((Follows on from A New Addition To The Family, Max, Interrupted, and The First Visitation.))
_________________________
Things were getting worse. Not so much that the neighbors had realised that something was happening in the newly bought house next door, but bad enough that the little family made up of actor, actress, child, and dog were losing sleep and patience.
The thuds that had disturbed Max and 'Taya on that first night had returned, always random, never with a pattern, but terrifyingly enough always occurring just when they might have managed to dismiss their apparentl poltergeist from their mind. Juno had started to have nightmares, waking up in utter terror and babbling about 'the shadow' at the end of her bed, or lying over her. Whenever she woke from these dreams, it was Beetle who summoned the adults, barking wildly to draw them from sleep.
And unlike that first tangible visit from their unseen, malevolent entity, Mataya was not immune. Indeed, she was the lightest sleeper in the house, still bearing the scars of that awful encounter with the beings that had attached themselves to Fiora over eighteen months before. So when the footsteps began, she was the first to notice. Every night, heavy footsteps would thump up the stairs, along the hallway, always stopping outside the door where Juno slept, regardless of whether she was in her own room or in with Max and Mataya. And every night, there would be that horrible, breathing silence, that awareness of unseen eyes watching them as Beetle bristled and growled, always between Juno and the door, between the little girl and whatever it was that was haunting her. Then the footsteps would return back down the stairs, sometimes minutes after arriving, sometimes hours. But always leaving the listeners terrified into silence.
Max's threat to call the Ghostbusters hadn't quite held true. The logical person to call would have been Aurelia, the witch who had exorcised the demon from Fiora at the Zen Gardens. But after five attempts to find her, 'Taya was forced to concede that the witch was gone, no longer in contact. After some spirited rummaging, she had then found the number for Shen Lei and Rufus Bennett, and though the paranormal butt-kicking pair had not been able to offer any help themselves, they had given the haunted family the contact details of an apparent psychic who might be able to tell them what was going on. But as yet, there had been no opportunity to visit this Evelyn Frey as a family.
Today was no exception. For once, 'Taya was freed from rehearsals before Max was, and she and Juno had decided to go home for lunch, rather than wait around at the theater for an indeterminate amount of time. Besides, it was the middle of the day, the sun was shining brightly. Nothing had happened before six in the evening so far, and they had no reason to believe it would begin now.
"So what did you think of today?" 'Taya was asking Juno as they sat together at the breakfast bar, munching on cold cut sandwiches and spoiling Beetle with offcuts. "Any advice?"
The little girl screwed her face up thoughtfully. "You gotta be more mean to the pretty girls," she said finally, her mind focused on the rehearsals she'd witnessed that morning. She'd be there for the dress run-through tomorrow, and every performance - with an apparent haunting focusing around their little girl, Max and 'Taya weren't leaving her with a babysitter. At least at the theater, Hortense could keep an eye on Juno, and being a ghost, she couldn't be scared off. "You're too nice."
'Taya laughed, shaking her head. "If I'm too nasty, people won't listen when I have lines to say," she pointed out, stroking a finger back through Juno's hair to tame a wayward lock of mousey brown. "And I don't want to scare Aimee. It's her first big professional stage role."
"I thought she did stuff at school?"
"She -"
'Taya didn't get a chance to answer. In a sudden crescendo of noise and movement, every cupboard in the kitchen abruptly burst open, disgorging their contents all over the floor. Juno let out a shriek of terror, launching herself off her stool to slam hard into 'Taya's side as the adult woman shook, tense and not exactly far from terrified herself.
It was here. It had been watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and scare them the most. And it had struck so quickly, Beetle hadn't had time to warn them.
She squeezed her arms around Juno, very carefully sliding down from her own stool ....and they both jumped abruptly again as the pans on the rack over the sink crashed off their hooks with a brutally loud metallic clatter. 'Taya could feel Juno crying into her shirt; it was only knowing that which kept her from bursting into frightened tears herself. Juno needed someone to be brave. It was usually Max, but he wasn't here.
"Beetle," 'Taya managed in a shaking voice. "Door."
The wolfdog crept toward the door to the hallway, his ears pricked high, every muscle alert and tense. Keeping close behind the dog, 'Taya covered Juno's eyes, not wanting the little girl to feel the shock and alarm that she felt when her gaze fell upon the basement door. The open basement door. Beetle set himself between them and that dark opening, growling as his fur bristled up, daring whatever it was he saw to try and come through him.
'Taya edged carefully around behind the wolfdog, guiding Juno toward the front door, scooping her keys up from the side table as she opened it to let the sunshine pour in. The basement door slammed, both Juno and 'Taya let out their own shrieking squeaks of fear, and within moments, woman, child, and dog were in the car, driving fast down the road.
Things had gone too far to wait for a time when they could all visit together. They needed to know what this was, and soon. It was time to visit Evelyn Frey, and hope like hell she could help them.
