Insane?

Chapter 28:

*SOPHIA'S POV:

"This no time for some ugly joke." Mom croaked, trying to control her breathing. My hands covered my mouth as I broke away from the table.

"It's not a joke. I'm- I'm sorry. Sit down and let me explain." MeMe calmly replied, going into the kitchen.

"You murdered your own husband? My father?"

"Amanda, get water and sit down."

"You-"

"Amanda, listen!"

Mom and I followed the woman into the kitchen, staring as three glasses were transferred from the cabinet to the table. Water then filled them to the brim with the help of a pitcher. We all sat down, clutching our cups to the point where our knuckles were white. I'm about to tell you a story, MeMe started, and you need to just listen to me. It's unbelievable to many but it still holds true. Keep an open mind, she demanded. A deep breath started her off.

"Everyone has ancestors, obviously. People who lived way, way back and dealt with things we can't even fathom in today's society. In a particular time period, our ancestors were nomads. They traveled all over trying to find the right places to settle for a bit. I mean, they were everywhere. But like a lot of the nomads at the time, they got tired of the constant instability. Finally finding a small place outside of the country, they accepted the idea of urbanizing. Changing their way of life was challenging at first, but with the help of friendly townspeople, they managed.

"Everything was going well. The weather was stable, the crops were growing, and everyone got along. That is until strange things started occurring. The girls of the town, young girls around your age, Sophia, began disappearing. No one could figure out where they were going or why. It wasn't normal behavior at that time. After a few days, though, they started turning up dead. Chaos erupted within the community. No one knew who or what was killing these girls in order to stop it. No matter how much precaution or protection was used, they dropped like flies. One by one,"

"Now our ancestors were quite observant people. Great problem solvers. It was one day where your how-ever-great-grandfather noticed something odd with the next-door neighbors' girl. He looked into it—don't ask me how—and found out what had been doing the damage."

"What was it?" I interrupted.

MeMe sighed, closing her eyes and squeezing her hands together. "They call it the Noken. It comes from the Latin word 'nocens' meaning wicked."

"Noken?" Mom questioned.

"He's an ancient spirit-"

"He? It's specific?" I asked.

"Apparently so. His backstory is one I'm unfamiliar with, but it goes along the lines of an executed serial killer who came back from the dead to haunt more victims. Your ancestor must have read it somewhere in ancient writings. Anyways, it was determined that it was this spirit causing the deaths of these villagers. He was possessing them almost, causing immense pain and suffering to feed his monstrous appetite. With enough strength, their souls were ripped from their bodies and taken to hell with him. Though I keep saying spirit, I should say demon. His intentions are nothing short of evil."

"You're not saying-"

"Please, Sophia, let me finish."

I took a sip of water, hoping this wasn't going where I thought it was.

"He contacted the townspeople about it. Many of them had heard of such spirit and agreed fully. Your ancestors had recently studied this kind of matter after settling with a Native American tribe. To stop this misfortune, a silver bullet was needed."