Jared POV
I nodded my head absently as West continued speaking, only half listening. Standing outside at 9 pm on the front driveway of the sprawling dark Victorian mansion, the house had all my attention. The sheer amount of energy coming off of it was like being hit full-face with a wave nearly ten feet tall. All I could do was stay still and hope I wasn’t swept under.
“-begin. As normal, we’ve kept Jared completely isolated and he’s only just arrived here from the airport.”
West was telling the audience that would watch this the Spirit Travelers’ normal investigation routine. West, April, Erin, and Riley all handled the interviews, camerawork for most places, and investigating the history of the place. My job was to stay in the dark about everything in order to help validate to skeptics my abilities as a psychic, most especially as a spirit medium.
A famous case like the Hemming House Murder had been impossible to avoid at the time, as someone had leaked the footage of the security cameras that had been handed over to the police and it had hit the internet like a bloody, horrific storm. But I’d never watched the tapes and I never really wanted to. I was also never told what place we would be investigating. I was simply given a plane ticket, picked up, and that’s when my time on the show began.
Standing just outside this house was an experience I hadn’t had in quite a while. I’d been a part of the Spirit Travelers team from the start, three years back. Since then the show had been very successful and it had taken up the majority of my life. When seasons for the show finished, I get a break, which was always good. Being surrounded by spirits could be a very draining experience for someone like me. Not to mention potentially highly dangerous…
But that's another story.
For now, my focus was this eighty-plus-year-old mansion.
As I followed after the others, smiling and waving at the viewers on the camera, I tried to subdue some of the emotions coming over me. Once we stepped on the small front porch of the house, I froze. Sensing my stillness, Erin quickly turned his night-vision camera to roll on me. The others paused as well. West turned to me, frowning. “What are you feeling, Jay?”
I swallowed, fear creeping up my spine as the blasts of negative energy tried to topple me over. I gripped the railing of the porch stairs tightly, enough to cause my hand to turn white. “I’m...not wanted,” I answered slowly, coughing out the words. “Rage. Hate. Shame. There are so many intense emotions here...Holy fuck,” I swore quietly.
In my mind’s eye, I could see a giant, turbulent black mist that covered the entire house. It was like a black tornado of every negative emotion in existence. Sweat poured down my back as I struggled against the fight-or-flight instincts that were kicking in. Gritting my teeth, I placed my foot on the top step. It was like moving through molasses. The negative energy swarmed around me, shoving me in the other direction.
Don’t come here. Go back. You aren’t wanted. Be gone. Get the FUCK OUT!
All of these intentions were screamed at me silently.
Seeing me begin to stumble, Riley rushed up the steps from behind me. Once she had hold of my elbow to make sure I wouldn’t fall back down the stairs, I let out a low gasp. With the presence of a female, the evil inside the house hesitated. Then, like the Red Sea for Moses, the way was cleared ahead immediately.
Instead, a perverse sense of anticipation filled the air.
I shuddered, covering Riley’s hand on my arm with my own. “...The ladies really shouldn’t come into this place,” I insisted.
West’s frown grew darker. “Come on, Jay. We’ve been to places with a history of nasty guys before. April and Riley aren’t going to be scared of some jackass.”
I shook my head, the mental ordeal I’d just experienced pricking at my temper a bit. “This is different! Damn it, West!” The others cowered back a little, startled by my outburst. I had to take in a few deep breaths before I could return to a calmer state of mind. “This man...this thing has the strength to really do some damage,” I warned tensely.
West shrugged. “The viewers love that kind of thing. If it’s not at least a bit creepy or potentially dangerous, it’s boring.”
Erin cleared his throat. “West, I think we should-”
“I’m game. I’m not going to let this guy make a coward out of me,” April shook her head. Her sharp black eyes were narrow with irritation and determination.
Shifting to let go of my hand, Riley smiled a bit tensely. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I won’t even be in the house. I have to stay in the truck to monitor the cameras we set up and the audio,” she reminded me.
West smirked widely. “See? There’s nothing to worry about,” he proclaimed confidently.
A flash of roaring rage flooded my veins. At that moment I wanted to reach out and strangle the life from West’s neck. I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.
“...I don’t like this place,” I whispered quietly. The negative energy, while nowhere near as strong as earlier, was still doing it’s best to affect me. “Just—Everyone needs to keep their guard up. The last thing I want is a possible spirit attachment—or worse, a possession for anyone.”
Face grim, Erin nodded his agreement. West kept his carefree smile, nodding his head in a manner that let me know he was humoring me.
“Sure,” April replied seriously.
“I’ll be careful,” Riley promised firmly. “I don’t want anything like that either.”
“...Then let's start,” I sighed heavily. “The faster this night is over the better for all of us.”
Comments (1)
See all