Kaede

I very well did know. I realized Kaede couldn't currently see me, but I still nodded as I wrapped the phone cord in my fingers while waiting for her to give me more details. I was actually quite nervous for her to report her findings...and was a little peeved at myself for having her watch our adventure alone.

"Well, when I started going down on you," the young woman continued, and talked in such a manner like the sexual encounter was nothing out of the norm, "You must've set the camera down on the desk behind you fairly quickly. I could hear everything we were doing for countless minutes, but couldn't see it, obviously. However, the placement of the camera and where you had set it down...it was aimed on the very spot where you caught the shadow figure!"

I could hear her excitement as I listened. I would've interrupted at that moment, but I decided not to so she could go on.

"Marcus, while I was sucking you off, something behind me started to take shape on the wall! I know if you had been able to see it through the darkness or had shined your light on it and noticed it, you would've stopped what we were doing to warn me, but you couldn't have possibly seen it...but the camera's night vision did! And it picked up EVERYTHING!"

I shuddered as I wondered what it could've possibly caught. I knew I was about to find out.

"Marcus, it started out as a dark ball and grew into that apparition you saw! It was the strangest thing I've ever seen, and had I not been there with you to pick up this footage, I wouldn't believe seeing it if someone else had shown it to me! I would've accused them of somehow editing the tape...because this is the wildest fucking thing I've ever seen!"

I didn't want to interrupt the obviously excited woman during her explanation, but I couldn't help but cut in, "When you say it started as a dark ball..."

"So, while I was blowing you," Kaede causally said, "You can hear both you and I as we're having a blast...but all the while in the background, the camera was filming that wall near the door that had fallen off its hinges. On that wall, a black ball appears in the night vision...and starts to slowly grow! Oh, hell, Marcus...I must've been sucking on you for a good six to seven minutes at least, and the whole time I'm doing so, you can see that ball start to take shape! It starts sprouting limbs and turning in to what resembled the outline of a man!"

"No way," I mumbled in a faraway sounding voice.

"No lie!" Kaede exclaimed. "It takes a while, but it distinctly starts to turn into what we witnessed in the later scene!"

I was so amazed that I couldn't find the words to say. Like Kaede, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there to witness it.

"Oh, and Marcus...there's one other thing."

"What is it?"

"While you and I were messing around, there's one other instance of that voice. I missed it the first time I watched the footage, but picked up on it the second time. I've played it back probably a hundred times, and it's that same, creepy-ass low voice like what we heard when we were watching it in the car."

I gulped upon recalling that tone. It wasn't something I ever wanted to hear again.

"About a minute before you creamed all over me," the young woman again somehow managed to speak in a casual tone about something sinfully dirty, "There's a point when your grunts were somewhat stretched out and the sounds of my sucking were a little muffled. I was able to listen really closely and picked up on something that wasn't either of us. Even with my volume turned up, it was hard to detect, but when I did, I knew it was that same malevolent voice. This time, it said the word, 'stop.'"

"Stop?" I incredulously asked. What relevance would such a word have?

"I have no idea what possible relevance it could have," Kaede spoke up, practically reading my mind, "But as I mentioned, I played that part back so many times...and each and every time, that was the word I heard. I wondered if I could've possibly been mishearing it, but I don't think I am."

It finally hit me and seemed quite obvious when I suggested, "Do you think it wanted us to stop goofing around? Maybe we were in this person's room or something...?"

"It's possible," Kaede mumbled. I could tell that she was deep in thought.

There was silence for a moment until I asked, "So, what do we do now?"

The other end of the line remained quiet for the longest time until Kaede finally told me, "I'm heading out east, Marcus. I'm going to do a little more research and see if I can come up with any answers for what exactly it was that you and I witnessed last night. I'm going to study this paranormal shit to the best of my ability so we can understand why we saw what we saw."

To say I was surprised would have been an understatement. "Are you talking about going to college or something?"

"I don't know of any colleges that offer a curriculum for what we beheld last night, Marcus," Kaede told me in a low and serious tone. "No, I plan on doing as much research as I can to uncover any facts I can about that cabin. I just know that there's more to that manifestation, and I'm going to find out what exactly it was trying to tell us...if that voice was indeed connected to that apparition."

I wasn't sure how, but I knew I had to reason with the young woman on the other end of the line somehow. "Kaede, I don't think you should rush off like this! Maybe the two of us can do a little research together and..."

"Marcus, nothing would thrill me more than to have you come along for the ride and truly be my partner in crime, but this is something I feel I have to do alone."

"But why, Kaede? This could be...dangerous! I don't want you getting into any kind of..."

"Hey, I'll be perfectly fine! I'm not going to let any ghosts or fiends get the best of me!"

I was shocked and maybe even a little sickened. I didn't want Kaede disappearing out of my life on a fool's errand. Granted, calling it a "fool's errand" was a little harsh since there was nothing foolish about it...I had seen what it was she wanted to study and knew it to be real. Had I been asked the same thing twenty-four hours earlier, my answer would've been different, but now...

"Marcus, I'll let you know if I find anything out. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but when I am, you'll be the first to know, okay?"

"But what about your parents?" I asked. "Won't they worry about..."

"My mom left a long time ago, and my dad knows he can't keep me here forever. Now, you just wait here and..."

"How long will you be gone?" I inquired. "Why won't..."

"Marcus, take a deep breath and relax. Nothing's going to happen to me! I'm too tough to be brought down by any of this paranormal shit!"

I knew the young woman had a point, but that didn't mean I wanted her rushing into anything as terrifying as what she was about to do on her own. Had she said the word, I would've been right there by her side. I actually thought about hanging up on her and rushing over to her place in my pickup...but I quickly realized that I didn't even know where the raven-tressed goddess lived.

"This is only a temporary goodbye," Kaede then said in a more pensive tone. "I will be back for you someday, Marcus." She did her best to lighten the mood as she added, "Besides, I'm not about to let a stud like you with a dick like yours fall out of my life! Hell, we haven't even had sex yet and the very thought of it makes me wet!"

I think I was about to get a little wet myself just from hearing her words. I fought past the feeling, though, and tried to remain serious as I asked, "Are you sure I can't come with you?"

"No offense, Marcus, but you'd only slow me down. I have a plan, and if I stick to it, I'm fairly certain I can get to the bottom of this phenomenon."

I was silent. I didn't have the words to say. I would certainly miss the beautiful woman whom I barely knew, and I knew my life would be the poorer for it.

"I'll see you soon, Marcus."

"Good luck, Kaede. Be careful."

"I will. And thanks for everything!" And then the phone clicked.

I pulled the receiver away from my head and looked at it as if Kaede would possibly jump out of it. I probably stared at it for a good minute before realizing the dial tone was annoyingly blaring and finally put it down. From where I sat in my family's office room, I silently pleaded that Kaede would be careful with what she was doing. I prayed for her safe return.

It wouldn't happen for nearly seven years.

END OF KAEDE'S TALE