Wisconsin Haunting

Siobhan figured that they would be a little upset about her little trickery but she really didn’t think that they’d give her the cold shoulder. Well, Aaron was warming up to her, making nice conversation, and Nick had thrown in his own two cents once in a while. But Zak absolutely refused to even look at her. She would’ve been offending if it wasn’t for the half a dozen of red eyes glaring at her from his side of the van.

Figuring she’d either have to take care of them or give them the ultramotive of going with a different investigator - one that they’d have to wait for to come back to town, as she was currently in Florida investigating the Riddle House.

It wasn’t until they pulled into the parking lot of her bakery, that she broke the tense silence, leaning in between the two front seats again, “Listen, I know y’all were expecting a man, that was the point of my whole joke, but if you’re gonna take this childishly, tell me now so I can pass you off to another investigator. I won’t tolerate working with people who throw tantrums,” She spat, glaring at Zak when he sneered down at her.

Darting away from Zak and his many attachments, she flung open the sliding passenger door and speed walked inside her bakery, immediately taking a deep breath of the coffee and baked goods. Instantly, her mood brightened, the smell of the coffee and the cleansing charms she put around the entry always made her feel better.

Walking towards the counter, she smiled at her cousin, muttering to her in Gaelic, “I will take over, Selene.” She smiled at Siobhan and passed over the small apron, rubbing her back as she went back to the kitchen. Selene had been with her since she opened the bakery, wanting to spend more time with her favorite cousin - and practically only living relative left. She may have been in the US for a few good years but she never learned how to speak English; Selene could understand someone just fine but speaking it was a whole different matter.

Knowing that Aaron would be the first one to step inside, she got a plate of cherry pie ready for him at the bar and was in the middle of making his coffee when he finally came in.

“That pie is for you,” She called out, throwing her voice over her shoulder as she finished his coffee. Turning to him, Siobhan flashed him a smile and handed him the coffee as he sat with a dazed look, before glancing at her. “I knew you were coming in,” She motioned for him to take a drink, grinning widely when he took a tentative sip and watched as the shock overtook his expression - she just winked at him when he just stared at her gobsmacked.

“You are a goddess,” He finally choked out as he took a big gulp of his coffee; he wasn’t sure how she knew how he liked his coffee but he wasn’t going to question it, wasting no time at all in diving into the pie that was still in front of him. Siobhan just chuckled, shaking her head fondly at him, as she turned to make Nick and Zak’s plate of desserts.

Back in the van, Nick was questioning why Zak was being so cold towards Siobhan, “What’s up with you, man? Talk to me,” He nudged his friend when he still refused to speak.

Zak sighed and rubbed his face, tiredly, “It’s not that I don’t like her or anything, she seems like a nice girl, if you look past the smoking.” Nick rolled his eyes. “It’s just - I feel so uncomfortable around her, like I’m not welcomed or something. It’s weird and I don’t know what it is but I don’t like it and if it’s going to continue, I can’t be around her. It’s gonna screw up the whole investigation if I can’t even be in the same room as her.” He threw his head back against the head-rest once he was done, thoroughly exhausted. It hasn’t even been a day in Wisconsin and he already wants to go home. Maybe it was the weather that was effecting his mood, he tried to convince himself as he glared up at the gray-ish clouds.

“So, that’s what I was feeling earlier,” Nick whispered to himself, not really noticing that he spoke out loud until he saw Zak staring at him from the corner of his eye. He backed up into the driver door when he saw the almost wild look in his friend’s eyes, wondering if he was okay and slightly frightening by whatever he was thinking.

“You mean to tell me you’ve been feeling whatever I’ve been feeling, too?!” Nick jumped slightly at Zak’s sudden exclamation, now very worried for him.

“Only for a brief second when we first met her. Dude, what’s the matter with you?” Zak didn’t bother answering him, just jumped out of the van and went straight into the bakery, Nick scrambling after him as he tried to catch up.

“Mister Bagans! You think you can just storm in here like you have hellhounds on your heels, with your mind all made up and ready to tell me to hit the road, without even hearing my side of the story first?” Siobhan shouted from behind the counter, not even bothering to throw out her voice like she did before with Aaron, as she had her back turned to them, making something. There were two plates on either side of Aaron, one with brownies, the other with cookies; Nick stood just behind Zak, nervously shifting on his feet and kept glancing back and forth between the treats and his friend.

