Note: e-Books are for electronic enjoyment only. They may not be edited or printed.
Book Information
Genre:
FICTION / General
Publication:
Sep 17, 2009
Pages:
219
Books by Sharon Buckless
The Ainsworths moved into their new family home in a secluded little town, Big Bear Lake, set high up in the mountains. Unbeknownst to them, the previous family living in the home, the Johnsons, suffered a tragic ending to their lives in that home. Except, the Johnsons were not aware they were dead. The Johnson family quickly made their ethereal presence known to the new inhabitants whom they did not welcome in the house that Richard, the departed husband, built with his own two hands. His family kept an ominous secret. They had one mission to pursue from the “other side” before they could cross over into the light; although, they needed the assistance of the new tenants in their well preserved home to accomplish their deadly plot. With escalating terrors, the Ainsworth’s story told mesmerizingly by the wife, Susan, come the icy reality they must comply with the unholy power of the Johnsons. The most menacing member of the Johnson family is the dangerous and brutal son-in-law, Charlie. His sinister spirit seeks to destroy these two families. Both families’ lives eventually become intertwined as they link forces in this nightmarishly distorted scheme. Earthly fears turn into supernatural terrors. Forces of damnation are unleashed in their evil web of unspoken sins. All members of each family, from within and against each other, become demonic adversaries. There is no escape from the shadows that loom in every dark corner. This evocative story is grippingly realistic with its living, breathing and believable characters. The reader is immediately drawn into the macabre tale as if reading Susan’s personal memoirs. The chain of events are like a roller coaster ride that will keep you utterly captivated as each savage struggle between human and ghost unfold. The possessed house will lead you straight into the darkness with its unholy power.
I was lying in bed by myself. I was in that state of semi-consciousness, between deep-sleep mode and maybe considering waking up.
I felt the weight of a body sit down at the edge of the bed.
I said aloud from under the covers, “Where is Brandon? Did you leave him downstairs?”
I waited for an answer. I thought, “What is wrong with Brian? Why is he not answering me?”
I lifted the blanket from my face to see what the heck Brian was doing that delayed him answering me. What I saw next nearly gave me a complete coronary attack.
There was a small-framed old woman with white curly short hair, sitting at my feet. She had very translucent skin. She wore what looked like white powder on her face that further whitened her skin texture. She had many wrinkles on her face. Her eyebrows were so light, and covered in the white powder, they were almost non-existent.
The old woman’s frame was extremely petite. She seemed to have bones sticking out everywhere. Her clothes hung from her like a hanger. She wore a dark blue matronly dress with buttons in the front that led up to a very high ruffle collar at the base of her neck.
Her butt was gently resting against the tips of my toes. This woman was staring straight ahead as if deep in thought.
Then, she slowly turned her head to the right so she could look at me directly. A big smile spread across her face. It appeared as if she began laughing a little bit but with absolutely no humor in her eyes. She seemed to have perfect straight white teeth that appeared to be dentures, well kept, with no stains. She had dead dull grayish eyes—of no real color actually. The wrinkles she wore on her face ran deep, like crevices from her forehead to her chin. One could follow a map on her face; the lines were evidence of a tough life.
I felt frozen in my spot on the bed. I felt the bile rise up in my throat from overwhelming fear. There was no throwing that blanket over my face to make it go away this time; we sat there together in an intimate position with her so close and touching my foot.
I stared straight at her; she was staring straight at me. My heart was pounding in my throat. As if time stood frozen, she sat there with that mocking smile on her face. I got the creepy feeling she was gazing right into my soul. My mind felt open and vulnerable to her energy.
My voice stuck in my throat, I could say nothing, I could do nothing; except sit and stare right back at her. I swallowed down the vomit that had risen in my throat.
After a few seconds, she dissipated into thin air, as if she was never there, as if she was never touching my left foot. Was I dreaming her? Did I just wake up, this very moment?
In my heart and in my head, I knew better. These were no dreams. These things were really happening. They were happening with more frequency now. Before I could think any further, I heard Brian’s footsteps running full throttle up the stairs. He was yelling, “Susan! Susan!”
I jumped out of bed. We bumped into each other in the doorway of our bedroom. I yelled impatiently, “What! What! What’s going on?”
