by Rick Kueber
I stood up, grabbed up my rice, and headed out the door hoping the fresh air would cool off my reddened face. Katie followed me out and we got into our respective cars. With the turn of the keys, we were on our way across town. Fifteen minutes later I arrived in front of the house and stepped out of my car, bag of rice in hand. I stood there for a few minutes and watched as Katie pulled down the lane and parked directly behind me.
She got out of her car, and locked the door. “Are you ready to face ...'The Haunting of Jenn, part II'...dum-dum!” She said in her best movie trailer voice, mimicking the over dramatic music. It was nice to see Katie being herself again. The girl who always smiled had been missing for a few days, and it was good to have her back.
I chuckled at her silliness and said, “You missed out on Part 1, but this sequel is far more terrifying!” We stood there, cold and shivering on the front porch. Katie rang the doorbell, and we couldn't help but laugh out loud when we simultaneously took a step back as if we were afraid of 'what' might answer the door.
The door quickly swung open and Jennifer stood there for a second before saying, “Well, I'm glad to see you two are having such a wonderful night.” The sarcasm was all too real this time, not meant to cause smiles, but to end them. “Well, get your uninvited butts in here before you let all of the heat out.”
We shot each other a look and quickly made our way inside. Katie whispered to me, “Terrifying is right.” We found ourselves afraid to laugh, or even smile at the comment.
We stood in the entryway not daring to invite ourselves into the living room or to have a seat, heaven forbid!
“Jenn, I have something cool to show you if you have just a minute.” I said, not knowing how else to begin this conversation. “Sure, why not? I'm not getting anything accomplished here tonight anyway.” She rolled her eyes up and to the left, insinuating that the kids and Alan were keeping her from doing whatever it was that she had planned to do.
I lifted the plastic grocery bag and opened it up. I pulled out the box of minute rice from inside, and holding it in one hand, shoved the bag into my coat pocket. Katie looked straight into my eyes. Her eyes were huge and seemed to be speaking to me...'Are you serious!?' I glanced over and was getting an even less comforting look from Jenn, who stood next to her with her hands on her hips. Grasping the box firmly in one hand I used my thumb, as instructed on the box, to poke the spout on the side open, and as I began to tear the box top open I said directly to Jennifer, “Watch this!” I pulled at the top hard and quick with a jerk, intentionally spilling a good amount of the rice on the tile entry. Alan and the kids muffled their laughter in the background.
Jenn groaned loudly as she and Katie immediately stooped down to clean up the mess I had made. Katie was sweeping the grains together into a pile with her hands and making more progress than I wanted her to. Jenn on the other hand had grabbed up a handful of rice and sat there on the floor staring at the small number of them in her hand, until she finally stopped and slowly looked up at me.
“What the heck just happened? You made a mess didn't cha?” Then she did something none of us expected. She laughed. “Oh my god! I think it worked!” I exclaimed. I could feel the grin on my face growing. “What worked?” Katie asked.
“Apparently not his method for opening a box of rice!” Jenn commented, sitting on the floor with a handful of rice and a look of confusion.
“This is going to sound a little 'out there', but then again, this whole case is kinda out there so far. Anyways, I read online about this method for distracting, or subduing an evil or malicious spirit. It can also work on a mischievous ghost. The website called it a theory that dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, but unless this was just a fluke, I'm a believer. The theory says that many spirits, especially evil or malicious ones are drawn to things that appear in multiples and feel that they must count them. So, if someone is being bothered by a spirit, they should use something, like rice, that the entity will feel compelled to count. All you have to do is keep some rice in a bag nearby and it should be a distraction for the spirit. If that doesn't seem to be working, then scatter some around and certain spirit types will have no choice but to count the grains.” I felt really good about the theory, and thought this might work to get us through until Saturday, and even beyond that. It may even be useful on future investigations.
