Demonspawn (18 page)

“Hi. I'm Judy Strictland. I'm the clairvoyant
on the team.”

“Alex Teague. My friend, Cindy Marshall.”

“Pleased to meet you. Look, I'll get right to
the point. I was talking with Nancy and Beth. I really don't think
it's a good idea if we work together.”

“Work together?”

“Yeah. Our energies might clash. We might
sense different things, influence each other. You understand?”

I looked at Beth, who didn't say a word. She
dragged me along, and wasn't going to defend me, I guess. I was
tempted to agree, and leave the house. But then I wouldn't get my
answers. I also remembered Rachel's face upstairs, talking about
the monster.

“I wouldn't worry too much. I really don't
kick out a lot of energy. I don't think I'll get in the way.”

“This is serious,” Nancy said.

“You're right. It is. Rachel upstairs says a
monster is here. Are all these cameras and microphones gonna get
rid of it?”

“We have to understand what's here. We need
time and equipment to do that. Surely you've done this before?”

“Not like this,” I admitted. “It's all new to
me.”

Beth finally spoke up. “Nancy, you've known
me forever. We're not trying to compete with anyone here. We're
just trying to help. We'll stay out of everyone's way.”

Nancy thought for a moment. Then she nodded.
Judy let out a little disgusted sigh, but didn't object.

“May I go upstairs?” she asked.

“Sure. I'll go with you.”

“Me too,” Beth said. “I'd like to see the
girls again.”

The first floor finally had some breathing
room, and less tension. I was still freezing, but I could deal with
that. It was only Cindy, Mister Baker, and me.

“I'm gonna go talk to him,” I whispered to
Cindy.

“Okay. I'll be on the couch. Keep your energy
to yourself.”

“I'll try.”

I walked into the kitchen. Mister Baker had a
ton of ground beef cooking on the stove. I wasn't exactly sure what
he was making, but it smelled good.

“Mister Baker.”

He looked at me. “Call me Doug. Hungry? I'm
making plenty for everyone.”

I was tempted. Cindy and I had eaten very
little. “I might grab something later, Mister Doug. I wanted to
talk about what's going on here.”

He took a deep breath. “I've told everyone a
hundred times. Told the priest last week. Told the first ghost nerd
crew who was here. I'm a little tired of talking about it.”

I held up a finger. “Just one more time. I
don't have a clue of what's happening.”

He looked me in the eyes. I guess he believed
me, because he started talking while working over the stove.

“It started six months ago. Rachel was the
first it all started happening to. She said she started hearing
noises in the middle of the night. Footsteps, loud bangs. No one
else didn't hear anything, so we didn't believe her.” He looked
guilty when he said it. “Then Danielle started hearing things,
although not as bad as Rachel. It got to the point where Rachel
wouldn't sleep in her own room.”

“What have you and your wife heard?”

A look of anger crossed his face. “At first
it was just noises. Mostly at night. Doors banging, quiet whispers.
But then last month,” he paused, trying to compose himself. “It
tried to
choke
my wife. In her sleep! She said she could
feel the hands around her. And sure enough, there were bruises on
her neck.”

We were both quiet. I could see him
fuming.

“How do you fight something you can't see?”
he said. “We've had every fuckin' expert out here. We've had the
house blessed. Things only got worse after that.”

“You can't move?”

He laughed sarcastically. “Easier said than
done. We're already so far in debt. And buying another house would
mean we'd have to sell this one. Would
you
buy a haunted
house?”

I nodded. “Good point.”

“So, what's your story?”

“Excuse me?”

“You a holy man? Or another psychic like the
other two we've had here that can't tell us shit?”

He was angry. Can't say I blame him. “To be
honest, I don't know.”

We were done. I sat next to Cindy in the
living room. She playfully punched me on the shoulder.

“So what's up? We having fun yet?”

I shook my head. “I can't believe we're
here,” I complained. “How the hell did this happen?”

“Don't worry. We'll be back in the apartment
watching the O's lose soon enough.”

I smiled. I suddenly missed that more than
anything, watching the Orioles lose with Cindy.

