by Hunter Shea
She could only nod as she hiccupped, holding back a fresh wave of tears. Selena had every right to be scared out of her mind. What they had all witnessed was a flat-out assault, not just on her, but her father and Jessica as well.
“Rita, do you think you could take Selena to the bathroom and check her for any marks? I need to know if there are any bruises, burns or scratches. Take my camera with you and if you both agree to it, take pictures of anything abnormal. This has gotten serious and I need to document everything.”
Rita agreed and, holding Selena by her shoulders, walked her to the bathroom.
“Why does the ghost want to hurt my sister?” Ricky said. He now sat close to Julie who had placed a protective arm around him. The question broke her heart.
She was at a loss. What could she say to this little boy who had just witnessed one of the more personal violations that a person could endure by an EB? As much as she wanted to reassure him that everything would be all right, she also didn’t want to lie to him. Everything had been turned on its ass and she no longer knew which end was up.
The doorbell saved her from stammering through a lame explanation.
Greg answered, opening the door wide to allow Eddie inside.
“I’m sorry to ring the bell in the middle of the night, but I saw the lights on,” he started to say, then stopped when he saw everyone in the living room. “Is everyone okay?”
“Physically, yes, I think,” Jessica answered, looking at Greg who still appeared stunned.
“You missed some dumb scary shit,” Julie said, then clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized she had cursed in front of Selena’s parents.
“It was totally freaky,” Crissy said. “Something attacked Selena and made people fly around the room!”
A dark cloud passed over Eddie’s face and he raced up the stairs. Jessica’s first instinct was to join him but she realized she was needed more down here. The floorboards creaked as Eddie went from room to room.
Rita and Selena emerged from the bathroom. “She has bruises on her shins and shoulders. I took a picture of each.” Her hand shook as she passed the camera back to Jessica.
“I think it’s best I get you all out of the house now. Why don’t you follow me to the Best Western? I’ll phone ahead and get you a couple of rooms.”
Greg protested at first, insisting he get the rooms, but she stood firm. He was too drained to argue. Eddie came back down five minutes later, his complexion ashen.
They were all on the road a minute later, the Leighs and Selena’s friends bundled into their minivan.
“There’s another presence around Selena,” Eddie said.
“So that wasn’t the doppelganger, right? I knew it.”
“Not even close. And it doesn’t want to scare her.”
Jessica navigated her Jeep through the dark, empty streets, the passing streetlights stabbing through her tired eyes. She slammed on the brakes when he spoke next.
“It wants to rape her.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The next day, Greg and Rita drove Crissy and a shaken Julie back to their homes, leaving their kids with Jessica and Eddie. It was important to at least try to get Rick’s mind off the horror of the night before, so they brought him to the game room and gave him two rolls of quarters. While he played a game that required his shooting a continual onslaught of zombies, Selena sat on the small pool table and stared into the distance.
“We have to get to the house as soon as Greg and Rita get back,” Jessica said, whispering in Eddie’s ear. They were both afraid to mention anything in front of Selena. She looked as fragile as a crystal needle.
“Time is not on our side,” he said. “The entity isn’t tied to the house, but I felt that it is nearby. It’s trying to bond with Selena so it’s free to go anywhere she goes, and have access to her any time it’s built up enough strength.” He led Jessica by the arm to the door. “We’ll be right outside, guys. You’ll be able to see us through the window. Okay?”
Ricky was lost in battle. Selena gave a soft nod, though with obvious trepidation.
The air outside the cramped, stuffy game room was a nice relief. Dark clouds were gathering to the west. It already smelled like rain.
Jessica asked him, “So the haunting isn’t necessarily part of the house?”
“No, it’s entirely centered on Selena. Jess, the thing I sensed in there last night is bad. If I could have washed my body, mind and soul in acid to cleanse myself, I would have. I was just catching the residual emotions it left behind and I was hit with desires and intentions so twisted, I’m almost afraid to think about them, much less talk about them.”
Jessica looked him square in the eyes. “I need you to be one-hundred-percent positive about this. I haven’t known you long enough to get a good sense of what you can and can’t do, but what I’ve witnessed so far has me seeing things in a different way. Is Selena in danger?”
“Oh, yes,” he exhaled.
“And what about her double walker? Where does that fit in?”
“Double walker?”
“It’s what Selena requested we call it. She says the word doppelganger sounds too frightening.”
“After last night, the doppelganger is her best friend. I had a long talk with Morgan and Gigi last night and I realized their experience is very similar to Selena’s. Most times, people equate the appearance of a…a double walker, with impending disaster or, at best, a bit of bad news to come. In Morgan’s case, he kept seeing his father because the doppelganger was trying to warn him. Turns out, the advice it gave him saved his and Gigi’s lives.”
“They spoke to it?” Jessica was flabbergasted.
“Just the same way I’m talking to you now. This was the last time they saw it. I think it had been gathering enough energy, establishing its place in the here and now, to keep them from making a decision that could have killed them. And I think that’s the same thing with Selena’s double walker. It’s trying to warn her, or protect her, I’m not sure yet, from the other entity that’s been circling her, waiting for its moment.”
