Hello dear reader and welcome back to my story. This chapter is the second to last. Yes, the next chapter will conclude our Insidious sequel. But that will be later. In today's chapter, expect heavy stuff. The gloves will be off and nothing will be held back. But no more staling. Let's get into it.


9

"If it isn't dumb and dumber," Allison said, having Specs and Tucker in front of her.

In the Further, standing in the corner of the distorted version of the room, was Elise, alongside the real Allison Petersen. The former wanted to accompany the men and stand by them during such a dangerous and risky moment. She knew that nothing physical would happen to them, given Aella's restraints and the plan she had set up. However, Elise felt like she needed to be there, just in case. Even if her actions were severely restricted, she had no intention of letting them go through this alone. Her hopes were raised higher when she considered that downstairs, the angel had already started the expulsion process, so that the demon could be drawn out of Allison's physical body. All the living had to do now was play their part.

Also watching the scene was Natalie and Brian, viewing everything from the TV set in the living room.

"'Dumb and dumber' huh?" Tucker replied, pointing the lens of his camera at the girl. "That's rich, coming from the one that's tied up to that chair and at our mercy. Right Specs?"

"Oh yeah."

"You know, I was expecting you guys to be the last ones to pay me a visit. Considering that you are nothing more than a bunch of world class sissies."

"Oh, we're getting heat from the guy hiding behind a teenage girl." Tucker again was the first to retort. "Who's the sissy here?"

"No, yeah. Every time you are needed to walk into something a bit more frightening than your cheap jump scare movie, you guys always come up with reasons to get out of it." Then, she snorted amused. "I mean, no wonder Elise was displeased with you. Two grown men and no balls, sending her every time in the dark while you stayed behind like a couple of chickens."

Elise scowled upon hearing that, and wished she could have intervened and dismiss that lie altogether.

Then, Allison began imitating the specific sounds of a chicken, in a full display of mockery towards the two men.

"Very mature," Specs stated. "You know, even the bravest of veterans would squeal and shiver at seeing what we've seen. So when you think about it, we're actually two of the bravest men on the planet. What else you got?"

"Yeah," Tucker added. "That is weak. Bush league. If this is all he has… oh dear… Don't get why Aella made such a big deal about this guy. "

"Bravest men on the planet… Yeah right. Should have seen Specs' 'brave face' when I strangled him from that mirror. Come on, guys. You two are simply a couple of loser kids trying to play at the table where the adults sit. And every time you try to do something, all you do is end up failing miserably. Because there is nothing to you. Just scared, pathetic losers." She then looked at the camera, "Anyone else?"

"It's not going to work, you know," Specs explained. "You can't get to us. Because we know who we are and what we've done. And yeah, we sometimes are scared and try to run away, we sometimes end up in the mess we're trying to clean. And maybe we don't pull off the big moves, like Elise. But we damn sure don't sit on our asses. We do the best we can to contribute and save lives and make people happy. And that makes us just as much heroes as Elise or Aella."

Elise smiled, cherishing the words spoken by the man. It filled her heart to know they were content with their lives and with what they were doing. In a way, it was her legacy. Helping people in need with their spiritual and metaphysical problems. And they were respecting it by carrying it forward. She could not have asked for anything better.

"PFHAHAHA," Allison burst into a boisterous laughter, creating a very tense and uncomfortable moment. She was obnoxiously loud, doing it on purpose to bully and belittle the men in front of her "Heroes… Thanks so much for that, guys. You are hilarious. That was really entertaining. Anyways, yeah. Let's talk about Elise, shall we? Now there is a story to write a book. Too bad you guys let her die."

"What?" Tucker asked, not believing what he had just heard.

"Mighty fine heroes you are," Allison kept at it. "Where were you two when Josh… I'm sorry, all this possession stuff is scrambling my brain… when Parker Crane was strangling her to death?"

This was not something the boys were expecting. In fact, it was a thought they had been pushing aside altogether, ever since Elise's funeral, ignoring it as hard as they could.

"I mean, it's not like you were in another state when it happened. You were close by. And you did nothing to save her. Your business associate, your friend. You two were the closest thing she recently had for a family. She cared for you and you let her down. Big time."

"That's not true." Elise spat from the Further.

The boys, however, remained silent, too caught in a maelstrom within to form a reply. Like rising air particles in water, the pent-up guilt and remorse over Elise's death came to the surface.

"You couldn't keep her safe," Allison, or rather the demon, knew he had touched a nerve. "One of the closest persons in your lives. And you two want to protect strangers? Good luck with that."

