UNPSYCHIC.

Case 02 :: Chapter 06

Just as my brain registered that an actual effin footprint appeared on screen, a second footprint manifested in front of it. Slowly, the footprints approached where Noelle and I stood. Even though my head screamed at me to move, we were rooted to the ground at what we were witnessing on the small screen.

With my body finally registering what my brain was telling it, I shoved Noelle away from its path, her camera flying out of her hands and clattered somewhere in the darkness. I ended up scampering to the opposite direction, and, in that one second of me falling awkwardly on my side, my eyes finally caught a glimpse of the entity that owned the footprints. I knew it was impossible in the darkness, but I could vividly see its obsidian complexion, and ruby red eyes with an animalistic snarl that seemed to be frozen on its mouth. It vanished in a blink of an eye.

But not before toppling over Mother Mary's statue. The marble fell with a loud crack that reverberated throughout the room, and was in two pieces on the wooden floor.

"W-what in Jesus' name was that?!" I panted.

Whatever that entity was, it was gone, only leaving the broken remnants of the statue in its wake. Seeing how the religious icon was sacrilegiously damaged, I didn't think Sir Matti would be forgiving on that. I pushed my upper body with my elbows until I was seated on the floor. Noelle fared just the same, wincing as she straightened from her prone position.

"If you're going to push me to the ground every time we're handling a case, we're going to have a problem." Noelle scowled as she massaged her injured arm.

"Shit. I'm sorry." The memory of the time when I tackled her hard in that underground torture chamber came to mind. I got to my feet and offered her a hand, which she reluctantly accepted after a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" I examined her bandaged arm just to see if the stitches didn't get ripped, but she pulled her arm away from me.

"I'm fine. Help me find my camera."

The dim flashlight emitted from her camcorder flickered so it was easy to find its location in the ocean of darkness. Picking it up, there was a visible crack on the screen and after a few seconds, the light died on us. I gave the little device a sharp slap to its side as though willing it to fix itself like I'd do with a remote. But of course, it remained dead.

"But...you did see it right? That black...thing." I shook my head at the image. I needed to get her validation to know that I wasn't just seeing things. Or losing my mind.

"It was too dark. But I think the camera might have. Although..." She took the camera from my hand, gave it a last forlorn look before stuffing it back to her backpack. "We'll just have to wait and see if we can have it fixed. Is the black entity you saw still here?"

I looked around the darkness, seeing just a bit of the outline of the pews and statues there. But thankfully, nothing ominously popped out.

"I can't sense anything. Could you?"

"We'll have to check the other parts of the house then." She ignored my question and headed towards the door. "Once we find it, we'll find its source and remove it for good."

I pouted at her answer but followed her lead as we threaded back out. She decided we split up to cover more ground; she'd investigate the Antique and Prayer Room once more in hopes to get another glimpse of the black entity. While I was to tackle Sir Matti's bedroom where he reported that someone pulled at his leg when he slept, and maybe be in contact with Alejandra. Neither option seemed favorable.