He felt it. Even with only one anchor out, an anchor that was latching on to the man who kept giving off pained vibes, he felt it. A deep kind of anger. Anger that bordered on hate and malicious intent.
He heard it too, the sudden rumbling and sounds of things breaking, of things being thrown around. As fast it came, the heavy emotion disappeared. He was unnerved.
He had spent decades honing his skills, his ability. He could do the same thing and flood the entire area, even beyond the house with the same vibe and probably make it just as strong but for it to vanish that quick, in an instant. That was something that took more than just years of training.
Like it was never there. Fascinating.
His was like smoke, the old man had told him. When he flooded an area with an emotion, it gradually disappeared. It may hang around, for those who feel more deeply than others, but it fizzles out the moment he stops concentrating on keep it up. This one was different. It came and went in almost the same second. Like a blink.
Well fuck me! It really is a demon!
Taking together all that he had learned from the emotions he read off of each person in the house, the apparent attempt to cleanse it, and that outburst, he concluded it was a demon. Something supernatural at the very least. He was both ecstatic and afraid.
The lack of anything paranormal in all the many decades of roaming the different continents has left him ill-equipped for such an encounter. The strength of the emotion the entity gave off excited him. It could easily replace three or four creatives at any given time if there was a way to harness its outbursts. That thought almost made him salivate.
Tata you bastard, why didn’t you tell me about this?
He considered sending more of his anchors out now that the angry presence had seemingly disappeared. He stood up and reached for his pocket, before remembering that he could not give away his own presence by smoking.
The man he had been monitoring, the one who was in pain, was temporarily overcome with fear. He paused to consider what it was about. He squinted trying to see what was happening inside. He saw three men through the window, huddled together.
He jumped back and hid behind the tree as if by reflex. The anchor he had latched onto his target had disappeared.
Shit!
~0~
“We’re not really just blessing the house, are we dad?” Gina asked.
“Hmmm? What made you say that?” Matt asked back.
“Oh, come on dad. I’m twelve not six.”
Matt signaled to his daughter to lower her voice then placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
“I know hon, I know.”
“Sooooo, is our house like haunted or something?” Gina asked with a lower voice this time.
“You really don’t remember anything?”
The girl shook her head.
“What about dreams?”
The girl shook her again again.
“I guess it’s… better that way.”
“So, like for real? Our house is haunted?”
“Don’t scare your sister, okay?” Matt continued when Gina nodded. “We were attacked last night.”
Gina shrank and melted into his side. Her eyes swept the room. Matt could almost see his daughter’s thoughts connecting it all. Like she was just seeing it for the first time.
“Is… is that why we all have bruises?”
“Yeah. Your mom and I, we… we got thrown… around.”
“What do you mean thrown around? Like, one place to another, like…” Gina made a gesture with her left arm.
“Yeah. Like that. Pretty bad.”
Gina rubbed her arms. Much like his, her arms were full of goosebumps.
“What happened to me dad?”
Matt’s heart broke. He looked in her eyes and saw the confusion in there. He did not want to scare his daughter any more than she already was.
“You, I think you kind of got swept out of your bed? It happened really fast. You were asleep, thank God for that. I think it would have been worse if you were awake. Like us.”
“Was Jean asleep too?”
“No, she was with us. With your mom.”
“But she only has scratches.”
“Your mom was holding on to her when we got thrown again and again. I think that’s what lessened her injuries.”
“I asked mom when I woke up. She just said I fell out of bed, or something like that.”
“I think she didn’t want to scare you, hon. We were both scared. We still are. But your mom and I, and our friends right there? We are working on it. It’s gonna be alright.”
The girl nodded again. He kissed her on the forehead.
“Go, help your mom prepare your snacks. And can you do me a favor?”
“Yeah, dad.”
“Don’t let your sister out of your sight. Especially if we are doing something, yeah?”
Gina nodded again and got up just when Emmy called for them. Matt let out a long, audible exhale.
How long until this is over?
~0~
He thanked Jon for not playing the audio to Matt. He knew his work ethic, and the standard that he put into it. Unlike the ones he saw online, Jon did not calibrate his equipment loosely and even when it captured anything legible, he was first to doubt them.
Cain needed to be alone, so he excused himself and went out to sit on the porch. He was feeling increasingly apprehensive. The comment Jon made just before he went to the porch mirrored exactly what he was thinking. Entities acted out while a rite is being done, not after.
Ignoring the emotions around him was becoming harder. With the exception of the children, everyone else’s anxiousness just kept climbing. Nothing topped the power of that anger he felt, however. Nobody talked about it partly because of the rumbling sounds that erupted along with it.
But Cain knew from experience that everybody felt it. The power of that anger, although it only happened for a second, was the kind that sent animals running in the other direction or cowering in a corner. Humans were not at all different in this regard, albeit a little more tempered with their reactions.
The silence in the areas around the house confirmed his theory. Not even a cricket chirped. He did not let it bother him. Cain came out for one reason, he needed to prepare himself mentally and physically.
The colors of the energies of all the adults in the house had begun taking on a darker hue. When he checked his arms, he noticed that his color had shifted to a deeper red. Among them, Jon’s was the darkest. Cain constantly felt annoyance coming from Jon, so he chalked it off to the headache his friend had. If someone had to take control of their disposition, it was him. Cain started his exercise.
Doing a series of deep breaths with slow exhales while keeping his mind focused on a prayer for strength was his go to exercise. He feared it was going to happen this night and he had to strengthen not only his resolve but his energy as well. In his experience, the strongest in these situations was always the one with livelier energy. Those who harbored negative thoughts or feelings were the weakest and the weakest broke down first. That was all a demon needed.
Making a mental note of what to tell the family to ease their anxiety, he continued with his exercise until his energy started to take on a lighter hue.