A Whispered Darkness

by Vanessa Barger

  “She did. Into the house. She went mad, trapped in the fourth floor by Horace Gunderson. Whether the brother had anything to do with it or not, I don’t know. But she got her revenge by trapping them all here with her in death, as she couldn’t in life. Now Horace serves her whims.”

  “What does she want?”

  I drew a deep breath. “Me, I think. Because I’m psychic, but I don’t really understand it.”

  “Make very sure you stay with Haven or me tonight. I trust the others, but I would feel better if you stayed close to one of us. Grant will be fine with George. Don’t do anything that’s going to add you to the ghosts.”

  Sitting up straight, I gave a mock salute. “Aye, aye, mon capitane.”

  “I mean it. It’s only, what, two o’clock on Halloween?” I nodded, and Cain’s gaze traveled over the lines of the house. “Even I sense the weird atmosphere in there. It gets thicker as the day goes on. It’s like…”

  “Wading through whispers no one can hear,” I said. “Pregnant silence. Standing in the middle of a crowded room and you’ve done something stupid?”

  He nodded.

  “Welcome to my life.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Everything was set, the interviews were finished, and Gabriel stood in the living room, pulling supplies from his bag. A couple pieces of chalk, holy water, more sage, and a tiny, well beaten book which looked like it had seen better days.

  “That’s all you need?” Haven eyed the handful of stuff and shook his head. “I’m not feeling comforted.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. “I swear, this will be more than enough. No one gets through my circles.”

  “You better hope not. ’Cause everyone’s here to get rid of and record the ghosts, not become one.”

  Bryan frowned at him. “There’s no room to be doubtful.”

  “I don’t doubt you are going to do this and do a good job. I just think this house has way more going on than we’re used to. If you are both certain it will work, I’ll believe you.”

  When Gabriel lifted an eyebrow, George grinned. “Honest.”

  “Why don’t you all go outside and wait for us to finish this?” Gabriel asked, but it wasn’t actually much of a question. One by one, we filed outside. Mom was last, only coming when Cain followed behind her, making a point of waiting for her to leave.

  Outside, the wind had picked up, and dark clouds roiled overhead. I stepped closer to Haven, my eyes glued to the house. He slid an arm around my waist.

  “Seriously? This is a horror movie setup.”

  George overheard my comment. Chuckling, he leaned against the side of his van. “Freaky, right? I give you and your brother huge points for style.”

  “Oh, gee, thanks,” Grant said, rolling his eyes. “My life is now complete.”

  Gabriel and Bryan took longer than I thought they would. I expected them to pop out the front door and wave us all inside in just a few moments. Instead, several minutes later, we were still standing there, making no pretense of small talk.

  “What is taking so long?” Julia muttered.

  Mom laughed, a deep-throated chuckle. “What’s wrong? Does the wait make you rethink your choices?”

  Deon, a towering black man with cropped hair and a ready smile, stepped closer to his friend, frowning at Mom. She should have been frightened. With his physique and the way he stared down at her, I would have. Mom didn’t seem to notice.

  “No,” Julia replied. “I still think we’re exactly where we need to be.”

  Mom kept her eyes on the other woman, a strange smile fixed to her face. Finally, when we were all beginning to worry, she looked away. “Yes. Just where you should be.”

  I shivered again. This wasn’t Mom speaking, and we all knew it, though Laura and Bryan might not want to admit it.

  Cain stepped forward, but before he could ask anything, Bryan appeared on the porch. He looked pale, but himself. “Come on guys. Before the rain starts.”

  Inside, Gabriel sat on the couch, the battered book in his hands and a fine sheen of sweat on his face. George immediately set to work checking to make sure all the video connections were ready to go.

  “Are you all right?” I asked Gabriel.

  He smiled. “I’m fine. It was just a little more intense than I thought. Not a problem though. Anyone in this room should be safe.”

