“She’s supposed to be in Tennessee all week,” Blair said. “What’s she doing here?”
“Ugh,” Stacy groaned. “She’s probably wasted. Let me handle this.” She pushed past Colin and pulled the door open, and an unseen forced threw her off her feet. She hit the foyer wall with a heavy thud, and Mom stepped slowly into the house, dressed in an all-black tracksuit.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Mom said, chuckling darkly. Stacy groaned and weakly clawed herself upright. Brooke met Mom’s gaze, the whites of her eyes completely obscured by black smoke.
“Mom?” Brooke asked, a strange coldness radiating from her mother. “What happened to your eyes?”
“What do you want?” Blair asked, pulling her phone out to capture Mom’s latest craziness on video.
“I want to play a little game,” Mom said, raising one hand. The door slammed shut behind her of its own accord, and Blair’s phone flew to the floor, its screen black. “I’ve been cooped up for ages, and it’s high time I had a little fun. So, here’s the rules—the game lasts until sunrise. Leave the house, and you all die. Call for help, and you all die. Stay put and go about your business, and anyone who’s still alive at dawn gets to stay that way. Ready… set… go!” Mom threw her head back, and an awful black mass erupted from her mouth and nose, putrid black smoke that stank of rotten eggs. The mass of smoke shot towards an air vent, disappearing into the H/VAC system.
Mom collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing and heaving uncontrollably. She fell back into a sitting position, and Blair and Colin backed away from her, their faces twisted in fear.
“I-I’m sorry,” Mom said, panting like she’d just run a marathon. “I didn’t—”
“What the hell was that?” Brooke demanded. She took a few cautious steps towards her mother.
“A demon,” Mom said, her voice low and solemn. “It was trapped in the woods, and somehow I set it free.”
“A what?” Stacy demanded, glaring down at Brooke’s mother. “What does it want?”
“To have fun,” Mom said. “It asked me what I wanted to do, and I tried to get it to do anything, to go anywhere but here. It likes me, for some reason. But the only thing it knows is causing pain.”
“A… demon?” Brooke asked, suddenly wondering what Blair’s pot had been laced with. “No… no, this is crazy. You need to leave. We’re calling Dad.”
“I can’t leave, baby,” Mom said, her eyes filling with tears. “It’ll kill you all. We just have to stay together until dawn. Is there anyone else in the house?”
“Yes,” Brooke said, suddenly remembering the boy she’d left sleeping in her bed. She turned and ran back up the stairs, her bare feet sliding against the carpet. She was only a few steps away from the top when her feet slid out from beneath her, sending her falling forwards. Her chin struck the top step—
She shuddered and sat up in bed, her nameless companion still lying next to her. She blinked, wondering what would have prompted her to have such a horrifying nightmare. “You okay?” the boy asked, rolling over towards her. She smiled at the sight of him, his jaw square and handsome, and his body—well, she’d seen plenty of that already.
“I think I’m about to be,” she said, kissing him to distract herself. She felt his arms encircling her, and she ran her hands across his broad, muscular shoulders, forgetting her dream, Mom, and everything else negative in her life.
He rolled on top of her, and she pulled back to take a good long look at him before things really got going. She couldn’t recall what color his eyes had been last night, but now they were completely black, obscured by the same smoke that had possessed Mom in the dream.
“You’ve got that right, sweetie,” he said, his eyes black and soulless. “Anyone ever tell you that you look exactly like your mom?”
His fingers dug into her shoulders, and he leaned down to kiss her again. Brooke screamed and flailed out with her hand, searching for anything within reach she could use to defend herself. Her fingers found the handle of a coffee mug full of water sitting on the nightstand, and she swung it up with all her strength. It shattered against the demon’s head, and Brooke gasped at the rush of cold water that cascaded onto her chest.
The demon only laughed, one hand moving to grip her throat. His fingers closed around her airway, and black spots began to form at the edge of her vision. “Why’d you have to fight it?” the demon said with a laugh. “I thought we really had something there for a second. But if you don’t want to have any fun, I could kill you just as easily. Either way works for me.”
