Chapter 16

By

Brynn Morgan

Copyright © 2023 by – Brynn Morgan – All Rights Reserved.

It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited.

Chapter 16

Later that night, after they had driven back to Lainie's house, Emily and Lainie shared with Davis what they had learned from Clarrisa's report on the Hasting's House. There was so much information that they had gleaned from Clarissa, but there was so much more that they had to find out. Lainie did not feel they had even scratched the surface, nor did Emily.

Davis listened intently to them as they revealed what they had learned, and he had to admit that he was intrigued. It was strange that all the Hasting's daughters had died so young. He could not help but think that something was targeting them. But what? Davis would not have called himself a skeptic; he did believe in the supernatural to a certain extent. He had seen things that could not be explained throughout his lifetime. So, something, some entity, did indeed dwell at Hasting's house and was causing these falls down the stairs? He did not know. What he did know was that on the day that Tristan died, he had walked in and looked at Bella sitting in the corner of the entryway, bent over at the waist, rocking wildly, and her eyes were glued to the top of the landing as if she could not tear her eyes away from what she was seeing. Was there something there? Davis now wondered. Did Bella see something that traumatized her so severely besides seeing her mother fall, which caused her voice to be stolen from her? What did Tristan see as she fell to her death? Did she see what the Hasting's girls had seen possibly? What about Amori? What had she seen that morning of her tragic fall?

"So, what is the next step here?" Davis asked curiously.

Lainie was snacking on some Pork Rinds and drinking bottled water.

"Well." She said with her mouth full of food. "We are going to see if we can get our hands on these journals of Elizabeth Hasting's tomorrow and go from there."

Davis nodded and looked at Emily. She was noticeably quiet, and then she said.

"If y'all do not mind, I think that I am going to go to bed. I will see y'all in the morning."

Lainie and Davis looked at her. She looked physically drained.

"Night, Emily," Lainie said softly, and Davis nodded at her.

Emily stood up, walked out of the kitchen, and then turned around.

"I just wanted to say that I really appreciate you for letting me stay here these past few days, Lainie and Davis. I will start looking for an apartment tomorrow and try to get myself straightened out. Y'all do not know me from Adam, but you have opened your door to me, and I am humbled." she said.

Davis spoke in a deep baritone.

"Emily, you are welcome here. Take your time and find the right fit for you. We are not asking you to go."

Lainie looked at Davis as he spoke with Emily and reassured her that she could stay. Her eyes opened for the first time, and she knew as a sister that Emily had Davis's attention in an incredibly good way. She smiled knowingly. He liked her.

***

SAME NIGHT CLARRISA

Clarrisa put the leftover pizza in a couple of Ziplock bags, tossed it in the fridge, threw the empty water bottles away, and went into the living room to her altar. She loved this time before bed.

Clarrisa had to contend with Mozart and Beethoven at her feet and around her as she knelt at her small altar. Pushing them away playfully, she lit some Palo Alto sticks and waved a fan over them to spread the smell throughout the apartment. She loved the scent. It was so magical and made her stress melt away with its pleasing aroma.

Clarissa hummed softly to herself, touched her moonstone necklace around her slender neck, a gift from her sisters on her initiation, and closed her eyes. She blocked out the sound of the cat's purring and immersed herself in the moment. Clarrisa was calm, peaceful, and serene as she lowered herself into a crisscross apple sauce position on her woven grass mat and placed her upturned palms on her knees.

Drifting off into a deep meditative state, Clarrissa pictured herself surrounded by a brilliant white light. It was so warm, as it invaded her body from head to toe. It was drenching her, soaking her in its white beams. She continued in peaceful meditation for a few more minutes and then rose slowly from her mat and bent over to blow out her candles as always but drew back suddenly as they extinguished themselves.

Clarrisa suddenly felt something in the room. She was not alone. Something had tapped into her energy. It felt wrong, and it was an extremely negative energy. The cats began to swirl around her ankles, beating their tails against her angrily and communicating in hisses and disturbing purrs.

She stepped away from the altar and turned around to face the kitchen. Clarrisa was visibly shaken by what she felt surrounding her. It was not good. It was dark and oppressive, like a wet blanket.

Walking briskly to the faucet, she turned on the water to cup some in her hand and splash on her face and was at once hit with a strange vision that hit her hard like a slap in the face. Clarrisa was reeling from the shock of it and watched as it unfolded from miles away.

In the vision, Clarrisa was looking from above but at a distance. It was nighttime; the sky was inky black, void of any stars as if they had been snuffed out. There were hills surrounding the countryside.

Just then, she saw a thin stream of vapor or blue fog coming rapidly from Hasting's house, urgently, with a mission in mind, and that mission was the Griffin Farm where Lainie lived.

