The Ritual

A candle sat in the window sill, it's flame flickering dim and low.

"We didn't leave that lit did we?" Kaci asked as they pulled into the driveway. Her nerves were already getting the better of her.

"No we didn't." Sharon replied.

Silence enveloped the car a moment, the tension grew.

Daniel grabbed the handle and shoved the driver's door open.

"We have to finish this", he said solemnly and headed toward the front of the house.

Kaci had never understood why her mom had chosen the dull brown and brick monstrosity. It had never felt welcoming or warm. The air inside was always heavy and foul. Oppressive.

The haunting wasn't a slow burn like in the movies. Voices screaming her name started before she had even set her bags down. The next night was slamming cabinets and apparitions. By the end of the week she had been scratched, shoved, and was on the verge of loosing her mind. The worst of the ghouls was the large bald man in the apron, Kaci and Sharon had named "The Butcher."

The barrage lasted for years but for some reason Kaci's family just teased her. They acted like it wasn't happening or she was just being dramatic even though they continuously spent less and less time at home. Soon enough the three bedroom house with a family of five "living" in it stood practically vacant. A tomb where they merely stored their belongings and slept in only when they had to.

Kaci and her friends love of the paranormal and dark things probably hadn't helped matters. One night after Kaci had woken with words (gibberish) scratched into her back they had attempted to communicate with the entities via spirit board. That night ended in all the dishes falling from the cabinets at once, a side door that had been nailed shut flying off it's hinges and a lot of screaming and crying. She moved out the next day for a few years on her own but now she had nowhere else to go.

It was torture from the moment she had set foot back in the house. The other night it had nearly cost her her life when a knife came flying out of the block at her head. She had ran to Sharon's but it seemed to follow her there too. The picture window shattering after they started talking about what happened.

Daniel began researching ways to cleanse the home and banish anything inside. The house had already been blessed on several occasions as Kaci's grandmother was a devout catholic. Whatever/whoever was there hadn't been fazed a bit.

He had found something he thought was worth trying and they had set the plan in motion earlier that evening.

Sharon had placed a voice recorder inside Kaci's closet, a place The Butcher was often seen, and let it record while they went out to gather their supplies. Ever the optimist she wanted to give anything that was listening a chance to talk and make it's intention known before any drastic steps were taken.

They entered the house and Sharon darted up the stairs. She grabbed up the voice recorder and hit the stop button, glancing back to see that Daniel and Kaci had made their way up the behind her.

"Ready?" she asked.

"It's not going to make a difference," Daniel snipped "These fuckers evil and they're leaving tonight."

"Play it Shar." Said Kaci calmly.

There was a moment of static, they heard themselves moving around the house, talking and then leaving. The sound of the car pulling away, and a few other common neighborhood noises. Then a moment of silence, too quiet really. A sharp breath then a deep gravely voice growling,

'Wait till she goes to sleep!'

Sharon yelped and threw the recorder back into the void of the closet, crawling backwards toward the bed. Kaci had begun to cry. Daniel however was calm. He had his back to them looking out the window.

"I told you that was a stupid idea." he said as he lifted the candle from it's place in the window and sat it on the hanging shelf.

"Let's get to this." he turned back towards the girls and dumped the supply bag in the middle of the floor.

They began sifting through them, silent a moment.

"Do you think this will work?" Kaci whispered.

" I think so." Sharon said.

Daniel didn't speak.

They laid out a circle of salt. Kaci drew a pentagram inside the circle and placed a black candle on each point. In the center she set up a make shift alter adorned with the the herbs, a knife, bowl and small mirror.

Sharon mixed the herbs carefully in the bowl and handed Kaci the mirror.

"What now?" Kaci asked turning to Daniel. "Do we say a little rhyme, speak in latin?"

"Don't be a child." he hissed. "You look in the mirror and speak your intentions loudly and clearly. Tell it exactly what it will do, repeat it three times. I'll do the rest. Blood of the willing protector right?"

He paused a moment then turned to Sharon " ..and stay in the goddamned circle got it?"

She nodded slowly.

"Alright" he sighed "Let's do this."

Kaci knelt in the center of the circle and held the mirror out in front of her. Daniel leaned over her knife blade to palm over the bowl as Sharon squeezed her back close against his legs.

She began, "Whoever or whatever is here with us, ou will leave. You will move on. You will not follow me nor my friends. You will harm no one any longer. Move on from this world and do not return. I banish you!"

Shaking but determined she repeated herself two more times. As she ended the final sentence for the last time, Daniel pressed the knife into his open palm and let the blood fall to the herbs below.

The room stayed deadly still a moment, then Sharon began to laugh. A little giggle at first then an uproarious fit. The others soon followed suit.

As they calmed down Kaci piped up, "Do you think it worked?"

"I sure fucking hope so." replied Daniel "Cause that hurt like a bitch."

"It does feel lighter in here. " Sharon remarked.

"Yeah it does." the others replied almost in unison.

The calm wouldn't last long. As they began to pick up the alter the lights began to flicker. Lightly and at first almost imperceptible. Daniel noticed first as he straightened from picking up the bowl, the candle on the shelf flew violently smacking him in the center of the chest. It fell to the floor rolling to a stop near the top of the pentagram.

They all stared at it numbly a moment...

Then all hell broke loose. The closet doors blew out in to the room, bouncing or their tracks, the lights began flashing violently. Slamming, crashing, stomping, and maniacal laughter filled the whole house.

Suddenly he was there in the doorway. Taking up the whole frame.The Butcher himself. Before anyone could react he had started toward Sharon who was now sitting on the bed pinning her to mattress hands around her throat all the while cackling.

"SHARON!" Kaci screamed as Daniel grabbed her shoulders shoving her out the door. "WE HAVE TO GO NOW IT'S TOO LATE."

She was hysterical fighting him the whole way. He practically had to shove her down the stairs. " I SAID WE HAVE TO GO!"

She stumbled the last couple stairs landing on her knees in the living room. She took a moment to catch her breath but as her eyes moved around the room she began to scream again, more frantically than before. A dozen black birds lay dead on the floor wings stretched out, posed as if they were in flight and the room seemed to be lined with shadow figures. Some looked human, some didn't but all had arms extended reaching for her.

"Kaci GODDAMIT! Please." Daniel begged trying to scoop her up with his one good hand.

He got her to her feet and they started toward the front door. It wouldn't budge.

"The garage!" he exclaimed as he reached for her hand again. Spinning and taking two big strides away from the door a booming growl shook the house and Daniel was thrown across the room. His skull smacked against the brick of the fireplace with a sickening thud and a pool of blood quickly formed around his head.

Kaci tried to scream again but no sound was coming out. She bolted toward the kitchen brushing the shadow figures as she went. They felt like wet cobwebs slapping at her skin.

As she reached for the handle to the door that led into the garage she felt a moment of relief, until something snatched her by the back of her hair. Her neck jerked harshly backwards as her feet slid out from underneath her. As she felt gravity ripping her down she looked up. The Butcher had her, dragging her back towards the stairs.

Then everything went dark