by Tim Miller
I strongly disagree with this approach, however. In my training I learned that demonic forces were not things to be trifled with. People who became possessed did so because something had been done to invite the demonic influence. Some had dabbled in the occult, causing possession. By dabbling, I mean actually taking part in black magic rituals, or communicating with demons themselves through specialized rituals. Contrary to what Hollywood might tell us, one cannot be possessed by playing with a Ouija board, or having their palm read. At least it’s not likely to happen that way.
Some of the stronger possessions were a result of a curse. This usually occurs when a child’s parents take part in a ritual. The children often end up cursed, since they are the most vulnerable. Some grow up being tormented by the demons, others in outright possession. With this girl, Amanda, it was too early for me to determine how the demon got there, and that was usually irrelevant anyway. Fact was, the thing was inside of her, and it was up to me to get it out.
Shortly after Father Pierce left, I stepped inside Amanda’s room to check on her. I barely opened the door when the hospital power went out completely. In the darkness, I could see the girl’s eyes glowing, bright yellow. She let out a growl, as I stood motionless, in the doorway.
“Hello Dietrich,” it said, “so we meet again.”
As a rule, I usually did not speak to the demons. This was the first time, however, one had ever addressed me by name. Perhaps it was one I had encountered before. That is unusual, but not impossible.
“How do you know me?” I asked.
“I know lots of things. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on staying long.”
“What do you mean?”
“The party is just about to get started, as soon as the guest of honor arrives.”
Chapter 22
3:45 a.m.
I had no idea who the guest of honor was, or what the demon was talking about. Instead I began the Ritual. In these matters, you cannot engage the demon on its terms. Even speaking directly to it can be dangerous, that gives it power over you.
“Sancta Mater Dei, ora pro me. Sancti Michaelis orare pro me, S. Gabrielis orare pro me.” I began the Litany of the Saints in Latin. I was asking the Holy Mother of God, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and dozens of other saints for their prayers, as I began. As I went through the list, the demon sat there looking at me, a twisted grin on its face. Father Pierce had been gone for a while and I was growing concerned for him. I would normally have waited, but felt it prudent to begin.
I began to move to the next phase, when I was interrupted by the door opening. Father Pierce and a police officer were standing there. They appeared to be exhausted.
“Father Pierce? Where’s Doctor Bennett?” I asked.
“Couldn’t find him. I think I should speak with you for a moment though, Father. We ran into some interesting developments.”
Before I could reply, the demon sat up in the bed and spoke.
“Well, our guest is here. Hello again Peter. Did you miss me?”
I assumed it was referring to the officer. They must have had some kind of interaction earlier.
“Don’t you want to see your mommy? She’s in here with us you know. She wants everyone to know what you did.”
“Don’t talk to it!” I said. “The demon is a liar. Let’s step outside.” We all walked into the hall, and I studied the officer’s face. He looked visibly disturbed. We went into one of the vacant patient rooms, where Father Pierce and Officer Roman explained to me what they had seen earlier.
“My God,” I said, “I’ve never seen a demon manifest in more than one person before.”
“I’ve never seen it in one person,” Father Pierce said.
“Yes, I’m aware. Though I’ve heard of it, in these cases it’s not just one demon. It could be several. Like one demon commanding several. I suppose hospital patients, especially psychiatric patients would be most susceptible to influence. They are in a physically and mentally weakened state.”
“Okay guys,” Officer Roman said, “I get it, you are priests and you’re into this kind of thing. I mean I won’t deny there is some freaky shit going on, and I can see an exorcism helping someone who thinks they are possessed, but demons and manifestations are taking over a whole hospital?”
“After everything you saw, what do you think that was? A bad drug reaction?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I think I need a vacation, is what I think,” Roman said.
“Maybe later. What is the demon talking about in there? A party, and you are the guest.”
“Earlier, it accused him of killing his mother. It accused him in several ways,” Father Pierce chimed in.
“My mom died of cancer several years ago. I don’t know how that girl knows anything about me, or why she’s singled me out,” Roman said.
“Well, don’t let it mess with you. You can stay out here while we go back in. I don’t want to give it the satisfaction of having you around, especially if you don’t believe.”
“Right,” he said. “I would clear this call, but I figure I’d just get called back again after that kid stabs one of you or something.”
I ignored him and nodded to Father Pierce. We both went back into the room, leaving Officer Roman, for the time being. Each time I went in the room, I noticed the temperature got colder.
“Where’s my pal?” the demon asked, when we stepped back inside. I ignored it and continued to pray the ritual. This time it wasn’t as cordial about things. “Fuck you! You loser priest! Why don’t you fuck this girl! Shove your cock in my ass, like you did your little whore in Brazil!”
I stopped praying.
“What?”
“Oh, you didn’t think anyone knew about that,” it said. “At least it wasn’t an altar boy. She was a hot little thing too, big fat tits. Did you like them, Father? You like her tits bouncing in your face? I was there you know. She’s one of mine too. Tell me Father, did you ever go to confession on that one? Or did you just let it ride?”
