Hello everybody and welcome back to my story. Starting with this chapter, we begin our road to the finale. Only two more chapters left. Also with this chapter, we start the confrontation between Aella and the Lipstick-Face Demon, with the humans caught in the middle. Every character's will and strength will be put to the test, stretched out to the max. And the outcome... Will find out.
8
There was no denying that everyone was utterly shocked at seeing Allison behave in such a way. They all watched as she stood there, tied to the chair and held by the special chains that came out of the angel's wings. Especially Brian and Natalie. The parents gazed at their daughter, desperately wishing that all of this was just a bad dream, trying really hard to cope with the situation. The one before them looked like Allison but it was certainly not Allison. Not their Allison anyway.
"Mommy," she called for Natalie, with a frightened and panic-stricken voice. "Mommy, I'm scared. Please, help me. Please!"
She was very convincing, Natalie thought. Her pleas for help almost fooled her into thinking it was actually Allison, and nearly made the woman jump across the room to her aid, sparked by the wish to save and comfort her daughter, cast all the pain away. From her expression to her tone, Allison radiated this bewitching innocence of a terrified, helpless child that sought a parent's reassurance that everything was going to be all right. But Natalie stood firmly on her spot and refused to heed her daughter's call. She knew better. Fact which made it all the more terrifying. This thing that had a hold of her daughter, it was so manipulative and so cunning, that it was able to completely impersonate Allison to a fault.
"Please, mommy. Please…" Allison stopped and slowly began to laugh, overjoyed with her further attempts to fool the parents. The demon knew his scam was taking its toll on them, every glimpse of what they thought was their daughter being pure torture. And he was right. Agony was clearly readable on Brian and Natalie's faces. It was hurting them. And he was loving it.
"This is so much fun," Allison stated with discernable glee. "So, I gotta ask. What gave me away?"
Aella lay silent, not wanting to indulge the demon.
"Ah, the old woman," the girl answered her own question. "You must have found her. Hello Elise," she addressed, looking at a vacant part of the room where there was no one. However, in that particular spot, in the Further, was Elise, squinting her eyes in vexation.
"Elise is here?" Specs asked enthusiastically, happy at the thought of the woman being there with them.
"Shut the hell up!" Aella barked annoyed and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. Seconds after that, the latter lost consciousness, appearing to be passed out.
"What did you do?" Brian asked concerned.
"I put him to sleep. Being in a human body does not exempt him from all the usual things that can affect a human. Don't worry, she's going to be fine."
Now that he knew her real identity and what she truly was, Brian had no quarrel with believing her. Especially after she had transmitted several bits of family secrets only Allison would know, after having explained her situation and what had happened to her. She did the same into getting Specs and Tucker's help, at Elise's recommendation, much to their delight at hearing she is ok. Although she suspected they had been sold when she had displayed her wings made of light. After that, all she had to do was get everyone together and put the plan into motion before Allison would return from school. Brian had asked why it was necessary for them to put on the show and make it look like the house would be empty. Aella had replied that it was necessary for the demon to know that he was completely exposed and his act entirely ruined, to be discouraged from further attempts of manipulating through impersonation.
From there on out, it had been simple. Brian had drove the family car and had parked it several blocks away. Then, he had returned home and had joined his wife and Annie along with Specs and Tucker behind Aella's hidden optical illusion, waiting for Allison to come home so everything can proceed as planned. And it had worked perfectly. Now, it was time for phase two of the plan.
"Gentlemen," Aella addressed them, "as we discussed."
The three men had been given clear instructions from the angel on how to proceed further. Brian and Specs carried the girl upstairs to her room. There, they pushed her bed sideways and placed the chair she was sitting on in the center of the confinement. Tucker followed, with a camera and an electric drill in his hands. Using the specific tool, he mounted the recording device on the ceiling, at the furthest corner of the room, directly facing Allison.
Afterward, everyone gathered back in the living room. Tucker connected the camera feed from Allison's room to the TV set downstairs, so everyone can see her.
Aella peeked at Annie. "Are you sure you want her to be here for this?" She asked the parents.
"We don't have anyone to leave her with," Brian declared.
