Chapter 125
Randy continued to probe, "Now, let's get to the root of your situation. I need to know exactly what you are and why you ended up in Derry Town."
Without hesitation, Doris began to recount her history.
Her real name was Markus, a soldier from Poland. When World War II broke out and the German army blitzed Poland, Markus was captured and sent to a concentration camp. There, he was subjected to gruesome biological experiments by a sadistic Nazi doctor.
Fortunately, after France's quick surrender, the number of prisoners grew, and the guards became lax, allowing Markus to escape. He eventually made his way to America, the land of freedom and opportunity—or so he thought.
Life in America wasn't much better for Markus. He couldn't find work and lived as a homeless wanderer for years. Eventually, some well-meaning individuals mistook him for a mentally ill person and had him admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
But no one could have anticipated that the same Nazi doctor who had experimented on him in Europe had also found refuge in America. After the war, the U.S. recruited many war criminals, especially those involved in scientific research. Rather than being brought to justice, they were funded to continue their experiments.
Markus became one of the subjects of these continued tortures, along with other homeless people and mental patients. The Nazi doctor tortured them in pursuit of his so-called "eternal mind" experiment.
Later, the doctor heard rumors about the unique evil sprit of Derry Town and moved his entire operation there. The place where Alice's family now lived used to be the doctor's home and research site. The doctor tortured and killed dozens of patients in the basement, burying their bodies there. Markus was one of them.
This time, however, the experiment worked. Markus and the others became vengeful spirits after death. They tore the doctor apart in revenge, but some unknown force kept them bound to the basement.
It wasn't until a month ago, when Alice, struggling financially, began using the Ouija board again, that Markus was awakened. He then possessed the most spiritually attuned member of the family: Doris. From there, he began the process of parasitic possession, slowly taking over her body.
Markus also explained his abilities. Since his vocal cords had been removed and his tongue cut out during the experiments, after death, he gained the power to compel humans to commit evil deeds. Stronger entities like Markus could even cloud people's minds directly.
Randy nodded after hearing the detailed explanation. It was too coherent to be a lie, and easy to verify. There was no reason for Markus to deceive him.
"Do you know why I came here specifically?" Randy asked.
Markus, or rather Doris, shook her head.
"Because your involvement with this family has some influence in the town. I need to use your abilities to help me spread a message."
Randy's goal became clear. If Alice had been the one with spiritual abilities, Randy might have had to resort to threats, bribery, or even brainwashing to control her. But since it was a malevolent spirit he was dealing with, things became much easier.
In fact, Randy preferred dealing with evil spirits over humans.
He looked at Markus and asked, "There should still be bodies in the basement, right?"
"There are over twenty well-preserved corpses, and the rest have turned into skeletons."
"Good. I'll leave you one of those corpses to use as fertilizer. Here's a lotus seed. It should be enough for it to bloom and produce seed pods. You need to promote this lotus. Use any means—trickery, intimidation, whatever it takes—but within a week, everyone nearby should know that this lotus can repel evil spirits. Wherever the lotus grows in abundance, people will be protected."
Markus's eyes widened, realizing the grand scheme at play. He quickly moved forward and accepted the lotus seed. He could easily use his existing clientele to sell the idea and even make a profit on the side.
Though Markus enjoyed living through Doris's body, he expressed concern about an obstacle. "Pauline, Doris's sister, seems to have sensed something unusual. I tried to scare her, but it didn't work. I'm worried she might interfere, and that could raise Alice's suspicions."
"I'll handle it," Randy assured. He could see that the sisters didn't get along. In fact, Randy found the behavior of European and American evil spirits peculiar. They could easily eliminate obstacles, yet they often preferred scaring people, which only heightened suspicion.
"Next, I'll be heading to the basement. Let's go explain things to your mother and sister."
"Understood. I'll bring Doris back now."
Markus's pale eyes gradually returned to normal, and the twisted expression on Doris's face softened as she regained control.
At first, Doris seemed confused, but Markus quickly filled her in on everything that had transpired. With Markus now under Randy's control, even Doris felt a certain fear when facing him.
"Please have a seat. I'll be right back," she said humbly, more like a servant. Doris ran to the other room and knocked on the door.
Alice opened it and asked curiously, "Are you finished?"
"There's still something we need to deal with. I need to go to the basement with Mr. Randy. You can wait upstairs."
Since Doris gained the ability to manipulate spirits, she had essentially become the head of the household, even to the point where Alice obeyed her. But Pauline, her sister, still dared to question her.
"I'm going with you! Maybe I can help with whatever you're doing," Pauline insisted.
Pauline had long known something was wrong with Doris, but she hadn't found solid proof yet. She was worried that Doris might harm Randy in the basement, so she spoke up to ensure his safety, thinking that if she were present, Doris wouldn't dare act out.
Doris didn't understand Pauline's concerns; she just found her sister incredibly annoying for always opposing her.
She turned to Randy, and after receiving his nod, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, you can come too."
Seeing that Alice wanted to say something, Doris quickly added, "You stay upstairs."
Alice, having no choice, nodded. "Alright."
She had been completely swayed by her daughter, especially since they were relying on Doris's spiritual powers to make money and pay off their mortgage. They'd nearly lost the house to the bank earlier.
"Let's go then," Doris said, leading the way downstairs.
Randy followed, with Pauline trailing behind, frowning. After a few steps, Pauline leaned in close to Randy and whispered, "Mr. Randy, don't believe everything my sister says. If she tries to invite you somewhere alone, for any reason, be very cautious."
Pauline, with her red hair, unusually pale skin, and delicate features, looked more like someone of East Asian descent despite her Celtic heritage. Dressed in a school uniform, with a shirt, V-neck sweater, pleated skirt, and flesh-colored tights, she had the refined aura of a proper young lady.
Randy nodded and closed the basement door behind them, then turned back to Pauline.
"Don't worry, I'm not one to accept invitations lightly. But if it's from you, Pauline, I'd be more than happy to accept."