The Strange Case of the Jackson Building

Chapter 24 - Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sacrifice

If you forgot about logic, evidence and everything you've ever deemed as true and factual, then Father Banes' account of the events made perfect sense.

The truth was that Petra couldn't find a better explanation, besides her being completely crazy. Or maybe she really was crazy anyway just for considering that what Father Banes said might be the truth.

What if he really was insane?

On the other hand, what else could explain everything that had happened to her ever since she first walked into that place? It was much harder to convince herself it was just paranoia after her whole body had been scarred the night before. She was pretty sure she wasn't imagining that.

Another thing had also struck her on her re-reading of the journal. The name of the residents that had called for Banes' help.

Mr. and Mrs. Allord.

Wasn't that the name of the elderly couple that lived in front of her? The ones with the French dog? She thought she recalled Kyle calling them that. Was it a coincidence that her neighbors shared that same name? Were they related to the couple that Father Banes knew? Those were the only possible, sensible, logic, sane explanations.

She was back at Eli's coffee-shop, her laptop once again in full use, reading the remaining links. The rest of them were devoted to some of the Jackson Building's residents throughout the years and all of their tragic fates. There was a shady history of mysterious disappearances, suicides and even murder. It was a gruesome background and she wished she'd known that before she decided to live there. That was probably why the rent was so cheap - and also the only one Petra could afford.

Reading the older residents' stories gave her an idea. Hoping that she wouldn't find anything at all, she typed the words "Jackson Building" and "Natasha" in a search engine.

Unfortunately, something did come up - a couple of articles from local newspapers from the year before. She opened the first one and read it in shock.

Young Girl Found Dead in Jackson Building

Natasha Fletcher, 19, was found dead yesterday in her apartment in the infamous Jackson Building. The young girl's body, a Journalism and Communication student at the local University, was found hanging by the neck from her bedroom's ceiling. The police was called to the scene and are awaiting the medical reports to confirm time and cause of death.

"So far, everything points to suicide," the Detective assigned to the case revealed, "but we won't make assumptions until further information is released."

Natasha's family was contacted immediately and is having a hard time accepting the early conclusions.

"Natasha would never do this. She would never take her own life," said a relative of the victim, who asked to remain unidentified. "She loved life. She didn't have any history of depression. Natasha was full of life, joyful and carefree... She would brighten up anyone's day with her presence. No one in our family believes she would ever commit suicide. Someone hurt our girl and we demand a serious investigation in that sense to find the culprit."

Natasha Fletcher's story is just one more to add to the long record of unfortunate events that have happened throughout the building's history, which has even gathered a reputation for being haunted.

Dr. Vance, a renowned psychiatrist, explains the phenomenon, "The building's design alone can be an important factor in these occurrences. The lack of natural light, lack of windows in the common areas and dark colors can trigger some instability on an already troubled mind or in people with pre-disposition to mental illness, like depression. It has been proven that environment can be deeply related with the development of some instability in people already struggling with such problems. The building already owns a certain reputation and allied with the claustrophobic arquitecture -"