Earth-4088480

The atmosphere inside the Dubois house was thick with tension. Phoebe, always attentive to detail, couldn't help but notice the awkwardness in the air after Jacob Barber's introduction.

She leaned in close, whispering curiously, -Who is he? His name sounds familiar- she asked, trying to connect the pieces.

Trevor, knowing the subject was sensitive, but knowing his little sister didn't pay attention to internet gossip, whispered back cautiously -He was falsely accused of murder, then he got into a car accident… with some dramatic twists- without specifying further.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows, immediately understanding that it would be best to keep things as neutral as possible since this was tricky and delicate ground, and the last thing they needed was for anything else to upset the already tense situation.

With that thought in mind, she stepped forward to intercept Podcast, who was approaching Jacob with his recorder in hand, ready to ask a question that would likely cross a line.

So she gently grabbed his arm before he could say anything compromising, her gaze was clear "this wasn't a game" and he needed to be careful.

Podcast, somewhat surprised by Phoebe's intervention, stopped dead in his tracks and, trying to smooth things over, pointed the recorder at Lucky instead of Jacob and asked -So, Lucky, what exactly are we going to do? How did we get to all this?-

The group's attention shifted to Lucky, who took a deep breath, aware that he needed to explain clearly what was at stake.

Sarah stood by his side, watching silently, while Jacob took a seat near the door, his gaze somewhat distant but attentive.

Lucky began to speak, his tone calm but serious -Well, it all started a few weeks ago, Megan and I were showing Sarah our college, as she is considering enrolling there and during the visit, the topic of ghosts came up and Sarah mentioned that her friend Jacob, seemed to be having problems with one-

Then Megan spoke up and mentioned -I realized that it was not a simple ghost problem, but that there was something stronger, more persistent… that was when I thought of my ex-boyfriend, Tommy- pointing to the boy in question.

Tommy, leaning against the wall, nodded silently, still uncomfortable with Trevor's occasional glance, he explained -our family has an old ritual to cleanse supernatural entities, so we thought we could provide some help-

Lucky took up the floor again -The idea was to bring Jacob here to see if the ritual could help him, but as we talked about it more calmly I realized that if it worked, maybe it could help us with the problem of the containers-

Megan added -the point of the ritual is to return the spiritual energies to their own plane, so it should be able to help them too… or at least that's the hypothesis we're working on-

Phoebe, always logical and cautious, says -What happens if something goes wrong? I don't want to offend anyone, but when ghosts get angry it can be very destructive- in a skeptical tone.

Tommy, noticing the uneasiness in the air, says -well, this can be a bit dangerous, but if we follow the steps correctly everything will be fine- trying to lighten the mood in the room.

Trevor watched Tommy for a moment, still with that feeling of familiarity that he couldn't shake, but decided not to insist, the important thing now was to make sure there were no unexpected surprises.

Sarah, who had remained silent until that moment, finally spoke -I trust Megan and Lucky, if they say this can help, I believe them... What do you think?- addressing the boy with the cane.

Jacob looked up, nodding slightly and replying -Well, I don't think it would hurt to try- in a low voice.

The group exchanged glances, and then all froze as they heard the front door open without warning.

Well, I'm glad that the new way of writing is being more accepted than I thought, mainly because this really speeds up my ability to write.

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In the next chapter we'll get into the interesting part of the story, here I just wanted to set the scene well, so if you thought the chapters were a bit short, well that's about to change.

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I think I should warn you from now on that unlike my other fics, where everything happened in months, in this story everything will happen in a single night, but don't worry, I think you'll still find it interesting.

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Comments and criticisms are welcome.