《Demon Massacre》


 Prologue

    I couldn¡¯t help but scream as the figure approached. The light started to dim and I couldn¡¯t move. I was frozen like a statue. I felt a pair of hands start to tighten around my throat as the figure got closer to my face. I was helpless. I could barely gasp for air as the claws of the figure scratched at my throat, almost piercing my skin.The figure finally let go of me and I yelled and cried as I ran toward my door and banged loudly in hope someone would let me out. ¡°Help me please¡± I yelled. Was this how she felt? But then something I could never imagine, it actually happened.


    ¡­


    SIX YEARS EARLIER


    Me and Haylee were walking around an abandoned daycare during lunch when Haylee started acting weird. Haylee was a fairly normal person so I didn¡¯t expect it at all. She went to the small playground outside the daycare and sat on one of the swings. She then started singing ¡®Ring Around the Rosy¡¯. ¡°Haylee, are you okay?¡± I kept asking. The only reply I was getting was ¡°Ashes, ashes, they all fall down.¡±. I jumped over the small metal fence and went over to check on her. Her face was turning blue and purple. I screamed in shock and tried to get her attention. She was zoned out, she wasn¡¯t alive, she wasn¡¯t dead, but she was about as close as she would ever get for a long time. Or so I thought.


    She finally looked at me with her bloodshot eyes and said ¡°WE ALL FALL DOWN¡±. It took me a minute to understand what she was saying until, ring around the rosy, the original song we used to sing. Not the new kid-appropriate song we know now. She was referring to an old song about the Black Plague. I backed up a few steps and stared as she started to turn blue again.


    I didn¡¯t know what to do, so like the idiot I was I watched as my sister gasped for air and begged for mercy. My older sister, reaching her hand out for help, and all I can do is stare?! I watched as she slowly lost oxygen and begged for me to help her. I couldn''t make out what was going on. I watched in horror as Haylee took her final breath.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I don¡¯t know why I just stared in shock. After what seemed to be hours of staring at her I screamed. My older sister, my best friend, just died right in front of me, and I didn¡¯t even try to help. I fell to my knees crying as Haylee laid there limp and lifeless. I, at the age of fourteen, witnessed the death of my older sister. I fell to the ground crying and screaming for someone to come. This couldn''t be her end. She was such a sweet person, she never deserved this, and she would be alive if it weren¡¯t for me.


    I finally got the courage to stand up. I picked up my phone and dialed for an ambulance. The ambulance was going to take a while so I sat next to Haylee and said ¡°I¡¯m sorry, please be okay. I promise to never annoy you again. I won¡¯t even ask you to help me with my homework but just please be okay.¡±. I placed my hand over her face to make sure I didn¡¯t look at her bloodshot eyes.


    I eventually passed out next to Haylee moments before the ambulance arrived. When I woke up my father was sitting next to the hospital bed I was laying on. His soft blue eyes looked at me the way my mother used to. He held my hand and softly said ¡°She¡¯s gone¡±.


    At that moment I just looked at him and gave him the biggest hug I had given him since I was little. I knew he was in pain, I could see it in his eyes. I had hoped so hard that Haylee would be okay, but I guess hoping doesn¡¯t exactly work for me. I tried to not let my father see the tears forming in my eyes, right now he needed me to be strong for him, so that¡¯s what I did.


    I knew I should have helped her. But when I thought of helping her I saw this dark aura surrounding her. Why was something stopping me from helping her? It was so weird. I didn¡¯t even want to think about it as I held back tears trying to comfort my father. How could I be so stupid to let this happen? I let my sister die over some damn darkness?


    My father squeezed my hand as he tried to hold back his tears. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault!¡± I let out while crying. ¡°No, no. Nothing could be done.¡± He said shakily, trying to provide me comfort. ¡°I didn¡¯t even help her!¡± I yelled. ¡°Nothing you could have said or done could have prevented it.

 CHAPTER 1; New Beginnings

    It had been three months since the incident. I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I needed a fresh start. I had convinced my father to move to a city called Slough. It was right by London so we wouldn¡¯t be too far from the city, but far enough where I didn¡¯t have to see that place on my way to school anymore. It wasn¡¯t the biggest change but it was enough for me. Even better, I was at a new school, with new people


    . The only real problem was that my sister''s death had been all over the news because no doctor could explain what happened to her. On her death certificate they only wrote ¡°Accident¡±. We all knew this was no accident. I still had no idea what had happened to my sister that day. Nor did I think I would ever know. Did I even want to know?No, I didn¡¯t.


