Forever Ash: The Witch Child of Helmach Creek (Frost & Flame Trilogy Book 1)

by Rick Kueber

  “And what?” Jenn and I asked in unison. “Well, we both had horrible nightmares the past few nights, then, when I told him I was leaving to come here tonight, he said, 'You don't care about me, so just go!' and I walked out.” She began to sniffle.

  “I'm so sorry!” Jenn said as she put her arm around Katie's shoulder. “You did the right thing by just walking away.” “Actually, I didn't just walk away. I slapped him,” she chuckled through her unhappiness, “and then walked away.” Katie rubbed her hand and then held it out palm up for us to see. “Do you see that?”

  “Um....no.” Jenn said semi-sarcastically, trying to raise another chuckle. “Me either.” Said Katie. “But it stings more now than it did when I slapped him, and it’s starting to hurt all the way up past my wrist. I think I screwed something up when I did it.”

  “To put my two cents in, I think you, Sean, Jenn, and I have been passing around a negative energy of some kind, and if the doc is right then I may have accidentally passed it to you over the phone and you to Katie. I know from experience, it can be passed by touch. You and Sean may have just been passing this energy back and forth with each hug, or slap...as the case may be. If you touched him last, that may explain the pain in your hand and arm... and… Jenn hugged you and then me… so any of us could be harboring the negative energy right now.” I continued by trying to lighten the mood. “And by the way, our good Dr. Covand prefers to be called Emily, but I kinda like Dr. Em.”

  “Well, my hand still hurts, so I think I'm stuck with it, maybe.” Katie responded shrugging her shoulders. “Negative energy, my ass! Let’s just call it what it is, a demon, an evil spirit, or an unholy TERROR!” Jenn interjected trying to be her sarcastic self, but it didn't work out so well this time. We all sat silent for a second instead of smiling and laughing.

  “Unfortunately, we don't really know what it is yet, but I think we will find out soon enough. Soooo.... Saturday midday okay with you two? I kinda promised the doc we would.” None of us knew what this maleficent energy was, or how true some of what Jennifer was saying would be, or how wrong. There are never enough tangible answers in the paranormal field, only the faith that we know the verity.

  They nodded together and Katie spoke, “I hope we aren't still fighting then, but either way, I will be there.” “You know I'm in. No matter what, we are a team, and I will do whatever I have to do to keep Saturday open.” Jenn said putting her hand on Katie's shoulder and leaning over to touch the side of her head to Katie's. “If you need to talk, you can always call me, girlfriend.”

  We stood up and parted ways without hugs. No one spoke, and I wasn't sure it was intentional. As we walked to our cars I shouted out, “I will email you tomorrow with the details on what time and where to meet me Saturday.” We said our 'good-bye's and 'see ya's from across the parking lot and went our separate ways.

  As soon as I sat down in the driver's seat, before I even put the key in the ignition, I retrieved my phone from my pocket. Jenn and Katie needed a reminder, or at least I knew I would feel better if they had one. I sent them both a text

  “ just in case Don't call or touch anyone if you think you are the host of the

  energy. Don't txt back”

  I sighed and thought, 'I hope we can do this.' I was nervous for Katie. She may be the one who bears the energy, and I know what it did to me in such a short time. What would it do to her over the next few days? My only hope was that if it got too bad, she would call Jenn or me, regardless of what I had said.

  Chapter3 RICE PLEASE, WITH EXTRASALT

  It was Thursday, and Jenn was digging in the mulch as usual. Her job in horticulture was both rewarding and enjoyable, even though there were many days when she found herself elbow deep in the dirt. This was one of those days. Dirt and mulch and bits of green were smeared, or caked, from head to toe...and that made Jennifer smile. A buzzing began in her back pocket. Her phone was ringing, and she loathed the thought of trying to dig it out and answer it, but, she picked up a rag beside the terra cotta pots and wiped her hands as clean as she could. By the time she dug it out, there was one missed call. Katie.

  Jenn's face went blank. She nervously hit the call button and awaited Katie's answer. No 'hello' or 'thanks for calling back so quick', as soon as she answered the phone Katie blurted out “Jenn! Thank god, I'm about to kill someone!”

