𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 05
3𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯

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— "HAVE YOU HEARD..." Sam began lowly, his head bent and his eyes appearing darker than normal as he peered up at Jasper who sat across from him and Colby in the lobby of Yorktown Hospital, "of the ESTES method?"

Jasper sat criss-crossed on the floor of the lobby, the room they'd deemed safe in the hospital as the only spirits they'd encountered here had been kind. Noah and Beau had to leave as it got later and later, leaving Jasper alone with the paranormal duo as they started the next part of their investigation. Slowly, he shook his head, his expression a strange mix of curiosity and uncertainty.

After explaining the method, they had another question for him, "Do you want to try it today?" Colby asked with a grin.

Jasper almost said no. But something tugged at him, and he was nodding before he could stop himself. "Why not?" He spoke.

It took ten minutes to set everything up, Jasper had a sleek red blindfold wrapped around his eyes, large noise-canceling headphones over his ears, a radio in his hand, and loud static booming in his ears.

"Are there any spirits in the room with us?" Sam asked carefully.

"Five." Jasper responded faster than any responses they'd had in the past.

"Are any of the nuns here?" Colby asked next.

"Pray." He spoke and then a moment later, "Sins."

"Do the nuns not like us being here?" Sam asked cautiously, having heard stories of the nuns being malicious towards those who took pictures or videos in their hospital.

"Do you want to play a game?" Jasper asked and then exclaimed, "Woah that was really loud."

"Is this Annie?" Sam asked. Annie was a child spirit said to roam the halls, specifically playing games in the lobby with the guests.

Jasper frowned in confusion, "There's just laughter... like a kid laughing."

"What game do you want to play?" Colby asked.

"Hide."

"Hide and seek?" Sam assumed.

"Run." He said and then another moment later, "They're coming."

Sam and Colby shared an uneasy look. This was more activity than they were used to getting so fast with the ESTES method. "Who's coming?"

"New people." He stated bravely, then, "They don't belong here."

"Did they follow us here?"

Jasper nodded absentmindedly, "Him."

"Who?" Colby questioned, "Who are they following?" He hoped none of them had an attachment again. That had not been fun in the past.

"Waiting for." Jasper told them in a tone that was a strange mix of confusion and correction.

Sam frowned, connecting the dots, "They're not following us. They're waiting for something." He theorized and then asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Not a second later, he responded, "Jett."

"Jett?" Colby frowned, wracking his brain, his frown deepened as he came to a realization, "Isn't that... isn't that Jasper's last name?" He asked turning to Sam with an unsettled expression.

Jasper nodded subconsciously and answered, "Him."

"You're waiting for Jasper?" Sam questioned to confirm their suspicions. Colby's hand twitched with the urge to end this now as the conversation grew more and more strange.

"Briar Manor." Sam and Colby share a startled look, nobody knew of their plans to invite Jasper on another video specifically to Briar Manor. Nobody even knew they would be going to the haunted manor.

"Waiting for him." He repeated before jolting violently as a scream loud enough for both Sam and Colby to hear through the noise-canceling headphones filled the empty lobby of the abandoned hospital. He swiftly pulled the headphones off as though they burned, he looked at them with a confused frown, "I just heard a scream."

"We heard it too." Colby stated, sharing a look with Sam.

"What?" Jasper asked, spotting the strange look the duo exchanged, "What is it?"

"We tried focusing on the spirits of the hospital but aside from a young child's spirit who came in at first, everything focused on something else entirely." Sam explained, looking at Colby for help.

"It was focused on you, Jasper."

Jasper frowned intently, "Me? Why would it focus on me?"

"We have been getting more activity with you here, and you seem to be sensitive to the spirits. From what we've seen in the past, they know when people can see or sense them and are almost... attracted to it." Colby further explained, "But..."

"But?" Jasper questioned, leaning forward with an unsettling feeling in his gut.

"But this felt different." Sam stated, "They said they were waiting for something or someone and then called out your name."

Jasper shook his head in disbelief, even as they showed him the footage of the entire session. He couldn't believe it. Or rather, he wanted to be able not to believe it but everything pointed to it being the truth, from the feeling in his gut to the unsettled and open expressions on Sam and Colby's faces. He knew from everything he'd seen so far that they didn't fake things, and they wouldn't fake this. But still, wouldn't it be so much easier to say it was fake? To walk away from this and not believe?

"You're more than just sensitive to spirits, aren't you?" Colby blurted out suddenly, stopping Jasper's train of thought as he looked at him in shock, "I mean you mentioned a past with the paranormal before, and from what we've seen... I mean..."

Jasper sighed, he knew he couldn't hide this, not when he ran from it for so long only for the paranormal to find him again. It was like the paranormal was drawn to him and would never let him escape.

"I've sensed, seen, and heard spirits since I was a child." He admitted looking past them at the dark corridor that loomed over their surprised faces, "My grandma grew up in a small town in Kansas that was in her words surrounded by darkness and a beacon to the paranormal. She has the same abilities as me except hers... they only came around fully when her brother disappeared after investigating the haunted house across the street."

Jasper shook his head, "But I don't do anything with the paranormal. I don't communicate, I don't investigate haunted places, I stay as far away from them as possible."

"So... why did you agree to come with us?" Colby asked in confusion.

"Honestly? I don't really know." He admitted sheepishly, "I almost felt like something was pulling me to do it like I couldn't say no." He shook his head as he remembered the all encompassing feeling that overwhelmed him when he received the message from the duo. He hadn't even hesitated then, the strange pull inside him as he typed his response without a thought.

He wondered if he'd come to regret it then after realizing he couldn't take it back. Now he was starting to think he would. But the concern on their faces and the way they've acted told him they wouldn't let him get hurt, that he was safe with them, he just had to believe it.

Sam frowned, a question on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't stop himself from asking, "What... what town was your grandma from?"

Jasper frowned in confusion but answered nonetheless. "Briar's Edge."

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*＊

1,200 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

Definitely a shorter one compared to last chapter but we are starting to get more into the full plot of the story so I'm excited, hope yall enjoyed!
I actually wasn't planning on writing any more for this book this week but after watching part 2 of the Conjuring I just had to write another chapter.