Page 16 of Possess Us

Willow

A shiver runs up my spine as I step into what was once the reception for the hospital.

It’s warm and smells of stale alcohol, smoke and sweat.

The owners have decorated and kitted it to look like a creepy hospital waiting room.

Music plays in the background. A high-pitched voice sings to a ukulele about dancing through a field of flowers.

I recognise the song, but it’s played slower and slightly off-key, making it eerie as fuck.

A curved desk sits up ahead with a mannequin of a female nurse sitting there, filling out forms. Behind her, a massive portrait of a stern-looking man in an old-fashioned suit looks down his nose at the room.

A light flickers, and the windows have been made to look like a thunderstorm is going on outside.

Sitting on the chairs are more mannequins. A respectable couple fills out paperwork as a young girl sits in the corner with her head in her hands. When I walk closer, her head shoots up and she screams in my face before burying her head in her arms once more.

I jump and let out a nervous laugh. It's an animatronic. Nothing more.

Through the speakers, a distant scream carries through the air, meant to hint at the suffering of those further inside the building.

This is just the start of the ride.

I know I need to go deeper.

A couple rush past me, hand in hand as they walk through a curved oak door. Each side has two stone angels. Their great wings furled around their bodies. Their hands clasped as if in prayer. They look down at the ground, a profound sadness on their faces.

The door slams shut behind them.

I follow. It’s either that or leave, and no way I return to Lust and Pain empty-handed.

I’m assuming Kai is here, as he is the third of the Brotherhood.

From what I heard in whispers through cracks in the door, he worked at a Halloween fair last year. The same year, a woman went missing. She was found tortured to death three weeks later. Her body was covered in rat bites.

She had a massive phobia of rats.

The year before, another woman was taken from a Halloween festival. She was found two days later, drowned in a swimming pool.

She had a fear of water.

But that’s what he does. What they all do.

Tyler worshipped Lust. He would always make me cum.

Nate worshipped Pain. My scars are a testimony to how much he loved his worship.

And Kai… I think I know who he worships. Who resides in me still.

He’s the one who frightens me most because of all three, I know he is the one who wants to kill me. Every time he forced his cock down my throat, he would happily leave it there until I died. When he chokes me, he longs to see the life leave my eyes.

His cock hardens as I cower. His mouth dries as I tremble.

Of all three, this is the demon I fear most.

But that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

The door of the asylum slams shut behind me, followed by a loud click.

Sure enough, when I try to push it open again, the door doesn’t budge. The sound of more thrill seekers attempting to push open the door from the other side tells me it has been locked both ways. I shove it hard. They rattle the handle.

Stepping back, I let out a breath.

‘Shit,’ I whisper.

Yep. I’m trapped.

I know, deep down, that the door has been locked for me . Keeping me inside.

I turn slowly to face the house, a cold chill of fear travelling the length of my spine.

I roll my neck and shoulders before exhaling a readying breath.

‘Bring it the fuck on.’

A long hallway lies before me, branching off in all directions. The odd person or small group passes by, heading down passageways or excitedly stepping through doors, giggling about what they may find next. Each one blissfully unaware that the exit has become sealed.

The sound of thunder rattles the speakers.

Lights flicker, and another distant scream calls out.

I take a door to my left. The sign says security.

When I step inside, a sprawling wall holds dozens of screens.

Black and white security footage plays out, flickering and interrupted with static.

Some are clearly pre-filmed footage of patients in their cells, clawing at the walls and screaming at nothing.

Some rock back and forth, hugged tightly by dirty straight jackets.

Some of the screens show guests rushing this way and that, laughing and enjoying their scares.

But it’s the one in the top right that catches my attention.

‘No freaking way.’ I step closer, looking up at the fuzzy black and white image.

A man is staring straight at the camera. Straight at me, I swear to Go… I stop myself from thinking about that name, worried they may know and make me feel sorry for it.

I swear to… something .

I rise on my tiptoes and stagger when he gives me a little wave.

‘Kai…’

He’s in nothing but black jeans. His bare chest is on full display. He’s drawn lines and stitches over his torso, making him look as though he has been freshly stitched back together.

He doesn’t know he is waving at me. He’s waving at anyone who has just walked in.

The first scare.

