The Presence

Chapter One: Home sweet home

*** One Year Later ***

Something jars me awake and I sit up to find Mom's still driving. It's been hours since we left Kentucky and honestly, I thought we'd be there by now.

"Welcome back," mom says.

"Sorry, I guess I dozed off." Mom hits another pothole and Megan springs up from the back seat. As she rubs her eyes I can't help but snicker. She gives me the look and leans up between us.

"How much farther is it?" She asks while yawning at the same time.

"You two sleepyheads are just in time." She turns down a gravel road and after a couple minutes our house comes into view. It's an old wooden two story house that I know I've seen in at least a dozen horror movies.

After pulling into the drive Megan and I get out.  As we stare at the house a chill goes down my spine.

"Max," she whispers.

"I know sis.  I felt it too."

From the corner of my eye something moves and my attention focuses on an upstairs window. As I focus in a drape falls as if someone had just let it go.  I continue to stare at the house unable to take my eyes off it.  Somehow, I feel as if... It's looking back.

Megan touches me and I snap out of it.  "Are you okay?" I nod and she turns toward the car.  "Mom, you can't be serious. Please tell me this is not our house."

"Yes, this is it. Oh I know it needs a little fixing up, but to my eyes it looks wonderful." Mom tosses me the keys. "Max, you two go unlock the front door while I call the movers to see where they are."

Megan and I slowly walk toward the front porch. With each step the feeling of dread grows stronger.  If houses had a soul, this one would be pure evil. After climbing the steps we stop at the door.

"Can you feel it?" She asks.

"Yeah, definitely."

After glancing at each other our stare returns to the door. Taking a deep breath I reach out to put the key into the lock, but before I can, the door gently opens...  Staring into the hall a cold breeze comes out of nowhere and rushes past us and we hear a child's distant laughter.

"I think I may sleep in the car tonight," Megan says as she tries to rub the chill bumps from her arms.

"We've been through worse.  Remember?"

"That's what I'm afraid of... it getting worse."

"Come on.  We've got to check it out before mom comes inside."  Taking a deep breath we step inside.

Straight ahead I see a staircase in front of us at the end of a large hallway. It has five steps that lead to a landing then turns to the left and the right continuing up on both sides.

Looking to my left there's a large arched doorway that leads to the living-room. I take a closer look and find it's filled with old furniture covered with sheets. There's also very old pictures of the family that used to live here hanging on the walls.

Turning around I see Megan's across the hall from me looking inside another one.  Walking over to her I find it's an old study and that all the furniture is covered as well.

Mom walks inside and seems to be a little disappointed. "The movers won't be here until sometime tomorrow." She notices our gaze and looks inside the study, "Oh."

"Yeah.  We wouldn't have anywhere to put our stuff even if they were here," I say.

"They told me all of this was sold at auction." She walks into the room and takes off the sheets. The furniture underneath is antique and is in very good condition.

"Well, this is getting better and better. If the rest of the rooms are like this, we won't need our stuff." As she turns and goes to check out the other rooms Megan and I look at each other.

"There's no way I'm staying here."

"Sis, I don't think we have a choice."

Megan turns and walks away.  "Mom. We need to talk."

I shake my head and grin. She can argue all she wants but Mom isn't going to change her mind. She loves old houses and antiques. Besides, all the paperwork has been signed. The house is ours, and from what I'm feeling, we may have a lot more here than we bargained for.

It's just before nightfall; Megan and I are sitting on the edge of the front porch. We've worked hard on the house all day taking down the sheets and cleaning all the rooms.

"I'm exhausted," Megan says and lies back on the porch.

"Yeah, me too." Hearing a car I see Mom pulling into the driveway. "Come on sis."

We drag ourselves up and help her unload the car. She's bought new sheets and blankets for the beds and something more important... pizza.

After eating we're all resting at the kitchen table. Mom seems to be very happy with the house, but for Megan and I it's a different story.

"Mom, how did you find this house anyway?" Megan asks.

"Well, after I got my new job I started searching the internet for somewhere to live. I looked for hours and everything I found was way out of our price range. I't was late and a little after one.  I was about to give up when the screen flickered and this house suddenly appeared.  I immediately fell in love with it, especially when I saw the price," she pauses a moment. "I still can't believe my luck. It was like someone led me straight to it."

Megan and I exchange a glance. "So, here we are in Loretto, Tennessee."

Mom's cell phone rings. "It's work calling," she says and answers. "Hello.  Yes this is Lisa Blackwell."  She gets up and goes into the living room.

Leaning back I think about what happened to us back in Kentucky. We didn't know it at the time, but that day changed our lives forever.  Megan believes we received a gift.  We can sense and see things others can't.  She seems to be better at it than I am and can see spirits that I can't, but at times I can still feel their presence and see them if the spirit is powerful enough. 

Something else was awakened inside me that day.  So far, I've been able to keep it a secret even from Megan.  Deep down I believe we were touched by a spirit from another world and for better or worse, we now have abilities no one else has.

"Sis, close your eyes and see if you can sense anything before Mom comes back."

She hesitates a moment, then relents. Suddenly her hair is blown back. She stands quickly backing up against the sink. Rushing over I grab her shoulders as she tries to recover.

"Max, there's something very evil in this place."

Looking at the terror in her eyes and the experience we just had I have no doubt anymore.

We are definitely, not alone...

Hey everyone. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. It's full of twists, turns and clues in each chapter that will tie into another. I hope you'll continue to join the Blackwell twins on their journey as they seek answers to the house, the spirits, and their Destiny is revealed.