“Then is it even wise to leave her alone if we go to the house? Should one of us stay here?” She checked in on the kids and waved. Selena returned with a half smile that never reached her eyes.
She opened the door for another theory that had been formulating in the recesses of his mind ever since the night they had sent the poltergeist-like EB packing. He was worried how she would take it, but it had to be said.
“Can I be blunt with you?” he said, tensing, waiting for her to hit him with a roundhouse.
“You have to be,” she replied.
“It’s about you. I think we need to keep some distance between you and Selena.”
Jessica stared at him with a mix of bewilderment and the beginning sparks of anger. “You said I’ve proven myself somewhat to you in the short time we’ve been together. You have to realize, I don’t say this lightly, because I think what you do is heroic. I’ve been involved in this world, and when I say world I mean communing with spirits, for as long as I can remember. Being a psychic-medium with PK abilities has made for a very interesting life, and I’ve seen and heard things that would send most people running. Except you, and I can’t say that about anyone else I’ve ever met. And as much as I bring to the table with faculties that extend into the paranormal, I’ve come to realize that you have your own powers, ones that I’m sure you’re not even aware of, aside from realizing that you can send EBs away just by saying their name. Do you know how or why that works?”
“No, but the end result is all that matters when I’m asked to help someone. What are you getting at? I hope you’re not trying to tell me I’m psychic.”
“There’s a big similarity to what you can do to an EB with the Catholic rites of exorcism, only without the holy incantations. In the rites, the priest commands the demon to tell him its name, and when it does, the end of the ordeal is near. Now, what you deal with isn’t necessarily demonic,
but you’ve instinctively tapped into a process that’s been around for millennia.”
The first rumble of thunder rolled overhead and the small sliver of sun dipped behind a massive rain cloud.
Eddie continued, “Look, I’m not sure how your banishing thing works, but I do know that when spirits are around you, they get an extra boost of energy. It’s kind of like you’re a generator, doling out power without even knowing it. Haven’t you ever wondered why so many of the cases you’ve worked on have been so intense?”
Jessica bent down to pick up a small rock, tossing it across the parking lot and into a stand of trees. She said, “To tell you the truth, everything I’ve ever experienced has been held up to what happened to my family when I was young. Anything less than that has been normal to me. I never once thought that I was making things worse.”
Eddie was relieved that she hadn’t thrown any punches, verbal or otherwise. He dared to hold her hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “You’re not the bad guy in all of this. You bring the storm, but you also bring the calm. Let me take the lead today and I can show you what I can do and together, we can see how both of our talents can work as a team. We just need to do it all away from Selena.”
Jessica paced between a pair of parked cars. He allowed her as much time as she needed to absorb everything. Selena and Ricky were now playing pool, though neither seemed to be deriving much fun from it.
Finally, Jessica came to a stop and said, “Tell me what to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Greg Leigh sat in their hotel room nursing the whiskey he had poured in one of the plastic cups that had been placed by the bathroom sink. When he stared at himself in the mirror, he was shocked by his reflection. He looked plagued, like a man who was no longer sure about anything or even his place in the world. Maybe a stiff drink would help put things in perspective. At the very least, it would quiet the running questions in his mind.
Rita came up behind him, rubbing his shoulders, pressing her cheek against the top of his head. Together, they watched Selena and Rick sleeping in the double bed. The kids had passed out, exhausted from the level of panic that had ridden hard through them over the past couple of days. Selena lay with a protective arm over her brother, snoring softly.
“I should go there,” Greg said, his lips pulled tight against his teeth from the bite of the whiskey.
“We all need you here, Greg,” Rita said, taking the chair next to him. Her hair was wrapped up in a white towel and she smelled like soap and body lotion. He’d wanted to join her in the shower, needed to feel her touch, to ground himself back into the reality that had suited him just fine for the past forty-four years. With the kids so close, he had to find another way, which was why he went out to buy the bottle of Maker’s Mark.
“I don’t even know if we can trust Jessica and Eddie. We don’t really know them. In fact, the only thing I do know is that ever since they arrived, things have gotten worse. This whole circus could be a setup and they’re robbing us blind while we sit here in a room smaller than our kitchen.” He knocked back the rest of the whiskey and crushed the cup, a macho move that lost a lot of its luster when he realized the plastic was about as thin as a sheet of paper.
Rita pulled his face close to hers, caressing his tense jaw with her fingertips. “It’s perfectly normal to try to rationalize what’s been happening. I’m no more comfortable than you with accepting the fact that a ghost or whatever you could call it is in our house and tried to attack our daughter. Jesus, we just saw it hours ago and saying it out loud makes it sound impossible. But it did happen, Greg, and we should be thankful that we have people who are willing to face it.”
