by L. Foster
Laura shook her head and Matthew snorted.
'I'll take that as a no. I will need to baptize you. You will have little protection otherwise. You need to start trusting in the Lord, even you Matthew, for if you don't...'
'I may not believe entirely, but I have seen enough to try, Father.' Matthew said.
'I'm willing also.' Laura agreed.
Father Andrew blessed the water that was in the sink with a silent prayer. He then dipped his hand in it and sprinkled a few drops of water using a sharp motion over Laura and Matthew.
'Father, I ask you to bless and protect these, your children, and all who are here. Please guide our hands and help us remove this evil from our lives.
'I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.'
The group responded with an Amen of their own.
The priest smiled and gave a short sigh. 'Now, let's get your sister back!'
'Wait! Please wait. I have something I need to tell you all first. 'Everyone focused their attention on Laura as she spoke.
'Abigail was my friend, but I betrayed her. We were getting bullied, really bad, and instead of sticking up for her like she did for me, I...' Laura paused and found it hard to swallow her saliva.
'I didn't. I didn't stick up for her. I told them where she was. It was my fault. My fault they abused her. Raped her...
'She killed herself because I let her down. I am so sorry...' Laura said and turned towards Henry with tears in her eyes. 'Please forgive me...'
Father Andrew put a hand on her shoulder.
'Young lady, I admire your honesty. It takes a lot of courage to admit one's failings. But the Lord forgives us all.
'I cannot judge you, but by doing this, you have made our battle easier. I thank you for that. For those secrets become an Achilles heel in battle.
Father Andrew then asked Henry to forgive her as she had paid the price for her lapse. Henry took Laura in his arms and told her he forgave her. He also assured her of his unchanging love.
Laura couldn't look him in the eyes, 'I don't know how you can...'
'He can because he must. There are only two sides in this war. Good and Evil.'
'We must forgive one another, and ourselves, this is the basic Commandment given by our Lord. Forgiveness is what differentiates us from evil. Evil is not divided and we must not be divided either. God forgives your sins, my child, as does Henry.' Now, come! Let us finish this battle. We will finish it as one.'
The group left the bathroom and headed for the bedroom. The door was still shut, but Father Andrew opened it with a light push. The Entity was sitting on the bed next to Jenny. It started to gag from a bulbous and prodding movement under the fleshy skin of its throat. Something living was trying to escape. The Entity's neck muscles writhed and contorted as the thing struggled for freedom. Momentarily, the thing was inside the Entity's mouth, and the Entity's veined cheeks bulged with fullness. With horror, the group watched as small spindly legs forced themselves through discolored ulcerated looking lips.
The Entity opened its mouth. Now the full horror dawned upon all present, an abnormally large spider writhing to escape. Its dark body glistened, and globules of mucus fell from its body covering the Entity's chin. With slow deliberate movements, the Entity cupped the spider in its hand then proceeded to lower it gently to the bed. Matthew turned white.
'Pardon me. It must have been something I ate.' the Entity laughed. 'Do you miss her? Do you miss your mother? She's here too you know. Maybe you should say hello.' The entity turned facing Father Andrew.
Father Andrew started to say something, but doubled over in pain. His hand let his bible slip to the floor.
'Oh no! I think I must have broken him!'
Henry rushed over to his friend. He drew a pill bottle out of Father Andrew's pocket, took a pill out and shoved it into Father Andrew's mouth.
'Old father Long-Legs. Can’t say his prayers. Take him by the left leg and throw him down the stairs!' the Entity taunted.
Father Andrew grabbed his bible from the floor and asked that they linked hands to pray as he was not strong enough to do so alone. Henry reiterated his readiness and helped the old priest to his feet. He grabbed Laura's hands and instructed Matthew to grab hers. Father Andrew held Henry and Matthew’s hand. They had formed a circle.
'Now, my son.' Father Andrew instructed.
Henry shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them. He looked at Laura and then over to the Entity.
'In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we stand against you. The Lord rebukes your works!'
The Entity's smile turned to pain. It screamed and along with the Entity’s scream came Jenny's scream.
'You try to divide us. Blame us. And cause guilt. Yet the Lord hears our prayers and He forgives. Now go in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. In Christ's name, we banish you!'
The Entity screamed again. Jenny arched her back in pain and then fell to the bed. The perfume bottle rolled off her chest. The Entity staggered towards the circle of friends.
'I will devour you for this!'
But Henry for sure was relentless.
'You have no power over us! We are servants of God! It is not we who command you, but the Lord our God commands you! We banish you in His name!' He shouted.
The Entity began to smolder. Its face twisted in pain and, in an instant, it crumbled to dust.
Chapter 53
Matthew rushed over to his sister. Jenny moaned on the bed. He helped her up and let the bottle fall off of her. Matthew held his sister in his arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
'Matt... what...'
'Shhhh. It's over now, sis. It's over.'
The two embraced and Matthew set his sister on her feet. He then reached for the curious bottle.
Laura and Henry hugged each other. Henry gave her a kiss and she returned it freely. The group made their way down the stairs to tell Chris and Phil the good news.