Things were getting worse. Not so much that the neighbors had realised that something was happening in the newly bought house next door, but bad enough that the little family made up of actor, actress, child, and dog were losing sleep and patience.
The thuds that had disturbed Max and 'Taya on that first night had returned, always random, never with a pattern, but terrifyingly enough always occurring just when they might have managed to dismiss their apparentl poltergeist from their mind. Juno had started to have nightmares, waking up in utter terror and babbling about 'the shadow' at the end of her bed, or lying over her. Whenever she woke from these dreams, it was Beetle who summoned the adults, barking wildly to draw them from sleep.
And unlike that first tangible visit from their unseen, malevolent entity, Mataya was not immune. Indeed, she was the lightest sleeper in the house, still bearing the scars of that awful encounter with the beings that had attached themselves to Fiora over eighteen months before. So when the footsteps began, she was the first to notice. Every night, heavy footsteps would thump up the stairs, along the hallway, always stopping outside the door where Juno slept, regardless of whether she was in her own room or in with Max and Mataya. And every night, there would be that horrible, breathing silence, that awareness of unseen eyes watching them as Beetle bristled and growled, always between Juno and the door, between the little girl and whatever it was that was haunting her. Then the footsteps would return back down the stairs, sometimes minutes after arriving, sometimes hours. But always leaving the listeners terrified into silence.
Max's threat to call the Ghostbusters hadn't quite held true. The logical person to call would have been Aurelia, the witch who had exorcised the demon from Fiora at the Zen Gardens. But after five attempts to find her, 'Taya was forced to concede that the witch was gone, no longer in contact. After some spirited rummaging, she had then found the number for Shen Lei and Rufus Bennett, and though the paranormal butt-kicking pair had not been able to offer any help themselves, they had given the haunted family the contact details of an apparent psychic who might be able to tell them what was going on. But as yet, there had been no opportunity to visit this Evelyn Frey as a family.
Today was no exception. For once, 'Taya was freed from rehearsals before Max was, and she and Juno had decided to go home for lunch, rather than wait around at the theater for an indeterminate amount of time. Besides, it was the middle of the day, the sun was shining brightly. Nothing had happened before six in the evening so far, and they had no reason to believe it would begin now.
"So what did you think of today?" 'Taya was asking Juno as they sat together at the breakfast bar, munching on cold cut sandwiches and spoiling Beetle with offcuts. "Any advice?"
The little girl screwed her face up thoughtfully. "You gotta be more mean to the pretty girls," she said finally, her mind focused on the rehearsals she'd witnessed that morning. She'd be there for the dress run-through tomorrow, and every performance - with an apparent haunting focusing around their little girl, Max and 'Taya weren't leaving her with a babysitter. At least at the theater, Hortense could keep an eye on Juno, and being a ghost, she couldn't be scared off. "You're too nice."
'Taya laughed, shaking her head. "If I'm too nasty, people won't listen when I have lines to say," she pointed out, stroking a finger back through Juno's hair to tame a wayward lock of mousey brown. "And I don't want to scare Aimee. It's her first big professional stage role."
"I thought she did stuff at school?"
"She -"
'Taya didn't get a chance to answer. In a sudden crescendo of noise and movement, every cupboard in the kitchen abruptly burst open, disgorging their contents all over the floor. Juno let out a shriek of terror, launching herself off her stool to slam hard into 'Taya's side as the adult woman shook, tense and not exactly far from terrified herself.
It was here. It had been watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and scare them the most. And it had struck so quickly, Beetle hadn't had time to warn them.
She squeezed her arms around Juno, very carefully sliding down from her own stool ....and they both jumped abruptly again as the pans on the rack over the sink crashed off their hooks with a brutally loud metallic clatter. 'Taya could feel Juno crying into her shirt; it was only knowing that which kept her from bursting into frightened tears herself. Juno needed someone to be brave. It was usually Max, but he wasn't here.
"Beetle," 'Taya managed in a shaking voice. "Door."
The wolfdog crept toward the door to the hallway, his ears pricked high, every muscle alert and tense. Keeping close behind the dog, 'Taya covered Juno's eyes, not wanting the little girl to feel the shock and alarm that she felt when her gaze fell upon the basement door. The open basement door. Beetle set himself between them and that dark opening, growling as his fur bristled up, daring whatever it was he saw to try and come through him.
'Taya edged carefully around behind the wolfdog, guiding Juno toward the front door, scooping her keys up from the side table as she opened it to let the sunshine pour in. The basement door slammed, both Juno and 'Taya let out their own shrieking squeaks of fear, and within moments, woman, child, and dog were in the car, driving fast down the road.
Things had gone too far to wait for a time when they could all visit together. They needed to know what this was, and soon. It was time to visit Evelyn Frey, and hope like hell she could help them.