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With the evidence Sam, Colby and Seth had picked up throughout the night, including Colby's traumatic experience in Bernard's room, the boys were ready to finish up their investigation with a final estes session.
Seth was under, listening to the spirit box and repeating every sound he could hear, when Sam and Colby hears the door slam shut in the other room. Colby was at a complete loss for words, staring at the door that had just moved on its own for a 3rd time that night unexplainably.
"This is the first thing we've ever caught like that, right?" He asks Sam, who's shaking while holding the camera.
"I mean yeah! Other than the flashlight rolling at the Bellaire house. We've had nothing compared to that." Sam agrees, looking between both Seth and Colby.
"Guys if this is happening again, now's the perfect time to finish the Estes Method." Seth announces, glancing to both of them.
"Yeah you're right. But Colbs, the fact that you had the idea to put the camera in here... like you KNEW the door was gonna slam again? That was crazy!" Sam bounces excitedly.
"You know why? Cause that shit always happens when you're not looking. I KNEW the second we started the Estes Method and turned our attention to something else, that's when the door would go... Like when I was in here! the second I turned my back, BOOM!" Colby explained with a smile on his face.
"And you're starting to tune in and follow that intuition right? With the flashlight conversation downstairs, what happened to you in that room, the fact that you felt the need to put the camera in that room... I feel like you're tuning into this place more than Sam and I." Seth announces, resting against the other door, almost looking Colby up and down, like he was checking him for any sort of visual energy that may be surrounding him.
"I don't... I don't know man it just sort of happened." Colby shrugs his shoulders and exits the room, Seth and Sam following close behind. That was when Sam feels this rush of wind send chills up his spine and suddenly felt like he wasn't the last in line anymore.
"DUDE! THERE'S SOMEONE BEHIND ME."
"You're serious??"
"100% serious! something just followed us out of the room and was walking right behind me! I could almost feel their breath on my neck!" Sam yells, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling a shudder run through him.
"Ok let's go do this estes session and get out of here quick!" Colby states, leading the other two into the room.
Seth once again was sat at the table, doing the Estes Method, when Colby felt a chill rush through him from behind him. He spins on his heels, causing Sam to ask what happened, but there was no one there.
"It literally felt like someone just walked over my grave." Colby grabs both of his shoulders while trying to keep the camera steady.
"Seriously?" Sam asks.
"Yeah! It wasn't even like a normal chill, it was like something actually passed through me!" Colby explains looking around the room.
"That was me." Seth suddenly announces from under the headphones causing both Sam and Colby to jump out of their skin.
"That was you that walked through me?!" Colby questions, aiming the camera at Seth with shaky hands.
"Yes."
Sam jumps up grabbing Colby's arm out of instinct. They both shouted loudly and Colby felt more chills run up his spine.
"Who are you? Is this Mrs Bower?" Sam asks.
No response.
"Are you part of the Bowers family?" He tried again.
No response.
Sam then got an idea.
"Colbs, you ask something." Colby glances at his friend through knitted brows before speaking up.
"Uh, Can you identify yourself? Tell us your name?" He asks.
"No."
The boys let out a shaky gasp. Colby passes Sam the camera and takes a step towards Seth so they would both be in frame.
"Are you only answering to Colby?" Sam interrogates the spirit.
No response.
The boys look at eachother, eyes wide. Colby tries again.
"Are you only answering to me?"
"You."
"OH. MY. GOD. DUUUDE! THIS IS INSANE!" Sam shrieks excitedly slapping Colby's arm.
"Why me? Out of the 2 of us, why do you want to talk to me more?" Sam twists the camera round to face him, making a funny sad face.
"The ghosts don't like me." He jokes to the camera.
"Energy" Seth says.
"Energy? Like 'my' energy? What about my energy?" Colby asks, nervous to hear the answer.
"Clairvoyant."
Colby stares at Sam... There's no way...
"I'm- I'm not clairvoyant though. Why would I have 'clairvoyant' energy?"
"Dude, you knew about the door! Maybe that's what they're talking about? Seth was talking about how you were like tuning into this place! And remember! I said it was almost like you could sense what was gonna happen?! Maybe they heard us say that and they think that you're a Psychic or something??" Sam wonders, scratching at his chin as he tries to work it out.
Colby then runs straight into Sam's side as he feels something grab at his shoulder from behind. It was almost like the air was ripped from his lungs and his eyesight went dark for a moment from the pure terror he felf shoot through him from head to toe. Sam grips his friends sides to steady him, asking what happened, just to see Colby's eyes red and tear filled.
"Sam!" He shouts, grabbing at where he just got touched.
"What dude?! What is it?!"
"Something just grabbed my fucking shoulder! I'm not lying to you! Something from behind me just slapped it's hand on my shoulder and it scared the ever-loving shit out of me!" Colby continues to move into Sam like he's looking to him for protection. Seth then startled them by speaking the for the first time in a few minutes.
"You feel that?" Seth says in a monotone voice.
"NO FUCKING WAY!" The other 2 shout in unison.
"Yeah I felt that! Was that you?! Are you trying to tell me something? Get my attention?" Colby demands.
"Yes. Energy" The spirit replies.
"You don't have permission to take any of my energy! You said yes that you're trying to tell me something. What do you want to tell me?"
No response...
"Ask a different way, dude." Sam suggests.
"Ok... Can you tell me what you want me to hear? Just talk into the box our friend Seth is holding, like you've been doing, and we'll be able to understand what you want." Colby says gently, taking a deep breath to lower his anxiety.
