“Are you sure about this, son?” The elderly voice at the other end of the line asked.
“I have my doubts, Father. It’s like what Jon said, a perfect storm of paranormal phenomena.”
“I can’t blame him. Even I, am having difficulty grasping this. What does your gut say?”
“That something is wrong. I cannot say if it’s because it’s real or because I might be going into one of those elaborate prank shows.”
“Worst that could happen is if it turns out it’s indeed a set up. Hmmm.” The priest paused. “Well, you are a private citizen. You can always use that and threaten to sue if footage is released.”
“If it is a prank, or a hidden camera kind of thing, I don’t get what they’ll get out of it. I mean, we don’t ask for payment. Then again, people get paid to do stupid things nowadays.”
“I heard about that. Like that YouTube thing that this confidant of yours is doing.”
“Makes it worse, really. Where before, people just do it for fun, or boredom, now they have an incentive.”
“First sign that’s the case, you leave. We’ll deal with anything that comes out after. It wouldn’t be so bad if you can find out who they are before you leave. A well-placed threat always works.”
“I can’t imagine what the bishop will say if it turns out to be like that.”
“I can. Bob would be royally pissed!” Father Anton laughed. “There’s a reason we don’t broadcast these cases, or who we are. And our identities being known because a bunch of kids decided it would make for fantastic viewing? Ha! But we’re digressing, aren’t we?”
Cain exhaled loudly. He had hoped they would not circle back to the other possibility.
“I’ve known you for most your adult life, Cain. Why are you going? Really?”
“It was the man who called me. His mannerisms, his tone. If he’s lying then he’s a damn good actor.”
“I don’t imagine I can ask you to reconsider? Until we have more information at least.” The priest queried.
“If the things he was saying happened in the order that he said it did, we both know there’s no time. We might be too late even if we just wait a day.”
“You’re glossing over it again, son.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I mean and I know you know it. You don’t want to talk about it because you don’t have answers. That’s an argument for me tell you to stay.”
“I’ll be careful Father. More than the usual.”
“You think that will be enough?” The priest challenged.
“I really don’t know Father. All I’m thinking is that of the family that’s apparently trapped in there.”
“I’ve never personally handled a case where the entity stopped people from leaving.”
“In cases of possession yes. In other demonic activities, it’s been mentioned, if I remember my readings.”
“And you are right on that. But that brings us full circle again, son. Is it going to be a possession, or is it an extraordinarily weird and complex haunting?”
“That, I cannot answer until I get there. If it’s one or the other, I think I will be fine, father.”
“Do not be a hero, Cain. If it turns out it’s both, Our Almighty Father forgive me, but I don’t care if the family gets left behind. You hightail it out of there.”
“I will Father. At the first hint.”
“The only good thing that will come out of it, if that turns out to be the case, is that you would have had eliminated everything else already. The bishop will definitely approve the next moves, providing you have the details lined up. But he might put us both in hot water for a while. In any case, we’ll go back together if you end up leaving. Or I will go there if you ask. You make sure to update me frequently son, yes?”
“Yes Father.”
“Good. I have a baptism to prepare for but before we hang up, remember that it’s the devil’s work to confuse. You know this already. The way it’s being described, you’re looking at something I don’t think we have records of.”
“It’s powerful. I know, Father.”
“Good. Make sure you tell me the details as soon as you have them, then I’ll be able to talk to Bob and have it sanctioned. If it comes to that.”
The line clicked. Cain pressed his back against the backrest, receiver still in hand. The results of research lay on the desk.
What are you?
~0~
He always looked forward to the opportunity. He never knew when the next one will be or where it will take him but going with Cain always proved to be satisfying. He hated the wait, however. He rang him up once he parked but over ten minutes later, Cain still hadn’t come down.
Come on Cain, what’s taking so long.
It was not the waiting that irritated him but his thoughts. He always found himself thinking, anticipating. There was a certain thrill to going with the unknown but famous exorcist, a thrill that stayed for a while even after the fact.
When they began, when Cain started asking him to come and be the one who records anything from the sites, Jon could not get enough of it. Now, there seems to be less and less of actual paranormal phenomena. In the earlier days of their collaboration, the number of cases Cain worked on averaged four to six a year. Now, he was lucky if there was two. There was no way he was going to miss this.
It was a given that even the cases Cain worked on turned out to be something else but the buildup, the excitement, that was all worth the trip for Jon. He smiled and shivered remembering the times he seriously considered leaving his equipment and making a run for it.
He considered Cain’s warning that it might be a prank. Jon chuckled. Not because they had never been pranked but because if it is, he will be there. If pranksters were trying to stage something for views, he will also use it to get views and expose them. All in line with the theme of his channel.
Cain’s figure emerged from the apartment lobby. After stashing his bag in the backseat, Cain joined him at the front.
“This guy was not joking when he said they were far out.” Jon said.
“I’m vaguely familiar with the area but not the specifics.”
“It’s a long ways off from the main road. I mean, not a mile, but still a long walk.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Judging from your tone, I’m guessing you did not have much success too.”
“So, you did not find anything. At all?”
“Nah man. Everything I could find about the city is all that standard historical mumbo jumbo stuff. Popped in at the public library just when the doors opened, nothing in there too. Old newspapers only talk about daily, boring stuff.”
“Hmmm. It’s baffling, isn’t it?”
“Man, I’ve never heard you talk like this. You sure you want to go?” Jon asked as he merged lanes.
“Well, if it’s real, I have to go. Can’t leave them to fend for themselves.”
“No one’s ready for that stuff. I don’t even think I’d be ready if that happened to me, and I’ve been on this for a long time.”
“I just wish there was something to start with,” Cain said, flipping through his notes, “at least I’d be able to know how to approach it.”
“Sorry man, there was really nothing to find. I even looked at some entries about Indian tribes passing through the area. Aside from stories about their temporary camps, there wasn’t much. I was hoping to find something like a tribal war or something.”
“Guess we’ll just have to find out for ourselves.”
Cain pored over his notes for a while as the car entered the highway. Glancing over to the side from time to time, Jon noticed that Cain’s brows spent more time being bunched up than not.
“It does fit the bill, right? Jon asked, breaking the silence.
“It does. If we’re only going to consider the escalation of the events, then yes. It does.”
“Who do you think it is then? I mean, it’s kinda clear it could only be the children.”
“Looks that way. But the parents just spacing out is worrying too.”
“Or the destroyed truck. What the hell is that even about?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t encountered anything like it. I have encountered a case where someone who attended an exorcism got possessed after going home but not this. The only cases I’ve read about where presences did not allow people to leave were about hauntings. I haven’t personally investigated one.”
“So we got Infestation, that’s a given based on the story. Are you saying we’re past Oppression?”
“If it’s not, then it will be over soon.”
“Good old Possession coming right up!” Jon remarked, his anticipation causing his skin to crawl with goosebumps. “How’d he find you anyway? You left that part out.”
“It’s your fault, I think. Something about an old forum post from way back.”
“Your number is unlisted.”
“It wasn’t back then, and phonebooks were still a thing.”
“Man must be desperate enough if he found that site.”
“Or they have a really good researcher.”
“That too. What did the priest say?”
“He advised against it but didn’t stop me.”
“You told him where we’re going right? And all the details?”
“Of course,” Cain confirmed, “just in case.”