I couldn't turn the key to lock the basement door fast enough. Still dizzy, I snatched a soda from the fridge and gulped up half of it right where I stood, feeling I desperately needed a sugar boost.
"Are you okay?" asked the tablet by the flashing cat ball.
"Yeah, yeah, I just need a minute," I panted. "And a tea."
"Speedwell," said the phone.
"That's a great idea."
Five minutes later, I sat at the table, the phone offline on one side, the tablet with both apps open on the other. We lingered there until their dinner time, talking about what had just happened downstairs. Typing still demanded them a lot of time and energy, so Joseph and Lizzie shared the TTS, while Edward used the speaking up and Ann used my phone.
What Edward had observed over those few minutes in the basement left me speechless.
First of all, now he'd gotten a closer look at it, he agreed it was no demon from hell. In his supernatural eyes, it had a humanoid shape but moved on all fours, like a grizzly, and it was about the same size. We'd confirmed it understood my words, or at least their meaning, but he couldn't tell if it was too weak to speak, incapable of verbal communication, or just didn't want to even try.
However, Edward had been able to pick up its overall emotions, feelings or whatever it had. Seeing we knew about it, and that Edward and I were together, scared it to no end, afraid we'd gone down there to kill it. My friendly approach threw it off, but only for a moment. As soon as it saw I sympathized with its situation, it tried to take advantage of me. Edward wasn't sure how it'd done it without touching me, but it had somehow manipulated my emotions, making me feel sadness and pity. Another outstanding feat was that it had somehow made my feelings or emotions visible, allowing Edward to see what it did with them.
"It fed on them," Edward explained. "That's why I told you to leave."
"Why sadness? To win an ally?" I asked, truly curious.
"I think it's too weak to make you angry or scared."
"It feeds on sadness too, then," said Joseph.
"Yes."
"Oh! I see! That's why I felt so dizzy! It sucked my energy."
"That moment of sadness gave it enough to try to attach itself to you."
"Oh," I mouthed quietly. "You stopped it, right?"
"Yes."
"I heard it happen. What was it doing when you left it?"
"It was back to the corner. Walking on all fours, not crawling anymore."
"You mean my energy in that minute of sadness made it stronger?"
"It's so weak, everything helps."
"Jeez. Breaks my heart."
"Watch your feelings, child. It will attach itself to you if you let it."
I smiled when he called me child. Of course the distinguished 150-year-old gentleman saw me as a kid, no matter how much of a grownup I thought I was. I frowned a heartbeat later. Tell me about mood shifts.
"How come it's still here?" I asked. "Did it ever try to get out?"
"No," Joseph replied. "It knows we wouldn't let it."
In the end, I had to admit they were right and we needed outside help. Somebody who could delve into the entity's nature and help us remove it from the house. I didn't want to go around town asking for a medium or a wiccan or whatever, feeding the rumors about the Manor. I knew the Blotters resented the reputation Brandon Price had given their home, and so did I. So I could only do as I'd promised and wait for the help to call me back, be it Trisha or Price.
Before going to bed, I took Ann's chain back to the secret drawer, and somehow managed to fall asleep without much tossing and turning. But only for a while.
The thuds woke me up about midnight. I needed a moment to grasp what was going on, even if the noises from the basement were pretty much self-explanatory. I got out of bed, grabbed my phone and left my room, rubbing my eyes and grumbling under my breath. Good thing I had a whole flight of stairs to clear my head and gather myself.
I wasn't scared anymore: I was pissed off. It was like having a big dog in the house, barking at the shadows out the window. I don't know why, that thought reminded me of one of Stephen King's early novels. The comparison made me chuckle, which was the best thing that could happen at that particular time.
I heard the men's footsteps coming from the north parlor as I came down the stairs, and the cat ball in the kitchen flashed the minute I turned on the lights. I was happy to see I'd forgotten the tablet charging on the table.
The loud thud reverberated through the floor tiles and I sighed.
"What is it doing now?
"I think it's trying to get out."
