Purgatech: Jess' Horror

Chapter Thirteen

Jess couldn't move from her spot on the floor. Her mind was telling her to get back up and go in there and pull Erica out of the stairwell but her body wouldn't react. Her brain was screaming at her to leave, to get out of there; to just go and never look back. But she couldn't move.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She screamed and spun away but when she looked up, she saw Grace's wrinkly face and her concerned eyes looking down at her.

"Are you okay dear?"

Jess couldn't respond, she couldn't form any words.

Grace reached out for her and cupped her shaking hand on her cheek. Jess closed her eyes and could feel the hot tears under her eyelids. It was just like something Gram would do. Oh how she wished she was there now. She would know what to do.

"Holy crap, man! You guys need to see this!"

When Jess looked up, she saw a Rob standing in the doorway of the attic. His stance was wide as if he was bracing himself and he held out his phone in front of him. With the other hand he plucked the weathered baseball cap off the top of his head and scratched his scalp. And then he let out an unholy cackle.

"Man, these Purgatech geeks sure know how to work the light show in here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jess said, trying to get up. Grace helped her, taking her by one hand and hauling her up from the floor. When Jess moved toward Rob, Grace kept holding Jess's hand.

"I mean, come on look at this crap. They really think I'm gonna believe this is some kind of ghost or something?"

Jess edged behind Rob and looked at the display over his shoulder. He was holding it up to the stairwell. There were still no lights inside but the dim lamplight from the hallway was filtering in to the room. Erica was still at the bottom of the floor not moving.

On the screen, there was a figure hovering in the middle of the stairway, but when Jess looked up, there was no one there.

She could hear Grace behind her, whimpering like a scared dog. Jess didn't blame her. This wasn't like what happened at Gram’s house. There was no solace, no warmth or inviting nature to this. Fear, pain, anger, all of it wafted out from the room like it was a contagion trying to spread. Jess kept her hand clasped with Grace’s and backed away from the stairwell.

"What is that?" Grace said her voice wavering.

"I told you, it's them Purgatech people trying to freak us the hell. Well, I'm not gonna let them do that." Rob backed away from the stairwell and tilted his head up to the ceiling and started shouting. "You guys think you can scare us by this pathetic computer light show? Well, I might be some dumb hick but I can't be fooled that easy."

Just as he said that, Rob went flying backwards, his back slamming into the wood panel hallway. He slid down the wall and slumped the floor. Grace screamed and clung to Jess.

Something in Jess’ mind kicked into gear. She turned to Grace.

“Do you have your Purgaware amplifier?"

“What?” Grace asked, her voice wavering.

“You know, that little puck that they put in our pack? Do you have it?"

“I – I think so."

"Well then, get it out and put it on.”

Jess knelt down to see if Rob was still breathing. He groaned around and rolled around on the floor but he finally pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"You okay?" Jess said.

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm about to find out."

Jess had somehow managed to drag her pack with her when she came bolting out of the attic. She pounced on it, rummaging around inside until she found the amplifier. She pulled it out and clipped it onto her shirt.

Instead of using the Purgoggles, this time she decided to go for the augmented reality glasses that were there in the packet. She hadn’t tried them yet but she remembered reading about them in the welcome booklet that night she couldn't sleep. The glasses were the latest piece of technology that Purgatech was giving them to use. She remembered smirking at the warning in the booklet not to use them unless there were under extreme conditions. The warning didn’t seem so silly now.

Jess pulled out the glasses and slipped them on.

"Nuh-uh, no way," Rob said.

"What?" Jess said, adjusting the glasses.

"Didn't you read the welcome pack like I did? It said in there that these damn glasses release was to be used under extreme conditions.”

Jess turned to look at him. "Weren’t you the one who was just thrown back by some kind of unseen force and your brain rattled?"

"So?"

"Well, I kind of call those extreme conditions, wouldn't you?"

Rob didn't have any kind of comeback for that. Jess motioned to him.

"Get out your amplifier and put it on. Maybe that will help us to zero in on whatever it is that just threw you back."

"I don't know who the hell put you in charge but –"

"You see anyone else here? No. It's obvious that Purgatech has made it perfectly clear that we are in here on our own. So, unless you want whatever that is to do whatever it did to you and to Erica, I suggest you get on board. If you want to make it out of here."

Rob grunted but he complied. While he pulled out his puck, Jess turned to help Grace get geared up.

"Have you used these yet, Grace?" Jess asked as she took out the Purgoggles and helped Grace to put them on.

Grace sniffled as she shook her head no.

"They're basically like a big pair of ski goggles. When you look through the display you'll see different colors. The red and yellow mean warm spots which is something you'll see if his you touch something. It’s just the heat coming off your body."

Grace turned her head and looked up and down the hall. "And what are the blue and white things?"

Jess’ heart skipped a beat. "What blue things?"

Without saying anything, Grace raised her arm and pointed to the end of the hall.

"Holy crap!" Rob said.

Jess spun around to find Rob, Purgoggles on, looking in the same direction as Grace. She hurriedly slipped her on her own pair. When she did, she saw a person standing at the end of the hall. Was it Sarah Ridgely?

Jess lifted the glasses to see normally, but there was no one there. She slowly slid them back down onto her face again and that's when she saw it. There was a woman standing at the end of the hall. It was plain as day. But she wasn't dressed in the clothes Jess had seen photos of Sarah in the study.

She usually wore long dresses to her ankles and a white blouse with white frill tied at the neck. Her hair was normally tied up in a bun on the top of her head. But this person was dressed in denim and wearing a hoodie and her long black hair her long hair hung down her shoulders.

"Who is that?" Who the hell are you?” Rob shouted.

Grace started sobbing behind Jess.

"Look, everyone just needs to calm down!”

"Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to calm down when there is something or someone standing at the end of the Hall and then when I look again they're not there anymore?"

“The last thing we need is you freaking Grace out any more than she already is.

”Grace? Or you?”

Jess shook her head. She didn’t have time to bicker with this i***t.

She moved a few steps away from him and studied the figure in front of her. She didn't recognize her from any of the photos or research she’d done. But there was something familiar near the upper left shoulder of her hoodie.

Jess took a tentative step forward, even while every ounce of her being screamed at her to go the other way, to just make a run for it, get the hell out of there. But something pulled her forward, some force making her move closer and closer to the ghostly visage of the woman. Grace stayed behind her, trying to coax her back. But Jess move forward. If she could just make out what the symbol was. It was something oddly familiar. She didn't recognize her face, but there was something there on her jacket. On her lapel.

Each step, closer and closer she got, she could fog of confusion lifting.

It was the P logo. Purgatech. She worked for Purgatech.