Beth boots up the computers and then flips on the monitors. Various rooms of the house light up on the screens in black and white. Mrs. Green sits primly beside Beth, while Jackson’s sprawled on the other side. They’re all keenly observing, all playing their parts.

“Yeah, so…” Jackson scratches behind his ear. “First, Angela’s going to do a full sweep of the house. Every room. It can take some time, but once she establishes contact, and trust…she’ll ask them one by one to leave.”

“It must be lovely,” Mrs. Green says. “Working with family. Having them close.”

Jackson smirks. “Gotta love it. Even if they drive you crazy.”

“Alright guys. All feeds are live. Ready on this end,” Beth says.

Mrs. Green remains fixed on Jackson. Never blinking. She looks between my brother and me. “She inherited the gift,” Mrs. Green says. “From your mother?”

“Mmhmm,” Jackson replies.

“Why didn’t you?” she asks.

It’s an innocent question, but her directness catches Jackson off guard. He smiles wide, searching for the right words. “Recessive gene. Sort of thing. I guess,” he says.

Nearby, Elliot has the back of the EMF meter open again, examining the circuits. There’s this concerned look he gets when dismantling a machine that I find incredibly endearing. I envy him, because he can work on something with total concentration whereas I can’t focus on anything, and when I can it’s usually someone or something I don’t want to see.

Jackson wheels around in his chair. “You ready to go?” There’s a note of urgency in his voice. Mrs. Green studies Elliot. He methodically puts the EMF meter back together again. “Ready.”

Jackson smiles assuredly at Mrs. Green. She tilts her head.

“Let’s go,” I say to Elliot, heading away from Beth’s computers. He picks up the video camera and clicks it on.

We walk steadily down the hallway, the lights flickering on and off with the thunder. “May lose power,” Elliot says.

“Let’s hope not,” I reply, clicking my walkie. “Can you see anything?” I ask Beth.

Her voice crackles through the device. “Too dark on the monitors. Try night viz.”

Elliot flips a switch. He gives me the thumbs up sign.

“Better,” Beth says. Elliot nods, adjusting the levels, and then kills the camera. It’s so fast I don’t pick up on it at first. He walks right up to me, until we’re inches away from each other’s faces, and looks me in the eyes. “The EMF meter. In the bathroom,” he says. “It was moving. Like…a lot.”

I glance away. “Cause you rigged it.”

“No. I never fixed the false circuit. The reading was legit.” He grabs my arm when I try to step back. “You saw something,” he continues. “Come on, Ange.”

“What? No.” I try to squirm away from him.

Beth’s voice splinters through the walkie. “You guys ready? Elliot?”