Dead Pool (Exorcist Files Book 1)

by Marty Shaw

  Ashley pointed at the iron bracelet on his wrist, just below his watch. “What’s that?”

  “I guess you could call it a personal defense system.” He chuckled at her confused expression. “Most supernatural entities are basically allergic to iron. It burns them on contact.”

  Ashley reached for her throat, remembering Carla’s attack. “I think I need to get some iron jewelry.”

  Lochlan chuckled and gestured towards her pentagram necklace. “It would clash with the silver. Besides, the real trick is to keep them from getting that close to you.” His eyes turned towards the entrance of the parking lot as a minivan pulled in. “Is that her?”

  Ashley shaded her eyes from the sun, squinting at the minivan as it pulled into a visitor’s parking space near the front doors. “I can’t tell.”

  Lochlan rose from their hiding place between two rows of parked cars. “The timing is right. I’m going to guess yes.” He started towards the van. “Come on.”

  The woman didn’t notice them as she headed for the front doors of the school. “Mrs. Stephenson,” Lochlan called out. She paused and turned to look at them, her hand resting on the door handle.

  “Your daughter is in grave danger, Mrs. Stephenson. We need you to come with us.”

  The woman turned and walked towards them. “Why? Ms. Harrimon called and said something had happened.” Her eyes grew wide with fear and she walked faster towards Lochlan and Ashley. “Is she hurt? Did she have to be taken to the hospital?”

  “No ma’am,” Lochlan said. “She’s here. At the swimming pool.” He studied Susan’s face intently and noticed a flicker of fear in her eyes when the pool was mentioned.

  “Why is she at the swimming pool?” Susan asked, her voice tense.

  “Because she’s been possessed by the spirit of Carla.”

  Ashley groaned, no doubt less than thrilled with Lochlan’s blunt admission, but there was no time for subtlety.

  Susan took a step back away from them. She glanced back at the front doors, and then towards the side of the building where the pool was located. After a few seconds, she looked back at Lochlan. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But she didn’t move further away.

  “I think you do,” Lochlan said. “I think you know exactly what kind of danger your daughter is in.”

  “Our friend was here the night you snuck in,” Ashley added.

  Susan’s shoulders sagged, her expression changing from one of fear to one of defeat. “It was an accident,” she said softly. Abruptly, she turned and started towards the side of the building where the fire escape door was.

  “Mrs. Stephenson,” Lochlan called out.

  “I have to get my baby,” she yelled over her shoulder, starting to run.

  “If you go in there, she’ll kill your daughter and you,” Lochlan shouted.

  Susan stopped and looked back at them, a haunted, defeated look in her eyes. “She can have me. I deserve it.”

  Lochlan and Ashley approached her slowly. He was worried sudden movements might make her bolt. Ashley wisely followed his lead, staying a couple of steps behind him. “That’s debatable. . . but your daughter doesn’t deserve it.”

  Susan held back a sob as tears started running down her cheeks. “No, she doesn’t.” She started to turn back towards the swim gym. “I have to—”

  “Mrs. Stephenson—Susan, we can help.”

  Susan looked back at them and actually laughed. “Are you serious? Have you seen her? You have no idea—”

  “I have more than an idea,” Ashley interrupted. “Carla attacked me in the shower.” She jabbed a thumb towards Lochlan. “This man saved me. He can save your daughter.”

  “How?” She looked at Lochlan, fear and doubt in her tear-filled eyes.

  “I’m not going to lie,” Lochlan said. “It won’t be easy, and the hard part starts right now.” His eyes burned into her with a fiery intensity. “I need to know what happened.”

  NINETEEN

  Lochlan, Ashley, and Susan approached the swim gym slowly. A crowd of people stood outside the door, quietly murmuring amongst themselves. Someone looked back and noticed them. He tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him, who also looked back and then tapped the person in front of them. News of their arrival quickly spread to the front of the crowd that parted like the Red Sea as Assistant Principal Harrimon turned to look at them. The older woman was visibly pale and her hands shook slightly. She pointed over her shoulder at the doors to the swim gym.