Brooke clenched her hands into fists, the jagged handle of the mug still wrapped around her hand. “What’s the matter, pretty?” the demon asked. “You don’t like me anymore?”
Calling upon every last ounce of strength she had left, Brooke drove her fist up into the demon’s chest, drawing blood where the mug handle bit into his flesh. She struck him again and again, each blow moving a little higher. She stabbed him one last time just beneath his chin, and her strength failed her. She collapsed limply against the bed, and darkness moved in around for the periphery of her vision, until she could see nothing but two small pinpricks.
But the grip around her neck suddenly vanished, and Brooke’s vision returned. She sat up, gasping for breath. The boy sat next to her on the bed, his hands clutching at his throat, blood running between his fingers. A final wisp of black smoke disappeared down the air vent at the foot of her bed, and the boy went limp, a stream of blood rushing out of his neck.
Brooke leapt away from him and his dull, lifeless eyes. Her tank-top was soaked with water and blood, but she barely noticed. Her entire body was numb, a thousand-and-one thoughts competing for space in her mind all at once. He was dead, and she’d killed him. The demon had tricked her into killing him. She scrambled across the floor and grabbed a waste basket. She wretched, horrified at what she had just done. The door burst open, and Mom rushed in. She dropped down to Brooke’s side and hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay, baby,” Mom said, cradling Brooke in her arms while she cried.
“I… I didn’t mean to,” Brooke sobbed.
“It’s okay,” Mom said, rocking her gently. “It wasn’t you. It was the demon. It did this, not you. It just wants to make you feel responsible. That’s how it tortures you.”
“Brooke, there you are!” Blair said, appearing in the doorway. She froze, taking a step back when she saw their mom sitting beside Brooke.
“Get away from her!” Blair hissed. “She’s the demon!”
“No,” Mom said. “No, not anymore. You saw he left me.”
“Liar!” Blair shrieked. “Brooke, you have to kill her!”
“Wait…” Brooke said, slowly rising to her feet. “I don’t think she’s the demon.”
“I knew I liked you,” Blair said. She grinned, and her eyes flashed black. “Let me tell you girls something. When I first landed in momma bear there and found out she had twins, I got all kinds of wonderfully terrible ideas in my head. Then I find out you and your twin don’t even look alike. Every half-baked demon that makes it topside gets some sister-on-sister action at some point, and all my twin fantasies went right down the drain. But looking at the two of you… hell, I can’t tell who’s the bitch and who’s the pup. The poor sack of bones I’m in now really got cheated not to get those genes.”
“Get out of her,” Mom said, standing up beside Brooke. “Take me again and leave them alone.”
“There’ll be a chance for all that later,” Blair said with a chuckle. “For now I want a little quality time with my sister.” She held up her hand, and Brooke was lifted off her feet, sliding through the air across the room until she was only an inch away from her sister’s face. “Do you remember how Daddy used to pick us up over his head when we were little?” Blair asked. “You used to call it flying. You loved to fly.”
“Stay out of our memories,” Brooke said, squeezing her eyes shut as the stench of brimstone choked her
.
“I’m only trying to get to know you better, sis,” Blair said with a wink. “Anyway, let’s see if I can make you fly.” She stepped out of the doorway and flung Brooke into the hallway with the slightest wave of her hand. Brooke’s shoulder struck the wall, and she tumbled to the floor, groaning in pain.
“No time for napping,” Blair said, walking past her. Brooke found herself floating again, bobbing through the hallway until they came to the open corridor overlooking the living room.
“Put her down!” Mom shouted, emerging from the bedroom behind them. Blair reached behind her back with one arm without looking away from Brooke, and Mom went flying down the hallway with a thud.
“Don’t worry,” Blair said, winking at her. “Fall shouldn’t kill you. Some broken bones, maybe, but no big deal. I’ll fix you up after, and we’ll do it over and over again until—ahh!” Blair screamed when Mom tackled her, and the two of them broke through the wooden railings and plummeted down to the hardwood floor below. Brooke fell out of the air, landing hard on her rear. She stood up and raced downstairs only to find Mom cradling Blair’s limp form. Her head was twisted at a sharp angle, and while her eyes were now free of smoke, the light had gone out of them altogether.
