CHAPTER 7: NEW DAY, NEW PROBLEMS - Part 3

"Yelena, will you allow me to do a hypnosis session with you?" - Walter asked.

Instantly, lightning flashed across the house, almost like a jumpscare in a horror movie. Everyone looked at each other slowly, trying to see the reaction of each of the people there. Esteban was vehemently making the sign of the cross, Don was completing some notes in his notebook, Alextrov was in a cold sweat from the whole situation, and Walter had a fixed, determined look on his face. After a few seconds, Yelena gave her answer.

"I've never met anyone who's had the experience of hypnosis, but if you think it might clear up a few things, I'd like to try it." - Answered Yelena.

With Yelena's positive response, Walter turns to everyone and tells them the instructions they will have to follow.

"Let's get this sofa ready, take off the cushions and let her lie down on it as much as possible. Lucky for us, the weather is contributing a lot, the place is dark and the sound of rain should help you get into a trance, move everything away and avoid talking." - Comments Walter.

Quickly, they clean the sofa, move away the other furniture that was close to it, such as a small table and a lamp stand that was used to help with the lighting. Yelena lays down on the sofa, with some pillows on her back and head, so that she was a little more inclined. In sequence, Walter starts to direct some words to Yelena.

"To do the hypnosis, you need your full concentration Yelena. I ask you to close your eyes, take a deep breath and try to focus on your breathing, can you?" - Speak Walter.

"I can try." - Answer Yelena.

"Listen to the sound of rain, the sound of raindrops hitting the window, the silence of the city and the sound of your breathing." - Comments Walter.

After spending some time with everyone in silence, Walter deduces that Yelena was already hypnotized and continued with that.

"Yelena, can you tell me what you're feeling?" - Walter asks.

"I feel a little cold, as if my legs were immersed in something cold." - Yelena says.

"Can you open your eyes and see what your legs are immersed in?" - Asks Walter.

"It's very dark, I see that I'm wearing a light outfit and it has some dark spots on it, like dirt or something, it's very cold. My legs also feel dirty with this stuff, but I don't know what it is." - Answer Yelena.

"Can you put your hand in and feel the exact texture, smell, and color?" - Walter asks.

"This dirt seems to be thick and kind of muddy, when I squeeze it, it seems to spread out like a slime or something. As for the smell, I can't smell it that well, but it seems to be something a little sour. The exact color I can't describe, it's like a dark brown or black." - Comments Yelena, during her hypnosis.

Walter asked these questions so that Yelena would go deeper into her senses during hypnosis, so that she could connect with the environment she was seeing. With that in mind, Walter looks around at the rest of the crowd and signals that the hypnosis went well. Afterwards, Walter continues talking to Yelena.

"So Yelena, can you describe the environment you are in?" - Asks Walter.

"I can see that it is raining, it is very cloudy and dark. The rainwater is connecting to the earth and forming this strange mass, as if it were a slime. I ended up getting dirty with it, somehow. I see that there are tall trees where I am, they have very old and dark wood and I can hear a lot of water moving, as if it were a creek or something." - Answer Yelena.

"Well from the description it looks very much like a forest, these strange masses must be something like mud or something, which would make sense to have in a forest. Do you know where there is a forest around here?" - Don interrupts, making everyone stare at him, with furious faces.

As they glared at each other, Yelena continues to speak awkwardly.

"Something is moving behind that tree."

Then, Yelena's body starts to get rigid, sweat drips all over her body and her breathing becomes very fast, as if she's scared of something. Walter quickly turns his eyes back to Yelena and talks to her.

"Yelena, what's going on, can you tell me?" - Walter asks.

"I saw something moving behind one of the trees, among the bushes. I couldn't see what it was, but it was moving quickly, so I ran as fast as I could. Wait, I see a light up ahead." - Answers Yelena, breathlessly and quite sweaty.

"Can you describe to me what that light is like?" - Asks Walter.

"It appears to be an old, small cabin. It stands on the edge of a lake, I can see the moonlight reflected in the lake. The cabin lights seem to be on." - Answer Yelena.

"Can you approach the window and see what's inside?" - Requests Walter.

"Through the window, I can see some chairs around a square table. I don't see people or vessels. The house appears to be neat and clean, I can't see beyond that, but the door is ajar." - Answer Yelena.

"Please go into the house and see what could be happening." - Speak Walter.

"Right. The door seems to creak a little, I think it's normal for old cabins. I don't see footprints or anything like that. Wait, there's something weird here." - Comments Yelena.

"Can you tell me what it is? - Ask Walter.

"It seems to be another compartment, there are stairs that lead to something like a basement."

"Yelena, I think it's getting a little dangerous, we've spent too much time in hypnosis, I'm going to bring you back." - Says Walter.

