Day 4 began with a heavy sense of unease hanging over the house. Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley, and Christopher Diaz were seated at the kitchen table, preparing for breakfast after another unsettling night. The strange occurrences—cold spots, knocking sounds, and the eerie presence of Christopher's imaginary friend "Ken"—had left all of them on edge. They tried to focus on the familiar task of making breakfast, hoping that the routine would ground them. But the tension in the air was palpable.
Eddie scrambled eggs while Buck poured coffee, neither of them speaking about the bizarre events that had plagued the house. Christopher, meanwhile, picked at his cereal, his mind clearly elsewhere.
Finally, it was Buck who broke the silence. "So, uh... last night." He glanced over at Eddie, eyebrows raised. "You heard that knocking too, right? And the cold spots came back for me."
Eddie nodded grimly, flipping the eggs in the pan. "Yeah, I heard it. Twice. I checked the hallway, and no one was there. I don't know what's going on, but it's getting worse."
Christopher perked up at their conversation, his eyes wide and serious. "It's probably just Ken."
Eddie froze mid-motion, his heart skipping a beat. He exchanged a quick glance with Buck, who looked equally unsettled. "Christopher, buddy," Eddie began carefully, "you mentioned Ken yesterday. Is he... is he with you right now?"
Christopher nodded innocently. "Yeah, he's in my room. He's been playing with the doll."
Buck set his coffee down, frowning. "The doll? The one from the closet?"
"Yeah!" Christopher smiled as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "He likes playing with her."
Eddie felt a cold chill settle in his chest. He had tried to convince himself that Ken was just a figment of Christopher's imagination, but there was something deeply unsettling about the way his son spoke about him—as if Ken was real.
"Christopher," Eddie said softly, trying to remain calm, "how long has Ken been here? Did you meet him when we moved in?"
Christopher tilted his head, thinking. "No, he was already here. I found him when I found the doll."
Eddie's blood ran cold. "So Ken... came with the doll?"
Christopher shrugged. "I guess. He's been nice to me, though. We play together."
At that moment, Buck leaned forward, his face serious. "Christopher, do you see Ken? Like... actually see him? Or is he just in your head?"
Christopher hesitated, glancing toward the hallway as if checking for someone. "I see him sometimes. But he doesn't always look the same."
Eddie felt his heart drop. "What do you mean he doesn't look the same?"
Christopher looked confused, as if trying to explain something that didn't make sense even to him. "Sometimes Ken looks like a kid, like me. But other times... he's taller. Older. And his face is different. But it's still him."
Buck and Eddie exchanged another uneasy glance, both of them feeling the weight of what Christopher was saying.
"Why don't you finish your breakfast, buddy," Eddie said gently, patting Christopher's shoulder. "We'll check on Ken after, okay?"
Christopher nodded and went back to his cereal, but Eddie and Buck remained silent, both of them disturbed by what they had just heard.
After breakfast, Christopher eagerly ran off to his room, wanting to check on his female doll and, of course, Ken. Eddie and Buck stayed behind in the kitchen for a moment, both of them trying to process the information they had just learned.
"We need to figure out what's going on with that doll," Buck said, pacing the room. "This Ken thing... it's not right. There's something really off about this."
Eddie nodded, his expression grim. "I know. We need to do something about it, but I don't know what. I don't want to scare Christopher, but this isn't normal."
"Maybe we should talk to Bobby again," Buck suggested. "See what he thinks. I mean, he's been through a lot—maybe he'll have some advice."
Eddie agreed, and they decided to contact Bobby Nash later in the day. But first, Eddie wanted to check on Christopher.
As Eddie approached Christopher's room, he could hear his son talking softly. The tone of his voice was light and playful, the way a child would talk to a friend during an imaginary game. Eddie paused outside the door, listening.
"Ken, do you like her dress?" Christopher's voice came from inside the room, muffled by the door. "I think it's really pretty."
Eddie's heart raced. He opened the door gently and stepped inside, finding Christopher sitting on the floor with the female doll in front of him. He was looking toward the corner of the room, as if someone was sitting there, though the corner was empty.
"Christopher," Eddie called softly, trying not to startle him. "Who are you talking to?"
Christopher looked up at him with wide eyes, as though he hadn't even noticed his dad enter the room. "Ken," he said matter-of-factly. "We're playing with the doll."
Eddie glanced around the room, his eyes lingering on the corner where Christopher had been looking. The room felt colder than the rest of the house, and Eddie couldn't shake the feeling that someone—or something—was indeed watching them.
"Christopher, how about you take a break from Ken for a bit?" Eddie said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Why don't we go outside for a little while?"
Christopher looked disappointed but nodded. "Okay, Dad. I guess Ken can wait."
Eddie exhaled in relief, leading his son out of the room. As they left, he glanced back at the doll—its porcelain face was expressionless, but its presence felt unnerving.
Later that afternoon, Eddie and Buck decided to reach out to Bobby Nash, their former captain from Station 118, hoping he could offer some guidance. They set up a FaceTime call, and soon enough, Bobby's familiar face appeared on the screen, with Athena Grant-Nash sitting beside him.
"Hey guys," Bobby greeted them, his expression warm but concerned. "How are things going out there in Indiana?"
Eddie and Buck exchanged a look before Eddie spoke. "Bobby... something weird is going on here. It's not just the cold spots or strange noises anymore. There's something else."
Bobby's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Buck leaned forward, explaining everything that had been happening—the cold spots, the knocking, the female doll Christopher had found, and most disturbingly, Christopher's imaginary friend Ken.
"We thought Ken was just something Christopher made up," Buck said, his voice tense. "But the way he talks about him... it's like Ken is real. And Ken came with the doll."
Bobby and Athena exchanged a look, both of their faces darkening with concern.
"That doesn't sound good," Athena said, her voice serious. "Kids are sensitive to things like this. They can pick up on energies, things that adults can't always sense."
Bobby nodded in agreement. "You said Ken sometimes looks different to Christopher? That's a red flag. If he's seeing someone that changes form, it might not be a friendly presence."
Eddie felt a pit form in his stomach. "So what do we do?"
Bobby paused, his expression thoughtful. "I think you need to get rid of that doll. And you might want to have the house looked at—by someone who knows how to deal with these kinds of things. It could be something attached to the house or the doll itself."
Buck frowned. "You mean like... a paranormal investigator?"
Athena nodded. "It wouldn't hurt. You need to get to the bottom of this before it gets worse."
Eddie glanced at Buck, his mind racing. He didn't want to scare Christopher, but at this point, it was clear that whatever was happening was beyond their control.
"Alright," Eddie said finally. "We'll figure something out. But I'm not letting this go on any longer."
They ended the call, and Eddie and Buck sat in silence for a moment, both of them processing what Bobby and Athena had said.
"We're not alone in this house," Buck muttered, his voice low. "And Ken... he's not just in Christopher's head."
Eddie nodded, his jaw tight. "We need to act fast. Before this thing gets any stronger."
They both knew that whatever was haunting them wasn't going to stop on its own.
And they were running out of time.
