#lucy stein

Lucy Stein

Desperate (Horny)

Lucy Stein

Wise Wound

[Click]

John: Dakota Cryptid, Anomaly, and Paranormal Society audio log starting now.

[Inhale]

Mina, our colleague, has brought a possessed doll into our living space. I am hesitant to have something so volatile inhabiting somewhere I often sleep but this is also an opportunity to learn first hand about the supernatural. Plus Mina and the figure -who she has affectionately nicknamed “Jane Doll” as in Jane Doe- are very close. The spirit seems largely harmless though once upon accidently dropping the doll while I was inspecting it I subsequently had a mug hurled at me by an unseen force. Even if it missed and seemed more like a warning I believe this is noteworthy.

On a similar subject Lucy has reported that every new case of someone exploring the doll’s old site has not seen any paranormal activity. We can conclude that the doll was the source and has been removed. Due to this we have received the other half of our payment.

[Small laugh]

I admit it feels good to know we did our first job successfully.

Yet there are still so many unanswered questions. How did this Jane die? Why possess the doll? Can she leave the school? Maybe there’s only a certain distance her spirit can wander before it’s stopped and pulled back towards the doll. I’ll have Mina help me with that experiment. Later. For now I’ll-

[Sudden sounds of Lucy opening and crawling through the back window of the truck]

John!

John: Christ! Yes Lucy?

Lucy: Look outside! Those birch trees! Don’t they look like eyes?!

[John sighs and gets up to look out the window]

I suppose they do but many birch trees look like that. I assume they appear when they’re about to grow a new branch. Either way I will do some research on it I suppose.

Lucy: You mean five google searches?

John: Shut up. Lucy, have you had any interesting experiences with Mina’s doll and the spirit inhabiting it?

Lucy: I dunno, but Mina sure does like the thing. I’m trying to sleep and she’ll stay up for hours talking to it, while I only get to hear her side of the conversation. It’s creepy and annoying.

John: I understand but that doesn’t help me further my studies.

Lucy: Oh! Why not talk to it yourself?

John; What? How?

Lucy: A spirit box! You know. Those radio things!

John: I don’t know. I’ve always been skeptical of it.

Lucy: Couldn’t hurt to try. Plus we could have Mina there to make sure it’s right.

John: Fine. I’ll consider it.

[Laptop shuts, ending the recording.]

[Click]

John: Mina, are you ready?

Mina: Yeah.

[Spirit box is turned on, automatically cycling through frequencies]

John: Hello, Jane was it?

Mina, to Jane: Go on, mess with it a bit.

[Garbled static of random syllables through the spirit box]

Jane: Hel-lo, can- you- h-ear- me?

John: Loud and clear. Did it line up?

Mina: Yep.

John: Good. Would you mind leaving us for a moment?

[Silence]

Mina: Hey hey, it’s okay Jane. I’ll just be in the camper.

[Footsteps and a door opening]

Jane: Why- do you- want to- talk-

John: To learn more about you.

Jane: Me?

John: That’s right.

Jane: Why?

John: Because I’ve never spoken to a spirit before. You have info no one else does.

Jane: In-fo, about- what?

John: Anything. Like what do you think of Mina now?”

Jane: She-‘s… taller.

John: How do you feel? Physically and emotionally.

Jane: Cold. In- both- ways. But- I- al-ways- felt like this.

John: You don’t remember what it was like when you were alive?

Jane: Never was.

John: How do you know for sure?

Jane: I- don’t. But- I- feel it.

John: Then I have mis-classified you. You’re not a spirit. Or at least not the soul of a dead person. You are the doll, yes? That would fit Mina’s doll-like description of you and her cold impression of you.

Jane: She- thinks- I am- cold- to- her?

John: No. Just your tone.

Jane: May- I ask- something?

John: What is it?

Jane: Why- this? This- job?

John: The CAPS?

Jane: Yes. Why- stick- your- nose- in- pla-ces- it- doesn’t- belong?

John: Because I want to learn about the hidden world. There’s so much behind it and people just disregard it as myth.

Jane: But- you- can’t- even- see- me.

John: I don’t need to see you to learn about you.

Jane: In-deed.

[Spirit box suddenly turns off, stopping the noise]

[Phone tap]

Right… Do you believe in the occult? Do you think there’s a hidden world running parallel to ours? What about our actions changing that reality and vice versa, as above so below, as they say.

[Annoyed scoff]

God that sounds pretentious. Whatever. This is an audio record of the Dakota CAPS’ goings on from here on for future reference and analysis. Recording by Mina Hasselbrook.