“What do you think of my aunt?”

“Not very friendly. But she doesn't beat
around the bush. I like that. You do look like her a little.”

“Wonderful.”

“So, what's going on here? Do you sense any
ghosts or anything?”

“Well, not yet-”

I stopped mid sentence. Funny timing. I could
sense its eyes. It was in the dining room watching Doug in the
kitchen. I could feel its hate, its anger. It wanted to hurt Doug.
I think it wanted to hurt everyone.

What was it? Ghost? Monster? Something else?
I wasn't sure yet.

“Alex? You alright?”

I didn't answer. I heard footsteps and voices
as Beth, Nancy, and Judy walked down the stairs into the living
room. Judy was speaking into a cell phone, I guess to the people
outside.

“The upstairs feels empty,” she said. “Do you
have anything on the cameras?”

She froze at the bottom of the stairs. Beth
and Nancy stopped behind her. She stared into the dining room,
about where I was looking.

“There's great evil here.”

A little dramatic, I thought. Like she was
auditioning for a movie. But I agreed with her.

“Yeah. It's in the dining room.”

“How long has it been there?”

“Not long. I just picked up on it.”

“I don't see anything?” Nancy said.

Doug looked into the living room. “Everything
okay in there?”

Judy closed her eyes. “Who are you? What do
you want?”

Its eyes shifted to Judy. I stood up from the
couch. “Be careful. It's looking at you now.”

There was a noise that sounded like a deep,
guttural moan. It made my skin crawl. Only Judy and I could hear
it.

There was a loud slap. Judy staggered back
into the arms of Nancy and Beth. Doug left the kitchen to check on
her.

It had struck Judy. She had a hand on her
cheek. I could sense it close to her. It reared back to strike
again.

“Hey!”

It stopped. I could sense it looking at me
now. I couldn't see it. No one could see it. But it didn't matter.
I knew everything it was doing. I'm not sure if even Judy could say
that.

“That's right. I know you're there.”

I put a hand behind me to keep Cindy near the
couch. She was loyal to a fault, and always wanted to be next to
me. I needed her behind me. The truth was I only barely knew what I
was doing. It was focused on me, and that's what I wanted.

“Leave them alone.” I smiled at it. “Deal
with me.”

Judy glared at me. “Don't
taunt
it!”

I realized something that chilled me to the
bone.

Whatever it was, it was
afraid
of
me.

There was a loud scream. Again only Judy and
I heard it. She covered her ears. Then it was gone.

They all helped Judy to her feet. I stood
there motionless, almost in shock. I have to give it to Judy, she
was calm and collected, unlike me.

“It's afraid,” she said. “It's afraid of
something.”

There was a knock at the front door. Dan
poked his head inside. “Judy! We got major shit on the EM and
cameras! Come check it out!”

Judy looked at me. Suddenly, we were a team.
“Will you stay here?”

I nodded. Judy and Dan left the house. I
watched them disappear into a van parked outside. Cindy had a hand
on my elbow.

Doug took a deep breath. “What the
hell
just happened here?”

Beth looked at me. I really couldn't offer
much information. I knew they were all in danger. But I also knew
it feared me.

“It's usually active at night?”

Doug nodded. “That's when it's the
worst.”

Beth's eyes got big. “It gets worse?”

“Is it okay if I stay the night? I'll stay
right here on the couch. You'll never know I'm here.”

Cindy looked at me. I could tell she wasn't
happy. Can't say I blame her. None of this was part of the plan
when we first climbed in the car back in Maryland.

Doug took a deep breath and shared a long
look with his wife. “Can you get rid of whatever is here, or what?
We don't want to live with it. We don't want to make peace with it.
We want it gone.”

“I think I can.”

“If you're comfortable on the couch, knock
yourself out.”

I heard Cindy make a noise behind me. She
left the house. I excused myself and followed her. She stopped on
the front lawn and put her hands on her hips.

“I'll get Beth to drop you off back at the
hotel,” I told her. “You can pick me up tomorrow morning.”

