Shadows of Eternity: The Children of the Owls (Frost and Flame Book 2)

by Rick Kueber

  I called out, “2.1! Did you see that?”

  “No but I felt a cold spot.” Jenn said.

  “My K-II meter spiked for a second too.” Katie responded to my question. Then, as if being directed by some unknown force, our trio turned simultaneously toward the odd shaped, 'non-closet', mystery room. We darted into the room, elbow to elbow, with meters in hand. The energy in the space was obvious to us all, in fact at times it was off of the charts and beyond what our meters could reliably measure. Lightning flashed brightly through the cracks once again and a thunderous growl shook the very building itself. Without warning, the meters went calm, and the energy seemed to leave the air. We immediately (but not literally) turned into ravenous 'monkeys', with arms and meters flailing around searching for the lost energy of the shadow children and Ashley. Our efforts slowed as we all found ourselves with our devices pressing against the wall opposite of the door we had entered. The e.m.f.s were coming from the opposite side of the wall, but were now weaker and slowly dissipated until they were completely gone.

  “That was incredible!” I whispered loudly to the pair of brunettes who were crammed into this small space with me.

  “I know right!” returned a whisper from Katie. So far, this investigation was incredible, but not terrifying... yet. Our now energetic trio exited the non-closet space. Only a half dozen paces into the larger room, and Jennifer stopped dead in her tracks, and Katie and I both nearly ran into her. A painful silence immediately filled the air, and then... 'Tap-squeak....tap-squeak....tap....tap-squeak...tap'

  “Someone's on the stairs.” Jenn whispered in a barely audible voice.

  “Barb and Del, maybe?” Katie whispered back, paradoxically answering the statement with a question. We had frozen to listen to the ascending footsteps within arm’s reach of the second door to the stairwell landing. My left hand stabbed out into the darkness and grasped the doorknob. With a swift turn, a pull, and two purposeful steps, I was on the landing. I stepped into the open stairs and clicked on my LED flashlight, as it lit up the steps, the thunder cracked loudly outside, and it’s after rumbling trailed off slowly. I stared in disbelief as my flashlight scanned the empty wooden steps.

  “Nobody.” I said over my shoulder to the girls in my full voice. The two quickly joined me.

  “I swear I heard someone on the steps.” Jenn said, as if she were trying to convince us that she hadn't made it up. “I know, Jenn. We heard it too. No doubts.” I reassured her, and Katie nodded in the dim LED lighting. We stood there, for what seemed like an eternity, looking over the stair railing onto the dimly lit stair treads, waiting for some mystical-supernatural revelation that never came... well, it didn't come that night. When we had come to the realization that the occurrence was not returning, we ventured into the last room, at the top left of the stairs.

  The room was feverishly scoured by the three of us using the hand-held devices to check for energy fields and cold spots, unexplainable noises and irrefutable shadow movement. With the exception of a few random e.m.f.s the room was oddly inactive. The searching for anything paranormal had led us to the opposite end of the room, which was actually the front of the house. Standing side by side, we peered through the dust and dirt covered windows and out into the darkest night sky. Watching the distant electrical storm, and hearing the low rumble of the lightning's aftermath, we each had a moment filled with wonder, excitement and memories of past events that we shared and yet were somehow our own.

  I turned away from the window just as a stabbing shard of lightning flashed much closer and lit the room for a millisecond. I had turned to my left and in that flashing moment of revelation, I stood facing a door that we hadn't even realized existed yet.

  “Check it out.” I said to Katie and Jenn as I turned on my flashlight with a click and lit up the ornate wood carved door, and multifaceted, red glass doorknob.

  “Sweeeet!” whispered Katie grinning through the darkness. Jenn became immediately obsessed with the intricate lock and reaching forward, clutched the glass knob in her hand. With a gravelly twist and a pull, nothing happened. From that moment forward, Jenn had an insatiable desire to find out what was behind that door. Her fascination with old locks and keys was simply part of her character, but this was a consuming curiosity.

