Spectral Beauty {Insidious/Specs}

eight

Jessie was in the kitchen with Specs and Tucker. Tucker was looking through footage on his laptop while Jessie sat in front of Specs, holding some raw meat against his head. The two of them stared at each other, completely forgetting that Tucker was in the room with them. 

"Is your head still hurting?" Jessie asked.

"Not as much as before. In fact, your presence alone makes it hurt less" Specs said. Jessie smiled at his compliment and put the meat down on the counter. "Jessie?"

"Yes?"

"You're so pretty that it's almost ghostly"

"Are you saying that I have this spectral beauty to me?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying" There was a moment of silence between the two before Jessie started leaning in. Specs closed his eyes in anticipation but before she could close the gap between the two, Tucker spoke.

"Three cameras around the clock. We got nothing. But I did find this on the video" he said. He took the video camera and presented the footage to Jessie and Specs. It was footage of Dalton. "See that? I went through it frame by frame by frame" In one of the frame's, the Lip-Stick face demon was behind Dalton, seemingly controlling him.

"Jessie?" She looked behind her and saw Renai. "Can we talk in private?" Jessie nodded and followed Renai out of the room. Specs eyes followed Jessie until she left the room and then he turned to look at Tucker.

"What?" Tucker asked.

"She was about to kiss me but then you ruined the moment" Specs said.

~

Renai and Jessie found themselves in Jessie's bedroom.

"What's going on Renai?"

"Back in Dalton's room, when whatever that thing was attacked me, I was saved by someone. He pointed at you and said he was your friend, and that he was protecting Dalton. Who is he Jessie?"

"Well, you remember that one night I fell asleep in the kitchen, I was saying the name Benny and you asked me who that was?" Jessie asked. Renai nodded. "That was Benny. He was my imaginary friend when I was younger but he stopped showing up when I turned sixteen. I don't know why but he did. He just recently started visiting again when this thing with Dalton started"

"So Benny, he's not trying to hurt Dalton?" 

"No. Like he told you, he's trying to protect Dalton. Yes, Benny comes from the same place where that thing came from, but he doesn't mean to harm any of us" 

"Jessie! Mom is here!" Josh's voice called out.

~

"Mom?" Jessie said as soon as her and Renai entered the living room. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked your mother to come over. I called her immediately after the session. There's something we must talk about" Elise explained. Lorraine sat in the chair while Jessie, Josh and Renai sat on the couch.

"The reason I knew to call Elise in this situation, the reason I know her so well is because I called her myself once. Years ago. To help you. Both of you" Lorraine explained

"What are you talking about mom?" Josh asked

"It's no accident that your son is a gifted traveller. The ability was handed down to him" Elise said

"By his father, and it's no surprise that his aunt would have it as well" Lorraine said

"Me? I can't do that" Josh asked

"Neither can I" Jessie said

"Josh, when you were about eight you suffered night terrors. Awful fits of pure fear. You were terrified of an old woman who used to come visit you at night. Jessie, you on the other hand, you were different. You were about five years old when you started telling me stories about a boy who would come visit you at night. You said he was like your guardian angel. You never had night terrors like you're brother did" Lorraine explained. Jessie and Josh both looked at each other, and then back to their mother. "I dismissed both of your stories. I told you two to grow up. Then one night, I saw the old woman for myself" Lorraine took out a box and handed it over to the pair of siblings. Josh opened it, revealing childhood pictures of him and Jessie.

All the pictures had something in common. They all had two figures. One figure was an old woman dressed in black and the other figure was always a boy who would look around the same age as Jessie did. Lorraine continued on. "At first I thought it was a camera problem, and then I saw them again. In each closer, she got closer but the boy, he seemed like he was trying to protect both of you. Unfortunately, he could never stop the woman from getting closer and closer. Finally, I was so frightened that I called Elise"

"Do you two remember any of this?" Renai asked.

"I always remembered Benny. I was always able to see him and he said he was trying to protect us from something. He never mentioned what. Josh, do you remember?" Jessie asked

"No. I don't" he said

"Jessie never had much experience with astral projection. Her guardian angel prevented her from doing so. You on the other hand Josh, suppressing your memory, and the ability to astral project was the only way to stop her from getting into you, but in the back of your mind, you're still afraid to have your picture taken, aren't you? You're afraid for your sister to have her picture taken" Elise said

"I kept those photos hidden from you two ever since" Lorraine said

"I advised Lorraine to hide them. To stop taking yours and Jessie's pictures. To just let you forget"

"Who is she?" Josh asked

"A parasite. She befriended your astral body, and then drew you into The Further just as Dalton has been drawn out" 

"I'm so sorry Josh" Lorraine said

"I didn't want to make you remember all this. I do it for the sake of your son. Your son is out there. And you are the only one that can bring him back. With what we saw tonight, I would say he doesn't have that much time left to wait for you" Elise said