Purgatech: Jess' Horror

Chapter Nine

Jess and the other trial users spent the rest of the first day settling into their rooms. She would have felt better having Erica in the same room as her, but at least she was just next door. And besides, it’s not like there were rules about slumber parties.

After getting most of her clothes packed away in the vintage dresser near the door, Jess headed down the hall. The others had congregated in a small sitting area. Vintage lamps and ornate furniture clustered around gorgeous oak tables. Each team member had been given a welcome package with a print-out detailing the rules of the trial. Along with that, there was a small booklet for each of the gadgets they would be testing.

Lisa and Dylan came into the room behind them.

“I trust everyone is comfortable in their new accommodations?” Dylan said.

“This ain’t exactly the Ritz but it’ll do,” Rob said.

“It is an old house, that’s true,” Dylan said, “but we chose this location to house our offices for a reason. Now, does anyone know the history of the Ridgely Estate?”

Jess knew the answer to that question but she didn’t say anything. She knew Erica wouldn’t care but she didn’t want any of the others to feel like she was sucking up to Dylan.

“This house has been standing on these grounds since the early 1800’s. Since that time, there have been many reports of unexplainable phenomenal occurring in the house. Does anyone know why?”

Grace lifted her hand up in the air. “Could it be because someone died here?”

“That’s good. And you’re right. It has been said that a number of poor souls passed away here, including the lady of the manor.” Lisa smiled at her as she reached over and patted her on the arm. “It looks like someone has been doing her research. That’s good, Mrs. Williams.”

“Call me Grace, dear.”

Erica turned and smiled at Jess, mouthing the words ‘so cute’. Jess nodded. It made her a little nostalgic to see Grace in the group. She hadn’t said more than a few words to her at their orientation session, but she reminded Jess so much of Gram that it almost felt like Gram was there with her.

“That’s a great answer, and it’s very true,” Dylan said. “But there is another reason. Back when the Ridgely family was scouting for land, it is reported that they were looking for something very specific. Does anyone know what that is?”

“Oil,” Rob blurted out.

“What’s that now?” Dylan said, frowning at him.

“Prob’ly lookin’ for deposits of oil. Black gold. Deep deposits to get filthy rich off of.”

“That’s an interesting guess, Rob, but no. That isn’t it. Anyone else?”

Neither Jess nor Erica said anything and the big dude, who still hadn’t offered his name yet, was silent.

“Well, as legend goes, Patrick Ridgely was a big believer in supernatural occurrences. It has been said that he believed in paranormal hot spots or portals. That there were places in the world that are more susceptible to paranormal activity. He believed that in these places, the veil between our world and the “other” world is thin, which is why people see things in certain places.”

“And that’s why he built the house here?” Jess asked. “Because he thought this was one of those places?”

“Exactly,” Dylan said, pointing at her.

“But why? Why would he want to build his house in a place like that?”

“Some said it wasn’t Patrick Ridgely but his wife, Sarah, who insisted he build here. According to the lore, Sarah and Patrick had trouble conceiving a child. It took them many years, but finally they had a baby. A beautiful baby girl named Lily.”

“Oh, now isn’t that sweet!” Grace cooed.

“Humph,” Rob said.

“It is sweet,” Erica said, glaring at him.

“Yes, it was but it didn’t last for long. When the girl was only seven years old, there was a terrible accident and she was killed.”

Jess felt a lump form at the back of her throat. “That’s awful.”

“Yes, but that isn’t the most devastating part of the story,” Dylan continued, He motioned for the group to follow as he made his way down the corridor.

“Sarah was devastated by this loss, as you can imagine. But instead of wallowing in her sorrow, she sought out those places where it was said that the fabric between our world and the next was thin.”

“She was trying to get back to her lost daughter, wasn’t she?” Jess asked, feeling the hot tears behind her eyelids.

Dylan turned to her and nodded.

“What a dumbass,” Rob said, moving to one of the oversize armchairs. He plunked himself down in it and propping his dirty boots up on the nearest table.

Jess frowned, glaring at him. “Why the hell would you say that?”

Rob flicked the rim of his hat so he could look up at Jess without much effort. “What kinda dummy thinks there are portals or whatever? Her baby died. She wasn’t going to get her back. Thinking she was is probably what made her go crazy.”

“She wasn’t crazy,” Jess said, taking a few steps toward him. “She was distraught.”

“She lost her kid then lost her mind,” Rob said flatly.

“She lost her only child. Of course she went a little crazy! Maybe it made her feel better to think she could see her one more time, did you ever think about that?”

Jess moved a few more steps toward Rob, The way he looked up at her with that annoying grin made her blood boil. Erica came toward Jess and put her hand on Jess’ arm.

“Look, don’t listen to him, alright?”

But Rob wouldn’t let up. “All I’m sayin’ is thinking like that gets people into trouble. They convince themselves of somethin’ they can’t never have, and then when it doesn’t work out, they go crazy.”

Jess shook her head at Rob. She clenched her hands at her sides to keep from hauling off on him.

“Okay everyone I think we’re getting a little off-track here,” Dylan said. “Why don’t we keep things moving. Lisa, why don’t we lead the group in their first test of the updated application?”

“Uh, right. That sounds perfect,: Lisa said awkwardly form the corner. “Now if everyone can take out their phones and bring up the Purgavision app, we’ll give it a little test-run with the latest software. We sent an upated version of the app to your phones that should make your investigations that much more fruitful.”

Jess glared at Rob once more. He sat up, thumping his heavy boots on the carpet before pushing himself up from the chair and moving to join the others. As he moved past Jess, he looked down at her, winking at her.

