Rays of delicate sunlight filtered down through the leafy treetops, glittering off the flowing water of the many fountains dotting the wide expanse of property. The fountains were decorated with statues depicting many biblical scenes as well as the Holy Mary Mother of God and Jesus Christ. They all looked mournful and sad, as if frowning upon the world for its sins.
An ornate stone gargoyle stood at each corner of the premises, all facing toward the large building at the center of the grounds. The structure had many stained glass windows set in its dark stone walls. Several turrets decorated the roof, giving it a cathedral like appearance. A large crucifix stood at the apex of the roof, solemn and proud.
Large eccentric letters proclaiming 'Fairchild School of Christ' were set into the woodwork of the grandiose front door. A cobblestone path led to the door from a large circular driveway centered around a statue of Jesus Christ. Carefully trimmed flowers and hedges decorated every edge of pavement. All around, the school had a very prim, proper, and somber tone about it.
At the very mouth of the driveway, a figure stood puffing on a stub of a cigar and surveying the landscape before him. He removed the cigar from his mouth and grimaced.
"Happy place, huh, Abe?" The tall, lean figure beside him shrugged nonchalantly.
"It seems like a typical boarding school. A bit dark and styled for my taste, but a school none the less." He held a hand out, palm facing the school. "It seems so calm at first glance- yet, a deep turmoil lurks within the school." His head cocked to the side as he listened to something the other man couldn't hear. "It seems that's where our case lies. Within the school." The other mocked amazement.
"Really? You're one bright fish Abe." Abe sighed, dropping his brightly marked blue arm.
"Always the sarcasm, Hellboy?" The red demon grinned, the cigar between his teeth.
"Always."
A nun answered the door on the first knock, a scared and exhausted expression fraying her features. That look worsened five times when she set eyes on the callers.
"Holy Mother..." she uttered in a tremulous voice.
"We're the help you called for." Hellboy replied, fixing his golden gaze on her. "You gonna let us in or not?" He puffed a cloud of cigar smoke to the side, giving him the appearance of a rogue demon from hell itself. Which, was true. Partly.
"What he means," Abe interjected as the poor woman's eyes grew even wider. "is that we want to help resolve the problem you had informed the police of earlier. If you'll be kind enough to let us in, we may be able to help you." She obliged to Abe's gentler request, opening the double doors wider with trembling hand. Abe passed through, thanking her softly, while Hellboy had to sidle past the nun to get through the entrance. She stared in horror at him, muttering verses from the Scripture the entire time. Hellboy tried to keep a calm and stone faced vigil, but his thrashing prehensile tail betrayed his anger.
"Sister?" Abe asked, setting his large eyes on her.
"My name is Sister Kate."
"Thank you. Sister Kate, where exactly is this threat?" Abe asked, gazing around the meager entrance hall. For all it's looks on the outside, the inside paled in comparison.
"On the third story. Locked in a broom closet." the nun replied. Abe frowned.
"In a-?"
"I'll show you." Sister Kate moved quickly down the hall, her hand clutching the large cross pendant dangling around her neck. Abe and Hellboy were suprised at how fast the sister moved, and they actually had to work to keep up. They passed several more nuns in their black and white habits on the way, and they all held the same bewildered and frightened expression that Sister Kate did. Hellboy nudged Abe, leaning in.
"You'd think a simple possession wouldn't scare these old birds so much."
"This could be more then a possession." Abe reminded him. "You can never be sure with our job."
"Well, just in case," Hellboy's left hand settled on the handle of his prized Samaritan.
"You can't kill the possessing demon Hellboy. You can only dispel it from the possessed body. You know that."
"I'm not trying to kill it Blue. I got tranquilizers in this baby, just in case the sucker doesn't come out and we have to do it the old fashioned way."
"With those bullets?" Abe exclaimed. The nun paused slightly, shooting an alarmed glance at the pair. Abe lowered his voice as they continued on. "Red, you'll rip the child to shreds!"
"Just trust me, okay?"
They reached their destination; a hallway with a dead end. A dark aura had settled around the area. Abe could already sense the spirit. Sister Kate pointed towards the very last door on the left.
"That's the one. She's been in their for hours. After she attacked one of the other students, we had no choice. She hasn't stopped trying to get out the entire time; she's been throwing her body against the door and scratching at it- she won't stop screaming either." Just as she spoke those words, a bloodcurdling cry streaked through the air. Hellboy winced, covering one ear.
"Nasty's gotta good pair of lungs, I'll give it that."
