Haunted

Chapter 7: Sinister

Chad's paranormal team wanted to do another investigation before my house was rid of the entity that was residing there, which I still thought was Henry, the man who'd built it. Putting a name to it made me less afraid, but only slightly. Henry was just a man, after all—a very dead, yet very strong, man.

As I sat in my living room, which felt like someone else's, I told them that was fine. I knew they wanted to gather more evidence, and what better house to do it in than mine. They also introduced me to the medium and the pastor who were going to work together to cleanse my house, giving me my home back.

"I just hope you don't mind if I don't participate this time," I said laughing, but not joking. 

"No, that's fine. It seems to like messing with women in general, not just you."

"What about Mable, if that's who is following me? Will all of this get rid of her, too?" Chad had told them about what all had happened with me and the girl who caused my near amputation.

"It won't matter. Once he's gone I think she'll be free, too. I'm sure he's what's keeping her here. I wouldn't doubt it if. . . ." Rich didn't finish. Instead, he looked at Jeff kind of weird and in that look they shared a private conversation that the rest of us weren't a part of. 

"Okay, so we'll set up again tomorrow night, investigate, and you two will be back here Sunday morning?" he asked, looking at the medium and pastor, who'd stayed silent this entire time.

"Yes," the medium spoke up. "However, there's more here."

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

"Aside from the man and woman, there's something else. Either the man has let it in or he has somehow manifested it himself. We have to be careful here because whatever it is . . . it's sinister."

"Sinister? You mean a demon?" Rich asked.

She looked around a minute before she answered. "Not a demon, exactly, just sinister." 

Great. I just wanted to leave. "Can you come with me to get some more of my things, since I'll be away for a few more nights?" I asked Chad. Whether I continued to stay with him or at a hotel, I was not coming back here until I knew my home was my home.

"Sure."

He followed me to my room and shut the door behind us, which he had came back and reattached, even though I had said he didn't have to. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this? I'll help you sell it if you just want to walk away." He gently grabbed my elbow. "You know you can stay with me as long as you need to."

"They can do whatever it is they're going to do and we can see what happens. It's going to break my bank if I have to sell and move again. And to be quite honest, I love this house . . . well, I did. I don't really know how I feel about it now. But I want to try what we can and go from there."

"Okay. Just so you know you've got options."

During all of this craziness, Chad had come to be a great friend and I was grateful that I'd met him. "Thanks, Chad. I really appreciate all you've done. You didn't have to, so thanks."

He nodded and smiled. "Any time."

I walked into my closet to get some extra clothes when the air suddenly changed, causing me to almost panic until I felt Chad's hand on my shoulder. When I turned to look at him, his expression had changed, too, which made me take a step back. When I did, he grabbed my good hand and pulled me out of the closet and toward my bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, totally caught off guard.

"Something I've wanted to do for a long time."