Heaven

Chapter 10- The Mark of Cain

The room was dimley lighted. A single tubelight flickered weakly, its light barely holding back the heavy shadows stretching across the wallpaper.

"This is the room I told you about," Martha Garth murmured, her voice hushed as though afraid to disturb the silence.
Selene Ravensmith stepped forward, her dark cloak rustling as she examined the space with knowing eyes. She ran a gloved hand along the worn wooden dresser.

"You said you bought this house from someone?" Selene asked, her voice calm yet probing.

"Yes," Martha nodded. "Only a few years ago. It seemed like a good deal at the time..."

Selene glanced at her, sensing the hesitation. "You regret it ?"

Martha exhaled shakily. "At first, I didn’t believe my daughter. She said she heard scratching noises, saw things moving by themselves. I told her it was just her imagination—until I saw it too. Footsteps in empty halls. Objects shifting in the night."

Selene tilted her head, her eyes unreadable. "You know I can’t banish a spirit for you, right? I’m just a medium. I can speak with the dead, but I don’t command them."

"But I’ve seen mediums on TV do it, spirit removals..."

"Oh, you mean people like Lucian Graves?" Selene scoffed, crossing her arms. "That fraud? A showman playing pretend with staged possessions and cold readings. He wouldn’t last a second in a truly haunted place."

Martha shivered. "So, there's nothing you can do?"

Selene ignored the question, her gaze drifting to the wallpaper. Something about it felt... wrong. The faded floral patterns bore deep, jagged scratches, like the frantic clawing of someone desperate to escape.

Selene reached into her pocket, retrieving a blade etched with runes. "Get me a knife," she commanded.

Martha hurried from the room and returned with a kitchen knife. Selene pressed it against the wallpaper and, with a practiced motion, cut through the fragile paper. Beneath it, hidden in the plaster,—a name. And beside it, height markings.
Eva—145 cm.

"What was the previous owner's name again?"

"It wasn’t a direct sale. We bought it from a dealer. I remember her saying it used to belong to some boxer."

Selene closed her eyes and pressed her palm to the cold, marked wall. A wave of energy surged through her—a vision unfolded in her mind’s eye.
Darkness. A man fighting against shadows that coiled around him like hungry serpents. A soul teetering on the edge, waiting to fall. The spirits weren’t haunting this place... they were waiting.

Her eyes snapped open, her pupils dilated with revelation. "No," she whispered. "He’s still alive."
Martha stiffened. "What?"

Selene took a step back, shaking her head. "Dark forces are circling him. They can't take him yet. They're waiting... waiting for his life force to flicker out so they can devour him whole."

Martha’s face drained of color. "What can we do? How do we stop this?"

Selene exhaled, her expression grim. "I'm sorry," she said, stepping away from the wall, her fingers tingling with residual energy. "This is above my pay grade."
The Tube flickered—then went out.

A slow creak echoed through the empty house.
Someome else was here.
Someone listening.

Benjamin stepped into the hospital room, greeted by Ana’s tired smile.

"Hello, Cho," she said softly.

"Hey. Where’s Eva? I was thinking of taking her out to your husband's old house today... with everything going on."