"I'm not scared," Annie confessed quite bravely. "I want to help Ali."
"Very well," the angel accepted with a stint dose of reluctance. Afterward, she walked over to the TV displaying Allison's image. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to lay it down for the humans, as clear and frank as she possibly could. Because as harsh as the truth may have sounded, she needed the humans to be aware of and accept it. Otherwise, everything would fall short.
In the Further, Elise and the real Allison were also paying attention to the angel. The latter had done well to place them under a self-sustained concealing veil, to hide them from Annie, since she was attuned to other plains of existence. Aella wanted the humans undistracted and the prospect of witnessing her sister could have led the young girl to some potentially unwanted but fatal mistakes. Aella could not take the risk.
"Your Allison is gone." The angel began. "Whatever hope or illusion you have that she may still be in there somewhere is in vain. That is not Allison. It may look like her or even act like her, but deep down inside, it's not. What we're dealing with over here, that thing inside her," pointing at the screen, "is something a hundred percent different. It is old. Far older than you can possibly imagine. And more ruthless and vicious beyond your worst nightmares. Forget everything you've seen on TV, read online or heard rumors about. This thing is a primeval, ultra-malevolent entity that takes complete pleasure from the most excruciating of sufferings he inflicts. He is smarter, much smarter and a great deal more focused than any of you. He can and will exploit each and every one of your weaknesses up to the point where he can twist and turn you however he wants."
Aella paused and then went on. "Now, in any other case, I wouldn't even consider letting you go near it. But the current situation has left me without a choice. I need your help if we are to get Allison back and cast the demon out of her physical body."
"What can we do?" Natalie inquired with eagerness. Brian shared the same feeling.
"Now that I know the exact markers of his energies, I can convert my own to act as a magnetic field that will draw him out of her body."
"You can do that?" Tucker asked.
"Yes. But it will be of no use if he realizes what I'm trying to do. He'll guard himself. I need him distracted."
"And you want us to do that." Natalie deduced correctly.
Aella nodded.
"Hold on. If he is so smart, won't he be able to tell we're tricking him?" Specs wondered.
"Not if we give him what he wants." Aella pointed out.
"Oh," the man appeared as if he understood the answer to his question. "Which is?"
"The chance to cause further pain."
It dawned on everyone what she had meant.
The angel continued. "I need you to go up there and engage him. Keep him talking. This will present him with the opportunity to further inflict more torment. And he won't hesitate in taking it. Do as much damage with words as he can because that is his craving. He's addicted to hurting people, like a child in a candy store. And he will be so focused on it, he won't detect my course of action until it is too late."
The humans were not so keen anymore to proceed. They were being used as cannon fodder for the angel's strategy and despite the fact that the demon was all tied up and immobilized, it presented no guarantee to their safety. Still, her word had enough leverage given she was an angel, something they had never thought they would lay eyes upon. They would have trusted her no matter what.
"I know it is risky…" Aella completed but Brian interrupted.
"We'll do it. If you say this is the only way to get Allison back, then we will do everything you say."
Aella remembered that she had doubts about this plan. "Elise suggested I should be forthcoming with everything. Therefore, I must warn you. I'm not sure this is going to work. Stronger angels have attempted this and still failed. There is a high chance we might not succeed."
"So we're risking our necks for something that might come round and bite us in the ass, huh?" Tucker questioned, gazing at the others, looking for their opinion on this. But none showed any sign of backing down. The parents were heavily determined to go through with it. And Specs most likely had the same thoughts he was having. Elise wanted them to aid Aella as much as they could. Nothing else mattered. "Sounds good to me!" He said simply.
Aella, on the other, kept asking herself why she was doing this. Every fiber of her being was telling her that this was most certainly not going to work. How Elise talked her into it she will never figure out. One thing was clear. It was going to take every bit of strength and skill she had to carry out this plan to a hopefully successful finish. Not to mention the risk the humans were taking and the level of damage the demon could still do. However, should she fail, she would still have the alternative. And despite how radical it was, and the cold-blood it demanded, Aella knew that it was the most viable option, and she would chose it over the current insanity any day of the week.
Nevertheless, since she had developed a soft spot for these humans, she at least owed it to them to try.