Tucker was angry. He wished Allison was a grown man, preferably a very ugly one, so he could hit him, to release all his fury. Anything to distract himself from coming to the realization that the only person he was angry with was himself. Specs struggled to prevent thinking of all the ways he could have intervened to save Elise. Sometimes, at night, when he could not sleep, he played thousands of scenarios in his mind, in which he and his partner rescued her on time. It haunted him. So he had buried it all. They both had done so. The pain was unbearable.

"Can you imagine," the girl continued, "what was going through her head at that moment? The disappointment, the sadness. When she needed you the most, you were not there. Guess she thought she was alone in it after all."

"That's a lie!" Elise yelled. "Don't listen to him!"

The boys were not aware of her presence there, but Allison was. She glanced at her, offering a smirk filled with satisfaction before turning back to her interlocutors.

"Don't you talk for her." Tucker warned. "Don't you even dare say her name!"

"And I suppose YOU are worthy of that?" Allison countered. "The ones responsible for her death? Face it, you dimwits. It's your fault she's dead! And you know it! Your hands might have just as well been around her throat!"

"Stop it!" Elise cried, noticing how much it was affecting them. The men were clearly bothered and thrown off their game.

"I mean Crane may have physically killed her but you are responsible for her death likewise! And that doesn't make you heroes. No. That makes you murderers," then chuckling.

"Stop," this time it was Tucker making the demand. Specs noticed the quiet and soft manner with which he spoke. A clear sign that he was boiling. Elise could tell it as well. It was not a good sign.

"We're not murderers," Steven retaliated. "We don't go around killing people!"

"Sure you do," Allison stood firm. "Especially you, Steve. You know what it's like to take a life. Does Ted Garza ring any bells?" She winked after finishing.

It was the last thing he wanted to remember right now. His muscles tightened and his breath halted for a second, trying to forget the abhorrent memory of running through that house in the middle of the night from a real, living person trying to harm him. Just as frightening as dealing with an otherworldly spirit. And even though Ted Garza had it coming, a pang settled itself inside, eating away at him.

The parents downstairs traded concerned looks.

Noticing his partner being sucker-punched in such a fashion, Tucker decided to intervene. "You serious? That guy was a psychopath. It was self-defense."

"I'm pretty sure OJ said the same thing at one point." The possessed girl stated in a reflective manner.

"You need to shut up." Tucker advised, laying down his camera.

"You killed Elise, you killed Garza… I'm not even going to speculate how many people ended up dead because of your incompetency."

"I said stop," the larger male added, clenching the camera hard. Specs knew it was not going to take long before he would lash out in anger.

"You are an embarrassment to Elise's memory. You mock and spit on everything she did."

"Don't!" Tucker shot one final warning.

"In a way, you guys are bringing the ultimate affront to her. A complete shit dump over her rotting corpse!"

Tucker had had enough. "I said shut up, you little bitch," he yelled and lunged at her. Specs barely got in the way and held his raging partner from doing anything he would regret later. The latter was spouting furious expletives like a machine gun. Then, with all his strength, Specs pushed him toward the exit, surmising that they could not stay any longer there without coming to do a regrettable action.

Watching them leave, Allison laughed, appearing to have the time of her life. Elise knew the demon was enjoying every bit of bullying everyone in this fashion. And it was causing plenty of significant damage. This could not go on forever.

/|\

The hour was close to midnight. While Specs and Tucker were retreating from upstairs, Aella was meditating in peace in the kitchen, gently hovering above the floor. The effort of what she was doing was draining, but she adroitly kept it all together with precision and steady concentration.

All of a sudden, she heard a voice calling to her from limbo. Activating her dimensional perception, she distinguished Elise's voice along with her spiritual aura.

"How long is this going to take?" The old woman asked.

"I still need more time." The angel answered, keeping her eyes closed to better focused on the task.

"Things got a bit out of hand back there. They can't keep doing this for long. I'm not even begin to speculate on Allison's link to her physical body."

"The demon did not detect what I'm trying to do, he's still distracted and oblivious," Aella mentioned. "The humans are doing great."

"They're suffering," Elise pointed out. "He's toying with them, preying upon their feelings and weaknesses like a vulture. He knows where to hit and how hard…"

"I've warned them it would be like this. But I have faith they will continue to do good."

"It's not that easy," the woman said. "He's hurting them. A lot. And I'm not sure it's something they can get over and move on."

"What did you expect?" Aella raised her voice. "I told you about the drawbacks of this plan. Now I would love to stay and chat about this all night but all things considered, I would do a much better job if I could FOCUS AT THE TASK AT HAND without wasting time debating trivial crap!"

Elise understood. "How difficult is it?"

"It's what you would describe as multitasking times a trillion. I'm converting my energies, concealing myself from the demon, keeping him restrained, maintaining perceptional awareness…"

"Wait," Elise stopped her. "Keeping him restrained?"