Kai. You have no idea what’s coming for you, you beautiful fucking monster.

Quickly, I take a note of where he is. There are shelves of bottles behind him. Medicine, I’m guessing. Nothing else gives me much of a clue. I'll look for the pharmacy.

Do mental asylums have pharmacies?

I have no fucking idea.

He steps closer, his movements jagged and unnerving. Stopping close to the camera, he never looks away. The dangerous glare is well practised and effective. I lock eyes with him, bubbling with anticipation and fear. He has no idea what’s about to happen to him.

But… neither do I. Lust had me screaming. Pain had me really screaming.

As I step back, my body lurches as something is wrenched from my chest. I half expect to look down and see a disembodied hand gripping my heart.

But there’s nothing there. Whatever it was leaves me, and a second later, Kai is thrown backwards, his body slamming into the wall before he lands face down on the floor.

Panting and gripping my chest, I stare unblinking at the screen.

Pretty damn sure that wasn’t part of the performance.

He thrashes and screams, his face contorted as his body bends and breaks. Then he stills, face down and silent. He stays there for a moment, unmoving. The screen is still flickering with static. The fuzzy lines disrupt the feed every few seconds, and I don't dare look away.

Then he twitches. My breath catches.

His arm reaches out, and slowly he pushes himself up. His head hangs forward until he is back on his feet. His arms are loose at his side, and he sways a little. The screen flickers again, replacing his image with static.

When it returns, I stagger back. He’s facing the camera and looking straight at me.

And I know this time, he is looking at me .

I have freed the third demon, and he has found his vessel.

My mouth dries, and panic swells in my chest.

A couple steps into his room and stop, giggling as they see him. They cover their mouths, grinning in anticipation of what he’s going to do. Scare actors will chase or charge at them. They can yell and make them jump.

But that is not a scare actor. Not anymore.

Kai slowly turns to face the couple. The girl dressed as a cheerleader. The guy is a zombie.

Kai stands tall, his enormous biceps tense and his chin high as they face one another.

The girl playfully hides behind her boyfriend. Tense is an understatement. I have no idea what Kai is now, except evil.

Well, I suppose he was always that. But these demons feed themselves on our suffering.

Lust. Pain. They slaughtered dozens. Hundreds! They swore each one deserved it, that each soul they claimed was marked for Hell anyway.

How many teenagers are already marked for Hell in this house?

I yell as Kai lunges for the guy. But he only grabs his wrist. The guy staggers back, nervous but still smiling.

Until he starts to judder and shake. Until he doubles over. I see his face contorted in pain as he clutches his middle. As he claws at his throat. The girl starts to scream, trying to separate the two. She’s as effective as a feather trying to knock down a wall.

The screen flickers again. I rush towards it, as if getting closer will make the image come back. The seconds which pass feel like an eternity.

They return. The guy is slowly straightening up. The girl is backing away.

When Kai lets him go, the guy charges, launching himself at his girlfriend and ripping at her throat with his fucking teeth. She is screaming. I can’t hear her, but I see it. I also know the blood and flesh he rips away is very fucking real.

She falls to the floor, struggling to push him off. He just keeps going, tearing and ripping at her. When she is down, he sits over her, straddling her weakly thrashing body.

The door of the security room opens, and a guy staggers into the room, clearly drunk. He’s made it look as though half his body has been burned. The right side of his T-shirt and trousers are scorched. He’s wearing impressive prosthetics to give the effect of melted skin.

‘Cool costume,’ he says, looking me up and down.

‘Thanks. Y-you too,’ I reply.

‘You went a tad OTT with the blood if you don’t mind me saying. Makes it unrealistic.’

Unrealistic. Right.

He looks around before standing beside me, spotting what I’m looking at.

We watch as the zombie plunges his hands into the cheerleader's gut, splitting her open as she screams and struggles beneath him. Blood spills from her stomach, his wrist deep inside her.

When he pulls out her intestine and starts eating it, I step back, as if to distance myself from the horror.

‘Whoa,’ the guy beside me says. ‘That’s super realistic.’ He nudges me with his elbow and laughs, heading to the next door. ‘This carnival is awesome!’

He leaves, laughing as he goes.

Mouth open, I look back at the screen.

Zombie boy is still chowing down on his dying girlfriend, who still cries beneath him.