Scary ghost stories and stuff (1)

Exorcism

"I exorcise you, Most Unclean Spirit! In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Be uprooted and expelled from this Creature of God..."

Dust flew into my eyes as gusts of unholy wind tore apart the cellar. Father Malloy's purple stole seemed to wrap tighter and tighter around his neck. He managed to rip it off while choking out another command:

"All-powerful God, pardon all the sins of your unworthy servant. Give me constant faith and power so that, armed with the power of Your holy strength, I can attack this cruel evil spirit..."

Father Malloy doused the boy in holy water. He unsheathed an ancient relic, a dragon serpentined around a cross, blessed by Saint George himself. The smell of burnt flesh infiltrated the room as he pressed the cross against his forehead.

"Go away, Seducer! The desert is your home. Be humiliated and cast down. For even though you have deceived men, you cannot make a mockery of God ... He has prepared Hell for you and your angels."

The subject vomited on the Father's white robes. The parents of the subject, withered and weak from the horrors they have faced, dropped to their knees.

"Give me your name!"

Countless voices screamed in countless languages. Father Malloy leaned in as the boy's bloody eyes stared him down. A whisper cut through the air. A name, more powerful and malevolent then any the Father had ever heard, dug into our heads without being spoken aloud.

The Father recoiled momentarily. Then I saw him deftly pull out a syringe, lunge at the boy and plunge it into his side.

The boy collapsed. Father Malloy placed it back into the pocket facing away from the unaware parents, who fell to their knees in sorrow. He informed them that the body must be cremated immediately. We carried the body away as they sobbed and held each other.

The car ride was silent. As an acolyte, it was not my place to question the Father's deceit, only to observe and learn in the hopes of one day replacing the Father as one of The Ten.

Father Malloy kept his silence all the way from the car, to the entrance of the heavily guarded facility, and finally up to a thick wooden door marked by strange sigils I'd never seen before.

Minutes passed. Finally, I broke the silence, "Father, what is on the other side of this door?"

Father Malloy paused, choosing his words carefully. "Do you know why I joined the clergy? Why I began fighting this eternal struggle against hell?"

I shook my head. "No."

His gaze hardened, resolute. "Knowledge."

"Father? I don't understand."

"Why exorcise these demons back to the pits of hell when there is so much that can be learned from them. As with all creatures under God, their secrets can be bought."

I barely saw the flash of the syringe before feeling its sting.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain, my child."