“Are those…” he paused mid-sentence to look at Matt.
Matt nodded to confirm his unfinished question. His skin crawled with hairs standing up. He listened to Matt who was doing his best to seem unfazed. Matt related seeing the creature through the mirror. And how it appeared to him like it was squatting on the bed. He proceeded to describe what it looked like then added that it was holding his daughter up, which was why they saw a chair flying over the bed.
“I tried to throw it where I was sure it would connect, based on what I was seeing in the mirror, but it went wide. There was only empty air.” Matt explained.
Cain realized what it was – a show of power. The demon was toying with the child and the parent’s emotions. He kept his own feelings in check and watched apprehensively as the video unfolded. Cain did not want to react in any way that could be misconstrued by the house’s occupants, but it was obvious what was happening. The demon was powerful enough to keep the child afloat while throwing everyone around like rag dolls or hold them plastered against the wall. This was, without a doubt, Oppression.
A combination of anger and pity welled up inside him as he began to see the floating child’s clothes slide, baring her stomach. Thankfully, the video, even at full screen, was blurry enough on its own that there needed to be no awkwardness among the three men watching the video. From what he felt, he could tell that Matt was also angered while Jon was the one feeling horrified and disgusted. He wondered just how angry Matt was that morning when he was watching the video.
He cringed when he saw the little girl crash against the mirror. He watched the girl aimlessly get up and walk around in confusion. Cain inhaled deep and exhaled loudly as the girl appeared to be crying. He saw her look around, not knowing what to do. Then, he watched her stand still for a while, walked towards her levitating sister.
“What’s happening here?” Cain asked.
“The lights were turning on and off.”
“Jon, is it normal for there be this much blurring when the lights are blinking?” Cain asked, squinting.
“It’s stuff… flying around.” Matt answered in a low voice.
“Go back a few seconds and play it slower, Jon.”
Jon did as asked and Cain watched intently leaning closer to the screen. Matt continued to narrate what he remembered and what he thought was happening. Jon quipped in once to say that despite his experience, he was heavily creeped out by the video.
Cain felt sorry for the child who now stood still watching her sister spin over and over as the lights blinked. He believed the child entered a kind of dissociative state, one that shuts the mind down but somehow, the body is still active, enabling it to take more physical pain without feeling it. This was concerning. When dissociation happens in cases like this…
She must be in pain, there’s objects flying all over the room, he thought.
A thought occurred to him, one that raised questions. He tagged the child as less likely to be possessed but a shut down mind was one of the ways it could take place. Cain shook his head slightly.
It cannot be…
“Stop. Stop it and play it back even slower.” Cain said. “Just there. Yes, play it slow.”
Jon obeyed and looked at him, pressing the arrow hey pointing to the right each time. Matt’s gaze switched between the screen and Cain’s face. He caught something that did not make sense during the time everything was shaking while objects still flew around. He squinted as the lights in the video kept blinking. He closed his eyes when he saw the little girl walk out the room.
“Play it back Jon, same time from the last time.” He asked again. “There, just there. Matt, are there any outside lighting that might spill in to your daughter’s bedroom?”
“No. All the outside lighting are about floor level from there.”
“What’s that?” Cain pointed at a spot onscreen.
“It’s Jean.” Matt answered after watching it play again.
“No, it’s not. Look again.”
Matt leaned closer, squinting as Cain did.
“It’s Jean. It’s her shadow.”
“I find that hard to believe unle-”
“Oh my God!” Matt exclaimed in a low voice, eyes wide as he stared at Cain.
The horrified expression on Jon’s face told Cain that he too, caught on. Their gazes slowly turned towards the living room where the little girl, seemingly tired from all her playing, had her back resting against the sofa where her sister lay. Their silence made Emmy curious.
“Guys, what’s up? Why are you all suddenly silent?” She asked, also in a low voice.
“Babe, I don’t th-”
Matt’s protest was cut off by Emmy’s raised hand and shaking head. Matt shrugged his shoulder and nodded to Jon who played the video again, pointing to the part onscreen where they saw what so horrified them.
“I don’t get it.” Emmy remarked.
Matt was busy massaging rubbing his face with his palms, so Cain answered.
“Emmy, I don’t care how many lights there are on the ceiling of your daughter’s room, there is no possible way that’s her shadow.”
Emmy was visibly shaken as realization hit her. Cain could almost see the color drain from her face. He felt the strength of her terror. She held on to her husband as she watched the video of the little girl walk out of the room, unlikely shadow following her.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God.” Emmy kept murmuring as she buried her head in Matts chest.
“What do we do?” Matt asked, almost in a whisper.
“I suggest we begin praying. But first, I have to make a call.”
The time for questions was done. He found the answer. Now he only needed to update Father Ramirez so that the priest, in turn, could update the bishop and hopefully make it official.
He felt another curious wave of calmness just before he reached the front door.
What is that?