Unrelenting Terror

by P. S. Power

  Orange Cat Publishing

  Electronic Publishing Division

  2012

  All rights reserved.

  Orange Cat Publishing books by P.S. Power:

  The Infected:

  Proxy

  Gabriel

  Cast Iron

  Gwen Farris:

  Abominations

  Monsters

  Dead End:

  A Very Good Man

  A Very Good Neighbor

  A Very Good Thing

  Keeley Thomson:

  Demon Girl

  Keelzebub

  The Young Ancients:

  The Builder

  Knight Esquire

  Knight of the Realm

  Ambassador

  Counselor

  Stand alone titles:

  Crayons

  Experiment: Unrelenting Terror

  By

  P. S. Power

  Warning:

  This is a work of experimental fiction designed to bring about very strong and lasting feelings of terror and fear in the reader using advanced psychological techniques. The main body of these effects will manifest after the book is finished. The writing style has been carefully crafted and modified to that end, so will read differently than a regular story, this is intentional and needed to create the desired results. Parts of the work, such as repetition of themes is needed, though non-traditional. It has been kept to a minimum, but please remember, this book is about the desired end point, not just the story.

  Most people reading this will experience a sense of being haunted by spirits or possibly possessed by other worldly, even demonic, entities. This includes seeing, hearing and feeling things that may, or may not, be verifiable by other means. This is what the work is designed to bring about, but as suggested by the title, it is experimental and intense side effects are likely. This work may cause actual haunting and possession to take place. The field is too poorly understood to make a definitive claim one way or the other at this time.

  The reader is urged to exercise caution. Always.

  This tale is given to you as a work of fiction, about a character very similar in many ways to yourself, but designed to have real world effects. Don’t take it lightly or think it won’t impact you based on the idea of "mental strength" or religious affiliation. Belief or disbelief in the subject matter will not influence the effects perceived later and the stronger and more intelligent the reader is, the more likely they are to have powerful effects.

  The feeling of being haunted will increase for a time after reading, depending on engagement with the tale. This result gets stronger with multiple readings. Some readers with specific conditions or mental problems, such as autism or psychopathic tendencies may experience only part of the normal results. This work is not recommended for individuals that have mental difficulties or known instability.

  *Neither the author or publisher of this work may be held liable for any damage, physical or mental, done to the reader. All readers do so voluntarily and by doing so are taking personal responsibility for their actions, both short and long term. This is a work of fiction and all psychological affects produced by this story are agreed to in advance by the reader.

  By reading this work, even starting to read it, the reader is agreeing to participate fully in this experiment and allow it to work in a fair and full manner.

  Thank you for participating of your own free will.

  Chapter one

  The man in front of me looked right for a spiritual adviser, in a way at least. A strange and eerie way. He had jet black hair which was short and tidy, along with a well groomed beard, a goatee that came nearly to a point, turning his lean face into a triangle. His eyes were warm, but there was a sense of foreboding about the man at the same time. Almost evil. A feeling of power that poured off of him. It should have been off-putting to me, and in a way it was, but I hadn’t come for hand holding and coddling, I was here to learn how to talk to the dead. To gain power. I had reasons for it that had nothing to do with wanting to improve myself or trying to be the master of other people, and that made putting up with a slightly scary person doable for me.

  I settled into the brown chair, the cushion forming to me every place I touched the warm fabric. It was a nice comfy chair, identical to the one Dr. Milford sat in, except his was just a bit higher for some reason. It let the man loom over me a bit from a distance, making him seem larger than I was. It wasn’t a big concern for me, not directly. If he wanted to be the big man that was his right. I noticed a sharp tingle in my stomach, the butterflies of meeting a new person, almost like the feeling I got when I had to give a presentation in front of everyone at work. The apprehension started to build up and I laughed a little to dispel it. A soft chuckle that seemed out of place in the quiet office with its brown paneled walls and strange art. There was only the one person there after all, not a throng of hundreds, even if he was watching me closely, eyes trying to lock with my own.

  “Why do you think you’re here today.” It was a question, but didn’t sound like one. The words were dark and flat, sinister… but professional. I hadn’t really realized that was something that could happen before that moment, being creepy and dark, but sounding like you were a businessman at the same time. It made perfect sense once I thought about it for a second, remembering the world leaders that I’d heard talking on the television over the years. A lot of them had that kind of tone. Commanding and important, but slightly different than a regular person.

  “Um, well, I’m here to learn to talk to dead people. To see and experience them. Like we talked about on the phone?” For a second I wondered if this was a mistake, or if the man had just forgotten what he’d said before, but my words got him to smile. It felt both genuine and like he’d planned for me to say something like that. Like he knew what I was going to do before I did it and that I was being guided by him already.

