Workers

Either Mark has the laziest workers in the universe or there is something seriously wrong with this house. Mark came over to do a walk through of the house today with three members of his crew. We were only half way through the first floor when one of the workers came bolting out of the basement. He was pale and shaking so bad even the fat under his jaw was quivering. Mark had to chase after him to find out what was going on. I followed the two of them out into the yard but I couldn't understand what the guy was saying. He was speaking Spanish so quickly I could barely make out any of the words. I know the language fairly well, but this man’s rapid speaking was behind my comprehension. His teeth were chattering so fast it was hard to believe he could even speak.
The other two members of Mark’s crew stood behind me whispering as they listened to their partner speak. Their whispering became more agitated the more the man spoke. Finally I turned to them and asked what the other man was talking about. Both of the men’s eyes were so wide all I saw was white surrounded by red rims.
“David was touched by someone when he was in the basement.”
I looked from the two men standing behind me to Mark and David, who were still arguing in the middle of the overgrown front lawn. David’s eyes hadn't lost their wild look and he had added wild gestures to his performance. Between the he wild gestures and the few words I was finally able to make out I soon came to understand David had no intention of ever entering the house again. Mark was trying to convince him to come back into the house and finish the inspection, but David was shaking his head so violently I knew there was no way he was going to go back inside the house.
“You probably just walked into a spider web.” Mark was practically screaming in David’s face.
David had stopped shaking his head. I think he made himself dizzy. “No, I saw a man standing in the corner. He didn't want me there. He pushed me.” The rest was said in Spanish and said very quickly, but I think I heard him say “Diablo”.
I asked the other men who touched him but they both shook their heads. “We were upstairs. No one touched him.” The men glanced over their shoulders and shuffled away from the house. They took tiny, stuttered steps and I could tell they were trying very hard not to catch Mark’s eye.
“Carlos, Juan get back in the house and finish the inspection.”
The two men nearly stumbled over themselves as they turned back to the house. Mark had turned back to David, but there was no convincing him to return to the house. The rest of the day the other two men refused to work in separate areas of the house. I couldn't convince them to go into the basement at all. Mark and I had to go down and inspect the foundation. It looks like the foundation is pretty solid.. I'm kinda shocked the house hasn't shifted like I thought. I wonder what is causing all the doors to swing open at odd hours. Mark isn't going to give me any money for locks for the interior doors. Most of them are going to be replaced when we change the footprint of the house. He agrees with me about the wiring, though. He's going to send his crew over tomorrow to start the work. The walls are all marked so we know which ones we are taking down and which ones are staying. I’ll be living in a construction zone for awhile. It won't kill me.
At least Mark confirmed if I make it through thirty days he really is going to give me $10,000. Devil or no devil, I'm going to stick it out in this house. The money’s going to give me a way out of this hole I'm in. 27 more days. It's a good thing I don't believe in ghost, but I think I'm going to get an exterminator out here for those spiders.