I'd seen Mike kept some tools under the sink, so I crouched down to search the cabinets for a flashlight, because my phone's light didn't feel enough to go to the basement.
"What are you doing?" asked Ann.
"I'm gonna try to let it out."
"What?" asked both devices at the same time.
"That's what we all want, right? Even the thing."
They took a minute to reply, "Yes."
I found a camping LED like a small airport searchlight, made sure it worked and straightened up, smiling. "Well, then. Let's do it."
No nays, no ayes.
"Joseph, Edward, can you keep it from attaching itself to me?"
"Yes."
I opened the backdoor wide and locked the door to the hallway. I had no idea if that could stop spirits and entities. I thought it wouldn't, but there was no harm in trying.
"I'll make sure it goes out that way," said Ann.
"Thank you." I paused before the basement door. "Please, guys, remember what you told me: this thing feeds on any kind of negative vibe, so be alert, but let's try to think about happy things."
"Be careful."
"Yes, ma'am. Let's go."
The stairs' light lasted only a few seconds after I opened the basement door. It flickered and died as a shuffle replaced the thuds, getting closer and closer to the last step. Until I flashed the bright LED beam down the stairs.
"Back off, Kujo!" I called out from the doorway.
I moved the beam, trying to spot the thing down there.
"Where is it?" I whispered.
The tablet wasn't handy in this situation, so I only carried my phone.
"The light stopped it."
So Price was right about the LEDs. "Good news," I muttered, starting down the stone steps.
As the flashlight reached further into the basement, the shuffling sounded like retreating to the thing's corner. Feeling more confident, I crossed the basement up to the central pillar, careful to keep the light aiming always a little down, between the corner and me, like drawing a limit.
"Hey, Kujo, knock for yes," I said. "Do you wanna get outta here?"
The knock overlapped my last word.
"Of course you do." I aimed the light at the stairs and down again. "Then go. You're free to leave. No one will stop you."
A loud growl answered my words. The bang knocked down a couple of boards.
I frowned. "What? You can't? How come?"
To my utter surprise, I clearly heard a metallic rattling before the thing growled again.
"It's chained. It can't leave."
"Son of a bitch!"
The thing rattled its invisible chain a little more, growling and hissing. I had to remind myself it wanted to suck me dry, to keep from pitying it.
"How do I use the light as a barrier?" I asked in a whisper.
"Aim it between."
"Oh, I see. Thank you."
"Careful."
"Yessir."
I approached the thing's corner and placed the flashlight on the floor at my right, the beam crossing in front of me all the way to the wall on my left. Then I sat down on the cold concrete.
"Hear me out, Kujo," I said. "I know you're mad. I would, too."
More than a knock, it was a loud bang.
"I know how you got here and I've told you I want to help you. D'you understand?"
This time, the knock was more polite.
"Good. I promise I'm gonna find a way to do it. I'm already looking into it, okay? But only if you behave. No more noises in the middle of the night."
The poor thing couldn't knock fast enough. I smiled, nodding.
"See? We got this."
"Back, Fran. Trying to touch," the Blotters warned.
I grabbed the LED and aimed straight at the corner. I heard the hurried shuffle and a deadened mix of growl and moan.
"Hungry."
"Yeah, bet it is."
"That wasn't us."
My eyes widened like grapefruits, and I aimed the LED away from the corner.
"You can speak! Wonderful! Okay, here's the deal: if you don't try to drain me, I promise to come back every day, to see what you can tell me about your situation. But you gotta promise you won't disturb our life. Go back to sleep and save your energy."
The last soft knock told me the shadow and I had a deal.
"Goodnight, Kujo. Promise I'll come back in a day or two, and let you know how things are going on my end."
I stood up and hesitated. How was I to go back upstairs in the dark and keep the light between the thing and me at the same time?
"Can you guys keep it where it is?"
"Yes. Go."
No noises behind me this time, and I hurried up the stone steps as fast as I could. The moment I locked the basement door, I put down the flashlight and searched my phone for Brandon Price's number. I didn't care it was one in the morning. He didn't care about anyone but himself, so.
