Ellen looked up as if she was talking to heaven. “It’s so clear to me now. They were responsible for the deaths of every single spirit in this room. Holding them is feeding their anger, fear and revenge. We must set the victims free and banish these evil spirits to the dark where they belong!”
The table and the typewriter began to shake, forcing the settled dust to fly everywhere. My tripod fell to the ground but, unfazed, I left it where was…then something was trying to pull at my camera strap around my neck. I battled to hold on tight. “Get the hell off me!” I screamed.
Ellen came to my aid, trying to stop the strap from closing around my neck. “Take it off and put it on the ground right now…do it!” she urged
Between us we fought back, eventually winning as we forced the camera from their grip and placed it safely on the floor. Ellen took my hand and encouraged me to follow her visions. Looking deep into my eyes, she pointed to her own eyes, reminding me to use the techniques that she’d taught me. I focused on the shaking table and the longer I did, the more a picture formed. The room was no longer bare and the walls were papered in a dull yellow which did nothing to improve the décor. It was full of cigarette smoke, even though the window was slightly open. In the corner close by the window was a desk, littered with papers and files.
There were two German officers. I recognized them by the uniforms, and one was busy typing while the other was standing close by giving instructions. I didn’t understand the language yet I seemed to know what was being said.
“Today was a good day. Two hundred and by the end of the week, I need that figure doubled. Tell the police to speed up; it’s taking too long.”
I understood that the one standing was talking about rounding up the people from the list that was being typed. Two hundred people were already taken from their homes, detained, and then shipped off to camps. Did he also say that the Belgium police had assisted in rounding up its own people?
“This adds to the 1,243 from last week. Good work, eh?”
I wanted to scream. ‘These are human beings you’re talking about, not cattle!’ I couldn’t because I was a bystander looking in. Then the scene changed, and I heard Ellen’s voice faintly in the background, but I didn’t respond because I couldn’t. The officer who was standing turned to look at me and I knew I was looking into the face of evil. His black eyes were red-rimmed and his pallid white face and dark blue lips were frightening. “They are mine. You can’t have them. They belong to me!”
His words of warning were directed to me but, scared as I was, I defied him with my thoughts. The other one smirked at me as he banged the old-fashioned keys of the typewriter in an aggressive manner. Clunk, clunk, clunk…His dark, soulless eyes stared right through me and I had the knowledge that in a flash, if he wanted, he was capable of stealing my soul if I allowed him to. Moving away from the desk, he came slowly towards me, his demeanour threatening, and the closer he came the more weakened I felt. My knees crumbled and I fell to the ground, landing on the edge of the salt circle.
Ellen reacted immediately. “Monty, get out of the salt!” She was using all her strength to pull me up. I could hear her breathing—it was laboured as she attempted to move my weightless body, but I was paralysed.
“Monty, you have to fight…come back!” she pleaded
I was shown a vision of Veronique with her arm out, once more showing her tattoo. She was standing right above me and as I looked into her lost eyes and the end of her life, everything unfolded before me. “They took me to the train station, there were so many of us, young and old. We travelled for days without food and water and defecated where we stood. People died on the train before they reached the camp. They were the lucky ones. I was gassed three weeks later because I was too sick to work. I was twenty one.”
“Why are you still here? Why don’t you move into the light?” I asked in my thoughts.
“I can’t. I’m on the list. My number is one thousand, two hundred and forty-one.”
“Monty, you have to help me pull you up. Come on, fight, God damn it, fight!”
I heard Ellen and I wanted to get up, but something was stopping me and it wasn’t Veronique.
I started to cough as cigarette smoke was being blown directly in my face. I once more came face to face with evil as the two of them stood directly above me, their faces fuelled with hate. I looked up to the ceiling and noticed a lone cable swinging above my head. I was mesmerised as it swung back and forth, side to side…almost hypnotic.
Ellen was still beside me trying to move my dead weight, yelling at me to come back as I drifted between two worlds, one good and one evil. Then Veronique came to me, leaning down to my crumpled form on the floor. She told me to never forget and stay strong. I could feel every part of me coming back even though I was still lying down. I had something to say, something important, and I did my best to spill it out.
“She can’t leave. She’s on the list expecting to be shipped off, and it’s probably the same for the others, too,” I said, still a little confused. “Veronique told me what happened to her. She was gassed in Auschwitz. Those two entities were responsible.”
“Thank God you’re okay. I tried so hard to get you back, but you didn’t move.”
“I’m okay now, Ellen, what about Veronique?”
“They’re all trapped by this damn list. We have to release them.”
I had a strong determination, too, but with that many, one or two would be hard enough. So far there was at least four. Two were languishing in the dark levels.
“Are you sure you’re able to move this many spirits in one time? Seriously, Ellen I think it’s too much.”
“By removing the evil spirits, it should free the lost, and I will do it,” she replied firmly.
I needed to keep the faith in her abilities, not show any doubt in our work, and send those demons into the bowels of hell for good.
“Do you think they were the reason this building was abandoned?” I asked.