I glanced over at Father Pierce, who was staring at me. Without another word, I walked back out of the room.
Chapter 23
Father Harlan, 4:05 a.m.
I sat down in the empty room, and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Father Pierce stepped in, looking confused and angry.
“What the hell was that all about?” He stood in the doorway, his arms crossed.
“I don’t understand it,” I explained. “I don’t know how it could know this.”
“Know what Father? I’m at a loss here. We’ve got a girl who is going through some terrible suffering. The man sent to help her, a trained exorcist, is sitting here sulking over something the demon told him.”
“It’s true,” I couldn’t even face him. “What it said is true. Well, most of it.”
“About a whore in Brazil?”
“God, don’t use that word. It was a prostitute, yes. Just a few years ago after I was done in Haiti I went to Brazil for a couple years to help set up a new school there.”
“Okay?” Pierce said.
“By this time, I was feeling lonely and isolated. I went out one night for a drink and this woman came up to talk to me. Her name was Esperanza. She was so beautiful and funny and kind. I figured she just came to talk to me, keep me company. But she was a prostitute. I’d had a few drinks. It had been so long since I’d enjoyed just talking to a woman, let alone her touch.”
“I understand,” Pierce nodded. “It’s something we all struggle with.”
“So she offered to come back to my room and I accepted and brought her back. Then she told me her price. At that point, I just went with it. It felt amazing. It had been so long since I’d been with a woman, I’d forgotten what it felt like. Of course afterward, there was the guilt. I’ve never felt so guilty Father. It was crushing, and earth shattering. I felt suicidal for a little while, went through some major depression for months.”
“Why didn’t you confess?”
“I don’t kn
ow. I broke one of my vows. I feared some repercussions. Instead, I just pushed it to the back of my mind, and tried to pretend it never happened.”
“But it did happen.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Well, what you’ve done here is considered confession,” Father Pierce said. He sat next to me and said a prayer of absolution. “I absolve you of your sins. May God give you pardon and peace, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” I felt a little better after the sacrament. “Father Harlan, you’re no good to that girl with sin in your life. The demon will see it, and zero in on it. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s it. I’m sure.”
“Okay. How do you feel? Is your head in this?”
“Yes, it is. Thank you Father,” I said.
“Good.” He patted me on the shoulder and stood. “We need to get that demon out of that poor little girl.”
Before I could reply, the door swung open as Officer Roman came running into the room.
“Sorry to interrupt. I don’t know what happened in there, but the girl is going nuts. She keeps screaming Father Harlan’s name.”
“We’ll be right in,” I said.
“You guys know why people on the other floors are walking around like they’re possessed?” Roman asked. I wasn’t expecting the question, and I wasn’t completely sure myself. I hadn’t seen anything like this myself, at least not this extreme.
“I’m not sure,” I explained. “My thought is that there is more than one demon involved. The one that has her is very powerful, and it commands other lesser demons. The lesser ones are manifesting throughout the hospital.”
Officer Roman looked at Father Pierce, who shrugged.
“This shit is nuts,” he said.
“Indeed,” I nodded, as Roman stepped out of the room. Father Pierce and I followed him into the hallway where we could hear Amanda screaming again. She wasn’t screaming my name though. She was yelling something in Greek, but I couldn’t make it out. It didn’t matter. Father Pierce and I nodded to each other, and stepped back into the room. Time for Round Two.
Chapter 24
Officer Roman, 4:20 a.m.
I stood outside Amanda’s room as the two priests went back inside. I heard Father Harlan shouting, and chanting something, while the girl went absolutely berserk. It sounded as if there was an all-out fight in the room. Even though she was restrained to the bed, she’d broken loose before. I stayed close by, in case things got totally out of hand in there. While I considered myself an atheist, I couldn’t deny something really weird was happening. I figured the priests were up to a bunch of hocus pocus, but it had to help more than anything I’d done all night.
I heard a strange sound coming from down the hall. I walked in that direction, and heard a door opening and closing. Drawing my gun, I moved against the wall and crept toward the sound. It was still pitch black and I kept my flashlight off, to remain tactical. I could still hear the girl screaming as I moved the other direction, down the hall, but whoever was approaching from the stairs was also noisy. My steps were silent, as I worked my way there. The footsteps had stopped, so I stopped and listened. I could hear someone breathing, whoever it was sounded out of breath, from climbing the stairs.
I came around the corner with my gun leading the way, and turned the corner, aiming toward the sound of the breathing.
“Police! Stop right there!”
“Shit Roman! Fuck me!” A female voice called. It was Officer Leah.
“Leah?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Remember? I went in that side door. What the hell is going on? Get that fucking gun out of my face.”
I holstered the gun, and approached her, looking around.
“Did you see anything?” I asked.