"You'll be going in pairs. It's way too risky to go alone so I want you to go accompanied or not at all. Trust me on that. I'll go first. I want you to pay close attention to everything I do and say, so you can do the same when your turn will arrive. What you have to keep in mind is that you are no match for that thing. Do not expect to go in there and intimidate or threaten it like you would a common thug. This is not your typical cat burglar or the psycho neighbor from across the street. When you confront him, chances are you will end up right where he wants you. Every. Single. Time. But that is alright. I do not expect you to come out on top. That's not what we're trying to do here. We're trying to distract him, keep him busy long enough until I will be ready to use my energies and pull him out of Allison's body."
By all accounts, it sounded pretty simple. All they had to do was strike up a conversation with Allison and maintain it until the time was right. For Brian and Natalie, it was easy as pie, considering they were ready to go to hell and back to retrieve their true daughter. And besides, how much damage could the demon do, all tied up like he was? Sticks and stones? It seemed not enough. Specks and Tucker were also pondering on these aspects, also joyous that they were having actual footage of a demonic entity, ageless and beyond their comprehension. A real treat for the likes of them, paranormal investigators.
Aella kept on. "The important thing is to not let it get to you. He will try to hurt you in many ways, using and twisting the truth to throw jabs at you. Just like he tried to do with me. DO NOT give in. No matter what he says, no matter how hard he will try, you must not let him break your spirit and conviction. You're doing this to get Allison back. That is all that matters. Everything else is pointless. Remember that when you're in there."
"Hello," an eerie call came forth from the TV. "Sleeping beauty is up. Is anyone still out there or am I all by myself?"
"She's awake," Tucker signaled.
Aella threw everyone one more look of caution before stepping out of the living room and heading upstairs. She grabbed the door handle to Allison's room with forceful determination, wasting no time whatsoever, knowing quite the fight was ahead of her. Despite having the upper hand, she was playing on his turf. This was by no means going to be easy.
"Well, well, well," Allison let out, joyfully. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."
Aella stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The humans downstairs were glued to the TV screen, carefully watching everything. To spare her of anything she might hear that would hurt her, Natalie placed Annie a couple of feet away and gave her something to draw, to keep her focus away from the TV. Hopefully, it would be enough, the mother thought.
"I must confess," the girl went on, glancing at the chains around her, "not too thrilled about the accommodations. But then again, I am set in a very excellent, deluxe suite." She began giggling.
Aella walked further to her.
"So," Allison went on. "To what do I owe this lovely set up you got going on here?"
"I'm only going to say this once," Aella cut off, fiercely. "Leave this body now. Walk away, back to whatever miserable toilet you crawled out of. Or else."
"Oh, so determined," Allison imitated being impressed. "No wonder you got the humans eating out of your hand. Kind of like I did with them. Kind of like I did with you." She chuckled.
"Congratulations," the angel responded, "…are so not in order, considering you failed miserably and ended up caught and tied to that chair. Well done."
"And to think what I could have done further," Allison kept at it. "They were so scared, so fragile, their pain and self-loathing were absolutely sublime to taste and savor. And I barely did anything. Just a simple word here and there, some nudges in the right direction, a few convincing displays and voila… a good spectacle to enjoy as I sit back and let them do the rest. Talk about self-destructing. Pft."
Brian and Natalie shuddered, terrified where that scenario could have led. If Aella did not enlighten them about their daughter and put an end to the entire charade, the harm caused could have been devastating and irreversible. They averted disaster only by a thread.
"I'm sure it was delightful. Skip to the part where you hightail it out of this girl's body!" The angel fired.
"Or what? You're going to 'undercover' me to death? Should have seen how ridiculous you were, trying to pose as a mere human. It was kind of like watching a really bad sitcom." Allison snorted
"I'd wipe that smirk off if I were you. You're lucky you're in that body because otherwise, I would be shoving my fist through your face by now."
"I am so moved by your zeal to see me dead. Which raises the question, why haven't you done it by now?"
Aella paused.
"I mean chaining me to this chair, imprisoning me here so I don't go anywhere to do something bad or, god forbid, naughty… It kind of gives off the vibe that you are up to something, right? By all accounts, the only logical reason to keep me alive would be to attempt to cast me out of this fancy prom dress."