I’m willing to face it, he grumbled to himself. The shock from the entity that had tried to smother his daughter had strengthened his resolve to confront whatever had insinuated itself into their lives and spun them out of control. Everyone had pleaded with him to go to the emergency room to make sure he didn’t sustain any damage that they couldn’t see, but he refused. What was he supposed to tell the doctor? Well, while my daughter was pinned down by a ghost, I tried to rescue her and was tasered by Boo Berry.
“Why don’t you take a nap, too, hon?” he said.
“I think you should join me. You got as little sleep as the rest of us, and then some.”
He kissed her. “I will. I just need another round, then I’ll be good and tired.”
Rita adjusted the air conditioning and settled under the covers. Greg poured another drink, waiting.
The house had a different feel to it now that it was empty and in the daytime, though the gray skies provided very little light. It felt hollow, like going to a wake and viewing a loved one, surprised by the absence of a soul in the cool body in the coffin. It was why wakes were a necessary function for so many. It gave the grieving the opportunity to realize that the deceased was no longer in their body. They had moved on.
What had been in the house last night had moved on as well. Jessica had followed Eddie throughout every corner of the house, doing something she normally hated, which was giving someone else the lead.
“Nothing,” he said when they finished in Selena’s room. The residue of the night before, rumpled sleeping bags and scattered pillows, lay everywhere. “It’s gone for now, partly because I think we removed its reason for being here.”
Jessica concentrated on the closet, waiting for Selena’s double walker to appear. She asked, “What about the doppelganger? Is that gone, too?”
“That is always with Selena. I’m convinced that doppelgangers are nothing more than extensions of the person they appear to be, even if they’re deceased. If my hunch is correct, it’s completed the task it came into being to do. It got help for Selena. Now that I know there’s something else at play here, I doubt it will come back.”
“Well, that’s one piece of good news at least. I don’t know if Selena could handle seeing it again, even if it has good intentions.”
The wood of the roof popped and they both froze, straining to hear any follow up noises.
“That was just the house,” Jessica said. The wind had picked up outside, causing the wood joints to shift. She pulled her Guns N’ Roses T-shirt away from her chest to let some fresh air against her damp skin. The humidity from the coming storm was peaking and unpleasant.
“So, what do we do now? I have no problem camping here for the week if I have to.”
Eddie chuckled. “I know you wouldn’t. I’m pretty sure it won’t come to that. The EB might not be here now, but I’ll bring it back. Can you close the blinds while I gather up all these blankets?”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to do some Ganzfeld procedure or anything like that,” she said.
The Ganzfeld procedure was a once popular parapsychology experiment where people with reported psychic abilities were given two white discs to place over their eyes while wearing headphones piping in white noise. Sometimes, strobe lights were added to the mix. It was supposed to heighten a psychic’s abilities. She thought it looked nice and creepy for movies and TV shows, but couldn’t for the life of her understand why it would help someone who was a true psychic. If you had a gift, you had a gift. What was the point of all the external nonsense?
He tossed all of the blankets and pillows into the closet. “Not for me, thank you. I had to go through a few of those while I was at The Rhine. I found it to be distracting. I prefer au naturale, just like my old great grandpa. Now my father, he did some odd things to communicate with the dead like soaking in an ice bath or covering his head with a heavy cloth to block out any ambient noise. I think that’s part of the reason he burned out so early. He tried too hard, though maybe he had to in order to make things work. We don’t talk much about it.”
She was about to ask him more about his father, but something in his tone told her it was best to leave it alone, for now.
“Okay, the room is clean and dark. What’s next?”
“Now we get on the bed and lie down,” he s
aid with a smirk.
“Ha-ha, very funny. Seriously, what are you going to do?”
“I am serious. We both need to lie down on the bed.” His expression had turned somber. “I promise, this is not some ploy to get you in the sheets. I’m going to do something that you don’t read about in any books or see in any movies. It’s something I can do that, so far, is unique to me.”
Jessica had to keep her swirling doubts about the world of psychic phenomena at bay. Plus, curiosity was getting the better of her. Eddie propped his head on two pillows and stretched out. As she settled in next to him, she said, “Just a warning, I am a kickboxer, and not just some chick who goes through the motions to get a bitchin’ workout.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. So it’s in my own personal safety and interest to tell you up front that our hands will need to touch. I’m just going to rest the back of mine against yours, like that. Okay?”
She wanted to tell him it was very far from okay, but she had agreed to go along with him and if a little hand-to-hand contact was necessary, she would let it slide.
“This better be amazing,” she said, staring at the ceiling. A chip of plaster hung down in the far corner.
Eddie exhaled heavily through his mouth. “If it works, it will be. Now, the one thing I do know about this EB is that it’s fixated on Selena. I got the perception that it’s been hanging on the periphery for a while now, biding its time. When we first came here looking for the doppelganger, this other presence was using its power to cloak itself from me, which is why I felt nothing. That was its first mistake, because I knew right away that something was off here. Every house has a kind of soul, especially one with people living in it. This house was so devoid of one that I knew there had to be another force jamming my frequency. The EB was right in doing it if it doesn’t want to be found, because ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the population would have never picked up on that.”