Haunted House Flipper

Chapter 18

We worked our way through the house. To my relief Claire couldn't find anything major inside that would need to be repaired. Just some updating in the kitchen, a whole lot of cleaning, and a lot of painting.

As we went through the main floor and the second story she took notes in a little notepad. Then we headed back down to the main floor to visit the basement. As she saw the rooms she saw the potential and grew more excited about working on it with me. She stopped as I started down the steps to the basement.

"Just a sec. I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"Now before I say this I need you to trust me and you can't get all upset again. Okay?" Claire asked.

I did not like the sound of that.

"I'll try," I said.

"I think it would be best to hire a painting crew too. That is something I know we can find cheap and just about anyone can paint. I'll make sure they're doing it right, but dude this is a lot of house. Painting it will really help it look fresh and inviting, but it's going to take years if just the two of us do it. I'm not kidding."

"Okay."

She smiled.

"Just like that huh? Impossible a little while ago but now you're willing to listen?"

"I think we should do as much of it as we can, but I've always hated painting. We can definitely hire out for a lot of that."

She looked at me with a stunned expression.

"What?" I said. "I hate painting."

She started laughing and shook her head.

"You're an interesting one Ray."

I loved hearing her say my name, and I love hearing her laugh. Claire laughs a lot at all kinds of things. It's something I've come to love about her. She doesn't laugh at everything either, like some people do. She has a great sense of humor, and the best laugh of anyone I've ever met.

She looked down into the basement and stopped laughing.

"Let me guess?" Claire asked. "You encountered the demon down there?"

She pointed down the huge set of stairs.

"Well yeah, but the first time was when he surprised me by grabbing the sword in the kitchen. I ran right out of the house that time and spotted him when I turned around and looked through the door. Then I ran to my car and left," I said.

"I don't blame you. You sure he's gone?" she asked.

I pulled the sword from my hip and held it up.

"I'll go first," I said.

My action felt really awesome and dramatic, but she didn't react like I was expecting her to.

"Are you just gesturing, or did you really just grab the sword?"

"I have the sword."

"I know you have the sword, but are you holding it?"

Then instead of feeling like an awesome warrior I felt like an idiot.

"Yes. I'm holding the sword," I said in a disappointed tone.

To her it just looked like I was pulling a pretend sword from my hip, like a guy playing air guitar or something. It's hard to get used to the idea that you and demons are the only ones who can see your awesome sword. I lead the way down the stairs with my invisible sword held high.

I made it to the bottom of the stairs. Even though she was in far better shape than me, I had to wait a while for her to catch up. Claire is the toughest woman I have ever met, but she is terrified of demons and could barely get herself to walk down those stairs.

A couple days before then I would have laughed at her, but I knew all too well how real they were. I didn't blame her for being so scared. Honestly I was still scared myself, but I had seen what the sword could do when you were using it in the service of others. I reached the basement and waited for her to make it all the way down.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Let's just get this over with so I can get back outside. You need to get the power turned back on if you're going to get me to work in here."

"Okay. I'll work on that. For now let's check it out. There's a lot of room but not much to see," I said.

"It's freezing down here. Isn't it like always way colder when evil spirits are around?" Claire asked.

"I think it's just because we're under ground."

"Of course, but it's like really cold down here. Unnaturally cold. Are you sure that demon is gone?"

"I have my glasses on and all I can see is my sword. This main area is just one big room but there are a few more back here," I said.

"I'm sorry dude, but I just can't do this right now. Maybe we can come back down here later today, but I've got to get back outside in the sunlight for a little while. Maybe some work will get my mind off of how creepy this basement is," Claire said.

"Come on. We'll be out of here in a minute. You just need to see these last two rooms," I said.

"Okay fine."

Claire followed me to the back of the basement without a word, holding onto my arm. It was one of the best moments of my life. When she touched me a warmth spread through my chest and I forgot all about being in the creepy basement of a once haunted mansion.

I think she was too frightened for conversation. She just held onto my arm and waved the flashlight around quickly checking everything out. We swept through the two empty back rooms first. There wasn't much to see there. Then it was onto the furnace room.

We walked up to the door. She gripped my arm tighter. I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. All of the sudden a huge sound boomed all around us. An unnatural enormously loud bang seemed to fill the entire room. I looked over at Claire but she was gone. She had let go of my arm. I turned and saw her sprinting for the stairs.

"Claire! Wait up!"