I don't think it's possible for anyone to simply stay in bed upon catching the scent of fresh coffee in the morning. For the past few months, it has been my only motivation to actually leave my room. After last night, though, I had enough energy to bounce off the walls. Feeding off a soul was like an injection of caffeine straight into your bloodstream. Getting a cup of the morning drug was a bonus.

Upon entering the kitchen, I was met with a puzzled look instead of the coffee my senses had promised.

"Where were you last night?" Matthew asked, sipping his fresh cup of joe.

He was still in his button up blue pajamas. Seeing him like this was nothing if not a rarity. Normally he was already primped and donning a sleek black suit by 7:00am.

"Just out on the town, nothing special," I said with a wave of my hand. I felt his eyes burning into my skin as I rummaged through the cupboards.

"I didn't hear you come home." Matthew's tone was flat, yet full of suspicion.

"I'm pretty sure you could sleep through anything. Remember that tornado last year? You would have been flying through the air with a witch on a bicycle if I didn't wake you up."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I wrong though?"

"Maryn, where did you really go after we talked?"

I held out my hands instinctively in defense.

"Does it matter? You're my friend, not my parent, relax."

"And as your friend, I was concerned." His furrowed brows almost left his eyes in a shadow.

I set the ceramic mug on the counter with a thunk and propped myself back against the counter.

"Dude, come on. Do you really want to know?"

He shook his head briefly in annoyance and sighed, taking another sip. After he set the cup down, he leaned forward, hands clasped.

"I got an email last night," he said.

"Oh?"

"A man named Mr. Henry has concerns over a supposed paranormal entity in his home. He wants us to check it out."

"Yes! Oh man, I thought we'd be waiting months for our next assignment!"

Matthew smirked, finally lightening up.

"Did he give much detail on what was going on? Is it a potential demon?"

Matthew slid his laptop over and logged on. He spun it around and I was met with paragraphs of text.

"Didn't seem like it. It's probably another poltergeist."

"Lame."

Matthew typically left the majority of the ghostly cases to me. It gave me a rush, but nothing quite like the heart thumping adrenaline I got from hunting demons. But as he knew, I'd take anything I could get.

I scanned over the black text, taking note of the broken up grammar and jumbled sentences. This man had been rather frantic when writing the email. He had described feelings of being watched (typical), sleep walking (common), and frequent memory loss (intriguing). Mr. Henry went into detail about how things in his home had been moved around from their original locations, as well as feelings of lethargy. However, what caught my eye was his description of a voice in his head. Interesting.

"Alrighty, when are we heading out?" I asked, shutting the laptop.

"Tonight. Afterwards, we're heading to the church. Your weapons need to be blessed."

"I'm pretty sure they can survive another exorcism."

"Maryn, we've talked about this. They need to be blessed before every single session."

I huffed and started towards my room.

"Fine. I'll be getting ready."

"Wait, what happened to you?"

"What?" I asked, spinning around on my heel.

He pointed at his own back before tilting his head.

"Oh. Yeah. Again, do you really want to know?"

Catching the hint, he shook his head. "What am I going to do with you," he murmured.

I laughed as I headed down the hallway, past James's closed door. Grabbing a black t-shirt and my vest, I stopped in the middle of my room and desperately reached to feel the skin on my back. My fingertips grazed the raised scars that clawed over the Baphomet and serpent tattoos.

