Heather could hear her name being called from off in the distance. Her head pounded and her entire body was racked with pain started bringing her back to the realization of what just happened.
“Heather? Heather are you ok?” Ryan asked holding her hand.
A blurry figure was all she could make out at first, but then Ryan slowly came into focus. She tried to sit up but yelped with pain and laid back down in the pile of rubble that was now her bed in the next room.
“Take it easy,” Ryan said, concerned she may have a concussion or broken bones. “Just take a minute ok. Don’t rush it.”
“What the hell happened?” Heather asked holding her head. The pounding was more pronounced now.
“Well, the short version is… you were thrown through a door.”
Suddenly everything started to flood back to her mind. The last thing she remembered was staring at a decomposing body laying on a bed in the next room. She turned and looked wide eyed at Ryan. “What the hell Ryan? What is going on?”
“It’s a long story,” he said bowing his head.
“Well, I’ve got all the time in the world. Is that your mom in there?” Heather grimaced as she sat up.
“Actually, we really don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Um… we may not have all the time in the world like you are suggesting. I’m afraid we’ve just done a very horrible thing.”
“WE? We’ve done a horrible thing? You’re the one keeping your dead mother in her bedroom like some sorta… freak!” Heather felt a tinge of guilt for that last word.
“There’s a reason…”
Heather didn’t let him finish as she gathered to her feet. The pounding in her head intensified and almost brought her back to her knees but she steadied herself at the splintered doorway until the pain subsided enough to continue on.
“Wait,” Heather now standing in the doorway of Ryan’s doorway. “How did I get in here?” She turned towards mama’s room and then quickly back to Ryan to avoid having to look at the corpse in the next bedroom.
“It threw you.”
“It? The dead body threw me through a bedroom door?”
“No. Mama couldn’t do that to you. She’s dead. Didn’t you see it?”
“See WHAT?” Heather’s face flushed as her frustration grew.
She stood for a moment trying to remember but all she could remember is, one moment she was staring at a dead body and the next Ryan was standing over her asking her if she was ok. Nothing in between.
Ryan stood up and rushed passed Heather into the next room where he went to the nightstand next to mama’s bed. Out of the top drawer, he pulled an old cross necklace.
What is it with these people and crosses Heather wondered.
Ryan returned to Heather and asked her to grab the cross. She was reluctant at first but she grabbed the cross like he had asked. When he was satisfied, he took her by the hand and led her to the living room back to her seat on the couch. She sat on the couch and Ryan sat on the coffee table directly in front of her still holding the ornate cross necklace.
Ryan looked into Heather’s eyes and began, “I think we released a demon on our town.”
Not sure what to think of this statement, Heather searched for a way to make sense of all of this. It was becoming quite clear to her he might be completely off his rocker. She never agreed with how the other kids picked on him all through school but she was now realizing all the horrible things they said about him being a weirdo is turning out to be true. Finding the strategy to get out of there was now key before she ended up in that bed next to mama.
Ryan, sensing she didn’t believe him, asked, “How did you get thrown from mama’s room?”
That was a good point. But still.
“Mama went on a missions trip last year to the Middle East, and when she came back, she was sick. They say that everyone who went on that trip came in contact with some sort of virus or something because everyone who went on that trip is now dead. While doctors couldn’t tell us why Mama was sick, she knew. At first, she didn’t tell me and then when she did, I never believed her.” Ryan’s head dropped, and he began to sob.
“Ok… listen, let’s go talk to someone who can help you. Maybe a priest? I don’t know, but I think you’re just having trouble processing you mom’s death…”
“Don’t do that!” Ryan shrieked as tears streamed down his face. “Mama said no one would ever understand. That’s why I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. I was to just keep it here and keep it locked up tight. So it couldn’t hurt anyone else.”
Ryan stood up and turned towards the wall of crosses that was behind him. Once again his head dropped and he sobbed, softly saying, “I’m sorry mama. I let you down again.”
Removing herself from this situation seemed to be the wise thing to do so Heather stood up and slowly made her way to the front door. Careful not to make any sudden moves. “Listen,” she began. “You’ve clearly got a lot going on here and you obviously need some time so I’m gonna leave and…”
Ryan spun around. “You can’t leave! We have to do something. If we don’t, it’s going to kill everyone in this town!” He quickly approached and grabbed for her hands but she flinched away.
