Purgatech: Jess' Horror

Chapter Three

The entire drive out of town, Jess tried to talk herself out of going to the address she'd been sent by the Purgatech Liason. But something inside her compelled her to keep driving.

The leaves had already started changing, and the shift from green to yellow, red and gold comforted her. Fall was always her favorite time of year. She and Gram would drive out of the city and go to the apple orchard to pick apples and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa around the campfire.

Even though Jess wasn't a kid anymore, Gram always humored her by taking the hay ride. It wound its way through the orchard, ending off at the pumpkin patch where they would walk up and down the rows until they found the perfect one.

Seeing the changing leaves and shifting countryside only made it hit home to Jess that things were always changing.

As she turned off the main highway onto a small country road, she almost turned back. But as she continued up the gravel road, her GPS pinged on the dashboard, alerting her that her turn was next.

She maneuvered the car onto the dirt drive. Stately oak trees lined either side of the drive, at the end of which loomed an old red brick house.

Jess gasped. She knew this place. In fact, it was infamous around these parts.

She pulled the car into line with a number of others and turned off the ignition, opening the door and sliding out. She paused for a moment, struck still halfway out of the car and stared up at the place.

The Ridgely Estate was owned by a local family and had been in the family for generations, when the last of the long line of descendants had died.

After that, the house and it's outbuildings had been turned into a museum of sorts, hosting local events, weekend tours and even some weddings. But over the years, stories had trickled out. Whisperings of strange occurrences made their way to the city where the local papers picked up on the tales, sensationalizing things to the point where rowdy kids from the college would show up lat at night, beer-fueled and armed with flashlights to investigate the strange goings-on.

That was when Jess had her first encounter. She was still in high school, but didn't really have a core group of friends like most of the other girls. She'd run into Kara in town. Jess tried to avoid her but after an awkward conversation, Kara had invited her to a bonfire. 'To bury the hatchet', Kara had said. Against her better judgment, Jess went. After all, it might be nice to have someone to hang out with for a change.

It wasn't until they had been there for about an hour, walking amongst the abandoned orchards with the other girls while the guys sipped stolen beers and hooted and hollered as they chased one another through the empty grounds, that Jess found out exactly whey she'd been invited.

"So, Wilson. How does this work exactly?"

Jess frowned at Cole, the rowdiest of the bunch. "How does what work?"

"Do we just stand here and wait for the spirits to make themselves known? Or do we have to chant or something?"

"Oh, great spirit from beyond," one of Cole's buddies said, pressing his fingertips to either temple like he was some crazy conjurer. "Make your presence known!"

The other boys huddled burst out laughing, slapping one another on the back.

"I don't get it," Jess said. That was when she noticed her so-called friend huddled together snickering with the other jock girlfriends.

"From what we heard, you're in touch with the other side. We wanna see how you do it."

Jess could feel her cheeks flush. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know what it is you think I can do, but…"

Cole came staggering toward her. He dragged a finger across Jess' cheek. "Contact the dead. Why don't we start with, I don't know…your parents. They're dead, right?"

The other boys burst out laughing. Jess' gaze flew to Kara, who stood whispering with the other girls. When she saw Jess glaring at her, Kara stopped laughing and got that look on her face that Jess had only seen that one time at the sleepover all those years ago.

"You guys wanna see what I'm capable of?" Jess shoved Cole aside and started slowly toward the girls. Kara's mild look of amusement sunk into one of fear and the closer Jess got, the more the panic rose on her face.

"Stop it," Kara said.

The boys started chanting, following behind Jess. "Jess…Jess…JESS!"

Kara tried to skitter away. "Just…enough now.

The boys continued. "Jess! Jess! Jess!"

Jess lunged for Kara.

"STOP IT!" Kara shouted.

She took off running with the other girls following after her. Jess smirked to herself. She was damned sure Kara had been talking to her and not the boys. That was the last time she'd seen Kara until they ended up at the same college. Jess could have gone a lifetime without seeing that little brat again. Or this place. But here she was.