  “Can you get it open?” She directed her question to me. The door was secured with a skeleton key styled keyholedeadbolt lock. I knelt down and shined my flashlight into the keyhole but could see nothing. I then placed my light on the floor, and pressing it against the door, shone its light underneath and into the hidden space. Jennifer giggled out loud as I pressed my cheek to the door and peered into the key hole. Nothing. Not even a hint of light was seen. Holding my light in hand, I stood up.

  “I can't see anything, not even the light.” I said to the girls.

  “Maybe there’s a key.” Jenn responded to my statement.

  “Shhhhhhh!” Katie hushed us quickly. “Tap...tap-squeak...tap-squeak...tap…tap...tapsqueak...” The noise continued, even louder and more pronounced than before. The three of us walked as quietly and cautiously as we could, while still trying to reach door at the other end of the room before the sound disappeared once again. When we reached the door, Katie grabbed the knob, and pulling it open with a rush of wind, we burst onto the upstairs landing.

  “AAAHHHHHHHH!” Came a shrill scream and heavy fast breaths from the steps below, followed by “Oh, crap! You guys scared the ‘you know what’ outta me!” The voice came from an exasperated Barb, and boisterous laughter came from Del who was right behind her. For the next few moments we all enjoyed a good laugh, as Barb and Del finished their climb up to the second floor.

  Once we had regained our composure, Jenn had a question for the pair of long time members and officer of the club.

  “So, do you know where the key is to the door in this room? You know… the one with the red doorknob?”

  “There's a funny story about that...Del, why don't you tell it.” Barb said. “Okay...” Del answered her and rubbed his goatee with his hand, pulling down, as if to straighten it, though with its shortness, it was never mussed up. He began, “I guess it was about three or four years ago.” The two exchanged looks, and since there was no discrepancy, Del continued. “Two of our trustees were up here getting a list together to order some sundries, and taking inventory of the stock. One of them, I think it was Kenny,” The two exchanged looks again.

  “Yep, it was Kenny.” Barb confirmed. “...so anyway, Kenny came downstairs and asked our president, at the time, if he had the key to that room. He wanted to see if there was anything stored in there, or room to store anything. Our president, Fred, said 'Nope, we've never had a key, and never been in there... since the Owl's bought the building, as far as I know.' I think it’s always been one of those hushed mysteries.”

  “It's one of those things that everybody used to know about years ago, and it's something that a few of us still know, and it's sort of an 'Owl's Nest curiosity'...something that comes up in conversations around Halloween as part of somebody's spooky story.” Barb added.

  “Yeah, it's talked about in 'ghost stories' but most of our members don't even know if the 'door with the red knob' even exists. I think that the 'so called' legends and stories about 'the room we've never been in' is why we've never just had the lock picked or replaced.”

  “Very curious story, I'm intrigued.” I said, and I honestly was, but Jennifer was beyond intrigued, she was literally captivated by it.

  “Do you mind if we join you while you investigate?” Del asked.

  “We promise to be quiet as mice.” Barb said with sincerity in her voice and a smile on her face. I looked at my team mates for their agreement, and then turned back to the polite and smiling couple. “Sure, just follow our lead, and try to just be observers unless we ask you to step up.”

  “Thank you! We can definitely do that!” Barb said grinning like a youngster on Christmas morning. We went through the motions of the investig
ation with Barb and Del alongside us. We spent most of our time in the room where we had seen the shadow children with the ghost of Ashley Sue, sitting or standing, and patiently waiting. The sound of rain on the flat roof of the building, and the occasional tremor of thunder, broke the silence and though the room still had a mysterious and chilling feel about it. There were no spectral visits for quite some time, so we decided to show Barb and Del how our different e.m.f. detector worked, and how we used them to disprove paranormal activity, or to find it. We let them hold the meters and sweep the room for rogue energies.

  “1.2 … 1.4 … 1.9” Barb whispered loudly, “2.1!” calling them out in the manner we had explained- '2.1' was said as 'two point one' Her voice and excitement escalated, and then declined, “1.6 … 0.8 … 0.2 … and it's gone.”