  “No.” He settles back in his chair a bit, leaning back, legs spread and elbows on the arms of his chair, fingers steeple in front of him. It looked powerful. Bold.

  It also got me to lean forward just a little, since I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Wasn’t that why I was there? It’s what I had in mind when I’d set up the appointment.

  “No, you’re here today because you’re afraid to die. You’ve lost someone recently and you wish to reassure yourself that they still linger on. You want to know, in a way that can’t be disproven or shaken by the words of others, that life continues on when we pass. You wish to have the ability to understand this on a level that doesn’t require faith or trust. That’s why you’re really here. Let me tell you a secret…” He leaned forward now, so that his posture was just like mine, like we were very similar in some ways. Kindred spirits.

  “We all fear death and we all learn to hide that fact, even from ourselves. It’s pervasive and affects everything we do, always. Every day that we draw breath, every time our heart beats, we know that we’re a little closer to dying ourselves. We’re told stories about what happens after we pass on to give us hope, to allow us to deny that death is going to happen to us personally, but the truth is, one day, perhaps soon, everyone you know, including yourself, will do it. You’ll die, and nothing, absolutely nothing you can do, will stop it. It’s inescapable.” The man didn’t grin or smile, his eyes just held mine, it felt important, as if he was conveying meaning to me from above. Looking down on me as I felt my breath leave my lungs slowly.

  “That’s why you’re really here. To learn that death doesn’t have to be an unknown. To learn by listening to what I tell you and practicing it daily, constantly, to reach past the point of death itself and know what’s coming. Perhaps to reunite with those that you think you’ve lost. I can’t promise what the
y’ll do of course, that’s up to them, but I can help you defeat death, in a manner of speaking. If you’re willing to do what it takes. Are you willing? Do you agree to give everything you have to this project? Once you start on this path, once you even give it more than a casual thought, you'll have to continue without hesitation. You need to understand that now. It isn’t my rule, it’s simply reality. Once you start to notice it, to see and feel what is really around you all the time, it will be attracted to you. If you want to back out, now’s the time.”

  I felt my breath catch just a bit in my throat, locking down a bit, just like a crowd was in front of me again. After a second I recalled what it felt like the last time I had to speak in public, comparing that feeling to how I felt now. It was almost identical. My face started buzzing as the blood rushed to it and my heart began to speed up just a bit. The image was so strong that for a few seconds I could almost sense all my coworkers staring with their cold, bored eyes as I floundered, trying to remember what I was supposed to say next. When I finally spoke I sounded meek and small to my own ears, shy almost.

  “Yes. I’ll do whatever it takes.” It didn’t sound like I was serious, even though I was. I expected the man to yell at me, or even kick me out of the office for it or at the very least call me on it and make me say the words again, but he just nodded.

  “You have fear. That’s good. Most people are afraid to admit when they’re afraid, hiding it, even from themselves. It makes it worse, denying something so essential to our beings as that. That’s what creates cowards you know, claiming that fear isn’t something you feel when you do. A person that knows they have fear can face it, challenge it and rid themselves of it. A coward pretends they have no fear, until it overwhelms them, causing them to freeze or flee, to blunder and panic when they should act with purpose. That you know you have fear and are willing to do what is required anyway is a very good start. Very good.” His posture shifted back again, his face almost hidden in the dim light that came through the blinds on the window. The overheads were turned off, and his black clothing made him nearly invisible in the dark chair. A dark form with no eyes or face, sunk back away from me in a pit of illusion.

  “Now, why don’t you start by telling me a little about yourself? Then I’ll cover what we’ll learn over the next few sessions together, how it will be done and what you’ll be experiencing. That's something I’d like you to pay particular attention to. What will be happening to you. It will be important for you to focus on those things, especially at first. After the first sense of things happening, your subconscious mind will take over and do the work for you, but to begin with you should try to feel everything I describe to you as keenly as possible. Now, I’d like you to try as best you are able to tell me about your true self. Don’t give me your profession or where you went to school, give me the things that make you who you really are. Give me the core of your being.” His voice sounded just a bit arrogant and a little cold, but had a smooth rhythm to it.

  I decided to give it my best shot. It took a few seconds to collect myself, but I thought I could manage to sound more confident this time. My breath shook a little as I let it out, but I was almost certain it didn’t show externally. Not too much.

  “I’m… like most people, I suppose. Like you. I eat food, I sleep at night and work a job. I know I should exercise more and eat better, but still don’t most days… I like people, but don’t always feel as close to them as I think I should. A bit introverted, even when I don't really want to be.” They were real enough things, but short of listing off how I brushed my teeth and put my pants on one leg at a time I’d kind of run out of things to say. What made me unique? I was pretty much the same as everyone else in all the important ways. Everyone was, even as we were different and unique at the same time.

