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2024-10-29 19:42:56Then there was smoke. Or something like it. Matt let the feed play at normal speed so he could check it closely. Then he played it again at twice the speed. His brows knotted.
It wasn’t smoke. It did not behave like smoke. It appeared in different places, captured in different angles but they did not move like smoke would. Even the cloud of smoke that appeared in one area moved in several different directions, splitting into thinner veins.
Fog?
He discarded the notion. It was not thick enough and this place was never foggy. It was also high enough that if it were a fog bank, it would have covered the ground and hidden the tree trunks. The feed buzzed out.
Matt almost jumped out of his chair as the sudden, jarring change in the video changed from normal picture to white noise, then to black. It buzzed out several times, changing from black to white to gray then settled on white. He was not prepared for it. Matt played the video at twic
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Just as he was about to go back to the chair near the door where the table with the laptop was, Matt heard shuffling from upstairs. Looking out the window, he noted the sun was already starting its ascent in earnest, the angle of its rays less steep than when he last peeked. Listening, he noted that it was the children who were moving about. He knew Emmy would not be able to go to sleep again, at least not soon, but noted the lack of her voice in the argument upstairs.At least they didn’t wake up when it was happening, he thought.That brought a smile to his face, albeit a short one. Reaching the chair, he noticed something strange on the monitor. It looked to him like the screen was glitching. He sat down and leaned forward to inspect what it was. It was not the screen. It was the video.Having dismissed the artefacts as dust and hardware limitation, Matt stood up where he sat relieved. The video was now playing the parts where the hazy appariti
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 29
The very first thing Matt did after showering was to call his phone provider. He wanted to know more about the coverage of his plan and options for upgrading. The rep on the line who spoke broken English was just too happy to help. Matt ended up upgrading to unlimited everything – calls, texts, and interned. It cost him an additional hundred and ten dollars plus taxes and a renewed contract good for two years.He was also, apparently, getting a new phone in the mail because of the upgrade. All free, with a new number, and with basic plan of two hundred and fifty minutes, a hundred text messages, and a gigabyte of data a month. When he asked if he could change numbers from the phone he had to the one that was coming, he was asked to call back to do the transaction once he had the phone with him.During the course of the call, Matt was almost ready to drop the line and call again because of the rep. Not only did he have trouble understanding the rep, the rep also k
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 30
The large paper cup of coffee with two extra shots of espresso was still too hot despite having sat on his table for ten minutes. Cain decided to take the lid off while he waited. Both Jon and the college kid whose name he kept escaping him were late. He didn’t mind.He picked the later part of the afternoon to do the meeting for two reasons – because he stuck to a schedule and got work done in the mornings, and because it was not as hot later in the afternoon.Was it Jemaine? Jermain?Taking the cup, he tried to sip again. It was still too hot. He took a quick look around and noticed there weren’t a lot of people in the street. There was not that many customers inside the coffee shop either. He marveled at this briefly. Coffee shops had become like a statement, like a ticket to being cool, in the last ten years. Every time he went out or traveled, the only establishments that had more people in it at any given time other than fast foo
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 31
“Fuck!” Jon cursed when one of his recorders fell onto the floorboard.It fell when he braked as someone cut him off the freeway. Jon was already running late. He was never late. Well, mostly. He’d been looking forward to this day. It took ages to convince Cain to do the interview. He was looking forward to it so much that he forgot to charge some of his batteries.He did not need to be present. The college dude could have interviewed them separately. Cain declined. If he was not there, Cain was not going either. In a way, this made him feel appreciated. But only a little.Cain didn’t like to be around other people too much. He likes people, Cain once told him, but only in short bursts. He didn’t like to be called it but Cain was an empath. The only one he’s met personally and, from the number of articles and forum lurking Jon has done about the subject since, a very accomplished one, to a high degree.It's like a d
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Matt was snoring loudly when she woke up from her nap. Emmy sat up from the sofa and looked around. Matt’s arms were draped over the armrest and backrest. His head was thrown back and his mouth was open. Emmy felt relieved to see Jean also sleeping on the other end of the sofa. Gina was not there.Emmy called out to her. She received no answer. She called again while walking towards the stairs. Still no answer. Emmy kept silent for a while to listen to any sound that might betray where her eldest daughter was but did not hear anything. Then, she remembered what Matt said.Emmy, after giving the kitchen a quick sweep, headed for the porch. Matt promised to let her use the laptop if she helped with the chores, she could only be on the porch.“There you are! Honey I’ve been calling, why didn’t you answer?Gina did not stir. Her face was glued to the screen while she typed.“Gina?” Emmy called again, putting a hand o
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 33