  I approached her as she called out the readings, and when the numbers went flat, I took the meter from her and began to sweeping the floor and wall in the area where the random energy was caught.

  “I am looking for the rational man-made source of the high reading you just caught. Usually there is a simple explanation for these occurrences. I always try to find the logical explanation to things, and when I can't find one, that's when things get interesting.” I explained to Barb how my logical, scientific brain worked these situations, and just as I finished my explanation, a chill ran up my spine, causing the hair on my neck top stand on end.

  We continued our re-investigation of the upstairs, but the remainder of our time there was quiet except for the continuing storm outside. We were growing anxious for more activity, and hopefully more answers to the haunting of the Owl's Nest, so I suggested we venture to a different level of the building and carry on with our investigation.

  “Is everyone ready to investigate some more of the building?” I asked everyone. “It is almost 2 o'clock already... I'm ready if y’all are.” Jenn informed us, sounding a bit countrified...and so we headed towards to stairs.

  The rest of the group wandered down the stairs, holding onto the beautiful, but antiquated, dark walnut stained handrail, in an effort to not stumble to our deaths in the dimly colored glow of our equipment’s l.e.d. lights. Remaining behind, Katie motioned us on, as if we could make out anything she was doing in the blackness at the top of the stairs.

  “Go ahead. I want to hang out up here by myself for a few minutes and see if any paranormal activity occurs when we aren’t all up here together.” She half whispered, leaning over the top rail.

  It had always been our agreement that no one investigate alone, but against my better judgment, I whispered back, “Okay, just don’t stay too long.” and then fumbled through the darkness to catch up to Jennifer and our hosts.

  Taking a seat on the dusty hardwood floor of the upper landing of the staircase, Katie quickly began to feel

  uncomfortably ‘not alone’. She had her K-II meter and digital recorder turned on and placed neatly in front of her, but said nothing, asked no questions, and remained utterly still. The eerie feeling of an unknown presence grew around her, causing her to shiver and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She peered into the darkness, hoping to see something, anything, that would explain the unexpected coldness she felt.

  A sudden feeling of dread came over her as she instinctively recalled her experiences with Ashley Sue, the burning girl, and how horrific and frightening those encounters had been. She had been called a witch child, and considering her short life had occurred in the late 1800’s, I can imagine that some people may have believed that she was. We knew better, but that didn’t make many of our meetings with her any less dreadful.

  Gathering up her courage, Katie whispered softly into the musty night air, “Hello?” Then as if in response, she felt a presence, almost a pressure from behind her, causing her heart to race and her skin to crawl. The slightest movement of icy air was felt on the side of her neck, and as she leaned away from it, a disembodied voice chuckled a low and devious laugh in her ear. Katie snatched up her K-II and recorder in one fell swoop and flew down the stairs, catching only every other stair, at best. Bursting through the door at the bottom, her feet planted on the main floor landing with a thud that echoed in the empty darkness.

  From the bar room, we all heard the

  ‘Thump...thump...thump ...thump...Bang-thud!’ followed by the scuffling sound of footsteps down the hall. Jennifer and I dropped our attention to investigating in the bar area, and we quickly rushed into the hallway to meet Katie halfway. I turned on my flashlight with a click, and lit up the area enough to see the startled look, mixed with a half-smile, on Katie's face.

  “Everything okay?” Jenn blurted out quickly. “Yeah, I think so... I was just a bit freaked out… guess I'm just a little jumpy after the last investigation.” “Understandable... I shouldn't have left you up there alone. I'm sorry. So what happened up there?” I asked. Katie went on to tell her story with precise detail and we took note of it and decided from this point on, it would be best to continue our initial investigation on the first floor together and then finish up in the lower level.

  Chapter 4 A RUSH OF SOULS

  I excused myself to use the restroom, and the girls rejoined Barb and Del in the bar room. Barb continued recanting the tales of a man in a yellow shirt who has been seen in the area of the bar and always walked the same path, disappearing into the Coke machine. “He would usually be seen somewhere around here,” she pointed with her light, “and walks in this direction until he disappears into the Coke machine, and a couple of times it's been said that he walks into the dance hall right there.”