    I layed on my bed in our new home and just stared at the ceiling. It had many small bumps all over it. It was what we call a ¡°Popcorn Ceiling¡±. While it was cool to feel and all it wasn¡¯t always pleasant to have tiny pieces of your ceiling fall down on you occasionally.


    I had school in the morning, I needed sleep if I wanted to wake up on time. I had to be awake by five thirty and I was not ready to be waking up early again. I hadn¡¯t been to school since then.


    The room was hot and heavy. I found it hard to breathe. I got up to turn the AC on but when I stood up I felt like I should lay back down. I couldn¡¯t really describe it. It just didn¡¯t feel right. So I layed back down on my bead and just continued to sweat it out.


    When I woke up the next morning I was sure someone had dunked water on me. I was sweating so much that my shirt had marks on it. Just how hot had it been that night? I quickly grabbed a set of jeans and a tee shirt and made my way to the bathroom. No way was I going to go to school covered in sweat. Whilst in the shower I kept thinking about what my new school was gonna be like. Would the people there recognize me and know about the ¡°A. Johnson Case¡±?


    I just want to be accepted. I¡¯ve gotten so much criticism online and in person after my sister¡¯s death. People always have something to say. They say it''s my fault. They weren¡¯t there. Someone, no, something else led her to her death. All I was, was a bystander.  Nothing could have been done.


    The bus arrived shortly after I came to my bus stop. As I stepped on the bus I saw people put their heads down, whisper to each other, and even point fingers at me. Did they know who I was? Maybe they were just curious since I¡¯m new here.


    I tried to find an empty seat but evidently there weren¡¯t any. I couldn¡¯t even find a seat with less than three people in it. I decided to just stand in the back of the bus since the ride wouldn¡¯t be that long anyways.


    As I stood in the back everyone kept staring at me and talking in hushed tones as they would look at me and then look at what I¡¯m assuming were their phones. I hoped they weren¡¯t making fun of me, or talking about what happened to my sister.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    After what felt like ten or so minutes the bus came to a final stop in front of a building that said ¡®Slough HS¡¯ on a nearby sign. As everyone unloaded off the bus and walked to their classes I noticed something off. There was something dark that kept appearing in the corner of my eye.


    I¡¯m just imagining things, I thought to myself. Was I? Who knows. Whatever it was, I decided to ignore it. Maybe it was because I didn¡¯t sleep well the previous night. Yeah, that¡¯s what it was.


    I noticed a student, who appeared to be a junior, stared at me in horror and ran past me in an instant. Why did they run? Did I appear intimidating? Did they recognize me? Did they see it? No. It hasn¡¯t come back, nor will it ever. At least I hope it doesn¡¯t.


    I looked down at the paper in my hand. I was holding my schedule. For my first class I had algebra. Great, more stress. Who even thought of the idea to incorporate letters into math? It made no sense to me.


    Room three- hundred and twenty-six it read. By the time I looked up I had only two minutes until class started! I ran from where I was standing all the way to the three-hundred hallway and made a sharp turn into my class. Still breathing heavily from running, I waited for my teacher to inform me where I would be seated.


    ¡°Desk thirteen.¡± He politely said as he looked at me. Exhausted, I sat down in my seat and took out my notebook to prepare myself for the lesson. Everyone in my class was staring at me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like a dog in a pack of wolves, that¡¯s how intimidating these people were.


    By the time the bell had rung, I had already been hit by at least six paper balls. I never said anything though, I was too afraid it''s only cause me more trouble. I was pretty sure by that point that they all recognized me from the ¡°A Johnson Case¡± where I was put to trial for murder. People always assume I did it, but if they were there they would know.


    I¡¯m still surprised I wasn¡¯t charged. I mean, it honestly did look like I did it. Luckily for me though, the lack of evidence was enough for them to let me off. My father knew I was innocent, but everyone else? They would never know the truth.


    Did I really blame them for throwing paper at me? No, but then again I wish they hadn¡¯t. As I picked up my bag I heard someone say ¡°Fucking Murderer!¡±. How many times do I have to say it, I''m not a murderer!


    Almost every class that day felt the same, no matter where I was, someone always had something to say. I was beginning to realize that moving only got rid of one of my problems. I still had to live with the fact that people hated me.


