by Paula Bianchi –

“I think we should go outside and regroup.” Kat’s voice broke the eerie silence in the basement.

Without another word, everyone headed for the stairs.

Lucy and Dobson floated up through the ceiling to wait for them in the foyer.

“Did you see the huge dark cloud moving through those green dots?” Dobson asked.

“Yes. I did.” Lucy answered. “It looks a lot bigger than it did when it was just a misty gray cloud.” She pointed out.

Just as the living joined them in the foyer, a cascade of chaos erupted in the kitchen. It started with all of the cabinet doors bursting open then all of the items inside were tossed out onto the hardwood floor causing most of the glass to shatter.

Jeff, who was manning home base, jumped up from his chair in shock from what he was witnessing. The black mass was visible now for everyone to see, and it was moving in his direction causing him to back out of the room into the foyer with the rest of them.

The moment Jeff stepped away; the black mass swept over the table and knocked over one of the monitors and sent the post-it notes that Jeff was writing, flying into the air.

Greasy Carl’s laugh suddenly filled the house as the black mass picked up speed. It swirled for a moment right in front of them, and the energy was so intense it made them all take a step back away from his threatening dark form.

Without warning, it took off again spinning its way through the foyer causing everything on the tables to fly off again and knocking over a grandfather clock before it made its way up the stairs into Emma’s room.

“Shouldn’t we follow it?” Michael asked, ready to go.

“That’s what he wants us to do.” Kat answered. “Come on. Follow me.” She said, walking towards the front door.

After they all stepped out of the house and were standing under the starry sky, Kat motioned for them to follow her even further away until they stood in front of the next-door neighbor’s house.

“That poltergeist is pretty strong, Kat. How are we going to get rid of it?” Megan asked.

“Right now, I just want to focus on getting Carl to leave. Once he’s gone, we can work on the poltergeist.” Kat instructed. “I brought everything we’ll need to remove Carl from the house in the trunk of my car.” Then she turned to Michael and asked, “Do you have a wheel barrow?”

Michael’s eyes widened. “I have one.” He answered, sounding a little perplexed. “I’ll go get it for you.” Off he left in a hurry to bring it back.

Opening her trunk, Kat retrieved two bags. One was filled with tapered white candles and sticks of sage incense while the other one held the holders for them.

“Pass these out to everyone. Tell them to place a candle and one stick of incense in every room including the attic and basement. Also place one by the front and back doors.” Kat said, handing the bags to Julie. She seemed so confident and sure of herself. Like a woman on a mission.

Emma and the rest of the ghost hunters immediately set off to do as they were instructed, and Dobson followed them out of curiousity.

Lucy was growing quite fond of this psychic medium. She loved the energy that radiated from her newfound friend. She could tell by Kat’s demeanor that she meant business which helped to remove all the doubts that were swimming in her head.

Thank you, Grandma, for telling me help would come and here she is, Lucy thought to herself. Only Kat was more than an answer to her prayers because she was also meant to be a part of Emma’s life in the form of a teacher and mentor teaching her how to use and control her abilities. In that moment, she was filled with so much gratitude and hope that Kat would be able to help Justin as well.

The sound of an empty wheel barrow being rolled across the concrete driveway echoed through the quiet street until Michael brought it to a halt by the end of Kat’s car. When he peered into her opened trunk, he finally understood the need for one.

“What’s all that salt for?” Michael asked, trying to count how many cartons there were.

“Salt is a natural cleanser. It’ll absorb all the negative energy in and around your house.” Kat said, as she began to load the cartons into the wheel barrow.

“What are you going to do with it?” Michael jumped in to help.

“We’re going to encircle your house with it.” Kat put the last carton on top of the pile then closed her trunk. She went to grab the wheel barrow, but Michael quickly got there before her.

“Where do you want me to put them?” Michael lifted the handles up ready to wheel it to wherever Kat needed them.

“Over there on the left side of the porch steps.” Kat pointed to the spot she wanted.

When Kat joined him, she pulled a small bottle of water out of the pocket of her blue jeans then she stood over the cartons of natural salt. She muttered a few words to herself while making the sign of the cross over the cartons. Opening the small bottle, which bore a raised cross upon it, she began to sprinkle tiny droplets of water across them.

“What are you doing?” Michael had a hunch, but he just wanted to make sure he was right.

“I’m consecrating the salt and asking God to sanctify it.” Kat shared. Turning to Lucy, she said, “I need you and Dobson to stay out here with us.”

“I’ll go get him.” Lucy quickly disappeared then reappeared at the top of the stairs by Emma’s room. “Dobson!” She called out.

Within a blink of an eye, Dobson was standing beside her. “What’s up?” He asked.

“Kat wants us to stay outside with her while she gets rid of Carl.” Lucy was feeling so at ease because she has a lot of faith in Kat. She reached over and took a hold of Dobson’s hand before they disappeared out of view to materialize in the front yard.

Once Kat saw they were out, she pushed the button on her two-way radio, “Okay, everyone, it’s time. Come meet us outside.” She directed.

“Copy that.” Julie answered, before they all strode out of the house.