It was a sign. She shouldn't even be here. To come all this way on a whim? After seeing some stupid internet ad about talking to the dead? She had officially lost her mind.

"This is crazy. What the hell I was thinking!"

Just as Jess flung herself back behind the steering wheel and slid her keys into the ignition, she felt a hand on her arm. She gasped, practically slugging the person standing off to her left.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Relax!"

Jess turned to find Dylan Nixon towering over her. He flashed her a wary smile, brushing his dark hair from his eyes.

"Jess…I thought that was your car."

"Dylan! What the hell are you doing here?"

He pointed to the pin on his lapel. The big 'P' symbol glimmered in the afternoon sun. "I'm one of the lead recruiters for the trial here at Purgatech."

Jess shook her head.

"Wow! Actually, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. You are always coming up at the next big thing, even back in the good ol' days."

Dylan raised one eyebrow. "I'm kinda surprised you still consider those the good old days, after everything that happened between us."

Jess managed a smile but the only thing she cold think about was Kyle.

"Yeah, well, a lot's happened since then."

"Yeah," he said, bowing his head. "I heard about your Gram."

Jess clenched her teeth and waited for the usual sentiments.

"I'll bet shes giving them hell upstairs," Dylan said laughing.

Jess couldn't help herself. She burst into laughter. "Oh, you better believe it."

Just then, Dylan's phone chimed in his pocket. He plucked it out, swiped at the screen a few times.

"Look, I better be getting inside. So, uh…are you going to stay? Find out what it is I've been up these past couple of years here at Purgatech?"

For a brief second, Jess hesitated. Kyle. She already knew he was going to flip out when she told him what she was doing. But when he found out it was with her ex? His head would explode.

An image of the disdain on his face last night at her Gram's flashed in Jess' mind. She shook her head. She wasn't going to let anyone dictate what she did.

"So, that's a not then?" Dylan said, the disappointment coloring his voice.

"No, I mean…yes. I'm coming."

She yanked her keys out of the ignition and shoved them in her pocket. By the time she'd gotten out of the car and closed the door, Dylan was already headed to the front door of the Ridgely Estate.

She fell into step with him, following him to the oversized oak door of the building. She took one final look up at the facade of the building. Tendrils of ivy intertwined along the front of the building. The pungent scent of soil and greenery filled Jess' nostrils. The very smell of it brought her back to that day when Kara and her lame friends had tormented her once again. Was this just another trick? Some elaborate prank? There was only one way to find out. Jess took a deep breath before following Dylan inside.

Jess fully expected rotting old furniture and cobwebs in the corner of every room, but she was pleasantly surprised. The interior lobby was bright and well lit, with planters set along the main hallway. Bright tufts of green greenery spilled over the edge. A water feature cascaded down the main wall giving the feeling of an exclusive day spa instead of some stuffy old mansion.

A number of other people milled around in the lobby. When they saw Dylan walk in, their conversation dimmed to a hush.

Dylan clapped his hands together. "Hello everyone. Thank you for all coming to this initial meeting. My name is Dylan Nixon and I'm the lead liaison in charge of welcoming you and introducing you to what Purgatech has to offer. Now, we'll adjourn in the meeting room so I can tell you more about what our company aims to do."

A perky redhead dressed in all black stepped forward and ushered the other contestants down the corridor.

"You ready?" Dylan said, placing his hand on the small of Jess's back.

She didn't want to admit it but it was almost like that same feeling she'd had back at Gram's the other night when she'd placed her hand on the Bowie album. That sense of familiarity that gave her tickle in the stomach.

Jess pulled away from him and followed the others to the board room up the corridor.

The other potential testers were settling into their seats around an over-sized glass table. Jess found an empty chair and joined them.

"Everyone, please take a seat," Dylan said, "Then I'll get into a bit more information about what we plan to do in the coming month."