“Well isn't that just handy as a pocket on a shirt!” said Katie with a smirk. “I wish I had made fried rice for dinner yesterday!” “Sean probably does too!” Jenn chimed in. “Alright, I think I have a grip on what is going on here. I was being an ass earlier, so you brought me rice because you figured I must be possessed, right?” She said directly to me with a smile, but looked at Katie out of the corner of her eyes and winked.
“I am pleading the fifth here Jenn. I will say that your mood sure did improve when I spilled the rice, and that should have worked the other way for most people. I mean... if you showed up at my door and then proceeded to spill rice in my entry way, my mood would worsen, not the other way around.” I said smugly, and in typical Jenn fashion, she proceeded to stick out her tongue like any 8 year old would do... but that was our Jenn.
“What you are insinuating is that this negative 'whatever it is' has attached itself to me for the time being, and I need to keep it distracted with this rice trick?... Simple enough!” Jenn spoke with a straight forward tone that Katie and I could both respect. She was, in a way, offering to bear this burden at least until our meeting with the Dr. Em.
“Do you both remember when I said the doc called it the little burning girl, and I felt like I was on fire?” They both nodded in answer to my questions. “Well, I was thinking instead of rice, if this is actually a little girl spirit, maybe a handful of pennies would be a bigger distraction? What do you think?” I awaited a response.
Katie thought about her own experience with the sensation of burning, and spoke up first. “Well, take it from a girl, if its shiny, it’s going to get a girls attention, so pennies, or nickels... or beads, you know, like sparkly girly beads. I have a bunch of pink ones at home in my craft box. I bet that would really be a distraction for a young female entity.”
“And that's just another example of why we are lucky to have you on our team.” As I spoke I put my hands in the air palms facing Katie and mocked bowing to her for her brilliance, which raised a hearty chuckle from all three of us.
“People are going to wonder what I'm doing carrying around three bags with rice, beads, and pennies in them...” Jenn said “...and they will think I'm nuts if I open one up and scatter them out on the floor or counter top at work, but if it keeps me from having another one of those migraines, or wanting to kill anyone who gets on my nerves for no apparent reason, I'll deal with the ridicule for a few days.”
“I think it would be a good precautionary measure for us all to keep a baggie full of beads or something. If things get bad again, Jenn, and the counting trick isn't working, please just let one of us know and we will take the burden for a while, if we can.” I looked at Katie and Jenn as I spoke assuming Katie would agree
wholeheartedly. She knew better than any of us how bad things could get. I continued, “Oh, and even though this seemed to work, that doesn't mean it isn't a fluke, but if it really is a temporary distraction, there is one more thing you should do. I read that you should always keep some out in plain sight. Whether it's in a baggie or a little vial on a string around your neck, or on your nightstand while you sleep, keep some out and close to you. When and if things get bad, shake it up, or pour it out. It's just some of what I read mixed in with some of my own ideas and theories.”
“Will do. I will try anything to keep this thing at bay.” Jenn said graciously.
“Okay, well Katie, I need to be getting home.” I said as I turned toward the front door. “Yeah, I'm sure Sean is waiting for me to get home and watch that movie with him. You going to be alright Jenn?” said Katie as she stood up.
“I'll be fine. I
just need to clean up this mess you made and see what I have here besides rice to take to work tomorrow.” said Jenn, still sitting on the floor holding the rice in her cupped hand.
“I'm sorry. Do you want some help cleaning this up?” I felt like a heel for not offering already. “I got this. Go home, and I will see you both on Saturday. Don't forget to email us the time and address.” She said as she finally started to stand up, being careful not to spill the handful of rice again.
The next day passed without incident and I was thankful for that. By Friday evening I was feeling almost good about the weekend, so good, in fact, that I felt like treating myself to a big purchase. I decided that it would benefit the team and I to purchase a new laptop computer for evidence review when I would inevitably return to traveling for my job.