"What? You think those chains are holding him down?" Aella fired rhetorically.

"I see."

"Now if there aren't more pressing matters, I'd wish to be left alone so I can do my job."

It was then that Elise remembered something that has been on her mind regarding the angel. "Before, when we were talking about how to save Allison, you complained about everyone and lost causes. What did you mean by that?"

Aella sighed, being approached on a delicate topic. "Because you reminded me of my friend."

"Friend?" Elise repeated. "Is he an angel, like you?"

"Yes. And like you, he too wants to dedicate himself to those who are lost, who are unworthy. But the problem is that he wants to do it in the most dangerous place imaginable. And he asked me to join him."

"And I'm guessing you said no," the old woman deduced.

"Yes. Only that he gave me time to think, until a certain specified deadline. If I don't say anything until then, he will go without me."

"And you're not going to say anything, are you?" Elise concluded correctly.

"The idea of going and saving people who are lost, who have damned themselves by their own choices... Risking my life to do so, above all… It's just… I can't. When countless more are better deserving of my efforts and sacrifices. Because I am not above risking my life to save mortals. But I will not do it for those who are damned beyond salvation, most especially by their own hand."

"Is that why you refused to help Allison get back in her body in the first place? Because she is not worthy because she is lost? Lost because there is nothing else to be done for her?"

"Yes," Aella reluctantly confessed.

Elise shifted her gaze from the angel, blankly staring down as if to process the latter's words. She pondered upon her life, and the call she had dedicated herself to. It would have been nice to spent it normally, to have an apple-pie, picket fence livelihood without the supernatural to disturb it. She questioned on the potential road her path would have taken her if she would have if ignored the voices, the sightings, the visions and the nightmares, specifically after leaving her childhood home in Five Keys. It would have been very nice indeed.

But if that were to have happened, she would have never reunited with Christian nor would she have met Melissa and Imogen, her nieces. She would not have saved them from the malevolent spirit known as KeyFace. A boy named Josh would have been taken over by a dark parasitic entity if not for her intervention. She would not have seen Quinn's smile and tears of happiness after having read her mother's letter. But most importantly, Jack, her late husband, would not be as proud of her as he had been, for her selfless and heroic deeds. That is why, she knew then and there, the perfect reply for Aella.

"You've been to the Further, right? You've seen those spirits, the state they're in… Unable to move on, doomed to remain behind, in the dark, wallowing in despair, loathing and pain. But at their core, they are still people. People who once had hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows. People who've been treated unkindly by life and suffered a horrible fate. No one was there for them, no one to show them the way toward the light. In short, no one looked after them. Does that mean we should just give up on them?"

The woman paused and exhaled. "The truth is, there aren't any worthy or unworthy people. They simply are. And some of them have it worse than others. Just like Allison. And she, like the others, 'the unworthy', the 'lost', 'the damned' as you call them, she needs help the most. We have the power to make a real difference here. And why shouldn't we? Even if it seems too difficult or impossible, we owe it to them to try and try again, to never stop trying. Because if we're not going to do it, who else will?"

Aella did not provide a reply, hinting Elise that she was on the right path with her argument.

"As long as I have the strength and ability to help, I won't stop. Whether it's the boy who can't wake up from a coma or if it's the restless spirit that haunts a home. For them, we are the line between doom and salvation, between light and dark. And it means a lot if you can spread just a little bit of light in the darkest of places."

Aella frowned, and behind her closed lids, she was definitely reflecting, examining everything Elise had said. It was difficult for her to accept it, to accept Elaiel's request. But on the other hand, the woman was right. No one else would help the 'unworthy'. They were the only ones capable of doing so, able to make a clear and definite difference. It was a sound concept, pretty righteous coming from a human. However, if that was the case, was saving lost, damned souls from hell to be considered as a just and right action, worth the risk? Could she actually bring herself to accept that? For the first time, she was questioning her resolve on this matter.

/|\

Tucker grabbed a hot plate and savagely munched it, in order to calm down. Food always helped him relax and this time was no different, as he sat on the couch in a comfortable position. Several feet away, Annie showed Specs her drawings and asked if they could do a contest. The man knew that, despite the late hour, she would not be able to sleep so he decided to assist her parents by staying with her.

Natalie and Brian were standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking upward with hesitation and anxiousness. It was their turn to face Allison and they were dreading it. The woman looked at her husband and hated seeing him in this state. Troubled, worried over the top, exhausted, afraid and many more were readable on his face. And although he sought to hide it, to be strong like he always had been, he was not succeeding.

The real Allison approached them, with a visibly fearful and concerned gaze.