Dylan waited a few moments until the nervous chatter died down before speaking.

"Now, I know you're all here because you expressed an interest in our online ad. So, let me ask you one thing. How many of you have had experiences that you cannot explain?"

There was a bit of an awkward silence before anyone moved. A few of the others half-heartedly raised their hands.

"Right. Now, how many of you have had your friends or your family ridicule you about those experiences? Or tell you you must be imagining things? That those things couldn't possibly happen? Come on, don't be shy."

Dylan looked pointedly at Jess. He knew very well that she'd had those experiences. He was the only person besides her Gram who had ever treated her like she wasn't insane when she'd told him about them over the years.

Jess raised her hand, eliciting a cheek-to-cheek smile from Dylan. Seeing Jess' response, the others around her chuckled and raised their hands as well.

"Well, we here at Purgatech are here to tell you that yes, those things happen and no, you aren't crazy."

Everyone laughed, and the tension in the room seemed to lift.

"We are full-on believers here at Purgatech, but it isn't just a feeling. We've been working for years to prove that spirits not only exist, but that they do make contact with the living. After extensive research and multiple trials and maybe a few errors, we've finally made a breakthrough. After years of development, we've created various technologies that locate, harness and tap into the energies dispelled by the spirits of those who are no longer with us. The selection of gadgets in front of each of you are a few of our latest inventions that will do just that."

A few of the others gasped and let out excited murmurs.

In front of each chair was a small tray with various strange gadgets, a few pairs of glasses and a little tablet no bigger than a cellphone.

"On the trays in front of you, you will see that our little gadgets don't look that unfamiliar. What we aim to do at Purgatech is to create products that are easy to use but which can harness the advanced technology that we have been developing these past years."

That sense of doubt Jess had been holding on to steadily melted away the more Dylan talked. No one else around her seemed the least bit skeptical, either.

"Okay, so the first item I want to talk about is that thing that looks like an over-sized pair of ski goggles. Those are out Purgoggles, an infrared headset that basically allows you to track cold and hot spots in rooms."

As Dylan spoke, the screen behind him started showing a video of a guy and girl both wearing the goggles. As they moved through a dark room, a small picture opened in the corner of the screen, showing the display readings from their goggles.

"Our next item is similar. Do you see that pair of oversized glasses? That is our pair of augmented reality glasses called the Purgatory doorway."

A few of the people around Jess laughed.

"Now I know," Dylan said laughing out loud. "It's a strange name for them but because we spent so much time working with such technical details, our designers wanted to have a little bit of fun when naming these products. But what these are is basically an advanced technology that allows the user to see spirits right in front of their eyes."

The lady beside Jess 'oohed' loudly and elbowed Jess in the ribs. She nodded excitedly to Jess.

"Now, I'm sure you have all seen those ghost hunting shows where the guys walk around with that little thing that looks like a hockey puck? We've come up with our own version that basically amplifies and transmits signals to nearby spirits."

The video continued behind Dylan, this time showing the two people using the puck-shaped thing. The guy held it out while the girl held up digital recorder to show the equalizer jumping on-screen, indicating they had recorded something in the otherwise empty room.

"Now, all of this is just a glimpse at the type of technology we've been working on. I know it's a lot to take in, which is why we've compiled a series of videos for each of you to watch before you make the final decision as to whether you will take on this amazing opportunity here at Purgatech."

Just then, the door to the conference room opened and the same redhead from earlier came into the room with a tray in hand. She stopped each of their chairs holding it out to them so they could retrieve their phones which they had taken from the earlier.

Immediately, the man sitting across from Jess shot his hand up into the air.

"Sir?" Dylan said.

"How long do we have to decide? I don't wanna be rushed, is all."

Dylan nodded.

"I know this is a big decision. And that you want the chance to consider all the technology, to review the trial data, and to really think about what this opportunity could mean for you. Which is why we've decided to give you unprecedented access to a piece of our technology."

