Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1)

by Nellie H. Steele

  “Yeah,” Damien said, “yeah, he hypnotized her, and like I said, he had her find this happy place and then he asked her to remember her dream and then when she got super upset he asked her to go back to the happy place and forget the dream when she woke up.”

  “What did I say about the dream?”

  “Should we be talking about this, Jos? He said not to push yourself,” Damien said.

  “D, I’ll go nuts if I don’t know what happened in there, so it’ll be worse if we don’t. Now come on, what happened?”

  “Well, you started out saying the same stuff you’ve been saying, describing the dream. You’re running in some kind of cave and you’re scared and someone is coming after you. And then…” Damien paused.

  “Yeah? And then?” Josie prompted.

  “Umm, this will sound bizarre but...”

  “Bizarre? More bizarre than the situation already is?” Josie asked, half joking and half serious.

  “Yeah. More bizarre. You were talking as though you were in the dream. Like not telling us about the dream, just talking out loud. But… you were speaking French. At least, I assume it was French.”

  “What?” Josie asked, shocked. “I don’t speak French.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I’m not kidding, you were speaking French. Fluently. Dr. Reed had to tell you to speak English again.”

  “I… I’m speechless. I don’t even understand how that could happen. I don’t speak French, I never have. What did I say?”

  “I didn’t understand you, I don’t speak French either. We both took Latin together in high school, remember?”

  “Great, so I’m rambling in French and we have no idea what I said,” Josie said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

  “Actually, though, I recorded it while you were under, just in case, so we can try to find someone who speaks French to translate it?”

  “I speak French. Well, not fluently, but I might be able to translate it,” Michael suggested.

  “I hope you can, I don’t relish playing this for some random person,” Josie said.

  Damien unlocked his phone and navigated to his video files. “Ugh, you took a video? That’s kind of creepy, D,” Josie complained. “How did the doctor not notice?”

  “I was discreet! And I thought it might be useful because now you can see it’s really you speaking perfect French.” He played the video. Michael listened while Josie and Damien watched as the doctor put Josie under hypnosis and asked her to recall her dream. As Josie began discussing the dream, becoming more and more upset, Damien said, “Here, it’s right after this.”

  As if on cue, Josie began to speak in French. “Okay, that’s just weird,” Josie said after seeing the video. “Did you understand any of that?” she said, turning to Michael.

  “Uh, maybe, play it again?” Damien replayed the part of her speaking French. “Okay, something like ‘help me help me my God help me’ I think. There’s something else, too, play it again.” Damien replayed this part. “Okay, it’s ‘help me help me, he’s coming, my God, help me.’ Go to the next part.” Damien let the video play to the next lines in French. “No, no, he’s coming… play that again? Okay, yeah, ‘no no, he’s coming, I have to go’ is what you’re saying.”

  “Okay, so that at least seems consistent with what I have described before but how the heck am I saying it in French? I doubt I could repeat that as fluently as I did while under hypnosis even after hearing it a few times!”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure, I mean, if I didn’t see it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it but I was right there and saw it happen.”

  “Did you hear it on a movie somewhere?” Michael asked, turning onto their road.

  “I don’t know, I mean, not that I recall. I don’t watch a lot of stuff with people speaking another language and if there was a small foreign language part, I don’t remember it.”

  Within a few minutes, they were pulling down their driveway. “Maybe it’s best we drop this, like Dr. Reed suggested. You’re not supposed to be thinking about it, remember?” Damien suggested.

  “Right, yeah, we can. I can’t explain it, that’s for sure. I’m not sure I can forget about it especially since it took a turn for the weirder, but I’ll try. Perhaps some pizza will help?” Josie joked, hoping they’d like her plan for dinner.

  “Pizza always helps!” Damien grinned.

  “While I’m not sure that statement is valid, I’m on board with pizza,” Michael agreed. They unbuckled their seat belts and gathered their things, heading into the house for the night.

  The man observed them entering the house from his usual hiding spot. Where had they been, he wondered? He had not followed them, unsure of their destination. He preferred to follow Celine when she was alone. She was far less likely to notice him and, if she did, far less likely to cause a scene. There had been no miraculous moments that he could tell so far, no sudden flashes of clarity on her end. At least none that he was aware of. Impatience was growing in him, as it was in everyone else. He had received a text from his cousin this morning asking for a status and to learn if he had made any progress. While he couldn’t offer much hope, he brought him up to date on the progress with Celine. The final text from his cousin rung in his head: We’re running out of time. Running out of time, he thought. It was time to enact the next phase of his plan. The next opportunity that he got he had to take things one step further. He only needed a moment alone with her. His cousin was right; they were running out of time.