Specs swallowed hard, completely taken aback by the discovery of their plan. As he recalled, Aella had said that should the demon learn what they were trying to do, he would guard himself and expelling him would take a difficult turn for the worse. He traded worried looks with Tucker and questioned what was to be done now.
Aella had no reaction, not faltering in maintaining her calm and blank expression.
"Nooo," Allison dramatically let out. "Surely I'm wrong. Surely you can't possibly think that whatever you may do will force me out now, do you? I mean, you of all people in this house should know that exorcising me is impossible and not even worth the try. Can't imagine a more stupid move than that. No. I'm sure it's just my imagination going wild."
This was not what the humans desired to hear. The level of concern and distress it caused was unmatched and severely weakened their resolve. Natalie was the only one among them who struggled to maintain hope. Aella's caution, heeding them not to fall for the demon's mind games, was repeating itself in her head over and over again. For the first time in a while, she finally had what she craved for so long. A fighting chance to save her family.
Back inside Allison's room, the demon still had the floor. "It is weird though. You don't strike me as the type to cling to false hopes." Then, she began to fix Aella with her stare, as if trying to put two and two together. "No. You're more of the 'doing what must be done' type. I could see it in your eyes before you abracadabered those losers behind that wall illusion. You wanted to kill me, didn't you? Because you know there is no other way. There is no way for you to get me out. You can't hold me down like this forever, can't contain me and you most certainly can't stop me. That is why I assume the only way for you to act… is to kill me."
"She said this before. What does that mean? Killing?" Brian asked, agitated. "What is she talking about?" Beside him, Natalie shared the same feeling.
Specs and Tucker shrugged, unaware of the nature of the subject.
"Wait a minute," the girl continued. "Just got a twist to this epic tale. If you can't get me out of Allison's body… then the only way you can kill me… is if you kill the body as well. Am I right?"
Natalie felt herself being swallowed by the largest void she could ever think of. "No," she stated with complete fear and dismay. "No, that cannot happen." Then, she turned to her husband, on the verge of a panic fit. "Brian! Please!"
"Nat, remember what Aella said. He's going to try and twist the truth to get to us. We mustn't give in to that."
"I can't lose her Brian! Please! I can't… " She begged, fidgeting and hyperventilating.
"We're not going to lose her," Brian grabbed her hands to comfort her. "We have an angel on our side. An actual angel from heaven came here to help us. God is looking out for us in this. Have faith. It's going to be ok."
Specs and Tucker watched the married couple with trepidation in their hearts, imagining how hard this must be on them. But before anyone could even finish thinking on what to do next, their attention was drawn to the TV screen once more, to the sound of Allison speaking.
"I can already hear how much it is tearing them apart. And that over the mere idea of my death. Well, hers anyway. Imagine what the deed itself will do to them. Phew. Would be a therapist's paradise, if you ask me. Or an undertaker's, all things considered."
"Let's say you're right," Aella retorted. "Let's say I do want to end you like that. You'd be dead too. We're not going to be the only ones in the losers' circle. So you can bluff all you want, pretending that doesn't terrify you. Casuse I know it so does."
"You know what's funny? It should terrify YOU. I mean, taking an innocent life like that? Not the most righteous and heroic thing to do."
"Since when the hell do you care about what's right and wrong?" Aella questioned.
"I don't. But you? You ought to care, especially how you angels are always the 'goody two-shoes' type, always making the right choice, incorruptible and indiscriminative. But you don't care, do you? You don't care how much of an impact killing this body will have. Deep down inside, I think you have no quarrel about it. You would do it and not have the slightest remorse afterward. Because to you, this girl is just a number, isn't she? Sacrificing one to save millions, am I right?"
The fact that Aella was without reply worried the humans. Brian struggled to contain his confidence in the plan, searching for the right words to keep his wife on the line should she question everything once more. Could the thing posing as their daughter be right? Could Aella actually think like that? In spite of her warnings, he could help but not feel a rising amount of doubt creeping in. He too started to fear for his own daughter's life.
