Torment

Chapter Nineteen

I vulgarly opened the Williams's door and slowly walked past every room downstairs. My eyes quickly scanned the rooms for any sign of life.

That's when I heard shuffling footsteps upstairs. I made my way upstairs. I was sure to make them know I was coming for all of them by stomping my feet on the steps.

"Andrea, Matt, Katy…" I lowered, scraping on the door with my long, bloody nails. "I know you're in there." I continued. "Let me in." I started.

Silence.

I began banging on the door. I heard fearful screams on the other side. "Norah, why are you doing this?!" I heard Katy's yell, but it sounded distant. "Oh, but Katy, it's not me who did this. You did this, all of you did this. You welcomed me into your family, you accepted me, and then, when you got bored of me, you threw me away!" I boomed and the door flung open.

I saw Matt leaning out over his window, a long rope made of bed sheets being gently let down. Katy and Andrea were out of sight.

With my powers I flung him across the room. His head banged against the wall and the rope slid out the window. Screams followed.

"Matt!" I heard Katy scream from outside. When I looked out the window, the two stared up at me in fear. Andrea was laying on the ground, her foot twisted and Katy was holding onto her, trembling with fear.

"Ahh." Matt quacked, grasping onto his head, and slowly lifting himself up. "Norah, you…" He looked at me, his forehead covered in blood. "You gotta let them go. You gotta let Hannah go." He tried.

"That's all you care about? Hannah?" I began, and with that I reached my hand out to him and twisted my arm. My arm bent and twisted at every possible joint, breaking the entire arm bone. "Stop!" He yelled, grasping onto his head. "Or what?" I responded.

"Norah, this isn't you. You're a good person." He began. "And you're not." I lowered and with my other arm I raised him up into the air and slowly approached him.

He suddenly grinned at me. "That's where you're wrong, because in stories like these, the good guys always win." He smirked.

I looked at him puzzled, when, "Mom, now!" He yelled and his mom suddenly entered the room and threw me with petroleum gas.

Suddenly Matt landed on the ground. I raised my hand and tried flinging them both to their doom, but I couldn't. "Salt circle. You were so consumed by hate that it led you to your own doom." He smugly turned to me. "You will never harm my family again!" Winona lowered before flicking a match and throwing at me. "Nooo!" I wailed. I cried, I screamed and they watched.

Matt just stared blankly at me. His mind deep in thought. He wasn't mourning me. He looked relieved, they both did, as if I wasn't a member of the family, as if Matt and I never were and all those promises and sweet, sweet whispers meant nothing.

The fire pricked into Hannah's skin until it reached the depths of my soul and burnt me. I felt pain, horrible, treacherous, physical pain.

My demonic cries rang out through the house until it rumbled along and the fire spread throughout the whole room.

Winona and Matt ran out. I tried running after them, but I couldn't. By the time the salt circle burnt away completely, I was too weak to go after them. I landed onto the ground and the world went completely dark…

When I opened my eyes again, I was strapped to an uncomfortable bed and a man wearing a pastoral gown looked down at me. He told me that Matt was dead. He told me that I was a demon. He lied to me on many accounts and I let it happen.

The other one threw me with holy water, even though I admitted on many accounts that I wasn't a demon. I even told them my story, but it was to no avail. They only saw evil, so I only gave them evil.
The other one threw me with holy waste again, it didn't hurt me though, but it reminded me of the petroleum gas and the stings of the fire. It was as if the gas was still on me and the water just lit the spark like the matchstick did. So I screamed in agony and I killed the other pastor.

The struggle and mumbling of biblical scriptures tormented me. Nobody would hear me. The straps didn't physically harm me, they felt metaphorical. It was as if they reminded me that I was never going to be free, that those who wronged me would always win. Like the real good people would always lose.

I gave in. I hid behind Hannah's face.

Later that day, after the pastor had left and the nuns had cleaned me, the pastor approached me in the hallway. He told me to keep Norah a secret. He told me to tell the people that Norah was evil, that she was a demon, hell's most disgusting creature.

Norah's real story would never get told. It was like I never existed. Like I was the villian when all I wanted was to be seen and heard again. I've been gone and tormented for so long. All I wanted was for someone to love me again if at all. But even when I opened up, did dangerous things and lost myself to an anger created by the influence of the hatred and jealousy around me, I still wasn't good enough. I still became a monster, an unnatural thing…

I still became the tormentor, forever tormented.