Purgatech: Jess' Horror

Chapter Eight

Making sure he looked presentable, Dylan smoothed down the front of his jacket before heading from his office in the outbuilding and taking the short walk up the gravel road to the main house.

When he got to the front steps, he stopped and sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before exhaling. He tilted his head back and looked up at the house. Deep crimson vines of ivy intertwined in an elaborate dance across the front of grey brick. Overhead, storm clouds settled like bruises against the fall sky.

Dylan couldn’t shake the feeling of being on the precipice of something huge. Everything he’d been working for these past few years was on the verge of coming to fruition. Everything hinged on this final test group. He was going to make sure nothing went wrong this time. His entire future and the future of Purgatech depended on it. Marshal had made that perfectly clear.

The heavy oak door eased open and Lisa poked her head out the door.

“There you are. Everything okay?”

Dylan nodded.

“Good because the group is getting a little antsy. I think they’re ready to get started.”

Dylan steeled his nerves then clapped his hands together. “Good. So am I. Let’s do this.”

Dylan made his way up the steps and inside. The group stood together in the font foyer of the house. They spoke in hushed tones, some of them shifting from one foot to the other while others stood looking up at the massive oil paintings and decadent decor of the grand entryway saying nothing.

When he spotted Jess, Dylan smiled. He knew her. They had dated for almost five years. Although he could see from the way she clasped her hands in front of her that she was nervous, she kept that same serene smile on her face as Erica, whispered in her ear.

When she spotted Dylan, she gave him a soft smile. Instead of the same nervousness that he saw on the faces of the others, in her eyes, he saw hope. It gave him a sense of pride that she was looking to him for that. He wanted nothing more than to deliver what she wanted most.

"Good morning everyone!” Dylan said in his most jovial voice. “It's a big day for all of us. Who's excited to get started and move into the house?”

Only a few in the group mumbled a response.

"Oh, come on. I know you are more excited than that. I sure am!"

"All I know is, this better be good.”

Jess rolled her eyes when Erica elbowed her.

“What’s his problem?”

“He was in my focus group,” jess whispered. “Not just a skeptic. Total wet blanket. I’m not even sure why they picked him for this.”

Jess and Erica turned to each other and rolled her eyes at one another. Dylan could barely keep a straight face.

"Well, Mr. Hicks, we’re happy to have you all here. And I look forward to quashing any suspicion or doubt that you may have about what Purgatech can do in terms of paranormal research."

“You sure about that?" the guy said, chuckling and having his suitcase. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat anything I see here, Mr. Nixon. I'm not gonna be one of those people who just says what you want to hear. I'm here to tell the true story about what goes on, warts and all."

"That is exactly why we thought you would be a perfect candidate for our study, Rob. We welcome people of all beliefs. Even ones who might not necessarily believe in the paranormal. But promise us one thing will you?”

“What’s that?” Rob said, narrowing his eyes at Dylan.

“When we prove you wrong, you won't think too badly of us now."

The group chuckled, much to the annoyance of Rob, who yanked the tattered baseball cap down tighter onto his head.

“As long as you don’t fee me no bull-crap, because that’s the last thing I got time for. I left my job for this. Believe me brother. I’m here as the litmus test. I’m not gonna let anyone spoon-feed me any kinda bull-crap, is what I’m saying. Anything shady goes on, I’m going to shout it to the rooftops, you can believe that.”

“Yes, well, we welcome you all the same. We welcome all of you. We’re all so excited to start this next chapter of Purgatech’s exploration into the paranormal. Now everyone, please, follow Lisa as she shows you where you’ll be staying.”

“Hi everyone. I’m Lisa Thompson. I’m Dylan’s assistant and I’ll be acting as the go-between when he’s busy. Anything you need, you just let me know and I’ll do my best to help you. But before we get into any of that I want to give you a full tour of the house. So follow me and see where you’re going to be living for the next month.”

Rob, the little old lady and the other big burly guy followed Lisa. She directed them down one of the corridors that branched off of the main entryway. Erica moved beside her, squealing with excitement.

“I can’t believe we’re getting paid to stay I this big old mansion! We’re living the life now, girl!”

“Hey Erica. Good to see you again,” Dylan said as they moved toward him. "So, are you girls ready for this?"

Jess smiled and shrugged. "I guess. I mean, no offense to you what you're doing here but it is a little crazy out for us to just drop out of school and come live here for a month."

“Not to mention convincing your best friend to tag along with you," Erica said.

"Trust me, I get it,” Dylan said as he and the girls followed after the rest of the group. “It is a big deal. But you guys will see. I have faith in what were doing here. By the end of this month, you won’t forget what you discover here at the Ridgely estate."

By the time they caught up to the rest of the group, Lisa was explaining how their month-long stay would work.

"Although you will be monitored 24 seven, we want to keep our interaction with you to a minimum. It's not that we don't want to be in touch. We just prefer for the experience to be as immersive an environment as possible."

"Which means what?" Erica asked.

Dylan turned and motioned to the light fixture in the center of the corridor.

"Even though this is a centuries old estate, it has been outfitted with the latest technology,” Lisa said, pointing to the lights on the wall like she was a stewardess explaining the emergency exits. “Notice the light fixtures throughout the house. There are microphones and cameras embedded into each of them. If you have any requests or concerns, you can talk to any one of the cameras. Our staff will take note of it and get you what you need.”