"I am so scared," he confessed, looking at his shivering hand. "Seeing her like that…"

"I know," Natalie replied. "I am too. But it's going to be ok. We'll go together."

"Ok?" He asked incredulous and annoyed. "What part of any of this is ok? Don't think that because we're doing this now, everything is ok. This mess is and will always be on you. All of it. It's your fault! You're just lucky Aella was around to help us. Cause otherwise, we would have never got a chance to make things right."

Although Natalie kept a straight face, Allison began to sob and tears flooded her eyes.

Brian went on. "I give you my word, Natalie. When and if this thing will be over, we will have a serious talk about our girls' safety around you. You can count on that. Let's go!" Then, he began walking up the stairs.

Natalie was no longer sad or heartbroken to hear him utter such words. In the past, she would have cried her soul out. But not now. Now, she was tired of it all. She did not have the energy to feel guilt anymore, it was spent and dry. It made her angry, like a constant pest that gnawed at her without interruption. "When are you going to stop punishing me?" She let out with a firm and clearly upset tone, looking up at him, as he had managed to go over the first three steps on the stairs.

It stopped him dead in his tracks. Allison was unable to hear anything any longer. It pained her greatly to see her parents fighting.

"I did something that will haunt me and torture me for the rest of my life. Every. Single. Day. I barely eat, I barely get enough sleep. It is killing me. In every waking moment. But God damn it, Brian. It could have happened to anyone. And fate chose it to happen to us. And although that is not my fault, going over your word that night, is. Now I wish, I so wish I could take it all back, but I can't. I cannot change anything. All I can do is change what happens from here on out."

"Guys, what's the hold up?" Specs poked his head from the living room.

"But if you can't see that what I did that night was to make Allison happy, if you can't see how much I love her, and Annie… how much I love YOU," she resumed, "then THAT is on YOU! And if that's the case, then we SHOULD have a very serious discussion when this is all over."

And with that, she stomped up the stairs, not even waiting for him to follow.

Brian did not expect her to react like that. For the first in a long time, she was angry and seemed pushed close to the edge. His first instinct was to get vexed at her daring to talk back at him like that. But, just like in her case, for the first in a long while, doubts regarding his wife took him over. Ever since Allison's accident, all he had known was being upset and hating his wife. And it was so intense that he felt like he simply got used to it, like it had been all he knew to do with her. Could it be that he lost track of the obvious truths in front of him, of being reasonable, of logic and common sense, simply treating her with such hostility just to punish her? Whatever the case, it was very complicated. Extremely delicate. And he needed to think it through, to make sure he is objective and fair, before proceeding any further. He needed time. Time that was not available right now.

Brian threw a last glance at Specs and proceeded to the top floor himself. Unbeknownst to him and Natalie, Allison was right behind them. She did not intend to leave them alone when confronting the dangerous entity possessing her body.

Aella felt the heavy strain her actions enacted upon herself. But there was no other choice. She needed to soldier through if this plan had any chance to succeed. A pure miracle, in her opinion. If God could descend from Heaven and make it work, only then she would be confident in a positive outcome. However, since that was definitely not going to happen, she remained, as before, unconvinced and doubtful. Yet she soldiered through.

The parents finally made their way to their older daughter's bedroom. Allison also entered and kept a close watch on her body.

"So we finally get to the heart of the matter," the demon said. "My dear parents. D'ya finally grow some balls and decided to care about your daughter?"

Tuning in from downstairs, Tucker knew this was going to be a very difficult confrontation for the parents.

"You are not my daughter." Natalie corrected him.

"Hmm," he reflected. "The way you've been treating me lately, yeah..."

Natalie tightened her lips, upset.

"You know, I have to wonder. What did dad see in you? Cause you are definitely not mother material. Your cooking is… meh, and as far as taking care of the house, kind of a bummer considering your career choice. Maybe you were a good romp in the sack…"

"You watch your mouth!" Brian cut him off.

"Oh, pardon me, father. I did not know you held her in such high regards," The demon pressed ironically. "It's not like you've been holding her in utter contempt for so long. Not like she nearly killed one of your daughters. No, she's an absolute saint."

It was terrifying Brian. Witnessing his own child say such horrible things and behave so insultingly almost made him vomit. Even though he now knew she was not his Allison, that something else was in control of her body, the display she put forth threw him off his senses and hurled him in pure dread.

"We are talking about the woman who singlehandedly tore this family apart. What? You guys don't think you can actually save something from all of this, do you?"

"Of course we do, and we will!" Natalie declared with complete assurance.

"That is so funny. Weren't you the ones who were talking about having a very serious discussion a couple of minutes ago? So dramatic for a just a silly divorce. This is the moment where I take out my fake handkerchief and wipe my fake tears that I pretend to have."