"Energy. I want." The spirit repeats itself and now Colby was really starting to feel the rising panic in his chest, looking round to Sam who was staring back through wide eyes.
"You DO NOT have permission to take my energy. Do you hear me?! I do not allow you to take any energy from me... Or Sam and Seth for that matter!" Colby feels empowered and more confident now putting his foot down like this, and Sam notices the sudden change in his friends demeanor as he takes a step towards Seth. But unfortunately, it doesn't last long as the next words to come out of Seth's mouth shakes the two of them to their core.
"Yes I do... I'm already doing it." Silence falls on the room, Colby reaching behind him for Sam's arm to try and comfort himself, before he feels a wave of dizziness hit him like a train, throwing off his equilibrium and feeling Sam wrap him arm's around Colby's waist to steady him.
"Dude, are you alright?" Sam asks concerned, trying to get Colby to look him in the eye but he can't seen to focus. Colby's blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear the dizziness but it only seems to be making it worse. He then falls towards the table, gripping the edge to stop himself from dropping to the ground and the vibration alerts Seth from under the headphones.
"Dude! Colby! Can you hear me?!" Sam's shaking him lightly and Colby wants to answer but it's like all 5 of his senses are set to 100 right now and he can't even find his voice. Seth removes the equipment and jumps to his feet confused, reaching for Colby to try and steady him on his feet. He loops one arm under Colby's and allows him to lean into his side, walking him over to the chair Seth had just been sitting at so he can take a moment.
About 10 seconds go by before Colby slowly lowers his head to the table, resting it on his crossed arms and within milliseconds, he's passed out from the overstimulation.
As his head was visually starting to lower, The other 2 notice how his eyes were beginning to flutter and close fully just as his forehead hits his arms.
Both Sam and Seth are, of course, panicking, frantically shaking Colby's body to wake up him but to no avail; Sam had put the camera down already, focusing all his attention on Colby as Seth pulls out his phone, debating with Sam if they should call an ambulance.
"Should we get him outside?! Or is it safer to wait until he wakes up here before we try to move him?" Sam asks with more and more anxiety raising in his chest as the seconds tick by. He still has a hand on Colby's back, occasionally shaking him every now and then, and is kneeling down beside him, looking at Colby's face that was partly hidden under his black hair.
"It may be better that we wait it out cause otherwise we're gonna have to carry him down the stairs and that could be super dangerous. Remember David mentioned that, whenever on the stairs, you need to hold onto the banister cause someone could push you! If that happened while we were carrying him, it could be even worse!" Seth explains, pulling his number keypad up on his phone.
"Let's give it like another minute and if he still doesn't wake up, I'll phone an ambulance." Sam nods, shaking Colby once again to try and gain some sort of reaction.
"What even happened, bro?! Like I felt the table shake and I pull off the blindfold to see Colby practically collapsing against it!" Seth asks, placing his right hand on Colby's shoulder.
"Whatever we were talking to, kept talking about energy, specifically Colby's energy... It was only answering to him and it called him a clairvoyant. It was getting really aggressive and just KEPT repeating 'energy' over and over! The last thing you said was 'I'm already doing it' when Colby said they didn't have permission to use his energy... and that's when he started to feel weird." Sam explained, earning a startled gasp from Seth as he brought his hands up to his face in disbelief.
That was when both of them heard a restless groan come from their passed out friend beside them.
"Colby? Hey, Colbs are you with us?" Sam gently calls, lightly shaking Colby's arm. This earns another small groan from the dark haired man as he slowly lifts his head from the table, pinching his temples before attempting to open his eyes and look at his surroundings. It took him a second to remember where he was before turning to see Sam knelt next to him, sending him a warm but scared smile.
"What's going on, man?" Colby's voice was hoarse and croaky, clearing his throat a few times.
"You started feeling weird and dizzy. You were swaying and I had to grab you to keep you upright but you weren't replying to me. Then you kind of like, fell, into the table, startling Seth and he got up just in time to catch you as your legs gave out. He sat you down on the chair and you straight up just passed out for the last like 2-3 minutes..." Sam explained while looking to Seth for validation who was nodding in agreement. Colby looked between them both, trying his hardest to take in what he was being told but he could not focus at all.
"I feel sooooo drained... Like I'm not even joking, dude, all I wanna do right now is sleep." He rubs at his face, yawning, and Sam and Seth look to eachother with concern.
"You- You mean you feel like the... energy... has been sucked out of you?..." Sam stutters and Colby stops rubbing his face suddenly, turning to his best friend.
"Holy shit... Energy! It wanted my energy and genuinely, like, sucked it out of me even after I told it that it didn't have permission to. What the fuck!?" The 3 of them sat in silence for a moment before Colby spoke up again.
"Ok I for one do NOT want to be here for any longer... The fact that it just did that even when I demanded it not too... Did I just unintentionally power up a dark spirit that's been dormant for the last 70+ years? Did I just help the thing that could've influenced Andrew Bowers to kill his wife and then himself?!" He shoots looks between the others, feeling instant guilt, as if it was his fault. All 3 of them then heard a tap from the hallway, making them all jump up and Sam grabs the camera.
"WE ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Seth shouts, reaching for and pulling Colby's flannel, who in turn reached for Sam's arm. They all bolted down the hallway, down the stairs, and shouting a final 'goodbye' and 'You cannot follow us home' Before running out the door, locking it behind them and never looking back.
Bowers mansion was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
