The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series (34 page)

Still unable to talk, she nodded as she
continued coughing.

“
Olly, go downstairs and
get a glass of water,” he bit out.

Olivia flew down the stairs without
hesitation. Robin sat on the floor still calming herself with Matt
beside her.

“
I don’t understand any of
this,” he said with tears filling his eyes.

“
They’re right. It’s going
to kill me,” she whispered.

“
We’ve got to do
something,” he said helping Robin to her feet.

“
It’s getting more
powerful.”

“
I don’t have any answers,
Robin. If I did, we wouldn’t be dealing with this
anymore.”

Wendy, Terri, Robin, and Matt went out for a
late Sunday night dinner. Robin could tell Wendy and Terri weren’t
sure what subjects were proper to bring up, so most of the time
they talked about Matt’s job and the things Robin missed at
work.

Robin had always been a very direct,
assertive person. So, instead of dealing with awkwardness the
entire night, she decided to put everything out on the table. She
trusted Wendy and Terri unconditionally.

“
I know you two are
concerned about us,” she started, “and I just want to tell you how
grateful we are that you have opened your home to us.”

“
You know you’re always
welcome,” Terri replied.

“
The truth is that there
are things happening that we just can’t seem to explain. There’s
something wrong with the house.”

“
We know,” Wendy
replied.

“
It’s gotten much worse
and honestly, if whatever these investigators want to do doesn’t
work, I’m putting the house up for sale and we’re going to leave
it. We don’t need this,” Matt interrupted.

“
Don’t blame you one bit,”
Wendy agreed. “I knew there was something wrong when we were
measuring the windows. Then that day on your porch; I’ll never
forget that. There is no way I’d have been able to stay as long as
you guys have.”

“
It’s sad,” Robin said
softly.

Everyone quieted.

“
That house was part of
our dream. It’s where he asked me to marry him,” she continued as
she looked over at Matt. “We worked on it together and finished it
together. I never thought we’d even have to consider moving out. I
always thought we would raise our children there and grow old
there.”

Robin felt Matt’s hand on her leg. “Nothing
is worth your life, Robin. We can always find another house.”

“
I know it hurts you, but
Robin, maybe what you two need is a fresh start,” Wendy
suggested.

After leaving the restaurant and returning
to Terri and Wendy’s, the four of them played cards for a few
hours, laughing and talking. Normalcy; what a strange concept,
Robin realized.

When everyone retired for the night, Matt
and Robin sat in bed reading, as they usually did most nights. Matt
put his book down on his lap. He sighed heavily and turned his body
toward Robin.

“
Robin,” he began. She
looked at him waiting for him to speak. “If this situation doesn’t
get resolved, we’re going to have to move out fairly quickly. I’ve
been looking at other places. It seems like it would just be easier
to build a house, you know? I just can’t shake feeling like
everything we’ve done with the house has been a total
waste.”

“
Nothing that we have done
together has been a waste. We took a chance, it didn’t work. So, we
have to figure out something else,” she suggested.

“
I bought that house
because it was something that you and I could say that we worked at
together, you know?”

“
I won’t lie. I am very
disappointed that we even have to consider moving. But, I also
realize that this is something that is not in our control. I love
the house, but I love you more,” she persisted. “Wherever you go,
I’ll go. Whatever you think is best I’ll go along with it. If I
have any issues with your decisions, I will tell you. That’s what
we agreed to and that’s how it’s always been.”

“
I don’t want this to be
the end,” he said unhappily.

“
It’s not. It’s just a
really sharp turn in the road.”

The next day Matt and Robin met Jennifer at
the house. She waited in the driveway as they pulled the truck into
the garage. She followed them in with her laptop case on her
shoulder.

They sat at the dining room table. Robin’s
hand rested in Matt’s. Jennifer sat across from them. “What I’m
going to show you are images we captured from our night
investigation. What I’m about to show you may disturb you. So, if
at any point, you need me to stop the footage, I can. We can take a
break and then start again.”

The tension swelled in Robin’s chest as she
squeezed Matt’s hand.

“
Ready?” Jennifer
asked.

With a hard swallow, Robin looked at Matt.
They nodded.

The first video showed the upstairs hallway.
The camera sat at the far end so each doorway could be observed.
Suddenly the study light flashed on and off. Footsteps were heard
in the hallway as if someone were running toward the camera. Then
there was banging coming from the study. The hall light began going
on and off uncontrollably.

“
So, what’s going on in
the study?” Matt asked.

“
Patience Dr. Gregory,”
Jennifer replied.

In the doorway of the study hovered the
black mist. It never ventured into the hallway, but made its
presence known with deep growls and other audible noises.

Jennifer clicked a button on the computer
and the footage from inside the study came up on the screen. The
lights flickered, as seen in the previous footage. Robin’s desk
chair literally lifted from the ground and slammed onto the
hardwood floor. The pictures shook on the wall as the banging
continued. Then it was silent with only footsteps heard in the hall
way. Then the dark figure hovered in the doorway. As it neared the
camera in the study, it consumed the lens in blackness.

Jennifer clicked another button and the
basement came up on the screen. A tall, transparent man paced back
and forth. He disappeared and then reappeared several times. He
didn’t try to present himself or to do anything vile.