  “She’s. . .” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again, still keeping her voice low. “She’s. . . floating.”

  Susan sobbed, her hands flying to her face. “No,” she mumbled. “Please, God, no.”

  “You’ve done all you can do,” Lochlan said gently. “Now it’s time to step aside and let us handle it.”

  “She killed Coach Allen,” a woman standing near the assistant principal said, her voice hoarse. “She just twisted his head around like it was nothing.”

  Susan sank to her knees, sobbing loudly. “Nooooo,” she wailed.

  “Mommy?” a voice called from the other side of the door. “Is that you, Mommy? I’m scared and I need you.”

  Susan forced herself to stand. “My baby,” she whispered softly. She started towards the door.

  Lochlan stepped in front of her. “That’s not your daughter, Susan.”

  “It is,” Susan cried. “That’s her voice. I have to help her.”

  Lochlan shook his head. “It’s Samantha’s body, but she’s not in control.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “And I hate to say this, but you can’t help her. Not yet. I have to free her. . . and then you’ll have to be there for her.” He looked into her eyes, making sure he had her attention. “Do you understand, Susan? You’ll have to be there for her. You’ll have to be strong for both of you. But not yet.”

  “Is that the bad man, Mommy?” Samantha’s voice called out. “If the bad man comes in here, I’ll kill him.” She laughed. “I’ll kill you all.”

  Susan whimpered at the sound. She grabbed Lochlan’s arms, digging her fingers in. “Please save my baby.”

  Lochlan nodded. “I will, but you have to stay out here.”

  Susan shook her head. “No.”

  Lochlan could see the stubbornness in her eyes and knew he didn’t have time to argue with her. He sighed. “Fine. . . but stay back. Okay?”

  She nodded, although Lochlan wasn’t sure she’d be able keep her word. He glanced at Ashley. “Ready?”

  The redhead nodded, fear warring with determination in her green eyes. “Let’s do this.”

  The two of them turned and faced the doors, each taking a deep breath to steel their nerves. Lochlan placed his hand on the right door while Ashley placed hers on the left. Together, they entered the swim gym.

  TWENTY

  Lochlan heard Susan and Ashley gasp. Their reaction was understandable.

  Samantha floated upright over the center of the pool, her body hovering several feet above the water. Her skin was pale, dark blue veins visible beneath it. She looked at them with hazel eyes that had a foggy sheen, as if the teenager had cataracts.

  Lochlan reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a wooden cross. “Hear me, spirit. Your time of suffering is at an end. Release the torment that binds you so that you may be free, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

  Samantha laughed. “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?” she asked in a mocking voice. “Where were those assholes when I needed them?”

  Lochlan approached the pool, reaching into the pocket of his jacket with his free hand. “They were there with you? Even if you didn’t feel them, they were there.”

  “And yet I still died!” Samantha screamed, geysers of water erupting all around her from the swimming pool.

  “I know,” Lochlan said. “It’s sad. . . but it can’t be changed. No matter how many people you hurt or kill, your
death can’t be undone.”

  Samantha laughed. “Fool, I don’t want to live again.” Her face twisted into a savage snarl. “I want those who hurt me to die.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Lochlan pulled his hand from his pocket, showing Samantha the stone held against his palm. “Do you know what this is?”

  Samantha hissed. “A magic-wielding priest. The church must be so proud.”

  Lochlan shrugged. “Ex-priest actually. . . but I use whatever tools I need to use to get the job done.”

  “Then find the right tool to fuck yourself with,” Samantha sneered. She turned her attention to Susan. “Are you ready to watch your daughter die, Susan?”

  “Please no,” Susan said. “Take me instead. Please, Carla. I’m begging you.”

  “Beg?” Samantha cocked her head to the side, as if pondering an alien concept. “I wanted to beg. I wanted to beg anyone to save me. . . but my lungs were filled with water.” She stared at Susan with foggy eyes. “Do you remember what it was like to watch me drown?”

  “Please, Carla.”