"You stop that!" Brian violently grabbed the handles of the chair, leaning toward his daughter's face and eyeing her threateningly. "This is not a game, you son of a bitch. Leave my daughter and my family alone! You hear me? Leave us alone!"

Natalie rushed to pull him back. She knew that whenever he lashed out like that, he did it out of being scared, resorting to aggression because he was unable to face his fear.

"Oh I'm sure you're enjoying this," the demon spoke before Brian could be removed from his face.

The man squinted. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Eventually, Natalie managed to get him away from the demon.

"So close to my personal space," the possessed girl answered. "You surely must have had some… fantasies… Daddy," while letting out a malicious smile. "Your little girl is not a little girl anymore. She kind of grew up, got shapes and curves. She now more resembles a woman. And I'm sure you must be dying to see what's underneath… to touch, to taste…"

Brian felt a lump in his throat, which, for a moment, ceased its usual breathing cycle. What the girl just stated turned his stomach upside down. He attempted to ignore it and normally, he would have succeeded. But his current state, anxious, jittery, prickly all over, made matters worse and accelerated the process. Nausea quickly followed and naturally, loss of control with it. He quickly went to the trash bin in the room and released a considerable amount of fluid.

Both Natalie and Allison went to check on him as the demon formed a smirk of deep satisfaction.

"Jesus…" Tucker exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"Haven't you had enough?" Natalie admonished, peeking over her shoulder. "Haven't you hurt us enough, already? Look at us. We're down, we're suffering and we're on the brink of implosion. What else do you want?"

The possessed girl began to laugh frantically. "Oh you are so sweet, mommy. You're lecturing me about hurting this family? You should look in the fucking mirror!"

Although Natalie was preoccupied with helping Brian on his feet, she could not help but hear what the demon was saying.

"Who is the one who started all of this?" He went on before adopting the tone of a quiz-show announcer. "You only get one guess. Ding, ding, ding! That's correct. It's dear, old Natalie Petersen everyone. After going over her husband's wish, stabbing him in the back, she recklessly allowed her older daughter to go with other careless teenagers on a very dangerous car ride. Let's hear from our judges… Oh. We have a winner!"

"Stop it!" Brian regained voice. All Natalie could do was shed tears, staring blankly, remembering that catastrophic night.

"You're responsible for everything, you worthless, fucking cunt. Allison could have died because of you. You're a pathetic excuse for a mother and nothing you will do will ever change that. So why don't you run in your crazy corner and swing back and forth like a whack job, cause that's all your good at."

"That's not true," Allison shot through sobs. "Mom, please listen to me. You are a great mother. I don't blame you, in any way. I love you! You have to listen to me! Please!"

Unable to hear her daughter, Natalie looked at her husband for support. But he seemed way too distracted and shaken up to assist. And that was alright. She was not expecting him to do so anyway. She was alone now, and whatever she had to do or say going forward, she would do it on her own.

"You're right," the woman finally uttered, another tear washing down her cheek. Brian swiftly glanced at her, unable to believe that she had said that. "I destroyed everything. Because of a bad decision, I almost ended up killing my daughter. Not that it matters now. My family is one step away from being destroyed. And no matter how hard I try to fix things. I know they are unfixable. I destroyed my family."

Hearing this, Brian felt very moved toward his wife. After a very long time, sympathy for her crept back in his heart, especially after their previous discussion. When she had confessed that she loved their daughters and him, there was a fire in her eyes that burned as hot as the sun. He was certain because he felt it in the sting of her tone. It hit him. An epiphany of absolute power, revealing something he had thought lost under the rubble of their broken relationship. He wondered if her fire had forced him to relinquish the hate and rage, and accept the fact that she was being genuine. That she cared and loved her family and was being eaten alive by the weight of what had happened to Allison. It was then and there that he realized that maybe it had been wrong to treat her like an enemy.

Natalie continued. "And maybe I've damned myself by doing that. Me and everyone dear to me. I deserve it. I punish myself each and every day and will do so forever, until I die."

Walking further on the path of revelation, it was now that Brian fully grasped in how much pain she had been. And by doing so, he felt it as well. It was excruciating, unbearable. To be in her shoes was to place yourself at the mouth of madness, your sanity hanging only by a thread. How could she have carried on like this? How could she even wake up in the morning and even function in her day to day life? She must have been very strong, he thought. Much stronger than him, than he would ever have been. All of a sudden, the way in which he had treated her stabbed him like a cold dagger. All he wanted to do was go over to her and embrace her, apologize, tell her how sorry he was for everything. But he could not. Just then, he had a distinct feeling that he would never get the chance to do so.