    When I got home from school that day I felt like a nervous wreck. Was this going to be my life now? Was I just going to be hated by everyone? I was scrolling through my phone when I noticed this video on youtube, it read ¡°MURDERER OF HAYLEE JOHNSON LOOSE? WHERE IS SHE NOW?¡±. ¡°Oh my fucking god!¡± I yelled. ¡°How many times are people going to point their dumbass fingers at me and tell me what I did and didn¡¯t do!¡±. I felt like screaming into my pillow.


    I began to cry as I realized my life would never be the same. It would never be normal. It would never be decent. My life was shit. I decided to get up and go for a walk, maybe that would calm me down. I walked in a bunch of random directions until I realized I was lost. Shit. I wasn¡¯t even supposed to leave the house without permission. I couldn¡¯t call my father unless I wanted to be grounded, so I just strolled around wondering if I¡¯d see any familiar places.


    As I walked, and walked I came to a slow pace when I noticed someplace familiar, too familiar.


    I didn¡¯t like it here. It reminded me too much of the place. Well, it just turns out this was the place. It was the playground. Not just any playground. The playground where my sister was choked to her death, the playground where I saw it. I turned around and ran. I wanted to be as far as possible from that place.


    After what felt like hours of running I finally arrived home. My father had just pulled into the driveway. I sped behind the bushes and began to climb into my room through my bedroom window. I climbed through my window into my room and layed on my bed as if not to act suspicious.


    What a long day. It didn¡¯t take long for me to pass out on my bed, still covered in dirt and still in my school uniform. Though I don¡¯t think it mattered, what mattered was getting away from that place.

 Chapter 2; The Fortune Teller

    I woke up, once again feeling as if someone had dunked water on me. I had forgotten to turn the AC on last night. I had a dream. A dream of all things that could be considered nightmare fuel. In this dream, I saw my sister being dragged into the pits of hell. When I tried to grab her hand I became transparent. That¡¯s when something from behind me tried to pull me down with her. I was startled nothingless when I awoke.


    Was it really just a nightmare though? It felt so real? And Haylee, she seemed so alive? No, Haylee was dead. I wish it wasn¡¯t true but she is. But, what if she¡¯s not completely gone? No, I needed to stop being ridiculous. Though, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to see someone just in case.


    It was Saturday, I could do whatever I wished today. I decided to go to a fortune teller. I¡¯d always seen movies and plays on how fortune tellers can tell you your destiny. What was my destiny? Was my destiny to be dragged into the pits of hell?


    I walked into this small hut looking building and awaited to be escorted to the Lady of Fortunes, The Fortune Teller. I looked around the small waiting area and noticed many crystals sitting in all different areas of the room. They all had a unique shape, color, and size.


    Finally I was escorted to the Lady of Fortunes. She gave me a sweet smile as I sat down. ¡°You poor girl,¡± she said to me. ¡°You can see it can¡¯t you?¡±. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked kindly while trying to ignore the slight black shadow in the corner. ¡°You can see him.¡± she said reassuringly.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing wrong, it''s your mother who¡¯s passed this down.¡±. ¡°Ma¡¯am my mother is dead..¡± I said concerningly. ¡°Curses don¡¯t tend to care whether you¡¯re alive or dead hon¡¯.¡±. ¡°Curses?¡±. ¡°Yes dear, your family is cursed by it, the demon of the spirit board.¡±. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I questioned nervously.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Zozo, he is the demon of the ouija board, your mother shouldn¡¯t have played with that thing.¡±. ¡°My mother would never play with a spirit board!¡± I said hesitantly. ¡°She did, and she can never go back from it.¡±. ¡°When did my mother play with a damn spirit board?!¡± I began to shout. ¡°Poor thing, just like many others who thought it was just a game.¡±. I stood up and walked out of the room. No way was I going to listen to some crazy lady talking about demons!


    On my way home, I stopped by a small store that always sold many cute looking nicknacks. As I was looking around I came across a brown locked box and was intrigued. I had no clue what was inside but I wanted it. I picked up the box and brought it up to the register.


    As the little old lady took the cash I gave her, she looked at the box worriedly and then said ¡°Whatever you do don¡¯t open it, you won¡¯t like what you find.¡±. I rolled my eyes, took my change, and left.


    When I got home I couldn¡¯t help but question what she meant. There was a sticker on the box that said ¡°Dybbuk¡±. What did that mean? I decided to google ¡°Dybbuk Box¡±. As I searched I kept coming across the same definitions, a box that demons and evil entities were held in. What the fuck? No wonder that woman told me not to open it.