  Chapter 7

  Josie sat on the edge of her bed. Despite being relaxed, sleep would not come to her. She could not prevent her mind from darting from concern to concern. She tried to push away the thoughts of the video that Damien had captured of her hypnotherapy session but found herself unable to do so. It wasn’t what she had said that bothered her, but how she had said it. She had spoken fluent French. How? She had never taken a course in French, never traveled to France; she had no knowledge of the language. Yet she had undeniable proof that she had, in fact, spoken it and in a way that made sense. Josie glanced around the room as if searching for answers. Her gaze fell onto the gold music box. She stared at it. Another mystery. Why give this to her? Whose was it? She picked it up, sensing its weight in her hands. She was sure she had never seen it before yet somehow it seemed so familiar to her. She opened it and the gentle tinkling music started to play. Yes, it seemed so familiar and comforting. She held it for a while longer, lost in thought. It brought her a sense of security, but her mind remained troubled. It seemed like it was reaching for something but couldn’t quite fill in the gap. It was as though she was teetering on the verge of remembering some detail but she wasn’t able to make the final connections.

  She settled back in her bed, still holding the music box. She was suddenly sleepy. She closed her eyes, shutting out the world. Except for the music. The music kept playing as she drifted off to sleep.

  When Josie awoke the next morning, the music box sat on her night table, closed and quiet. She hadn’t remembered putting it back there; she must have been half asleep when she did. The silence in the room was deafening. She missed hearing the music. She opened the box and let the music play. What a lovely tune it played, she noted, as she changed into her jogging gear. She almost hated to leave it, but she wanted to get her jog finished. She closed the music box and headed out.

  When she returned, Michael and Damien were both awake and preparing for the day. “How did you sleep?” Michael asked.

  “Good, actually,” Josie said, “I had trouble falling asleep but once I did I was out like a light.”

  “Did the music box help?” Michael questioned further.

  “It did. How did you know?”

  “I checked on you in the middle of the night. You were holding it. I closed it and put it next to you.”

  “Why did you do that?” Josie said, accusatory.

  “I didn’t want it to wake you or for you to drop it.”

  “You shouldn’t have done tha
t. Don’t touch that, just leave it next time.”

  “Okay, sorry,” he said, confused at her sudden outburst.

  “Sorry, I realize you were trying to help,” she said, softening a bit. “Are you both heading in to the office today?”

  “I am, full day today, half-day tomorrow,” Damien answered.

  “Me too, unless you want me to stay home with you?” Michael said, directing the last statement as more of a question posed to Josie.

  “No, no, I’m fine. I feel good. Perhaps the therapist was a good idea.”

  “Okay, great. See you when I get home then,” Michael said, leaving the kitchen.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Damien asked once Michael left.

  “Yeah, like I said, I feel good. About the best I’ve felt in weeks. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do, huh?”

  “Okay, if you need anything, call me.”

  “Okay, have a good day!” Josie said as she set the teakettle on the stove.

  Josie had her morning cup of tea on the porch, enjoying the beginnings of what promised to be a lovely summer day. She swung gently on the porch swing as the warm breeze caressed her skin. She overlooked the front lawn edged with the forest that enveloped the house on all sides. The smell of summer hung in the air; closing her eyes, she enjoyed the scent and sounds of the season. She felt refreshed today, more like herself. As she sipped her tea, she hummed with happiness to herself. She recognized the tune; it was the one from the music box. The music box was beautiful. If she had received it by mistake, it was a happy accident because she was growing to love it.

  She retrieved it from her bedroom, carrying it to the porch. As she drank the rest of her tea, she listened to the music, becoming relaxed. She almost hated to finish her tea and close the little music box to head in for work. Checking the time, she dragged herself off the swing and headed in to her office. She spent the rest of the morning processing jobs, checking logs, fixing issues and more of the typical cybersecurity work.

  By lunchtime, she had made great progress. She headed out for lunch and a few work-related errands. She stopped by a local café for a salad and iced tea before making a few stops to pick up and drop off various things for work.

  Her last stop was at the local office supply store, she had a list a mile long of supplies she needed. She took a cart and began to navigate the aisles, looking for everything she needed. As she rounded the aisle, she almost ran into someone on the corner. “Oh, I’m sorry, excuse me,” she apologized, smiling at the person. Her smile faded as the man turned to faced her. He seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Then she realized. “Oh, oh my goodness, you’re the man from the mall, you caught me when I fainted. Wow, this is the second time I’ve almost run into you, you should really stay away from me,” she joked.

  “Yes, how are you?” the man asked.

  “Much better, thank you. I never got a chance to say thank you for the save. There was so much confusion.”

  The man smiled. “Anyway, thank you again.” She gave an awkward laugh and started to push her cart away.

  “I can help you more, if you’d let me.”

  “I’m sorry?” she asked, turning back to him, unsure of what he meant.

  “I said I can help you more. I can help you remember who you really are.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean,” Josie said, growing uncomfortable with the conversation.

  “You’ve been struggling, haven’t you? With the dreams? The nightmares?”

  Josie eyed him with disbelief. How could he know about her nightmares? The man continued, speaking quickly, sounding almost desperate. “The music box, it’s helping you isn’t it?”

  Josie’s mind clouded, her brow creased as she tried to process the information but failed to do so.

