The Little Girl

[Ethan Skinner]

All right, like I promised, here's our latest report on the situation with Rat's daughter.

"Come in and welcome, Father Dyer," I said, opening the door and gesturing him inside. He chuckled and entered, removing his hat.

"You really think that's the problem then, doctor?" he asked while I took his coat and hat and put them in the closet, fingering the black handbag he always carried.

"Even from a medical standpoint, I do." I answered, leading him up the stairs and through the hall, toward the room. "Her siezures are unaccounted for, medically. All tests for bodily errata and other misalignments have proven negative. She's been in an alternating state of hysteria and torpor for about four days now, and acting irrationally a week before that. And you were on the phone when the disembodied voices were speaking." He agreed even I wouldn’t have been that profane.

Clarity met us at the room door. “You do not look like the man from that awful movie Ethan made me watch,” she remarked casually.

"It's just a pseudonym," I reminded her. "I'm not going to put his reputation on the line any more than he's willing. And the lazlo people will want to hear about this."

Father Dyer thanked me and entered the bedroom, asking questions as he did a circumference around the bed Clarity and I had moved to the middle of the room, testing the salt and silver circle I had drawn around it, nodding at the silver manacles she was kept shackled with, and backing up a step in alarm when Kina pounced at him, snarling and blaspheming. Though unable to break free of the blessed restraints, she continued to writhe in demonic angst, cursing and swearing fluently in several languages.

"Rat had to leave when Kina grabbed the cross she tried to use on her and started to... masturbate with it," my eyes shifted to Clarity, blushing slightly. Her face, already scandalized by the blue streak issuing like slime from the young girl's mouth, paled even further.

"A theatrical demon then, are you?" Father Dyers leaned over to compare stares with the rigid child. "But a lesser one, judging by what Dr. Skinner has told me."

"A LESSER demon!?" the creature tore Kina's throat with a shriek, reinvigorating its efforts to break free, writhing and twisting in bed, a long, pale tongue worming out of her mouth to lick her chin and throat. "I'll show you a lesser demon, you bastard son of a whoring ape! You f–ing b–!” Her swearing rose to frenzied heights. Clarity's rather... sensitive, when it comes to profanity. I looked to her to see how she was handling it.

It was a mistake to break eye contact.

A deep pressure filled the air like heavy metal band jamming, a drumroll beating at our temples. It felt like I was at the bottom of an ocean, everything moving in slow motion. I was turned to Clarity, but a pained grunt from Father Dyer turned my attention his way. He went flying through the air as though shot from a cannon. My eyes found Kina's, her face livid white, contorted with mad fury, blistering lacerations and lesions. Her once blue eyes were now a deeply inflamed, baleful cadmium red. They no longer alternated between red and blue.

I saw nothing, but something battered into my chest with such force I was hurled from my feet and slammed into the wall, Father Dyer dazed by my side. The creature turned it's attention to Clarity next, the chilling eyes shining. The slender girl facing the demon went rigid and held out her hands, which whipped back as though playing a game of "mercy" with an invisible opponent. She struggled against the force the demon was exerting against her, Kina's face twisting uncomfortably by way of the demon's method of concentration. Her face was the screw and the driver was at the base of the neck, her head tilting so far around her cheek was raised to the ceiling and the crown of her head pointed to Clarity, red eyes glaring.

Clarity shoved hard, the other girl falling back against the bed with a tiny grunt.

"Can you hold her, Clarity? We'll need time to prepare," I rubbed the back of my neck. I got up and helped Father Dyer to his feet. Clarity glanced back at him, nodded, and faced the demon-abused girl once more, spreading her arms out as though a wrestler preparing for the championship match.

“I can hold him,” she replied, taking off her sunglasses and dropping them to the floor, glaring at Kina with acute, uncovered eyes. The demon sneered, shirking at the intensity of the look.

"A male demon," Father Dyer mused, straightening his clothes and opening his handbag. "That knowledge may help us. How long can you hold, my dear?"

“I can hold him,” she repeated, not looking back.

"Yes, but we'll need a long time to prepare... " he continued. I touched his shoulder.

