The Indian Exorcist

Chapter 9

Darkness, that's what he could feel and see. Darkness all around him. There was something else too, something whispering in the darkness. Singing in a melody Kabir couldn't understand. Yes, Kabir, that was his name. For a second, he felt as if he had no name.

'Now where am I? Wasn't I just in the principal's office?' he mused, 'the voices, what are even these voices. Where are they coming from?'

They surrounded him now. He couldn't see them, for the matter of the fact, he couldn't see anything. His breath fastened, 'Did I go blind?' before he could have a full blown panic attack he calmed himself down. There was no practical reason for him going blind. Come to think of it, where was he. He couldn't feel his surroundings at all, everything was plain to his touch, there was no smell. Kabir wasn't even sure he was on standing right now, or floating.

"He...is..." a small voice whispered, somewhere around him, it was gruff as if the speaker's tongue had been scrubbed with sandpaper. Kabir whirled around. Trying to find a person or someone, anyone in this land void of senses.

A sudden pressure developed behind his eyes, it felt as if someone was reaching inside him and squeezing his eyes. He tried to fight the pressure, tried to save his eyes but the pressure was just too much. The pressure built up to a crescendo, somewhere he was surprised that his eyes hadn't popped like a water balloon till now. Then he heard it, the pop. Everything went white after that.

Kabir felt he could move his eyelids. Opening them slowly, it was like weightlifting but with just your index fingers. His eyes opened up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He groaned, every ache in his body was amplified. 'Why does it hurt so much? God I can't even feel my toes'

His ears were still buzzing. Unsure of how he ended up here, he turned over to his side, away from the door. That was when he heard it, behind him.

"...exorcist here."

Kabir stopped his struggle with his bedsheet. The buzzing in his ears was fading, but not fast enough for his liking. The light from the doorway blinded him for a second. He squinted his eyes to see the blurry figure leaning against the door.

"What did you say?" Kabir asked.

"I said, I never though I'd find another exorcist here. Not as young as you anyway." The blurry figure replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kabir kept a calm exterior but inside he was sweating. His heart beat fastened. It wasn't showing but his hands were shaking. Good thing they were on the bed.

"But I think you do. I know you do, because we're the same." The blurry figure raised his hand.

Kabir's vision cleared, the person standing in front of him was the same guy who had been standing outside the principal's office. His arm was stretched out in front of him as if offering Kabir an apple.

With a flick of his fingers, pink flames engulfed his hand. Kabir drew in a sharp breath, his heart almost stopping for a second. In a small voice he said, "I thought I was the alone." Tears threatened to break his eyes, and his throat was starting to hurt. 'I am not alone. I'm not alone, not alone anymore. Not alone...'

"I'm sorry it took me time to reach here." The person said, "but now that I'm here, everything is going to be fine."

"I uh..." Kabir choked up, "um are you real?"

The man cocked his head back and laughed. Kabir turned red and his cheeks flushed warmly. 'Note to self, try regaining your senses before you try to talk.'

"I have been asked if I am the devil, or something equivalent of but never have I ever been questioned on my reality. Yes, to answer your question; I am real."