  “Maybe you need to be reminded,” Samantha said, a hint of malevolence in her voice. The cruel tone disappeared in a heartbeat, replaced by a voice that sounded sweet and innocent. “Watch me, Mommy. Watch how I die.”

  Susan screamed as Samantha plunged into the pool. Lochlan grabbed her as she tried to run to the pool. “That’s what she wants,” he shouted over her screams.

  Samantha stared calmly up at them from the bottom of the pool. She smiled, and then forcibly inhaled. She started spasming almost immediately.

  “Samantha!” Susan cried, struggling in Lochlan’s grip until he was forced to let go. She ran to the pool and dove in, not hitting the water until she was almost five feet out from the edge.

  Lochlan saw a shadow flow from Samantha’s mouth as the girl’s lungs struggled to do what was impossible to do. The darkness in the water surged straight towards Susan. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rune stone, holding it between his middle finger and thumb. A crude drawing that looked like a backwards ‘1’ glowed with a bluish light. “Laguz!” Lochlan said firmly, aiming the stone at the darkness in the water. He lifted his hand up and a large bubble of water rose from the pool, the dark cloud that was the essence of Carla contained within it. He raised his other hand, revealing another glowing rune stone. “Thurisaz!” he shouted, sending the water slamming into the far wall.

  Susan grabbed her daughter and swam towards the edge of the pool, where Ashley helped pull her from the water. They laid Samantha on her back, turning her head to the side to let the water drain. When they were certain her airway was clear of fluid, Susan began CPR on her daughter, breathing into her mouth as Ashley checked her pulse.

  A geyser of water erupted from the pool. Carla lunged out of the churning tower of water and charged towards Lochlan, knocking him to the ground, her fingers closing around his throat and squeezing.

  Lochlan wheezed, the wind knocked out of him from the impact, unable to breathe. He reached up and pressed the iron bracelet on his left wrist against Carla’s face. Her skin sizzled and she screamed with pain and rage, flinging herself away from Lochlan. She turned towards Susan and Ashley, neither of them noticing the angry spirit. She started towards them.

  “No!” Lochlan gasped, fumbling in his pocket as he rose shakily to his knees. “I command you.”

  Carla looked back at him, a look of twisted humor on her face. “You command me?” With supernatural speed, she was back by his side, glaring down at him. “You. Command. Me?”

  Lochlan clutched the rune stone in his pocket within his fist, squeezing tight. With his free hand, he reached out and grabbed Carla’s leg. “Show me the sin that torments you,” he said in a loud, firm voice.

  Carla tossed her head back and screamed.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Lochlan looked around at the apartment complex that surrounded him, turning in a slow circle. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nice. The courtyard he found himself in had a fenced-in swimming pool at the center. A woman and a little girl were in the water. The girl giggled as she slapped the water with her hands, splashing her mother, who was holding her.

  “That’s right, Carla,” the woman said. “The water is your friend, and one of these days, you’re going to be a Tall Pines Barracuda.” She pulled her daughter close and kissed the top of her head. “But first you have to learn to swim.”

  The little girl looked up and gave her mother a huge innocent smile. Her mom smiled back, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” she said, “it’s like the old saying goes—sink or swim.” She tossed the little girl through the air. She screamed as she hit the water, sinking like a stone.

  Lochlan blinked. Same apartment complex. Same swimming pool. Same mother and daughter, both a few years older. Carla’s mother stood at the edge of the pool, a cigarette dangling from her lip, a glass filled with amber liquid sloshing in her hand. “Again,” she screeched at the top of her lungs.

  “Mom,” Carla cried from the pool in an exhausted voice. “I’m tired. . . and I’m cold.”

  “I don’t care,” Carla’s mom snarled. “You’re going to learn how to swim if it’s the last thing you do. You will be a Barracuda.”

  “I don’t want to be a stupid Barracuda,” Carla said, striking the water with her fist.

  “I don’t care,” her mom yelled. “Again!”

  Carla sighed, wiping moisture from her face that could’ve been water from the pool or tears. Lochlan could guess which. The girl launched herself forward in the water. She swung her arms, kicked her feet, and sank like a stone.