  “Calm down Katie and tell me everything.” Jenn answered back in such a rational tone, that it caused Katie to pause and collect her thoughts before continuing.

  “Okay, maybe I'm not really going to kill someone, but I really want to. The past few days have been so excruciating in so many ways. Sean and I have been at each other, back and forth... this thing really can be passed back and forth by touch. Last night Sean was very irritated when we went to bed. He tossed and turned half the night, and then when he flopped his arm over and hit me in the head with it, he just stopped. It was like he was suddenly in a peaceful sleep, and I wanted to rip his arm off and beat him with it, but I didn't. I knew it must be this 'energy' Rick talked about. I rolled over away from him, and just ignored him until I fell asleep.” She paused for a breath.

  “Kudos to you! I'm pretty sure I would have beaten Alan with his arm. Are you doing any better today? Guess not, or you wouldn't have called, huh?” Jenn said, doing her best to ease Katie's duress.

  “Well, when I finally fell asleep I had this horrid dream that I was trapped or something, and everything around me was on fire...until even I was on fire. I don't ever remember feeling anything in a dream, but this hurt so damn bad, that it woke me up.”

  Jenn could hear her deep rapid breaths on the other end of the phone. “Jenn....I woke up with burns on my back and my leg. Like a sunburn, pink and stinging. I'm scared, and I'm mad at the world, and I don't know what to do.”

  She couldn't hear it, but Jenn knew Katie was crying. She thought for a moment and said, “Well, I'm impressed! You are one awesome Kate, no doubt about that! Have you called and cussed Rick out yet? You know we can blame him and the witch doctor for all of this right?”

  Katie laughed through her pain saying, “She's a dentist Jenn...” but was cut off mid-sentence.

  “...And, therefore evil.” Jennifer's sarcastic wit once again shone through the darkness. “... and no I haven't called him yet, but you're right, he deserves a good cussing!” They both cracked up for a second. “Thanks for calling me back Jenn. I just needed some reassurance, and a friendly voice. Now maybe I can get through this week without going all homicidal maniac on anyone. Talk to you soon.”

  “Good bye chica, see you soon.” Jenn said and waited for Katie to hang up first. She spluffed and looked at the screen of her phone for a second, and then pulled up her recent calls. I was the next to receive a 'heads up' about Katie.

  “Rick, hi... I just wanted to let you know that I just hung up with Katie, and she isn't doing so well with all of this. Whatever this negative energy is, it’s putting her through hell!” Jenn paused to draw a breath.

  “Hello Jenn. I'm glad you asked... I was a bit under the weather yesterday, but I feel better today.” I decided to spit a bit of Jennish sarcasm to throw her off. Of course I couldn't see her, but I just knew she was sticking her tongue out at me over the phone. “Okay, now that I've got that outta my system, should you, Katie and I get together and try to figure out if we can help her out somehow?” Though I felt horrible that I had brought this to the team, and more so, to Katie, I couldn't help but smile to myself at my quick response and Jenn's inability to fire right back. I was learning her game, and that was a true sign of a team. Not only did we know what to expect from each other, we knew how to mesh together well.

  “She said she was going to call you and give you a good cussing, which we both know isn't like her at all. As far as whether or not to get together again, that's not a horrible idea. I mean, if you or I can take this energy with us for a day or two, it would give Kate a break.” Jenn responded in a more rational tone, which was typical
. She was always quick witted, and ready to throw out a one liner for a laugh, but when it came down to it, she was all business when needed.

  “Okay, here's what I'm thinking. If you aren't busy this evening, I will shoot Katie a text and ask if she is going to be home, and then you and I will just drop by, sort of unannounced. If we go around seven, that will give us an hour or so to do some web research and see what we can find on negative energies and how to deal with them.” I moved the phone away from my mouth, rubbed my forehead and sighed.

  “Gee, a whole freakin' hour?” Jenn exclaimed. “You aren't asking much… or maybe I should say, I hope you aren't expecting much.”

