The Elm House Page 23

  “Say three times,” the note read. Brad couldn’t read much of the wording. Since the words faded a bit over the years. The words themselves looked foreign—almost appeared written in Latin. After he recited the words three times (the best that he could), the wind howled.

  This isn’t helpful!

  “What the hell do I do with this?” he shouted.

  Brad heard his sister’s deafening scream again. He tossed the wooden chest onto the broken floorboard as he stood up then dashed towards the house.

  CHAPTER 18

  John backed into the second-floor railing but stopped. He saw his wife’s eyes glowing with a storm of fury. Tiffany stood in front of John protecting him. His daughter’s screams echoed loudly inside his ear drums. The thin transparent diaphragm, inside his ear, vibrated violently as pain pulsated and coursed to his forehead. This is the moment where John questioned everything. He questioned his own believe system. And John knew, right there and then, that his believe system was being shocked and stirred.

  There’s no way this is possible, John thought. But again, he knew that he was only lying to himself. With Tiffany’s semi-translucent ghost standing only inches away from him, protecting John and Jesse from Archon. Archon who controlled Mary like a puppet.

  Mary’s teeth glared at Tiffany.

  “You’re in my way,” she said. Mary took a step forward. “Move or I’ll kill them all.”

  This isn’t my wife, John thought.

  “Hunny, fight this!” he said. His voice choked up a bit. Although John’s belief system was completely different, he started to come to terms with reality. Reality sat hard on top of John’s chest. His wife, couldn’t or wasn’t able to, fight off Archon’s control. Archon seemed to have full control over her. There was no sign that Mary was resisting Archon’s control. But almost within a second, John saw a glimpse of his wife attempting to regain control. It was for a quick second; he saw his wife inside her eyes. If he could only reach out a tad more, John thought, he could help her break Archon’s control.

  “Baby, fight this! I love you, and we love you!” he said. There, again, John could see his wife’s soul pushing Archon aside. “Fight this!” John shouted.

  “Silence!” Mary shouted at John, and her eyes glared with hellfire. But there was still hope for her to finally shove Archon aside, enough, to break through.

  “Fight this mommy!” Jesse shouted. “For us!”

  Com’on Mary, darling, fight Archon’s control.

  Brad reached the sliding door, leading into the kitchen, on the back porch. His heart thumped louder than a drum. All he could think about was saving his family on time.

  Inside his mind’s eye, he could envision the bond the family shared.

  Summer time, a few years back, Brad and his father watched sports on television. The White Sox verses the St. Louis Cardinals. The crowd in the stands cheered and rooted for their favorite teams. It was the last inning, and everyone was on the edge of their chairs. Brad and his father were on the edge of their seats too, rooting for the White Soxs to hit that ball out of the ball park. Brad’s mother interrupted their “eyes glued to the television” and asked if they wanted any more cooked hamburgers or hot dogs. They both shook their heads no as their eyes were fixated on the television set. The pitcher winds back his arm, and the ball leaves his hand gracefully.

  Whack!

  The ball could be, faintly, seen soaring up in the sky. The cameraman pans and tracks the soaring ball. A fan, a little boy, reaches his glove high in the air. But the little boy doesn’t catch the ball. No, an older gentleman behind him does, but he sees the sad face of the little boy and hands him the ball. The little boy jumps up and down, looking happily at his father standing next to him.

  Brad and his father, jumped up and down and shouted with glee. Mary placed two platefuls of hamburgers, hotdogs and curly fries in front of them. Jesse, still young and not knowing what the excitement was, laughed as she held her favorite stuffed animal. The teddy bear, with one eye missing, pressed against her chest as she laughed. Her two front baby teeth absent since the night before.

  Brad quickly was sprung back to present time as he reached his hand for the sliding door handle. He opened the door and entered the kitchen.

  He halted in his tracks and yelped. He wasn’t expecting to see Eveline.

  “Hurry, boy! Hurry,” she said.

  “What am I doing with this?” he asked. Then Brad heard a loud growl, unnerving and terrifying growl, from the second floor. His eyes widened, and Brad’s heart pounded inside his chest. Brad’s knees shook and trembled a bit. But he was ready. Boy, Brad was ready to fight for his family’s life.