  Yet his eyes flicked to Mom, doubt glittering in their depths. I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that,” I told him when he looked back at me. “We both know shielding a room won’t help her.”

  “Hopefully we’ll finish this tonight and it won’t be a problem anymore.”

  I nodded.

  A sudden roar made everyone jump. Haven crossed to the window and pulled aside the curtain. Rain fell in waves across the driveway as lightning flashed in the distance.

  “Looks like we were just in time.”

  Cain checked his watch, then pulled his cell from his pocket. “We’ve got about two hours before we need to start anything serious. For now, let’s order some dinner and make sure we’ve got all the equipment and everything in order.”

  Grant perked. “What’re we ordering?”

  Bryan rolled his eyes as he passed by me, and I took a seat on the couch next to Haven and Gabriel, wiping my palms on my thighs. My entire body tingled with awareness of the house and what was in it. Mom sat in a rocking chair in the corner, silent, watching all of us with a slight grin. Like she knew something we didn’t.

  She probably did, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, even if she offered.

  Cain dialed the number while Laura asked for orders by show of hands. After we’d ordered enough pizza and soda to feed a small army, he hung up, handed Grant a couple of twenties, and told him to watch out for the delivery guy.

  Beside me, Haven slid his hand around mine and leaned close. “Just breathe.”

  “Can everyone tell when I’m upset?” I asked.

  “Only me.” He smiled. “And I promise not to tell on you.”

  “I’m worried about the tour. Hell, about all of this. Did I make a huge mistake?”

  Gabriel leaned forward. “Forgive me, but you did the right thing. Don’t think for a moment you shouldn’t have brought us in. You need help, and we can give it.”

  Haven struggled to hide his irritation with Gabriel. “He’s right. Things are far too dangerous for you or even the two of us to try and fix things. They know what they’re doing, and they are aware of what could happen. You aren’t responsible for everything.”

  I nodded. While my head said they were right, my gut still churned with worry.

  Laura strode from where she’d stood next to George, her clipboard still clutched in one hand. “Can you come take a look at this camera?”

  “Sure.” I followed her to the table, where George was muttering at the computer screen and punching keys with sharp, hard strokes.

  Laura pointed to the huge flat screen display, broken into eight sections. One, in the bottom corner, was dark and hazy. “We put this in the library room, looking from the back toward the door. I think it’s near a window. Would there be a curtain there that could be in front of the lens?”

  George sighed and stood. “This is silly. I’ll just go check. It’s got to be a curtain or something.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. Licking my lips, I shook my head. “There aren’t any curtains up there yet. Just a blind you pull down. Mom was in the process of making some, but she hasn’t finished yet.” We all stared at the screen for a moment. “Can you make it bigger?”

  George nodded, punching a few buttons. The screen was filled with the image, which now showed the vague outline of a face in the midst of the darkness. As we watched, the features grew more distinct, the eyes darker, and the mouth opened unnaturally wide and lunged at the camera. The image shook, then brightened.

  George uttered a soft oath.

  Cain came up behind us.
“What’s going on?”

  I cut my eyes at Laura, whose face was white as a sheet, but her eyes sparkled with excitement. She grabbed at Cain’s arm, hugging him. “It was the most amazing manifestation! A filmy mist we saw for nearly five minutes. When we zoomed in, thinking it was a curtain, it had features and then rushed the camera. Amazing stuff. George, were you recording?”

  Cain caught my eye and I shrugged, heading back to my seat. Haven lifted a brow, and I gave him a quick explanation.

  “If you want to see it, I think Laura is making George show Cain the recording.”

  Haven shook his head. “No thanks. I think we’ll see enough this evening all by ourselves.”

  Cain seemed more troubled than excited by the video, though I know he was pleased at the footage they’d caught. Still, he took the time to go over the buddy system again, and hand out digital camcorders, digital voice recorders, cameras, and more extra batteries than I’d ever seen in one place in my life.