  “Look Jenn, I know it isn't much time, but if we don't spend the time looking, we might as well head over now and just hope one of us walks away possessed.” I shot off at the mouth without loading my brain.

  “POSSESSED! Really? You think she's possessed? You're the one who said 'let's not call it a demon' remember?” I could hear the anger, concern and fear in her voice all wrapped up together.

  “Sorry, I'm not trying to label this as a possession. It just came out and I thought if we could do any research at all, it would be better than none, maybe we could find something that might make it loosen its grip on her.” I said trying to apologize and defend myself with one statement.

  “Yeah, well... good luck with your research. I'll have to get a shower, and feed my freakin' kids and Alan. Maybe I can get away and come to Katie's with you later, but don't count on it.” She paused for a brief moment. “Later.”

  Before I could respond, she hung up. I guess helping Katie was all on my shoulders now. I sent Katie a text, and quickly got a response.

  “ Sean and I are going out for dinner

  but we will be back around 7 or 7:30

  - EVP-Kate”

  I replied with a simple 'okay' and went straight to the office to do whatever research I could. It's times like this that Google is my best friend. I pecked at the keys and entered subduing negative spirits. A millisecond later I had nearly thirty million results.

  There were so many ideas, good and bad, to choose from, but I needed something I could try quickly, without a lot of preparation, no fancy herbs, or the need of a witch or shaman. I refined my search to 'Simple remedies for evil spirits', and the one and a half million results were far more realistic considering my time frame.

  1. Salt water spiritual remedy - Spiritual Science Research Academy  Cached

  Ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.) ... The salt water remedy is a simple

  but powerful spiritual remedy to counteract the harmful unseen black

  energy ...

  2. Best Ways to Get Rid of an Evil Spirit

   Cached

   Similar The barrier created by the blessed water should keep out the evil spirits at each of …

  Yet, they can be relatively simple. ... Salt is very prevalent in folk remedies.

  3 . How to protect yourself from negative energies, evil spirits, evil eye ...

   Cached

   Similar

  Mar 17, 2009 ... How to protect yourself from negative energies, evil spirits, evil eye and …

  from spiritual losses but let me brief about simple thing which can be ...

  4. Home Remedies For Evil Spirits | Herbal Benefits and Cures

  5. herbalbenefitsandcures.com/homeremedies-for-evil-spirits/

  The first few on the list caught my eye and after reading the info from the links, I thought out loud, 'This is definitely do-able!' The salt remedy was something I had read about before, but my fear was, if we used it to keep the negative energy out of Katie's home, could she enter her own home, and if she could, but not the energy, who would be plagued with this next? It wasn't a solution, it was just a way to transfer the problem, and I wasn't satisfied with that answer.

  Holy or blessed water would have given similar results, and therefore, it belonged in our great big book of knowledge for future reference, but it was not today's answer.

  Prayer for positivity and positive energy was one that was well worth trying. We could all pray and send our positive energy towards Katie, and the positive 'theoretically' would balance out or even overtake the negative. I had one more trick up my sleeve, but I needed to run to the store on the way to pick up a very common household item. If this worked, it might be our best option to truly help out the team, the doc, and this negative energy.

  It was nearly 7p.m. when I headed out. I sent Jennifer a text message letting her know I was headed to Katie's, but I got no response. I began to question if I should show up to what could be a volatile situation alone, but as I pulled into the market I decided it was either go alone or leave Katie and Sean to deal with this on their own. I couldn't do that. I would do anything to help a stranger, so I wasn't about to turn my back on a friend and team mate. I sent Katie a generic ' whatcha doin?' text. Just as I got out of the car, my phone lit up and vibrated. It was Katie and the response was short, to the point, and for the most part, exactly what I hoped for.

  “nothin, just got home from dinner. Come by if you want.

