In Amityville Town, a house was being tidied up, with a series of technological gadgets being packed away.
"Hey, Drew, can you put this in that backpack for me?" Ed Warren, who hadn't been seen in a while, took an infrared camera out of a mountaineering backpack and asked Drew, who had become increasingly straightforward, with a smile.
"Ok."
Drew shrugged nonchalantly and took the device, placing it into another backpack.
Seeing this, Ed also picked up another video recording device from the floor and put it into the mountaineering bag in front of him.
After finishing, Ed patted Drew, who was still packing, on the shoulder and then got up and walked into the living room.
The living room looked the same as any other day, except that it was filled with rather old-fashioned furniture, and even the tablecloth on the table was styled like from an ancient century, leading to a whole set of sofas.
Several people were already sitting on the sofas.
Rowling, who had called York, was sitting next to the female homeowner, Tracy, comforting and asking her some questions.
Ed's eyes narrowed slightly; they had known about the events occurring here for almost a week now.
The house had started to experience a series of strange events ever since new owners moved in.
Every night at 10 pm, they would hear footsteps in the outside hallway. Initially, only the female owner, Tracy, could hear these footsteps.
She thought it was her children walking around and didn't think much of it.
However, from the night she first heard the footsteps, they would consistently start at 10 pm every night.
Tracy finally felt something was wrong. She opened the door, but there was nothing in the hallway.
Yet, she always felt as if there was some invisible presence in the dim hallway staring at her...
Driven by this intuition and feeling, Tracy started to feel fear.
The next day, the footsteps were on time again. Tracy, trying to be brave, opened the door, but again, there was no one there.
Yet, she felt the unseen presence in the hallway was closer to her.
On the third day, the footsteps at 10 pm were closer still.
On the fourth day, the footsteps got even nearer, and Tracy's fear reached its limit. She told her family about it, but only she could hear the footsteps, and the situation remained unchanged.
Until the seventh day, her husband Theodore finally heard the footsteps his wife described.
He opened the door, and while the footsteps continued, the hallway was empty. However, he, like his wife, felt there was an invisible entity very close by.
On the eighth day, their child Albert also started hearing the footsteps...
Theodore finally believed his wife and, before the unseen presence got any closer, sought help from the church.
But since they were not members of the church, they had to provide evidence of the paranormal activity for the church to send someone to perform an exorcism.
With no other choice, they returned home.
By the tenth day, they stayed in a motel, but terrifyingly, the footsteps still began precisely at 10 pm...
At this point, the entire Theodore family felt as if an invisible presence was step by step, accompanying the sound of footsteps, approaching them...
"...,"
Recalling the interview, Ed silently went to a stand next to his wife, listening to their conversation as he packed.
"We have no use going anywhere..." Tracy said to the gentle lady in front of her, her voice tinged with tears.
"It's always following us!"
Rowling, maintaining a quiet listening posture, glanced towards Tracy, Theodore, and their child Albert who were looking at her.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Tracy, this is normal. Sometimes, when we're entangled by such things, it's like stepping on chewing gum. That's why it keeps sticking to you..." Rowling spoke softly.
"We've already gathered evidence. Father York is on his way here, and once he arrives, everything can be resolved today."
Upon hearing this, Theodore, sitting next to Tracy, instinctively spoke.
"We're not believers, we haven't gotten authorization from the church..."
Just as he said this, Ed, who had packed up the stand, showed his signature expression and interrupted Theodore with a shrug.
"Father York is special. He never cares about those things, you know, those so-called authorizations and consents from the church..."
Theodore looked puzzledly at Ed, then turned to Rowling.
"Is what he said true?"
Thinking of the tall and sturdy priest, Rowling smiled gently.
"Yes, Father York has always disregarded those things. He often tells us, wherever there's evil, that's where he'll be..."
The Theodore family exchanged looks, imagining a priest who walks the earth fighting evil with compassion...
However, in the afternoon when Father York arrived, the Theodore family was deeply shocked.
His physique was drastically different from what they had imagined.
Their only impression was of his robustness; his clerical robe almost looked like a tight-fitting garment.
Yet, somehow, seeing the muscular priest, just like his car, they felt a sense of security comforting enough to put their minds at ease.
"...,"
"Father York!"
Ed greeted the newly arrived priest with a smile, asking casually.
"This location was close, wasn't it?"
Saying this, he casually walked to the car's back seat to fetch things.
"Yeah, it's okay," Father York replied, looking first at Rowling.
However, upon seeing her, he unconsciously frowned.
"Father York," Rowling approached, speaking softly with a smile.
"You've had a hard journey."
"No worries," Father York shook his head, ignoring the more intense ominous aura emanating from Rowling, and spoke indifferently.
"It was just a short drive."
Rowling smiled unchanged and nodded.
"Father York!" Drew, who had been waiting for the Warrens to finish greeting, excitedly approached and extended his hand.
"You remember me, right?"
"Of course, I remember," Father York looked at the excited young man, shook his hand, and said with a smile.
"When I need any tools later, I'll rely on you, Drew."
___________________
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT