The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto Read Free Book Online Page B

almost trance-like tone again. “Even if you could bring him back, he’s been in a casket for a long time. You do know what you’d be getting back, don’t you?”
    Bryan shook his head, his former playful expression nowhere in sight. “Allison’s right. Your brother would be a zombie, dude.”
    “Or worse,” Allison said, still in that odd, detached tone. “You shouldn’t call upon the dead. None of us should.”
    Jess glanced down at her plate. She’d assumed everyone just saw ghosts. She hadn’t expected this. The smallest prickle of fear crawled along her nape. She brushed at it, smoothing the hair against her neck.
    “Allison, how about if we hear your story next,” Dr. Brandt said.
    Allison sat for a few minutes, quiet. Dr. Brandt didn’t force her like he had Gage, and Jess didn’t think she was going to say anything at all. Finally, Allison blinked and took a deep breath, apparently no longer in whatever state of disconnect she’d been in. “I wish ghosts were the only things I had experienced. And I wish I could make things disappear like you, Bryan.” Her eyes darted to Gage. “I’m sorry for your curse. All of you, really. You’re cursed. We all are.”
    Bryan frowned.
    “My family is afraid of me. They’re afraid they’ll come back, or that it’ll happen again,” Allison said softly.
    “What will happen again? What is your family afraid of?” Dr. Brandt encouraged. He seemed eager now, watching Allison with an intensity Jess found a bit creepy. It was as though she were some prized find under a microscope.
    Allison shifted uneasily in her seat. “Demons. They’re afraid the demons will come back.”
    Evil spirits. So this was what Allison had been talking about. Jess could see why her roommate might shy away from anything paranormal. Ghosts were one thing, but demons? Jess nearly shivered. Yeah, she could see where Allison might be freaked out about that.
    “Demons?” Bryan asked. “You mean as in possession?”
    Allison shrugged. “I guess. Evil spirits. Whatever. It was like they were crawling around under my skin. Then, it was like I was the one crawling around under my own skin, and they’d taken over. They’re everywhere, you know—the demons. You read about them in the papers all the time. Murderers, mostly.”
    No one dared to ridicule Allison. It was on their faces—her story fascinated them. Jess was glad that all she saw were harmless ghosts. Allison’s story about the demons made her skin want to crawl.
    “Are they still with you?” Dr. Brandt asked.
    Allison scratched at her forearm. “Not at the moment. They’ve been gone for months. But once they’ve been let in, they can come back. They said so. They know how to find you.”

 
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    When they had finished dinner, Dr. Brandt scooted his chair back. “Let’s clean up, and then we’ll talk about Siler House and how its history makes us feel.”
    Feel? Jess already knew how Allison felt. And, with what she’d said about the demons, probably so did everyone else.
    “I get what you’re doing,” Allison said to Dr. Brandt. “You’re playing with our imaginations. But you’re stirring things up that you shouldn’t.”
    Take your own advice , Jess thought. You’re the one stirring things up over emotion alone. No one else seems half as freaked out about being here as you.
    “Do you think spirits read our emotions?” Dr. Brandt asked.
    “One year, our attic was infested with rats,” Allison said. “We had someone come out to get rid of them.”
    “Rats? You’re comparing ghosts to rats?” Jess asked.
    “Are you telling us you’ve got some ghost phobia thing going on?” Bryan asked. “Man, that sucks since you’re part of an experiment with ghosts.”
    Jess nodded. Maybe if she cleared up a few things about ghosts—at least what Jess knew of them, Allison might relax. “You do know ghosts are supposed to be disembodied, right? It’s not like they can do