Chapter 40: THE PERRON FILE
The Perron file sat open on Ed's kitchen table, three letters arranged in chronological order like evidence at a crime scene.
I'd read those letters a dozen times already—memorized every desperate word, every carefully understated plea for help. But watching Ed read them now, seeing his expression shift from professional interest to genuine concern, made them feel new again.
"Carolyn Perron," Ed said, tapping the first letter. "Husband Roger, five daughters ranging from age five to fourteen. They moved into the old Arnold Estate last January. By March, they were experiencing activity. Doors opening on their own. Cold spots that move through rooms. The family dog refuses to enter the house."
"That's always a bad sign," Lorraine murmured. She stood at the window, arms wrapped around herself, staring at nothing. "Animals sense things we rationalize away."
"The second letter came in December." Ed picked it up, scanned the handwriting. "Activity escalating. The children are seeing figures at night. Carolyn describes a woman in gray who appears at the foot of beds. No one can sleep through the night anymore."
"And the third letter?" I asked, though I already knew.
"Arrived two weeks ago." Ed's voice was grim. "Carolyn reports that something grabbed her daughter's leg and pulled her from bed. The youngest, April, says 'the lady in the walls' talks to her. Roger found scratch marks on the cellar door—from the inside."
The kitchen was silent except for the tick of the grandfather clock. Lorraine still hadn't turned from the window.
"I dreamed about this house," she said quietly. "Last night. The night before. Something old lives there, Ed. Something that's been waiting a very long time."
"How old?"
"Centuries." She finally turned to face us, her expression troubled. "The land itself feels wrong in my dreams. Like the soil is poisoned. Like something bled into it long ago and never stopped bleeding."
Ed closed the file. "Then we go today. Pack for three days minimum. Whatever this is, we're not leaving until the family is safe."
I pushed back from the table, trying to keep my movements casual despite the adrenaline flooding my system.
[CANONICAL EVENT TRACKER: PERRON FAMILY HAUNTING]
[STATUS: ENTERING ACTIVE PHASE]
[ENTITY: BATHSHEBA SHERMAN — TIER 4]
[COUNTDOWN: INITIATED]
Two years of preparation. Every case, every level, every prayer had led to this moment. The system had been tracking this event since my first days in this body, counting down to the confrontation that would define everything.
I went upstairs to get my bag.
The drive to Harrisville took three hours.
Connecticut fell away behind us—familiar roads giving way to unfamiliar ones, the landscape shifting from suburban sprawl to rural isolation. Rhode Island in March was gray and cold, the trees still bare from winter, the sky the color of old ash.
Ed drove in focused silence. Lorraine sat in the passenger seat, rosary beads clicking softly through her fingers. I occupied the back seat with my thoughts and the weight of everything I couldn't say.
The photo booth strip was in my wallet—me and Sarah, laughing at something stupid, captured in a moment of uncomplicated joy. I'd looked at it three times since we left Connecticut. Each time, it reminded me what I was fighting for.
Come back in one piece, she'd said.
I intended to.
"You're quiet back there," Ed said, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Everything alright?"
"Just preparing."
"Mentally?"
"Every way I can."
He nodded, understanding in his eyes. "This one feels different. I've handled serious cases before—Annabelle, the Amityville consultations, dozens of possessions. But this..." He shook his head. "Lorraine's dreams have been getting worse. Whatever's waiting in that house, it's been gathering strength for a long time."
"How long?"
"Centuries, she says. That matches the historical records. The Arnold Estate was built in the 1700s. There are legends about the land going back even further—witch trials, unexplained deaths, families that fled in the night."
I thought about Bathsheba Sherman, about the curse she'd laid before her death, about the generations of families who'd suffered for sins they hadn't committed. The movie version had been horror entertainment. The reality was about to be something much worse.
"The family has five daughters," Lorraine said softly. "Five children who've been living with this evil for over a year. Imagine what that does to a child's psyche. The trauma, the fear, the constant sense that something is watching from the shadows."
"We'll help them," I said. "That's what we do."
"Yes." She turned to look at me, her expression unreadable. "But Paul—when we arrive, stay close to me. There's something about this case that feels... connected to you. I can't explain it yet, but my dreams have shown me your face in that house. Fighting something terrible."
"I'll be careful."
"Be more than careful. Be ready."
I touched the rosary in my pocket—Ed's father's, warm against my fingers. The Navy chaplain's crucifix hung against my chest. The blessed knuckles were in my bag, along with every other piece of equipment I'd accumulated over three years.
I was as ready as I'd ever be.
The farmhouse appeared through the trees like a wound in the landscape.
Three stories of weathered wood and dark windows. Victorian architecture that had aged poorly, sagging porches and cracked shutters giving it the appearance of something that had given up on dignity long ago. The property stretched behind it—fields gone fallow, a barn that leaned drunkenly to one side, and the tree.
I saw the tree immediately.
Massive. Ancient. Its branches reaching toward the sky like hands grasping for something they'd never catch. Even from the driveway, I could feel the wrongness radiating from it—the echo of death and despair that had soaked into its roots.
Bathsheba had hanged herself from that tree. Had offered her child to darkness beneath its branches. And even now, over a century later, it remembered.
[ENTITY DETECTION: TIER 4 — ACTIVE]
[LOCATION: BASEMENT LEVEL + EXTERNAL (TREE)]
[ADDITIONAL PRESENCES: 8 RESIDUAL SPIRITS]
[WARD NETWORK: ACTIVE — PERIMETER SECURED]
The wards I'd placed weeks ago were still holding. A small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
Ed parked the car and killed the engine. For a moment, all three of us sat in silence, staring at the house that would consume our lives for the next weeks or months.
"It knows we're here," I said quietly.
As if in response, a curtain twitched in an upstairs window. A face appeared—pale, indistinct, gone almost as quickly as I'd seen it.
"Good," Ed said. "Let it know."
We climbed out of the car. The air was colder here than it should have been, biting through my jacket despite the relatively mild March day. The wrongness pressed against my enhanced senses like a physical weight.
I touched the photo in my wallet one last time. Sarah's face. A reason to survive.
Then I closed the door and walked toward the most important case of my life.
The front door opened before we reached the porch.
Carolyn Perron stood in the doorway—a woman in her late thirties who looked a decade older. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair that had probably been beautiful before months of terror had stolen its shine. Hands that trembled slightly as she gripped the doorframe.
"Thank God you came," she said. "Thank God."
Behind her, the house waited. Ancient. Patient. Hungry.
And somewhere in its depths, Bathsheba Sherman smiled.
MORE POWER STONES And REVIEWS== MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
with exclusive access to more chapters (based on tiers more chapters for each tiers) on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers,In The Vikings With Deja Vu System,Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ...].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!