticed you’ve been having a bit of a rough patch lately, that’s all. A little protection never hurts.”
People with a bit of rough patches were more likely to fall on evil days, especially when they came to the place where the sinister energy was strong.
In particular, Baily was preparing the show Ghostly Guidance.
Baily listened, not sure whether to chalk her words up to actual insight or just a clever act. Still considering the Bryant family’s reputation, he wasn’t about to embarrass the young lady.
Gratefully and with a bright smile, he accepted the charm and made a show of securing it on his person.
Grace wasn’t surprised by Baily’s smooth handling of the situation. It was only after the room had emptied that she looked at Winnie with a smile and asked, “So, do I get a gift too?”
Winnie gazed back at her, all seriousness etched on her delicate face. “You don’t need one,” she said.
Grace widened her smile.
Sometimes, receiving such a gift could be more troubling than not.
Winnie implied that all was well with Grace. Whether or not Winnie had any real powers, hearing those words pleased Grace.
Grace decided then and there that Winnie was quite the character.
7
If it wasn’t for the current policy of not taking on new talent, Grace would have seriously considered signing Winnie on the spot.
Meanwhile, Baily had bid farewell to Winnie only to get a call from Director Bagot, asking him to
19-17
join the next day’s site survey for Ghostly Guidance.
The thought of visiting a place heavy with sinister energy, as Winnie had put it, made Baily instinctively resistant. He tried to worm his way out with a lame excuse. “I might not be feeling well tomorrow…”
Bagot was having none of it. “Do you want to listen to how absurd your excuse sounds?”
Knowing full well he couldn’t escape, Baily chuckled and reassured his friend that he was just kidding. “I’ll be there on time!”
With a mix of determination and trepidation, Bally joined the crew for the site survey the next day. They were investigating an old and abandoned manor rumored to be haunted. Every previous owner had reportedly experienced a multitude of strange occurrences within six months of moving in, leading online forums to dub it a haunted house.
Ghostly Guidance aimed to explore such eerie places, adding an element of authenticity to the show. This was why the crew had set up a hotline for viewers to share their paranormal troubles, to be resolved live on air with the help of guests ranging from celebrity psychics to members of Breeze Monastery.
Baily had chosen Ms. Bryant to be a guest primarily for the buzz it would create around the show. He didn’t really expect much of her supposed abilities.
But thinking back to the calm certainty in her eyes when she handed him the Charm, he began to doubt his skepticism.
With this in mind, he kept the Charm close throughout the visit to the old manor. After a thorough inspection, he found nothing out of the ordinary, despite the inherently creepy atmosphere of the place.
He laughed at himself for being so easily spooked by a young girl’s words. It was probably just a twisted idea of a prank for the heiress of the rich family.
Driving back to the city from the manor’s secluded location, as twilight painted the sky with strokes of red and gold, Baily suddenly felt a chill. He dismissed it as the car’s air conditioning set too low and reached to adjust the temperature.
But as his gaze swept over the dashboard, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. Two eyes, staring intently at him from the passenger seat’s shadows.
Baily’s heart raced, his grip on the steering wheel faltering.
“Ah!” The sound of crunching metal and shattering glass pierced the air as his car collided with the guardrail. A haunting laugh seemed to whisper in his ear, raising goosebumps all over his body.
At the same time, he felt a burning sensation in his chest where he had placed the Charm… At the Bryant family, Winnie had just finished checking the sinister energy surrounding Ghost Baby when her phone rang out of the blue. She glanced at the caller ID and answered
Chapter On
nonchalantly.
The next moment, a man’s cries of hysteria filled her ear.
“Master Bryant! Save me! I swear I’ve encountered something sinister! Please help me, you’re the only one who can!”
The man was none other than Bally, who had just narrowly escaped a brush with death.
Just an hour earlier, his car had spun out of control and crashed into a roadside barrier with such force that the front end was completely mangled.
When the traffic cops arrived, they were sure the driver was a goner.
But Baily, save for a few scrapes, emerged without so much as a mild concussion.
Once the initial shock wore off, Baily, as if remembering something crucial, frantically reached for the spot over his heart.
Where he had placed a Protection Charm, he now found only a handful of dust. The Charm had been reduced to ashes.
The moment Baily saw those ashes, he understood everything. The Charm had saved him from certain doom!
And now, he was a firm believer in the abilities of Winnie.
Recalling the eerie eyes he’d seen just before the accident, Baily felt a chill slice through him like he was plunged into an icy cavern, his bones cold with fear. Worried that the entity was still lurking, he cast aside all concerns for his image and dialed Winnie’s number in desperation.
He was now utterly convinced that Ms. Bryant was the real deal, the chosen one spoken of in whispers across the internet.
Without her, the show Ghostly Guidance was nothing!
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