  A few minutes after he finished, Grant’s whole body stiffened and he took off toward the front door. Two seconds later, we heard the doorbell. Julia and Deon followed to help grab all the food. I paced the room, anxious to get started. The longer we waited, the more likely something would go wrong. Food was the last thing on my mind.

  Grant returned, followed by Deon, who carried three pizza boxes in each hand and a wide grin as he kept them from my brother’s greedy hands. His deep voice flowed into the room like warm chocolate. “Dinner is served.”

  Paper plates were stacked on the coffee table with plastic utensils and napkins. I went into the kitchen and brought back a bunch of cups and the soda we’d put in the fridge earlier. The eleven of us dug in, including Mom, who ate her pizza with gusto. It seemed almost like a dying man eating his last meal.

  She caught my eye and winked.

  The mouthful of food I chewed didn’t seem to have as much flavor now. I swallowed and sipped at the soda in my cup until I had myself under control again. Worry and anticipation made a hard knot in my stomach.

  “You better eat now.” Haven pushed the plate I put aside toward me. “We’ll just be snacking the rest of the night.”

  Because he monitored me so close, I forced myself to finish the piece, waving off an offer of seconds. I just wanted to get this show on the road.

  ***

  Once everyone had all their equipment and batteries and Cain assigned the buddies, we gathered in the foyer for a tour of the house. While Cain was talking to George and helping to set up the recording of the camera, I nudged Grant.

  “You want to give the tour of the first floor and basement?”

  He blinked. “Well, okay. You sure?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. You got this.”

  He nodded.

  Once Cain and George had joined us, we led them through the hall, pointing out the kitchen and living room, the bathroom, and then we got to end of the hallway. Grant opened the door to the back office.

  “This is where we first noticed things going wrong.” He glanced back at Mom and then away. “Claire had the door open on her the first couple days we moved in. Before we even had a key to unlock them. Then we both felt a presence with Mom.”

  He continued, narrating the experiences we’d had in the different rooms, including my little encounter in the basement. He motioned for me to take over and I described what I saw and felt. Mid-sentence, the air temperature dropped and Deon jerked.

  “Are you all right?” Julia asked.

  He rubbed his neck. “I swear someone coughed right next to me.”

  Biting cold slithered in the air around us and I motioned to the stairs. “Let’s get upstairs again.” Beside me, Haven stepped a little closer.

  Bryan was the only one who paused. “But if there’s something here…”

  “You have no equipment.” Cain pinned him with a glare that brooked no argument. “Use your head.”

  Bryan’s expression darkened, but he didn’t argue.

  We headed upstairs, pausing briefly in the kitchen and asking for questions. No one said anything, so we proceeded to the second floor. I licked my lips, feeling the approaching darkness of Halloween as a surge of constant static over my skin. It was like walking through a thundercloud and waiting for lightning to strike.

  They followed me to the tower room. I tried to calm myself when I noticed the shadow hovering in the back corner near George’s camera. Based on the way their eyes skipped over that section of the room, I didn’t think anyone else saw anything.

  Haven’s face seemed strained, pulled into a frown, but he didn’t say anything. All the same, something was enjoying our little tour.

  “What was this room? I didn’t see this one before,” Bryan walked ahead of me, watching the EMF detector in his hand intently as he entered. “The readings in here are fluctuating all over the place.”

  Cain moved, putting a hand on his shoulder, his eyes on the back of the room. “Hold your horses, Bryan. We’re not formally investigating right now. Pay attention to what you’re doing.”

  Bryan’s face turned red, but he didn’t say anything as he followed Cain’s gaze to the back of the room. Deon moved up, pulling a small digital camera from his pocket and snapping a few pictures.

  “This is what Mom plans on making into a library.” I kept an eye on the mass, which disappeared from view, but didn’t leave. I could feel it hovering in the background, watching us. “We aren’t sure what it was before, but there was an antique wheelchair in here which moved on its own.”