"Just start preparing, then. I trust Clarity is strong enough."

Father Dyer nodded. I did what I could, which wasn’t much. Father Dyer got out his special implements that aided in the rite of exorcism and readied them for use, sitting beside Clarity, crossing his legs, and staring intently at the girl in the bed. Kina, under the direction of the demon, cursed, spat, rent her clothes, and did everything in its power to escape the physical and mental prison holding her. Whatever Clarity was doing... I was glad she could do it. For twenty-two minutes, Clarity fought the creature and kept its attacks from landing, drawing its wicked attention back to herself whenever it tried to disrupt our preparations. Windows were shattered by invisible bricks, pictures were shredded by unseen knives, furniture was beaten and ravished by ethereal sledgehammers. For a half hour after that, she defended us against the renewed mental attacks from the demon, deflecting any attack. Clarity’s pallor increasing with each new insult, with each profanity spoken.

"We are ready," Father Dyer announced, stepping forward. Clarity knelt, donned her glasses, and stood. Taking a pace backward, she nodded and held out her hands to us. I took Clarity's right hand in my left, while Father Dyer took her left in his right. Thus linked, we focused all our energy on the barely perceptible visage that shifted back and forth across Kina’s face like disrupted fog, in and out of focus, the blood rimmed eyes the only anchor to discern the demon clearly within.

The demon inside the girl's body did not exit peaceably. The long, wormlike tongue speared out of her mouth, Kina’s teeth gnashing into it, drawing foamy, frothy blood. She twisted and convulsed, jerking her head one way, her body the other, and vomited. Clarity's hands drew into tight fists around ours as the bed lifted into the air, a hellish wind rose up, setting our hair and clothes to dancing, knocking what pictures and furniture were left hanging to the ground. Kina's back started arching so far back I feared her spine would snap.

The bed fell with a loud THUMP. Kina fainted and fell against the mattress, the wind and demonic screams dying with a last clap of thunder. Father Dyer released Clarity's hand, breathing deeply in exhaustion. I felt like I had run a mile... not bad, considering this was my first exorcism. Clarity was quiet, barely winded.

"A lesser demon, Father?" I asked, giving him a look. He shrugged and nodded tiredly. "Well, damn." It was my turn to shrug, apologizing to Clarity as she turned to me sternly. She slowly moved nearer to the bed, the silence was eerie and yet comforting after the profane shrieks and swearing of the demon. Her steps didn’t break that silence, nor did ours as we followed her.

“Are you all right, Kina?” Clarity asked, laying a hand on the girl's leg. Kina's eyes snapped open.

They were red and dilated.

The girl bolted upright, rigid as wood, straining against her bonds. Her scream echoed like a crowd yelling in the Grand Canyon. Sweat beaded on her face. Seconds seemed like hours, time had stopped. The redness in her eyes diffused like snow placed in direct contact with a space heater, giving way to Kina’s natural blue. The magotty paleness left her face as steam rising off boiling water, leaving a pallid, exhausted little girl.

"Good work, gentlemen." Father Dyer snapped his handbag shut, pausing as though thinking. "Lady," he amended, bowing at Clarity. She saw to Kina while I led Father Dyer out.

[Ron Caliburn]

One thing I've always wished I've been able to do is find ways to force demons out of innocents. The best I can hope to do without assistance is to scare the demon with imminent destruction.

[Shadowstalker]

Ask around next time you find such a situation Ron. I am sure someone will be able to help.

[Ron Caliburn]

I usually am on a pretty tight timeline - it happens right now or someone dies.

[Logan]

I can definately sympathize, Caliburn. Over the course of my carreer, I have made that choice far too many times, to kill an inocent who poses a threat to the masses of humanity merely because they have been removed from the controll of their own bodies.

A good double tap, is unfortunately the only solution I normally have in cases of posession, I wish that the SoB's didn't seem to become immune to most "less than lethal" options.

[Ethan Skinner]

I've known Father Dyer for several years now, though I only recently discovered he is possessed of various... abilities. He's a top enough specialist he's used to flying around the world, but he's also a top enough specialist he needs to be careul about recognition and reputation.