After my daily 'after work shower', I strolled out to the parking lot, past my work truck, and climbed into the old convertible. One of the bonuses of living in southern Indiana is having freezing cold and snow one day and sixty degrees and sunny the next. I recall one year having several inches of snow on Halloween and Easter, but temperatures in the sixties over Christmas and New Year’s. Today was one of those wonderful unexpectedly warm days. It was still cool out, but it was a beautiful sunny day, so I dropped the top, and headed out to Best Buy to see what shiny new toy I would find. It felt good to have the radio up and the cool wind in my hair.
I was impressed with the laptop I had bought, and more impressed at the cost. I smiled all of the way home with my new toy in the front seat next to me where I could glance over with pride. I couldn't wait to get home and try it out. I pulled into my normal parking space and put the top up on the car. I got out and walked proudly to the passenger side opened the door and grabbed the box in both hands and closed the door with my hip. The box wasn't big, and not particularly heavy, but this was my brand new laptop, and I was being a bit overly cautious I suppose. I carefully sat the box down outside the front door and fumbled through the dozen or so keys on my key ring. Once opened, I proceeded to carry my laptop box in and place it carefully on a dining room chair that had been turned around to face the living room area. I walked over to close the front door when my phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out only to see that it was Jennifer calling. My heart sank. I immediately knew it had to be bad news, or a cry for help, so I quickly answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey there E-V-Prick, whatcha doing?” She said in a very peppy voice.
“Ummm...I just got back from buying a new laptop. Is everything alright?” “Oh yeah, everything is good. I think that rice thing really worked. Though I actually used a handful of loose change today and I have felt great and been in a good mood all day.”
“Awesome!” I exclaimed. “So, not to sound rude or anything, but why are you calling?” “Well, I just wanted to make sure we were still on for tomorrow. I never got your email with a time and address, so I was just calling to make sure nothing had changed and see if you could text me and Katie the info.”
“I have a better idea.” I said, having just thought of something. “The doc asked if we could be kinda discrete, so how about if we all meet up at my place or yours and ride together?”
“Cool. How about my house?”
“Fine with me. How about eleven o'clock?” I had spoken too soon. For as soon as I said it I realized that meant I would have to load everything in my car in the morning and unload it all when we had finished.
“Awesome.” She said happily. “I will tell Kate and we will see you here at eleven.” I hung up the phone, slid it back into my pocket, and stood there in my living room looking at my new unopened laptop. This would be great for all sorts of things, like reviewing evidence and updating the website on the road, or lying in bed for that matter.
I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, and so I turned to make my way down the hall to my bedroom to retrieve a pocket knife to open the packing tape on the cardboard box. I had only taken two or three steps when I had an uneasy feeling come over me. Something made me stop in my tracks and turn around just in time to see the unopened box that held my new laptop flip out of the chair, into the air and land nearly three feet away on the floor. My eyes must have been as large as saucers when I flew across the room. I scooped up the box and cradled it in my arms.
For whatever reason, without thinking, I looked up in the air as if I expected to see a specter circling above my head, and shouted, “That's enough of that crap! You want to start something? Don't screw with me, 'cause I'm not in the mood!”
I sat down on the floor and held the box in my lap. I felt anger, rage and hatred towards what ever had done this, and I wasn't about to back down, when it hit me...this is exactly what it wants. I carefully sat it down on the floor and ran to my bedroom and spilled out a jar of change that was on my dresser across my comforter, then reached out with one hand and scattered the coins with one quick swipe. I immediately felt relief. The fury was gone, and I returned to the task of opening my new toy. I brought the box and pocket knife to my room and while I opened it, plugged it in and began to educate myself on it, I would occasionally reach over and stir up the coins to, hopefully, make this thing begin its count all over again. It seemed to work well.
I played around and learned all about my laptop until I realized it was nearly midnight, and I would have to be awake, loaded up, and ready to head to Jennifer's house by 10:30, or 10:00 if I decided to grab some breakfast first, and that meant I would need to be up by eight. Normally I would have considered myself fully functional with anything more than four hours of sleep, but I had no idea what tomorrow would hold. I wanted as close to eight hours of sleep as I could get. At the very least, I wanted eight hours of rest.