Clarrissa grabbed her head and moaned as she saw the fog creep under the front door sneakily and wind up the small staircase to the top of the landing. It entered a room, and, in the bed, sleeping, was Emily!

"Oh God, no!" she shouted.

She grabbed her cell phone quickly from the counter and dialed Lainie's number, which she had shared with Clarrisa before she left that night. It rang once. Clarrisa panicked. Lainie needed to answer the phone. It continued to ring, and then she heard a groggy voice.

"Hello." It was Lainie.

Clarrisa grabbed her chest.

"Lainie, is Emily there with you?" she asked urgently.

Lainie was silent. She was still half asleep and could not register what was happening or why Clarissa sounded so scared.

"Yeah," she said slowly.

As Clarrisa watched in anguish, Emily slept peacefully beneath the covers. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it seemed as if the comforter was being lifted from her body in a deliberate and slow manner - like something or someone was toying with her - before it shot up and away from the bed. It flew across the room and collided against the wall, startling Emily awake.

The room was pitch black; Emily could not make out anything. Her eyes expanded even further as fear overtook her. She was unable to breathe properly due to the panic.

"Hello?" Emily whispered. Her voice shook uncontrollably as she asked. "Who's there?"

"Lainie, Emily is in danger!" Clarrisa shouted into the phone. "Go to her room!"

It finally registered with Lainie's foggy brain that something was very wrong. She opened her door and stepped out into the dark hallway. Lainir heard nothing but walked to Emily's door and turned the knob. It would not turn.

************************************************

Emily tried to get off the bed but could not. She was paralyzed, and then she heard someone whisper her name. Emily was scared as she felt herself levitate in the air and yet not be able to move an inch. She tried to scream for help, but it was as if her voice was sealed away.

Lainie still could not get the door opened. "I can't do it!" She shouted out of fear.

Clarissa shouted back in a strict tone, "You must get her out of there! She is going to hurt her!"

Lainie dashed down the stairs and rushed towards Davis's room. As she pounded on the door twice, he opened it with a confused expression on his face.

"What is wrong?" he asked quickly.

Lainie put the phone on speaker so he could hear Clarrisa saying, "You must get into that room! She is trying to kill her!"

Davis flew up the stairs and reached Emily's bedroom door. He tugged at it but could not manage to get it open.

"Move back!" He shouted to Lainie and put all his weight against the door. It opened with a thud on the second hit.

Both Davis and Lainie were shocked as they saw Emily suspended in mid-air, struggling.

*****************

Emily felt helpless. "Please do not hurt me, please do not hurt me, "she silently prayed. Then she started to rotate as if turning on a rotisserie and faced downward towards the bed; the mattress melted away, revealing a marble floor with Amori lying there, her body broken and twisted from her brutal death. Amori's neck hung at an odd angle, and she looked up at Emily with Milky white eyes before saying softly: "Em-il-y."

****************

Davis and Lainie acted fast and tried to get her down, but some invisible power kept her suspended in the air; Emily began to flail back and forth uncontrollably and screamed in her mind.

Amori gave Emily an eerie grin before beckoning her with an outstretched arm; Emily felt herself fall down the staircase, one step at a time, unable to stop or control her movements. Her limbs hit the wooden steps hard as her arms and legs flew around without restraint. She thought about finally seeing Luke, Isla, and their unborn child again with comfort. The floor inched closer and closer until Emily wondered what would happen when she contacted the marble surface - would it kill her?

All of a sudden, something stopped her from falling further; she was pulled back up into a soft embrace – the most secure haven she had ever known.

*****************

Davis pulled one last time with all his strength, afraid that he would break Emily's bones, and finally, he got a good grip and broke the invisible chains holding her, pulling her to safety and into his grateful arms.

Emily was in shock at first, and then she melted into Davis and began to cry. It was great wracking sobs. He rocked her slowly against him. She felt his warm, bare chest and felt his heartbeat beneath her splayed fingers. She was alive.

"You are okay, Emily. You are okay. You are safe." he assured her.

Lainie wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her long sleeve and held the phone to her ear.

"She's okay, Clarrisa. Davis pulled her down."

Clarrisa felt relieved.  The vision had evaporated just as quickly as it had materialized, and she was now left feeling physically and mentally drained. She collapsed on the couch.

"Let me know how she is once she calms down."

Lainie assured her that she would. Clarrisa ended the call.

Davis scooped Emily up into his arms. She was as weak as a kitten as he carried her out of the room, with Lainie following close behind them.

"Carry her to my room,"

Davis passed by her door though, and went downstairs with Emily. He took her to his room and laid her down in his bed. He turned and looked at Lainie.

"Sis, I do not know what in the fuck that was just now, but it tried to kill her. I will protect her tonight." His tone brooked no argument. Lainie saw that gleam in his eyes. It was the look of a soldier preparing for battle with his game face on. She said nothing more.

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