"Calm down, I'm in a corridor, it's very dark and I can only see the light where I came from. The hallway is quite narrow and looks a lot like the walls are in a cave or something natural." - Yelena says.

"No Yelena, you need to go back, if something happens…" - Walter comments, before being interrupted by Yelena. That she again starts to get panting, sweaty and this time, starts to convulse.

"Help me please, what is this thing, why do you want to do this to me? Who are you." -Yelena screams these words in a desperate way, while she starts to cry.

"Yelena, listen to me, run as fast as you can and get out of this hut." - Walter speaks, in an agitated way.

"The door was wide open, but now it's closed. I have no way out."

"No, please, don't hurt me, stay away, I don't know anything…"- These were Yelena's last words, before being taken by a strong convulsion, while she cried in despair.

This convulsion was so strong that the poor girl urinated on her clothes and on the sofa, the four men were astonished by everything they had heard and witnessed. Walter turned Yelena to the side so she wouldn't choke on the vomit, Alextrov went to get some rags to clean the place. Meanwhile, Don was writing everything described in his notebook and trying to connect the dots. Poor Father Esteban was trying to hold the girl's body, so that she would not fall to the ground and aggravate her injuries. With a lot of effort, after approximately one of many struggles, Yelena finally ceased with the seizures.

"Yelena's temperature rose a lot, but with the wet cloths and the injection I gave her, I was able to normalize the temperature and prevent the seizures from getting worse." - Comments Walter

"You heard what happened, didn't you? She said that there was an evil creature behind her, surely it is the work of the devil. THE DEVIL HIMSELF WALKED AFTER THE GIRL, IT WAS AN AFFAIR AND YOU JUST MADE MOCK AT ME." - Esteban responds indignantly.

"First, she said she was a creature, she didn't say anything about being an evil entity or anything like that. Second, these delusions are common for people who experience trauma. One of the ways the brain protects the conscious is by making figures or creatures materialize in your head, so you can take it as something absurd and that it didn't happen. The creature she mentioned could be her aggressor, as in hypnosis he chased her around the house and she had commented that something was watching her through the trees and bushes." - Retruct Walter.

"Speaking of trees, is there a forest here? Apparently Yelena has memories of this location, going there would help us clear things up as it is possibly the crime scene." - Says Don, while he is completely ignored by everyone.

"You and that skeptical thinking of yours, Doctor. But I have to agree with you, the person who did this to her is certainly the culprit and he has a name, the devil." - Says Esteban.

"You can calm things down a little, my sister has just calmed down from her seizures, we should speak more quietly so that she doesn't wake up and have a worse situation. I agree with you investigator, if something happened to my sister, if someone damned touched her, it was certainly in this house and that's where I'm going, it won't come cheap." - Alextrov speaks, all sweaty and breathing hard.

Even though he is an atheist, Alextrov was quite frightened by his sister's description. The environment she described was a place that when he imagined it, he felt a chill run down his spine, sending shivers down her entire body. But this was no time to feel doubt about the existence of something greater.

"I will go with you, I am very worried about this case and that there are more people injured in this investigation. But for now, let's wait a bit, it's still raining outside and it's not good to go out and investigate something in this rain, apart from that we have to keep an eye on Yelena's condition, to see if there isn't a worsening. Let's go out in the afternoon, after lunch and when the rain has stopped." - Says Walter, looking at everyone.

"Guys, listen to me, do you happen to have any forests around here?" - Asks Don, who felt totally ignored by everyone.

"Well, we don't have a forest, but we have a swamp." - comments Alextrov.

"So this should be our next stop, eh?" - Says Don.

With these events over, the four men keep watch over Yelena, seeing if she has new seizures or her fever rises. The boys have lunch and wait until the rain stops, which happens around 3 pm. Alextrov's parents returned home and helped clean up and would keep an eye on Yelena while the men went out to investigate.

During the preparations for the investigation, just as they were about to open the door to leave. The bell rings and when they open the door, a gentleman with white hair and beard, with a large tattoo on his right forearm, wearing a social blouse, red tie and a suit vest.

"Good afternoon, is this Miss Yelena's home?" - Asks the man. Don, Alextrov, Walter and Esteban speak in unison.

"Yes, but who are you?"

"My name is Joshua, a man named Gilbert Dorman was after her, supposedly for an investigation, I would like to get her statement." - Answers Joshua.

"How do you know Gilbert?" - Asks Don.

"Yesterday I cut his hair in the afternoon and during the night, I met him in a bar by chance. I was drinking with a friend and when I went to the bathroom I found Gilbert washing his hands." - Answers Joshua.

"So you know his whereabouts?" - Asks Don.

"Well, your corpse is at the police station, the police initially assumed it was suicide, but now they are investigating on the pretext of murder. The main culprit is a non-American male who, according to them, was a suspicious person and was not a white male." - Joshua answers, staring into Don's eyes.

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Continued in the next chapter...