Dylan nodded to the woman, who went around the room, holding out the tray to each of the contenders so they could retrieve their cellphones.

"While we were talking, Beth took the opportunity to download the Purgavision app onto your cell phone. It's our first mobile app, one that we have never allowed the general public to see before. But we are so confident you will see immediate results, that you will want to come back to work with us immediately."

Jess took her phone from the girl and immediately swiped at her screen. A small icon had been added to her homescreen, a ghost with a red cape and a 'P' logo on his chest.

"Purgavision allows you to be completely mobile. You can use the app to locate energy orbs and even communicate with spirits that you may come in contact with. Its' as simple as that. Any other questions?"

Immediately, the guy in the glasses shot his hand up into the air again.

"How do we know these things really work? I mean, everything looks nice and shiny and new and you've given us this video to watch for all we know you faked everything in there. I mean, come on. If ghosts were real, wouldn't someone have already made something like this by now?"

"That's a great question. As you know, it all comes down to science. We have some of the best scientific minds in the world working for us here at Purgatech. We don't take this lightly. We know what the general public thinks about ghosts and spirits. That is why we spent so many years working on these things behind the scenes to come up with technology that can prove once and for all the paranormal activity occurs."

Jess shook her head. Why was this guy in here anyway? If he was such a skeptic, why even bother to come here?

"Look, we understand that this is a big decision. You will be required to leave your jobs, however you will be paid to stay in our headquarters and to test our products before they launch to the general public. This is an amazing opportunity and frankly, if I didn't already work for Purgatech, I would sign up myself!"

Jess eyed the skeptic. He still looked mildly suspicious, but he didn't know Dylan like she did. He wouldn't try to screw anyone over. He just wasn't that type of guy.

"Any other questions?" Dylan looked around the room his eyebrows raised high, staring pointedly at Jess again she smiled at him and shook her head no.

"Well then, there's only one thing I ask of you. Take the file folder under your tray home with you tonight and read it thoroughly. It basically goes over everything that we talked about today and it also includes a contract for you to sign if you decide that you will take on this exciting opportunity with us here at Purgatech. If you have any questions, you can use the contact number on the back page to get in touch with any of us here."

With that said, the others got up from their seats and slowly made their way out of the conference room. Jess took her packet and started toward the front of the room. There was so much to take in, not just with everything Dylan had showed them, but with Dylan himself.

Just as he said his goodbyes to the last of the potential testers, Jess felt her phone buzz in her hand. She tapped the screen. There was an alert on there, and the flashing light at the top of the screen got her attention. Missed calls. Multiple texts. She knew who they were from without even looking.

She pocketed her phone just as Dylan came toward her.

"So, what do you think?" he said, smiling broadly at her.

"It all sounds pretty cool."

He tilted his head to one side. "Too good to be true?"

Jess shrugged awkwardly. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. "No, its just…a lot to think about."

"I know it is. I get it but please, Jess…you know me. I would never try to pull one over on you. You should know better than anyone that I understand. And that I want the best for you."

"I know that, but-"

"But you have to think about it. I get it, Just…don't think too long. I'd hate for you to miss out. We've got big things planned here at Purgatech. I want you to be a part of it."

"Thanks, Dylan. I appreciate it. But…I've gotta go."

Jess leaned forward and gave him an awkward hug before bolting around him. She hurried down the corridor to the front door, nearly bowling over the perky redhead as she flung open the front door and raced to her car.

By the time she unlocked her door and got inside, her hands were shaking. Somehow she managed to start the car and get her seatbelt on before pulling out of her parking space and starting back down the driveway to the main road.

Even seeing the Ridgely Estate in her rear view didn't alleviate the swirling torrent of uneasiness in her stomach.

It was all too much. Gram. Kyle. Seeing Dylan again. So much had happened in the past few weeks, and she had this feeling in her gut that this was just the beginning.