"But I will tell you this," Natalie changed the tone of her speech. "I love my family. I love Annie and Allison and Brian. I will fight for them until my least breath, no matter what I did. I will never give up on them, no matter how much they reject or rebuke me. I will stand by them, for better and for worse."

Brian was further impressed by her words. Not only was she proving to him how strong and iron-willed she was, Natalie was also wielding that strength to face off against something as malevolent as a demon possessing her daughter. The power of her character was like a shining light, breaking through the thickness of the storm clouds. With Allison's accident, between her guilt and him blaming her and treating her badly, all she had had was her love, clinging to it like a mad woman. As it turned out, it was all she needed.

The demon opened his mouth to say something but Natalie did not allow him. "And I also know that you are not my daughter! You are just a parasite that took advantage of her. A bully, preying upon our regrets, fears and worries, trying to drag us down, at rock bottom. But you won't win. Why? Because God is on my side. I have an angel downstairs to prove that. And with her help, we're going to cast you out of my daughter and send you back to hell. And there is nothing you can do about it! So you laugh and have your fun over there. Your time will come. And Aella WILL get you!"

Brian could not have been more proud of her. She had been amazing. In the process, she had returned to the high pedestal he had once held her on.

In the meantime, Aella started twitching, her hands and shoulders involuntary contracting while her brows bending into a prominent frown. It was becoming extremely difficult to keep everything together. The extent of the effort drain was overwhelming. But she was close to finishing the expulsion maneuver. Very close. She had to last just a little longer.

Back upstairs, Natalie stood triumphant in front of the demon, radiating with unfaltering confidence.

"Ah love," the possessed girl stated, eyeing Natalie. "Such a wonderful thing. Kind of makes you wonder what one would do for it. I'll make you a deal. I'll let Allison go. Leave her body and never come back, IF… you kill yourself."

Brian thought that he was in such shock that he did not hear things right. He opted to replay what had just been said over and over again. And with each repetition, he came to understand that there was no mistake about it nor something wrong with his hearing. Although he felt his composure slipping away again, he trudged through and finally managed to release, "what?"

"You heard me," while turning to the woman, "you want your daughter back, you're going to have to pull the plug." A slight chuckle followed afterward.

Brian looked at his wife to get some sort of confirmation and possible ounces of strength to fight back the insanity of it all. But all Natalie could do was stare at the girl with eyes wide open, seemingly petrified and completely taken aback. Very well, he surmised. He was going to end this by himself. "No. Hell no!"

Allison shared the same feeling, shaking her head multiple times in complete negation.

The demon shrugged injuriously with a rounded smirk on his lips.

"You would have us devoid of everything we hold most dear," Natalie replied, as if she had had recovered her previous confidence, "so you could twist and turn us however you enjoy. But I… we will not give you that satisfaction. Not anymore."

Both Brian and Allison breathed relieved. Tucker exhaled so loudly that he thought the next door neighbor could hear him. He was unable to recall the last time he watched something so intense on a TV screen.

Aella was stretched to the max with the energy build up. The huge strain was forcing her body to jerk uncontrollably, displayed by random movements of her jaw clenching and her chin bursting sideways. Her joined hands were now forming a fist, squeezed beyond comfort.

"Fine," the demon said. "I'll do you one better. If you don't take the deal now, I will kill Allison."

It was as if she had received a painful blow to the stomach. Natalie thought she had had the malevolent entity figured out. But this…. This was beyond anything she could ever digest. It was evident to everyone that all the progress she had made up until that point had been turned into smoke and ruin. It was only now they had realized how dangerous and unpredictable the demon was.

"I mean it," the chained girl warned. "Deal now or I will kill your precious daughter right this second."

"You're bluffing," Brian shot. "She's too valuable for you to give up. You need her to have your fun."

"I can always find another pathetic meat sack to control. Either way, your loss is the greater one. Try me, daddy!"

The reply completely discouraged Brian, especially with the looming threat of losing either his daughter or his wife. And the fact that Natalie was perfectly silent and without reaction did not calm his nerves. He was beginning to panic.

"I will do it, you know," the demon advised. "I will kill her. And the only thing you'll be left with is to bury sweet, dear Allison."

"To hell with this," Brian could not take it any longer. "This discussion is over. Nat, let's go!"

"How do we know you'll keep your word of the bargain?" Natalie asked instead, shocking her husband tremendously. He was about to ask her if she was insane but the demon was quicker.

"You don't! You'll just have to trust me," while grinning through his teeth.

"Mom, don't. Please!" Allison begged, heard by on one.

"Come on, mommy!" The demon cried out for her. "For once, think of someone else before you. Do the right thing… For your daughter."

