Chapter 18
Elijah
“Hey, Elijah, can you take the paperwork downstairs for the euthanasia? Rory just got it all filled out.”
My heart dropped, but I took the paperwork from my boss and mumbled an affirmative.
I’d really had about all I could take after the shadow in my house in the middle of the night, and then the guy standing stock still in the woods this morning.
I knew he wasn’t real, at least not alive real, but I’d needed Mason to confirm it.
The fact that he’d been looking away, but standing where I could see him, was almost worse than if he’d been looking at my house.
If he’d moved even a little bit it would have been less unnerving.
What the fuck could he possibly have been looking at out there?
And was it the same entity that had been in the house?
I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t as though I never saw things like that, but not at my house.
I’d done everything I could think of to protect my house and my property.
I’d saged it, and the amount of salt I’d used when I moved in was frankly embarrassing.
I’d even had a priest come out and bless it.
I had holy water in my possession and I’d used it more than once. Maybe I needed to again.
I kind of wished I had some with me at work.
I hated going into the basement, but it wasn’t because we kept our freezers down there.
That part of the job always hurt, and it took a lot out of me every time someone had to let their pet go, but having one of those sweet patients come and visit me wouldn’t have bothered me.
No, it was the building. The knowledge that it had been a medical office so long ago, with a room down there that we weren’t allowed to question, pretty much did me in.
Rory had tried the door to the room once, wanting to explore and maybe ghost hunt, but it was securely locked.
I wasn’t sure my boss even had the key to it, and we didn’t ask.
If he knew what it was, he wasn’t telling us.
And I didn’t want to ghost hunt anyway. I didn’t have to hunt for them; they found me when I didn’t want them to.
I wasn’t normally a coward. I let a lot of weird things slide, and I could usually suck it up and ignore my fear.
I’d just had a lot going on in the past twelve hours, and I was starting to feel like more than just living people were out to get me, so the basement wasn’t on the list of places I really wanted to go. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.
I glanced up front hoping Rory could go with me.
I didn’t even care if she made fun of me for asking, but I heard her on the phone, so I knew she was busy.
I sighed and flipped the light switch. The basement was unfinished, which made that locked room even weirder.
There was a door that led outside on the wall opposite the stairs, which ran across the length of the building.
There were a few high windows, but they were always in shadow and didn’t let much light in.
The sparse, hanging fluorescent lights hummed as they made it possible to see where you were going, but not much more.
I made it to the bottom of the stairs, pausing to make sure the door was still open.
Seeing that it was, I walked across the room to the freezers, pulling a folder out of the file rack hanging above them.
I took a breath and tried to ignore the instinct that was slowly letting me know I was being watched.
The lights above me flickered. “Fuck this,” I whispered, shoving the paper into the folder and replacing it as I hurried to leave.
No sooner had I turned around but the door creaked closed at the top of the stairs.
It didn’t slam, the click was quiet, but it was ominous.
The lights flickered again. I looked at the stairs, then at the outside door on the wall to my right, weighing my options.
They were both equally far from me. “Rory?” I croaked out, hoping she was somehow messing with me.
Almost as soon as I spoke, the lights went out.
Fuck. There were two thin beams of light coming from the windows, but they weren’t enough to light the way.
I knew the path to the stairs was clear, so I moved that way even though the door had just shut on its own.
I put my hands out in front of me in case I veered off the path without realizing it.
I suddenly heard footsteps behind me, soft but distinct, coming from the direction of the locked room. They were barely audible and yet I was hyperaware of them, since the softness made it feel like they were trying to sneak up on me.
They were gaining on me. I sped up and reached the stairs, tripping up the first few since I couldn’t see.
I caught myself with my hands and clambered up them, hearing the footsteps start up at the bottom.
I prayed the door wouldn’t be stuck like in a horror movie.
To my relief, the handle turned and the door creaked open.
My joy was short-lived, because it was dark on the main floor as well.
I could see light coming from the front room, where there were windows, but the electricity must have gone out everywhere.
I shut the door behind me, hoping to slow whatever was following, and took a few steps toward the front, because there were no windows in the back and I didn’t want to be in complete darkness.
It took a second for my mind to register that no dogs were whining in the dark, there were no sounds of people stumbling into things, and no one was discussing how long the lights would be off. My stomach sank when I realized that the entire building was eerily silent.
I still walked forward, toward the only light.
“Rory?” I said softly as I came around the corner into the lobby.
The windows were bright but almost too much so.
I couldn’t see outside clearly. There was no reply, and when I stepped into the room I found it completely empty.
I glanced back into the hallway to see if I could see anyone, but I heard the hinges squeak as the basement door opened.
Where the fuck was Rory and the two clients who were waiting when I’d gone into the basement only a couple of minutes earlier?
I’d had a lot of weird stuff happen to me, but I was pretty sure today was going to take the cake.
I rushed over to the front door and tried it, but just like I’d feared in the basement, the door didn’t budge.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up,” I muttered, turning back toward the hallway in time to see a shadow darker than the rest hovering there.
It was too bright in the room I was in to make out a shape; all I could see was a dark blob.
“Elijah.” I wasn’t sure if there was actually a whisper or if I was hearing it in my mind. I recognized it immediately as whatever had been speaking to me in my dreams, whatever was warning or threatening that I wouldn’t survive.
I couldn’t tell how much danger I was facing.
I wished anyone else was here, even Enyo, even if they couldn’t see it.
It couldn’t be real, I had to be losing it, yet I couldn’t escape.
I backed toward the corner of the lobby, away from the hallway.
“What?” I said simply, getting tired of the head games this thing seemed to be playing.
“He can’t protect you. There are two. They are coming.
They are here. Listen for them.” I had no idea what the words meant, or if they were good or bad.
I was pretty sure there had been at least three perps in my vision at Brandon’s, but I wasn’t even sure that had been real either.
My brain felt scrambled and I was even more confused.
“Elijah? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I was standing in the breakroom, all the lights on, and Rory was staring at me like she was contemplating calling an ambulance.
How the fuck I’d ended up here was beyond me. I was no longer holding the paperwork, so that part must have gotten done. “Yeah,” I said, even though my voice sounded shaky. “Uh, did the lights go out up here?”
She shook her head. “No, why?”
“Uh, they flickered and went out in the basement. It freaked me out because I couldn’t see to get to the stairs.
I tripped. I’m okay, though.” She opened the door and peered inside, where the lights were on and everything was business as usual.
“I’m going to go clean the exam room so we can get the last few appointments done. ”
She eyed me suspiciously, but said, “Yeah, okay.” Then she thankfully headed back up front without further questioning. I wanted to finish the day and get the hell back to my house, even though it didn’t quite feel like my safe spot anymore.
◆◆◆
Rory and I walked outside together, and she waited as I locked the door behind us.
She looked out at the parking lot then back to me with a little grin.
“Your bodyguard is here,” she said with a giggle.
We’d had a talk about Mason at lunch. I didn’t go into full detail, but I did let her know Mason had more than proven himself, and he was fully in my good graces again.
I looked up to see him leaning on his hood where he’d parked next to my car.
“Hey,” he said as we approached, giving us both a nod.
He watched Rory warily, but she just said, “Hey, Mason. How’s it going?”
“Rory,” he said, sounding a little surprised that she’d spoken to him. “How have you been?”
She paused and leaned on her car door. “I’ve been good. And I know that we’re all aware you have not always been good, but I’m aware that you’ve been inside my best friend, so I guess if he’s willing to give you another chance, I am too. Just take care of him, yeah?”
Mason managed not to choke over her blunt mouth, composed himself, and smiled at her. “Yeah. I promise I will.”