October 18th

"We have to get it out of her," screamed Dana.

"I don't know how to exorcise demons," shouted José.

"Haven't you seen The Exorcist?"

"That's not exactly a user manual."

Annie looked at them and laughed in a deep tone that sounded like multiple voices speaking in unison. A Golden Retriever barked from the back corner of the room.

"Quiet, Sandy,"

"Use the holy water," said Dana.

José reached into the backpack and pulled out a small plastic spray bottle. He pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger. When the mist landed on her skin, it bubbled up and blistered. Annie did not scream in pain like the demons do in the movies. She, or more accurately, it just laughed.

"You can't hurt me," the demon said. "You try to get me out, and I'll take her with me. Your friend will not survive this regardless of the outcome."

"You get out of my friend," José screamed. He held up a cross and shoved this in Annie's face. "And you do not hurt her."

"Oooo, José," Annie said. "Do you speak with such authority when your dad comes  home drunk? Do you yell like that at him when he's beating on you?"

"Shut up!" shouted Dana.

"You're weak," the demon said. "Both of you are."

José held open a book and read a passage in Latin. The demon flicked its fingers, and he flew backwards, crashing into the wall. Dana lunged forward, and an invisible force shoved her into a different wall. Sandy ran up and bit Annie on the leg. The demon cried out in surprise.

"Get out of my friend," said José. "In the name of—"

"Don't say that word," the demon said. "Your friend Annie is an anorexic whore. I think I can find a better host, anyway."

Annie lay back on the floor, and this time her voice, not the demon's, screamed and shrieked. Her body shook in convulsions and her upper torso exploded outwards, as though something inside built up pressure before finally bursting. Blood and internal organs decorated the ceiling, walls, and floor. José and Dana stared in shock. In the back corner, Sandy barked, this time his voice deep and sounding like multiple voices at once. The dog ran out the door and into the night, his paws kicking an orange pumpkin with a demon's face carved into the front, the flames inside burning brightly like hellfire.

Go to October 17th                              Go to October 19th