What happened next

Cedric realised there were too many things he didn't fully understand. He crossed the room to a small, rather battered looking, wooden box. It was padlocked. He took a key which was strung around his neck and opened it. From within, he took a small, flat , circle of plywood. He returned to the women. "Please," he said nervously, "Grab hold of this, but don't pull too hard, for this is the all-seeing eye of Ikea! It will help me understand all that has befallen you, gain enlightenment, learn the secrets of flat-packed furniture - even if that is a side issue." Cedric concentrated. Beneath their lids his eyes crossed. His elbows made strange flapping motions. At last the information transfer was complete. Cedric now knew about odd beginnings, possible hauntings, strange smells, perhaps the existance of ghosts and other entities. Then suddenly he realised...The transfer had not been 'just one way', she now knew everything about him...

Melissa flopped onto the settee her mouth gapping like a fish. 'Wow' she said 'you have seen so much' Cedric looked to the floor not wanting to make eye contact with Melissa. 'What,how do you live with all this horror?' she tried to make eye contact with Cedric.

Cedric shook himself. "I find cold showers, long walks and camomile tea help me to gather my composure" he said in a matter of fact tone. Secretly, Cedric was glad the woman hadn't delved too far into his early memories, the episode with that studious girl from the library when he was 17, and the time he confused a 3rd level nymphospirit with a hotel cleaning lady were particularly embarrassing... Cedric shook himself again. "Madam," he announced in an assertive voice - which all the same quavered a little, "We must not delay! We must return to the phyisical location where all of these events began! I can give you a lift on the crossbar of my bike, or we can catch a bus. I leave our mode of transport up to you. We must be swift - I fear grave doings are afoot..."

They got off the bus at the stop opposite mellisa's house. The very shelter Cedric got slammed into by the angry spirit. They crossed the road and Cedric took a deep breath and tried to clear his head of all thoughts and get himself into the zone. As Melissa opened the front door to her house a torrid of spirits entered Cedric head talking all at once. 'Form an orderly queue I can only help you one by one' Cedric said out loud. And so it has started he thought to himself.

Cedric 'expanded' his conciousness to surround and confine the multiple 'presences' in his mind. It was vital for him to find out exactly what he was dealing with. Ignoring their phychic chatter, he detected a number of 'ghosts', what remains of a human being after they have departed this life. But there was also something else... ancient primeval forces that had been around for a very long time, maybe even longer than 'Man' himself. These were 'Elementals', beings that had never had a physical existance, but were self-aware and omni-present. Powerful entities indeed, as they had the ability to impose their will on the physical world. Cedric had never encountered a situation where different factions of the 'spiritual realm' had formed some kind of an 'alliance' in this way. He was intrigued. He opened a narrow 'gate' in his mental defences and projected a question. "Who speaks for the essences not of human origin here?" In his mind, Cedric 'felt' a low rumble, then a cracked 'voice', said, "I am Trevor, I have traversed the ages. I speak for my kin - and others in this world, which you, the so-called 'living' barely percieve." "Yes, yes, I know all that!" said Cedric, a little impatiently, "But what do you WANT?". There was a pause, then the 'voice' of Trevor came back, "They are breaking the ground. The places of Peace are being defiled. One of our few sanctuties will soon be destroyed, They are building a new Tesco supermarket"... Rather perplexed, Cedric related what he had just 'heard' to his lady companion...

'So Melissa' he said 'I spoke to a spirit called Trevor and he told me a group of spirits are upset that where they have been laid to rest has been destroyed' Cedric took a deep breath and carried on, 'And the ground has been sold off to developers who have now started to build a Tesco's on it'. Melissa looked shocked.....

As Cedric watched Melissa composing herself, Trevor's voice sounded in his mind again, "Look into her eyes..." it said. Cedric was a little startled. He 'thought' back, "What do you mean? Why?". Trevor 'laughed'. It was not so much a 'sound', more a sympathetic resonance and somewhere behind it were eons of observation and experience. "Do you fear the sex humans call Woman?", asked Trevor, almost teasingly. Cedric felt slightly ruffled. He responded, "No, no I don't fear women! But what point would examining her eyes serve?". Trevor performed the mental equivalent of clearing his throat, "I did not say examine her eyes, I said look into them. This woman has perception, ablities that I can not fully fathom, talents that maybe you lack. If you, and the rest of the so-called living world are not to become our sworn enemies, you should seek guidence from this woman, this, Selmissa...". For a moment Cedric felt he had a salient point to hold on to, the mispronuciation of Melissa's name, he was about to respond accordingly but percieved that Trevor had receded to his own domain. Feeling very much out of his depth, Cedric looked into Melissa's eyes...