'That was amazing! We got it all on video man!' Phil was full of smiles.
'Yeah, we've got so many data, we'll be analyzing this for months!' Chris concurred.
'Months? This will be years! We'll be rich! We'll do talk shows and stuff!' Phil slipped in.
'I bet I could even get a spot on Celebrity Apprentice!' Chris laughed.
Henry walked over to the laptop, 'Looks like you boys got the score of a lifetime here.'
'It isn’t just the video. The sensor readings were off the charts! That's even not all, the activity didn't just Centre on Jenny! We could actually see something springing from each of you. It was like a window to the next plane opened up in that room.'
Chris nodded enthusiastically. 'It was beautiful. I hope we got it all. There was a chorus in there. Father Andrew's voice was doubled by something else. Something powerful. It went to your voice when you helped him at the end too, Henry. I mean it’s on all channels!'
'You wouldn't believe what we got on video too. We could actually see something pull away from Jenny. It was like looking at some Hollywood movie. At one moment she was Jenny and then the next it was like people double exposed over her! It was awesome!'
'For you maybe, but try being one of those people! I feel like my guts are about to leak out of my nose.' Jenny seemed to have regained her composure.
'What was it like?' Chris asked.
Jenny told him it was a horrible experience. She could barely control her body as she struggled to fight what felt like hands crawling all over her body. She mentioned that she was neither asleep nor fully awake and no matter how hard she struggled, some other tentacle pulled her back into the darkness.
Father Andrew smiled and announced his work was done. He asked them to forgive and love each other as darkness could only vanish when those two were in existence amongst them. He told them he was going to clear his head a bit and asked Henry to join him in his car when he was ready. He clearly needed some rest.
Father Andrew walked towards the door but stopped at the handle to addres
s the group one more time.
'Perhaps, now that you are baptized, maybe you and your sister will pop into mass sometime, Matthew. Sooner rather than later?' Matthew smiled foolishly and nodded. Father Andrew turned towards Laura.
'And you, young lady. Henry's a good man. You are a good woman. Together, you will make this a much brighter place. May the Lord bless you both.'
He opened the door and stopped. As the door opened wider, someone's shadow loomed. Kate was back. Her face contorted in anger or rage or something else Father Andrew couldn’t place. Her eyes were dark and vacant. Her skin was pale and peculiar. Apparently, something else was in control. Her voice was different. It was devilish, coarse primal. More than before. A possession was in full swing.
'I'm back. Miss me?' Kate lunged towards Father Andrew and secured her hands around the priest's neck.
Henry rushed over to help his friend, but Kate knocked him aside with her feet. Chris picked up a bottle of holy water that was by the table and threw it to Henry. Henry caught the bottle but was thrown back down by the struggling priest and Kate.
Jenny rushed over to Henry and took the holy water from his hands. She threw it at Kate. Kate let go of Father Andrew and smoke came from a burn the water made on her hands.
'Sorry, Kate. We'll shop Oxford Street sometime. Promise!' Jenny let out, unsure of what to say at that instant.
Matthew picked up Father Andrew's bible and swung it at Kate's head. He knocked her unconscious with it. The blow made a cracking sound and Kate fell to the ground limp.
'My water. Give me....my water...' Father Andrew requested. 'And hold her!'
Henry gave him the last bottle from the table. Father Andrew walked over to Kate's body. Matthew held her as she started to shake and rise. Andrew threw the holy water on Kate.
'I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost! You are protected by God, my child. Your soul is cleansed of sin!'
Father Andrew then pointed to the perfume bottle in Matthew’s hands.
'It must be one of the families. Willingly dispose that thing, my son, or it will haunt you forever. This thing is evil and evil is patient. You must act fast or it will find another host.'
Matthew looked at the bottle he still had in his hand. It seemed to glow slightly. He took it outside and placed it on a concrete paving slab in the front garden. Then with an aggressive stamp, he raised and brought his foot down.
The bottle shattered into fragments on impact. The night had been anything but normal. Normality was on a hiatus that night. He gave it another stamp. Matthew turned and walked back indoors, feeling some sort of satisfaction.
That was a shame, because if he'd stayed a little bit longer. He may have seen a slight green mist rise from the bottle fragments. He may also have noticed a large black spider that seemed to materialize from nothing, and quickly scuttle away, as if on the run, and through Jenny's beloved rhododendron bush. Normality was definitely on a hiatus.
Kate convulsed for seconds more. She inhaled, then her lungs expired, and she lay still.
Matthew’s face for the second time that night showed fear and concern. He pulled in, cradling her head in his arms.
'Kate... Kate...She's dead. I killed her' Matthew surprised himself, becoming tearful full on. Jenny could only watch in surprise.
Matthew didn't know he still had such deep feelings until put to the test. Laura however understood. She had become accustomed to using sarcasm and anger to hide her true emotions all her life. It now became evident that she was not the only one. Matthew and Laura were more alike than anyone initially realized. Anyone except Henry.
There it was again, a wry smile from Henry which made Laura ask if he knew all along.
'I had my suspicions.' Henry confirmed.