“It’s difficult to say; unless the spirit world tells me, I don’t know,” she replied. “Now, stay close to me and surround yourself with gold light, ask for protection, pray for guides to come and take the lost spirits back with them.”
“I’m right beside you, honey.”
Holding her crystal chain, she prepared to confront the entities with the spiritual strength of a warrior as the exorcism began in earnest. “I command you to leave this place now. Cursed demons, impure spirits, and feeders of Satan, I cast you out in the name of God!”
Firmly she continued. “In God’s name I will push out the parasites who dare to hold hostage these lost souls and free them to find peace in the light. Go! Take your satanic power with you…”
The atmosphere became extremely heavy. Even though the rain had stopped, there was a damp feeling in the room as if it had leaked through. It hadn’t.
Ellen was relentless. “I ask my guides to come forward to prepare to take these souls into the light. I will cast out these demons in the name of God!”
The crystal moved around in circles so fast that I could barely see the outline.
“I bind you, Satan, the spirits, powers and forces of darkness, the evil forces that lurk. I take authority over all evil. I will break you with my spiritual power. Light will take out your darkness.”
Ellen and I were not religious, but it was at moments like these that we needed help from any source that was out there. So we prayed, together, reciting the Lord’s Prayer as we gathered and drew in the light force.
I focused on the spirit of Veronique, a beautiful young girl whose life was taken in an evil act and the others each with their own tragic story to tell. I called for higher forces to help them move into the light.
“This is harder than I thought, but I think they’re weakening. Can you feel it?” Ellen said.
“There’s a change, but the meter’s still showing the same reading.”
“I’m not giving up.” She moved to the edge of the circle,
being mindful not to cross it.
“I command you to leave this place, return to the darkness from which you came, and leave this place now!” She kept the tone of her voice level and controlled.
Suddenly the typewriter flew through the air, landing upside down in the corner of the room.
A clear sign they were getting seriously angry, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. It was because they were losing power that they were lashing out, hoping it would scare us away.
“Repeat with me, Monty.” Ellen said softly. “Cast out Satan, demons, and all who side with him, in the light of God we shine!”
We recited this together; neither of us would do this work if we didn’t believe the light was our guiding force.
“Cast out Satan, demons and all who side with him, in the light of God we shine!”
Five…six…seven times we repeated it loud and clear.
“They’ve gone, Monty. I can feel it!” Ellen said.
She was right. The whole atmosphere in the room had changed, going from damp and oppressive to comfortable and calm. But what about the others, where were they?
Ellen looked tired but happy, “Veronique and the others are here, and she’s thanking us for freeing them. Their guides are also here; ready to take them all into the light where their loved ones are waiting. We freed them, Monty! We did it!”
“You’re an amazing woman, and look what you just did for humanity. I love you,” I said as we hugged each other tight, still standing in our circle of salt.
Chapter Twelve
Ellen was itching to tell me something. I knew her too well—it was all in the body language.
“What is it?” I asked as we prepared to leave.
“Just wanted to let you know that there are lots of other ghosts here; this is such an old building, it stands to reason.”
I didn’t really want to hear the truth, but it would be illogical to think otherwise. “So you’re telling me we’ve still got work to do?”
“No, they’re harmless, like part of the furniture. There’s one here from the 17th century, but he takes care of the place. He says that we shouldn’t be concerned about the fires. The first one was an accident, and the second one was deliberate for insurance purposes. He tells me that the previous owner had trouble with the Nazis but now they’re gone, thanks to us. He’s happy to tell us that Marcus can get on with his project now. We can give him the green light.”
“Shouldn’t he move on from here? It’s not good he’s still wandering, is it?”
“It would take time we don’t have. Besides, he’s not causing any trouble; in fact, he helped the young construction worker to move into the light. Just one thing, the spirit wants to confess that he was the one who slapped Lucy’s ass.”
We both broke out in laughter, a welcome relief after what we went through and at least we found a spirit who was friendly and with a sense of humor. Ellen’s decision to leave him where he was wasn’t a bad thing and maybe one day a passing spirit guide might just take the time to help move him on.
Before this moment, I had a feeling of dread every time I entered the building. We both did. Now there was a peaceful feeling, revealing for the first time its true Gothic beauty and incredible history. Although it still looked kind of spooky…it was no longer threatening.
“We’ve been part of something very special,” Ellen remarked. “Freeing victims from such terrible crimes that shocked the world, I’m sure now we were meant to be here.”
I couldn’t agree more as we made our way out into the early evening light. I’d lost track of time and was shocked to see we’d been in there for three hours or more. It only felt like minutes and for some unexplainable reason I felt different.
“Ellen, this event has been life-changing for me. I’m seriously thinking about how lucky we are, and that up until now we’ve had a good life, haven’t we?” I asked.
She gently put her hand on my cheek and looked deep into my eyes. “We’re very lucky and privileged to be part of something so important, helping those poor victims to find the peace they deserve. It brings it home that we have a good life and to appreciate every minute.”