"Natalie, no," Brian attempted to get through to her. "He's lying."

"I will do it. I will kill her now. Take the deal. End yourself, you whore of a mother! Do it!"

Aella gritted her teeth, vastly struggling at this point. She let out short groans caused by dozens of pangs.

"Come on, Natalie," the demon continued to harass, "do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!"

"Shut the hell up!" Brian barked. "Nat, let's go!"

"God…" Tucker let out in dismay. Specs, who had been playing with Annie, caught whiff of the despondency in his partner's voice, peeking at him worriedly.

Amidst all the voices, like needles pricking her, Natalie was beyond overwhelmed. All her senses were oversaturated and her reasoning was simply clouded by unrestrained fear. She could not think, much less take a logical decision, while her instincts resigned and gave way to an unbridled storm inside her. Coping with all of this was impossible. Tears flooded her eyes. A very potent feeling of fleeing took over her. To get away. To be left alone. Hyperventilating like a cardiac patient, she looked in all directions senselessly, acting automatically on reflex more than cognitive ability.

The voices were becoming louder and louder. She could not bear them any longer, reaching out to cover her ears. All they did was intensify her already distressing anguish. She wanted them to stop. She needed them to stop. They were torture at its best, even coming to reverberate in her mind like a never ending, chaotic symphony of madness. The sheer mix of words, shouted like nothing more than a disordered cacophony, were like nails on a chalkboard which constantly scraped mercilessly on her brain.

That is why Natalie simply found herself running out of the room. Brian watched her leave and intended to go after her but was distracted by the sinister laughter coming from the possessed girl. This was a nightmare, it could not have gone any worse. And it was all because of the thing inside Allison. A thing so evil that it was hurting them without any effort at all. He felt so hopeless, so powerless, unable to protect his family from this monstrosity of a crisis. And unable to do anything to keep it from tearing them apart. Hopefully, Aella was going to succeed with her plan. She was their only hope of escaping the darkness.

Natalie stopped right outside the room and backed against the wall. She was drowning in sorrow and could not help but weep like a child. Everything was pointless, in vain and no matter which direction she took, there was no end to the suffering. No light at the end of the tunnel. Just torture, absolute and permanent.

Allison, in the Further, was standing right beside her, in an attempt to bring her comfort. It did not matter if it was in vain. All she wanted was to be with her mother.

Suddenly, through the shimmer in her eyes, Natalie caught a slight movement to her left, straight in front of the master bedroom, opposite of where her daughter stood next to her. Turning her head there, she felt her knees weak. It was Allison, or rather a faded, transparent version of herself, standing in the middle of the hallway. The woman blinked several times, thinking her torment is making her imagine things. Recollecting Aella's account on her older daughter's ability to astral project, Natalie immediately assumed that she might be witnessing the real Allison, trapped in a spiritual form.

However, the real Allison noticed this but failed to see what had her mother so abruptly enthralled. There was nothing there. Yet Natalie behaved like there clearly was.

"You know," Brian addressed the demon, "I am going to get so much comfort and joy when you will be sent back to hell, you evil son of a bitch! Not much long left. And I can't wait."

"Oh, right," the demon replied, unimpressed. "The angel and whatever worthless plan she has to get me out."

"She will!" The man stood his ground.

Meanwhile, outside the hallway, Natalie saw how the apparition of her daughter went in the master bedroom. Suspecting that the latter may be attempting to reach out to her, the woman proceeded to go after her. If she needed her, nothing was going to stand in between them.

"Mom?" A very confused Allison followed the woman, not understanding what she was up to.

Downstairs, the pain made Aella arch. "Damn it!" She cursed through her teeth.

"Listen here, Bubba," the demon told Brian. "Don't ever put all your wages on a single bet. Ya might not like when the result ends up badly for you and you lose everything."

Aella continued to struggle.

"There is no chance of a snowball's chance in hell your angel lady can force me out. It's impossible." The possessed girl rambled on.

"Lies!" Brian accused.

"I hate to burst your bubble, pal. But I ain't the one lying here. And you know what's even funnier? You stacked the deck so high up in her favor, you have no plan B. I wonder. If she fails… what will you do? Because you will have nothing left. No leverage to bargain with, no other option, no more figures to crunch… Nothing. Just a sorry ass loser who doomed his family."

Brian could not even begin himself to consider the demon's words. He could not afford it. No, he had to believe in Aella. She was an angel, sent from heaven to take care of his family in this time of need.

Natalie crossed the bedroom door threshold, searching high and low for Allison, desperate to reconnect with her after such a long time. However, the room was empty and there was no sign of any kind of spirit shape which could belong to her daughter. "Allison? I know you're here, honey. Give me a sign."