  Get out of me, Mary shouted inside her mind’s eye. Almost like a passing wind, she felt back inside her body. Her brow ached from the immense headache. Mary’s brow felt like it was jackhammered, or so it seemed to feel that way. She rubbed her forehead a bit as she sat down on Jesse’s bed. Something wasn’t right, she thought.

  “Mommy, are you okay?” Jesse asked.

  “One second,” she said, softly as Mary tried to rub the headache away. Her knees felt like Jell-O as she felt completely drained.

  It was then, she felt the same “old friend” that she felt before. The darkness, depression, smashed against her mind and heart. Perhaps, she was more vulnerable to Archon because of the darkness. Mary hadn’t felt the darkness envelope her in years. She had thought that she managed her symptoms. Unless Archon left it as a returning present for her. Almost like a female leaving a piece of clothing behind after a date, knowing that she’ll come back again. Mary sobbed into her hands. That old feeling “life is useless, time to die” flooded back into Mary’s mind and heart.

  “Mommy, what’s wrong?” Jesse said.

  “Here, hunny, this will make it all better,” John said, handing her something. “It’ll make everything better.”

  She looked at John. Her eyes full of aghast and disbelief. She shook her head.

  “Do it for us, mommy!” Jesse said, smiling from ear to ear.

  “No,” Mary said. Her voice shook and trembled a bit.

  “Mommy, please!” Jesse said, eyes sparkled like diamonds.

  “No!” she shouted, standing up on her feet. The kitchen knife held tightly in her hand.

  Wake up, Mary! Wake up! She demanded herself in her mind.

  “I’ll show you how to do it,” Jesse said, standing on her feet.

  This isn’t my family! Mary screamed inside her head.

  Mary jumped as she felt John’s hands on her shoulders.

  “Relax and breath, I’ll help you,” John whispered in her ear.

  Mary screamed, and her eyes watered. Her legs shook and trembled, almost giving way.

  Dear God, help me!

  Brad sprinted up the stairs into the second-floor hallway then into Jesse’s bedroom.

  Mary’s eyes glared at him. Her face twitched a bit. John could be seen behind her. Then, she smiled widely. Almost like Mary came up with a sinister plan.

  “They’re trying to kill me,” Mary yelled to Brad.

  John was trying to wrestle the knife out of her hand. Jesse appeared frightened, holding the teddy bear tightly to her chest.

  Mary shook her head.

  “You’re not going to let them, are you? Your own mother?” she said. She started slowly to laugh. Oh, boy did Mary laugh grow louder and louder. She arched her back straight, and John flew across the room.

  BOOM!

  John made a nice imprint on the bedroom’s wall.

  “Don’t do anything foolish, child,” Mary said, sounding nervous or even (possibly) scared. “Give it to me.”

  Brad reached his hand into the burlap sack. His face turned sour. The sour face when a person eats a fresh cut lemon. Whatever was inside the sack, grossed Brad out. The foreign object felt a tad squishy to Brad’s fingertips. Slightly dried to the touch, Brad sensed with his fingers. Finally, without much thought, he pulled the foreign object out. Wel
l, isn’t that just Dandy, Brad pulled out a shriveled-up heart. A heart that appeared to be from an animal of some kind. Perhaps, Brad was hoping to pull out an ancient gem, or perhaps an ancient talisman. But, no, Brad pulled out a sacred heart. On the heart, appeared dark blue etchings. Almost like ancient runes embedded into the heart, Brad guessed.

  I hope that I don’t have to take a bite out of this, Brad worriedly thought.

  Now, Archon appeared to be more frightened than ever. Whatever this sacred heart was to him, obviously is creating an inverse reaction.

  “Don’t be dumb, child. Be a good boy. Be smart about this,” Archon spoke through Mary’s lips. He sounded fast and very nervous. Almost like Brad held in his hands—a bomb. “I said, ‘put it down’!”