'Can I ask you a question Melissa?' Cedric said in an almost mouse like squeak, Melissa smiled at his embarrassment,'Of course, anything' she said in a friendly way. Cedric cleared his throat before carrying on. 'Do you have premonitions, see things in your mind before they happen?' Melissa's answer shocked Cedric....

Melissa turned her head to one side, her eyes looked up into space. She pursed her lips for a moment, then said, "I don't exactly see things, but I get sensations and feelings from people and places... for example, from you, I'm getting the name 'Mildrid Otterthwaite' and something about waterfalls...".
Cedric blanched. At that moment Trevor the elemental burst into his mind and 'shouted' "She is dwelling on details! Ask her to explain the female power of devination which she has!"
Cedric looked at Melissa with a weak smile. "Err, can you tell me anything about the female power of devination which you have, err, so I'm told...?"

Without warning a roaring sound errupted inside Cedrics head. It was Trevor. He was not happy. "Putrid slug of a mortal!" he bellowed, "You prancing light-weight! Misbegotten son of an idiot mother! Ask her where the building site is! Oh never mind, I'll do it myself..." and with that he 'entered' Melissa's mind. "Selmissa...it is I, Trevor, the two millionth thrane of the Brorgon Hive, Invidulator to the realms of Hargenflarstriation, Master of the Theromin (Lower Register),...Now come on love, can you take speccy-boy here to the place where they're building the new Tesco? I mean, strike a light darling, It ain't that hard, even a little bimbo like you should have that info. Speaking of 'info', where did the Ref get his from last Satday? That was NOT a foul! Course, they come over 'ere, can't speak a word of the Queen's inglish, no respect for our way of life, fish'n'chips, mindless violence an' that..." Suddenly Trevor stopped. It slowly dawned on him that he may have spent a little too long in Essex on his last quest for unquestionable knowledge...

Melissa stared at Cedric with her jaw nearly hitting the floor, 'Trevor doesn't mince his words does he!!'. Cedric looked embarrassed at Melissa :blush: and said ' Do you know where he means?'. Melissa nodded and got her physic sat nav working.....

Trevor reflected on his attempt to communicate with the woman Selmissa. He hoped it had gone well. For centuries he had been aware that human modes of speech constantly evolved. Recently he had decided to take a 'refresher' course in modern parlance, to be sure he could be understood by the annoying creatures, should the need arise. He had to find a location where humans gathered and more importantly, talked. In his long experiece the best place to observe such activity was an Inn, a Tavern, a Coach house,...a "Public House"! Trevor had found the "Dog and Duck (Sky sports, Karaoke, Tai bar snacks)" almost by chance, not far from Ilford. He had been negotiating the interspacial track ways on one of his 'Doom' patroles when he 'heard' many humans engaged in very intense 'relaxation'. Trevor 'gravitated' towards the disturbance...He entered the Pub through the side wall and 'looked' around. Through the milling crowds he perceived three males sitting at a table. He glided over to them. He soon discovered who they were. Gary ("Gazzer!"), Ethan ("Effo!") and Luke ("Loooky-boy!"). Trevor began to drink in their discourse - as they drank their lager. Trevor gained great insights that night. He returned on several occasions and found the men in the same location. He studied hard. After several weeks he felt fully up to date with the ways and beliefs of 'modern' humans. There were one or two 'minor' things that eluded him, like why Luke was a "whoofter" because he gave flowers to his girlfriend, why Gary was, "A true Brit" even if he did think that Adolf Hitler had some "good ideas" , and why Ethan never spoke about his best and dearest friend John, who was always on his mind. Trevor ignored the nagging 'thought' that he could have cast his net a little wider during his research. No, you don't exist for eons just to worry about the odd oversight once in a while. He was TREVOR after all.

Melissa spoke...