While Emmy was cleaning up upstairs, Matt busied himself downstairs. He planned to clean up as well but his thoughts kept going back to the phone. Matt kept checking on it but it was drained. His constant attempt at turning it on wasn’t helping. He finally gave up on any pretense about cleaning up and sat in front of the laptop to review the feeds from the cameras instead. He jumped the last time he remembered which was shortly after dinner and started looking at all the video feeds, both normal and enhanced. Half an hour later, Matt had found nothing. He tried the phone again. It had charged enough this time that it was able to at least power on and make it to the home screen. He was a mixture of dread and curiosity as the device sluggishly loaded up. Matt immediately tapped the gallery app and played the first video. The sluggishness of the phone and the cracks on the screen were enough to make him frustrated. Thinking that the phone might die again, Matt went ahead and copied the

He did not want to spend any more time than needed. Matt honked again. Hearing Emmy call out, he stuck his head out of the window and looked back towards the house. Jean came bounding out the door, swinging her rag doll and wearing a small, colorful backpack. Emmy was beside Gina, encumbered. Matt stepped out of the vehicle to help. “There’s still a suitcase upstairs.” Emmy said when Matt held out his hands to take the bags from her. “Where?” “Just at the top of the stairs.” Matt put the bags down and retrieved the suitcase. Gina and Emmy were barely out the door when he came down with the suitcase. When there was enough space for him to pass, Matt squeezed through and dumped the bags and suitcase in the back of the truck. “Jean honey, why don’t you help your sister on the other side huh?” “Mommy’s already helping.” “Yeah, but she needs it.” Matt explained, smiling at the little girl. “Plus, she helps you when you need it.” When Jean turned around to help her sister, Matt opene

The silence in the living room made it even eerier. Once they were inside and no further attacks happened, the children started asking questions. Emmy almost lashed at the children. To Jean especially, whose questions kept coming. It had grown silent after that. To him, the only consolation to find after what happened was that none of the children saw the figure. That’s what he concluded after listening to their questions. Only him and his wife. Matt pitied the children. If he was having a hard time making sense of anything, the children would definitely be lost. He did not fault Emmy for almost losing it with Jean. He understood. The children’s incessant questions, after their initial terror, was also understandable. Now, everyone was silent. Instead of finding comfort in each other’s presence, each one was forced to deal with it in their own way. Jean played in the mess. She found scattered debris and used them as props for her make believe show. Gina got tired of sitting down on

He scanned the street as he exited the bungalow. He wondered briefly if all the houses in the area had the same layout. The facades all looked the same to him. Satisfied that no one was watching, he quickly got into the driver’s seat. He did not need to scan the street. He never did. His anchors always told him. Recent events made him wary. The encounter with the veteran, whom he could read nothing from, was primarily the reason. He opened the large envelope and inspected the contents. At least he was worth it. Placing the three counterfeit passports back inside, he started the car. All the passports had release dates dating a year back, complete with stamps of supposed travels. The passports were Colombian, Thai, and Filipino. He considered each one as his next destination. Now that he got what he came for, he could fly anywhere he wanted. Where to, where to? He asked himself as he waited for the light to turn green. The events of the past days hung heavily on him. He was bummed

Father Anton Ramirez wasted no time constructing his arguments. He needed to. He was going to speak with the Bishop after all. The church did not take lightly, any lapses in protocol, especially for the IAE. There’s been so many controversies regarding the church’s approach to suspected paranormal events in the past that the Vatican itself welcomed the founding of the organization within its ranks. It was even more pleased to approve the strict rules and code of conduct. He wished he did not have to do it but Cain was right. It was no more than a gut feeling in the beginning but based on what he was told, he agreed with Cain’s assessment. Better to err on the side of caution. If it were just an elaborate show, Cain would be done in a matter of hours and that was it. The person who spoke to Cain might have been exaggerating. In his experience, people often do. Like they had a need to make their stories more believable. There was and still is a stigma attached to such events but instea