Chapter 59
Author: W.B. Merlin
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56
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
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    The unfamiliar surroundings made him bolt upright. He immediately groaned in pain. Jon’s headache flared with the sudden movement. Emmy’s approach reminded him where he was. “You alright?” “Yeah. Just a headache. What happened?” “You fainted. Your friend too.” Emmy answered. “Uh. What?” “Yeah. Seeing as you did not get to drink your coffee, would you some tea? Dinner should be ready soon and ma-” “Sorry, hang on. Back up a little bit. We fainted? Cain fainted?” Emmy nodded at him. His face became a picture of confusion. Jon has never fainted his whole life. Assuming it had something to do with the reason why they were there, Cain was the last person he would expect to faint. “Yeah I… I think I’d like that tea.” He said, getting up. “And some pain relievers if you have… still have them.” “I’ll have Matt check. I think we have some stashed somewhere. Sugar? Milk?” “Just tea ma’am. Thank you.” “Please. You guys came all the way here to help us. Just call me Emmy.” “Thank you,

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    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

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    “What was that, babe?”He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Emmy’s voice. Lost in his thoughts, Matt did not hear her approach. Her face told him of her feelings about the state of the first floor. Just like him, she did not pursue it. She asked him directly what he found out.The look on Emmy’s face as Matt related what he found, as he scrubbed through the video, changed almost as fast as the events onscreen. She held on to her husband’s arm while she watched. Matt played the video in standard speed and narrated what he had discovered or think he found for each section. Even the discomfort of his muscles as she tightened her grip did not sway him from telling Emmy the details. She asked to see the last part of the video again before she spoke.“What do you, I mean, just tell me frankly, what do you remember during the last part?”“I… I remember getting thrown around. Pinned to the wall. I think when we got thrown to the bed I was already out.”“Nothing else?”“Nothing else.

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    After the meals, Jon immediately set to setting up is equipment. Per Cain’s request, he set up one camera for the interview in the porch. Jon, thinking of clips to put up in his channel, did not like the lighting much, but it was sufficient enough to at least capture the faces and the background properly. Emmy was the first to be interviewed so Matt could help Jon with the setup.He massaged his temples as his headache has not subsided yet. Jon already took two tablets and was thinking of getting another. Setting up took his mind of it but it would flare from time to time, making him cringe.The children played in the living room. It seemed to Jon that the older sister was just indulging the little one. He wondered how long that would last considering the TV was smashed and there was no internet in the house.“You have so many cameras.” Matt remarked.“Yeah, need to capture just about anything that might be helpful.”“What are these for?” Matt pointed to six identical cameras.“They’r

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    “And if you would, can you tell me about the first nightmare or vision. You said you were awake, correct?”“I was definitely awake.” Emmy answered. “I might have spaced out but I am positive I was not asleep.”“Alright, tell me about it then, including what you were doing or thinking before that.” Cain asked.“Well, I was…”Cain asked Emmy to be thorough. He preferred if people were thorough. Those who told the truth did not need to lengthen their stories, those who lied felt the need to lengthen their accounts. He would catch them. He liked it when people were thorough.This time, he had a different reason. Cain kept seeing things in the periphery of his vision, to the left. It always came from the left and seemed to move towards the right, to the left side of the house. In the time he spent with Emmy so far, he noticed four already. Four shadowy things.He gave the appearance that he was listening. He blinked, he nodded, Cain even asked follow-up questions and wrote notes on his not

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    “Before, or right before moving here, do you recall any violent episodes?”“If by violent you mean fighting then no. I can’t even remember when the last time was when Emmy and I fought.” Matt answered.“How about to your children?” Cain asked.“What do you mean?”“How are they disciplined?” Cain clarified.“The most they got is a light spanking by their mom. Can’t even remember when the last time was for Jean. For Gina, must have like four, five years now. Emmy’s good with them though, she makes sure they know why, even just a little and after that it sort of just works after.”“No repeat offenders then?” Cain asked with a smile.“No, none of that. They’re smart kids, takes after their mother.”“So, we can write that off then. No punishments, at least not physical. No time outs or standing in the corner?”“No sir.”“Shouting, verbal jabs?”“Oh, Emmy knows better than verbal jabs, I assure you. If you sin, she will make sure you know and regret it.”“I see. And from you, no punishments

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    Parking just a little bit farther than the last time, he made his way carefully down the side of the pathway. This time, he did not carelessly send his anchors forward but had them spread thickly just a few yards from him, in all directions. Though it was dark, his anchors guided the way, like a second sight.He agonized on what to do, should he encounter the dark being again. Save for the old man, he has never encountered anyone more powerful than him until the creature appeared. During his drive, he decided the best way to go about it was to observe. It took him a while to admit it but even his pride was not enough to cover for the obvious difference in ability, in power. Should the creature show itself and targeted him again his plan was simple - he would make a run for it if it was possible.It was a curious thing, he noted as we made his way towards the house. He had never used his anchors like that before. They were all, in all sense of the word, feelers. He sent them out to lat

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    He watched the man, the one he latched his anchors to, talking to another man. The tripod, with its silver frame, drew attention to the camera. It seemed to be pointed at the man he had hoped to harvest. The man got up and went inside.He watched the other man, who remained where he was seated, for some time. He could not send his anchors yet as he could not tell what might happen after so he observed. The man seemed to be taking notes and pondering. After minutes with barely anything happening, he turned his attention elsewhere.He moved positions to get a better view. At first he thought it was just the lights playing tricks, but now he could see it clearly. A broken truck sat in front of the house. He noted how it seemed to lean sideways, towards him, and some windows, including the windshield he noticed earlier, were cracked. His eyes scanned the front of the house, including the other car to his left but did not find anything that could explain what happened to the truck.How did

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    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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    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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    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

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    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

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    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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    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

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    “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