Chapter 9: Let Her Go

Banging on Miss Johnson's front door, we all wanted answers desperately, we almost lost Dream. After waiting for a good while we were about to leave when Alessia suggested breaking in. I promise she never commuted the idea.

"What else can we do?" She wanted us to object, however, we were more sold about the idea. The father left the church, the exorcism would begin any moment and we were still down to a few missing puzzle pieces. In Alessia's mind, things were clearer, I hoped because we were about to break into our landlord's house. The plan was simple: try to enter the house from any other way possible or wrap a cloth around the arm and break any window.

"Wait someone's in there!" Rayn heard someone through the slightly opened window next to the door. "Open, we know you are in there. Please, our friend needs help, she's completely possessed. If you help, we might be able to save her." Jenni looked at Rayn, he was not changed or gone. He was scared to lose people; the voices were too loud in his head.

The doorknob clicked, and Ms. Johnson finally opened her door, tears rolling down as she shakes in guilt. Although all of us wanted to charge at her, it felt like an enemy-less battle. She was quite paranoid about figuring out things were out of her control.

"The house was not always like this, it all began fifty years ago when I inherited this place from my father, during the construction work on the apartment, a woman went missing. She was found dead near the apartment. One couple started their stay and soon discovered women's hair on the walls. Even after breaking off the walls and nothing else was found under the concrete, the rumors spread like wildfire; people called them the haunted walls." She paused to take a breath." Till Hazzle came, trying to contact the dead in the house. I wasn't aware of her intentions. She was an investigator who just wanted to get her question answered. I heard loud screams from that apartment, I have never seen anything like that before. I knew she did something wrong. The walls were painted with summoning signs. Hazzle was completely under possession. The father said a demon made a deal with her in return for five souls so the place could turn into a passage to hell. Hazzle failed, when we took her to the mental hospital, she repeated "give them what they want, give them what they want." Since then the voices never left that place, I made them break the walls, build new, no use." Tears stream down her face, a helpless old woman.

"Why would you sell a place like that to us.?" I asked her "Knowingly you put all of us in danger?".

"No, the voices stopped after the rebuild, one couple even lived there before you. A decade had passed and people lived there. Nothing happened, it was water under the bridge. I started to understand it was waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Jennifer was upset in her tone.

"It was waiting for the perfect souls…" Alessia figured it out "It didn't want Hazzle to sacrifice herself, it wasn't what the demons wanted, five demons craved five sacrifices. That's us…"

My head started spinning like a top, I thought if I knew what it wanted maybe we could find a way out, however after knowing the entire picture, it felt like our backs were to the wall. That day's exorcism withheld two scenarios, we might save Dream or lose all of our lives. The chance of us taking the last moments of our lives became a possibility. It will haunt us everywhere till all of us are sacrificed.

Alessia's phone rang, and we knew it was time. The father was there, and we all went to our apartment, Dream was tied up to a chair. The father claims that Dream was possessed by something too powerful; it'll take more than we can ever handle. He suggested for our protection we should leave, more after hearing the history of the place. However, by that time we all knew even if we escaped the haunting wouldn't stop.

"By the name of the father and the holy spirit…" The father starts but gets interrupted.

"You think your lord can do the same? She's gone and soon all of you will too." Dream started speaking in a raspy, demonic voice, her head swinging from side to side. Unsettling laughter that trembles our fears." Perfect souls will be a perfect kill, hahaha! Agh!"

Anne came from behind her and held onto her ears, closing them shut. In her cue, we all closed our ears with thick cotton and clothes. Anne explained how the voices will try to make us kill each other. So, we had to rely on our other senses, trust each other, believe, and hold on to the core of our wills.

The voices started to emerge, and I could hear a slight ring in my ears but we were holding on to our grounds, I shook my head, as at the same time Rayn and I kept Dream in one place. Holy Water to the process of exorcism didn't work initially. Anne said a Holy Chant and channeled it through her to Dream. She started screaming in pain.

"It's working," Alessia yelled at the top of her voice, she could feel entities, and their fluctuation was recognized easily. The father joined in the chant, he could barely stay at his feet, we all felt pushes, gusts of wind, and throwing off our balance. Rayn and I got on our knees, holding the chair down.

"Very well, now you all die!" Her voice echoed in the place as everything came to a pause. It was the silence before the storm.

"Agh!" Anne screamed in pain, still remaining one with Dream. She could feel all the pain created by the violent demonic entity inside of her. Despite the struggle, Anne pushed through her mouth continuing with the Holy Spell. Suddenly the light above the father let loose and scattered to the ground. We were glad that he suspected the danger beforehand and jumped to the side. The machines of the house started to go loose, starting from Jennifer's coffee grinder, the lights, and the chair being unscrewed, letting Dream free. We tried to hold onto her but with an intense force we all were pushed back. Anne was on the ground next to the girls.

Her body started to levitate when I jumped on her, pulling her to the ground. All four of us were on hand with Dream, we combined our strength to put her down. Our strength was not getting overpowered, it reminded me of a time when Dream lost consciousness on the track team, and we were all trying to save her. Something about our togetherness always made matters turn. We all screamed her name trying to bring her back, out of the hands of possession.

Our ear covers were mostly off, I could hear thousands of voices, the father came and wrapped her ears and eyes to the Holy Shroud. She screamed in agony as the voices were getting to burn our ears. We all cried out in intolerable pain. "Let her go!" I screamed back at whatever I felt I was holding down.

"Let our Dream go! Let her go!" Jennifer joined in with me. We were pinning the demon down and our begging was done for good, we demanded our friend back. One strong kick and Rayn got thrown across the room. His head hit the wall and instantly he lost consciousness. Jennifer dash to him.

Anne gets to Dream and holds a cross to her head. "I command you to free her demon!" a scream and Anne got thrown to the side as well.

"Alessia, only you can do something!" I told her. "Remember the light in you, it's time to expand it, protect the people you love." She nodded to me. That's the last thing I remember telling her, the voices screamed in my ears, as I fell to the ground and someone pushed me down to that one spot. I saw Dream got Alessia in a chokehold, I could only see, do nothing. Just watch Dream on her way to kill the person I love.

"This is not you. Dream I can still feel you there. Dream, save me". Suddenly Dream let her go. The walls shake as Dream stumbles, there's a drag in her walk. She takes a piece of wood, and approaches Alessia, her back against the wall, I pushed to stagnation, Jennifer desperately tries to not hear the voices rolling on the ground. And all I knew that was it, we all would die within a few moments. "Dream, you could never hurt me, but if something makes you do. I don't blame you. Our souls can't be collected by you or anyone. The light of heaven falls on us, the light that'll reach out to you as well, Dream I know you are there, fight back, I give my light to you. I give my life to you. You hear me!"

"Alessia." Dreams' voice spoke softly. She kneels in front of Alessia, letting go of the wooden weapon. "You are my family and I can never let anything happen to any of you. Forgive me. I love you." The light hovering over them lets loose and falls, Dream moving over Alessia, getting the light rod to pass through her. She took the dragger to protect Alessia. Everything stopped the voices, the procession, the pulls, and stomps. Dream kept her last few words. She with her own hands never kills her family, and protects what she loves, regardless of giving her own even to save everyone. She didn't go on by committing any sin, instead a noble save.

Alessia's light reached Dream on time, still we were too late. Way too late…