When he woke up from his nap, Matt noticed that the sun’s rays were already at a steep angle. Already, the areas outside the house that he could see, looked like it was lit by an incandescent bulb. Evening would come soon.Sleepily, Matt turned his gaze to his right to check on Jean. She was still napping. He got up and stretched. He turned to see if Emmy was still asleep. The sounds of activity coming from the kitchen stopped him from looking back. With Jean napping and Gina who would not be caught dead doing chores, Matt reasoned it was his wife who was in the kitchen.Without looking where Emmy was, and remembering that his phone was being used as a tether to share internet to the laptop, Matt walked towards the door. He worried that his phone was now overcharged. He’d heard it was not good for the battery. Matt found Jenna still in front of the laptop, typing away.“Hon, I think that’s enough for now. My phone might blow up if we don&
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 34
The interview took more than three hours. Jon Purdy loved every minute of it. He inwardly delighted on the new things he learned about the cases that Cain spoke about. He was already thinking about sections he could cut and make into videos to put up in his channel.The interview began with him, and Jon was just to happy to give out details. Unlike Cain, he was some sort of a public figure now, at least in the paranormal community, so he didn’t skimp on details. As he spoke about his experiences and the reasons he became involved in the field, Jon felt more and more at ease with their bubbly interviewer.He was, by no means, an amateur interviewer but Jayren, she had a knack for it. Jon would always smile when he caught it. Her questions encouraged him to digress just far enough for him to remember details he had not thought about in a long time.When it was Cain’s turn, Jon could not hold back his delight. It was a treasure trove of historical infor
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 35
Matt didn’t mention it to Emmy while they were eating but he was starting to feel lightheaded. By the time dinner was ending, he could not cope up with it anymore that he hurriedly finished his meal, and excused himself by mentioning that trash needed to be taken out.He'd been itching for a smoke for hours, he just could not leave his family. The path seemed to shake with every step he took but he stubbornly made his way out, trash in hand.He found his kids still at the table when he came back, exchanging opinions about a certain young singer. He remembered the videos they used to watch. The boy badly needed a haircut. He smiled at the sight. He gargled at the sink while washing his hands then proceeded to head to the living room to sit in from of the TV, pretending to watch.His focus waned. He could barely keep his eyes open. Even the highly negative prime time news could not hold his attention. He was aware he was seated, but he felt like he was float
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Chapter 85
He was getting impatient. It was the last leg and he had nothing better else to do. The onboard entertainment’s picks did not hold anything interesting. Then again, most things called entertainment nowadays didn’t hold his interest. He found them almost always superficial and a little on the pandering side.But this was the last leg and he was going to land soon. Unlike most countries, he visited this one regularly. He did not have a choice, he had to come back every time. This time however, he was early. There were so many things he needed to know. So many things he needed to ask. This time, he hoped he would get answers.There was not a need to ask before. If he was being honest, there wasn’t even such a question before. There was just him, his abilities, and the man who trained him. The man he called Tata, or uncle. The man who helped him get revenge all those decades ago. The man who, at times, almost seemed like his personal warden. The only one he knew who was more powerful than
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Chapter 84
“Here’s why I think that’s what happened. If, there was only one demon, or even a group of them with one purpose, just like we usually see, the chances are it would only possess one. Meaning, it-”“It would only harass one, and all the rest will be collateral.” The bishop finished.Father Anton nodded and paused to give the bishop time to connect things.“That means, there were at least two groups of demons there. My gut tells me the other one was a lone demon, and the on the other side, the one that possessed the children, were the other group.That explains why the parents needed to die, and Cain had to die. And his friend would have also died had he not run away, though, God bless his soul, I think it would have been better if he just died.”“I get most of it but not about the part where everyone, well, almost everyone needed to die.” The bishop admitted.“Let’s take the testimonies of those who knew them. Nobody will say that the father was capable of such abuse. But there was abu
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Chapter 83
It was not the waiting that he hated. Bob was the bishop after all. He had many things to attend to. It was the things going through his head as he sat outside the bishop’s office that he did not like. It was all too sudden and the person directly responsible for Cain, the situation wasn’t looking good.“Tony?” He heard the bishop call, peeking out his door.Father Anton Ramirez got up and walked towards the door of the bishop’s office. Finding that the bishop had already taken his place behind his desk, he closed the door behind him and locked it.“It’s a mess Tony, I was not expecting this.”“I’m sorry Your Excellency. I was… this is a first.”“Drop the formalities. I know it’s not your fault. Well, maybe a little bit. A little bit our faults. Why don’t you start from the beginning?”Father Anton sat first then opened the satchel he had with him and began taking out folders and placing them on the bishop’s desk.“Let’s deal with those later. Just tell me what you saw and what you th
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Chapter 82