It made her want to smack him. Luckily, Erica saw the whole thing and moved between them.

“Somehow I think getting into a fist-fight our first night isn’t exactly the best first impression, huh?” she said.

“I know but that guy! He’s just so condescending!”

“I know he is. But no one says we have to hang out with him. After tonight, we’ll just do our thing and let him do his. Okay? Now let’s join the rest of the group. If that jerk gets in your face, he’s going to have me to deal with.”

Erica hooked arms with Jess. She coaxed her down the hall, joining the others, who stood listening to Dylan and Lisa explaining their app.

"Now, I know that you are all excited to be here. And we hope you're just as excited to use the technology at your disposal. But to begin, we're going to start with something easy. You remember the Purgavision app we installed on your phones when you came in for your initial consultation? Did any of you test the app when you went home?"

Jess and Nikki exchanged glances. When Nikki started to say something, Jess grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Yup, I did," Rob said.

"And how did you find it?" Dylan asked.

Rob scoffed. "A whole lot of nothing happened, that's what."

Erica leaned over and whispered into Jess's ear. "Shocker. The skeptic didn't see anything."

"That's not uncommon. But you do have to realize that just because you didn't see anything doesn't mean that the technology doesn't work. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration which is why we set up our offices here in the Ridgely Estates. As we said, the purported hotspots lend themselves to spikes in readings. Not every place you try the app in will give you a reading.”

"Yeah, I'm sure that's why you chose this house," Rob said. "The fact that it's far way from the prying eyes of everyone in town doesn't have anything to do with it?"

A look of shock crossed Dylan’s face. "Uh, I’m not really sure what it is you're trying to imply, Rob, but I can assure you that there is nothing shady going on here."

"Seriously, dude." Erica pushed past Jess and approached Rob. "I'm not even sure what you're doing here. I mean, why waste your breath? You obviously think this is a joke or that you have something better to do. So maybe you should just go do it and leave the rest of us alone!"

Jess smirked to herself. It was just like Erica to stand up to the guy when he was being a jerk. She always had the guts to say those things that would be better left unsaid. That was why Jess loved her. She was happy to have her here and glad that she had her back.

Rob held up his hands and backed away from Erica. "I'm just saying. Sometimes if things look too good to be true than they probably are."

"Then like I said, what the hell are you doing here?" Erica asked.

"Guys, guys, guys. Let's not get into an argument here,” Dylan said, moving between the, “As I said before, we welcome people with every kind of belief. My hope is that by the end of it, every last one of you will put any doubt you have aside when you see what we've discovered."

Jess could see from the looks on the other faces that Rob was making everyone uncomfortable.

“Maybe now would be a good time to split up and explore on our own, huh?” Lisa said.

“That’s a great idea,” Dylan said. “What I'd like is for everyone to take up their cell phones, to load up our mobile app, and to explore around the house."

“We’ll go this way,” Erica said quickly. She grabbed Jess by the arm and yanked her away from the group.

When they were halfway down the hall and out of earshot, Erica let out a sigh.

“Jeez. If I had to listen to that guy for one more minute…”

“Tell me about it. What a Grade A jerk.”

“So,” Erica said, pulling out her phone and holding it up. “You ready to do this thing?”

Jess pulled out her own phone and swiped at the screen. “I guess so.”

“You guess so? Why? What’s wrong?”

Jess shrugged.

“Oh no. Don’t tell me what that jerk said got in your head?”

When Jess didn’t answer, Erica moved around in front of her. She tilted her head down and forced Jess to look her in the eye.

“You saw that guy. He’s a jerk. The only reason he signed up for this was to kick it in this posh mansion for a month. A ghost could walk up to him and punch him the face and he’d still say it was fake.”

Jess laughed. “Yeah, well it sure as hell won’t be fake when I punch him.”

“Forget about that i***t. I’m dying to check out this place! Come on!”

Before Jess could protest, Erica had whirled around and was already heading down the hall to the west wing of the house.

Jess trailed after her, tapping the icon on her homescreen for the Purgatech app. It took only a couple of seconds for it to load up, but in that time, Jess bit her lip and tried not to humor the nagging doubt in her mind.

It didn't help that it was already dark getting dark outside. The sun set so early these days that it was dark before 6 o'clock instead of those days those summer days when the sun was up past nine. The shadows grew long now, making the edges of the room that much darker. The lamps set around the room were dim, casting pale yellow lamplight onto the wall. Jess wondered if they did that on purpose, kept all the old fixtures in the antique furniture as a way to set the mood. Normally she liked that kind of thing. It reminded her of Gram’s. But now, it made her feel like she was anticipating something. She wasn't sure what.

The dim glow from Erica’s phone was barely a speck of light at the opposite end of the corridor. Jess picked up her pace, trying to catch up with her. But as she did, she felt something whisk past her.

Jess spun around, using the dim glow of her phone to light the way. But she was alone.

“Dylan? You there?”

There was no response.

Jess tried to slow her breathing. Her heart hammered in her ears. She stood there listening for a few moments before turning and starting toward Erica again. She’d gotten a few steps before she felt a chill prickle her skin. Then came a whisper, so close it sounded right beside her.

“They gonna get you.”

Jess gasped, then spun away from the voice. She pressed her back to the wall, her chest heaving. She fumbled with her phone, trying to bring up the screen so she could see. When she finally lit the flashlight app, she shoved her hand out in front of her. She jerked her hand from side to side, illuminating nothing but an empty hallway.

“I’m alone. There’s no one else here. I’m…alone.”

She kept repeating herself until she believed it.