  Dr. Milford nodded though, like I’d said the right thing.

  “What do you do for fun? For entertainment?”

  “I like to read. I don’t always have the time, work keeps me pretty busy most days, but as far as things that define me, I’d say that one was pretty important. I mean I watch television too, but almost everyone does that. I don’t even pay attention to it half the time. It’s kind of a bad habit, sitting and doing other things with the TV on in the background.” I stopped, wondering if it sounded as boring to the man in front of me as I felt it was.

  “Do you read old fashioned books or on your computer?”

  “Oh… I read almost everything on my tablet now. I have for years. It took a while to really get used to it, but now I like it better than paper. My cookbooks are still on paper though. I’m afraid of getting food to close to my machine.” I smiled. The tablet had been a gift. An important one. I had some other things left to remind me of Alex, but that was the one that I loved most and used regularly. One of those rare things given to me that actually changed the way I lived my life.

  “Good. That means that you’re both intelligent, since most people that read are, and willing to change what you’ve always done when something better presents itself. These are very important traits when it comes to the supernatural. They mean you’ll have the ability to do what I say, when I say it, which is important for this to work correctly. People that lack mental clarity have problems understanding the supernatural at all.” Spreading his hands in front of himself he leaned back a little more, his eyes looking like black pits in the dim room.

  “Those lacking intelligence have difficulty focusing and paying attention to what’s happening around them. I don’t believe that will be a problem for you at all. You have the capability to focus and give your full attention to what you are doing, and will.” He clapped suddenly, making me jump just a little. I felt the sound as a shock that ran through my body. A small one, but it got my attention and made me focus harder on what the man in front of me was saying.

  “Now, moving on. The method I use is an ancient one, a secret, very powerful thing learned from sources that I’m not allowed to divulge to you at this time. It is highly effective and tailored to you specifically, though it would work for anyone hearing or reading about it as well. It isn’t hypnosis, or visualization, though it has some similarities at times. In the main it works far more rapidly and efficiently than those other things do. There are two main Ingredients needed for it to work however. These things are very, very important and once you hear them, you will have committed to the course of action fully. To do otherwise is dangerous and could possibly lead to your own death. Understand that. What you want to do, what we will be seeking here, is not some minor thing, or parlor trick. There are real rewards involved, great ones that cannot be counted or innumerate, but there is also real danger. the rewards do outweigh the risks by a good portion however.” He stood easily, a fluid movement, that made me crane my neck upward to see him, which got worse as he closed the distance between our chairs, stopping about three feet away. He didn’t give me a chance to back out again. I wasn’t planning to, but the idea that this was so dangerous caused me to feel uneasy again. Wasn’t it just talking to ghosts like that man on that television program?

  “First, you have to admit to yourself that I’m in charge. This is not a minor point or a false one. It isn't about my ego, but about your own. You have to be bold enough to be willing to follow along, and that requires understanding on your part. Obviously, you’ve come to me, this is my office and I’m the one with the skills you need to learn. You can see the credentials I have hanging on the walls and know that I’m a doctor. A person that had spent decades gaining information about what you wish to know. Do you accept that I’m in charge in this situation? Do you understand that you must do what I say without hesitation?” It was clear that he thought he knew the answer.

  It was also clear it was just the truth. It really was his office and he was the doctor. Why wouldn’t he be in charge here? It was almost silly, but he seemed to think it was important that I acknowledge it.

  “Yes. I mean… Yes sir.”

  He smiled.

&
nbsp; “Dr. Milford will do, that or simply Doctor.” Without missing a beat, or looking away from my eyes he stepped back three paces and sank smoothly into his chair. It made some small crinkling sounds as he did, as the cushions rubbed together or something. I felt my attention drawn to the sound, almost as if it was important. Everything was at the moment though. It felt like it at least. Fascinating too. I really wanted to know where it was all going.

  “The second portion then is very simple, once we have that first bit. It’s a simple understanding of how the mind works and a willingness to bypass parts of it. Hypnosis is based on a trick, an illusion, and what we are doing is not. When a person is hypnotized they are fooled into thinking that they’re left without control over themselves. For the technique we are using to work, we must dispense with that totally. This isn’t about me tricking you into doing anything, it’s about you choosing to do it and using your working imagination and focus as well as you can, to do what I ask, along with your physical actions. I’m in charge, but there are no tricks here, this is simply about you doing what is required of you. If I suggest you cluck like a chicken, then you will try to do it as credibly as possible. If I ask you to notice your breathing, you pay attention to it, making certain you’re doing it. Do you understand? All you have to do is follow instructions and really mean it. Do it without holding anything back. Pay attention to what is asked of you and what you do in response, every single time.”