Someone had a good time last night.

~~~~~~

The house was, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. I could've sworn I saw a tumbleweed pass us by.

We walked up to the small blue structure, and Matthew rapped on the door. A strong, bitter smell invaded my nostrils, and I wrinkled my nose.

There was a trash can off to the side. Tall weeds sprouted around it, like they were attempting to hide the aluminum object. Flies buzzed all around, their sound blending into an annoying hum. I walked closer and the stench continued to unsettle me.

With a swift movement, I pulled the lid off, and I gagged.

"What the..."

Laying on a mess of black trash bags and worn out clothes were several bodies of headless rats. Some had been there far too long, while others seemed rather fresh as the thick blood oozed around them. Maggots made the carcasses their home, wriggling in and out of the bodies.

Matthew came over to investigate, only to recoil at the sight.

"Well, that's one way to deal with a pest problem," I said, my nose buried in the crook of my arm.

I slammed the lid back down and stared at my palms in disgust. Matthew tossed me a bottle of hand sanitizer and knocked once more on the door.

After another minute or so, the knob turned and a weary looking man opened the door. I instantly recognized him from the restaurant. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that he had some supernatural issues going on. He'd definitely seen better days.

"Hello Mr. Henry, my partner Maryn and I received your email about your concerns in your home. We're here to see what's been going on."

Matthew went to shake the man's hand, and he flinched slightly before returning the gesture to both of us.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," said Mr. Henry. He seemed almost hesitant as he held the door open for us, teetering back and forth.

Upon entering the home, my breathing felt obscured by the startling amount of dust floating through the air. The scent of mildew wafted through the living room, and the furniture was worn and yellowing. Small holes were burned into the couch and chairs, looking to be caused by cigarettes.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable, and turned to see Mr. Henry had his eyes locked on me, even as he spoke with Matthew. I noticed he had a patchy red stain on the corner of his mouth.

Matthew glanced back at me, giving a knowing look before continuing his conversation. "Where have you experienced the most activity?"

The man started to lead Matthew away, and I was quick to start my own investigation. I was uneasy about leaving the two alone, but I had to pull a Sherlock Holmes to see if the racing theories in my head were correct. If they were, the heads of those rats were probably still being digested in Mr. Henry's stomach. Poor fellas.

I wandered past a stuffy laundry room and stopped in front of a door. The handle had been broken off, and I peered through the hole into the dark.

With a nudge, I pushed open the door and descended down the dark wooden stairs. It reeked of decay, causing my eyes to water and my stomach to churn. It was like the bottom of a compost bin that had been sitting in the summer sun for weeks.

I felt around me for a lightswitch. A chain hanging from the ceiling brushed my cheek, and I pulled down.

The light was dim, hardly any help at all. Stacked against the cement walls were several cardboard boxes. The corners had large, jagged tears. Rodents scurried in and out.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone before going any further. It was then that I noticed the small red spots on the ground.

Above me, the floorboards creaked. Taking advantage of the time Matthew was buying me, I continued forward.

Ahead, there was a large wooden slat propped up against the wall. I moved it to the side, revealing a claustrophobic hole in the concrete. It seemed to be where the source of the repulsive smell came.The light of the flashlight caught something dark shoved deep inside. I glanced behind me, hoping that Matthew would be there to take the plunge. Sadly, no such luck, and the creaking up above only continued.

Taking a breath, I got down and crawled through on my elbows. The walls seemed to breathe against me, closing in after every exhalation. I grew lightheaded, as it seemed the air was thinning. My fingers finally brushed against what was in front of me. It was soft and wet. I fumbled for the flashlight, and the object was revealed.

Flies clung onto the matted and bloodied fur of a small dog. As I scanned the light up and down the body, I found the animal had met the same fate as the rodents from earlier. Feeling the bile rising in my throat, I struggled to get myself out of the hole. I fell back onto the hard floor, sucking in as much air as I could into my lungs. At the same time, there was a loud thump upstairs that caused my mind to race around in my head, all the while my fears pecked at my skull.

I got to my feet and grabbed my phone. I looked behind me. My heart caught in my throat when I saw Mr. Henry staring at me.

