This was a stupid job. Rebecca tried to focus on the money, which she needed, but it was hard not think about how ridiculous it was. This kid’s doll was almost certainly not possessed, yet the parents insisted she exorcise it. They had seen too many horror movies.

Part of her thought she should feel grateful that supernatural horror was popular, but it led to so many bizarre ideas and even paranoia in the public. She knew she didn’t really have to take these jobs, but having some money of her own made her feel a bit more secure. It was something that was hers, that no one could take from her, as well as giving her a sort of independence. She didn’t have to rely on anyone else if it came to that.

However, it sometimes meant searching through a child’s messy room looking for a doll that had moved on its own, or so the family claimed. None of them wanted to be near it, so they had left her to find it. She spent some time digging through piles, looking under the bed and in the closet, and checking other, less obvious, nooks before finally finding it under the dresser.

There was little doubt that this was the doll in question: porcelain, blue dress, and a creepy, realistic face. If you’re going to watch scary movies with possessed dolls, why would you buy something like this? Rebecca had no idea, but she could see why they might believe the doll was possessed. If demonic dolls exist, this what they looked like.

Her intention was to take the doll, tell the owners the spirit possessing it wouldn’t bother them anymore, and go home. Out of curiosity, though, she cast a simple spell to check for spirits or related activity and discovered, to her surprise, that a spirit did indeed inhabit the doll.

The spirit was rather weak and could manage only to animate the doll in minor ways, moving one arm or blinking the eyes. There was no malevolence in it, and no real danger. Of course, seeing a doll move would probably terrify most normal people. Rebecca felt slightly embarrassed, but only in her mind, since she hadn’t confided her skepticism to anyone else. At least she didn’t have to admit her mistake out loud.

Another spell, this one a bit more complicated, allowed the spirit to communicate.

“Can you hear me?” Rebecca asked tentatively.

“Uh.” The response was quiet.

“Do you have to stay in this doll?”

“Nuh.”

“How about this house? Are you tied to it?”

“Nuh.”

“Are you willing to come with me?”

There was a pause before the doll answered, but it did finally reply. “Uh.”

“Alright. Let’s get out of here. Easier than fighting about it.”

She opened the bag she had brought with her. It mostly held props that clients expected someone like her to use. They were all for show. She picked up the doll.

“Is it okay to put you in this bag? Just until i can get you back to my lab?”

“Uh.”

She carefully placed the doll inside and latched the bag closed. Before leaving the room, she checked the house for other spirits. There was nothing else unusual that she could detect.

Downstairs, she reassured the family that she had secured the doll and the spirit would no longer trouble them. They arranged payment, and she told them, as part of her guarantee, to call her again if anything else weird happened.

On the way back to the house, she decided she had to move the spirit out of the doll. There had to be something less creepy she could use. Maybe Sarah had a teddy bear or something. More importantly, Rebecca wanted to figure out how the spirit got into the doll in the first place. That sort of thing was not common. It might be worth keeping it around for awhile.