Human vs. Phantom

Chapter-5 Episode-3 The Red Stare

Chapter- 5

Episode- 3

The Red Stare

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They went to the two other murder scenes; they got the information and the address that they needed from the local newspaper and internet, they took off in their blue silver striped car leaving the red, pink depressing walls of the motel room. The local stories, theories, and speculations of the local bloggers about the possible reason for the murders were all over the social media sites. The false infodemic was not only scaring the locals and disturbing the peace in their normal life but also pressurizing the police to find someone or something that to them never existed and will never do. It was like they were chasing after the wind.

In the first scene that they went, they knew that they can’t be the agents from the US Wildlife protection, so they have to sneak into it without being noticed and getting caught. They were careful but you never be too careful, things can go wrong with just a slight mistake.

“What did you say was the name?” reeve asked in a soft whispering voice, I would say it was much softer than a whisper, almost inaudible, but Jim heard his word, thankfully, reeve hates repeating himself. Jim as they were breaking into the house. “Thomas, his name was,” Jim answered him in the same whispering way as he received the question in.

“I have done this.” Jim again commented. To it reeve questioned, “what are you talking about?” they were conversing in a very soft whisper only audible to each other. “breaking I mean.” Jim answered.

“But you liked it when you were eight.”

“exactly I was eight then. I have opened it too damn many that it is almost too damn easy now.” Just as the words came out of his mouth, a clicking sound came to form the doorknob. It was unlocked, so reeve just opened it and stepped inside. Of course, it was all sealed but when did a mere seal stop someone like them from doing what they should do. as they were inside reeve spoke out, “enough of the talk, let us do some bloody action.”

“What movies are you watching nowadays? You are getting too dramatic.” Jim commented.

They started looking for the room which was supposed to be the room of Thomas, the second they were investigating that day. But actually, he was the first victim that the police found about and the first who scared the public for their safety. His body was found by his wife, he was hanging on the ceiling of his room, body all blue, eyes out of their socket and tongue out of his mouth. He was tall, about 188cm, and was muscular, at the height that he was hanging, he could’ve easily saved his life but his limbs were all paralyzed, stiffened, and twisted inwards as if someone wrung his whole body.

His wife, who found him hanging to death in front of her eyes in their own home, is so gravely shocked that even a slip of tear from her eyes. It will drown her, she feels. She can’t speak a word from her mouth, words won’t form in his mouth. The house of that woman, where Jim and reeve were now in, is so filled with grieve and depression, that they can feel it in their core even though that woman can no longer pull her strength to live in the same house where she lost her everything.

It was all empty before Jim and Reeve entered here, but the emptiness was still contained of darkness. They were feeling it too inside. But it wasn’t just the grief and emptiness that they felt there, what they also felt was a similarity. A similarity with the feel of the motel room. Although the room Thomas died in wasn’t all blood-stained and flesh covered still the faint smell of sulfur was there. It has been some days since the death but the smell was still there. It is said that the longer a demon has been in hell the stronger and long-lasting the smell of his existence will be. But eventually, it will fade away, no matter how long it will take.

“you smell that, it’s the same from the motel room, just fainter,” Reeve spoke out, his voice echoed through the empty room. “A demon was here; it is all done by that,” Jim commented getting a nod from his brother. “How many days has it been?” reeve again asked. “three days since the wife found the body,” Jim answered the question.

“if this is all done by the same demon, what could it be that it wants?” Reeve said.

“I don’t know. From what I know a demon goes after a human for a reason, if it is not possessing them, there must be something else they need. We should find it out soon.” Jim and his brother looked around the house more to find something more, maybe something that could help. They checked the other room, but the reek of hell was nowhere else in the whole house. Getting nothing else in their hands they left the house, once again leaving it empty and dark.

“Now the second?” reeve said as they both were getting inside the car, parked in the alley.

“I'll drive then,” Jim said.

“no, you'll upset my baby, she likes only my foot on her brakes.” Hearing reeve whining Jim pursed his lips and narrowed his lips. Somewhere he knew what his answer was going to be, but he just tried. What’s so bad in it anyway?

Ruby, she was a dancer, a strip dancer if I would elaborate. She was considered a s*x goddess in her workplace; she got many clients every day; more on the weekends. “didn’t you say she was quite a thing in the bar she danced at?” reeve questioned jimmy. A simple ‘ya’ he got as an answer from his brother. “so why does she live at a place like this? she must earn big money there.” The house that they entered it can’t exactly be called a house. It was almost familiar to them for being the house of a ghost or a spirit, an abandoned house in short. “I read her information, she had five siblings and a widowed mother. They were all her younger siblings, I think she was the only earning member of the family, so she must be using up all her income to look after them.” Jim explained.

The house has just two rooms and as they entered the one in the front, even their souls had a shiver ran through it seeing that even more horror scene in front of them. It was as twice worse as the motel room and the house they visited prior. The information they had about the death of ruby was that when her body was found, it was lying lifeless on the floor, organs all charred. Her organs were all burned from the inside but her skin, her outer covering was unharmed. As for what in her room that horrified them, it was something else. Something they were totally not expecting. The room was filled with paintings from all sides. The room was already dark but looked more horrifying because of those paintings. It was packed with paintings from creepy to scary, from monstrous to devilish. On all of the walls, it was all over the place. All of the paintings had something similar drawn in them, they all had a man or ahead of a man, I would say. Not a clear picture of it, but it was all black. You can outline the head and the bushy background but nothing else was clear enough to spot. The red, angered, and bleeding eyes it had, were impossible to stare at, even for a moment. Just by looking at them, you will feel the attraction and also a repulsion, as if it will drown you and suffocate you till you no longer breathe. Just looking at it was torturous enough; someone can die just looking at it for a minute.

“what the hell is all this?” Reeve was uttering those words in a voice that was filled with horror and disturbance.

“I think I've seen it somewhere before. This painting, those eyes. I have to look for something. Let’s get done here quick. These paintings are dangerous.” Jim spoke out.

The room also had all the traces to confirm the presence of a demon. They had nothing more to do there so they left the place and went back to their car.

“What did you mean when you said that you’ve seen those paintings before?” Reeve asked Jim igniting the car’s engine.

“I know I have seen that thing before. Yes! Now I remember where I've seen it. Wait.” Jim said and took his tablet out of the bag, that was on the back seat of the car. “see this,” he said the get reeve’s attention, then again continued, “in 1890, the Lunatic asylum had a patient called William Waterman. He was from an aristocratic family but was imprisoned in the asylum because his family couldn’t bear the shame of having a lunatic in their family. For years he lived in that cell and eventually died there two years after the imprisonment. People around the place said that he has been possessed by the demon because he used utter words in two voices, he would also through things on the walls making loud shrieks. When he died his room was filled with the painting similar to those in that room earlier. Many who entered the cell died because of looking at the painting. I am sure it is the same as that, see.” Jim said and turned the tablet to reeve for him to see the painting that was on the laptop.

“Okay, so how do you think is all this related,” Reeve asked Jim.

“my theory is that ruby was possessed by a demon, maybe the same from 1890,” Jim answered.

“so, were all of them possessed, what do you think?” reeve again questioned.

“I think we should take that into consideration and start looking at the breadcrumbs left to trace that demon,” Jim suggested.

“I think we should start some question answers now.” Reeve suggested. “where did you say Lucas’s parents live?” said Reeve.

“I’ll feed the location you just drive.”

They were going all the way to the other end of the town to meet Lucas's family in hopes to get some answers that they were looking for. The road that they were on was long but somewhere they knew what they should do that could not bring them to a path of regrets no matter how dangerous it was.