by Unknown
'Enough! I will not listen to your lies!' He exclaimed.
'You will though, you will!' It paused, then continued,
'Did you know what that little whore downstairs did? Do you know what she did? Your principles betray you to the truth you so cherish. Does not your book say confession is good for the soul?
A voice of an old woman is heard in the room, yet no old woman is present.
'John! John! Where are you? It's dark. So cold!' The Entity chuckles mischievously.
'I, am taking what's mine! This one is an Achan in my camp. Now, the other one tried to take from me a soul bound to me. Give her hope'.
The Entity looks deep into the priest’s eyes. 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, wouldn't you agree?' Then it laughs.
'The Lord hears our confession, and it is not for thee!' Father Andrew responds.
'The Lord? The Lord? Do you not know you worship a false idol? I am the true God!
'Bow down to your new master! Bow down like your mother before you!'
A pain gripped Father Andrew as he buckled to his knees.
Chapter 51
Henry walked over to Laura as Phil and Chris put the workstation back together. Matthew held his shirt to his nose to stop the bleeding.
'Tell me about Abi.'
'It's a lot like what I said. Just didn't use her name, but the rest was true. We were in Glencoe. A last chance sort of home. It really should have been shut down, and it was a few months after the...you know. She paused to meet Henry’s eyes. Impatience was what she saw in them. She shifted her gaze and continued.
'Abi came in after I'd been there for some time. It was hell on Earth before she arrived. Not that it changed much. But she made things a little more bearable. The people there...they were just creeps. Hoodlums. We didn't fit in, so we became friends.
'That letter.... that is the letter she slipped under my door the day she...'
'Quiet! There's something going on in the bedroom.' Phil called out.
They grouped around the laptop to see what was going on. The camera showed Father Andrew standing with his bible outstretched in one arm and his other hand in the air. It appeared that Jenny's body started to come up from the bed to float a few inches off the sheets.
'Jenny! Jenny's up there! I have to go and help her!'
'Matt, stay here! John said to wait here!' Henry called out after his friend.
Matthew put his shirt down. Dried blood gave him a mask that looked less painful than his broken nose would indicate. It looked like he had swabbed himself with iodine. His nose was broken, but it was only slightly out of place.
'I can't just sit down here and watch things happen to her. She's my sister!'
Phil pointed at the screen, 'I don't think rushing up there is a good idea. It looks like the Father has his hands full right now.'
'She isn't your sister!' Matthew yelled.
'Seems like you picked a really crappy time to start caring about her now....' Chris said.
Matthew turned to Chris and was about to retort, but decided his sister was more important. After announcing his determination to go help his sister one more time, he pushed past Henry and ran up the stairs. Henry followed him up and Laura ran after Henry.
Chris and Phil looked at each other. 'Should we follow?' Chris asked.
'After what I already saw first-hand? Not a chance!'
Chapter 52
Matthew crashed through the door and stopped abruptly. The Entity was licking Father Andrew's unconscious face. Without giving it much thought, he rushed towards Father Andrew and was grabbed mid-way by the Entity. It left marks on his throat before throwing him towards the dresser.
'The gallant knight! Such a pity!' the Entity said.
Henry came through the door with Laura behind him. 'John!'
'Yes, I am afraid Father John is taking a bit of a nap right now. Seems like the strain was a bit too much for his poor little heart to take. What have we here? The treacherous wench!' the Entity said as it slithered towards Laura.
'Be silent. In the name of our Lord...' Father Andrew's voice was barely above a whisper.
The Entity moaned and then laughed. 'Welcome back, Father! Ask her! Ask her what she did!'
'No....I didn't.... I’m....' Laura stammered.
'Do not respond to it, my child. That is what it wants! I told you all not to come here. We must regroup.' Father Andrew begged as Henry helped him to his feet.
The Entity laughed and climbed into bed with Jenny. 'Oh, please feel free to take a break. I know my new bride and I would like some time alone!'
There was a small gust of wind and Laura felt herself being pushed out of the door. Henry dragged Matthew with him while Father Andrew tried to stand his ground, but fell through the door with the others. The door slammed shut.
Matthew jumped towards the door yelling that they save his sister. Father Andrew managed to convince him that Jenny was fine for the time being as she was only used as some sort of diversion for some other unknown purpose.
'Where's the bathroom?' Father Andrew inquired.
Henry pointed down the hall.
Father Andrew asked to be followed and walked towards the bathroom.
The group entered the room and Father Andrew started to fill the sink with water. The water kicked in the pipes, and it moaned in protest.
'This thing has a stronghold in two areas. It seems to have a fascination with that bottle that Jenny had on her chest. Where did you get that?' Andrew asked.
'That ugly thing with the snakes? Jenny bought it the other day from some antique shop.' Matthew responded.
'The Entity claims ownership of it. It reacted to his touch. It came alive somehow. You will need to rid yourself of it once this is over. Have any of you been baptized? Besides Henry?'
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 anot
her, 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 address 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.