“No. Aaron, finish eating, we’re leaving in a few minutes. We’re catching the first flight out to New Jersey,” Zak announced, his tone cold, harsh, and dismissive - something neither Nick nor Aaron have heard from him before - as he turned to leave again, a desperate need to get out of the bakery. He didn’t even notice it at first, only had a one-track mind when he came in but now that it was out in the open, Zak finally acknowledged the almost panic like feeling that he had to get out of the warm shop.

“Zachary Bagans, you sit your ass down here, right now,” She snapped, setting down a mug by each of the unoccupied plates more harshly than she intended. She didn’t even need to tell Nick to sit down, he went to the one with the cookies like a scolded child, having a brief flashback to when his own mother lectured him after he fell out a tree. Nick knew, without a doubt, that Siobhan would make a great mom someday.

When Zak still didn’t move, she smacked her dish towel against the counter and shouted, “Now!” with such power behind her voice, the hairs on their arms stood up as a static charge swept throughout the room. All three of them jumped and Zak practically sprinted to the only seat open next to Aaron, Nick watched Siobhan warily while Aaron just played with his pie, keeping his head down. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, took a big gulp from her mug hiding underneath the counter, and cleared her throat.

“Alright, now you’re going to listen to me, and listen well, because I am not going to repeat myself,” She was firm but gentle; yup, Nick thought, she was definitely going to be a great mom.

“Yes, I am the reason you two have been feeling uncomfortable,” Her hand snapped up when Zak started opening his mouth, which shut with a click when she turned to glare at him. “Do not interrupt me.” He nodded solemnly when she continued to stare at him.

Clearing her throat, again, she sent one more look to Zak before starting, “As I was saying, the reason you’re feeling unwelcomed is because of your attachments.” They were waiting for her to speak again but when she just stared at them, they turned to each other, their expressions ranging from bemused to slight amusement, thinking she was playing a joke on them. Seeing her serious face, devoid of practically all emotion, they finally realized that she wasn’t kidding around.

“What?” Nick croaked, staring at her in slight horror. He knew he had attachments but he just figured they were just trying to be heard, to get their story out there.

“Your attachments know that I have ways of getting rid of them, so they’re sending you uncomfortable feelings to get you away from me,” She explained, nonchalantly, wiping down the counter, as if it was an everyday occurrence. They were starting to wonder if it was.

“How do you know?” Aaron finally piped up, taking a sip of his coffee with a quiet moan of contentment; Zak and Nick just gave him odd looks while Siobhan smiled gleeful. She was happy that at least one of them felt comfortable around her and was appreciating her offering. Nick, realizing that he had a plate full of chocolate chip cookies in front of him, along with a cooling mug of coffee, he immediately dove into it. He had to stop himself from making, what would’ve been, an embarrassing and highly sexual noise, as the cookie melted in his mouth.

“I can sense them, lingering around you like storm clouds,” She said, mostly to Zak. “Nick, your’s left as soon as you walked in here, but Zak’s...he has a few more than I was expecting and they’re stronger, they’re gonna need more than just a cleansing charm on an entryway,” None of them knew how to react to what she was telling them.

"Are you a medium or something?" Nick asked, running his tongue along his back teeth to dislodge a piece of cookie.

Siobhan shrugged, pouring herself more coffee, "Yeah, you could say that; psychic, medium, Irish witch with a few extra abilities, whatever you want to call me, I don't have a preference. Just don't ask my nan about it, she'll go on and on about me taking the family title of witch, that I want nothing to do with. Another story for another time."

All of them sat in silence to digest what she just revealed to them, while she went to take care of some customers that came in. Zak had finally started on his brownies and ice cold coffee, lost in his thoughts on how to proceed.

"Ya think she's telling the truth?" He murmured to Aaron, sipping his coffee thoughtfully.

Aaron drained the last of his coffee before nodding, "I have no reason to not believe her, ya know? She knew how I liked my coffee, dude, or have you not noticed that?" Zak gave him a weird look and glanced into his mug, taking note that it was a light cream color, and withholding a swallow of it, he could tell it was French Vanilla creamer - a creamer he always used when at home.