Jennifer clicked another button and footage
of the field between the house and the O’Bryan’s popped up. Several
orbs began flying through the air. Jennifer looked at Matt and
Robin.

“
This is what will disturb
you. Seeing this figure isn’t something you’re not used to, but
when you hear the EVP’s, you will see why I’m concerned. Let me
explain how we do EVP’s. We go through each room and monitor
temperature change and we ask questions to see if the spirits will
answer us. They usually speak on a frequency that cannot be heard
by the human ear and then sometimes entities communicate as plainly
as you or me. Tape recordings help document the audible and
inaudible activity.”

She clicked another button on the computer
and video footage came up of Gabbie and Alice standing in the
basement. Gabbie held something in her hand. It lit up as they
neared the far corner. “What is your name?” Gabbie asked. The voice
replied “Sims.” She waited a few moments. “Why are you here?” A few
moments lapsed. “My house.” Gabbie spoke up again, “Do you want to
leave?” The voice replied, “No.” She then asked, “Can we help you
in anyway?” There was no reply. Gabbie turned to Alice. “He’s right
there,” she said quietly, but nothing could be seen on the
film.

Olivia’s room came up on the screen.
Jennifer held the flashing devise and Gabbie spoke. “Who are you?”
A voice replied, “Emma.” Gabbie spoke again. “We’re not here to
hurt you. We want to help you.” Gabbie turned to Alice. “She’s
here.” An orb flew passed the camera.

The next screen showed a voice recording
with sound waves on the laptop screen. Jennifer explained she
completed this EVP in the study.

“
Who are you?” It was
silent. “Who are you?” Jennifer continued. “What do you want?” More
silence and then a guttery voice answered, “Souls.” Jennifer’s
voice could be heard. “Can we help you in any way?” Plainly heard
were the words “Get out.”

Robin and Matt sat speechless and looked
each other.

“
What now?” Matt
asked.

“
Remember how we talked
about tribal leaders coming in or if an exorcism would be more
appropriate? You decided for an exorcism. You made the right
choice. This is one powerful demon. I will get in touch with a
minister,” Jennifer clarified.

“
This house is so dark. If
the exorcism doesn’t do the trick, you will likely have to leave.
When you started with the new construction of the home you probably
disturbed the wandering spirits, but they are harmless really. It’s
the demon we’re worried about. I do think the spirits need to be
helped so they can cross over. Olivia will actually be useful for
that if you don’t mind that she be used in that
capacity.”

“
How long do we have to
wait before the ritual can be performed?” Robin asked.

“
I will call the pastor
tomorrow morning. By the end of this week you should hear from me,”
she concluded.

Cleaning House

Robin sat in her office at work anxiously
anticipating a call from Jennifer. Things at the house were quiet
for now. It was hard to stay focused on cases and employees and all
of the other thousands of responsibilities she had. A knock came to
her door. She looked up to see Matt’s smiling face.

“
Hey,” she said with
surprise in her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“
I wanted to take you out
to lunch.”

“
You’re off work?” she
asked.

“
I took some time
off.”

He closed the door and sat down on the sofa
across from Robin’s desk.

“
Listen, I just want you
to know that I understand exactly how horrifying this has been for
you,” he began. “When I think of all of the things you’ve shared
with me, all of the traumatic things that have happened in your
life, I just want you to know how strong I know you are. With the
loss of Bryan and all of the craziness at the house, you’ve really
held up well; much better than me actually. Robin, no matter what
happens I want you to know how much I admire you. You are so strong
and you make me strong.”

Caught completely off guard by his
encouragement, she blushed.

“
You’re blushing again. I
remember the first time I saw you blush. We were sitting at the
café.”

“
It was easy to fall in
love with you. In spite of everything I’d been through, you were
the one,” she began, “I just melted right into you. No matter what
you think or believe, I know that we were destined to find one
another. I know that we have walked paths together many times. I
know you don’t understand my beliefs. I also know that while we’ve
been married and even before, the Creator used every moment,
whether it was good or bad, to teach me and to make me stronger
spiritually. You’re strong too. I know you don’t believe the way I
do and that’s okay, but no matter what… I believe in you. I always
will. I will always have faith in what
we
have.”

He stood and leaned over the desk kissing
her forehead tenderly.

“
Let’s go to lunch, okay?
Enough of the heavy.”

“
Absolutely. Let’s go
eat,” she concluded.

The week passed without any word from
Jennifer. With all of the research Robin had done about cleansings
and other rituals, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She knew a cleansing could be performed without the assistance of a
priest or a pastor. She purchased some sage and had salt on hand.
Olivia’s gift would be useful, but she had to convince Matt, once
again.

On Friday night, Olivia spent the night at
the O’Bryan’s. Matt decided to take Robin out to dinner and
dancing. They both agreed that normal things may help them.

Robin stood in the master bedroom staring
into the mirror. It felt so familiar. It reminded her of how she
felt on her first date with Matt. Oh, it seemed like a distant
memory now.

Robin put on a pair of boot cut jeans and a
purple tank top with a matching cardigan sweater. On her knees she
rummaged through her closet for silver sandals. Suddenly, she felt
hot. Instead of drastic cold, the room temperature rose. She peered
into the closet, but behind her she heard a deep, low growl. She
knew instantly she wasn’t alone.