  EVP-kate”

  I couldn't get a feel for any emotion, but it was still as perfect of a response as I could have asked for. I walked into the neighborhood store and grabbed a shopping cart. As I pushed it through the aisles, I looked around at the mothers with their children asking for candy and fruit snacks, grandmothers buying soup and cat food and a single guy buying frozen dinners and a case of lite beer. I had no doubt that I was the only one in the store who was there to buy salt and rice to deal with an evil entity. As I absorbed my surroundings and the people who filled it: workers, shoppers, children and senior citizens, I found myself being truly glad that I was the only one headed to the check out with a box of minute rice and seven boxes of sea-salt. My seven box limit was only because of the fact that there were only seven boxes of salt on the shelf, but it seemed like a lucky number. I had my share of strange looks as I put the rice and a box of salt on the conveyor.

  “Um, I have seven boxes of the salt.” I looked down as I spoke to the cashier and pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. “So, how many of the minute rice do you have?” She questioned very casually. I suppose there are all sorts of people who buy all sorts of odd things, and after a while a cashier must become numb to it.

  “Just the one.” I said finally making eye contact. “That's gonna be some salty rice!” the cashier joked. Once totaled up and bagged, I swiped my debit card and took my groceries to the car and placed them in the trunk. Time to see if these unsophisticated therapeutics actually might work. Next stop… Katie's home.

  Chapter4 HOUSECALLS

  I pulled up alongside the curb in front of the residence. The front door was open and I could see an inviting light coming through the glass of the storm door. I popped the trunk of the car and pulled out the bag that held the box of rice. If this didn't work, I was going to feel pretty foolish. Approaching the entry I could see the bluegrey flickering light of the television in the front room and hear its muffled sound, but no voices, no fighting, no talking...no voices. And that worried me a bit.

  “Anybody home?” I shouted and tapped at the door, hoping to hear a response. The seconds passed like hours until I finally saw a shadow move across the room. A hand reached out opening the storm door and Katie's smiling face greeted me. “Come on in!... You alone? I figured Jenn might be with you.”

  Assuming Sean was gone and had taken the negativity with him, I asked, “You alone too?” For someone struggling not to kill someone, she seemed oddly cheerful.

  “No, he just jumped in the shower. Have a seat, if you want.” She said courteously. She strolled into the other room and emerged again with a soda in her hand. “I'm sorry. Can I get you a drink?”

  “Um, no, but thank you anyway. So I'm going to just cut to the chase.” I opened with, as I sat down on the plush brown microfiber couch. “I spoke to Jenn earlier and she mentioned something a
bout you being stressed to the max. I have an idea I got off the internet about how to help with that.”

  “Really?” she said with a smile. “I was about to strangle someone, anyone, earlier...but Jennifer got me calmed down and things have been great this evening. Sean took me out for a nice dinner for two, and we stopped and rented a movie from one of those corner boxes. It's the best evening all week, so far.”

  “Oh. Well... have you heard from Jenn since you two talked earlier? Because when we first spoke, she was very concerned about you, and then later she was in kind of a pissy mood. I'm a little worried that the whole 'phone spirit' thing may be true, and you may have just handed it off to her when you were on the phone with her earlier today.” As hard as I tried to mask it, I am sure the concern showed through my voice.

  “Crap! I bet you're right! I feel horrible!” She said as she put her hand to her forehead as if feeling for a fever. “It didn't even dawn on me that Sean and I were getting along so well tonight. Let me tell him to put the movie on hold for a while and I will go with you to Jenn's, if you have time.” She stood up and turned toward the hall.

  “You don't have to, but I would appreciate having you there... I just hate having to interrupt such a good evening though.” I spoke honestly. I knew it had been a very rough week for her and Sean. Sean... I really felt bad for him. He wasn't even on the team, and he had to deal with repercussions like these.

  “It's Okay. Sean and the movie will be here when I get home, but I'll drive separate so you don't have to bring me home later.” Then she headed down the hall and I heard the bathroom door open and close. A few minutes passed and I heard the door again. Katie appeared in the hallway with a smile on her face and a coat in her hand.

  “So, what's in the grocery bag?” She said with a smile as she put her coat on. “Minute Rice.” I answered feeling incredibly stupid. “I'll explain when we get to Jennifer's.” My face was red with embarrassment knowing she must be thinking 'he's a special kind of dumb'.