“What did you do?” Brooke demanded.
“I gave the demon what it wanted,” Mom said, weeping over Blair’s broken body. She pressed her face against Blair’s. “I… I don’t know what I was doing. I just didn’t want it to hurt you. I didn’t think… Blair…”
“You didn’t think!” Brooke screamed, unable to look away from Blair’s remains. “You never think! That’s your problem. Even when you try to help you just make things so much worse. You don’t even deserve to be anyone’s mom.”
“I know,” Mom said, her voice raw. “Trust me, I know. You tell me what to do.”
Brooke swallowed hard, somehow not ready for that response. She didn’t know what she wanted Mom to say. There wasn’t anything that could make any of this right.
“We just need to sit here,” she said at last. “You and me, until the sun comes up. That’s the only way we survive this.”
“You’re right,” Mom said, grabbing a blanket from the couch. She kissed Blair’s forehead and draped the cover over her. She sat down on the floor with her back to Brooke, watching the kitchen while Brooke kept an eye on the front door and the stairs. They stayed like that for hours, hearing the occasional crash or thump throughout the house as the demon tried to rattle them back into action. Finally, they heard a scream from the basement, and Stacy stumbled up the basement steps, her blouse slick with blood. Brooke and Mom rose to their feet.
“What happened?” Mom demanded, and Stacy just spun around, looking wildly in every direction. Deep laughter echoed up from the basement, and Colin emerged, a knife protruding from his heart, his eyes black with smoke.
“A little naughty-stepmom action gone awry,” Colin declared. He chuckled, and Stacy fled behind Brooke. “I mean wow, what a lucky kid. I just wanted in on the fun, you know?”
“What did you do?” Mom said, glaring at Stacy.
“Mom,” Brooke said, grabbing her arm. “You know it wasn’t her fault. It was the demon.”
Colin opened his mouth, and a mass of black smoke rushed out of him, engulfing Stacy. It forced itself into her mouth and seeped through her pores, and she opened her eyes to reveal a pair of black holes staring out at the world. Colin collapsed, the knife still embedded in his chest.
“What does it matter?” Stacy asked tauntingly. “I stole your husband and screwed your son. Don’t get me started on your girls—did Brooke tell you about the club in Miami where she got naked and let everyone snort coke off her—?”
“Stop it!” Brooke said, suddenly ashamed of her time with Stacy. It had all seemed like good fun at the time, as wild as it had all been. But now, watching Stacy use it to wound Mom, it made her sick. “Mom, don’t listen to her.”
“Was that the night she lost her virginity to a stripper?” Stacy continued. “Or was that her sister? Guess we can’t ask Blair anymore, can we?” She threw her head back and laughed, Brooke’s cheeks burning with rage and shame. “We definitely know it wasn’t Colin. I took care of that myself. Had some serious mommy issues apparently.”
“Just stop,” Mom pleaded, leaning against Brooke, tears streaming down her face. Brooke felt her own knees buckle, and she hugged Mom, convinced they were both about to die.
“Pathetic,” Stacy said. “Tell you what. Now that it’s just us girls and the sun’s about to come up, why don’t we put this to bed?”
“What do you want?” Mom asked, her hands clenching into fists at Brooke’s side.
“I want you to be happy, Shawna,” Stacy said. “Yeah, I know little Blair and strapping Colin are gone, and we’re all very sad about that, but what’s done is done. I’ve been in that mind of yours, deep, deep inside of you, and I know what you’ve been dreaming of for a long time now. So pull that knife out of your dead boy and plunge it into these cheap silicone tits. Then we’ll call it a day.”
“Don’t do it,” Brooke said, putting a hand on Mom’s face. “It’s just another trick.”
“No, you were right before,” Mom said, her voice changing. “I don’t deserve to be anyone’s mom. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you needed. I’m sorry for everything. I’m… just sorry.”