"Please," the nun entreated. "help us." Abe nodded, and with a cautious gait, began to approach the door with his hand held up, palm facing out. Another scream emitted from the closet, followed by a pounding rattle of the door. Abe stopped short.
"Brother Blue? What is it?"
"Did you hear that?" he asked, turning slightly.
"Yeah. The screaming is kinda hard to miss."
"No, listen-" On cue, another shriek. "Something's in that scream...Like an animal's cry." It was true. The next yell had a deep rumbling, almost like a growl, behind it before reaching it's peak and becoming a roar. "Does it sound like a-"
"A lion." Hellboy finished.
"How strange." Abe returned to his reading. "As of now, I'm doing a surface reading. Names, emotions, anything I can get." Abe explained. The trembling nun nodded. "Anger. That's all I can pick up. Blind rage. A sense of duty, perhaps."
"What duty?" The demon interrupted.
"I don't know. But it's towards whatever she's angry at."
"So, the spirit is a she?" Hellboy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. Most definitely a she. Filled with womanly power and righteousness."
"Can you reach the girl?" Abe gritted his teeth, straining to stretch behind the demon and reach the dormant person inside. It was an exhausting mental effort that yielded no results.
"No. I can't get anything. No memories, names, places..."
"Just get it out of her and give me my student!" Sister Kate cried.
"Right." Hellboy unholstered his ungodly big gun and strode forward. "Watch out Abe." he warned, pushing the protesting merman out of the way. "This might get messy." He fingered the trigger as he neared the door. Raising his stone right hand, he caved the door in with a fatal blow. Dust and splinters exploded into the air. The dust slowly cleared, and Hellboy peered into the open closet.
Two bright yellow, slitted eyes gazed up at him from the floor. A hiss came from the depths of the closet, the only warning before the being sprang from the closet and set themselves on the unfortunate demon. He immediately started grabbing at whatever he could to pull it off, throwing blows with his regular hand to avoid killing the possessed human in the process. She held on fast, throwing punches with unusual power at Red's midsection.
With a last tug, he threw the girl to the ground and took aim at her shoulder. She sat up slowly, cradling the back of her head before glancing up at him in fear. The only thing he saw as he pulled the trigger was her yellow eyes clearing of their mist, and bewildered, soft brown eyes taking their place.
The echo of the gunshot carried down the hall, loud and unforgiving. Abe rushed to the girls side, knelt, and held a tender hand to her forehead. After a tense second he let out a rush of air.
"She's not dead." The Sister cried out in thanks, rushing out of the room to spread the news.
"Well of course not!" Hellboy snapped. "What did you think I was aiming at? Her heart?" Abe ignored him and radioed in to the BPRD vans stationed not to far from the school.
"I need a medic here. Now. Call the Professor and tell him we've got the possessed, but we might to bring her in for further examination." Red frowned.
"Hey, I took care of the spirit, didn't I? I saw it leave her! Why bring her back home?" Abe stood and faced him, his normally stoic countenance now worried and serious.
"No. You only pushed the spirit farther back into her mind. I heard it still screaming inside her head. We need to get rid of it some other way, or this girl might not ever be free of her tormentor." Abe walked down the hall to hold back the curious and concerned, leaving Hellboy alone with October.
For the first time Hellboy actually looked at the girl. She seemed a bit young. Only sixteen or seventeen at most. Her hair was raven, falling around her mid back. She wore a school uniform- a white sweater, a blue and green plaid skirt, long white socks that disappeared above the hem of her dress, and something like a corset resting just under her breasts. Apparently, that was her own personal touch. All her clothes were tattered and torn, the exposed skin beneath bruise and battered from being abused by the spirit. Her fingertips were bloody, wooden splinters stuck underneath her fingernails. Around her neck, she had tied a leather string, and from it hung a wooden cross.
"Who is she?" he called.
"You didn't read the file?" Abe asked back. He smiled briefly and shook his head. "Of course you didn't. What am I saying? Her name is October. She's seventeen, born here in Oregon and sent to this school at thirteen. Her parents are Garret and Lucille Wilson. They moved to Washington shortly after they sent her here."
"That's it?"
"There's not much more to report. Hopefully the child can tell us more when she wakes up. But that's only after she recovers. Which," Abe added, shooting a dirty glance over his shoulder at the demon. "could take longer then usual given the giant bullet hole in her shoulder."
"You know what? Shut up, fish stick." Abe shook his head, muttering something about Hellboy's immaturity compared to his age.
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