"Wow," Allison feigned surprise. "That is cold. And uncharacteristically calculating coming from you. To actually think to execute a teenage girl like this? Guess you're not that much of a hero after all, are you? Guardian angels… More like douche angels."
"I'd be ridding this universe of you," said Aella with visible hesitation. "I'd say that's a plus."
"Yeah but… that's not what an angel would do, is it now? No. That's a deed more worthy of a human. Radical and self-justifying. Actually, come to think of it, it's an act a demon would do as well."
"You comparing us?" The angel asked rather annoyed at the thought.
"Hey, I'm all for having fun with the humans. But you? You're worse. You say you want to help them, pretend to care and protect them. Yet you plot and scheme with their lives behind their back like they were mere chess pieces on your board. And when all your plans fail, you simply take the easy way out and decide to kill them and that's that. Jeez, you play with their lives more than we do. And that's saying something. So when it comes down to it, you and I, we're not that different."
"Your imagination is definitely running wild cause you're spewing all kinds of nonsense." The angel responded.
Specs recognized that the demon was winning this battle of wits. Judging by Aella's humorous but clearly deflective statement, she was unable to provide a proper comeback to retaliate. Furthermore, he definitely could tell that she was frustrated, considering her frozen, defensive posture, with her arms crossed, and by her stance, both feet aligned symmetrically, pointing onwards, a clear position of stress. This was not going in their favor at all. If she could not handle him, how would they be able to do so?
But then, he remembered her words.
"But that is alright. I do not expect you to come out on top. That's not what we're trying to do here. We're trying to distract him, keep him busy long enough until I will be ready to use my energies and pull him out of Allison's body."
She was losing this battle of wits on purpose, to show them how to proceed when engaging the demon. Keep him busy, give him chances to cause pain so he can be focused on it and distracted from other places. And in the process, having him exactly where she wanted. It was so simple. Specs stood extremely impressed with Aella.
He wanted to reassure everyone that they were still on the right track and things were going according to the plan. But the demon clearly could hear them all the way from upstairs, as he had demonstrated earlier. Anything he would say now would reveal their strategy for him. No. He had to hold his mouth shut and follow the plan.
"Mark my words, demon," the angel declared, "one way or another, I will get you out. And once I do that, we are going to have an entirely different conversation."
Then, she turned and left.
"Aww, where you going? We were having so much fun right now." Allison yelled in her wake and laughed.
Aella returned to the living room, downstairs. "You're up next. Remember everything I told you. I'll be in the kitchen, do my thing from there. Good luck."
After her departure, Tucker decided some volunteering was in order. "Me and Specs will go next."
"We will?" Steven jumped as if being pricked with a needle.
"We will go!" Brian intervened. "She is our daughter."
"All the more reason why it would be harder on you." The bigger man of Spectral Sightings argued. "Let us go and buy you some more time for you to get ready. Back me up here, man."
Specs eyed him anxiously, realizing Tucker was right and that he was by no means getting out of this one. "Yes," he addressed the parents. "Let us help."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Natalie inquired worryingly.
"Not really" Specs answered. "But a dear friend of ours would be very upset if we didn't help you."
Much to the married couple's reluctance in accepting it, they eventually allowed the two men to proceed upstairs. In the meantime, Aella was in the center of the kitchen. She stood down in a full Lotus posture and closed her eyes, appearing as if she was meditating.
The boys reached Allison's bedroom door. They were aware what lay behind it. Something beyond their understanding, something evil to the core and more formidable than they could possibly imagine. For them, it represented the peak of their career investigating the paranormal. The Everest of their findings. Tucker readied a camera and nodded at Specs to go ahead and open the door.
Aella slowly lifted from the ground, weightlessly hovering, like a feather pulled by the gentle touch of the wind. She needed all her strength for what followed, cursing that she had not trained more in this aspect.
The opened door revealed a simple teenage girl but the terrifying, icy stare she casted was something out of this world. Specs and Tucker clearly could determine how unnatural and out of place it felt. Two worlds crammed into a single place. It was beyond frightening. And it definitely put a dent into their former unwavering will to carry out the plan…
So, what do you think? Will Aella and the humans pull it off? Let me know what you think. Thank you and see you next time.
