“Eliza, if you can hear me, forgive my question. We didn’t consider how many times you must have heard that. No disrespect was meant,” I called out.
“Forgiven,”the whispered floated back.
“We’ll leave you in peace,” I replied.
“Goodbye!”Eliza replied cheerfully.
“Well, she didn’t want us sticking around,” Chey stated, amused.
We began walking back to the car for a break and to eat when I glanced left. “Sunny!” I hissed.
Quickly, he turned and lifted the camera. Marching in fours, ghosts marched around the corner of the church. None of them paid us any attention; their eyes focused on something we couldn’t see.
“They’re wearing old-fashioned uniforms,” Celt murmured.
“Yeah,” I said, watching as a mist rose and swallowed them.
“Did they notice us?” Chey asked.
“No, I got the feeling they were residual, not intelligent,” I replied.
“What does that mean?” Celt asked.
“The best explanation is history is stuck on repeat. They’re not aware of their surroundings; they’re just repeating what they did in the past—rather a snapshot of an event,” I said.
“Like a film replay?” Chey frowned.
“Yeah, exactly like that,” I agreed.
“Let’s get some food down to us and then finish up here, although I don’t think we’ll get much more,” Sunny interrupted.
I nodded and followed him back to the SUV.
Jack
The house had been quiet all night. Almost as if it were sulking. It was unhappy with the change of teams, even though Michelle remained. There’d been no reply to our call-outs or temperature readings, and everything stayed stable. Considering how much activity Callie and the others had seen, this was vaguely disappointing and frustrating.
Four a.m. was creeping up when something finally happened. We’d been in the attic bedroom when we heard a noise. Shivers ran down my spine as I realised I was listening to heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Connor and I swapped glances and moved in front of Michelle.
“Isn’t Merrick downstairs?” Connor whispered.
“Yeah,” I murmured. Merrick had decided to join us as we were a smaller team. He was on guard duty during the night.
“Merrick, whereabouts?” Phil asked over the radio.
“Doing rounds outside,” Merrick replied.
“Come inside, we’ve got footsteps,” Phil said.
“On my way.”
What sounded like boots stomped with each step, and the door opened. We all watched, but nothing entered. Michelle stepped forward, her cross clutched in her hand, and she slowly moved forward.
A loud bang made us all jump as the door slammed shut, and boot steps stomped down the stairs.
“Blast, we’re locked in,” Michelle said, turning the handle and pulling.
I walked over and tried it myself.