Mom shoved Brooke to the ground and raced to Colin’s body, ripping the knife from his chest before rushing back to Stacy. She drove the long steak knife into the younger woman’s stomach and chest, over and over. Stacy laughed, unfazed by the bloody attack.
“That’s it!” Stacy crowed, tilting her head back to make her chest a larger target. “Just think about how many times you imagined doing this. How long were they sneaking around behind your back before the divorce, polluting your bed? And once she had your man, she took your son, defiled your daughters. How does it feel to set all that right?”
“It feels great,” Mom said, panting with exertion. Brooke watched the twisted expression on her face, a gleeful cruelty that was somehow even more frightening than anything the demon had done.
The front door swung open, and Brooke turned to see her dad walking in the door just in time to watch Mom sink her blade into Stacy’s heart. He was only a little taller than Mom, but while Mom had stayed in shape over the years, Dad had let himself go, relying on spray-tan and black hair-dye to maintain some semblance of youth, although it did nothing to erase the gut straining against his shirt.
“What the hell?” he asked, dropping his briefcase. “Stacy.”
“Oh good,” Stacy said with a smile, not bothered at all by the knife in her chest. “I was hoping you’d make it.”
“Dad!” Brooke shouted, nearly choking with panic. “Get out!”
“Too late,” Stacy said, casually flicking her hand. Dad’s head jerked to a ninety-degree angle with a horrifying crack, and he fell forward onto his belly. Brooke felt a stabbing pain in her chest, like the last thread of her life had just been ripped away.
“Okay then,” Stacy said, nodding in satisfaction. “I think my work here is done. A deal’s a deal. I’ll be on my way.” She threw her head back, and the foul dark cloud gathered over her as the demon abandoned her body. The noxious mass shot towards the door, and for the briefest moment Brooke thought it was all over.
But at the last second, the demon reversed course, and Brooke was hit by a wall of black.
***
“We had a deal,” Shawna said, sitting among a pile of bodies, her tracksuit soaked with blood. She stared at the floor, unable to look up at the demon possessing the last of her children.
“Not exactly,” the demon said. “More like an understanding. You wanted your ex and his whore dead, and I wanted to have a little fun. But it was more like a two-birds-with-one-stone thing than a tit-for-tat.”
“You weren’t supposed to kill my kids,” Shawna said. “You lied to me. You were going to do what you were going to do,
but I never should have been stupid enough to trust you.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Shawna,” the demon said. “I told you, I like you. If I wanted you to really suffer, I would’ve killed all three of the little brats, but I left you the best one. Killing the others… that was just to help you appreciate her more.”
“Let her go,” Shawna said. “Take me and let her go.”
“Um, no,” the demon said. “I’m not done with you yet, Shawna. You’re on a path. The police will be here soon, and they’ll pin all this on you, and you’ll go to prison forever while I prance around in Brooke’s skin having all kinds of fun. But don’t worry… all you have to do is call, and I’ll come get you. It’ll only cost your soul.”
“Take it,” Shawna said. “Take it now and let her go.”
“Tempting,” the demon said. “But no. I want you to really earn it. Plus, I need at least a little time to break in this new body. Don’t wait too long to call though—I’m gonna really rack up the mileage while I’m waiting. See you soon, Mom,” the demon said. She snapped her fingers, and Shawna’s world went black.
Minokawa
Washington, August 2014
“What the hell am I looking at?” Demi asked, looking down at the mangled corpse at her feet. Cameras flashed as crime scene technicians scurried around underfoot, and uniformed officers scoured the perimeter of the empty field. They were about an hour southeast of Seattle, on the shores of a large lake surrounded by miles of forest in every direction.
“Skydiving accident,” a sheriff’s deputy said. “There’s no press allowed though. You’re going to have to wait back behind the perimeter.”
“Really?” Demi asked, rolling her eyes. She was shorter than the deputy, standing only a little above five feet. She was Mexican on her mother’s side and Polish on her father’s, but right now her skin was pale from too little time in the sun. It did make her look better in the black pantsuits she had to wear far too often though. She reached for her ID and held it up for the deputy to see.
Demi Mondaine: Volume One Page 15
