Upon entering, Cain noticed that Matt was eager to show him the videos. He was leaning towards Jon’s laptop when Cain came in. Jon went outside briefly to get the camera and set it up such that it now pointed towards the back door. It was a simple repositioning, no new wires needed to be run but it still took a few minutes to get the angle right. When he was done, Jon played the videos captured by the CCTV’s.
As his interview progressed, his doubts disappeared. He no longer called it a presence or spirit. It was a demon. What it wanted out of this family, he was still unsure. It wasn’t uncommon for seemingly happy individuals to be pestered by demons. It was rare but it happens. It was why he told Matt when he asked. Everyone save the little girl seemed to have gone through the stages of Infestation and Oppression already. A possession was a high likelihood, given the circumstances.
He kept quiet and contained his reactions to temper Matt’s expectations. While he recognized the value in agreeing with Matt when it came to the reason for his fears, he also did not want to give him false notions about him believing Matt’s theories. So, Cain kept it all in although it was becoming obvious that whatever the footage contained was worrying.
The orbs by themselves could mean many different things, the most obvious of which was lighting and hardware limitations. They seemed to move in constant lighting and fixed view, however, that he adopted Matt’s initial explanation that it must have been dust. Although the house was far from main roads and its air was far fresher than in the center of the city due to the river behind it, dust could still be an issue, albeit in obviously smaller concentrations than the busier parts of the city.
Cain compared the occurrences on the video to the retelling of Matt and Emmy about their experiences that night and could not help but be confused, especially when he remembered the part where the children were sleepwalking and tilted precariously on the top of the stairs. It almost seemed to him like the entity, the demon, was taunting the parents.
But if one of the parents are the target, why the children?
Cases of sleepwalking of compromised people was a known occurrence in his field but they only happened to target individuals. Simultaneous sleepwalking, however, was not. Cain had not seen or read of an instance that this happened, even when several people got possessed at once. The sleepwalking incident raised doubts about the parents being the target. As he was thinking of the children, his eyes darted towards them and found the older daughter now asleep on the sofa while the younger one’s playing seemed to have mellowed down.
The warped appearances of the other video, the one that looked like a negative to him, was another source of confusion for Cain. A demon can employ a hundred different tricks and they are all designed to assault the senses. Barring actual physical phenomena that is usually within the vicinity of the attack, everything else that happens are usually a form of illusion. Only targeted people see, hear, or feel them. Cameras are not targets for demonic possessions.
Cain watched Matt as he tried to recount the experience while also trying to estimate just at which part in the video it was happening. Matt was talking in a matter-of-fact way, almost like he was just retelling some casual story. His demeanor suggested he was confident and unbothered. His tone, choice of words, and aura, Cain noted, suggested otherwise.
It also told Cain that Matt was now being driven only being driven by sheer drive. Society gave men the role of protectors and here was a man who was taking that role to the absolute limits.
“You see that?” Matt said, pointing to the screen, finger making a small circle. “That there, see how many there are? That’s exactly the number of figures I saw from upstairs.”
He nodded to himself as he watched what Matt was pointing to. Another thread of doubt crossed his mind. Illusions did not leave digital imprints. Based on Matt’s story, he saw several of them from upstairs. The warped areas on the video suggested the same.
He entertained the notion that it could be several demons. The theme of many demons possessing one body was common enough but once again, he hit a snag. Demons never reveal themselves until the very end of the Rite of Exorcism when they are forced to.
“And I remember finding it odd, their attires.” Matt continued, “I realized later that they were old clothes, like from a certain period.”
“I realize it must be hard,” Cain said, meaning to ask a question meant to reassure Matt that he was listening, “but do you remember anything else? Like was there anything that made any of these figures you saw as unique?”
“It all happened so fast and of all places they could appear, they appeared just on the spots where the lights were weakest.”
“I see. You mentioned they floated up and pressed their faces to the window. Anything in there that stood out?”
“Aside from there being no traces of anything being pressed on the panes, nothing. Yeah, Jon, I think that’s where it all ends. Let’s take a look at the other one from last night.” Matt suggested. “Without the sound, if that’s okay.”
The first frames alone made Cain shiver. Levitation was the stuff of Hollywood movies not real life and yet, here it was. He watched the child move in empty air. His expression betrayed his confusion. Even if he believed in Hollywood tropes, levitation was for the possessed. Gina was not possessed.
“Go back for a bit, Jon. Are you able to zoom in on the child and play slower?”
“Sure can.” Jon answered and proceeded to do as he asked.
It paid to be skeptical, he has long since learned. Under the guise of curiosity, Cain wanted to see if there if there was any trickery involved. The video was already low quality, zooming in did not show anything new to him.
“What do you think Jon?”
“Yeah, I- do you see that?”
“What?”
Jon zoomed out and played the video at original size and pointed out what he meant.
“That, Cain.”