  Footsteps creaked across the floor behind our group and Julia let out a small squeak. A high pitched giggle followed, echoing in the huge room. Julia’s eyes were huge.

  “Holy hell,” she whispered. She took a step closer to Deon. “That’s a first.”

  He nodded, then looked at me. “You weren’t kidding when you said this was an active place.”

  I gave him a grim smile. “You haven’t seen anything yet. They’re just getting warmed up.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Julia shivered. “The investigator in me is cheering. The rest of me is scared shitless.”

  Haven jumped a little beside me, blinking steadily. I couldn’t see anything in the direction he looked. Just a blank wall.

  “Just keep a handle on your fear, and you’ll be fine.” Bryan’s words were curt, and I wondered if he knew just how much it showed his own fear.

  “Is there anything else you can tell us about this room?” Laura scribbled something on her clipboard.

  “It has a constant presence. What that is, I can’t say.”

  Grant shook his head as well.

  “What about you, Haven? You’re supposed to be psychic too,” Bryan challenged.

  Haven glared, then closed his eyes. “I don’t sense things like Claire. I only see what they want me to. Or catch glimpses of the past and future.”

  “But do you see anything?” Deon wasn’t pushing, but seemed genuinely curious.

  Haven’s fingers released mine, and he closed his eyes after sucking in a huge lungful of air. His shoulders jerked a little. Silence pressed down on us like a weighted vest.

  “The home wasn’t a happy place.” His voice seemed distant, strained. “Most of the people here came in because they were unwanted. Only a few left. After a while, most of them didn’t really know what was real and what wasn’t. They stay now because they want revenge for what was done to them. They need us. If not to leave, then to appease their appetite for that.”

  “What about the future?” Julia whispered.

  Haven’t brow furrowed. “It’s dark. It tastes like despair and feels like winter.” Releasing a long breath, his eyes snapped open. “That’s it.”

  “‘Tastes like despair?’” Bryan snorted. “What a load of crap.”

  Haven shrugged. “I can’t always control the way the future comes out. Most of the time, it’s riddles. Like someone puts the words i
n my mouth.”

  “Let’s keep going,” Grant said, breaking the silence. “We need to get this show moving a little faster if we’re going to get anything done before midnight.”

  He led the way to his room, mine, Mom’s, and the others. I expected Mom to protest when I pushed open her door, but she said nothing, just shot me an infuriating smile and moved aside so George could get a better look.

  Haven leaned over as Grant said something about things he’d heard at night. “This place is getting stronger, isn’t it?”

  “What makes you say that?”

  He hesitated, and my heart rate sped up.

  “I’m having some trouble, Claire. The house is full of visions of the past and future. I’m having some trouble sorting them out. They’re coming whether I want them or not. Its…disconcerting.”

  The thought sent chills down my spine, but it explained his behavior. I took his hand again and squeezed. “Keep close then. I’ll make sure you don’t get lost.”

  He pecked my cheek. “Thanks. Back at you.”

  Grant looked at me, brows raised, and I pointed to the stairs. “Why don’t we head up to the third floor?”

  No one argued, so I led the way upstairs. I did my best to ignore the way my stomach dropped and the sweat dampened my palms. The last place I wanted to be was there again, but I had to do this. If I couldn’t get past it, I’d never be able to finish this. Still, it had seemed easier downstairs than it was up here. As we walked down the hall Haven stayed near me, his hand in mine.

  “You notice anything strange about this part of the house?” I asked them.

  They all looked around, and I thought at first no one would answer. Finally, Cain rattled a nearby door handle. “They all lock from the outside.”

  I nodded.

  Deon muttered a curse.

  With a deep breath, I walked a little farther down, to one on the right side of the hall where the door was open. “This is where they kept me.”

  Everything inside looked much the same as everyone crowded in. Haven, Deon, and I stayed in the doorway. I didn’t want to be caught inside again, and Haven’s unfocused stare and heavy breathing were not encouraging.