  Lochlan blinked and found himself in the school gym, a banner on the wall proudly announcing the Spring Fling Dance. Carla, dressed in a shimmery green gown, approached a boy, nervously wringing her hands. “Would you like to dance?” she asked in a timid voice.

  Another girl walked up and linked her arm around the boy’s. She looked down her nose at Carla. “Beat it, freshman. Everyone knows the football players only date ‘Cudas.”

  Another blink and Lochlan was in the swim gym. Carla was prancing around the pool on tiptoes. She was wearing the familiar black and gold swimsuit of the Barracuda Swim Team. Lochlan was several feet away but he could still smell the alcohol.

  “I’m a Barracootie,” Carla said in a haughty voice. “That means my shit doesn’t stink and that’s a good thing because everyone in the entire fucking school has to kiss my ass.” She reached back and slapped her butt, as if to emphasize the point.

  A chuckle from behind Lochlan made him turn and look over his shoulder. Carla—a much different Carla—approached him, a sad smile on her face as she shook her head. Lochlan realized he was seeing her as she’d be if she hadn’t died that night. This night.

  “I remember that,” she said, sadness in her voice. “I was drunk, drunk, drunk.” She looked at Lochlan. “Who knew not being able to swim could fuck up someone’s life so bad?” She laughed again. “Maybe not anywhere else, but here? Being a girl and not being able to swim here was a death sentence.” She laughed again, spitting up water. She wiped it from her chin. “Literally.”

  Adult Carla nodded towards a group of girls that had just entered the swim gym. “Around here, you were a Barracuda, had been a Barracuda, was preparing to be a Barracuda . . . or you were nothing.”

  Lochlan shook his head. “Maybe that was your perception at the time, but not every girl around here was on the swim team.”

  Adult Carla shrugged. “I guess you’re right. . . but what happens here has nothing to do with perception.”

  The girls approached teen Carla, who was still oblivious to their presence, making fun of the swim team. Lochlan recognized Susan in the group.

  “Why yes, super-jock,” Carla said, drunkenly curtseying to an invisible date. “I would love to spread my legs for you, but just remember, I’m a mighty Barracootie and could have anyone I want, so feel honored that I choose you to satisfy my slutty urges with.”
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  “Is that what you really think of us?” one of the girls asked loudly.

  Carla spun around, her eyes wide with fear. “Uhhh.”

  “She’s wearing one of our swimsuits,” another girl said.

  “Ew,” Susan said, a smug look on her face. “Looks like we’ll have to burn it now.”

  “Naw,” the first girl said. She nodded towards Carla, a grin spreading slowly across her face. “Blondie here can keep it. After all, us Barracooties might have slutty urges, but she still wants to be one of us.” She shoved Carla’s shoulder. “Ain’t that right, Blondie? Probably got some slutty urges of your own that you want to satisfy, and you know that black and gold swimsuit is the key to getting any guy we want.”

  “Please,” Carla said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Adult Carla coughed and Lochlan looked over at her. Water dribbled from between her lips. Wet hair hung limply down her back. She pointed at the teenagers and Lochlan refocused his attention.

  “No worries, Blondie,” the girl said, giving Carla another shove. “I think you look good in that swimsuit.” She looked back at her friends. “Whatcha think, girls? We got a new Barracootie here?” Before anyone could answer, the girl looked back at Carla. “Just one final test.” She gave a final hard shove to Carla, pushing her into the pool. Carla screamed as she hit the water, thrashing with her arms and legs, reaching out for anything to grab hold of. “Help,” she screamed. “I can’t—” She sank below the surface.

  “What the hell?” the girl who had shoved her said softly.

  “She can’t swim,” Susan said. “We have to do something.”

  “And get suspended?” the girl asked, looking at Susan like she’d lost her mind. “Get kicked off the team?” She shook her head. “Screw that. I’m outta here.” She ran for the door, her friends close behind her. Only Susan remained behind. She approached the pool tentatively. Carla was still struggling, still thrashing about, churning up the water. She wrapped her hands around her belly, biting her lip as a tear rolled down her cheek.