“This is
stupid
, Alex. Shit, are you
even thinking? What do you think you're gonna do? Play exorcist?
What if you can't help them? What if whatever this thing is
hurts
you? It bitch-slapped that woman in there.”

“It can't hurt me, Cindy.”

“How do you know?”

I shrugged. “I just do. That thing is afraid
of me. I know I can get rid of it. I can help that family. Please
trust me.”

She paced back and forth for a moment. I
could tell she was fired up.

“You know I trust you. That's not the
problem. And I know you're an amazing person. You can do things I
can't really understand. But I just don't want anything to happen
to you. That's all. You're playing with another haunted house. When
we were eighteen I left you at Tammy's house all alone. I've never
forgiven myself for that.”

I didn't know that. I was the one who told
her to leave. Had she been beating herself up all these years?

I grabbed her shoulders. “Cindy, it's okay.
You didn't leave, I told you to go, remember? And nothing is gonna
happen to me tonight. Just come get me tomorrow morning.”

She shook her head. “I'm staying. Not getting
rid of me this time.”

I smiled. “Never gonna have another friend
like you, am I?”

“Definitely not as cute as me.”

We walked back up the sidewalk together. I
felt a small stab of sadness. I definitely wouldn't find another
woman like Cindy. I'd have to sit back and watch her date other
people forever.

We went back inside. Doug agreed to let Cindy
stay with me. I can only imagine how desperate they were if they
were willing to let a team of complete strangers wire up their
house, and two of them spend the night. We actually ate dinner with
the family, and I can say I really liked them. Rachel was a good
kid, and so was Danielle. Rachel ate quietly while Danielle told us
all about her school life and new boyfriend. Doug took me on a
personal tour of the house, and despite the cold chills, I didn't
sense anything else going on. It was weird knowing that as we
walked and talked, cameras and microphones were watching our every
move.

Judy hung around a little while longer. She
was constantly taking notes, closing her eyes, and talking on her
phone. Like me, she didn't sense anything else going on. I wouldn't
say she was exactly warming up to me, but she didn't give me any
attitude. Eventually she left in her car. Apparently she and her
team took shifts, and she'd come back in the middle of the night to
basically spy on the house from their techno-vans out there.

Beth didn't stay. She left with the promise
of picking us up the next morning. Strangely, my thoughts weren't
anywhere near her. I wanted to help Doug and his family.

At about nine Nancy put Rachel to bed. The
little girl gave me a quick hug before she ran upstairs. This both
warmed my heart and made me nervous. What if Cindy was right? What
if I really couldn't help? What if I let everyone down?

Danielle disappeared to her room not long
after, talking on the phone to one of her friends.

It was just Doug, Nancy, Cindy, and myself,
watching TV in the living room. It felt awkward at first, but after
a while, we started having normal conversations. We covered a
little bit of everything. How Doug and Nancy met, what they did for
a living, some funny kids' stories. Nothing was out of the
ordinary. The house didn't shake. I didn't sense any unusual
presences watching us. We watched half a movie until around eleven.
Then Doug announced he was going to bed. He hovered near the couch
where we were sitting for a moment, and extended his hand.

“Thanks,” he said. “Thanks for trying to help
us.”

I shook it and nodded.

He and Nancy went upstairs. A few minutes
later she came back down with a few pillows and blankets.

“I'm not sure how you two want to do this,”
she said. “We've only got the one couch and the chair in the
corner. But this should keep you warm.”

I accepted everything, but didn't think I'd
be sleeping much.

“Goodnight, you two.”

For the first time since that morning, Cindy
and I were alone. We heard everyone walking around and settling in
upstairs, then it was quiet except for the TV, which I turned
off.

Cindy kicked her shoes off. I didn't even
have a chance to move before she lounged on the couch and laid back
against me. I was shocked for a moment. I had to free my arm from
under her and rest it on the back of the couch. Weird position for
us. Nothing sexual or anything, but more than usual. We usually
only touched if our hands reached inside the popcorn bowl at the
same time during a movie. If either of us had a boyfriend or
girlfriend, they probably would have been mad. But I wasn't
complaining.

“Just get comfortable,” I said
sarcastically.