“I need all of you to grab a carton of salt.” Kat told them. “We’re going to encircle the house with a half an inch-wide line of salt starting right here when I come back.” She pointed to the left side of the pathway before she ran up the stairs.

Standing in the middle of the foyer, Kat took a moment to center herself with some deep breathing, and she imagined herself being grounded to the Earth and surrounded by the white light of the holy spirit.

“Carl!” Kat spoke in a stern loud voice. “It’s time for you to leave this house! We’re going to encircle you with salt, and if you don’t leave, you’ll be trapped here for all eternity!” She commanded.

A loud rumble shook the house. Suddenly, the large black cloud appeared at the top of the stairs, and Carl emerged out of it. He rushed down the stairs to stand nose to nose with Kat, but she didn’t flinch.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Carl yelled in Kat’s face then he smirked a toothless grin at her in the most threatening way.

Kat remained calm and didn’t move an inch away from him. “I’m telling you again it’s time for you to leave this house, and you can never return.” She reiterated.

Carl ran his fingers through his greasy hair with frustration before he disappeared, and when he did, the house became heavy with his negative energy swirling all around her, but before he could surround her, Kat calmly walked out of the front door.

Lucy could see Carl peering out of the living room window at them, and he looked very angry.

Picking up a carton of salt, Kat went over to the spot she pointed to before she went in and began to pour a line of salt in a clockwise direction. They all took turns in succession pouring salt around the house until they reached the right side of the pathway.

“Stop right here. We need a three-foot opening that I’ll close after he leaves.” Kat turned and ran up the stairs to the front door. When she stepped in, she was immediately assaulted by a stank odor that permeated throughout the house.

Outside everyone stood on each side of the pathway waiting.

“You have five minutes to leave before we close the circle and trap you here forever!” Kat announced with defiance as a loud banging noise echoed above her.

After a minute passed, Kat announced, “Four minutes left!” She glanced at the dining room then the living room as the banging grew louder and came from a new location.

Another minute passed, “You have three minutes to leave and never return or you’ll be trapped here for eternity!” Kat shouted.

“You bitch!” Greasy Carl’s voice screamed out.

“Two minutes left!” Kat yelled back when another minute passed.

All at once, the bedroom doors slammed shut and shook violently in their casings. The family pictures, that were hanging on the walls upstairs, began to fly off their hooks.

“One minute! It’s time for you to go now, Carl!” Kat demanded before she walked out of the door and jogged down the porch steps. She picked up the last carton of salt and stood on the pathway next to where they stopped the line of salt and waited.

As the last seconds started to tick away, Kat began to close the circle.

Out of nowhere, Lucy saw a huge black mass materialize in the doorway with Greasy Carl’s head popping out it then it suddenly came rushing out of the front door with an icy cold blast of air and darted through the small opening in the line of salt just before Kat closed the circle.

“Did you feel that?” Emma asked, after she felt the icy wind blow on her face.

“I sure did.” Michael put his arm around his daughter.

“Carl took the poltergeist with him!” Lucy exclaimed. Grabbing Dobson’s hands, they danced around in celebration.

“Are you sure, Lucy?” Kat asked, hoping it was true.

Hearing Lucy’s name, immediately caught Michael and Emma’s attention. They stood there fixated on Kat waiting to hear more.

Lucy instantly stopped her celebration to answer, “Very sure. It looked like Carl is merging with the black mass, and it rushed past you before you closed the circle.”

“What’s my mom saying?” Emma couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“She said Carl took the poltergeist with him. They’re both gone.” Kat said, with a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much.” Michael shook Kat’s hand. “I’m so grateful for your help.” He said, his voice was full of sincerity.

“You’re welcome.” Kat smiled then tucked her red hair behind her ears. “But we’re not done yet.” She refocused. “Julie will lead us in a prayer to show our gratitude for bringing peace into your home and to ask God to bless this house.”

Quickly, they held hands to form a circle then Julie recited her prayer.

“Now, we need to light those candle sticks and incense in each room and let them burn until they go out on their own.” Kat instructed. “Then we have a big mess to clean up.” Turning to Emma and Michael, she said, “Leave this circle for 24 hours so he can’t get back in,” before she ran up the steps.  

“Are you coming, Dad?” Emma asked.

“No. You go ahead. I’ll clean up out here.” Michael told her as he bent over to pick up an empty carton of salt.

“Okay.” Emma started for the door, but she stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Isn’t Kat great?” She asked.

Michael smiled at his daughter. “Yeah. She’s pretty terrific.” He answered reflectively.

After Emma left, Michael was finally alone, or so he thought.

Lucy was standing with him in the front yard watching as he picked up all the empty cartons and put them in the wheel barrow, but instead of wheeling them to the garbage can, he just stood there staring at his house. Out of curiousity, she tuned into her husband.

Michael was thinking about Justin which caused him to slip his hand into his pocket and retrieve the box that was found in the attic. He gave it a little shake to verify if it had anything inside and its contents rattled an answer.

“Open it.” Lucy whispered in Michael’s ear.

Come back next week to see how Michael deals with Justin. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Bye for now.

Email: Remyel@hotmail.com

Picture courtesy of: Pexels

If you’d like to read Lucy’s story from the beginning, click on this link: Lucy in the Afterlife: The Beginning.