Brian gave me a confused look. He was running up to tell me something but sensed that I had some news for him, too.
He saw the paleness of my face; before he could go on with his story, he stopped for a moment, and looked at me again. He held me tight by the shoulders and asked, “Are YOU okay? You don’t look right. All the blood is drained from your face.”
I began half-crying when I told him what had just happened. I tried to get it out quickly, because I knew his purpose of running up was to tell me something important. When I finished up, I said, “What did you run up to tell me?”
I suspect he now regretted letting on to me that something had happened because he did not want to upset me further but it was far too late for that. Brian said as calmly as he could, “I saw 'the gentleman', Susan." I saw Richard exactly the way Aaron described him.”
I asked, “What happened? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” I began surveying Brian up and down but it was obvious that he was not injured. Brian appeared shaken up but physically intact.
Brian said almost defensively, “No, of course not, I am fine. He couldn’t touch me,” as if to imply he could take care of himself. He’s a man; as such, I should not question his masculinity.
Brian continued as if dismissing my question, “Brandon and I were in my office. He said he was hungry. He said he wanted a "Lunchable." I got up and headed to the kitchen, walking towards the refrigerator. I heard several voices coming from the direction of the living room. It was almost like a party. Some sort of social gathering anyway. There were voices speaking loudly and a whole lot of laughter.”
He took a deep breath and grimaced, “I heard a young male voice say in a loud, clear voice, ‘Here he comes! Be quiet! He’s coming! I can see him coming this way!’ I then began rushing to the living room to see who these strangers were in our home. I thought maybe Aaron was having people over and hanging out in the living rom. The voice was one I surely didn’t recognize. It was no one we know.”
Then, it seemed to get a little more arduous for Brian to speak, “That’s when I saw ‘the gentleman.’ He was coming directly at me very fast from the living room. He seemed to be walk/gliding. It was as if his body was going through an aggressive walking motion towards me but his feet were not touching the ground. He was sort of gliding, yet his feet were moving in a fast-paced walking motion. He seemed to be strutting towards me in a determined way. He walked a heavy step that did not carry a sound. He seemed to be telling me that I couldn’t go into the living room. He was creating a diversion, to distract me from what I might see in there. It was like he was trying to block my view.”
I was much more scared now and shaking. I asked weakly, “What did you do?”
He answered incredulously, “I couldn’t keep going straight towards him. I would run right into him, so I backed up a few steps. He seemed to be satisfied. It was as if he had stopped me in my tracks long enough for the “people” in the living room to make a quick exit. I never did see whom the voices belonged to in the living room. There was sound of a mocking laughter that kind of faded away.” He said the last sentence off-handedly as if trying to place the last sound he had heard. He had a very pensive look on his face, as he stood deep in thought, trying to relive in his mind of what he had just seen.
We read about things like this, or saw them in movies. It was very difficult to wrap our brains around the fact that they were happening to us now. We were not equipped to deal with these confrontations. As I have said before, they frighten me. I want to run from them. I have no inclination just to get rid of them; I think we should just comply with what the house wants to do—get rid of us.
Brian brought me out of my train of thought, “Let’s go downstairs into the living room now, to make sure it is empty.” It did not sound like a good idea to me. I walked right behind him anyway. I was clinging to the back of his shirt, walking directly behind him with my head down so I could not see what was in front of him.
My plan was to base what was going on in the living room by the physical re-action that Brian gave. I was prepared to run out the front door, if necessary. The front door was directly straight ahead of us once you walk down the stairwell and into the living room. My left hand was ready to turn that knob and get the hell out of there.
Brian’s pace was very slow. I just kept enough distance behind him so I could make a mad dash. My heart was pounding now.
When Brian got to the doorway of the living room, he just stood there for a moment. I felt no reaction at all from him.
I opened one eye; then, I peeked around his right shoulder. The only thing I saw was our dog, Daisy, laying on the floor with the right side of her body leaned up against the couch. Her head tilted up with her eyes half-closed, she had a small rapid lick going with her tongue. She always does this little lick when we pet her directly on the top of her head.
I looked a little more closely at the top of her head. I could actually see the hair on her scalp moving back and forth in a brisk and firm manner. A strong, invisible hand was giving Daisy a brisk pat on her head. Daisy loved it. She had no fear of who ever was petting her head. She was just enjoying the affection. What a traitor! Our dog was letting the enemy pet her head. She welcomed it, in fact.
