Binding Memories

Chapter 1

My name is Neomi Rega. I never believed in ghosts until I came face to face with one. So I set out on a quest to find what I once saw onto video. With no big camera crew following me around, I am joined only by my fellow investigator, Chase Lazaro. The two of us will travel to some of the most highly active, paranormal locations-

"No."

So much for a Ghost Adventures introduction... "Why not?" I whined as I stared at my friend.

He pushed his glasses up on his face. "Let's see, the last time I went with you, I was knocked out by-"

"A ghost throwing objects," I chirped.

"Falling debris," Chase glared, his blue eyes piercing me. "Something you caused, remember?"

Operation five was a total letdown in an abandoned house. I had gotten so pissed off that I wasn't getting any evidence that I made some noise with a broken chair against a drywall. It wasn't one of my best ideas, I'll admit, but just being there, where a whole family had died tragically, was a heartfelt feeling I'll never forget. "I won't do that again," I promised.

He returned to doing his classwork. "If you want to so much, go by yourself."

I sighed and looked down at my doodled paper. "What a good friend you are," I muttered, closing my binder. My fingers drummed against it as I thought of others who would want to be with me on my next operation and crossed them out one by one. Due to accidents, lack of evidence, or horrifying discoveries, there weren't many- if any at all- that would agree to come spend the night with me.

I would have to go alone.

Only I, Neomi Rega, with my trusted video camera, digital camera, and my Compaq Mini computer, will have to venture deep into the haunted, abandoned hospital of Los Angeles: Linda Vista Hospital.

There. A perfect intro for my operation tonight.

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They thought a chain-link fence could stop me? Chuckling to myself, I dropped down on the other side of it into a crouch, cursing when my legs throbbed. Though, as I assumed they would lock the hospital up, surprisingly, I found that the front door was open and propped with an old, off-white binder to prevent it from closing automatically.

My brows drew together as I slowly pushed open the door, peeking inside. From my research, this hospital used to allow no one in except TV ghost chasers like moi in here. But now, they weren't letting anyone document anything.

It couldn't be the night guard, could it? They would have keys and wouldn't have to keep the door from closing. I stepped inside the lobby and glanced at the door, finding it set to be locked.

I ignored the suspicions forming inside my head and took a big whiff of the hospital, choking on dust particles. Or spirits welcoming me in. I held up my Canon camera and snapped pictures, closing my eyes against the flashes to avoid having my adjusted eyes hurt.

If you didn't catch on by now, I will tell you. I am overly fascinated with the idea of spirits lingering in this world. I watched every single ghost-television show and made notes of what was common between them or what was obviously staged. Since I was seven, I wanted to capture a full apparition on film. Do I have any professional experience? No, not really. I just look up haunted places around my neighborhood (since Mother-Dearest won't let me travel around the globe), look up precautions, pack up, and leave for the night. Is my mom concerned about what I do? I think so. She doesn't know I spend the night in abandoned buildings because I know what her answer would be. I get back home at four in the morning, giving me eight hours to chase my dreams and two hours to sleep.

Walking through dark halls, relying on a flashlight to not trip over any loose tiles or furniture, I kept my breathing even and soft. My ears are carefully listening to any sound besides my gentle footsteps. It was beyond cold in the building, making goosebumps bead on my bare arms. Was it the fall winds that cooled this place? Or was it a ghost passing through me, trying to get my attention.

I jiggled the door to the stairs, cursing when it was locked. What person locks doors inside when the doors leading outside is locked? Hesitantly, I pointed the beam of my flashlight further down the hall. My heart pounded fast in my chest with adrenaline as I squinted to the end. Figuring there could be other stairwells, I continued walking, glancing into dark rooms that held...hospital stuff. I didn't bother shining my flashlight inside to look. What I wanted to do was to get to the floor that held the chapel- which completely interested me.

I don't do much research to begin with. My friends say that I'm careless and that I'm going to get seriously hurt just diving into an abandon building. I'm not some extreme, looking-for-danger, kind of kid though, I'm actually quite cautious. I do put on a brave front but, even right now, I have the nervous jitters of a rabbit. Let's keep this between you and me.

What I do like to do is search for adventure. No way was I going to waste away in a small city no one outside knows where. When I'm older, I'm going to be someone. I'm going to travel the world. I'm going to meet a hunk of a man that's going to be my husband and we're going to have three kids and live young though we're dying old.

My foot snags on a broken heart monitor and I fall face-first on the linoleum, scrapping my arms on warped tiles when I tried to protect my face. I swore as the cuts throbbed on my forearms and realized that I fell on my camera. When I scramble to my knees and point the flashlight at my technology, I see that the lens had cracked and the shutter cap broke into two pieces. Two hundred dollars down the drain.

I made a loud frustrated sound in my throat as I checked my duffel bag. Thankfully, my video camera and netbook are still intact. I open the small computer and wake it to make a small note of the time and my evidence so far-none. The computer's light nearly blinded me when I turned it on so I had a bit of trouble finding my flashlight again.

Just in time to hear clicking down the hall.

My eyes widened as I peered further down the hall, though, all I saw was darkness since my eyes weren't adjusted yet. I could feel my hands trembling as I tried to silently dig out my video camera. The clicking was getting closer until I realized they were the sounds of shoes shuffling on the floor and murmurs of a male voice. Squinting, I could make out the beam of a flashlight until the stranger turned the corner.

Covering my mouth, I quickly pulled my equipment and myself into the nearest room. Whoever it was, it wasn't a ghost. I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't a guard either.

The flashlight beam passed by the door as the guy spoke on a cell phone.

"It's clear at the hospital," the gruff voice said. I closed my eyes as my stomach churned out of nervousness. It was one of those nights that made me wish I picked another night. "No, the stairwells are locked. I'm not talented enough to scale buildings, ya know?... I know it's clear because your gizmo-thing would catch anyone in a fifty yard radius...I figured if I faced it upward it could- damn it, lady, I can't get up there any other way... whatever, I left the door open, if you would get your lard ass out of the truck-..."

The voice finally faded away and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want to know what he was talking about or why he was here. I just wanted out before the guy found out that the hospital wasn't completely empty as he said. I made a note to update my blog about my finds as I slipped successfully out of the building without seeing him again. I made it a mission to avoid any suspicious looking trucks as I headed home.