    Thankfully for me I wasn¡¯t scared of that type of shit. I grabbed a box cutting knife and went at it. When I opened it up it reeked of some sort of dead animal. ¡°What the fuck, did someone kill a bird in here or something?¡±. I looked inside and to my surprise I found three things, an ouija board, a dirty planchette, and a pentagram made of sticks and strings. ¡°What the hell? Must have belonged to some satanic mother fucker.¡±


    I threw the box and things in it across the room. I was sick and tired of this shit. I picked the box up and put it in my closet. Maybe if I just ignored it, it would go away.


    I layed on my bed tired and frustrated as I rolled over trying to get comfortable. I felt as if I was being watched. I couldn¡¯t explain it, I just felt the need to hide. Even though I was already really hot, I pulled my covers up over my head. I didn¡¯t feel safe.


    I grabbed my phone and started playing some music to help calm me down.


    ¡°I can see you from behind


    You can hear me in your mind


    Run so-¡±


    I immediately turned the song off. It wasn¡¯t even in my playlist! Why was that song in my playlist? Why? It didn¡¯t make any sense! I turned my phone off, pulled the covers back up over my head, and fell asleep.

 Chapter 3; Seance of Zozo

    I awoke to the sound of sirens going by my house. An ambulance I guessed. I checked my phone for any new messages but wasn¡¯t surprised to find nothing new. Ever since the incident I didn¡¯t have any friends who wanted to talk to me, they all thought I was some sort of psychopath.


    I walked into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. I opened a small granola bar as I didn¡¯t feel like putting effort into getting anything else. I sat down at the dining table and waited for my dad to get out of bed. My father always took me out to just have fun on sundays.


    I heard a groan upstairs, my father must have woken up. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs but when I looked around the corner I saw no one. Confused, I walked upstairs to my father¡¯s room and peered through the door. My father was still in bed, asleep. I must have just been imagining things.


    I was just imagining things right? I was startled when I heard a loud crash from the living room. I jumped and began to look around the corner of the stairs. After a few seconds I went to my father¡¯s room and told him I had heard a large crash. My father had grabbed his lucky baseball bat and slid on his slippers before he went downstairs. He checked all around the house but no signs of an intruder showed.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I mumbled under my breath. After me and my father settled back down, I ran upstairs to my room and opened my closet door, I looked in only to notice the dybbuk box had been missing. Shit!


    Did my father find it? My father¡¯s a very religious man so when it comes to anything paranormal he would have yelled at me. My father never said anything though, if he had found it, wouldn¡¯t he be furious?If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Maybe he hasn''t found it. Maybe I had just misplaced it. If I had misplaced it though, where would I have put it? I don¡¯t even remember taking it out of the closet?


    I had looked everywhere! Annoyed, I checked my closet one last time and poof there it was. What the hell! I opened the box and took out the ouija board. After giving it a long hard stare I had an idea.


    I set up a circle of candles around me and sat in the middle with the ouija board, the dirty old planchette, and the weird pentagram thing. I put two of my fingers on the planchette and moved it in a circular motion three times.


    ¡°I call you zozo, I call asking what you wish for me.¡± I had only said it as a joke when the planchette started moving. First it went to s. After a few seconds paused it moved on to o, then u. Squinting my eyes in fear I saw as it met its last letter, l. I spelled it out in my head, S.O.U.L. Shit!


    In fear, I began to try and stop the seance. However, when I was standing up I accidentally knocked over some of the candles. The candles caught fire to the pentagram, my curtains, and a pillow I had on the floor nearby.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I yelled as I tried to find something to put out the fire. When I tried to put out the fire, it was too late as my room was already filled to the brim with smoke. I ran to tell my dad about the fire. The second he saw me he said ¡°Quick, get out of the house I already called the fire station!¡±


    Outside my house, I sat crying as I watched my home burn down. My dad put a hand on my shoulder lightly and said ¡°We¡¯ll just find another house in the area okay?¡±. As my father took his hand off my shoulder, I saw as our house collapsed in front of me. All of this because I got scared and knocked over some candles!


    As people walked by, I saw them taking pictures of the house, then me. Why the fuck would they take a picture of me? Then I saw it.


    I opened my phone to a bunch of shit saying ¡°Johnson¡¯s murderer¡¯s house burns down mysteriously, what secrets was she holding?¡±. I threw my phone on the ground and ran away as fast as I could.


    Everyone hated me, and they didn¡¯t even have the truth about what happened that day.