The Haunting of Ed II

​The Priest, Cornelius, sat thoughtfully in the car. I watched him from the rear view mirror, but of course, my attention was focused on the road. The girl that haunted Ed would most likely try to stop of us from removing this curse put upon Ed, but up till now the only horrors she put before us have only broken us in every way but physical. I took that as a sign that she wasn’t so powerful and perhaps, who knows now, there might actually be God watching over us. The priest, on the other hand, was not so confident anymore.

​“That woman...at the gas station,” the priest murmured.

“There was nothing you could have done for here, father,” I murmured. “Either she was weaker in the girl’s eyes or perhaps her faith not strong.”

“Faith? A doctor speaks faith to a priest? That is when you know…”

“Father! Do not show weakness now, we are almost there. Read to Ed what we found at the hospital.”

A day ago we were in Black Water county, the same county that Ed was born in and the same one that his parents were born in. More specifically, the same hospital. As fortune would have it nowadays, it had been closed down, but it didn’t stop the three of us from breaking into the hospital and finding the old medical files on the parents themselves.

Autopsy reports were what concerned us most and it was as the priest feared.

“Edward, your parents died violently...cruelly,” the priest explained sadly. “The two were subjected to various wounds from each other, but there were scars on their bodies that showed they were dabbling in a magic so unholy. When I saw those scars in the files I knew what had happened. I believe they took part in a Satanic ritual that caused them to summon a demon through themselves. A blood ritual if you will.”

Ed sat there, his face painted with concern and confusion. The terrible truth of his parents past was more than disheartening to him. 

“There is more,” the priest continued. “Your mother was with child. From the records she was diagnosed as such and from the dates the child could not have been more than three months into creation. I believe the demon took hold of this child before it develop a heart and soul. It used it to twist its way into the world and it needed blood for its birthing. You parents were a sacrifice and from the scars they carved into themselves, they happily offered their lives. The demon which haunts you, is your sister.”

As the priest revealed this information it must have felt more like a brick wall being built on Ed’s back rather than news. There seemed to be a sinister feel in the air and I could not stand it. I knew it was her, the demon that was beginning to manifest her next piece of horror for us. I could almost read it now and I knew that Ed and Cornelius felt it as well.

Silence had fallen over the car and soon we were all expecting the worse to happen.

“Ed?” I asked him.

“She hasn’t talked to me since the church...I…” Ed said fearfully. I guess it was easier for him when she did, but nowadays he was placed in the same situation as all of us. He was scared.

A minute passed and then another. I took a deep breath and calmed down. We were almost there anyway. The place where it all began. Ed’s home. The same place where the Satanic ritual most likely took place, the place where his parents died and the place where the demon left hell and entered our world.

We were anything but ready for what was to come. At least the priest had a good idea on how to sanctify an unholy area. Perhaps that would be the end of it, but the priest was doing anything but guaranteeing that it would.

“There it is,” Ed murmured.

Ed’s home wasn’t the largest in the village, that was too be sure. However, in the whole decrepit area in Black Water, his house was by far the most rundown. It appeared to have survived many storms, but there were many points in it that seemed to have caved in.

The three of us climbed out of the car into the rain. Umbrellas covered us as much as they could, but the ground was an ankle deep layer of mud before solid ground. Once the doors had been closed, we could hear it. A thumping noise coming from the car. I looked back inside, but could not see anything. However, there was definitely a banging within that I could not ignore and leaned closer. It was coming from the trunk.

I heard wailing coming from within. Desperate cries of a woman.

“Whose car did you steal, doctor?” the priest asked in disgust.

“I...I don’t know...I just got in the nearest one at the gas station,” I replied recalling the chaos.

I walked over to the back of the car with the others following me close by. Once we were at the trunk the thumping stopped with the screaming as well. We are looked towards each other knowing better. It was one of her tricks and we had almost fallen for it.

There was a click as the trunk unlocked and creak as it opened a little.

All three of us fell backwards into the mud in fear. Something was in the trunk. We scrambled in the rain to our feet and backed away. The trunk slowly opened to reveal blackened fingers. Not blackened by burns, but by dry blood on white skin.

“Ed, father, get to the house now,” I replied, drawing my gun.

The two fled without question. The trunk lid lifted and soon I could see glowing eyes within the sheltered darkness. As I began to pull the trigger the creature disappeared into thin air and the lid fell back into place. I looked at the car then around me. In the coldest of fear, I ran to the house to catch up with the others.