Chapter 3
Norway's library was relatively small compared to places like Portland and once inside, Samantha found a cubicle near the back of the second floor. Henry was right about one thing. Samantha was a loner and enjoyed a life of quiet anonymity. Socially, she was invisible, with only a handful of friends and was not one to be mingling downtown. In school, she was seen as being distant and something of an oddity, mostly because of her interest in comic books and science fiction. These were seen by her fellow students as tomboyish and not something the average student would participate in. But there was one thing she secretly obsessed about - the paranormal. Ghosts, Bigfoot, UFO's. Samantha's imagine was driven by anything of an unknown nature and she had taken a recent Saturday to explore the older cemeteries of Portland and became fascinated with gravestone art. The skull and cross-bones used during the eighteenth century set her imagination on fire, but this was not the subject of her paper. She chose instead to write on the topic of hauntings, centering on both speculation and the science of ghost hunting. She would include documented investigations as well as the technology used to gather evidence of earth-bound specters, roaming through dark places in search of solace or a way back to a familiar place. The only other person who knew what she was writing about was the teacher. Samantha knew how her fellow students perceived her and didn't want to add to the strange glances, giggles, and rumors that had circulated throughout the school. Being a loner made it easy for her to pursue this particular interest and there were many nights when the air was clear that Samantha would stay up late, sitting at an open window watching the sky, wondering. She had snuck into a few of the town's abandoned houses and cemeteries as well, mostly at night. The potency of her curiosity muffled any fear of entering such places alone. But in spite of the dark silence around her, she always left without the terrifying satisfaction of the experience she craved. She sought a degree of certainty that there was something more than what she saw around her. More than the ordinary. If she could witness the unearthly only once, it would be evidence enough that there was more to human existence than what is seen on the surface.
When Samantha wasn't stalking the dead or anticipating first contact, she could be found wandering the aisles of Norway's only science fiction bookstore. Her interest in comic books closely followed her interest in the paranormal with stories of ghosts, vampires, and demonic invaders. Anything dark was more than sufficient to hold her imagination in its grip. Yet, the life of a loner was also fraught with confusion and Samantha's life seemed to define the word itself. Naturally, as a teenager, she was looking for identity, to find her place. This was especially difficult without friends, other people with whom she could identify in her commiseration and was well aware that she stood out from other students and learned that their glances, whispers, and rumors were not worth the aggravation of an emotional response. Even though she struggled to discover herself, she was, at least, able to be comfortable with herself and
live in her own skin.