Excerpt - Reflections on a Haunted World

From Reflections on a Haunted World - Better Left Unsaid: 

Fendi was making a show of taping the event, but he was too engaged in dodging flying footwear and cosmetics to control the camera.  Vinnie's mouth kept moving, his voice high and shaky as the words streamed from him as if alive, charged with power that seemed to come from a source outside of him.  The black shape they called the dwarf began to swirl violently through the room in the grip of something they couldn't see.  Their ears were assaulted by a vicious roar of sound like a gale force wind that had somehow found its way into the bedroom, so loud as to be almost deafening, and the walls shook and cracks appeared in the ceiling plaster.  Lights flared and electrical outlets hissed and Fendi closed his eyes expecting the room to collapse on them.  Then suddenly and abruptly everything went silent.

The turbulence and the flying household items abated and the remains of the dwarf froze in place.  It was elevated three feet off the floor and seemed to have been spray painted onto space, a ragged shadow indelibly recorded into the molecular fabric of the air contained in the bedroom.  Vinnie and Fendi stood gaping, the grimoire page forgotten and the camera tilted to the floor.

"What's happening?" Warren whispered again.  "What's it doing?"

"I think it's in the grasp of something we can't see," Vinnie whispered back.  He didn't know why he was whispering, but it was all he could manage.

"Babael?" whispered Fendi.

Vinnie had never seen his friend look so pale.

"Yes.  Fendi?"

"What?"

"Take pictures or something.  This won't last forever."

"Good thought."

Fendi raised his video camera and noted that the battery had drained.  It was well-documented that spirit forces required energy to manifest, stealing that energy from any available source.  He took the digital camera dangling around his neck and saw its battery power was also very low.  The camera whirred sluggishly before flashing a single shot just as the shadowy mass, the dwarf, was obliterated.  It seemed to explode into a thousand black shards of quivering shadow that melted away into nothingness, leaving its human witnesses stunned.  Vinnie thought he heard the echo of a scream, the most frightening sound he'd ever heard, and he had to grip the door to keep from slumping to the ground on legs that wobbled fluidly.

"Holy shit," he whispered softly, the only sound save their labored breathing.

"It's gone," muttered Fendi, his voice equally weak.

"You did it," said an awe-struck Angela.  She and Warren had dared to step into the room.  "You really did it, Vinnie."

"That was unbelievable," Warren added.  "It just - exploded."

"It was assaulted by a much stronger power," Vinnie explained as he regained his composure and steadied his shaking legs.  "The demon I summoned - I dare not utter its name again, now that we're done with it - it swallowed the dwarf and dragged it back to hell.  It worked perfectly.  Mission accomplished!"

He pumped his fist in the air and slapped Fendi hard on the back, seeming to shake him from his trance.

"I can't believe it," Fendi admitted breathlessly.  "Mother was right.  Son of a bitch."

"It seems so quiet," Angela commented.  She was testing the air, wary of any untoward sound.  "I don't feel that heaviness anymore, and I don't smell it."  The unpleasant odor had dissipated, leaving only a hint of ozone.  "It doesn't feel like I'm being watched.  Warren?"

Her husband nodded.

"You're right, it's different.  Much calmer.  Normal."  He nodded again.  "It's gone."

He pumped Vinnie's hand and did the same with Fendi, smiling like a madman, his eyes behind his glasses wide with relief.

"How can we thank you?" Angela asked them.  She had tears in her eyes, relieved and very happy.  "Can we pay you or something?"

"No, no payment," Vinnie told her.  "We do this for the science and the knowledge we gain of the unknown.  And of course for the benefit it brings to people like you.  What we experienced here tonight will be studied and talked about for years.  If we use your names you'll be famous."

"Um, let's not do that," Warren said.  "We don't need fame.  Is that okay?"

"Oh, sure," said Fendi.  "Most of our clients prefer anonymity.  We understand that perfectly."

"I'm just going to recite a cleansing prayer before we go," Vinnie advised.  "It's something we do to ensure a house stays clean and free of evil influence.  This one's in English; it's a Christian prayer."

"Oh, right - the cleansing prayer," Fendi commented, making a mental note to ask Vinnie when he'd added that to his repertoire.

Vinnie recited his prayer, more a formality and a nod to showmanship than a real protective charm.  Warren and Angela said "amen" and they went to the living room, followed by Fendi.  Vinnie stood alone and cherished the moment - his moment, his monumental success, exactly what he'd hoped for.  He was smiling, imagining how the story would be received by believers and skeptics alike.  Vinnie couldn't wait to show Harvey Messing Fendi's video, dying to rub Harvey's face in it.  There were a lot of people he wanted to stick it to, now that he thought about it.  Uncle Mel came to mind...

As he carefully folded the grimoire page Vinnie heard a noise, a whisper from nearby.  He immediately froze and his heart hammered in his chest.  The room was empty and he saw nothing, but he was certain he'd heard a low voice whisper something close to his ear.  He waited a few minutes but the sound was not repeated so he took a breath and joined the others in the living room where the celebration continued.  None experienced the rush of ice cold air that washed almost audibly through the bedroom stirring curtains and bed covers, accompanied by a low, coarse growl that rattled the windows and echoed off into the night.

 c2009 Frank LoProto