Back to reality, there was something important we were both very happy to do. “I guess I should call Marcus with the good news, and then decide what to do about our flight,” I said, ever the practical one.
Ellen made a good suggestion. “Well, we could spend the last couple of days being tourists and not reschedule.”
“I like the sound of that!” I replied.
I closed the door for the last time and we took a final look “It’s all good,” Ellen remarked. “We can leave knowing we’ve done our work, and Marcus can now build his fancy upmarket offices and shops.”
The first thing we did when we were back in the comfort of the hotel room was to take a double shower. It was bliss to be able to wash off the dirt, grime, and experience. I even commented that it was like holy water, which made Ellen laugh, but she had to admit that we were washing away the taint of evil. In spite of our ordeal, we made love under the shower. It was a way to bring ourselves back into the world of light and love, and it worked every time.
Refreshed, clean, and ready to order room service I first had to call Marcus.
I knew the time zone meant it was early morning there, but I called anyway. He was happy that it was a success and appeared to trust us enough to give the go-ahead to restart construction. “Living in L.A.,” he told me, “I’ve gotten used to psychics and stuff like that. But I’m a sceptic at heart, so I’ll only be convinced if no one else dies and the construction guys don’t run off.” He thanked us and told me straight that if something else happened in his business transactions, he’d be sure to look us up.
“He’s entitled to his opinion,” I remarked to Ellen. “He’ll see when the builders are in that they won’t be running out.”
We switched on the EVP in the hope that we’d picked something up. It was running the whole time and for a while it was the usual mix of static and unintelligible noises; then we both heard it. “Thank you. God bless you.”
It was a young female voice, slightly accented as if English was not her first language. “It’s Veronique,” I said in excitement. “She’s thanking us.”
Although she spoke really fast, we played it back a few times to be sure we both understood the message. When I saw tears in Ellen’s eyes, I felt them, too.
“No jokes please, Monty.”
“No jokes honey. Like I said, this experience has been life-changing. There’s no way I’d kid around at a time like this.”
Our perfect steak fries, and salad arrived and we sat down to eat it in our bathrobes, watching TV with a nice bottle of red Bordeaux, feeling it was a job well done. We were adamant to avoid Chris like the plague, but after dinner we got dressed and walked to the café to see Ingrid, who was so happy when we told her what we’d achieved.
“I have to ask you something,” she said. “My neighbour thinks her apartment is haunted. Can you help?”
“Sorry, but we’re on vacation now until we leave. Please try to understand,” Ellen replied.
I was relieved she didn’t agree to go check it out. I was bushed and I was sure she was feeling the same; it would be two feet firmly in the living world right now.
I called Pieter to join us and within twenty minutes he was there, having switched off his phone to be with us. We were touched. The guy would be losing money, yet he chose to spend time with two people he hardly knew. I figured that would be a friendship in the making.
He also offered to take us free of charge to the Breendonk concentration camp museum. We were surprised to hear that it was less than 15 miles from Brussels, not far from Antwerp at all. Ellen balked at the idea, reluctant to go where so many people had died, but she gave in for me and my intense curiosity after a lot of persuading.
The next morning bright and early, Pieter picked us up at the hotel to drive us to Breendonk, but Ellen was apprehensive. Fro
m the moment we arrived, she was tense. Everywhere we walked, she picked up psychic energies, trying to play them down at every turn, while Pieter was a mine of information and more than happy to act as our tour guide. “There were reports that the Nazis gassed over 200 people a month in a special gassing cell in this camp. Allegedly it was destroyed when the allies were close so there is very little proof, only eye-witness accounts.”
“There probably was a gas chamber; in fact, I’m sure of it.” Ellen pointed to an information board. “It says that nearly 40,000 school children visit this place every year.”
“Maybe they can learn not to make the same mistakes and repeat the past,” I replied.
With our valuable trip to Breendonk over and time running out we exchanged email contacts with Ingrid and Pieter and bought towels so we could safely wrap up the beers to protect them in the luggage. “If they break, Monty, don’t blame me,” Ellen said. “You should’ve had them before we left.”
We spent our last day getting to know the city, taking in another beautiful cathedral and an art exhibition, and we ate real Belgium waffles. I put chocolate sauce on mine. Feeling we deserved it, we splurged on an incredible lunch of fresh poached salmon and mussels, accompanied by a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. I took more photos, finally feeling like a tourist, and I enjoyed every last moment.
We made sure to book Pieter for the airport run. Having made a good friend, he deserved the fare more than anyone we knew, and when he said goodbye we promised to stay in touch. It was a red eye flight, not that it made any difference to me. I would fidget like I always did, while Ellen slept like a baby.
I’d planned to sneak in a beer or two before the flight was called and succeeded in persuading Ellen to join me, even though she lectured me that it was bad to drink alcohol before a flight because it dehydrates. To my delight, the same girl was working behind the bar and she remembered me.
“I expect you’d like a Duvel and the red beer?” she said jokingly.
Ghost Hall (The Ghost Files Book 4) Page 8