“You will also see in your welcome package that you are expected to contribute video diaries of your experiences here,” Dylan said. “If there's anything you need at any time feel free to go into the diary room and let us know and we'll get you what you need as soon as possible."

“So, does this mean you are going to be staying with us for the next month?" Jess asked.

A quick flash of Renee’s lifeless body went through Dylan’s mind. It had taken everything in him to convince Marshall that none of the staff should stay in that house again.

“As much as I would love to be in here to experience everything you do, our goal here at Purgatech is to have you fully immersed in the experience without the input or interference of our team, myself included,” Dylan said. “Although we gave you each of you a full package detailing all of the technology that you will be using over the next month, we found that it helps for our team to be in here with you for the first testing of our gadgets. That way, we can work out any bugs or explain anything that you find confusing before you go all in. But after that, you will be in here on your own."

Jess nodded. It was obvious from the look of relief that washed over her face that his presence was one of the reasons she’d seemed a little hesitant. He got it. Especially after the display he’d seen with her and Kyle out in the driveway. Her being here was obviously a bit of a sticky subject.

Before Dylan could say anything else to reassure her, his phone buzzed in his jacket pocket.

“Alright everyone. I have a few details to wrap up so why don’t you go with Lisa and she will show you to your rooms. Lisa?”

Dylan pulled out his phone and motioned for Lisa to take the group out of earshot. Once she had ushered them away, Dylan answered the call.

“Good morning, Mr. Marshall? What can I do for you?”

“I need a status update. Where do things stand for the Delta Group?"

“They are moving into their rooms as we speak.”

“I’m assuming the main house was cleaned and contaminated from the previous testers?”

“Absolutely, sir. There is no trace of them ever being here.”

“There better not be. Last thing we need is any residual entities contaminating this next phase of testing. Speaking of which…I trust your team worked out whatever bugs made the last group go batshit?”

"We’ve tested and retested the hardware used by the last group and its ready to go. Once we’ve ironed out the final kinks in the last group of devices—”

"I trust you know how much we have riding on this. Am I right, Dylan?"

“Of course I do, sir.” Dylan could practically feel the heat coming through the other end of the line. He could picture Marshall squeezing that stupid stress ball he had on his desk the same way he did whenever something big was in the works. “MyI team has been working non-stop, combing through every detail from the biggest to the most minute, sir. I can assure you that nothing like what happened with the last group will happen again."

“I sure as hell hope so, Dylan. I don't have to tell you –"

"No you don't, sir. You know exactly what the stakes are here."

"Good. Because things don't go the way I expect them to, down. You may very well find yourself on the unemployment line."

Shockwaves rolled up Dylan’s back to his shoulders. He knew things were dire with the last group. And he knew how much money Marshall had sunk into this operation. But his boss had never spelled it out like the to him before. To think that after everything, that after all these years; all the late nights and sacrifice; that his position her could be snuffed out so easily without a second thought, it made Dylan that much more determined to make things work, no matter what it took.

“Mr. Marshall. Trust me. We have vetted each of these new recruits thoroughly, sir. I can guarantee that we will gather the data we need and by this time next year, Purgatech will be on the lips of every consumer out there."

"Next year? I want to go to market in six months, at the latest. Do you hear me Dylan?"

“Six months? Sir! I..I just don’t see how that’s feasible.”

“Oh, I’ll tell you how. You crack down on your team, you get every last piece of technology into that house and over this next month, you make damned well sure that group of testers works out every last bug.”

Dylan pulled at the collar of his shirt. He cleared his throat. “Sir, We will do that, trust me, but some of our hardware…we’re still going over the last few devices. Just to make sure. I mean…after what happened with Mr. Fisher in the last focus group—”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Nixon. It’s not my problem. That's why I put you in charge, to figure this out. Whatever happens, this will be our final testing phase. "

“But sir—”

“No more buts, Dylan. I’m laying it out for you in plain English. No more testing. After this phase, we go to market. Make it work.”

Marshall hung up before Dylan could protest any further. Dylan pocketed his phone and stood there in stunned silence. Six months. No more troubleshooting. No more tests. Come hell or high water, Dylan had to get what Marshall wanted with this last group of testers or he would be kicked to the curb.

As Dylan heard the faint conversation of Lisa and the tester being led to their rooms on the upper floors of the estate, he had a momentary pang of regret.

Should he really have recruited Jess into this? Maybe he should have just turned her away the moment he saw her. But having her there to see what he accomplished over the past years meant so much to him. Now he just had to be sure that nothing would happen to her.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he started toward the front door. When he pulled it open, he bounded outside but stopped short of going down the stone steps.His car was parked just beyond the outbuildings. For the briefest moment, he toyed with the idea of leaving it all behind. He could just go over to his car, start it up and drive away from the stress of Marshall and testing groups and Purgatech and never come back. But Jess. Her face flashed in his mind, that look of hope, of trust. He couldn’t just leave her here. He couldn’t just leave everything he’d worked for.

Marshall wasn't the only one who had devoted his life's work to this. Dy;an had spent the last five years slaving away, poring over reports and technical jargon and running background checks on potential recruits. There was no way, after everything he’d given to this place, that he would walk away Not now. He would just have to deliver what Marshall wanted, no matter how impossible it seemed.