Chapter 8 #3
He nodded. “That’s what I figured.” He frowned. “The problem is, there isn’t any consensus as to whether this is dangerous or not.”
“It might not be dangerous,” she began, “but it’s freaking me out.
And not only is it freaking me out but there’s also got to be some reason for these appearances, right?
I don’t know why it’s here. I just want it gone,” she cried out.
She could feel her nerves tightening, and she groaned.
“I’m not sleeping. People are noticing, and I really can’t have this happening,” she shared, staring at him rather desperately.
“So, if you have any answers, anything that would suggest what’s going on and how to stop it,” she spelled out, “I’m all ears.
I can’t afford any camera, particularly one that is extra-expensive. ”
*
Camden had to admit that what they were seeing was definitely not what he would have expected in spectral visitations. Plus the sightings appeared to be increasing, which was another concern. And he had certainly seen his fair share of ghosts.
Not as many as Stefan, of course, but, at one point in time as a child, it seemed that all Camden saw were dead people instead of real people.
He finally understood, around ten years old, that what he saw wasn’t what everybody else saw.
However, what he saw here was not something he recognized either.
And that was not so much concerning as interesting, as long as it wasn’t dangerous. The minute something here crossed that line, they would have problems. He just didn’t know what this was all about. The fact that Stefan didn’t understand either was troublesome as well.
Camden stayed outside with her for a little bit longer until the energy just faded away.
She took a deep sigh and muttered, “That’s a good thing, I guess.”
He nodded. “It is a good thing, but it would be helpful if we had a better idea of why it was even here.”
She turned to him and asked, “Do you remember the name of the people who used to live here?”
“It would be on your real estate documents,” he suggested.
She groaned. “Don’t expect me to find anything in that house. It already hid Toby’s field trip permission slip from me. All I remember is that it was in the name of some trust.”
“But usually a person’s name is within the trust name,” he pointed out.
She shook her head, grimacing. “There was no name. I do remember initials—or even Roman numerals.” She shrugged. “It was odd enough to remember that much.”
He frowned, pondered it for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s been empty for longer than I’ve been here. So I can’t remember the previous owners’ names either, not even mentions from the neighbors. If I think of it, I’ll let you know.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “Maybe I’ll go to the library or check on the internet and see if there’s any information about it.”
He laughed. “Honestly, that’s something I could probably do fairly easily.”
“Yeah, but do you have the time and energy to do it?”
“Exactly,” he muttered, “and right now?” Just then a yawn caught him.
“You also appear to not be getting enough sleep.”
“We had a rough case,” he explained, “but at least that one is closed now.” He took a deep breath.
“Obviously, I have dozens more on my plate, but it would be nice to think that some of them would start to fall off and that my workload would ease up a bit. We have people on holiday and others off sick, so I’ve been doing a lot of extra shifts. ”
“Of course,” she noted, “and, with a big pending case, you’ve got to be there to help out.”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what happens.” He smiled. “Yet that doesn’t mean I don’t get a break sometimes.” He looked over at her and asked, “What are you drinking?”
“Tea, herbal tea.”
“No coffee?”
“I can’t handle too much caffeine late at night, and right now I’m just not getting any sleep. So anything I can use to help get some, I am down for.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry about the sleep situation. … Visitors?”
“Only these kinds of visitors. Do you think anyone else is seeing them?”
“I’m not too sure. We would have heard by now if they did. It’s definitely not the norm,” he added, with a laugh.
She rolled her eyes at that. “Ya think? I don’t see anything about this as normal.”
“Right. Sorry, but it appears to be worse with you here.” He frowned and added, “Did you … I know this sounds very strange, but did you bring anything that would—” He just left it at that, staring at her expectantly.
She looked up at him. “That would what?”
He frowned. “It’s a stupid question.”
“It is a stupid question,” she confirmed, with an exasperated laugh, “but, if you’re asking if I brought that ghost with me, how would I even know? I’ve never seen these before nor have had any experience with anything paranormal.”
“Right.” He laughed. “I’m just wondering what triggered it now.”
“Changes,” she offered. “I’m here, and, of course, I have the kids here, so that’s another change. Whether that makes a difference or not, I don’t know.”
He pondered that and then grimaced. “I don’t know either.” As he headed back over to his house again, he heard a sharp gasp and turned around to see her staring at a bigger, much bigger energy, just off to the side. He walked toward it, and it backed up slightly and then held its ground.
She bolted toward him and stood at his side. He reached out a hand and suggested, “Let’s not approach it.”
“Isn’t that what you would do?” she asked, with a look of horror on her face. “I came down to stop you.”
“I’m not moving,” he told her, and then it slowly drifted closer and closer.
“It feels … curious,” he stated, “like it’s looking for something or someone and doesn’t know if we’re it or not.
” He could tell that his words were already disturbing Devon, and, to be honest, they were disturbing to him too.
He frowned, then took a step forward, and it glowed a little bit louder, stronger, brighter.
“Is that a warning?” she asked.
He had to admit that he didn’t know. “Have the kids seen this?”
“If they have, they haven’t mentioned it.”
He hesitated. “So, this may be a very off question, but … is there anything familiar about this ghost?” He watched as she tore her gaze off the vision in front of her and stared at him.
“Familiar? Sorry, but did you say familiar?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Is there anything familiar about the spectral bits you’re seeing in front of you?”
“No,” she stated in shock. “How could anything about this be familiar?”
He let it drop, but something was there, and an idea had formed in his mind that was really hard to let go of. He just needed to think it through before he brought it up to her again.
She backed away from the spectral image, and, even as she did, the glow seemed to diminish.
“Hey, stop,” he told her.
She froze.
“Walk toward it again, will you?”
She stared at him, looked back at it, and then slowly took a few hesitant steps toward it. Almost immediately the glow turned brighter again. “Now step back.”
She did it a few more times, and there was no doubt about it. As she approached, the glow got brighter. As she left or distanced herself a little more, the glow calmed down. She stared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s either a protective mechanism or a welcoming mechanism.”