  The man continued, “You need to remember, remember who you are.” He grabbed her around the shoulders. “You’ve got to remember, Celine. You’ve got to remember.” He shook her a bit as though trying to jar loose something in her brain to help her remember.

  Josie struggled against him. “Let go of me, let go.” She wriggled out of his grasp. “You’re crazy,” she said, backing away. “Stay away from me.” She turned and hurried toward the exit of the store, leaving behind her cart and intended purchases.

  “Celine!” he called after her, “Celine, wait! You’ve got to remember!”

  Josie hurried from the store, rushing out into the bright sun. She fumbled with her sunglasses, resisting the urge to break into a full run to her car. She was unnerved and her hands were shaking as she got into the car, locking her doors behind her. He was crazy; he had to be. But yet he knew personal details about her. Why did he insist on calling her Celine? Was it him who sent her the music box?

  She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. She looked at the store’s entrance; the man had followed her out and was staring across the parking lot at her. She pulled on her seat belt and fired the engine, putting the car into gear and driving away.

  By the time she pulled into the driveway at home, she was no less unnerved. She entered the house, pushing the door shut behind her and locking it, she leaned against it, eyes closed, taking deep breaths.

  “You okay?” a voice said.

  She jumped, startled. She opened her eyes to find Michael making his way across the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, is everything okay? You seem upset.”

  She considered lying to him but she was so disconcerted by what happened she couldn’t pull it off. She shook her head ‘no,’ unable to speak for the moment.

  “What happened? Come sit down, are you sick, do you feel faint again?” Michael helped her to the couch. “I’ll get you some water,” he said.

  “Water, yes, some water please,” she managed, trying to compose herself.

  Michael returned with a glass of water, handing it to her and sitting down next to her. He rubbed her back as she took a few sips. “Can you tell me what happened now?” he asked after she set the glass down.

  “This man, at the office store, he just, he was crazy, he had to have been,” Josie stammered, almost as though speaking to herself.

  “Man at the office store? What? Josie, start at the beginning.”

  “I went to the office supply store. Oh my gosh, I never finished shopping, I just left,” she said, placing her hand on her forehead as she remembered her folly.

  “What about the man, Josie?” Michael persisted.

  “I was shopping. I turned the corner and almost ran into him. The man that caught me when I fainted at the mall. I recognized him and I thanked him for helping me. He asked how I was feeling and I said I was better. Then he just started rambling about how he could help me and that I needed to remember who I was. He grabbed me and kept saying I needed to remember who I was.”

  “He grabbed you? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I mean, he didn’t hurt me, but he grabbed hold of me, but I’m okay.”

  “Probably some nut case. But I don’t like the fact that he’s showing up so often, that can’t be by chance. Nor that he’s putting his hands on you. We should call the police.”

  “Michael, he knew,” Josie said, looking right into his eyes and ignoring his previous statement. “He knew about my nightmares and the music box. How would he know that?” she asked, turning pensive again. “It was so strange. I thought he was crazy too, but he knew things about me. How did he know those things?”

  “Probably has been following you and overheard it. I don’t like this, Josie. We should call the police and I don’t think you should go anywhere alone or even stay here alone. Who knows how crazy this guy is. Did he follow you to your car?”

  “He came out of the store. I was already in the car, I left. What are you doing?” Josie asked, seeing Michael with his phone in his hand.

  He put the phone to his ear. “I’m calling the police.”

  “No, don’t,” she said, grabbing the phone.

  �
��Why? Josie, this guy might be dangerous.”

  “I just, I feel stupid. He is just some weirdo, probably harmless. I mean, what am I going to tell the police? A strange guy caught me when I fainted and I ran into him later and he told me I needed to remember who I really am. I’m the one who will sound crazy at this point.”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re going to tell them. Okay, if you don’t want the police involved yet, fine, but as much as possible, you shouldn’t be going out anywhere alone or staying here, will you at least agree to that?”

  “Yes. I didn’t say I wasn’t uneasy. I just don’t think it’s police report worthy at this point.”

  “Good.”

  “Shoot!” Josie exclaimed.

  “What?”

  “I told you, I never finished my shopping. I needed supplies for work.”

  “Order it, Josie. Don’t go back to the store.”

  “I don’t want to go back but I should order it now before I forget. I’m going to change and grab my laptop.”

  “Okay.”

  Josie headed up the steps and to her room. She was a little calmer, no longer shaking. She was home and safe and she focused on that. She started changing into more comfortable clothes. As she put away the clothes she was wearing, she spotted the music box. A wave of emotion swept over her. She remembered the man in the store mentioning it. He must have been the one who delivered it to her doorstep. That was before he had “rescued” her at the mall. Who was he and why was he doing this, she wondered? No matter what the reason, it now made her apprehensive. It reminded her too much of the scary experience she had at the store. She pulled on a change of clothes, grabbed her laptop and the music box and headed out of the room and downstairs.

  “Feel any better?” Michael asked when she reached the landing.

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you have that?” he asked, motioning to the music box.

  “I’m getting rid of it. I don’t want it. The crazy guy mentioned this, too. I think he was the one who left it here.”