Kate's breathing suddenly returned, pulsing to life. She coughed and spluttered. Matthew immediately leant in and kissed her lips with passion. Kate's eyes opened wide in surprise. She didn't fight him this time however, her arms reached up and pulled Matthew in closer.
Jenny stood up slightly bemused.
'Well...didn't see that coming.'
Chris and Phil were watching from a few feet back.
Phil turned to Chris.
'Don't say another word.' then turned his head back to the equipment.
Part Four: Spiritus Sancti
10 years later
Epilogue
Abigail Bradshaw ran around the garden. She picked up a stripped yellow and red ball and tossed it gently to her brother.
'Good job, Johnny! Great catch!' Abigail said.
Her baby brother cooed and tried to put the ball in his mouth.
'And what do we have here? Trying to eat before the barbecue?' Kate took the ball out of Johnny's mouth. Johnny sat and pouted.
'Leave it to you to grab a man's balls.' Matthew teased. He took the ball from Kate and gave it back to Johnny. The small child smiled.
'Are you going to be this stingy when little Mikey is born?' Matthew asked.
'You mean little Susanna! It's a girl, I can feel it!' Kate rubbed her rather large belly.
Henry and Laura walked out to the patio. Laura was carrying a drink for Jenny. She placed the gin and tonic down and turned a straw towards her guest. 'Extra lime, darling.'
'Oh, you're an angel. Sam doesn't let me have these at home. Says it might ruin my figure.'
'Sam must be blind. You’re gorgeous. I'd scoop you up if it weren't for the missus here.' Henry teased. Laura shot him an elbow to his ribs. 'Ooof!'
'More like Woof! Some man of God you are!'
'I can't believe it’s been 6 years since he's gone.'
'To Father Andrew!' Jenny toasted. She held her drink to the sky and took a swallow.
'All right! Time for food! Abi! Bring your little brother to get washed up please!' Laura called.
Abi walked over to her brother and led him by the hand indoors. Kate and Matthew ventured towards the patio table.
'Someone say food? I'm starving!'
'You're always starving!' Matthew teased.
'I'm eating for two. What's your excuse?'
'Are you saying I am getting fat?'
'I think the scale says that, Matty.' Henry joked.
'Hey! I thought you were a man of the cloth now! Aren't you supposed to be nice to me! I am one of your sheep!' Matthew protested.
'More like the man who ate most of the sheep. I may be a man of God, but I can see you should do a few jumping jacks or you may not be around to see little Doris grow up!' Henry advised.
'Doris? Who said we're naming the child Doris?' Matthew retorted.
'What's wrong with Doris? Doris is a great name!' Henry gasped.
'Doris was the name of the girl I hated at school!
'Like I said! A great name!'
Kate sat next to Jenny and put her two plates down. Abi and Johnny came together and Laura put Johnny in his high chair. Matthew put his plate down next to Kate and winked at Abi. Laura finally got to gather her food and sat next to Abi.
Henry stood up, took a quick look at all his companions, then with his head bowed…
“let us pray...”
Eternity
The stairs lay in front of Greta like a great, dark mountain, looming in the distance. Just
looking at them made her knees twinge and back sore. The doctors had said she needed to wait at
least a week before taking part in any strenuous activity, but she had never been a patient woman.
Stairs aren’t strenuous, she thought. I have been climbing stairs since I could walk, and
no surgery is going to stop me from continuing to do so.
She had always been an active and adventurous, with a passion for the outdoors and an
ignorance of the effects of time. In her mind, she was still the rambunctious tenyearold that had
gallivanted through cobblestone streets of Rothenburg with her brother in tow.
Greta closed her tired eyes and was transporte
d back in time. She could feel the sun on
her face and a slight breeze ruffle the youthful skirt that had replaced her outdated nightgown. In
the distance, she could hear the familiar toll of the bells that resided in the chapel at the center of
town. The mischievous giddiness of not having to go to church filled her again. It was a bright
Sunday morning and she was free to do as she pleased, unlike the other little children that were
stuck in the stuffy chapel. The stairs that had loomed in front of her were no longer the creaky,
wooden ones that led to the attic of her house, but the strong, stone ones that led to the top of the
wall that had surrounded her little German town for centuries. She bounded up to them, as she
had done a million times, and began to climb.
The pain of old age pushed Greta back into reality with a force that took her breath away.
The wall and the stone steps melted back into wood and carpet. The breeze returned to the
mundane blow of the air conditioner. The magic was lost, and Greta was standing on the first
step of her staircase.
This sudden recollection surprised her. It has been decades since you thought of these
things, she told herself. Decades since you remembered home. Why now? You know what
happened. All the heartache will come back to life if you continue to do this to yourself.
It was too late. All the memories, good and bad, came back to her in a gust of nostalgia
and pain. She stood there, helpless to do anything to stop them. The only thing left to do was
continue to climb the stairs.
The next memory came with so much power that Greta was forced to cling to the wooden
bannister lining the wall as she was, once again, transported back to her youth. This time she
found herself in a parlor room, sitting on a small stool that stood near a fireplace that still held