“I saw lots of weird shit. People downstairs are like zombies and stuff. One of them, who was dressed in scrubs, chased me all the way up the stairs. I hit him in the face with my baton and dropped him, ran up here and you found me.”
“I almost shot you, damn. Been enough spooky shit going on.”
“I know, you care to fill me in?”
I explained the events of the evening to her, including Amanda’s behavior, what I found out at the group home, and all the details of everything I knew. She took it all in rather well.
“My God,” she said. “An actual demon?”
“Hell if I know. I don’t believe in shit like that, but after what I’ve seen tonight, I’m rethinking my position on a lot of things.”
“Well I do believe in that stuff. Is that what the screaming is?”
“Yeah, that’s the priests doing the exorcism now, they’ve been in there for awhile.”
We walked down to Amanda’s room where the screaming and banging got louder and louder. After several more minutes of the commotion, both priests came out. Even in the dark I could see Father Harlan’s face was soaked with sweat, although the entire building was now cold. The closer you got to Amanda’s room, the cooler it felt.
“Everything okay Father?” I asked.
“This creature is very powerful. We’re going to take a break. This is going to take awhile.”
“So what’s up with this thing? It’s taken over the whole hospital.”
“I know. I think I know why. It has seriously manifested itself. Like I told Father Pierce earlier, this is a powerful demon who has control over the girl. It seems to be in charge of several other demons that are running loose all over the hospital.”
“So what’s its deal? You know its name or anything?”
“Not yet. I do think I know why it’s so powerful. I’ve seen something similar, just not to this degree. Last time I saw something even remotely this strong, it was a generational curse.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“It means that this demon has been terrorizing Amanda and her family for generations. Chances are, one of her parents was possessed, and probably her grandparents, and no telling how far back.”
This was getting pretty thick, but I just went with it.
“So, did the demon get stronger?”
“In a way. Early on, a weaker demon probably took control. The longer it stayed, and with each generation it would get stronger, and then a stronger demon would come in. Demons have a hierarchy just like priests and police officers do.”
“So, what do they want with her? I mean she’s just a kid.”
“Yes, but with the hold they have on her family, look at what they did to this hospital. She’s like a conduit. She’s like mission control, and the rest of the hospital, staff and patients, are the outposts.”
“Jesus Christ. So what do they want?”
“What every demon wants. It wants to be in control, and to cause as much human suffering as possible.”
“Can you help her?”
“I will do my best. The rest is up to God.”
“Well, I think it’s pretty fucked up that God would let a little girl go through something like this,” I said. Harlan just nodded.
I could tell he didn’t want to get into a philosophical argument with me about the nature of God. Instead he turned, and went back into the empty room he’d been using. Leah was standing next to me. She’d been silent this whole time, but in the dark I could see her eyes were wide as saucers. She was mumbling something.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“I’m praying.”
Chapter 25
Father Pierce, 4:45 a.m.
As we stepped outside of Amanda’s room, I saw another officer had joined Officer Roman. This was a woman. She was short, and had dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her name tag said “L. Sanders.” She was very tiny for a cop. Standing quietly, she stared wide-eyed, as Roman and Father Harlan spoke. After a few minutes, we went into one of the empty rooms to take a break.
The last round of the exorcism had been incredibly intense. I could see the toll it was taking on my colleague. Despite the cold, he was dripping with
sweat, and already looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“So what do we do now?” I asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“I need to lie down for a bit.” He kicked his shoes off, and sat on the edge of one of the beds.
“You’re going to take a nap?”
“Yes, I need to get my energy back. You saw how crazy it was in there. It’s exhausting. I need to rest, but not for long. I just need about twenty minutes or so, and then we’ll get back to it.” He stretched out on the bed and put his feet up. I stepped out of the room to give him some quiet. He’s the expert, so I figure he knows what he’s doing. The two officers were still in the hallway. Amanda was quiet, and may have fallen asleep as well. The demon didn’t need rest, but her body had to run out of energy at some point.
“Everything okay Father?” Officer Sanders asked.
“Oh yes, Father Harlan is just resting for a bit. I thought I’d give him some quiet.”
She walked toward me, while Officer Roman stayed near Amanda’s room.
“Father,” she said. “I’m not Catholic. At our church, we aren’t even supposed to call priests ‘Father,’ but this stuff that’s happening, it’s very troubling.”
“Yes officer, it is indeed.”
“Do you think---” she stopped, and took a serious look around.
“Do I think what?”
“I’m on duty, so this is going to sound weird.”
“In light of tonight’s events, I doubt it. So go ahead.”
“Can you pray with me? I mean, I pray too. I just figured if a preacher prayed with me it would be better. You’re a priest so you’re the best I can do at the moment. No offense or anything.”
“None taken, of course I’ll pray with you. Let’s go out in the hall so as not to disturb Officer Roman.”
We walked to the back of the unit and through the door into the stairwell. It was still pitch black in the hospital, with no lights on anywhere, but my eyes had started to adjust. Once in the hall, I took the officer’s hand.