  A rumble shook through the house. Archon was becoming pissed. Fear does that to people, too, and causes them to act out in anger. And a gust of wind blew across Brad’s face. A shimmer of light emerged from his mother’s eyes. Then… whoosh, Brad stumbled backwards. And his mother flung backwards against the wall next to John—unconscious. Jesse’s screams echoed loudly through the house. As the entire house felt extremely colder, Brad witnessed the horror before him. Archon in his true form.

  CHAPTER 19

  No martial arts move would ever work, Brad knew that for damn certain. How could he even inflict pain on an entity? But what if there was something that could inflict pain unto Archon? What if… Brad already possessed something that could inflict pain (or kill) Archon, and he didn’t even know it? Soon enough, Brad would figure it out, eventually. But let’s hope he could figure it out, sooner, or Brad’s family could meet their demise.

  As terrifying and wicked, Archon appeared to Brad. He had to find courage within himself to stand up to this ultimate bully. Archon could be viewed as an ultimate boss in a video game. An ultimate level boss so damn hard to defeat, gamers rage quit and toss their game controllers out of the window. But in every video game, a level boss is always vulnerable. And Archon was no exception to this rule.

  “Be smart, child. Give me the heart,” Archon said, sounding demanding and scared at the same time.

  Could I use this as a bargaining chip? Brad thought.

  “Why do you want this heart?” he asked.

  Archon’s eyes glared, and his smile slide upward like a snake.

  “Because”—Archon tossed his finger towards Jesse then yanked his hand back—"I said so.”

  Jesse screamed as she flung through the air and hovered in front of Archon. He was holding Jesse hostage. Now things became clear to Brad, and he couldn’t risk the chance of losing his only sister. Now, Brad was placed in a hard spot. He didn’t want harm done to his sister. But, whatever—this heart meant to Archon, he didn’t want to give it to Archon.

  “Brad, give him it,” Jesse pleaded. “Don’t let him hurt me.”

  But… Brad would lose respect for himself for giving into a bully. He had always stood up to bullies. And sometimes, standing up to bullies work out for the best. But, in this case, Brad had to possibly surrender. He didn’t like the notion one bit. Brad felt weak, powerless, and nobody loves those strong emotions. As he felt the strong emotions stirred up inside him, he remembered the first encounter of a bully back in his old high school.

  It was just starting freshmen year in high school; Brad had encountered his first bully. We already know that he’d been stuffed inside a locker, but Brad’s last breaking straw was being tied to a flag pole. It was a cold rainy night; Brad was befriended by a classmate. Dave, who was a “close friend”, convinced Brad to meet up with him on the school’s football field. Without thinking much about it, he met up with Dave. But he’d sooner or later would regret the decision. He was ambushed, beaten, stripped from his clothing and tied up to a flagpole in front of the school. Brad was dragged, kicking and screaming as they dragged him to the front of the school. They forcefully wrapped his arms around the flag pole then tied them, tightly together. With Brad’s hands behind his back, he wept as they gathered around. It was a sad sight, alright.

  Dave, and his bully friends, laughed and jeered. They recorded Brad’s humiliation to be broadcasted online. Their fingers pointed at him as they laughed heartedly as Brad shivered in the bitter-cold. One of the bullies, pulled out a paintball gun and shot Brad. Blue splattered paint balls stung his chest and lower stomach and legs. His sores started to welt and become swollen. Another bully took out a sharpie marker and crudely drew a dick on Brad’s right cheek with an arrow. Afterwards, the bullies left Brad… naked, tied to the school’s flag post. His cries and sobs fell on deaf ears. It seemed to Brad, no one bothered to even care. There were cars that would drive past. But no one stopped to even help Brad. Until the next morning, staff found him.

  John and Mary were outraged and demanded justice. But the school, shrugged their shoulders and gave a lame excuse. They told Brad’s parents that they handled the situation. But they never did, of course. Perhaps, this caused the Herrick family to move. Again, the old neighborhood sucked and crime happened more frequently. But enough with that, let’s get back to the “show down” with Archon.

  Brad was in a rough spot, alright. Does he give Archon the heart and save his sister? Or does he do something dumb, yet possibly killing his sister and family in the process? Well… one damn thing for certain, Brad didn’t like giving in to bullies. And we already covered that part, but what can he do? The only, possibly, logically choice is to hand Archon over the heart. Yes, hand it over, Brad and give Archon the heart. Smart move.

  He sighed, defeated and out of options. His hand slightly extended forward. But at the same time, his fingertips rubbed the surface of the sacred heart. Small tiny flakes of the sacred heart fluttered about in the air. Archon let out a piercing shrill then glared his eyes at Brad.

  “Give me the heart,” Archon growled. His eyes flared into a hellish storm. Light smoke rose from his nostrils as his nose flared. “Now!”

  Brad, just then, realized something… something so powerful… it may even work. It was a dumb risk, but he had to see it for himself. He slightly gripped the sacred heart, digging his fingernails (slightly) into the heart’s surface. Archon flinched and let out another deafening shrill.

  Archon’s eyes became more violent and radiated with a hellish glow. “I’ll snap your beloved sister’s neck within seconds. Do yourself a favor, and give me the heart. And your family will be unscathed.”

  Archon didn’t even notice that parts of him were breaking, but Brad did notice small fractures appearing to form.

  Would this even work? Brad optimistically thought. He knew, too well, one mistake could result in his sister’s demise.

  “Give me the heart, foolish child,” Archon demanded. This time, he wrapped his large withered hand around Jesse’s throat. “I’ll choke the life out of her,” he threatened. “Give me the heart.”

  Well… let’s say… without much thought, Brad squeezed the heart with all his might. Maybe he didn’t do the smartest move, after all.

  Oh, but (wait) maybe it was a smart move, Brad realized. Archon’s vice grip around Jesse’s throat loosened as he bellowed. Jesse quickly crawled over to Brad then stood up and wrapped her arms his waist. By this time, John and Mary were starting to wake up and stand on their own feet.

  Archon started to emerge with blinding light as he started to fracture.

  “Get your family out of here,” Tiffany shouted in Brad’s face. But Brad noticed that her face slowly returning back to normal. Her gouged out eye became healed, somehow, and she appeared normal like nothing had happened from that unfaithful night. Her lips curled up into a smile, and she blinked her eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “Now go.”

  “Mom, dad!” Brad shouted, beckoning them to follow him out of the house. Whatever was about to happen, Brad had to escort his family outside to safety. And escort to safety, he certainly did.

  Brad and his family stood outside of their house. The neighbors even came outside. Hell, the entire nei
ghborhood block might as well join outside to see the beautiful light show.

  A vibrant blinding light emerged throughout every window of the house. It appeared to become stronger and stronger. Archon’s deafening roar echoed, and yes… everyone heard him. Hell, the ground began to shake a bit and tremble. Everyone stood outside of their homes and watched this magnificent light show. Perhaps, everyone should stand back a bit.

  Colin and Timmy rushed towards Brad. Timmy huffing and puffing like he’d smoked a million packs of smokes. Of course, he could use some exercise. A good run towards Brad was great for him, actually. Get slim there, Timmy.

  “What’s going on?” Colin shouted over Archon’s defeating bellows.

  “Archon,” Brad said. “He’s dying.”

  Without even a second more, the house on Elm road shattered into bright particles. The light was so blinding, everyone had to cover their eyes. When they finally looked upon the house on Elm road. It was gone. Nothing but grass covered where the house laid its foundation. Brad’s family’s vehicles were unscathed. The house, itself, was gone like it never existed. Everyone stood there, silent. Figures started to emerge from where the house on Elm use to stand. Brad figured that these figures were families that died and were under Archon’s control. Their glowing semi-translucent ghost-skin radiated outward. Slowly they started to beam upward and flood the heaven’s sky with their light. But there was a couple of souls that lingered a bit and approached Brad. They were no other than—Eveline, Tiffany, Matthew, and Margaret.

  “Thank you, young child,” Eveline spoke, proudly. She gently bowed her head towards Brad.

  Tiffany approached Brad and kissed his lips. Brad could feel her kiss like a gentle cold wind pressed against his lips. She smiled and thanked him, again.