[Readying breath]

Today’s job and in fact our first ever job was checking out some doll said to move from place to place in an abandoned school, my school… we had other options but I was avid about this. I had seen that doll before. I spoke with its owner. I must’ve been only nine or ten, our school was suddenly abandoned for a reason I was never told. Next thing I know I’m taking an hour long bus ride every day to go to some school in a larger town but during the summer I went to that old, empty school and found my way in. I wandered around with a small flashlight for a little while when suddenly I saw a girl around my age sitting on the stairs holding a doll in her lap that looked very similar to herself. We stared at each other for a moment, I was confused and scared but happy to see someone else in somewhere so dark and quiet. Her face though… it was blank and emotionless with black, hollow eyes. She wasn’t unconsciously studying me like I was, she just saw me and accepted me as fact. I went over and sat by her and introduced myself and called her doll pretty then in a quiet and almost dull voice she simply said “Thank you…” I asked her name and she said “Jane…” in that same restrained voice.

I started talking about how I have never had a doll like her’s, the pretty, fragile ones made of glass, she corrected me saying “Porcelain… not glass. Similar. But not the same.” She then held her doll out to me, asking; “Would… you like to hold her?” I was hesitant, afraid that I would drop it by accident but she reassured me by saying “No… it’s okay… I trust you…” with that she put it in my arms. I still remember the feeling, like I was holding a vintage, million dollar vase. I looked to her and stuttered out something to get rid of the silence, I asked her why she was there. She replied with “I don’t know where else to go. And I like it here. I go unnoticed… until you came.” she paused longer than usual before she spoke, finally she said “There’s more dolls… would you like to see?” I nodded and followed her as she got up. Eventually we arrived at a classroom, I told her it was my kindergarten classroom. She echoed my words, “Your classroom…” I remember that was a habit of her’s. Repeating my words back to me like she had to say it herself to fully understand. As odd as it was I never minded it, her voice was so soft and quiet, hearing my words in her voice made me feel good in a way.

We entered and she led me to the closet, she opened it to reveal about a dozen or so porcelain dolls, she said “Pretty aren’t they? Pick your favorite… let’s play…” I reached into the closet, my hand hovering over the dolls and analyzing them when one hidden in the back caught my eye, I reached over and pulled out a beaten up and dirty rag doll. Jane stared at me and asked “Why that one..? The others are prettier.” I told her that I thought the doll looked just as good and that it was pretty in its own way even if it was different. She repeated the words back to me, “Pretty in her own way…” I nodded, saying that I liked rag dolls because they were durable “they can survive being kicked around” I said. She of course repeated that back as she thought about it. I said I admired the idea of being able to take a beating and still keep going. She paused and looked down, “I like that too… She's like you. Different, durable. Not like me, I’m fragile, fragile like my dolly.” I responded “You don’t have to worry, you have me around. I’ll keep you safe.” She looked at me in silence then replied; “You will keep me safe… does that mean you are my friend?” I smiled, saying “Sure!” And she did the same but much more subdued as she said “Thank you… you are… my first friend.” At that my smile dropped a bit and I told her she was mine too. Then suddenly she got up, still holding the doll and said, “I don’t want to be here anymore. Let’s go to the library…” I got excited hearing that. The school’s library was the biggest and only library in town so students and everyone else were free to come in and check out books, it had whole separate doors so people could come in just for the books. I told Jane that I would love to go, that there was a book I wanted to read before the school suddenly closed.

We walked together down the hall, our respective dolls in one hand and each other’s hands in the other. Eventually we reached the library and I told her to sit as I looked for the book I wanted. She did and I browsed the shelves with my vague memory of its location among them. I found it and returned to sit next to her on the large beanbag chair. She glanced at the book and was curious about why I had picked it. I answered by telling her about my great grandmother, explaining how she was a witch and I wanted to learn why my family was so cagey about her. I had to start somewhere and this was it. After I had finished my explanation she said “You had a witch ancestor. That’s why… would you like to read this together? Taking turns… reading aloud?” I smiled and nodded and we began reading. We read about rituals, creatures, history and finally… witchcraft. It claimed that anyone who practiced magic would have their blood become a sort of supernatural magnet, making them and all their descendants more able to find and be found by the paranormal.

As I finished the page I was struck dumb with the new knowledge of my fate. I turned to Jane, scared and confused, she just sat there and mumbled to herself again, “To find and be found… that’s why you could see me. Why we were drawn together… magnetism, gravity…” I didn’t understand what she meant, I said just that and she continued. “Others before… only saw my dolly but you do. You see me, you are… my friend.” I asked why other people couldn’t see her, I asked if she was really some kind of ghost or something similar. She said “Don’t know… maybe. It doesn’t matter… only you matter.” I sighed my way out of my panicked confusion and said alright. Like she said, in that moment what she was didn’t matter. All that did was that we were friends.