“Yeah… umm… I’m not really good at this whole demon hunting thing so… I’m just gonna go.”
“You still don’t believe me do you?”
Looking into his eyes, she began to feel sorry for him. The only person left in this world who truly loved him is gone. That’s probably why he tried to keep her body. As sick and twisted as that is, she felt compassion for the guy. No matter how misguided it was. But truth be told, he was freaking her out a little bit and she didn’t feel safe around him.
“What if I could prove it to you? What if I could show you what threw you through that door? Would you stay and help me?”
Not even sure if it was safe to spend another moment in this house, she couldn’t resist his pleading eyes. Besides, this screaming headache she had, begged her to sit back down. “Sure Ryan. I’ll look at what you got, but I need to go in a few minutes.”
Motioning for her to stay, he disappeared into mama’s room and came back out holding an old keepsake box. Shoving everything that cluttered the coffee table onto the floor, he placed the box down and pulled the lid off. The box was full of miscellaneous newspaper clippings, pictures and old looking trinkets.
Ryan quickly pulled each item out of the box, quickly detailing the mission’s trip mama went on a little over a year ago. Seventeen people from their church went on the trip, and every single person was now dead. He earnestly explained each newspaper clipping and trinket and how they all proved mama was somehow this vessel for a demon who wants to destroy the entire town of Jasper.
“This is all quite interesting Ryan, but you need to accept the fact that maybe… just maybe… everyone did catch a rare virus, and that’s what mama died from.”
The countenance on Ryan’s face changed from pleading to confidence. “Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?” He grabbed the remote off the floor and pointed it at the TV. With a few touches on the buttons, a black and white image came up on the living room television. It was a live feed of mama’s room. “I installed cameras a couple of months ago in mama’s room just in case it ever decided to kill me. Let’s see how you ended up going through my bedroom door shall we?”
Heather felt uneasy with the smirk that flashed across Ryan’s face as he rewound the feed.
“Okay, here’s where you came through the door!” Ryan pressed play on the remote.
Heather sat up on the edge of her seat and squinted at the image on the screen. It was just as she remembered. She initially opened the door just a crack to peek in and then opening it all the way and the shock of seeing the dead body in the bed. The black and white screen showed Heather frozen in the doorway and Ryan dropping to his knees.
All of a sudden the color left her face as she watched, what she thought was a shadow in the corner, rise up from the chair at the end of mama’s bed. The dark image slowly rose and made its way towards Heather. In a flash, a clawed hand grabbed her around her neck and with a flick, threw her out of frame. It was as if the dark image turned to look at Ryan who was rocking on his knees but then in a streak; the dark image was gone. Ryan pressed pause.
Heather stared at the television and Ryan gave her moment.
“I don’t…” She didn’t know what to even say next.
“All I know is that thing is apparently some sort of demon goddess who somehow possessed my mom when she was on her trip. The group talked their guide into taking them someplace they didn’t normally take missionaries. So they ended up in an area they didn’t have permission to be, and in the process, unearthed this demon’s prison or something. I don’t know all the details other than they didn’t want to get into trouble, so they never said anything. Mama didn’t know until she got back what had happened. By then it was too late. Mama said the demon killed her because she wouldn’t submit to it and allow it to have control of her.”
“Okay, this is a lot to take in. Where is it now? Where did this demon woman go?”
“I don’t know. But we have to be careful because it could take over any willing host and if it does… no one will be safe.”
Heather’s mind was reeling, and all of it just seemed so surreal. Not sure why but she asked, “Do you know how to kill it?”
Ryan smiled, “I don’t know if we can kill it but, I know how we can catch it and imprison it!”
“Really? Does anyone else know about how to imprison her?”
Perplexed, Ryan shook his head. “No, you’re the only one I’ve even…”
Ryan stared at Heather for a moment, remembering the first time he met her. How he always fantasized of one day kissing her lips. Embracing her and feeling her breasts pressed firmly against his chest. How maybe they’d fall in love and even one day get married. Those were only fantasies though.
He looked down to see where Heather’s arm had penetrated his stomach. His breath shortened and he tried to speak, but the only thing that would come out of his mouth were bloody gasps. He looked into Heather’s eyes and realized mama’s killer never left the house; she was hiding right in front of him.
The sleepy town of Jasper, Ohio was in trouble and it had no idea what was about to hit it.
Steven L Struble 