I powered down the computer, made my way to bed and hadn't realized how exhausted I was. Pulling the comforter back scattered the coins on the bed, and even onto the floor. Maybe that would keep this evil counting until dawn and I would be able to get some rest. Whatever the reason, I fell asleep much quicker than I normally would have, and slept peacefully for most of the night.
Chapter5 TO CATCHTHE LIGHTNING RIDER
I awoke to the booming sound of thunder rattling the windows. I could hear the pouring rain beating down on the windowsills and the cars and pavement outside. Through the blackness of the night I could make out something unfamiliar to my room. My eyes strained in the darkness until they had a few seconds to adjust to the night. I began to see this unfamiliar figure, an uninvited guest in the corner of my room to the right of my bed. The longer I stared the clearer the vision became. There stood a young girl in a white dress or nightgown. I couldn't say for sure which it was in the dim light that came in through the window just to her left. What I could see was her wavy blonde hair, long and full, that moved in the slow motion of a non-existent breeze. I could not make out her face, but I had the overwhelming feeling that the pitch blackness of her eyes were staring deep into my soul.
She slowly raised her arms straight out to her sides and then straight above her. I could make out the outlines of her fingers, against the pale walls behind her, reaching up, stretching out, and straining with all of her might. I watched her grow slightly taller as if she were trying to reach as high as she could on her tip-toes towards the storming sky.
There was a sudden flash of lightning and earsplitting thunder that simultaneously accompanied it. The lightning reached its wicked fingers into my room, invading my safe haven and creating the brightest light I had ever experienced, and in that instant of blinding white I saw the young child very clearly. A beautiful young girl of maybe nine or ten years old with golden blonde hair and pale blue eyes instantly turned into a macabre figure of blood red, and black and gray ash. It was then I saw the black emptiness where her blue eyes had been. There were bits of charred bone protruding from some of her fingertips, and the flesh of her face was so horribly burned that many of her teeth were exposed where lips and cheeks had once covered them. I felt fortunate that lightning happens so
quickly that I only had a fraction of a second to see her in all of her beauty and all of her horror. With a thunderous roar and blinding flash this vision was revealed and then disappeared into the night.
I jumped from my bed, falling to the floor with the sheet wrapped around my legs. I scurried and scrambled to my feet turning the light on as quickly as possible, like an arachnophobe covered in spiders. It would have been a sight to see I am sure. I stood next to my bed in shock and disbelief, and could feel the blood rushing back to my face. I didn't see myself, but I could imagine what I must have looked like and I think I truly understood the cliché, “You look like you've seen a ghost”.
I stood there staring into the corner for what seemed like a half an hour or more trying to wrap my head around what I had seen, or thought I had seen, before finally climbing back into bed. It was just after 4a.m. and I had a feeling I wouldn't be sleeping any more that night. Whether I slept or not, the light was staying on, period. With every flash of lightning and clap of thunder, I jerked and cringed.
By the time five o'clock rolled around I was exhausted and had decided to get up, put on some coffee and turn on the television as a means of distraction. I wanted to tell Jennifer and Katie every detail, but it would not be fair to wake them up, besides, someone needed to be well rested.
Across town, at the home of Katie and Sean, the storm raged on. Sean slept as sound as could be while Katie lay still in the bed watching the lightning and listening to the rain and thunder. She counted the seconds between the thunder and lightning to try to see if the storm was growing closer, or moving farther away. The lightning flashed, “One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three,” BOOM! The thunder rumbled angrily in the distant sky. She knew she needed to be sleeping, but the storm had awakened her nearly an hour earlier and she found herself unable to fall back asleep. FLASH! “One thousand one, one thousand…” BOOM! Again, but much closer and louder than before, the thunder voiced its rage.