Page 46 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Lucky pressed a finger to her lips, waving her over.
“Dad, I need to go to the bathroom.” She walked out of the room, looking over her shoulder before excitedly running up the stairs. “Are you feeling better now?”
“I am. What’ve you been up to?”
“Nothing.I amsobored. I can’t film anything. I can’t go anywhere. My dad won’t stop writingandhe won’t let me help yet. This is the worst last day of workever.”
“I think I might be able to do something about that. Want to help me with a top secret project?”
A year ago, if someone told Lucky her experience being a nanny would inevitably lead to making a ten-year-old her partner in crime in a sentient house, she absolutely would’ve believed it.
Rebel cased the sitting room in record time, assessing the best angles through her camera. She secured a spot beside her dad’s chair and sat next to him. Her job entailed filming the entire room while strategically keeping Xander in frame.
Lucky flounced down the stairs to prove she was as good as new. “I have returned,” she announced and ended up lingering bythe sofa, where Georgia reclined with her feet up. No one else seemed to notice her arrival.
Georgia uncovered one of her ears. “Oh, hey. Did you want to sit?”
“I’m good, thanks. But I did want to talk to everyone for a sec.”
“I got you.” Georgia typed something quickly—several chimes sounded around the room.
“When did you get here?” Chase asked, removing his earbuds. He grabbed the camera next to him, aiming it straight at Lucky. “How’s your head?”
“Just now. Back to normal.” Lucky checked in with Rebel, who gave her a thumbs-up. “I have an idea for something. It came to me while I was upstairs resting, but mostly thinking about the house. Hennessee seems to be after something that it gets from us, people, but only under specific conditions.”
Georgia grimaced. “What makes you say that?”
“During my interview, Xander said Hennessee isn’t always friendly. When I got here, Maverick said Hennessee takes a day to assess someone before deciding the best way to scare them off—a test everyone keeps failing. I think you’re both right, in a way, but we’re all viewing things through a human lens.
“Everyone sees things differently. We’re all taught that, right? Through my ability, I’ve experienced it. I know for a fact that’s true. So, why would Hennessee House be any different?” She paused to let her question breathe. “What if Hennessee House isn’t scaring people because it wants them to leave? What if it’s challenging us to stay? Its version of a litmus test.”
“Okay,” Stephen said. “I’m following, but why would it do that?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” she admitted. “I believe it values fear in ways that we don’t.”
“Then why hasn’t it tried to scare you?” Georgia countered.
Lucky barely caught her surprised grin before it erupted on her face. She anticipated Xander asking that question. But Georgia came in hot, proving once again she was as quick as everyone else. “Because Hennessee lost interest in me when I didn’t write my name on the wall on my third night,” she lied. “I didn’t agree to take the test, but now there’s someone in the house again who did.”
All eyes turned to Xander. Impassive as ever, nothing in his stance indicated she’d caught him off guard. He was far too good at being secretive for that. She hoped Rebel’s footage might say otherwise.
She continued, “I’d like to hold a little experiment. If Hennessee reacts to Xander being here at night, then it proves the wall is the key. Writing your name guarantees continued supernatural activity that will escalate in intensity for as long as you remain in the house. Otherwise, Hennessee just…allows you to stay, peacefully and mostly unbothered.”
Lucky outlined the four integral steps she’d come up with thus far:
One—Subject falls asleep, granting Hennessee access to their mind.
Two—Subject experiences events that confirm they are susceptible to Hennessee’s influence. Can include general body discomfort, scents, illusions, and hijacking.
Three—Subject will be guided to the attic to write their name on the wall.
Four—Hennessee begins using specters to scare the living bejesus out of Subjects to weed out the weak like it’s a game.
“You,” Georgia began slowly, as she tilted her head to the side.“You make dumb decisions, but I had a feeling that was an act. You’re actually a lot smarter than I thought you were.”
“Georgia, really?” Chase asked, clearly exasperated.
“I’m gonna choose to take that as a compliment,” Lucky said with a laugh, before flowing back into the momentum she built. “For the experiment, Xander will be the post-wall control. Through him, we find out what happens next. Will the house keep trying to scare someone forever or is it only a temporary means to its true desire? Because I believe the litmus test is only the beginning. Hennessee has more secrets to discover, but no one’s gotten that far yet.”