Brian and I stood frozen in the doorway. I did not run, after all, as I had originally planned. I said in little more than a whisper in Brian’s ear, “Do you see that?”
He responded in an even lower voice turning his head towards me behind him, “Do you mean the top of her head moving like some one is petting her?”
At that second, the petting stopped. Daisy put her head down as if she was aware the entity was gone. The petting halted, she promptly dropped her head to the floor. She shut her eyes in a very relaxed manner. There was no sense of alarm in her. She was completely comfortable with what ever just caressed her. I was beginning to think this was not the first time this had happened.
I said, hysterically now, “Now it’s done. Do you see? She’s going to sleep; what the hell is going on, Brian? How long do you expect me to live with this terror? Tell me, what are we going to do?” My voice was raising an octave with each question. I kept telling myself to stay rational. Having a total meltdown at this time was not going to help anything or anyone.
Brandon had been in Brian’s office. He stepped into the living room to see what was going on. Daddy had been out of his office for a little while. He had been waiting for him to come back with his Lunchable, to no avail.
Brandon saw the alarmed look on our faces. He asked very innocently, “What’s wrong, Mommy? What’s wrong, Daddy? Did something happen?”
He sensed something was amiss but had no clue what it could be. Not one knick-knack was out of place.
Brian answered quickly while scooping Brandon up in his arms, “Nothing is wrong! Why would you think some thing is wrong? Does anything look wrong? We’re just standing here, silly!”
Brandon’s little face looked relieved and he wailed, “You took so long, Daddy. I was waiting for you. I’m huuuuuungry!”
Brian put his lower lip out in a small pout and said to him, “I’m sorry, pal! I meant to hurry back to you. I got distracted. I didn’t mean to take so long.”
Brandon asked very confused, “What is ‘stracted mean?”
Brian laughed and said, “DISSSS-TRACTED means that I got side-tracked. I was going to come out to get you a Lunchable but then some thing else got my attention. Were you okay in there, little guy?” Brian threw in the last question to show his concern.
Brandon’s smile spread across his face and he said, “I was good! There was a nice old man with white hair and a BIIIIIG cow boy hat that put me on his knee!”
About Sharon Buckless
The author, Sharon Buckless, lives in Murrieta, California. She has been happily married for 14 years. She is the mother of two sons. Her career was spent at the City of Los Angeles. She stopped working after giving birth to her second son. She now enjoys writing novels; it is her passion.
The Ainsworths moved into their new family home in a secluded little town, Big Bear Lake, set high up in the mountains. Unbeknownst to them, the previous family living in the home, the Johnsons, suffered a tragic ending to their lives in that home. Except, the Johnsons were not aware they were dead. The Johnson family quickly made their ethereal presence known to the new inhabitants whom they did not welcome in the house that Richard, the departed husband, built with his own two hands. His family kept an ominous secret. They had one mission to pursue from the “other side” before they could cross over into the light; although, they needed the assistance of the new tenants in their well preserved home to accomplish their deadly plot. With escalating terrors, the Ainsworth’s story told mesmerizingly by the wife, Susan, come the icy reality they must comply with the unholy power of the Johnsons. The most menacing member of the Johnson family is the dangerous and brutal son-in-law, Charlie. His sinister spirit seeks to destroy these two families. Both families’ lives eventually become intertwined as they link forces in this nightmarishly distorted scheme. Earthly fears turn into supernatural terrors. Forces of damnation are unleashed in their evil web of unspoken sins. All members of each family, from within and against each other, become demonic adversaries. There is no escape from the shadows that loom in every dark corner. This evocative story is grippingly realistic with its living, breathing and believable characters. The reader is immediately drawn into the macabre tale as if reading Susan’s personal memoirs. The chain of events are like a roller coaster ride that will keep you utterly captivated as each savage struggle between human and ghost unfold. The possessed house will lead you straight into the darkness with its unholy power.
The author, Sharon Buckless, lives in Murrieta, California. She has been happily married for 14 years. She is the mother of two sons. Her career was spent at the City of Los Angeles. She stopped working after giving birth to her second son. She now enjoys writing novels; it is her passion.