"I got an Irish coffee," Nick threw in from the other side of Aaron. Both Zak and Aaron raised their eyebrows at that - they hadn't even know that Nick liked Irish coffee until it was the only thing he would order if the cafe had it.

"Would you like a free reading?" All three of them jumped and spun around, only to find Siobhan standing behind them, grinning widely. She had her jacket on again, a dark red leather, her keys in one hand and a can of Monster in the other, a camo baseball hat on her head.

"Jesus christ, girl, don't do that!" Aaron shouted, a hand clutching his chest as he tried to calm his heart. Siobhan snorted, lifting the can to take a drink before motioning for them to follow her outside, shaking her head when Zak tried to leave money on the counter.

“It’s on the house, c’mon,” She gave them no choice but to follow her, already heading out the door before any of them could protest; Nick just shrugged at the other two and was the first to head out, Aaron and Zak following shortly after.

Nick waved them over to an all black truck, Siobhan sitting on the front bumper, draining the last of her drink.

"You know those are bad for you," Zak commented as he and Aaron strolled towards them. She just raised an eyebrow at him, choosing not to respond as she tore the tab off and jabbed it into her pocket, setting the empty can down by her feet.

"Siobhan said that it'd be easier to do the reading out here - less distracting," Nick said, trying to hide the fact that he was a little more than excited. He didn't know what was in store for him or for the others but he was starting to trust Siobhan and he wanted to see what she could do.

She nodded, beckoning Aaron to come forward, "I'll start with Aaron, then Nick, and we'll see about Zak - I'll try but I might not get a clear reading because of the attachments,"

"Why's that?"

"They can manipulate my reading, make it hazy or just inaccurate,"

"Again, why?"

"'Cause whatever I tell you, you're gonna assume it's true, when 89 percent of the time it's not, and you'll be obsessed with it, you'll end up making it happen - which they want. Now, shush,” She hissed, giving Zak a glare before closing her eyes, taking a few, calming, deep breathes as Aaron stood in front of her awkwardly; still with her eyes closed, she held out her hands, palms facing the sky, indicated that she was ready for Aaron to proceed.

Hesitantly, he gently took a hold of her hands, still unsure on how to do whatever it is she wanted him to do.

“Relax, Aaron, I can feel your anxiety. You’re doing fine,” Siobhan reassured him, her voice barely a whisper, all her concentration focused on navigating her way through the imagines she was receiving from him. She was getting rapid images of a younger Aaron and Nick, talking in class, college? A brief scene of all three of them meeting and starting the crew, many scenes of a happy marriage - a few imagines Siobhan really did not need to see of Aaron and his wife. All the places and investigations the boys have gone on so far, up until this point. It was looking good for him, so far, save for the few instances of depression and anger.

But one scene at the end might make or break Aaron and she really didn’t want to tell him, just incase it was a manifestation of any left over energy from his dark attachment; a once happy marriage, ended in a mutual divorce because of a very dark place. Slowly, she released his hands and opened her eyes, letting her eyes refocus before looking up at Aaron, giving him a small smile.

“Your wife is very beautiful,” Her voice was still quiet but more than a whisper, keeping it just between the two of them. The happy, practically blinding smile he gave her, made her heart hurt, knowing that in, maybe a few months or a few years, time - something would happen to take that smile away for a bit. Although, even Siobhan isn’t 100% sure it was true, he would pull through, she had confidence that he would - with the help of his friends and a positive outlook on life, she was sure he could do anything he put his mind to.

Aaron thanked her quietly and stepped back, pushing Nick toward her with a wicked grin. He wanted to know if he'll get new blackmail material; Nick sent Aaron a half-hearted glare as he stumbled in front of Siobhan. He waited patiently, watching as she took a few, cleansing breaths and slipped his hands into hers when she held them out. Nick closed his eyes as well and did a couple deep breaths, clearing his mind and centered his emotions.

Siobhan could tell he was trying to center himself, find his grounding, while she was trying to get something from him - which she greatly appreciated, it made everything easier for her and his reading would be clearer, more in depth and accurate.

She got brief glances of him as a child, falling out of a tree and his experiences after that, how he met his wife and everything they’ve went through - again, something she really did not need to see that side of Nick. Though, it gave her free material for erotic fantasies later, she really wished she had more control over what she received during readings.

