Twin Paranormal: Monster In The Pub

Chapter 8: The Investigation- Part 1

Chapter 8: The Investigation- Part 1

After the restaurant and its kitchen were clean, Jay and Maddy decided to stick around a bit later, curious as to what the guys had found out since the night before. Maddy was especially curious about Carenza's books, which she and Wyatt found fascinating. One of the books that caught their interest explained Celtic mythical creatures had illustrations included. Jay was looking over Maddy's shoulder as they thumbed through it. She stopped the page from turning with her pointer finger. The illustration showed a depiction of a creature known as The Sluagh. "Do you see what I see?" she asked.

"Look at that," said Wyatt, holding up the open book to show Ryan and River, who were setting up a static camera near the bar.

"That's exactly what I caught on the storage room camera," said Jay incredulously. "How is this possible?"

Everyone came closer to see what was up. "It seems like your heritage and its myths have followed your family from overseas, if that's really what this thing is," said Carenza. "It does happen from time to time. I've seen it before in different situations."

"Like the Banshee," said Maddy to Jay, whose face was grim at the prospect of something like a Sluagh in her restaurant and home.

"How the hell did it get itself stuck in my storage room?" asked Jay apprehensively.

"Not sure, but if we figure out that's what it is, we gotta try to trap it or kill it before it does more damage." said Carenza, her brows furrowed in determination.

"What... how do we do that?" said Ryan, a dubious look on his face. "We've never killed anything before."

"I kind of figured," said Carenza, her tone a little sad but genuine. "Y'all are such gentle souls, which is one reason I think it saw you as easy prey. That's not a bad thing, but it's why I suggested I do the Estes Method myself. I've dealt with bad things like this before. Plus, I don't have anything to lose."

Her statement stunned them into a short silence before Wyatt spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I have a lot of experience with scary entities. I'm unbelievably sensitive. I grew up seeing and dealing with stuff like this as best I could, thinking I was going insane. But eventually someone figured out that I wasn't crazy and helped me by teaching me how to protect myself. But I don't have that person anymore." said Carenza, concentrating on looping a thin braided leather belt around her waist, over her shirt for easy access to it.

"Okay but I think he meant 'what do you mean, you don't have anything to lose'?" said River sincerely, taken aback by Carenza's flippant remark.

"Oh, that..." Carenza looked away from him, attaching a tiny pocketknife key chain to her belt. Might as well tell the truth, she thought. "Well, I don't have a family or anyone waiting at home for me. I don't even have a real home. All I have is a crappy job and a van full of junk. I've only been in this area for about six months. Ultimately people get tired of me and I move on and try again someplace else."

"Hey, you have us," said Maddy, with Jay nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you guys treat me like real friends would. I appreciate it so much. That's why I'm here. You need help. I wish you would've said something sooner," said Carenza matter-of-factly.

Ryan looked at River, who was staring at Carenza with the saddest expression on his face. Really though, he understood why. What she had just told them all was pretty upsetting. He and River had had some rough times growing up, but always had each other to rely on. Apparently that was not usually the case with their new friend.