His eyes were bulging out of his skull, unblinking.

I let out a nervous laugh and shuffled on my feet.

"Way to scare a guy, huh?"

Nothing.

"Well, it doesn't look like a ghost problem. In fact, I'm pretty sure you should contact animal control ASAP."

Silence.

"Alrighty then, my partner and I will just be on our way."

I shuffled past him, my hand pressed against the gun holster. As I walked by, he let out a raspy noise that sounded like a dying cat.

The second he swung at me, I ducked and smacked him over the head with the gun. He stumbled, but didn't back down. I kept the gun pointed, inching back towards the stairs.

My finger was on the trigger, and the man went down on his knees, arms in the air. His breathing was rapid, and his body was shaking, much like the woman we exorcised the night before.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

His breath suddenly hitched, and he glanced at me with those hungry eyes before lowering his head to the ground.

He hit his head with a thud. Once. Twice. Faster and faster until blood started to run down his forehead.

"Enough! Who are you!" I yelled again.

He stopped.

A low, staccato chuckle rumbled from his throat. He looked at me again, his eyes pure black.

"Maryn," he said in a singsong voice. "Don't you remember me?"

My jaw fell. My blood ran cold.

Caranneth. It was him. After all these years.

The sudden shock was quickly overcome with an unfathomable rage. I let out a guttural cry and tackled him to the ground. My hands were wrapped around his throat as I pinned him under me. All he did was laugh.

In the corner of my eye, Matthew stumbled down the stairs, holding his head.

"Maryn, stop!" He yelled.

I ignored him and raised my fist, ready to strike.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Before I could take the blow, the inky blackness in his eyes faded. It was suddenly the frightened Mr. Henry.

"Wait wait! Please!" He cried.

I paused, taking control of the hysteria that had possessed me.

Those few seconds served as enough time for him to overpower me. With a sadistic grin, he struck me hard in my ribs and threw me across the room with alarming strength.

My body slid against the wall by the stairs, and Matthew struggled to pull me up. I got to my feet and aimed my gun.

"Let him go, Caranneth! This doesn't concern him or Matthew."

Again came that deranged laugh. He took another step forward, holding up his hands.

"Yes, I suppose we should eliminate prying eyes, Maryn."

Something above me started to shake. I glanced up at the lightbulb just as it shattered, leaving us in complete darkness.

A sharp wheezing sound shook me to my core.

Then someone continued to retch, as if something were caught in their throat. Once more, I turned on the light on my phone, glancing around me.

The light landed on Mr. Henry. His body was bent backwards at an unnatural angle as he continued to choke. His hands were formed like claws as he trembled. Blood ran from the corners of his mouth down his throat.

He suddenly snapped back to a standing position. He lifted his shirt and cried in agony as his ribs started to snap. The bones seemed to move and press underneath his skin.

With a rosary wrapped loosely around his outstretched hand, Matthew prayed, walking closer.

I couldn't think straight, and I looked frantically around me for something I could use. My eyes fell to the rosary.

I didn't know what would happen to me upon touching that cross, but I didn't care. I have waited far too long for this moment.

In a swift motion, I untangled the rosary from Matthew's hand and wrapped it once around my wrist, grasping the cross in my palm.

The pain was unspeakable as it seared my flesh. Ignoring the feeling as much as I could, I rushed to the possessed man and grasped his throat.

The cross burned against his skin as I held him tightly, leaning close.

"Leave this man alone," I seethed. "This is our fight, Caranneth."

The man's eyes rolled back in his head. He foamed at the mouth, and a violent tremor surged through his body.

"Let him go!" I roared.

He didn't respond as he reached a shaking hand to his chest.

"Maryn, he's having a heart attack!" Yelled Matthew.

A dark shadow detached itself from Mr. Henry's body, and I let go of his throat. The rosary fell from my hand, and with a shaking grip, I aimed the gun once more.

Using the flashlight, I followed as the dark figure moved swiftly along the walls. I waited until my aim was lined up, holding my breath.

Then I pulled the trigger.

With a shriek, the shadow disappeared seconds before the bullet hit, and a hole in the concrete remained.

My pulse was thudding in my skull.

I missed. He was gone. I had him and now he was gone.

I glanced down at my hand. A second degree burn wrapped its way around my wrist and ended in a cross shape on my hand.

Mr. Henry had collapsed to the ground, and Matthew held his shaking body.

He glanced back at me.

"Call an ambulance. Now."

~~~~~~

Thank you for reading!