There was one imagine, a snapshot, that made her want to cry of happiness: it was Nick and his wife but they had a daughter between them, a perfect mixture of the two. She didn’t know the childs name but there was a strong ‘A’ feeling. Ashley? Ariel? No…it felt like a combination.

“Anna,” She whispered, lovingly, knowing that she was getting one-half of a name of Nick’s future daughter. She could tell the little girl would be a charmer.

“What?” Siobhan almost lost her concentration, not realizing that she had spoken out loud. Dammit, now she’s gonna have to tell him, whether she liked it or not; although she wasn’t getting any ill-feeling with this snapshot, she still didn’t know if it was the work of the dark entity that was attached to Nick and it could ruin everything.

“I’m getting a name, feels like an Anna,” She ground out, forcing herself to speak against her own judgement; she could feel Nick’s confusion and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“I don’t know any Anna’s,”

“Shh, yes, I know, I’m not finished. There’s another name after Anna, like a combination name, but it’s fuzzy, not decided yet,” She finished, letting go of his hands and refocusing her eyes again, seeing Nick’s confused expression for the first time and couldn’t help the snort that came out. “Relax Nick, you’ll find out in due time and you’ll understand.” She gave him a wide smile and a pat on the cheek, pushing him backwards a few steps.

“What aren’t you telling me?” He sounded hurt, like she was purposely keeping something important from him - which, technically, she was.

“No one’s gonna die, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s just, it’s something you can’t know, right now, because it’ll affect the outcome - it might come too early, too late, or not at all, and I really don’t want to see that happen to you. It also might be the work of the dark entity that was attached to you. Any leftover energy from that could manipulate my readings, so if what I saw was a trick, I told you all of it, and it turns out to be not real, who are you going to blame in a moment of grief? Me or the thing that was feeding off your emotions?”

They all stood in tense silence after Siobhan was done ranting, the guys shifting their glances from each other, to the ground, then to her in a weird, synchronized dance. None of them knew how to deal with this sort of thing - meeting someone who could potentially see what’s going to happen to them, then not knowing if it’s true or not because of the things they do. It’s almost like Fate was toying with their emotions.

Siobhan could see the conflict in their faces and wanted to smack all of them. Did they really think this was a real reading? It was just a test, to see what she needed for the cleansing, to see what she was dealing with.

“You guys do realize that this was just a test reading, right?” All three heads snapped towards her when she talked before looking at each other again, bemused.

“We thought this was a real reading,” Zak spoke up, suspicion and slight hesitation in his voice as he stared at her. Siobhan closed her eyes and fought to not face-palm in front of them.

“No, for a real reading, I have to do a ritual or a seance, to invoke the positive energy and get accurate readings. I’d have to do more than just holding your hands and looking past everything you’ve done in life,” She was beginning to lose patience as she could feel the sun starting to go down, it would have to be almost five p.m. and she still had things to do before getting into their investigations.

“Okay, so, when do we do this ‘seance’?” Zak was still pushing her buttons and if she didn’t know that it was the work of the red eyes surrounding him, she would’ve punched him in the face.

“After y’all’s cleansing ritual because, right now, there’s about a dozen or so red eyes around Zak, Nick’s has one - probably from earlier, the charms wore off - and Aaron has a very faded pair of eyes. I’m getting the feeling they’ve all come from the same place as well, like a building?” Siobhan furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the floating eyes, trying to get a reading on them. Some place with music, lots of people were dancing, past satanic worship - that, she was sure about. Not getting a name for the building, she focused on the location, which the entities gave up pretty easily.

“Wilder, Kentucky,” She watched as their faces fell and turn a ghostly white, slightly terrified eyes taking each other in, like they’re were trying to see the red, floating eyes. Seeing their reaction to just the location, she knew that whatever this place was, it was not something to be messing around with. “We’ll do the cleansing ritual tonight, reading tomorrow after Billy lands. Y’all need to stop by my place anyways if you want to get the locations for your investigations.”

“How’d you know Billy’s coming here?” Aaron asked, mouth twisted in a confused sort of smile.

Siobhan smiled at him, “I booked his flight, duh.” It was silent for a bit before Nick snorted, making Aaron snort, and when Zak gave them a look, both just bursted into gut-wrenching laughter. Zak just rolled his eyes skywards while Siobhan couldn’t help a few chuckles.