Her exertions soon reached its peak and Emmy stopped and plopped onto her dead husband’s carcass. Her knuckles were covered in blood, his and hers. She laughed as she felt the last of his blood spurt out of his neck, grazing hers. Her screaming had made her voice hoarse but that did not matter anymore.She pushed herself up and regarded her handiwork. She burst out laughing hysterically. Her madness had taken over completely that she did not even dare question what that shadow was, that shadow that was tall and thick and wide that stood before her. A shadow that went against the light.“The children are ours! OURS!” The demons hissed.The shadow reached out a massive arm for her to grab on. She took it, still laughing. As she stood up, the shadow started to come into view. She was intrigued at how majestic and powerful it looked with its thick arms and legs that were muscled and huge as tree trunks. She laughed and laughed. A laughing that was interrupted by the demons declaring owner
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Chapter 81
Emmy felt a burst of anger fill her, a fury of such strength it made her forget pain. Her eyes smoldered with hate. Just moments ago, she felt like dirt but that didn’t matter now. She would have ignored what the demons were saying. It might have been true for her, or not. But, the expression on her husband’s face said it all.“Tell me I’m wrong Matt. TELL ME!” She demanded as she crawled on the debris, hands feeling, looking for something.Matt did not reply. He did not even look at her. She could see it in his eyes. How he struggled, how he could not hide it, how ashamed he was. It didn’t matter that his cheeks glistened with the torrent of tears streaming down his face. He was guilty. Her hands found something pointy. She got up as he screamed.“You… YOU FUCKED YOUR DAUGHTER?”She could tell. The demon’s words were not just insinuations. This was more unforgivable than coupling with an entity she could not even put a face to. Her mind raced, trying to give him the benefit of the do
- The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel
Chapter 80
His skin was a literal field of goosebumps. The creatures seemed to have already delivered and still wasn’t done yet. While he heard the otherworldly voices above everyone else’s, it wasn’t the demonic voices that drew his attention but the emotions that flooded the whole house.Confusion was the overwhelming feeling that he got but that was just the surface. Underneath was denial, disgust, and fear. It flared off in varying degrees on all the humans present. And he was harvesting it all.Despite the large number of anchors he had, the ring which glowed in many different colors, now felt cooler in his finger. He chuckled to himself, forgetting the real threat that the hulking creature, or the ones who sought his help, posed.True to their agreement, he let go of the young child. There was not much to her anyway. She was afraid, and disoriented, but not in levels that the adults were giving off.The one he labeled as a priest of some kind had been trying to get up but could only manage
- The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel
Chapter 79
It was not the voice, or how they came to him. It was not even how they knew to do something only one has been able to do until days ago. It was the request.“What… what do you mean?” He asked.It’s too strong. For me. For us. He’s too strong.He paced back and forth, not taking his eyes of the figures that stood before him, touching his anchors. The large creature did not need to touch his anchors to tell him to leave, then again, it was just standing there, like a ghost, among all the anchors.How the fuck do these things know about things I didn’t even know I had?“I don’t understand,” he finally spoke, “but what I understand is, that motherfucker is too strong. I don’t-” He paused, he sensed amusement when he said the last phrase. “You find that funny? At a time like this?”Yes. But still, help.“Like I was saying, that one is strong. And you’re obviously many and stronger than I am. If you can’t stop it, what the hell do you think I can do against it?”We know what you want. You
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Chapter 78
Matt was getting frustrated with everything. Every bone in his body ached, every uncovered part of his skin was either bruised or scratched, or both. While the words came out automatically in prayer, he found himself drifting. They were not getting anywhere. Cain was not getting anywhere. When the demons answered his wife, he was quite relieved.A start! An opening!Intending to hear more, Matt focused on the exchange not noticing that he had already dropped his prayers in exchange for the tidbits he was hearing.“I did not fail my Gina!” Emmy answered, defending against the insinuation.“OH! SHE DIDN’T, SHE SAYS.”Cain, being the closest to the possessed child, had to cover his ears in fear of rupturing his eardrums.“But you did. You allowed your child to be defiled! IN YOUR OWN HOME!”It could not have been clearer that the demons wanted to emphasize the last phrase. The many voices sounded like they were about to go berserk. More debris rose from the ground, this time mainly from
- The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel
Chapter 77
“Holy fucking shit!” He remarked aloud as his anchors completely swarmed the entire first floor of the house.With Vein Sight, he clearly saw the full picture. There were other unseen figures moving about in the space. He counted a little over two dozen, the bulk of them standing by the child that everybody seemed to be facing.That unnerved him. One entity was powerful enough to have made him run away. Over two dozen was a disaster.This doesn’t make any fucking sense!The other demons who were mostly clustered around the child, whom he thought was the one who was possessed, were of a different build. While the one that had confronted him twice was tall, muscular, and impossibly wide, the other creatures were tall and wiry. Based on the power and hostility he was getting, he assumed that the creature who confronted him twice now, was the reason everything was as it was in that house.I’m out of my fucking depth here, he admitted to himself.He could not hear everything, but based on
