Haunted House Flipper

Chapter 7

At first I stopped and turned around to untangle my invisible sword from whatever it got caught on. Then, to my horror, I realized it couldn't get caught on anything because it went through everything. Which meant whatever had pulled on the sword was something I didn't know about. A thing that shouldn't exist. Something that I couldn't see, and something that could touch the invisible magic sword on my hip that went through everything else.

I ran out of the house and closed the door behind me as if that would stop the creature who was after my sword. I pulled the glasses from my breast pocket and put them on with shaky hands. Through the window in the kitchen door I could see a man clothed in a white flowing robe. He was glowing with a brilliant white light just like the sword that hung on my side.

There was a big shape on his back. I thought it was a backpack or something at first, but as he turned I saw the truth. He had huge wings folded and tucked behind him. He looked at me. That was all I could handle. Mr. Pennwater was right. I was out of there.

I sprinted to the side of the house toward my car. As I passed the statues I realized something. The glowing man with the sword and wings looked just like the statues in the garden behind me. I hadn't noticed their wings. On my way to the shed I had tried not to look at them because they freaked me out and made me want to leave. I shined my light at the statue on the side of the house as I passed it and saw that it had wings tucked behind it.

The thing's not a ghost, it's an angel, I thought.

Good or evil, I wanted nothing to do with him and I couldn't stand to see him again. I didn't believe in stuff like that, but I did have the magic glasses, ring, and invisible sword that the ghost could touch. I kept running. I hopped in my car and sped home. I went in my house and locked the door behind me. It was time to get some answers.

Whatever that thing I saw in that mansion was, it could see and touch the invisible sword that hung from my hip. I wanted nothing to do with the tools now, or this creepy invisible world I was discovering. That said, I wasn't going to return them without some answers. I couldn't just put them back where I found them. I had to find someone to tell me just what was going on, or I would wonder about it for the rest of my life.

I needed to know the truth. Something was in that mansion. People had a reason to be scared. I thought the owner was just a wimp who thought he saw something and scared easily. Now I knew why he didn't lock the gate. If people wandered onto his property they wouldn't stay long because they would encounter a glowing man with a sword. I needed to know just what I was dealing with if I had any chance of selling that beautiful mansion and making a profit off of it.

The next morning I walked to the church that sat above the secret room I had found the magical tools in. The architecture was beautiful. Long rectangular shapes that seem to reach to the heavens themselves. The entire building was asymmetrical and full of amazing details you just don't see in modern buildings. I've never been a religious person, but I've always admired church buildings. After the day I had and the things I'd seen, I was starting to think that maybe there just was something to the spiritual world.

The front was draped in super wide stairs. They were clean, precise, and gorgeous. I've always loved stairs. There's just something to their beautiful simplicity. I wondered if the church would be open as I climbed up to a gorgeous door tucked under tall narrow arches. The door was unlocked. I pressed down on the metal handle and pulled the giant door open. Inside there was a huge open room, but no one was around. I saw a few hallways leading to the right, and to the left more doors that lead into something called a sanctuary. There was a sign above each door.

I walked into the lobby, or whatever you call it in a church, and peered through the doors into the sanctuary. Inside was someone vacuuming the many aisles. I assumed it was a man, but if so they had really long hair. They had a big job ahead of them. I pushed the door open and walked in. She turned and I saw her face. The person vacuuming was no man, but a beautiful woman. I'd just never seen a woman dressed in work pants wearing a cool jean jacket. With her vacuum going she didn't hear me coming. I didn't want to scare her by tapping her on the shoulder so I walked in front of her. She smiled at me and turned off her vacuum.

Her smile was amazing. It accentuated her high cheek bones and communicated immediate kindness through her dazzling eyes. It made me like her instantly, which wasn't something I had ever experienced before. I think that's because everything is surface level, polite, and fake when you're dealing with real estate. At least that's how it was with most clients looking to buy large expensive homes. I could never trust a client to ever get back to me or meet me again to have me show them homes. We say buyers are liars in the real estate industry because everything seems to be going fine and then the next thing you know you can't get a hold of them to save your life. But she had the warmest smile. It made me actually want to talk to her, and that was very new to me back then.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi."

"Sorry, I didn't hear you coming."

"It's no problem. I didn't want to startle you."

"Thanks. So, can I help you with something?"

"Yes. I don't really know how to put this. I found some things, um, under the church. I was waiting for the bus and I dropped my really nice pen under the bench. Then I found the tunnel that leads under your church."

I was expecting to get a look of confusion but her smile never faltered.

"I think you need to talk to Pastor Clarke. He'll be in his office upstairs. I'll show you."

"Okay thank you."

She reached out her hand to me.

"I'm Claire by the way. I'm in charge of keeping this magnificent building looking as it should."

I shook her hand. It was strong and a little coarse, but pleasant and well manicured.

"My name's Ray. I'm a realtor. I've always loved architecture. This place is beautiful," I said.

"Thank you. It is isn't it? Right this way."

She left her vacuum and started walking back to the door I came in. I followed her through the door and down a hallway to the left. At the end of the hall some steps on the right lead upstairs to a second story. As I walked up the stairs I looked at the paintings hung on the wall. There was a painting of a shepherd with a lamb in a field. Above that there was another of Jesus hanging on the cross in a huge ornate golden frame.

The last painting was in a plain white frame and it was much smaller. Whoever painted it was a master artist. It depicted a fit handsome man in a flowing white robe. He looked like a warrior. He was glowing and in his hand he held a massive sword. That painting got my attention. It was so realistic it looked like a photograph. It also looked just like the thing I had seen in the kitchen of the Pennwater Mansion. I stopped to look at it.

"Ray? Everything alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. Interesting painting," I said with my eyes never leaving the artwork.

"Yes I really like that one. I believe that's the angel Gabriel."

I looked at the sword. I put my glasses on and glanced down at my hip. The resemblance was scary.

"Sorry, please continue. That painting just really struck me," I said.

"Don't worry about it. Same thing happened to me the first time I saw it," Claire said.

She lead me up the stairs. We passed a closed door on the left. At the second door, which stood open, she stopped and knocked as she looked in.

"Yes?" came a voice from inside.

"Hello Pastor. There's someone here with some questions for you, so I brought him up to talk to you," Claire said.

"Okay. Thanks Claire. Send him in," Pastor Clark said.

Claire smiled over at me.

"It was nice to meet you Ray."

"It was nice to meet you too Claire. Thank you."

And with that Claire walked back toward the stairs whistling a song I didn't know. It sounded old but joyful. I guessed it was a church song. I walked to the doorway and looked in.