THE UNDERTAKER and other Macabre Tales

PROOF PART II

After a moment of awe and silence, Arthur began to laugh "That's what you've been doing? That's why you've brought us here? