Writing Back to Short Stories, Enjoy The Latest One!
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RE: Muddy's Stories:Chapter Five Up! Please Read 
FINALLY, DONE!
FINALLY, DONE!
Chapter 6- Dreams and Thoughts
Something that I have never once doubted the power of was dreams. I felt that they had a hold over the actions of a person and could therefore influence one's destiny. Now, this may seem far-fetched to many, however I believe it. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen something, like a poster, hear something being said, or even witness an event that I have never seen before, but feel as though I have. I know that what I have seen or heard in those instances has already occurred in my sleep in my dreams.
I do not profess to understand how dreams work nor how to control them. However, I have, at time, attempted to induce them through a few methods, the most common being melatonin. This is a substance of the brain that makes one tired. In tablet form, they are a natural sleep aid that causes one to fall asleep in about thirty minutes after ingesting. An interesting side effect of the tablet is strange dreams.
The reason I like having such dreams is because they let me know what is happening in the furthest reaches of my mind. One major occurrence in these dreams is the appearance of a girl who, during the duration of the dream, I have feelings for. The interesting thing about this is that in real life, I have not felt that way about her. Once I have awakened from my slumber, after having this dream, I realize that feelings have developed for her.
I also believe that dreams can be used for other purposes, such as warnings of what to avoid or not do in daily life. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, warns Caesar not to go the Senate on the day in which he is assassinated by the conspirators because she dreamed it would occur. The same happened to a secretary of President Lincoln, only this time she warned him against going to Ford's Theatre on the day Booth shot him.
Throughout the day, I became increasingly sure that the reason I had the dream about the Midnight Man early in the morning was to warn me and my four friends that we should not summon him. In the dream, he had attacked all five of us, and, as far as I remembered, both Froats and I were unable to create the circle of salt around us.
This fear was confirmed for after I had fallen asleep, a dream began in which the outcome was strikingly similar to the earlier one.
I was unsure how I had gotten here from the house on the hill as I was unsure about what time it was, however this I could guess. It was probably somewhere between one and two in the morning, although the cloudy sky made it difficult to tell. The candle clued me in on this detail. Slowly, I made my way down the staircase and found myself looking directly at my front door. At its base was a single piece of paper. As I got closer, I was able to make out something written on it. It was a single word and that word was a name; Nicholas.
For some reason this shocked me. I was not sure why as I already knew that the Midnight Man had been summoned because last time I checked, I did not use a candle to navigate my home during the night. I took a deep breath and began to rummage through the pockets in my pants, which were no longer jeans but instead flannel pajama pants. In the right-hand pocket I found matches and in the left-hand one there were packets of something. Upon removal, I determined them to be salt packets, like the ones found at a McDonald's or other fast food joints.
I made my way into my dad's office which was to the left of the front door. I moved the computer mouse on its pad to awake the computer from its energy saving state. When the screen turned on, I immediately looked at the bottom right corner in order to see the time. It read 1:10 A.M.
Just as I was beginning to turn around, I felt the air turn cold. “Oh no,” I whispered.
In the doorway of the office stood a black figure. It turned its head and stared directly at me. I could not see its eyes, nor did I want to for they were probably filled with the flames of hell and eternal suffering. The Midnight Man approached me. When he was within a foot of my face, my candle went out.
My mind told my body to set down the candle, grab a match from my right pocket, and strike it. However, I was paralyzed either from fear or some demonic power of the Midnight Man. I counted to ten seconds in my head, I could not stop myself. When my time was up, I felt an icy hand touch my shoulder. I did not turn around, I did not want to. I already knew what was to come.
Consciousness slipped and I descended into darkness. I screamed.
“Nick! WAKE UP!” Froats yelled at me.
I was yelling. I stopped, opened my eyes, and sat up. I was still breathing hard from the dream and sweat was running down my forehead.
“Nick, you okay?” asked Froats.
“Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the dream I had, the Midnight Man, he attacked me and-”
I was stopped by Luke, Paul, and Popson all running into the room. “What's going on?!” Paul said.
“Nothing, I just had a bad dream,” I replied.
“Oh, well if that's all,” said Popson.
“No, I think it was more than a dream. I think it was a warning.”
Froats sighed. “Here we go again.”
I turned towards him and got out of my sleeping bag so he was not towering over me. I wanted to be on his level. “I'm being serious!” I exclaimed.
“Nick, you of all people should know that dreams are just dreams. They don't mean anything more,” Luke told me.
“Yeah, besides, dreams don't predict anything. They are just what's going on in your subconscious,” added Popson.
I ran my hand through my hair and then flattened it down. “I'm not sure. Haven't you ever had a dream about a girl and then you wake up liking her?”
Froats laughed. “Nick, that happens to everyone, and the reason you wake up liking her is because you did before you dreamed about her. You just didn't realize it.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Luke pulled out his cell phone. “It's only quarter after ten, if you want, you still have some time to try and sleep again.”
“NO!” I yelled. “I mean I think I'd rather go outside and get some fresh air, take in the stars, try and stop Gopp from showing up here at one in the morning.”
I turned to go, but Paul stopped me. “What was that last part?”
“Gopp's mad that I stopped him from coming with us tonight and wants to sneak up here to scare us. His girlfriend gave me a heads up,” I said.
Froats shook his head. “Oh God, they need to break up. Their stupid little hand thing in the hallway and don't even get me started on the infatuation.” I would attempt to explain this “hand thing” if I could, however it is simply too bizarre to put into words. The best description is infatuation.
“Yes Josh, we all know about that and it's annoying, but that's not the point. I don't want anything happening to him tonight, I already have you four to worry about, and that's enough,” I replied, turning to go outside. I already had my coat on.
This time, none of them stopped me. They just stood there, and once I had shut the door, I could hear them talking about how crazy I was and how creepy Paige and Gopp were as a couple. While I agreed completely about the part, I did not care enough to join in the conversation. I needed time to myself more than anything right now.
As I walked outside, I noticed a change. It was much darker than it had been earlier, the clouds had moved back in as if signifying the coming of the Midnight Man. Every once in a while, the moon would peak through the dark clouds only to be swallowed up once again. If I had wanted to attempt to recall any of the constellations signaling danger or despair, I certainly could not now as none of the stars were visible.
It was still cold, which was not much to my surprise. A cold front was moving in and would not be gone for another few days. I started to wish I was at my house under the covers of my bed not only to warm myself but also be away from him.
Turning away from the house, I walked over to my car and sat down on the hood. It was parked in such a way that I had an overhead view of the entire town. I could see the residential sections where only the street lights remained on this late in the night. Trick-or-treating had finished a few hours ago. Closer to the center, some of the businesses were still open while others were close but had their lights on for security reasons.
Then I looked in the direction towards Paige Jogan's house. I wondered if maybe she was looking out her bedroom window up at the cliff where I was sitting now, thinking about me, hoping that I would be fine tonight.
Up and down a street in the direction I was looking I could barely see a vehicle of some sort. From my position, it looked like one of those really tiny toy cars that would not be acceptable for children three or under for being a choking hazard. And, this was what I did for the next several minutes. I gazed around the town, watching and looking for movement and making comparisons in my mind.
After some time, I remembered that short, blond Paige was supposed to call me to let me know what had happened with Gopp. After this long, I could only assume that she had been unsuccessful in persuading him not to come to the house on the hill tonight. Should I text her or call her? Calling could potentially interrupt a text conversation with Gopp, but if I texted her, what if she were on the phone with him? I decided to text her since it would not interrupt any conversation. If they were texting, I could simply be ignored, but if they were calling, the text would only register on her phone after she hung up.
I sent to her: Well?
After a minute or so I received the reply: Sorry, Nick.
What do you mean?!
Well, he wouldnt listen, he's coming tonight and theres nothing I can do to stop it.
PAIGE!
I know, I'm sorry!
You were supposed to be able to convince him.
Well, what am I supposed to do?!
IDK, maybe refuse to do that stupid hand thing?
It's not stupid, it's something that we just do, deal with it.
But it's so weird, everyone agrees. It's infatuation, plain and simple.
You know what? I'm glad he refused!
You'll change your tune when he doesnt survive the night.
And that was the last text that I received from her that night, and it would be the last for the remainder of my life. We did not speak after that. Now, I am sure that if the events of that Halloween night had gone differently, we would have spoken again. However, so many terrible things happened that night that she would refuse to even establish contact or ever forgive me.
I glanced at the time on my phone. It was just going on 10:30 P.M. I still had another hour to go before everyone in the house and I needed to start getting things together for the summoning. Leaning back on the hood of the car, I debated whether or not to text Paige Jogan, but in the end I decided that it was probably better not to. I had already worried her enough for one evening with my talk of the Midnight Man. It just did not seem worth it.
That hour seemed to last an eternity. Wanting to avoid talking to those in the house, I remained outside watching the town below. One by one, the lights in the houses went out and cars soon began to disappear from the streets. The town was soon dark except for the street lights and a few of the businesses.
Looking up at the stars, I could not help but think about my life, all the choices I had made in it, all the stupid things that I had done over the past seventeen years. My mind drifted to my crush at the end of last school year. I had neglected to really do anything about it, heck I did not even get her number. The school year ended, and we walked out separate ways, and that was the end of it.
However, now that same girl is in the physics class I transferred into after dropping my AP math class. It is strange, there is that slight feeling of whatever it was I felt during my sophomore year. I would not call it a crush anymore as I liked Paige Jogan now, but there was a feeling there. Maybe it was friendship, I cared about her in that way. That was the only way I could explain it.
Then came the issue regarding what I had done this year in order to ask someone to the homecoming dance. I had placed a note inside of a copy of Journey's Escape album which I had purchased that weekend; I was not going to use my personal copy. Well, I handed Amanda the CD, and she handed it right back, and that was all that took place.
As I lay there with my head against the windshield, I felt as though I had never really done anything of importance in my life, never done something that I would be remembered for. Maybe tonight would be my chance, maybe this was my opportunity to defeat the Midnight Man once and for all. Maybe-
“Nick, it's almost 11:30!” I heard Froats shout, interrupting my thoughts.
I sat up and hopped of the car and began walking toward the house. Froats was standing in the doorway, waiting me. There was no going back now, it was time to summon the Midnight Man.
I do not profess to understand how dreams work nor how to control them. However, I have, at time, attempted to induce them through a few methods, the most common being melatonin. This is a substance of the brain that makes one tired. In tablet form, they are a natural sleep aid that causes one to fall asleep in about thirty minutes after ingesting. An interesting side effect of the tablet is strange dreams.
The reason I like having such dreams is because they let me know what is happening in the furthest reaches of my mind. One major occurrence in these dreams is the appearance of a girl who, during the duration of the dream, I have feelings for. The interesting thing about this is that in real life, I have not felt that way about her. Once I have awakened from my slumber, after having this dream, I realize that feelings have developed for her.
I also believe that dreams can be used for other purposes, such as warnings of what to avoid or not do in daily life. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, warns Caesar not to go the Senate on the day in which he is assassinated by the conspirators because she dreamed it would occur. The same happened to a secretary of President Lincoln, only this time she warned him against going to Ford's Theatre on the day Booth shot him.
Throughout the day, I became increasingly sure that the reason I had the dream about the Midnight Man early in the morning was to warn me and my four friends that we should not summon him. In the dream, he had attacked all five of us, and, as far as I remembered, both Froats and I were unable to create the circle of salt around us.
This fear was confirmed for after I had fallen asleep, a dream began in which the outcome was strikingly similar to the earlier one.
* * *
I was walking down the stairs of my house in the darkness and silence of a cold night. No moonlight shone through the large window in the foyer and the stars were not visible. The night was dark from the thick black clouds moving across the sky. In my hands was a candle that appeared to have been lit an hour ago judging from the pool of glistening wax around the wick.
I was unsure how I had gotten here from the house on the hill as I was unsure about what time it was, however this I could guess. It was probably somewhere between one and two in the morning, although the cloudy sky made it difficult to tell. The candle clued me in on this detail. Slowly, I made my way down the staircase and found myself looking directly at my front door. At its base was a single piece of paper. As I got closer, I was able to make out something written on it. It was a single word and that word was a name; Nicholas.
For some reason this shocked me. I was not sure why as I already knew that the Midnight Man had been summoned because last time I checked, I did not use a candle to navigate my home during the night. I took a deep breath and began to rummage through the pockets in my pants, which were no longer jeans but instead flannel pajama pants. In the right-hand pocket I found matches and in the left-hand one there were packets of something. Upon removal, I determined them to be salt packets, like the ones found at a McDonald's or other fast food joints.
I made my way into my dad's office which was to the left of the front door. I moved the computer mouse on its pad to awake the computer from its energy saving state. When the screen turned on, I immediately looked at the bottom right corner in order to see the time. It read 1:10 A.M.
Just as I was beginning to turn around, I felt the air turn cold. “Oh no,” I whispered.
In the doorway of the office stood a black figure. It turned its head and stared directly at me. I could not see its eyes, nor did I want to for they were probably filled with the flames of hell and eternal suffering. The Midnight Man approached me. When he was within a foot of my face, my candle went out.
My mind told my body to set down the candle, grab a match from my right pocket, and strike it. However, I was paralyzed either from fear or some demonic power of the Midnight Man. I counted to ten seconds in my head, I could not stop myself. When my time was up, I felt an icy hand touch my shoulder. I did not turn around, I did not want to. I already knew what was to come.
Consciousness slipped and I descended into darkness. I screamed.
* * *
“Nick! WAKE UP!” Froats yelled at me.
I was yelling. I stopped, opened my eyes, and sat up. I was still breathing hard from the dream and sweat was running down my forehead.
“Nick, you okay?” asked Froats.
“Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the dream I had, the Midnight Man, he attacked me and-”
I was stopped by Luke, Paul, and Popson all running into the room. “What's going on?!” Paul said.
“Nothing, I just had a bad dream,” I replied.
“Oh, well if that's all,” said Popson.
“No, I think it was more than a dream. I think it was a warning.”
Froats sighed. “Here we go again.”
I turned towards him and got out of my sleeping bag so he was not towering over me. I wanted to be on his level. “I'm being serious!” I exclaimed.
“Nick, you of all people should know that dreams are just dreams. They don't mean anything more,” Luke told me.
“Yeah, besides, dreams don't predict anything. They are just what's going on in your subconscious,” added Popson.
I ran my hand through my hair and then flattened it down. “I'm not sure. Haven't you ever had a dream about a girl and then you wake up liking her?”
Froats laughed. “Nick, that happens to everyone, and the reason you wake up liking her is because you did before you dreamed about her. You just didn't realize it.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Luke pulled out his cell phone. “It's only quarter after ten, if you want, you still have some time to try and sleep again.”
“NO!” I yelled. “I mean I think I'd rather go outside and get some fresh air, take in the stars, try and stop Gopp from showing up here at one in the morning.”
I turned to go, but Paul stopped me. “What was that last part?”
“Gopp's mad that I stopped him from coming with us tonight and wants to sneak up here to scare us. His girlfriend gave me a heads up,” I said.
Froats shook his head. “Oh God, they need to break up. Their stupid little hand thing in the hallway and don't even get me started on the infatuation.” I would attempt to explain this “hand thing” if I could, however it is simply too bizarre to put into words. The best description is infatuation.
“Yes Josh, we all know about that and it's annoying, but that's not the point. I don't want anything happening to him tonight, I already have you four to worry about, and that's enough,” I replied, turning to go outside. I already had my coat on.
This time, none of them stopped me. They just stood there, and once I had shut the door, I could hear them talking about how crazy I was and how creepy Paige and Gopp were as a couple. While I agreed completely about the part, I did not care enough to join in the conversation. I needed time to myself more than anything right now.
As I walked outside, I noticed a change. It was much darker than it had been earlier, the clouds had moved back in as if signifying the coming of the Midnight Man. Every once in a while, the moon would peak through the dark clouds only to be swallowed up once again. If I had wanted to attempt to recall any of the constellations signaling danger or despair, I certainly could not now as none of the stars were visible.
It was still cold, which was not much to my surprise. A cold front was moving in and would not be gone for another few days. I started to wish I was at my house under the covers of my bed not only to warm myself but also be away from him.
Turning away from the house, I walked over to my car and sat down on the hood. It was parked in such a way that I had an overhead view of the entire town. I could see the residential sections where only the street lights remained on this late in the night. Trick-or-treating had finished a few hours ago. Closer to the center, some of the businesses were still open while others were close but had their lights on for security reasons.
Then I looked in the direction towards Paige Jogan's house. I wondered if maybe she was looking out her bedroom window up at the cliff where I was sitting now, thinking about me, hoping that I would be fine tonight.
Up and down a street in the direction I was looking I could barely see a vehicle of some sort. From my position, it looked like one of those really tiny toy cars that would not be acceptable for children three or under for being a choking hazard. And, this was what I did for the next several minutes. I gazed around the town, watching and looking for movement and making comparisons in my mind.
After some time, I remembered that short, blond Paige was supposed to call me to let me know what had happened with Gopp. After this long, I could only assume that she had been unsuccessful in persuading him not to come to the house on the hill tonight. Should I text her or call her? Calling could potentially interrupt a text conversation with Gopp, but if I texted her, what if she were on the phone with him? I decided to text her since it would not interrupt any conversation. If they were texting, I could simply be ignored, but if they were calling, the text would only register on her phone after she hung up.
I sent to her: Well?
After a minute or so I received the reply: Sorry, Nick.
What do you mean?!
Well, he wouldnt listen, he's coming tonight and theres nothing I can do to stop it.
PAIGE!
I know, I'm sorry!
You were supposed to be able to convince him.
Well, what am I supposed to do?!
IDK, maybe refuse to do that stupid hand thing?
It's not stupid, it's something that we just do, deal with it.
But it's so weird, everyone agrees. It's infatuation, plain and simple.
You know what? I'm glad he refused!
You'll change your tune when he doesnt survive the night.
And that was the last text that I received from her that night, and it would be the last for the remainder of my life. We did not speak after that. Now, I am sure that if the events of that Halloween night had gone differently, we would have spoken again. However, so many terrible things happened that night that she would refuse to even establish contact or ever forgive me.
I glanced at the time on my phone. It was just going on 10:30 P.M. I still had another hour to go before everyone in the house and I needed to start getting things together for the summoning. Leaning back on the hood of the car, I debated whether or not to text Paige Jogan, but in the end I decided that it was probably better not to. I had already worried her enough for one evening with my talk of the Midnight Man. It just did not seem worth it.
That hour seemed to last an eternity. Wanting to avoid talking to those in the house, I remained outside watching the town below. One by one, the lights in the houses went out and cars soon began to disappear from the streets. The town was soon dark except for the street lights and a few of the businesses.
Looking up at the stars, I could not help but think about my life, all the choices I had made in it, all the stupid things that I had done over the past seventeen years. My mind drifted to my crush at the end of last school year. I had neglected to really do anything about it, heck I did not even get her number. The school year ended, and we walked out separate ways, and that was the end of it.
However, now that same girl is in the physics class I transferred into after dropping my AP math class. It is strange, there is that slight feeling of whatever it was I felt during my sophomore year. I would not call it a crush anymore as I liked Paige Jogan now, but there was a feeling there. Maybe it was friendship, I cared about her in that way. That was the only way I could explain it.
Then came the issue regarding what I had done this year in order to ask someone to the homecoming dance. I had placed a note inside of a copy of Journey's Escape album which I had purchased that weekend; I was not going to use my personal copy. Well, I handed Amanda the CD, and she handed it right back, and that was all that took place.
As I lay there with my head against the windshield, I felt as though I had never really done anything of importance in my life, never done something that I would be remembered for. Maybe tonight would be my chance, maybe this was my opportunity to defeat the Midnight Man once and for all. Maybe-
“Nick, it's almost 11:30!” I heard Froats shout, interrupting my thoughts.
I sat up and hopped of the car and began walking toward the house. Froats was standing in the doorway, waiting me. There was no going back now, it was time to summon the Midnight Man.
RE: The Midnight Man + Other Stories: Chapter Six is finally done! ENJOY
Sorry for the delay:
Sorry for the delay:
Chapter 7- The Summoning
I have often wondered that if there is a god in heaven and he is the god that I worship in church every Sunday, what does he think about my activities in the mundane world. Is he bothered by my summoning of the Midnight Man, especially since he is technically a demonic entity? Or what if he forgave me for my stupidity the first time but will not be so willing to the second time? I try not to dwell on them too much because it reaches a point where I am judging myself, something that is the job of my maker, not me nor any other being on this earth.
If I do need to redeem myself in His eyes, I have certainly not done a fantastic job. It has been a few years since I last attended church for I am afraid that I will be recognized and looked down upon. You, the reader, must be wondering why. Well, as you continue to read, you shall find the answer for to tell you now would spoil the remainder of the story.
Speaking of stories, I would like to replay one of my favorites which is one of the unknown tales of King Solomon. In this story, which was actually banned from the Bible, it is told that Solomon was a master of demons. He would exorcize them from his subjects or summon them in order to take control of them, harnessing their powers to do his bidding, such as build the famous Temple of Solomon. Maybe that is why several accounts from the time say that it was built with help from another world...
Anyways, that is why I feel like I have sinned by summoning the Midnight Man. Perhaps in His eyes I have attempted to show up one of his chosen people. Well, let me tell you one thing; I have never had any intentions of trying to be like Solomon, particularly in the way of demons. I have always tried to remain outside the realm of the supernatural. I may enjoy watching TV programs about ghosts, vampires, and such, but never have I ever thought about trying to find one in real life.
* * *
I made my way towards the house. Froats kept looking at me approaching him, afraid that I would run if he turned his back to me. The wind was blowing and the clouds were swirling in the sky. It looked like a storm was brewing, the kind of storm one does not normally witness at the end of October. The Midnight Man was preparing his arrival, I could feel it.
“You ready?” Froats asked.
I reached the front door and walked back inside the house with him. I nodded replying, “If I need to be.”
He laughed. In the foyer sat the other three and in the center sat a jumble of supplies waiting to be distributed amongst the five of us. “Nick, you owe me three dollars,” said Froats.
“No problem,” I said reaching into my pocket and handing him the money for my candle, which was rather large since it needed to last three and a half hours, and the matches.
Luke began passing out the candles. I ended up with a blue one, my favorite color. The wick looked sturdy and Froats made a point of telling me that he had found the best two candles when he had gone shopping earlier. Next came the matches which I put mine in my right-hand pocket instinctively which was odd seeing as the matches were in the exact same pocket in my dream. My eyes widened briefly as I realized how eerie that was.
Shaking off, I next took the packets of salt which I was handed. “Did you rob a McDonald's?” asked Paul laughing as Popson unloaded packet upon packet from his pants.
He smiled. “Maybe.”
I forced a laugh. I was scared, midnight was drawing near far too quickly for my taste. And of course, like the dream, the salt packets had to be the ones from McDonald's. This was frightening. Had I actually dreamed something like the events that would come to pass this evening?
But then again, the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that it was just a dream. After all, I had been at my house and I had been in my pajamas. Currently, I was in the house on the hill in my clothing that I had worn today.
Popson opened his backpack and began taking out pieces of paper. He handed one to each of us and passed around a pen to write our names with. I wrote mine in cursive. It came out messy because my hand was shaking the entire time I was writing.
With every second that passed, I grew more and more frightened. Soon, I had begun to repeat the Lord's Prayer silently in my mind. I am not an overly religious person, however when I am truly afraid, I do turn to a higher power for help. Believe me, tonight I needed the assistance more than ever before.
Next came the pin prick. Everyone received their own pin and pricked the flesh on one of their fingers. I chose to use the ring finger of my left hand since I am right-handed. That way if there were any future pain (which I highly doubted) it would not be affecting my dominant hand. It was dark in the house except for the light of our flashlights, but I still could make out a single bright red drop of blood forming on my finger. I held it over the paper. My finger was trembling, but the blood drop still found its mark. It hit the piece of paper directly above my name.
Each one of us silently took the piece of paper with our names and fresh blood and laid them at the foot of the wooden front door of the house. Then, I was told to read over the rules one last time in order to make sure that there were no mishaps. With each section of the rules I had written down for them yesterday, more memories flooded my mind of the last time I summoned him. After I had done that, it was almost midnight.
We each struck a single match and lit the candles. Luke took out his phone and watched the seconds creep by. It was soon time to begin to knock on the door. Popson took the phone and went to the door. Grasping the door knob so that he could throw it open once he was done counting, he began to knock.
KNOCK! It sounded like a gun going off in the silence of the night. KNOCK! With this knock, I could clearly see the clouds begin swirling in the ever darker sky. KNOCK! It was only the third one, but already out the window in the door I could see a figure begin forming several yards away from the house. Whatever it was rose up from out of the earth with plumes of black smoke coming off of it. KNOCK! Would this ever end?! The figure was now completely formed and appeared to be humanoid. No, I had to be imagining this, it could not be real. I turned to Froats who had an expression of horror on his face. Everyone around me was stunned with what was happening before them.
KNOCK! The knocking was now a fifth of the way done. No one moved to stop Popson out of fear. Even I was unsure what would happen if the knocking were interrupted. KNOCK! Five knocks down. All around the figure more forms started taking shape. It was as if the bowels of hell were opening right in front of this house!
KNOCK! More figures were rising up out of the ground in the black smoke. I could make out horns on some of their heads, but I was unsure if I was just imagining that. KNOCK! Turning toward the others, I could see the fear in their eyes. They were witnessing what I was seeing! KNOCK! I felt the urge building within me to yell “STOP!” or to tackle Popson so he could stop this from happening.
KNOCK! The tenth knock. All the figures had now stopped forming, however the smoke was still surrounding them. KNOCK! The smoke had cleared away but I still could not see what lay in wait outside the house. The wooden door was all that was protecting us against certain death by demonic entities. KNOCK! They dispersed! I do not know where they went, however all that remained was the first figure that was in the center of it all. This had to be the Midnight Man!
KNOCK! The figure began to approach the house. KNOCK! It came slowly at first, but soon its pace quickened. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and my eyes widened. KNOCK! Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luke taking a step back from the door. But no one would tell Popson to stop! They really wanted to go through with this!
KNOCK! The final set of knocks were upon us. It was just seconds before midnight and the figure had now made it to the steps that led up to the house's tiny porch. KNOCK! It reached out what appeared to be a hand, but it was now almost too black to tell if that was what happened. KNOCK! Yes, it was a hand! And it now had the door knob in its grasp. KNOCK! The window became covered with frost. It had to be him for nothing else could be as cold as he!
KNOCK! I shouted to stop, but for some reason I could not find my voice. Popson swung open the door and there was a collective breath of us blowing our candles out. I do not know how I managed to do this, it just happened. The figure was now gone, but the window remained icy.
There was the slam of the door shutting, and the scratching of matches to relight the candles. Once relit, each of us went in different directions, taking care to avoid the bathroom in case that raccoon or whatever it was still remained in the sink.
There was something different about the house now. It had already been dark when we had begun the summoning process around 11:30, but now it appeared to be even darker. The light from the flame of my candle cast shadows upon the walls, each eerily dancing to an inaudible song. To me, it was if they were dancing a death dance, waiting for their demise to come from the Midnight Man. I stopped and shook myself. I must be going insane with thoughts like that!
With each corner that I went around, I expected to find him, lying in wait for me. However, he never appeared, much to my relief. Regardless of this miracle, time passed very slowly, slower than it does on the last day of school before the start of summer vacation, slower than it does while taking the SAT, and certainly slower than the hours leading up to opening one's presents on Christmas morning.
Soon, I no longer took notice of my dark surroundings. The shadows from my candle became muddled in my own thoughts. It was that for the next several minutes I found myself lost in deep thought.
Frowning, I began to think about what Gopp had told Paige. I was praying that he did not decide to show up. I was unsure of what fate would befall him when he tried to enter the house. Perhaps the demons that came with the Midnight Man would bring him to a gruesome end, or maybe the Midnight Man himself would leave the house for a brief time to attack him. No matter what outcome came to mind, none of them ended well for Gopp.
It was at this exact minute that I happened to pass by the window in what appeared to be a sitting room that was just off the foyer. Through that window, I could see lights at the bottom of the hill. It appeared to be car lights. Gopp was beginning the descent up the hill and there was nothing I could do to stop it!
To have ran out the door to try and turn him away would have been suicide, so all I could do was walk in circles around the room. Then I remembered to stay in one place was a terrible idea, so I quickly walked through the foyer and around the house again to make it back to the sitting room. That lap around the house felt like an eternity. Why was there no other room leading off of the foyer with a window that I could see the bottom of the hill from?!
I could feel myself begin to sweat despite the house being cold. If Gopp was killed here tonight, how could I ever explain it to his Paige, and let alone mine! And, pulling out my phone as I was walking, it was only about ten minutes after we had summoned the Midnight Man. If this was just the beginning of the evening, it was going to be a long three and a half hours until he was gone.
Saying a silent prayer, I made my way through the kitchen and back into the sitting room. This time, the car was almost at the top of the hill. I could faintly see shadowy figures begin to rise out of the darkest corners of the hill and begin advancing on the car. This time, I just kept walking in circles, I did not care, I needed to see what happened.
Gopp's car came to a stop, and the headlights went out. The door opened, and Gopp emerged. He turned back to pull the keys out of the ignition, but he did no more. He was pulled from his task by an unseen force and hoisted into the air. He body was thrown against the ground.
He got up and began limping back to the car. It appeared as though he was injured badly. Once again, he was grabbed from behind, but this time, instead of going airborne, his head was pulled back and it appeared as though he was being dragged by his arms. That was my theory until his arms was completely pulled out of its socket. What followed was one of the most gruesome sights I have ever had to witness, and I saw much blood that evening.
His left arm was ripped off of his body. A second after the same fate befell his right arm. In the dark I could make out blood squirting out of where his arms once were. Then his head was twisted at an unnatural angle. His body was dropped to the ground where it moved no more. The Midnight Man had claimed its first victim, or rather his demonic cronies had.
Just as I turned to walked into the foyer, suppressing tears, I felt a cold air around me. My candle went out.
If I do need to redeem myself in His eyes, I have certainly not done a fantastic job. It has been a few years since I last attended church for I am afraid that I will be recognized and looked down upon. You, the reader, must be wondering why. Well, as you continue to read, you shall find the answer for to tell you now would spoil the remainder of the story.
Speaking of stories, I would like to replay one of my favorites which is one of the unknown tales of King Solomon. In this story, which was actually banned from the Bible, it is told that Solomon was a master of demons. He would exorcize them from his subjects or summon them in order to take control of them, harnessing their powers to do his bidding, such as build the famous Temple of Solomon. Maybe that is why several accounts from the time say that it was built with help from another world...
Anyways, that is why I feel like I have sinned by summoning the Midnight Man. Perhaps in His eyes I have attempted to show up one of his chosen people. Well, let me tell you one thing; I have never had any intentions of trying to be like Solomon, particularly in the way of demons. I have always tried to remain outside the realm of the supernatural. I may enjoy watching TV programs about ghosts, vampires, and such, but never have I ever thought about trying to find one in real life.
* * *
I made my way towards the house. Froats kept looking at me approaching him, afraid that I would run if he turned his back to me. The wind was blowing and the clouds were swirling in the sky. It looked like a storm was brewing, the kind of storm one does not normally witness at the end of October. The Midnight Man was preparing his arrival, I could feel it.
“You ready?” Froats asked.
I reached the front door and walked back inside the house with him. I nodded replying, “If I need to be.”
He laughed. In the foyer sat the other three and in the center sat a jumble of supplies waiting to be distributed amongst the five of us. “Nick, you owe me three dollars,” said Froats.
“No problem,” I said reaching into my pocket and handing him the money for my candle, which was rather large since it needed to last three and a half hours, and the matches.
Luke began passing out the candles. I ended up with a blue one, my favorite color. The wick looked sturdy and Froats made a point of telling me that he had found the best two candles when he had gone shopping earlier. Next came the matches which I put mine in my right-hand pocket instinctively which was odd seeing as the matches were in the exact same pocket in my dream. My eyes widened briefly as I realized how eerie that was.
Shaking off, I next took the packets of salt which I was handed. “Did you rob a McDonald's?” asked Paul laughing as Popson unloaded packet upon packet from his pants.
He smiled. “Maybe.”
I forced a laugh. I was scared, midnight was drawing near far too quickly for my taste. And of course, like the dream, the salt packets had to be the ones from McDonald's. This was frightening. Had I actually dreamed something like the events that would come to pass this evening?
But then again, the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that it was just a dream. After all, I had been at my house and I had been in my pajamas. Currently, I was in the house on the hill in my clothing that I had worn today.
Popson opened his backpack and began taking out pieces of paper. He handed one to each of us and passed around a pen to write our names with. I wrote mine in cursive. It came out messy because my hand was shaking the entire time I was writing.
With every second that passed, I grew more and more frightened. Soon, I had begun to repeat the Lord's Prayer silently in my mind. I am not an overly religious person, however when I am truly afraid, I do turn to a higher power for help. Believe me, tonight I needed the assistance more than ever before.
Next came the pin prick. Everyone received their own pin and pricked the flesh on one of their fingers. I chose to use the ring finger of my left hand since I am right-handed. That way if there were any future pain (which I highly doubted) it would not be affecting my dominant hand. It was dark in the house except for the light of our flashlights, but I still could make out a single bright red drop of blood forming on my finger. I held it over the paper. My finger was trembling, but the blood drop still found its mark. It hit the piece of paper directly above my name.
Each one of us silently took the piece of paper with our names and fresh blood and laid them at the foot of the wooden front door of the house. Then, I was told to read over the rules one last time in order to make sure that there were no mishaps. With each section of the rules I had written down for them yesterday, more memories flooded my mind of the last time I summoned him. After I had done that, it was almost midnight.
We each struck a single match and lit the candles. Luke took out his phone and watched the seconds creep by. It was soon time to begin to knock on the door. Popson took the phone and went to the door. Grasping the door knob so that he could throw it open once he was done counting, he began to knock.
KNOCK! It sounded like a gun going off in the silence of the night. KNOCK! With this knock, I could clearly see the clouds begin swirling in the ever darker sky. KNOCK! It was only the third one, but already out the window in the door I could see a figure begin forming several yards away from the house. Whatever it was rose up from out of the earth with plumes of black smoke coming off of it. KNOCK! Would this ever end?! The figure was now completely formed and appeared to be humanoid. No, I had to be imagining this, it could not be real. I turned to Froats who had an expression of horror on his face. Everyone around me was stunned with what was happening before them.
KNOCK! The knocking was now a fifth of the way done. No one moved to stop Popson out of fear. Even I was unsure what would happen if the knocking were interrupted. KNOCK! Five knocks down. All around the figure more forms started taking shape. It was as if the bowels of hell were opening right in front of this house!
KNOCK! More figures were rising up out of the ground in the black smoke. I could make out horns on some of their heads, but I was unsure if I was just imagining that. KNOCK! Turning toward the others, I could see the fear in their eyes. They were witnessing what I was seeing! KNOCK! I felt the urge building within me to yell “STOP!” or to tackle Popson so he could stop this from happening.
KNOCK! The tenth knock. All the figures had now stopped forming, however the smoke was still surrounding them. KNOCK! The smoke had cleared away but I still could not see what lay in wait outside the house. The wooden door was all that was protecting us against certain death by demonic entities. KNOCK! They dispersed! I do not know where they went, however all that remained was the first figure that was in the center of it all. This had to be the Midnight Man!
KNOCK! The figure began to approach the house. KNOCK! It came slowly at first, but soon its pace quickened. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and my eyes widened. KNOCK! Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luke taking a step back from the door. But no one would tell Popson to stop! They really wanted to go through with this!
KNOCK! The final set of knocks were upon us. It was just seconds before midnight and the figure had now made it to the steps that led up to the house's tiny porch. KNOCK! It reached out what appeared to be a hand, but it was now almost too black to tell if that was what happened. KNOCK! Yes, it was a hand! And it now had the door knob in its grasp. KNOCK! The window became covered with frost. It had to be him for nothing else could be as cold as he!
KNOCK! I shouted to stop, but for some reason I could not find my voice. Popson swung open the door and there was a collective breath of us blowing our candles out. I do not know how I managed to do this, it just happened. The figure was now gone, but the window remained icy.
There was the slam of the door shutting, and the scratching of matches to relight the candles. Once relit, each of us went in different directions, taking care to avoid the bathroom in case that raccoon or whatever it was still remained in the sink.
There was something different about the house now. It had already been dark when we had begun the summoning process around 11:30, but now it appeared to be even darker. The light from the flame of my candle cast shadows upon the walls, each eerily dancing to an inaudible song. To me, it was if they were dancing a death dance, waiting for their demise to come from the Midnight Man. I stopped and shook myself. I must be going insane with thoughts like that!
With each corner that I went around, I expected to find him, lying in wait for me. However, he never appeared, much to my relief. Regardless of this miracle, time passed very slowly, slower than it does on the last day of school before the start of summer vacation, slower than it does while taking the SAT, and certainly slower than the hours leading up to opening one's presents on Christmas morning.
Soon, I no longer took notice of my dark surroundings. The shadows from my candle became muddled in my own thoughts. It was that for the next several minutes I found myself lost in deep thought.
Frowning, I began to think about what Gopp had told Paige. I was praying that he did not decide to show up. I was unsure of what fate would befall him when he tried to enter the house. Perhaps the demons that came with the Midnight Man would bring him to a gruesome end, or maybe the Midnight Man himself would leave the house for a brief time to attack him. No matter what outcome came to mind, none of them ended well for Gopp.
It was at this exact minute that I happened to pass by the window in what appeared to be a sitting room that was just off the foyer. Through that window, I could see lights at the bottom of the hill. It appeared to be car lights. Gopp was beginning the descent up the hill and there was nothing I could do to stop it!
To have ran out the door to try and turn him away would have been suicide, so all I could do was walk in circles around the room. Then I remembered to stay in one place was a terrible idea, so I quickly walked through the foyer and around the house again to make it back to the sitting room. That lap around the house felt like an eternity. Why was there no other room leading off of the foyer with a window that I could see the bottom of the hill from?!
I could feel myself begin to sweat despite the house being cold. If Gopp was killed here tonight, how could I ever explain it to his Paige, and let alone mine! And, pulling out my phone as I was walking, it was only about ten minutes after we had summoned the Midnight Man. If this was just the beginning of the evening, it was going to be a long three and a half hours until he was gone.
Saying a silent prayer, I made my way through the kitchen and back into the sitting room. This time, the car was almost at the top of the hill. I could faintly see shadowy figures begin to rise out of the darkest corners of the hill and begin advancing on the car. This time, I just kept walking in circles, I did not care, I needed to see what happened.
Gopp's car came to a stop, and the headlights went out. The door opened, and Gopp emerged. He turned back to pull the keys out of the ignition, but he did no more. He was pulled from his task by an unseen force and hoisted into the air. He body was thrown against the ground.
He got up and began limping back to the car. It appeared as though he was injured badly. Once again, he was grabbed from behind, but this time, instead of going airborne, his head was pulled back and it appeared as though he was being dragged by his arms. That was my theory until his arms was completely pulled out of its socket. What followed was one of the most gruesome sights I have ever had to witness, and I saw much blood that evening.
His left arm was ripped off of his body. A second after the same fate befell his right arm. In the dark I could make out blood squirting out of where his arms once were. Then his head was twisted at an unnatural angle. His body was dropped to the ground where it moved no more. The Midnight Man had claimed its first victim, or rather his demonic cronies had.
Just as I turned to walked into the foyer, suppressing tears, I felt a cold air around me. My candle went out.
RE: The Midnight Man + Other Stories: Chapter Seven is Done- The Midnight Man Has Arrived
Tense and exciting. Definitely a few of the many things I like in your stories. Your pacing for this chapter was excellently executed, characterization and dialogue exceptionally done, and the initiating event triggers things to motion. As always, this is a splendid chapter and I eagerly await for the rest of the plotline to be written.
Ciao,
- Articuno
Tense and exciting. Definitely a few of the many things I like in your stories. Your pacing for this chapter was excellently executed, characterization and dialogue exceptionally done, and the initiating event triggers things to motion. As always, this is a splendid chapter and I eagerly await for the rest of the plotline to be written.
Ciao,
- Articuno
RE: The Midnight Man + Other Stories: Chapter Seven is Done- The Midnight Man Has Arrived
Thanks I really appreciate it!
Well, while school and the holidays might have delayed me, I have finally finished the next chapter before Christmas:
Thanks I really appreciate it!
Well, while school and the holidays might have delayed me, I have finally finished the next chapter before Christmas:
Chapter 8- A Failed Circle Of Salt
If it were the first time I had summoned the Midnight Man, I would have panicked when my candle went out. However, since I was already accustomed to the fear that went with it and did not wish to deal with the hallucinations again, I quickly jammed my hand into my pocket and pulled out matches. I struck one and relit my candle. I was amazed at the speed with which I accomplished this.
Once I had done this, I looked around the room and out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark figure slinking back into the shadows, looking for the next person to torment. I sighed with relief that I had survived this encounter unscathed, and then headed to the stairs, hoping that the Midnight Man would not follow my upstairs.
Slowly I crept up the stairs, careful not to trip and as a result break my candle. There was no noise other than the slight creaking of the stairs under my weight. It was a strange silence, it was if it was a warning of impending doom. It was to the point of being too quiet. It was as if the silence itself was evil.
I did not like it, not at all. This lack of noise allowed me to be alone with my thoughts, which at this point in the night was not a good thing. The scene of Gopp being ripped limb from limb kept replaying in my mind. I could not shake it, like one cannot shake that one crush they will always have in the back of their mind no matter who they are dating.
It was cold in the house, but I was perspiring due to my nerves which refused to be calmed. I wiped beads of salty sweat off of my forehead to prevent them from entering my eyes. My hands were slippery and I stopped to wipe each one on my jean pants one at a time.
I reached the top of the stair case and hesitated to step into the dark hallway in front of me. I was scared that the Midnight Man might be lurking in it, but then I remembered that he was downstairs. Then I realized that I did not know where any of the others were at, which alarmed me simply because I wanted to protect them from the evil that they had insisted on summoning.
Swallowing hard, I began to take baby steps off of the stairs and into the the abyss of unexplored darkness that surrounded me. When I made the fourth step, my foot landed on a creaky floorboard. The sound that it made seemed to echo through the quiet house, alerting everyone to where I was currently at. I could feel the Midnight Man looking up and beginning to make his way to the stairs.
I tiptoed quickly into the room at the end of the hallway. Peering out into the hallway, I could see a figure finishing its descent up the stairs and then turned and walked into the first room. I sprinted out of the hallway and down the stairs to be back onto the first story of the house. I had narrowly avoided him yet again.
I paused in the kitchen in order to catch my breath. Coming out of a hallway leading off from the kitchen but not the one from the foyer came a figure holding a candle. I could see that it was Popson. Walking past him I pointed toward the foyer and shook my head to silently warn him not to go there. Turning, he followed me into the hallway.
With him behind me, perhaps I should have felt more safe. The result was the complete opposite. It actually did more to worry because I feared that if something crept up from behind, it would attack the less experienced of the two of us. I could deal with the Midnight Man. Popson, on the other hand, probably could not.
As we walked, following each curve and going through each room, I soon found my mind beginning to wander as it had done while I was looking down on the town. I thought of Julie. This took me by surprise. I had not talked to her at all this school year except while at the homecoming dance or to discuss a history test.
Our relationship had changed so much over the summer months it was almost unbelievable. We were not able to talk and this year it was like we hardly knew each other, a concept that I found hard to grasp since we had been so close during our sophomore year. Our lockers were not close this year like they had been our first two years of high school and we had no classes together. We may have been taking the same courses, it was just that our schedules were exact opposites. Freshman year we had had lunch together and this past year we were in the same period of Accelerated English 10.
I can remember our first year of high school so clearly; I had liked her but she had not liked me and I did not realize. It very nearly destroyed our friendship, but after I got over that things went back to normal and I even got a hug from her on the last day of school.
Then over the summer I had begun to date a girl from a different school district, but that did not prevent our friendship from growing. By February, it was the idea was beginning to form in my mind that I liked Julie more than the girl I had been dating since late July which was something that alarmed me. However, I never had to cross that bridge because that ended in the middle of February and I was free to focus on Julie alone.
I was in the school play and had to stay after the majority of the week, so I always walked her to her bus, talking about our days, well mainly focusing on her day, and joking around. That continued for about a month or two and she would always beckon me to come with her if I would hesitate. Then, the play ended, but that did not stop me from at least walking out to the line of buses with her (while almost missing my own multiple times).
As the school year came to a close I dropped subtle hints about getting her number or hanging out over the summer, which she always responded happily to. I wanted to date her, but the time was running out for me to make this possible as I had less than ten days of school left. Then, it almost completely fell apart.
It was a usual morning, however she was there much earlier than usual because she had brought in cupcakes for a class. I sat down beside her at her locker and she told me that I could have a cupcake, a red velvet one with raspberry frosting to be exact, if I went with her to where they were stored after we had English together.
Then, I don't know what happened, nor do I think that I ever will. She became less willing to talk both during English and when she took me to get a cupcake. At lunch, Gopp told me that she knew. Then, things returned to normal, as if she did not mind or it did not bother her.
The school year ended and on the very last day, I looked at her, asked if she were riding the bus, and she said no. I hugged her, told her to have a great summer, and then we walked away in opposite directions.
The shock of how sad this had made me caused me to come back to reality. I had just been walking through the backrooms of the house absent-minded. I stopped and heard Popson's footsteps behind me also cease. I took out my phone and looked at the time. It was almost half past midnight.
A strange thing happens when one has to be silent for multiple hours. Memories flood the mind. It is only half the battle to survive the Midnight Man. The other is surviving the memories from the past that continue to haunt one's mind during the game.
Turning around, I began to head back to what was once the house's kitchen. I needed to check on everyone else and make sure that they were okay.
Popson turned towards me and mouthed to me that he would lead back. I nodded. While I would have rather continued to lead, this was not the time or the place to argue over something so petty. We made our way back to the kitchen quickly. The reason we had been in that part of the house for so long was because I had been walking in circles due to being lost in my thoughts. That was certainly not the safest action to take seeing as the Midnight Man could have easily cornered us. However, he must have chosen to torment the others for a while as he had already tried to put me out of the game once already this evening. That thought worried me even more. Were the others okay?
Once we reached the kitchen, we could see the light from a candle illuminating the hallway leading to the foyer. Squinting, I could manage to make out Paul in the darkness. He was walking briskly as though something was following him that he wanted to shake. Behind him a dark figure appeared to be gaining on him. And then, I could no longer see him; his candle had gone out.
Popson stopped dead in his tracks and I almost ran into him. We could faintly hear Paul rummaging around in his pockets trying to find the salt or matches. By the time this had stopped, I already knew that he was a goner. Ten seconds was up shortly after, and I pushed Popson, urging him to move on so that the same fate would not befall both of us. The five of us were losing the war against the Midnight Man.
Popson still would not move. I grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him back into the hallway that we had just came from, hoping that I could once again lose the Midnight Man the same way I had earlier in the evening. I pushed him into the first room on the left.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the dark figure making its way down the hallway to the last room. Just what I had counted on him doing. Popson and I sprinted out of the room, down the hallway, through the kitchen, past Paul who was beginning to hallucinate, and into the foyer. We walked up the stairs at a brisk pace, there was not time to go slowly so that one's candle would not be smashed.
Behind me, I heard a thud. Popson had fallen up the steps! He was yelling in pain and when I turned around, I could see why. His candle had smashed and hot wax had gotten all over his right hand. I jumped over him (almost falling myself) and ran down the stairs into the foyer where I grabbed a bottle of water that was lying near one of the sleeping bags. I did not know whose it was, nor did I really care. I ran up the stairs again to the point where Pospon was moaning in pain.
I set down my candle on the step in front of his head and then unscrewed the cap of the bottle. The bottle of water, while already opened, was still, thankfully, more than three quarters full. I doused his hand in the cool water, which soothed the burn as well as helped to wash away the majority of the wax.
Helping Popson up, I could see the figures of both Froats and Luke appear at the top of the stairs. I picked up my candle while they descended the stairs to help Popson, who could not walk very well purely out of pain from the burn, up the stairs and into one of the rooms. We helped him to sit down onto the floor.
I was shaking my head. Froats looked at me and whispered, “What do we do know. There aren't any more candles.”
Turning toward him, I sighed and replied, “I don't think a salt circle will work at this point, but it doesn't hurt to try. Popson, take your salt and pour it around you in some way.”
He nodded and then reached into his pocket. He tore open pack after pack of the salt and poured it around him. We stayed until he had finished his task, checked his hand once again, and then decided to keep moving so that he would not find us.
We left the room and began to descend the stairs. The three of us still in the game went through the foyer and into the kitchen. I whispered to them that we needed to make sure that Paul was alright and that I wanted to know the time.
Luke took out his phone and showed us that it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. We still had another two and a half hours of this to go, and based on how the first hour had gone, the odds were against us surviving.
Just as Luke had placed his phone back into his pocket, there came a loud clatter from the back of the house, the area that Popson and I had walked through earlier in the evening. I could see a figure coming towards us out of the hallway, however it looked somewhat shorter than the what I remembered the Midnight Man being.
Froats tore out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Luke began backing up towards the backdoor of the kitchen that lead outside to what appeared to have once been a patio. I stood there, convinced that this was not the Midnight Man. My candle caused a shadow to begin to follow the figure and be cast upon the ground behind it. Wait, the Midnight Man does not have a shadow!
Right as I was turning to tell Luke that we were safe, it was just Paul experiencing terrible images, I heard the click of a door being shut. Turning around I saw that Luke was no longer in the kitchen. I ran to the window that was just above the sink and realized that he had run outside. My eyes grew wide. Not only would he be torn to pieces, but because he had left the house it opened a portal for a few brief seconds to another world meaning that something more deadly could have entered the house.
I heard Luke scream as I witnessed barrages of blood and limbs hit the window. I slowly walked to the window. All that remained of my friend was a pile of chewed skin and bone and the clothing that he had worn that evening which was now soaked with blood.
I turned around only to see the doorway to the foyer blocked by the Midnight Man. Looking around for another escape route, I noticed that there was another dark figure standing by the door. What had Luke let into the house?!
I took a deep breath and ran straight for the Midnight Man in order to escape. I actually ended up running right through him which caused my insides to freeze. It was the most chilling experience of my life. Not only did I feel that, but I also felt very weak. Mustering up what little energy remained in my body, I ran into the foyer and headed towards the stairs, grabbing my backpack in the process. Once I had made it up the stairs I headed into the nearest bedroom, the one that Popson was not in. Reaching into the backpack, I thankfully found that the extra Halloween candy I had thrown into it before leaving was still there. I unwrapped a Snickers and began to eat it.
With half the candy bar remaining, I got up and walked over to the door to peer out into the hallway. The temperature was different in the hallway than it was in the room I was currently in. It was much, much warmer and there was the smell of sour milk coming from the direction of the staircase.
Quickly I ducked back inside the room, silently shut the door, and turned the tab on the doorknob to lock it. In a panic, I tiptoed over to the closet, opened the door, and went inside to hide. Leaning against the back wall of the closet, I suddenly realized that it was caving in. I stood up and turned around. The wall had actually been lifted up to reveal a dark passage way which where it led, I did not know.
But I had no time to waste. The demonic entity that Luke had brought into the house was currently out in the hallway and I needed to make my escape. I heard a yell and some running. Froats must have spotted it, or it might have attacked him. I walked into the passage way and pulled the wall back into place. Then, I heard a scream. It sounded like Popson!
The salt circle would give him absolutely no protection against the demon. I stood there in the darkness trying to be as silent as I could be. I sat down, wishing I had the rest of the food that was in my backpack with me. I finished the candy bar and then took out my phone to check the time. It was now a quarter after one. Maybe I could remain here for the rest of the evening, but that would mean I could not protect any of my friends. I needed to find out where this led to.
I heard something rattling the locked door of the bedroom I had just been in. Then, there was a slamming sound as if someone were trying to break down the door. There was a loud bang and then footsteps. I heard Popson's voice speaking in what appeared to be Latin, but something was wrong. While he actually was in Latin class at school, he knew how to translate it, not speak it fluently. Also, there was a deeper voice underneath his own. Was he possessed by the demon?!
Once I had done this, I looked around the room and out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark figure slinking back into the shadows, looking for the next person to torment. I sighed with relief that I had survived this encounter unscathed, and then headed to the stairs, hoping that the Midnight Man would not follow my upstairs.
Slowly I crept up the stairs, careful not to trip and as a result break my candle. There was no noise other than the slight creaking of the stairs under my weight. It was a strange silence, it was if it was a warning of impending doom. It was to the point of being too quiet. It was as if the silence itself was evil.
I did not like it, not at all. This lack of noise allowed me to be alone with my thoughts, which at this point in the night was not a good thing. The scene of Gopp being ripped limb from limb kept replaying in my mind. I could not shake it, like one cannot shake that one crush they will always have in the back of their mind no matter who they are dating.
It was cold in the house, but I was perspiring due to my nerves which refused to be calmed. I wiped beads of salty sweat off of my forehead to prevent them from entering my eyes. My hands were slippery and I stopped to wipe each one on my jean pants one at a time.
I reached the top of the stair case and hesitated to step into the dark hallway in front of me. I was scared that the Midnight Man might be lurking in it, but then I remembered that he was downstairs. Then I realized that I did not know where any of the others were at, which alarmed me simply because I wanted to protect them from the evil that they had insisted on summoning.
Swallowing hard, I began to take baby steps off of the stairs and into the the abyss of unexplored darkness that surrounded me. When I made the fourth step, my foot landed on a creaky floorboard. The sound that it made seemed to echo through the quiet house, alerting everyone to where I was currently at. I could feel the Midnight Man looking up and beginning to make his way to the stairs.
I tiptoed quickly into the room at the end of the hallway. Peering out into the hallway, I could see a figure finishing its descent up the stairs and then turned and walked into the first room. I sprinted out of the hallway and down the stairs to be back onto the first story of the house. I had narrowly avoided him yet again.
I paused in the kitchen in order to catch my breath. Coming out of a hallway leading off from the kitchen but not the one from the foyer came a figure holding a candle. I could see that it was Popson. Walking past him I pointed toward the foyer and shook my head to silently warn him not to go there. Turning, he followed me into the hallway.
With him behind me, perhaps I should have felt more safe. The result was the complete opposite. It actually did more to worry because I feared that if something crept up from behind, it would attack the less experienced of the two of us. I could deal with the Midnight Man. Popson, on the other hand, probably could not.
As we walked, following each curve and going through each room, I soon found my mind beginning to wander as it had done while I was looking down on the town. I thought of Julie. This took me by surprise. I had not talked to her at all this school year except while at the homecoming dance or to discuss a history test.
Our relationship had changed so much over the summer months it was almost unbelievable. We were not able to talk and this year it was like we hardly knew each other, a concept that I found hard to grasp since we had been so close during our sophomore year. Our lockers were not close this year like they had been our first two years of high school and we had no classes together. We may have been taking the same courses, it was just that our schedules were exact opposites. Freshman year we had had lunch together and this past year we were in the same period of Accelerated English 10.
I can remember our first year of high school so clearly; I had liked her but she had not liked me and I did not realize. It very nearly destroyed our friendship, but after I got over that things went back to normal and I even got a hug from her on the last day of school.
Then over the summer I had begun to date a girl from a different school district, but that did not prevent our friendship from growing. By February, it was the idea was beginning to form in my mind that I liked Julie more than the girl I had been dating since late July which was something that alarmed me. However, I never had to cross that bridge because that ended in the middle of February and I was free to focus on Julie alone.
I was in the school play and had to stay after the majority of the week, so I always walked her to her bus, talking about our days, well mainly focusing on her day, and joking around. That continued for about a month or two and she would always beckon me to come with her if I would hesitate. Then, the play ended, but that did not stop me from at least walking out to the line of buses with her (while almost missing my own multiple times).
As the school year came to a close I dropped subtle hints about getting her number or hanging out over the summer, which she always responded happily to. I wanted to date her, but the time was running out for me to make this possible as I had less than ten days of school left. Then, it almost completely fell apart.
It was a usual morning, however she was there much earlier than usual because she had brought in cupcakes for a class. I sat down beside her at her locker and she told me that I could have a cupcake, a red velvet one with raspberry frosting to be exact, if I went with her to where they were stored after we had English together.
Then, I don't know what happened, nor do I think that I ever will. She became less willing to talk both during English and when she took me to get a cupcake. At lunch, Gopp told me that she knew. Then, things returned to normal, as if she did not mind or it did not bother her.
The school year ended and on the very last day, I looked at her, asked if she were riding the bus, and she said no. I hugged her, told her to have a great summer, and then we walked away in opposite directions.
The shock of how sad this had made me caused me to come back to reality. I had just been walking through the backrooms of the house absent-minded. I stopped and heard Popson's footsteps behind me also cease. I took out my phone and looked at the time. It was almost half past midnight.
A strange thing happens when one has to be silent for multiple hours. Memories flood the mind. It is only half the battle to survive the Midnight Man. The other is surviving the memories from the past that continue to haunt one's mind during the game.
Turning around, I began to head back to what was once the house's kitchen. I needed to check on everyone else and make sure that they were okay.
Popson turned towards me and mouthed to me that he would lead back. I nodded. While I would have rather continued to lead, this was not the time or the place to argue over something so petty. We made our way back to the kitchen quickly. The reason we had been in that part of the house for so long was because I had been walking in circles due to being lost in my thoughts. That was certainly not the safest action to take seeing as the Midnight Man could have easily cornered us. However, he must have chosen to torment the others for a while as he had already tried to put me out of the game once already this evening. That thought worried me even more. Were the others okay?
Once we reached the kitchen, we could see the light from a candle illuminating the hallway leading to the foyer. Squinting, I could manage to make out Paul in the darkness. He was walking briskly as though something was following him that he wanted to shake. Behind him a dark figure appeared to be gaining on him. And then, I could no longer see him; his candle had gone out.
Popson stopped dead in his tracks and I almost ran into him. We could faintly hear Paul rummaging around in his pockets trying to find the salt or matches. By the time this had stopped, I already knew that he was a goner. Ten seconds was up shortly after, and I pushed Popson, urging him to move on so that the same fate would not befall both of us. The five of us were losing the war against the Midnight Man.
Popson still would not move. I grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him back into the hallway that we had just came from, hoping that I could once again lose the Midnight Man the same way I had earlier in the evening. I pushed him into the first room on the left.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the dark figure making its way down the hallway to the last room. Just what I had counted on him doing. Popson and I sprinted out of the room, down the hallway, through the kitchen, past Paul who was beginning to hallucinate, and into the foyer. We walked up the stairs at a brisk pace, there was not time to go slowly so that one's candle would not be smashed.
Behind me, I heard a thud. Popson had fallen up the steps! He was yelling in pain and when I turned around, I could see why. His candle had smashed and hot wax had gotten all over his right hand. I jumped over him (almost falling myself) and ran down the stairs into the foyer where I grabbed a bottle of water that was lying near one of the sleeping bags. I did not know whose it was, nor did I really care. I ran up the stairs again to the point where Pospon was moaning in pain.
I set down my candle on the step in front of his head and then unscrewed the cap of the bottle. The bottle of water, while already opened, was still, thankfully, more than three quarters full. I doused his hand in the cool water, which soothed the burn as well as helped to wash away the majority of the wax.
Helping Popson up, I could see the figures of both Froats and Luke appear at the top of the stairs. I picked up my candle while they descended the stairs to help Popson, who could not walk very well purely out of pain from the burn, up the stairs and into one of the rooms. We helped him to sit down onto the floor.
I was shaking my head. Froats looked at me and whispered, “What do we do know. There aren't any more candles.”
Turning toward him, I sighed and replied, “I don't think a salt circle will work at this point, but it doesn't hurt to try. Popson, take your salt and pour it around you in some way.”
He nodded and then reached into his pocket. He tore open pack after pack of the salt and poured it around him. We stayed until he had finished his task, checked his hand once again, and then decided to keep moving so that he would not find us.
We left the room and began to descend the stairs. The three of us still in the game went through the foyer and into the kitchen. I whispered to them that we needed to make sure that Paul was alright and that I wanted to know the time.
Luke took out his phone and showed us that it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. We still had another two and a half hours of this to go, and based on how the first hour had gone, the odds were against us surviving.
Just as Luke had placed his phone back into his pocket, there came a loud clatter from the back of the house, the area that Popson and I had walked through earlier in the evening. I could see a figure coming towards us out of the hallway, however it looked somewhat shorter than the what I remembered the Midnight Man being.
Froats tore out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Luke began backing up towards the backdoor of the kitchen that lead outside to what appeared to have once been a patio. I stood there, convinced that this was not the Midnight Man. My candle caused a shadow to begin to follow the figure and be cast upon the ground behind it. Wait, the Midnight Man does not have a shadow!
Right as I was turning to tell Luke that we were safe, it was just Paul experiencing terrible images, I heard the click of a door being shut. Turning around I saw that Luke was no longer in the kitchen. I ran to the window that was just above the sink and realized that he had run outside. My eyes grew wide. Not only would he be torn to pieces, but because he had left the house it opened a portal for a few brief seconds to another world meaning that something more deadly could have entered the house.
I heard Luke scream as I witnessed barrages of blood and limbs hit the window. I slowly walked to the window. All that remained of my friend was a pile of chewed skin and bone and the clothing that he had worn that evening which was now soaked with blood.
I turned around only to see the doorway to the foyer blocked by the Midnight Man. Looking around for another escape route, I noticed that there was another dark figure standing by the door. What had Luke let into the house?!
I took a deep breath and ran straight for the Midnight Man in order to escape. I actually ended up running right through him which caused my insides to freeze. It was the most chilling experience of my life. Not only did I feel that, but I also felt very weak. Mustering up what little energy remained in my body, I ran into the foyer and headed towards the stairs, grabbing my backpack in the process. Once I had made it up the stairs I headed into the nearest bedroom, the one that Popson was not in. Reaching into the backpack, I thankfully found that the extra Halloween candy I had thrown into it before leaving was still there. I unwrapped a Snickers and began to eat it.
With half the candy bar remaining, I got up and walked over to the door to peer out into the hallway. The temperature was different in the hallway than it was in the room I was currently in. It was much, much warmer and there was the smell of sour milk coming from the direction of the staircase.
Quickly I ducked back inside the room, silently shut the door, and turned the tab on the doorknob to lock it. In a panic, I tiptoed over to the closet, opened the door, and went inside to hide. Leaning against the back wall of the closet, I suddenly realized that it was caving in. I stood up and turned around. The wall had actually been lifted up to reveal a dark passage way which where it led, I did not know.
But I had no time to waste. The demonic entity that Luke had brought into the house was currently out in the hallway and I needed to make my escape. I heard a yell and some running. Froats must have spotted it, or it might have attacked him. I walked into the passage way and pulled the wall back into place. Then, I heard a scream. It sounded like Popson!
The salt circle would give him absolutely no protection against the demon. I stood there in the darkness trying to be as silent as I could be. I sat down, wishing I had the rest of the food that was in my backpack with me. I finished the candy bar and then took out my phone to check the time. It was now a quarter after one. Maybe I could remain here for the rest of the evening, but that would mean I could not protect any of my friends. I needed to find out where this led to.
I heard something rattling the locked door of the bedroom I had just been in. Then, there was a slamming sound as if someone were trying to break down the door. There was a loud bang and then footsteps. I heard Popson's voice speaking in what appeared to be Latin, but something was wrong. While he actually was in Latin class at school, he knew how to translate it, not speak it fluently. Also, there was a deeper voice underneath his own. Was he possessed by the demon?!
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up! Can The Five Of Them Survive The Night?!
Sorry for not critiquing your chapters. Gah, I don't like having to put off any critiques... >_<
Anyways, let me begin. The few last chapters were great, with few mistakes (which aren't really that noticeable), and had successful chapter flow as well. I look forward to more from you!
Sorry for not critiquing your chapters. Gah, I don't like having to put off any critiques... >_<
Anyways, let me begin. The few last chapters were great, with few mistakes (which aren't really that noticeable), and had successful chapter flow as well. I look forward to more from you!
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up! Can The Five Of Them Survive The Night?!
There was not much I can find, except this one:
Minor mistake. Should be me.
Other than that, this was a very suspenseful and thrilling chapter as usual! Looking forward to the next chapter.
Ciao.
- Articuno
There was not much I can find, except this one:
Minor mistake. Should be me.
Other than that, this was a very suspenseful and thrilling chapter as usual! Looking forward to the next chapter.
Ciao.
- Articuno
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up! Can The Five Of Them Survive The Night?!
OMG sorry for not posting but this story makes me wanna try it anyways its truly amazing, and thy way you develops Shaker is really interesting. I'm thinking he resembles you? Anyways great jobs keep it up.
-Gatr
OMG sorry for not posting but this story makes me wanna try it
anyways its truly amazing, and thy way you develops Shaker is really interesting. I'm thinking he resembles you? Anyways great jobs keep it up. -Gatr
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up! Can The Five Of Them Survive The Night?!
XD Well actually his real name is Nick Baker (not sure if it says that in there), but the football players call him, or rather me Shaker. Lol, he completely resembles me... Everyone in the story is based off of my real life friends.
EDIT- Also thanks for the link in your signature
And remember, you have been warned not to try this...
XD Well actually his real name is Nick Baker (not sure if it says that in there), but the football players call him, or rather me Shaker. Lol, he completely resembles me... Everyone in the story is based off of my real life friends.
EDIT- Also thanks for the link in your signature
And remember, you have been warned not to try this...
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up! Can The Five Of Them Survive The Night?!
Ah, see that's the same thing I've done in my story, except it's more based off of what my friends say I would do (since we talk about this stuff lol)
So, if I try this can I blame you
Ah, see that's the same thing I've done in my story, except it's more based off of what my friends say I would do (since we talk about this stuff lol)
So, if I try this can I blame you
RE: The Midnight Man: Chapter 8 Is Up!
Sorry for the long overdue chapter, I've been busy with the holidays, modding, and schoolwork.
Sorry for the long overdue chapter, I've been busy with the holidays, modding, and schoolwork.
Chapter 9- The Exorcism
It appeared that now was the time that all those programs regarding exorcisms that I had watched over the years were finally going to be of use to me. I needed to save Popson, I needed to exorcize him. The problem was that I was not a priest and I did not have a crucifix. But before I could even consider how to deal with those issues, I needed to find some way to warn Froats about what was going on. I took out my phone and texted him.
Popson is possessed. Stay away, but do NOT leave the house.
I got a reply about thirty seconds later. The only thing that Froats had texted back was: Kk
There was no time to reply. No time to tell him where I was at. It also would have been a terrible idea to alert him to my location in case the possessed Popson somehow managed to steal Froats' phone.
Silently, I walked down the passageway for the next several minutes, however it appeared that there was no exit other than leaving the way I came in, which was an awful idea since Popson could still be in the room. And then, the passage dead ended. I held by candle to the wall, hoping to find some way out. I could not see any clue in the mess of cobwebs.
I took a step back and breathed deeply to prevent myself from panicking. Then, I looked up and saw that there was a trapdoor on the ceiling. Lying across it was an old wooden latter. I set my candle on the ground some distance away and jumped up, knocking down the latter. I showered myself with dust in the process which led me to believe that this trapdoor and latter had not been used for several decades. Despite its age, the latter remained firmly hinged to the trapdoor.
I took out my phone to further illuminate the passageway as well as to help me better climb up the latter. Once I had done so, I found that the trapdoor was latched with rusted metal. Thankfully the sleeves on my jacket were longer than my arms. Holding onto the latter with one hand I put my phone into the left-hand pocket of my jacket. I then proceeded to switch my hands so that I could use the right sleeve of the jacket to cover my hand from the rust.
The latch refused to budge. It appeared that it had rusted together. However, the wood around it appeared to be rotting, meaning that whatever room was above was probably not safe to walk around in. I shook my hand which allowed the sleeve of my jacket to fall down to about my elbow. I think took a deep breath and punched the trapdoor right beside the latch. I broke clean through!
I continued to take the same approach and eventually I had completely punched the area around the latch out so that the latch fell to the floor. I pushed and trapdoor open and heard a thud where it hit the decaying wooden floor above me.
I attempted to pull myself up so that I could see into the room above me, but my right hand's grip caused the wood to crack and break off. Instead I climbed to the top of the latter and tested the floor around where the trapdoor had once been. Finding a secure spot, I descended the ladder to grab my candle, and then after ascending it once again sat on that spot. The light from the candle illuminated the entire room, which appeared to be the attic of the house. Looking above me, I could see the way the roof curved and even made out some small holes where the shingles had fallen off.
Surrounding me were stacks of boxes that appeared to be completely full of a wide variety of objects. It surprised me how they had not yet managed to fall through the floor. I wanted to look through them, see what could be hidden in the cubes of cardboard, but decided that I had better not unless I wanted to cause myself or the boxes or even all of the above to fall through the floor.
Then, I noticed something. It was an object lying at the foot of one of the stacks of boxes. Whatever it was it reflected the small amount of light from my candle back at me to the point of blinding me. Shielding my eyes, I sprawled my body out across the floor to evenly distribute my weight. I began gently army crawling across the rotting floorboards in an attempt to ascertain what the object could be. Once the object came within the reach of my outstretched arms I managed to grab it.
As soon as I felt its cool metallic touch on my palm I began to crawl backwards to reach the same spot where I had been before. When I reached the stable section of the room I set the object down and used the light from my candle to inspect it. It was a cross, no even better, it was a crucifix!
My mouth fell open, amazed at what I had found when I had only planned on moving the object as to prevent it from shining into my eyes. My mind was racing. Immediately I thought of Popson's possession and how the crucifix could be used to separate his body and the demonic entity. However, this would be risky seeing as how I was not a priest and all that I had to go off of was what I had seen on television or in movies. Not only for that reason, but also for the fact that the Vatican does not condone exorcisms that are not performed by a man of God. I can understand why; it is dangerous, plain and simple. Demons can harm a person much more than a mere spirit, but right now I needed to take that risk for the sake of all of us, or rather for the sake of the four of us left alive.
I placed the crucifix in my back pocket and descended the ladder. I did not bother to close the trapdoor behind me as the latch was broken off. Clutching the crucifix close to my chest I made my way down the dark hallway and back to the revolving wall where I had first entered this secret passageway.
When I reached the end of the passage, I pushed on the wall, but it refused to budge. How had I opened it before? I had leaned against it! I sat down and rested my head against the wall. Nothing happened.
I scooted across the wall making sure that my head rested on ever part of the wall in case there was a certain section that activated the doors movement. After a minute or so of this, I must have found it because the wall began to rise and I was able to enter the closet where I had been about fifteen minutes before. I estimated that it must be close to 1:25 A.M. since my phone had read exactly one o'clock in the morning last time I had checked it.
The door leading out of the closet and into the bedroom was still shut. I placed my ear against it, hoping to be able to tell if Popson was still in the room. However, I was unable to determine if he was still there.
My arm stretched toward the doorknob, ready to open the door, but my thoughts of what could happen if Popson was still there stopped me. Instead, I stepped back and thought for a minute. From the light of my candle, I could see that there was a keyhole on the doorknob. I bent down in order to look through it, however the hole was too small and the room was much too dark to see anything. So, I continued with my previous action only I opened the door only slightly.
I could see nothing in the blackness of the early morning hours, then the door flew open and slammed against the wall. Standing in the middle of the room was Popson, but it was not Popson. The person standing there looked very much like him in the candlelight, but there was an aura of evil projecting from him. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. And when he looked straight into my eyes and I looked into his, I saw only blackness and emptiness.
“How good of you to have returned,” Popson said, but it was not completely his voice that spoke. Underneath it I could hear a raspy, deep voice that must have belonged to whatever entity had control over his body. He sneered at me.
I squatted down, not taking my eyes off of him for fear of what he might do if I did, and set my candle on the ground. Once I had stood back up, I reached into my back pocket and drew out the crucifix. Immediately his sneer turned to a look of fear and then went back to that look of evil.
“What the hell do you think you're gonna be doing with that?!” yelled the possessed Popson.
I looked up for a moment, silently praying to whatever higher power existed for his or her help and support in what I was about to do. When I shifted my gaze back to Popson, I could see that the arrogance that he had had a minute before was gone. It was replaced with fear and uncertainty. Then, he proceeded to sprint out of the room.
I could hear the thuds of his feet running down the hallway and then down the staircase. I grabbed my candle, returned the crucifix to my back pocket, and took off after him.
As I ran down the stairs in pursuit, I could feel the chilling air around me that was surely coming off of the Midnight Man who had been wondering where I had been. It did not faze me, I simply did not care about him right now. There were more pressing matters, like saving Popson from the demon.
Where Froats was at while this chase was going on, I do not know. What I can tell you is that Paul was in the kitchen, moaning with his head face down on the counter top that was in the middle of the room. I could only imagine what horrible images he was seeing right now. But I did not have time to stop and care for him; he could be taken care of later.
In the back of the kitchen I found Popson, cowering in fear against the door that led to the patio. He had a kitchen knife in his hand and while it may have been old, it certainly did not look dull. I put my candle down beside Paul.
I grabbed the crucifix from my back pocket, which thankfully was still there, and raised it above my head. Then I began, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
There was a warmth that filled the air in the kitchen. It was like a warm spring's day, but then it grew hotter, to the heat of a summer's day in the South. The heat surpassed that then. I felt like I was in a desert.
Then, the smell started. It was like nothing I had ever inhaled before; it gagged me. The smell of rotten eggs mixed with vomit mixed with a dirty diaper began to spread throughout the kitchen. My eyes water and I began to dry heave. I felt nauseous, but I had to continue with the exorcism.
Along with the intense heat and smell, there came the buzzing sound of thousands of flies that were congregating on the outside windows of the kitchen. They blocked with little light was outside to the point where the only light in the kitchen came from the candle I was holding. I could not see anything, but I could feel Popson's presence in the corner, staring me down, waiting to see what my next move would be.
I took a deep breath, and then pressed on. “I banish thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Free this boy of any evil!”
The flies on the windows stopped buzzing and fell dead. I could see Popson once again. There appeared to be less darkness in his eyes than when I had started the exorcism. “Popson, if you can hear me, do something, anything to free yourself!” I shouted.
The heat was beginning to vanish and the smell was less vulgar than it had been a minute before. Popson slowly rose and looked straight at me. In his own voice he said, “Nick, thank you.”
Then, to my utter astonishment, the demon began speaking from inside him. Popson's mouth did not move with the words. “No! I will not release him! I'll take him back to hell with me if I have to!”
Popson looked down at the knife in his hand, and then back at me. I knew what he was planning on doing before he even did it.
“For everyone's safety,” said Popson.
He raised the knife as high as he could and plunged it into his chest, more likely puncturing his heart in the process. Blood began to flow freely from the wound and even out of his mouth. It was a ghastly sight.
“Noooo!” screeched the demon.
There was a plume of black smoke that began to arise from Popson's mouth and take the form of whatever demon it was. I could clearly make out the horns and the tail as it flew up into the air and disappeared out the kitchen door to rejoin the rest of the demonic entities outside.
I was astonished. I had actually freed Popson! Froats emerged from the hallway leading from the back of the kitchen and patted me on the back. The Midnight Man was in the corner, cowering in fear of the crucifix. I had done it! I had-
Well, that is how I would have liked that exorcism to turn out, but it honestly went nothing like that at all. In fact, it might have been the worst blunder I made that evening.
Now, where the above stops being true is when the temperature in the room rose significantly and that horrible smell filled the room. When I called the demon out of Popson, nothing happened other than the demon mocking me. By this time, Froats had indeed emerged from the back hallway and was keeping my candle lit since I could pay no attention to it during the exorcism. He was also making sure that Paul was fine, which he was not.
Popson opened his mouth and let out a chilling laugh. “Did you really think that you, a normal teen, could really remove me from this boy's body?! You are a fool!”
“Let him go!” I shouted back.
“As you wish,” replied the demon.
His look of malice was conveyed on Popson's face. The demon caused Popson to raised the knife he had in his hands and run it across his neck. Blood immediately began to run from the cut.
As Popson fell to the ground, dead, the demon emerged from his open mouth in the form of a plume of black smoke. It was the very blackest color I had ever seen. It emanated pure evil.
“Now, who should my next victim be?” the demon asked, looked at the moaning figure of Paul.
“No, leave him alone! He's already been through enough tonight!” I yelled at the demon.
“Well then, won't I just be, perhaps, putting him out of his misery?”
Before I could respond the plume of smoke flew across the room and entered Paul's body through his nostrils! “Froats, run!” was all I had time to yell before the demon took control of Paul.
Froats grabbed my candle and ran from Paul's side and out into the foyer where the Midnight Man was waiting. He had blocked the stairs!
“Oh gentlemen,” I heard Paul say from the kitchen. Only he did not say it. Like Popson it was his voice but combined with that of the demon's. “Why are you running? You have no where to go.”
I looked at Froats, looked at the Midnight Man, looked around the room searching for a way out. It did not look like there was one. All I had was a candle and a crucifix. What could I do?!
Popson is possessed. Stay away, but do NOT leave the house.
I got a reply about thirty seconds later. The only thing that Froats had texted back was: Kk
There was no time to reply. No time to tell him where I was at. It also would have been a terrible idea to alert him to my location in case the possessed Popson somehow managed to steal Froats' phone.
Silently, I walked down the passageway for the next several minutes, however it appeared that there was no exit other than leaving the way I came in, which was an awful idea since Popson could still be in the room. And then, the passage dead ended. I held by candle to the wall, hoping to find some way out. I could not see any clue in the mess of cobwebs.
I took a step back and breathed deeply to prevent myself from panicking. Then, I looked up and saw that there was a trapdoor on the ceiling. Lying across it was an old wooden latter. I set my candle on the ground some distance away and jumped up, knocking down the latter. I showered myself with dust in the process which led me to believe that this trapdoor and latter had not been used for several decades. Despite its age, the latter remained firmly hinged to the trapdoor.
I took out my phone to further illuminate the passageway as well as to help me better climb up the latter. Once I had done so, I found that the trapdoor was latched with rusted metal. Thankfully the sleeves on my jacket were longer than my arms. Holding onto the latter with one hand I put my phone into the left-hand pocket of my jacket. I then proceeded to switch my hands so that I could use the right sleeve of the jacket to cover my hand from the rust.
The latch refused to budge. It appeared that it had rusted together. However, the wood around it appeared to be rotting, meaning that whatever room was above was probably not safe to walk around in. I shook my hand which allowed the sleeve of my jacket to fall down to about my elbow. I think took a deep breath and punched the trapdoor right beside the latch. I broke clean through!
I continued to take the same approach and eventually I had completely punched the area around the latch out so that the latch fell to the floor. I pushed and trapdoor open and heard a thud where it hit the decaying wooden floor above me.
I attempted to pull myself up so that I could see into the room above me, but my right hand's grip caused the wood to crack and break off. Instead I climbed to the top of the latter and tested the floor around where the trapdoor had once been. Finding a secure spot, I descended the ladder to grab my candle, and then after ascending it once again sat on that spot. The light from the candle illuminated the entire room, which appeared to be the attic of the house. Looking above me, I could see the way the roof curved and even made out some small holes where the shingles had fallen off.
Surrounding me were stacks of boxes that appeared to be completely full of a wide variety of objects. It surprised me how they had not yet managed to fall through the floor. I wanted to look through them, see what could be hidden in the cubes of cardboard, but decided that I had better not unless I wanted to cause myself or the boxes or even all of the above to fall through the floor.
Then, I noticed something. It was an object lying at the foot of one of the stacks of boxes. Whatever it was it reflected the small amount of light from my candle back at me to the point of blinding me. Shielding my eyes, I sprawled my body out across the floor to evenly distribute my weight. I began gently army crawling across the rotting floorboards in an attempt to ascertain what the object could be. Once the object came within the reach of my outstretched arms I managed to grab it.
As soon as I felt its cool metallic touch on my palm I began to crawl backwards to reach the same spot where I had been before. When I reached the stable section of the room I set the object down and used the light from my candle to inspect it. It was a cross, no even better, it was a crucifix!
My mouth fell open, amazed at what I had found when I had only planned on moving the object as to prevent it from shining into my eyes. My mind was racing. Immediately I thought of Popson's possession and how the crucifix could be used to separate his body and the demonic entity. However, this would be risky seeing as how I was not a priest and all that I had to go off of was what I had seen on television or in movies. Not only for that reason, but also for the fact that the Vatican does not condone exorcisms that are not performed by a man of God. I can understand why; it is dangerous, plain and simple. Demons can harm a person much more than a mere spirit, but right now I needed to take that risk for the sake of all of us, or rather for the sake of the four of us left alive.
I placed the crucifix in my back pocket and descended the ladder. I did not bother to close the trapdoor behind me as the latch was broken off. Clutching the crucifix close to my chest I made my way down the dark hallway and back to the revolving wall where I had first entered this secret passageway.
When I reached the end of the passage, I pushed on the wall, but it refused to budge. How had I opened it before? I had leaned against it! I sat down and rested my head against the wall. Nothing happened.
I scooted across the wall making sure that my head rested on ever part of the wall in case there was a certain section that activated the doors movement. After a minute or so of this, I must have found it because the wall began to rise and I was able to enter the closet where I had been about fifteen minutes before. I estimated that it must be close to 1:25 A.M. since my phone had read exactly one o'clock in the morning last time I had checked it.
The door leading out of the closet and into the bedroom was still shut. I placed my ear against it, hoping to be able to tell if Popson was still in the room. However, I was unable to determine if he was still there.
My arm stretched toward the doorknob, ready to open the door, but my thoughts of what could happen if Popson was still there stopped me. Instead, I stepped back and thought for a minute. From the light of my candle, I could see that there was a keyhole on the doorknob. I bent down in order to look through it, however the hole was too small and the room was much too dark to see anything. So, I continued with my previous action only I opened the door only slightly.
I could see nothing in the blackness of the early morning hours, then the door flew open and slammed against the wall. Standing in the middle of the room was Popson, but it was not Popson. The person standing there looked very much like him in the candlelight, but there was an aura of evil projecting from him. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. And when he looked straight into my eyes and I looked into his, I saw only blackness and emptiness.
“How good of you to have returned,” Popson said, but it was not completely his voice that spoke. Underneath it I could hear a raspy, deep voice that must have belonged to whatever entity had control over his body. He sneered at me.
I squatted down, not taking my eyes off of him for fear of what he might do if I did, and set my candle on the ground. Once I had stood back up, I reached into my back pocket and drew out the crucifix. Immediately his sneer turned to a look of fear and then went back to that look of evil.
“What the hell do you think you're gonna be doing with that?!” yelled the possessed Popson.
I looked up for a moment, silently praying to whatever higher power existed for his or her help and support in what I was about to do. When I shifted my gaze back to Popson, I could see that the arrogance that he had had a minute before was gone. It was replaced with fear and uncertainty. Then, he proceeded to sprint out of the room.
I could hear the thuds of his feet running down the hallway and then down the staircase. I grabbed my candle, returned the crucifix to my back pocket, and took off after him.
As I ran down the stairs in pursuit, I could feel the chilling air around me that was surely coming off of the Midnight Man who had been wondering where I had been. It did not faze me, I simply did not care about him right now. There were more pressing matters, like saving Popson from the demon.
Where Froats was at while this chase was going on, I do not know. What I can tell you is that Paul was in the kitchen, moaning with his head face down on the counter top that was in the middle of the room. I could only imagine what horrible images he was seeing right now. But I did not have time to stop and care for him; he could be taken care of later.
In the back of the kitchen I found Popson, cowering in fear against the door that led to the patio. He had a kitchen knife in his hand and while it may have been old, it certainly did not look dull. I put my candle down beside Paul.
I grabbed the crucifix from my back pocket, which thankfully was still there, and raised it above my head. Then I began, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
There was a warmth that filled the air in the kitchen. It was like a warm spring's day, but then it grew hotter, to the heat of a summer's day in the South. The heat surpassed that then. I felt like I was in a desert.
Then, the smell started. It was like nothing I had ever inhaled before; it gagged me. The smell of rotten eggs mixed with vomit mixed with a dirty diaper began to spread throughout the kitchen. My eyes water and I began to dry heave. I felt nauseous, but I had to continue with the exorcism.
Along with the intense heat and smell, there came the buzzing sound of thousands of flies that were congregating on the outside windows of the kitchen. They blocked with little light was outside to the point where the only light in the kitchen came from the candle I was holding. I could not see anything, but I could feel Popson's presence in the corner, staring me down, waiting to see what my next move would be.
I took a deep breath, and then pressed on. “I banish thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Free this boy of any evil!”
The flies on the windows stopped buzzing and fell dead. I could see Popson once again. There appeared to be less darkness in his eyes than when I had started the exorcism. “Popson, if you can hear me, do something, anything to free yourself!” I shouted.
The heat was beginning to vanish and the smell was less vulgar than it had been a minute before. Popson slowly rose and looked straight at me. In his own voice he said, “Nick, thank you.”
Then, to my utter astonishment, the demon began speaking from inside him. Popson's mouth did not move with the words. “No! I will not release him! I'll take him back to hell with me if I have to!”
Popson looked down at the knife in his hand, and then back at me. I knew what he was planning on doing before he even did it.
“For everyone's safety,” said Popson.
He raised the knife as high as he could and plunged it into his chest, more likely puncturing his heart in the process. Blood began to flow freely from the wound and even out of his mouth. It was a ghastly sight.
“Noooo!” screeched the demon.
There was a plume of black smoke that began to arise from Popson's mouth and take the form of whatever demon it was. I could clearly make out the horns and the tail as it flew up into the air and disappeared out the kitchen door to rejoin the rest of the demonic entities outside.
I was astonished. I had actually freed Popson! Froats emerged from the hallway leading from the back of the kitchen and patted me on the back. The Midnight Man was in the corner, cowering in fear of the crucifix. I had done it! I had-
Well, that is how I would have liked that exorcism to turn out, but it honestly went nothing like that at all. In fact, it might have been the worst blunder I made that evening.
Now, where the above stops being true is when the temperature in the room rose significantly and that horrible smell filled the room. When I called the demon out of Popson, nothing happened other than the demon mocking me. By this time, Froats had indeed emerged from the back hallway and was keeping my candle lit since I could pay no attention to it during the exorcism. He was also making sure that Paul was fine, which he was not.
Popson opened his mouth and let out a chilling laugh. “Did you really think that you, a normal teen, could really remove me from this boy's body?! You are a fool!”
“Let him go!” I shouted back.
“As you wish,” replied the demon.
His look of malice was conveyed on Popson's face. The demon caused Popson to raised the knife he had in his hands and run it across his neck. Blood immediately began to run from the cut.
As Popson fell to the ground, dead, the demon emerged from his open mouth in the form of a plume of black smoke. It was the very blackest color I had ever seen. It emanated pure evil.
“Now, who should my next victim be?” the demon asked, looked at the moaning figure of Paul.
“No, leave him alone! He's already been through enough tonight!” I yelled at the demon.
“Well then, won't I just be, perhaps, putting him out of his misery?”
Before I could respond the plume of smoke flew across the room and entered Paul's body through his nostrils! “Froats, run!” was all I had time to yell before the demon took control of Paul.
Froats grabbed my candle and ran from Paul's side and out into the foyer where the Midnight Man was waiting. He had blocked the stairs!
“Oh gentlemen,” I heard Paul say from the kitchen. Only he did not say it. Like Popson it was his voice but combined with that of the demon's. “Why are you running? You have no where to go.”
I looked at Froats, looked at the Midnight Man, looked around the room searching for a way out. It did not look like there was one. All I had was a candle and a crucifix. What could I do?!