figures. I was helpless as my legs disappeared into the molten pavement. There was a man standing near the woman, wearing a long, woolen, brown robe. The front of his brown hair was cut short, the back pulled loosely into a ponytail. He had a diamond stud on his left ear and wore wire-rimmed glasses. With a bible in his left hand he started praying over the blonde woman in a foreign tongue. I think it was Latin. ‘ Exorcizámus te, omnis immúnde spíritus …’”
The phone went silent when I finished.
“Ron, are you there?”
“Yes. I’m here.” He hesitated. “It must have been just a dream, because Brian doesn’t wear glasses. And I’m not sure if they pray in Latin anymore.”
“What?” I’d never met Brian so I had no way of knowing. Besides, I was just relaying the dream like he’d asked. “Ron, I don’t know. I’m just telling you what happened.”
“Well, you hit on a couple of things. Brian has dark hair and he does have a ponytail. He wears an earring, but he doesn’t wear glasses. So see, you’re worrying over nothing. It was just a dream. Actually,” Ron’s voice faltered, “he’s been having dreams of you, too. In fact, he described you to a T.”
My blood ran cold. “Okay. Say no more. I’m out of it.”
“Brian thought you would feel that way.”
“What are you talking about? When were you planning on sharing this little tidbit of information?”
“Don’t get all huffy about it. It’s just that I didn’t want to scare you. Brian figured you’d be calling me to cancel. He told me that it’s up to you. But he said that he’d protect us. That the demonic entity is just trying to scare you. You know, like when we’ve gone on investigations and the number 66.6 appears on the temperature sensors. It’s just its way of trying to intimidate us.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, it’s doing a damn good job of it.”
“Maureen, if you don’t want to come, I understand. Why don’t you think about it, and let me know sometime tomorrow? If you feel you can’t go through with it, I’ll find someone to take your place. No matter what, Brian and I are still going. We’d prefer it be you with us. But if you can’t, you can’t.” Ron’s voice sounded softer somehow. “When I first met you, you told me how much you want to help people with your gift. Don’t let this thing get the better of you.”
I lay awake all night, tossing and turning. I shivered when I thought of the years I’d spent being a medium for séances. One night, at the age of nineteen, when a negative entity followedme home and tried to suffocate me in my sleep, I’d felt firsthand the evil that lurked, waiting for an open door.
My thoughts turned to Brenda, the woman who contacted us through the Ghost Project website. She needed our help and had nowhere left to turn. As much as I hated to admit it, Ron was right. Not one to be bullied, and suddenly angry that this “thing” would sink so low as to hit me where it hurt, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to St. Michael for the protection of my family, for Brenda, and, most of all, for strength.
* * *
Unlike Maureen, I was excited about tonight’s adventure. Sitting in traffic, my mind began to wander. I thought about when the movie
The Exorcist
came out. After I’d watched it, I’d had nightmares for weeks, its images festering deep within my mind. Just thinking about it now, though, doubts bubbled to the surface of my consciousness, and a dull panic nipped at my confidence.
But this is what the NEGP had set out to do, and I knew I couldn’t back down. Slowly my confidence returned, aided by Tom Petty on the radio: “
You can stand me up at the gates of hell but I won’t back down.
”
I had one more stop to make before picking up Maureen. Saint Francis Church. Van Helsing might be brave, but he isn’t stupid. I was stopping to get a blessing from the parish priest. One more silver bullet in my arsenal of protection. I tucked the
The phone went silent when I finished.
“Ron, are you there?”
“Yes. I’m here.” He hesitated. “It must have been just a dream, because Brian doesn’t wear glasses. And I’m not sure if they pray in Latin anymore.”
“What?” I’d never met Brian so I had no way of knowing. Besides, I was just relaying the dream like he’d asked. “Ron, I don’t know. I’m just telling you what happened.”
“Well, you hit on a couple of things. Brian has dark hair and he does have a ponytail. He wears an earring, but he doesn’t wear glasses. So see, you’re worrying over nothing. It was just a dream. Actually,” Ron’s voice faltered, “he’s been having dreams of you, too. In fact, he described you to a T.”
My blood ran cold. “Okay. Say no more. I’m out of it.”
“Brian thought you would feel that way.”
“What are you talking about? When were you planning on sharing this little tidbit of information?”
“Don’t get all huffy about it. It’s just that I didn’t want to scare you. Brian figured you’d be calling me to cancel. He told me that it’s up to you. But he said that he’d protect us. That the demonic entity is just trying to scare you. You know, like when we’ve gone on investigations and the number 66.6 appears on the temperature sensors. It’s just its way of trying to intimidate us.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, it’s doing a damn good job of it.”
“Maureen, if you don’t want to come, I understand. Why don’t you think about it, and let me know sometime tomorrow? If you feel you can’t go through with it, I’ll find someone to take your place. No matter what, Brian and I are still going. We’d prefer it be you with us. But if you can’t, you can’t.” Ron’s voice sounded softer somehow. “When I first met you, you told me how much you want to help people with your gift. Don’t let this thing get the better of you.”
I lay awake all night, tossing and turning. I shivered when I thought of the years I’d spent being a medium for séances. One night, at the age of nineteen, when a negative entity followedme home and tried to suffocate me in my sleep, I’d felt firsthand the evil that lurked, waiting for an open door.
My thoughts turned to Brenda, the woman who contacted us through the Ghost Project website. She needed our help and had nowhere left to turn. As much as I hated to admit it, Ron was right. Not one to be bullied, and suddenly angry that this “thing” would sink so low as to hit me where it hurt, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to St. Michael for the protection of my family, for Brenda, and, most of all, for strength.
* * *
Unlike Maureen, I was excited about tonight’s adventure. Sitting in traffic, my mind began to wander. I thought about when the movie
The Exorcist
came out. After I’d watched it, I’d had nightmares for weeks, its images festering deep within my mind. Just thinking about it now, though, doubts bubbled to the surface of my consciousness, and a dull panic nipped at my confidence.
But this is what the NEGP had set out to do, and I knew I couldn’t back down. Slowly my confidence returned, aided by Tom Petty on the radio: “
You can stand me up at the gates of hell but I won’t back down.
”
I had one more stop to make before picking up Maureen. Saint Francis Church. Van Helsing might be brave, but he isn’t stupid. I was stopping to get a blessing from the parish priest. One more silver bullet in my arsenal of protection. I tucked the
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