Allison wondered if her mother could sense her presence. But the fact that she was looking for her in a completely opposite direction made her question the initial theory. However, if her mother could not detect her, why was she calling out her name like that? What strange new thing was occurring?

"You know dad," the demon uttered. "I like you. I really do. You really put this whole 'man of the house' thing to shine. I really like your style. The way you used your anger over what happened to me as an excuse to control your wife."

"What? That's not true!"

"Of course it is. And deep down inside… I think you liked it, too. I think you enjoyed guilt tripping your wife and emotionally blackmailing her to get what you want. All for the sake of power. The man of the family, taking charge and abusing his power for personal gains."

"I had nothing to gain. I loathed what was happening."

"But you did not do anything about it, did you? You knew how wrong it was yet you lingered in it. Because it suited you. Come on, no shame in admitting."

Brian had had enough. He was fed up with all the twists and turns the demon was making them go through, just for his amusement. It had to end, one way or another. "Listen, you evil garbage," he lashed out, approaching the chained girl with determination. "I did not have anything to gain from my family's suffering!"

However, to his shock, when he got inches away, the possessed girl grabbed him by the throat, as if she had been free of any restraint, and began to squeeze it very tight. "I am sorry, what were you saying?"

"Shit!" Tucker let out after having watched it all on TV. He threw away the hot plate and rushed upstairs to help Brian.

Specs noticed it. "Stay here," he told Annie and followed his partner.

At the same time, Natalie found herself charged by the same vision of Allison she had been seeing. The latter pinned her to the floor and drew out a pair of scissors.

"Mom," this time, the original Allison could see it as well.

Just then, Aella opened her eyes. They were radiating with fear and concern. She had failed. Control had slipped away from her.

Brian squirmed in trying to get loose but the demon's grip was too strong. The man was running out of energy very quickly and his sight was becoming more and more blurry.

Tucker and Specs arrived at the scene, hurrying to Brian to assist him. However, the demon seemed hardly bothered at their appearance. Then, he casted a swift glance at the shorter of the two. Steven experienced a brief flashback to the previous night, when he had got strangled by that arm that came through the mirror. And just like then, he now started to feel as choked, his breath blocked by an unseen force.

Noticing his partner clawing at his neck and struggling to breathe, Tucker temporarily forgot about Brian and went to the former. "Steve? What's wrong man?" All Specs could do was collapse on the floor, his air intake decreasing with each passing second.

Natalie was not doing better, being held on the ground by an angry version of her daughter. But now, she was not transparent or faded like she had been before. She seemed very much real and very ticked off, with a large grin on her face. "It's all your fault, mommy," the apparition said while holding the scissors in the air, tip pointed downward, ready to stab the woman. "And now you'll pay!" It was then that Natalie had realized that this was not her daughter. It was just a trick, most definitely created by the demon to get to her. Because her Allison, her daughter, she would have never displayed such a malignant expression or such a destructive behavior. More to the point, she would never have harmed her in this fashion.

Allison lunged at her evil doppelganger but found herself simply falling through it. "Stop it! Leave her alone." But the latter paid no mind to her and prepared to use the sharp object in her hand to inflict her mother a fatal wound.

Both Brian and Specs were turning blue. Tucker was struggling to understand what got a hold of his partner, peering at the other, unable to decide which one to help first. Or how. All while the demon laughed out loud, heavily entertained.

All of a sudden, his attention was drawn to Aella, who materialized in front of him. "Enough!" She shouted and the last thing he saw was her fist before blacking out.

When the possessed girl lost consciousness, she let go of her grip over Brian's throat. He fell to the floor, regaining his normal breathing cycle. It went the same for Specs, who could not feel the unseen force strangling him anymore. At the exact time, the menacing Allison apparition that had Natalie pinned to the ground, vanished into thin air, allowing the scissors to simply fall harmlessly on the woman.

"Brian, you alright?" The angel checked. He simply nodded, still recovering his breath. "Guys?" She turned to Specs and Tucker.

"We're ok," the larger man added.

Just as before, Aella's eyes widened, as if she had forgot about something. "Natalie."

The angel teleported in a blink of an eye to Natalie's location. The latter was on the ground, hugging her knees and crying. Allison was, as before, right next to her.

The three men came running. When he saw his wife, Brian knelt by her side and embraced her. Specs and Tucker exchanged distressed glances with Aella, realizing that her plan did not work, and it almost had cost them their lives…


Quite the long chapter. But I felt like I had to make it so in order to emphasize just how much damage the Lipstick Face demon can do. Anyways, tell me what you think. And brace yourself, the last chapter is coming up. Will Aella and Elise succeed in vanquishing the demon?