Spectral Beauty {Insidious/Specs}

thirteen

1986

At the Lambert household, there was a knock on the door. A young woman in her late twenties answered the door. On the other side was a woman who looked to be in her forties.

"Hi, I'm Elise. You must be Lorraine" the older woman said

"Yes. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry it's so late. My day job makes raising my son and daughter a night job" the younger woman said. 

"Don't worry about it. In my line of work, things tend to happen when it gets dark" Elise said. Lorraine let Elise in. In the living room sat a man wearing a pair of headphones. Elise approached him. "Hi Carl"

"Elise, thank you for coming" Carl said. He and Elise hugged. "I didn't know what else to do, except call you"

"Oh, I understand. You had a big problem and you thought you'd make it my problem too, is that it?" Carl stammered, trying to find something to say. "I'm teasing! You know I'm always happy to help Carl"

"Would you like some coffee or tea?" Lorraine offered.

"No, thank you. I'd like to get started right away, if that's okay. Carl told me on the phone, it's your son who's the one infected, right?" Elise said.

"Yes, that's right. My son Josh"

"Something is following him. Carl added. At that moment, a young girl, about the age of six, came into the living room.

"Mommy! Mommy!" she said.

"Jessie, you're supposed to be in bed" Lorraine said.

"I'm thirsty. Can I have a glass of water?" 

"Of course. Elise, this is my daughter Jessie. Jessie, this is Elise" Lorraine introduced. Jessie walked up to Elise and looked up at her.

"Are you here to help my brother?" Jessie asked

"Yes I am" Elise said, smiling down at her.

"Alright Jessie, let's get you that glass of water and then I want you off to bed" Lorraine said. Her and Jessie went into the kitchen. While Jessie was still in the kitchen, Lorraine came back with some photos. "I first noticed it about six weeks ago. Thought it was a camera problem, but then it became apparent it was more than that" Elise looked through the photos. She noticed two prominent figures in it. One was an old woman dressed in black, and the other was a boy Jessie's age.

"Who's the boy?" Elise asked

"His name is Benny. He's attached himself to Jessie. He's also Jessie's twin brother but he died at birth. I guess his spirit attached itself to her, but he's not the one I'm worried about" 

"I interviewed Josh. He won't tell me anything. He's afraid" Carl said. He leaned in to whisper in Elise's ear. "I'm afraid too. There's something in this house. I can feel it. It doesn't want me here"

"May I meet him?" Elise asked

~

Lorraine made sure that Jessie was tucked into bed before they got started with Josh. Josh sat in front of a camera, while Elise was seated behind it.

"Hi Josh. I'm Elise. I would love to ask you some simple questions. Do you like living here?" Elise said

"Yeah, I guess" Josh said

"Are there a lot of kids your age in this neighborhood?" 

"A few. One kid lives next door"

"That must be fun. Is there anything you don't like about living in this house?"

"I have bad dreams sometimes"

"What happens in your dreams?" Josh didn't answer. "I'd like to try something with you Josh, and I promise, it won't hurt"

~

There were candles lit around the room and Josh sat with his eyes closed. Elise set a metronome into motion.

"I want you to just relax. Listen to the ticking. Focus on it. Tune everything else out. Feel yourself getting sleepier. We are now inside your dream, Josh. Look around. What do you see?" Elise said.

"I see myself sleeping in bed" Josh said.

"Are you in your bedroom?"

"No"

"I'm somewhere dark. It's always dark here"

"Are you alone?"

"No. She's here"

"Who is she?"

"She's a friend. She visits me every night"

"Where is she? Right at this moment. Is she here in this house with us? I'd like to talk to her" Silence. Elise whispered something to Carl. "Okay. We're gonna play a little game Josh. It's called hot and cold. I'll walk around the house and you tell me if I'm getting warmer or colder"

~

Elise walked around the house carrying a walkie talkie. She entered the kitchen and heard Josh's voice.

"Cold" She made her way into the hallway between the living room and the staircase. "Warm" She began walking upstairs. She had found her way into the bedroom of Josh. "Warmer" Elise approached Josh's bed and looked under it. She heard the closet open. "Very warm" She started approaching the closet. "Hotter" She got even closer. "Very hot" Elise pushed away some of the clothes. "Please, get out of there"

"Who are you? What do you want?" Elise asked. When she reached out, something scratched her arm. Elise rushed out of the room, and down the stairs.

"What happened?" Lorraine asked

"I saw it once, and it's not a friend. It's a parasite. I've never felt such a malignant presence. It wants to be him. Miss Lambert, I think your son has a unique ability, a gift. When he sleeps at night, I think he's able to go places. See things. Things no living person is supposed to see. Only now, one of the dead has seen him too"

"Can you stop it?"

"I could take away his gift to suppress the memory of his ability"

"How would we do that?" Josh stood up from his chair. 

"I'll show you" he said. With his eyes still closed, he walked into the hallway and pointed towards the front door. The door opened on it's own. Lorraine and Elise brough Josh back to the chair. 

"Do whatever you have to. Make him forget" Lorraine said