I typed and deleted several times, until I decided that "It's chained!" was enough. He would know what I was talking about.
The Blotters told me to go back to bed, but I refused. My mind was too awake to even try to sleep. I filled the coffeemaker and rummaged the pantry for something sweet to go with the coffee, while I asked Edward and Joseph to tell what they'd seen down there.
They said they'd never seen the chain before, but this time they saw it clearly. We speculated that just like the thing's shape looked more detailed after a snack at my expense, maybe the chain had become visible too. It seemed to start at the very corner of the basement and stretch a dozen feet to wrap around its neck. And it looked strong.
"What on earth did that sucker do?" I cried. "Sorry, Ann."
My phone ringing startled me shitless.
"It's Price," said Ann.
"Good timing," I grunted.
Like he'd read my mind, he called on facetime. Perfect. Judging by what I could see around him, he was shooting at a run-down location. Surely one of those abandoned institutions he liked so much, full of scavengers and dark energy.
"Miss Garner? What is it? What happened?" he asked, puzzled. The glow from the phone screen hardly shed any light on his face, but reflected on his thick readers, hiding his eyes.
"You chained it!" I replied angrily. "The thing you left is chained to my basement! It can't leave!"
"What are you talking about?" He scowled like I was a little girl. "What did you do, Francesca?"
Jeez. That stunt of using my full first name never worked on me. Ask all my grade teachers. I snatched the flashlight and headed to the basement door.
"Stop. Don't go," said the tablet.
I glanced away from him to the table. "Then come with me," I replied.
"What the fuck's going on?"
"I'm gonna show you what I'm talking about." I pulled the basement door open wide and turned on the LED. "Kujo! I'm bringing you a snack!"
"What? Who are you talking to now? What are you gonna show me?"
"Bran!" called somebody behind Price.
"Take five!" he barked at whoever called him.
I was trotting down the stairs, and right from the last step, I heard the knocks on the boards. I aimed the light ahead but kept it down.
"Is that the basement? What the fuck're you doing down there in the middle of the night?"
A long growl came out of the shadows that filled the corner, followed by a loud bang.
"Easy, Kujo. Eat and do as I say," I grunted. I knew I needed to keep my anger in check, or the thing would really suck me dry. But I hoped that hearing its jailer's voice would distract it from draining my energy.
"Who are you talking to?"
"The thing, the shadow." I stopped where I'd sat a while earlier, placed the light on the floor like before and turned around. "Can you see the corner?"
Price frowned again. "Yeah, there's nothing there."
The loud growl from behind me sent cold chills down my spine. Price's face told me he'd heard it too. I raised my eyebrows.
"That's what you left here. I tried to set it free, and turns out I can't. Because it's fucking chained to the wall!"
"That's impossible!"
I glanced back from over my shoulder. "Kujo, rattle your chain for your friend to hear, please. No growling."
To my surprise, the thing did just as I asked. And when the rattling stopped, it growled again, even louder than before.
"Thanks, Kujo. Goodnight."
Before I could take a single step, I felt a hot breath right behind my ear, whispering one word, crystal clear: "Brandon."
I froze where I stood, petrified. Looked like Price heard it too, because his face showed just as much fear as I was feeling. I scampered toward the stairs, leaving the LED on back there. When I made it to the kitchen, I shut the door and rested my back against it, bringing the phone up. I faced him, panting and sweating and shaking. He looked shocked.
"Did you hear it?" I whispered.
He only nodded, his eyes darting to the sides behind his glasses, in the shadow of his baseball hat.
"It's fully intelligent," I said, still in whispers. "And it's very pissed off. Please, help me get rid of it, Mr. Price."
He snorted, shaking his head and avoiding eye contact.
"I can't help you, Miss Garner," he replied curtly. He glanced at me and away in a heartbeat. "I'll send you the contact information of the psychic that gave me the spell to get rid of it. That's all I can do."
I couldn't believe my ears. "What?"
Somebody from his crew called him out loud. He shook his head again with a quick grimace.
"I'm sorry," he grumbled, and disconnected.