Ring the doorbell.
I just did.
Keep ringing it. Do not stop.
Oh, I get it. Eh, might as well go that way. This is creepy as hell. The parents are probably going to call the cops.
The parents will do no such thing.
That’s reassuring.
But not as much as when she opens the door and acts like everything’s okay. It’s like, What are you driving at? I hear the locking mechanism slide open, and there she is, standing there like she would at school. And it’s like, Hey, it’s been a while.
She doesn’t look at me like I’m a disaster, doesn’t look at me like something went wrong.
Nikki sort of eyes me up and down and says, “Hunter.” And then she looks past me and says, “I guess you’ll want to step inside.”
Not going to say no to that. Nikki walks over to where she was sitting before, next to her parents, who look at me and act like I wasn’t actually ringing the doorbell like crazy, like I’m not that kid who has the demon, like I’m just someone from school stopping by to say hello.
So I say, “Hello.” Guess that’s as good as anything else to say.
Nikki motions over to an empty spot on the couch and I sit down. She offers me a drink and then fetches a glass of water that I don’t actually drink.
Nothing about this seems weird though.
Like, everyone sitting here — they are already so far away from caring it’s kind of like they’re all still alone. There’re the parents, yeah, but Nikki’s that way too She looks tired. She looks bored. She looks… I really don’t know.
So I ask her, “How’s it going?”
She kind of nods. “Same.”
The parents both ask me, “How do you know Nikki?”
Well… But instead I say, “We go to Meadows. We have a class together.”
But then Nikki says, “No, we don’t.”
Her mom smiles. “That’s nice.”
Her dad says, “It’s important to keep friends close. It’s crazy out there. Lots of demons just looking to run you down…”
Are you weirded out by what’s happening?
It is mildly disconcerting.
Yeah, this is creeping me out. Shouldn’t they be all like, Get the hell out? They should be looking at me like I’m insane. That’s what I’ve expected it to be. But now… Well, one thing’s for sure: Nikki’s definitely different outside of school. It’s like the life’s been taken out of her.
What’s going on? I can’t help but get the feeling that—
You feel it too, don’t you? Of course you do. So what do we do?
I guess I shouldn’t have to ask. It’s kind of obvious. Got to get out of here. I guess they all knew.
I don’t know. I’m just…
I’m nervous, okay? I’m nervous.
They’re acting like nothing’s wrong. They had a plan all along.
Nikki looks at the glass of water in my hand. “Would you like another drink?” And that’s a signal or something. You’re as aware as me. It’s going to happen. But where, where will they enter? How will they get me? Why do they make me the insane one, when really I’m maybe just what they don’t understand?
Look around. See anything?
Nikki just left the room. It’s going to happen now, isn’t it?
Indeed. It will.
Can we do anything about this?
There are a number of options — many of them resulting in capture. The lone choice is to invoke activity. Yet in doing so, it will result in quite the display of possession. It will not hold you in favor. It will accentuate their understanding of your situation.
Yeah. So we’re cornered.
The whole thing felt wrong, you know, showing up here.
But it’s kind of like I had no choice. I was going to show up here anyway. I needed to know. It’s kind of like “I told you so.” I know that’s the case. I know you told me not to come here. It’s my fault. I’m weak, I’m human. I’m not actually weak, just saying. I really shouldn’t have bothered. Yeah, there they are. There’s Becca.
She knew. Not long but she knew.
They followed me.
Yes. In a moment, the priests will enter the room.
Becca won’t even look at me. Nikki steps back into the room. Her parents remain seated, watching television.
Nikki says to Becca, “Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re doing this, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Bummer kind of day.”
Becca shrugs. “Bummer kind of week.”
Nikki looks over at the TV. “Bummer kind of life.”
Becca looks out one of the windows. “Okay, they’re here.”
“Won’t need anything else, right?”
Becca sighs. “No.”
Nikki nods. “Good, then leave. My part in this is so finished.”
Becca mutters, “Bitch.”
Nikki hears it but doesn’t care. Becca isn’t in the same league. Nikki did this because Becca found out about what happened between us. Becca blames Nikki, not me. Becca’s made this into some kind of demon hunt or something, and I’m the one hunted.
I’m the one captured.
The priests sneak up on me. I was too busy watching them talk.
Dad’s there too.
People narrow their eyes, make faces when they look at me. It’s like, Here I am, the demonically possessed. Ruined. In need of being cured. Because I’m supposed to be spared or, like, sacrificed or something. They’ve caught me, and I could have easily listened and I wouldn’t have been caught, would have been able to go back to Falter or something to figure things out.
But here I am, caught.
Led to a van.
Tied down as Father Albert sits next to me, saying prayers.
Father Andrew holds me down.
Dad drives.
Becca in the front passenger seat.
Mom nowhere to be seen.
Your mother had to work.
Yeah, what else is new?
Becca looks back at me, looks through me like I insulted her. And she says, “I can’t believe you’d do something like that.”
Maybe she’s talking about how I haunted her, but really she’s talking about what happened with Nikki. Nikki didn’t tell her anything. Becca assumes it was a whole lot more than it really was. But I’m not going to say anything. I don’t need to say anything. Becca won’t leave.
I’m beginning to think that I’ll be the one who has to leave. You know, leave the entire situation. It might be necessary.
Indeed.
Nikki… why did I even bother?
Would you like to know how Nikki dies?
Yeah, sure. Why not?
Nicole Dillon will drop out of college during her junior year in order to marry a man, a doctor twelve years her senior. The marriage will last two years before ending in divorce. Without any income, and having signed a prenuptial agreement before marriage, Dillon will move back in with her parents. For five years, she will work retail. A year in, Dillon will try oxycodone for the first time. Dillon will decide to relocate in order to attempt a career in acting. She will experience a moderate degree of success, appearing in countless commercials, and will catch a break upon recording a voice for a cartoon character. Dillon will begin to settle into the life she assumed she desired. Yet Dillon will be unable to shake the demons born from substance abuse. Her health will decline sharply a few months after turning thirty-one. Unable to perform, she will live in fear. Meanwhile, Dillon will struggle to maintain her habit. She will attempt to find help from alternative medicine, going so far as searching for a demon to possess her. Dillon will lock herself in a five-star hotel room one summer afternoon. Spending her life savings for a five-night stay, Dillon will overdose by the third. Her body will be found an hour after checkout on the fifth day. A Do Not Disturb sign will have been her lone defense against the outside world.