The sun’s warm, dimmed colors shone through the windows alerting me to the time. I told Jane that I had to get home and promised I would come back when I could. I felt her grab and squeeze my wrist tight in pure terror of abandonment but like always her face never showed it. I put my hand on her’s and increased the sincerity of my promise. With that she slowly let go and we said our goodbyes. I kept my promise. I saw her almost every day. We would play dolls and read together, we practically read every book there. This continued for years and years, until in the seventh grade a cop saw me sneaking into the school. He followed me inside and found me sitting alone with a porcelain and ragdoll. They couldn’t see Jane. From then on I was never allowed to go back. They boarded up the school and put locks on all the doors. I never got the chance to come back…

[scoffing laugh]

Until today that is. We got a call from some urban explorer, apparently the school had become a hot spot on the forum of people who shared their hobby. Everytime anyone would come there would be a doll watching them, when they weren’t looking it would disappear and reappear somewhere else in the building. If anyone treated it unkindly such as attacking it or mocking it then objects would rise and be thrown at the aggressor. Anyone who had been there noticed how it would suddenly move when not observed but there were only a couple cases of threatening occurrences. One more oddity is that if someone visited after the doll had been damaged then it wouldn’t be there. Instead replaced by a ragdoll. If this doll was damaged however objects would hit the person instead of nearly missing them when the porcelain doll was assaulted. All this info was of course gathered by our clients and Lucy’s lurking in the forums.

With all this swirling inside my mind I entered. The school had become even more disheveled and decrepit than my last visit a decade ago. Paint had decayed and so had the carpets, once a dark blue had turned to a dull gray and dust littered every inch of the building. Eventually I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I was filled with the overwhelming feeling that I was being watched, I turned my head and noticed it. Or rather… her. Jane and her doll sitting by her side. Despite the building’s rotting appearance she looked exactly as I remembered. We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before she broke the silence. She asked, “You’re not looking at my dolly… can you… see me..?” I smiled softly and said “I can. But it’s been a while since you’ve seen me hasn’t it?” Her eyes lifted slightly, probably as much as they could. Then she simply said “Mina…?” in that hushed voice that I hadn’t heard in so long. As the sound of my name in her voice entered my ears my eyes stung with tears. I said yes, I said I was, my voice cracking with emotion. Hearing my confirmation she opened her arms out to me and I rushed into them. I was so much taller than her now, she hugged my waist and I hugged her back. The feeling of her cold skin touching mine was what finally let my tears fall.

During our embrace she quietly admitted that she missed me. This made my heart feel like it was being squeezed and made my tears all the harder. In my pained voice I confessed feeling the same as well as why I never returned, explaining how my parents forbade me from ever returning, how the school was made so getting in was much more difficult to enter, impossible for a child like me to get in. I pulled away and looked in her black and hollow eyes once more and said that I was here now, thanks to the help of some friends. I asked if we were still friends and she said “Yes… always… like we promised…” She paused for a little while then began again with “You look so different… older… Do you still live with your parents?” I said no, I didn’t. I told her that I lived with the two friends I mentioned earlier and planned to travel with them, never staying in one place. I mentioned that we were paranormal investigators, that they let me join because of the occultism in my blood.

She stared at me, blank faced but with a slight hint of worry, she asked “Will you be leaving again?” I nodded and said “Most likely.” But I offered for her to join us, to be with me again, to see all the things we saw in that occult book we read together when we first met. She didn’t speak for a bit but then she answered in her usual whisper, “Yes… I would like that… to be with you. To see and experience those things with you. But… let me do something first.” She got up and I followed. She led me back to that same classroom and opened the closet full of her dolls. She let out a small “goodbye…” to them and reached inside to pull out that same old ragdoll. She turned and handed me it as well as the porcelain she was holding too. She said “Take them… then I will be able to join you.” I nodded solemnly then stood up to exit the school.

I left the building, approached our trailer and entered. There I saw John sitting and reading on the couch. He looked up and said in a calm and cool voice “You certainly took your time. Did you find the source of the occurrences?” I said I did. In fact I always knew. I briefly explained my past with Jane and what happened inside. He nodded, told me, “Nice work.” and returned his attention back to his book. I said thanks and left the trailer to enter the truck-bed camper. As I did I noticed Lucy was asleep already. I laid on the couch under her and placed the dolls on the table. John didn’t notice Jane following me when I came and left but I could still see her. She sat across from me.

She’s sitting there right now as a matter of fact.