The House That Wants Project

Chapter 16

THTW 2023 Chapter 16
         When Kristin and Mitch got to the storage garage there was smoke coming from beneath the door. Mitch opened it and everything inside was in flames. Two storage facility guards came running with extinguishers and one hooked up a hose. The fire was put out but everything inside was ruined.
         Kristin evaluated the mess. Someone had sabotaged her garage. There were broken jars and the glass on the cabinets. The fire followed a pattern, like some sort of accelerant was used. No one could explain the long scratches on the walls. Kristin knew what did it and it wasn't human. Kristin gathered some of the pages that looked intact.
         "I don't want anyone clearing this out for me. I need to examine each thing myself."
         "I can call the boys. We can help you try to salvage some of it."
         "We are sorry about this," said the facility manager. "I let you have another garage at a discount and no more rent to next month."
         "You are very generous. Thank you."
         "These cabinets look like they can still be used. Just the glass on the doors was damaged," said Mitch.
         Kristin nodded. "We'll move them first."
         "The boys said they had to pick up Darrel then they'll come here."
         Mitch got some packing tape and string from the manager. They strung it in rows against one wall of the new garage and taped up pages to dry. There were more jars than expected, but many of the crystals were smashed and all the candles were melted. Mitch saved the wax saying they might be able to make new ones.
         When the boys arrived, somehow having Darrel there and semi taking over gave Kristin relief. It felt like she had purpose and direction if only for a moment.
         Kristin made a call and had calzones and soda delivered. She contemplated the new garage. There was a lot less but not as much as she thought was ruined. The crystals needed to be cleaned. She put some of the shards in a bag to make protection amulets when she got the rest of the supplies.
         Kristin was feeling much better about things when they decided to stop for the night. They locked up the new garage and told the facility they could clean the old one. All that was left was broken glass and a lot of ash.
         Kristin dropped Mitch as his apartment. She didn't want to go back to the house. She knew Derek had been with them as they found the fire and was beside himself with guilt. Kristin assured him it wasn't really anyone's fault. He was still with her so Kristin went to the motel in Pearl Cove for the night.

         When Kristin woke in the motel she had forgotten why she was there. She got herself ready and started packing to go back to New York. She thought everything was over for some reason. New York did not feel right though. It felt like she was being ousted from Carroll County; like no one wanted her there.
         Then she came across her Aunt's books. She sat down and paged through them remembering Linda Shelby. Doing that made her realize who it was that didn't want her there. A magical time of wonder had been ruined when she had run into the ugly side of it at Bluff Pointe Manor. She realized how much the manor had taken from her. She lost her Aunt, her friends, her love, her wonder, her hopes. Since then Kristin had been acting at life, not living it. She was always afraid something was going to go wrong and take any little happiness she found.
         Kristin found new resolve in dealing with the situation.
         Kristin had planned to meet with some of her Aunt's old friends. When they heard about the fire they knew Kristin was in need. A few brought more to the meeting then what Kristin requested and most refused payment. Many said they owed Linda a great deal. Kristin took the carload of things to the storage facility.
         Kristin had also picked up some art supplies. She got some office supplies, ornate journals, and fancy writing supplies.
         Kristin opened the garage. This was going to be a huge undertaking. She leaned on her car and sighed.
         "Hey," said Darrel.
         Kristin jumped. "What are you doing here?"
         "I figured you were going to come back here. The Logans called Mitch last night because you didn't come in."
         "I went to the motel in Pearl Cove."
         "I figured that. I just didn't know what you would do from there."
         Kristin held up one of the books. "I got some help deciding."
         "I still thought you would be here sooner."
         "I had to pick up some supplies."
         "I picked some up myself." Darrel indicated the trailer on his truck.
         Kristin looked closer. There was a mahogany desk, bookshelves, and filing cabinets, a safe, and new glass for the cabinets.
         It was a daunting task and Kristin became overwhelmed quickly. She had to translate the pages done in each individual witch's code and many of the key words to the code had been destroyed.
         Kristin sat back and took a break. She felt hands rubbing her shoulders and thought it was Derek or Darrel. Then the hands grabbed the nape of her neck and her hair and slammed her head in the desk.
         Both Darrel and Kristin smelled the cigar and brimstone. Kristin chose some crystals, a candle, and some incense. She started concentrating on filling the garage with white light. She could feel it pushing the residual energies of the past and meet resistance when she tried to push out the entity that hurt her. Kristin double downed on her efforts and felt the entity forced out, leaving with a slight tantrum.