  “Hey Rick....” Jenn called out. “What’s he doing heading down that hall?” She said in quieter tone to the other three standing with her.

  “I thought he was in the restroom?” Del replied. “It's down the other hallway, but they all connect in a sort of loop.” and as he finished speaking, I emerged around the opposite corner, out of the hall.

  “I was in the restroom, why?” I asked, having been able to hear the whispered conversation from across the otherwise silent room.

  “How did you get back there so fast? I swear I just saw you go down that hallway over there.” Jenn said with a tone of surprise as she pointed to the hall leading out of the opposite side of the room.

  “Awesome!” I answered. “I was never in that part of the hallway. We are the only ones here, right?”

  “Yep, just us.” smiled Barb. “Let’s get a camera set up here and aim it where you thought you saw me. If it’s a residual haunting we might catch it again.” I turned toward Barb and Del and explained. “A residual haunting is one that is like a recording. It plays the same thing over and over, usually at the same time and same place. It doesn't interact, it doesn't want anything. It is not an actual spirit. Usually it’s a trapped energy, but not quite the same as the energy of a 'ghost'.”

  “We've done some research ourselves, but thanks for the explanation. That could explain the man in the yellow jacket.” Barb said, being somewhat proud of their knowledge of the paranormal.

  We continued on through the main level of the club and after we had finished our typical routine investigating, we made our way down the wide, 1950’s, school-like stairs into the basement. The stairway opened up into a huge room that we were told was often used for bingo, crafting and other member activities. There was an antique bar, for serving liquor, at the far end of the room, and down the wall on the left side a few doors could be seen in the glow of the flashlights we carried.

  “Let's go in this room first.” whispered Katie. Del pushed the door open to reveal a long rectangular room with a low ceiling. There were two pool tables to the left as we walked in and a few small round table and chair sets scattered about to our right and on the back half of the room.

  Once we were all in the room, Jenn said, “Yeah, good call Katie. Can you feel it?” “Brrr.” Barb shuddered and rubbed her arm. “Is it just me or is it cold in here? I though the heat was supposed to still be on in here.” />
  “It is.” Answered Del, with a flat tone that gave us the feeling he was confused by the obvious chill in the air.

  “Whoa!” Katie let slip out, and then continued with, “Did you just feel that breeze?”

  “I think so.” I answered, though I couldn't be sure. “I felt it.” was Jenn's comment. “It blew behind me and the around my right side...kinda low, like it was only around my legs.”

  “Precisely! That's how it felt to me.” Katie agreed. “Okay, let’s get set up in here.” I directed everyone as to where I would like to set the equipment. Once it was set up, I began with all of the generic, typical e.v.p. questions, with a 30 to 40 second pause between each one.

  “Is there anyone with us tonight? ... Can you tell us your name? ... Do you feel trapped here? … Is there anything we can do to help you? ...” and so on. Although there was an energy in the room that we could all feel, it was unnervingly quiet, and there was no apparent activity.

  Jennifer decided to try a different approach. Opening up the bag she carried on her shoulder like an oversized purse, she withdrew a stuffed toy duck, an old wooden toy train, and placed them on the floor. Looking around she noticed the pool tables she was between and chose the red pool ball from the table top and also placed it on the floor in front of her. She knelt down on the floor and began to speak. “Hi... my name is Jennifer. What's yours?” she paused for a few moments, and rolled the red ball forward. It came to rest a few feet from her, but nothing seemed to happen. The rest of us watched silently as Jenn reached out and pulled the ball back to her and rolled it forward a few times in a row with the same results. Jenn pretended to play with the toy train and the duck and then rolled the ball forward once again. The ball came to rest a few feet away, but only for a moment. It unexpectedly rolled nearly a foot to the right and then just as it was coming to a halt, rolled directly back to Jenn as if it had purpose. Though obviously shaken, Jenn rolled the ball one more time, but it stopped abruptly and returned to her at an even faster pace than it had been sent. She caught the ball in her hand and continued in her lighthearted, yet slightly quivering voice. “I want to talk to the children that are here.”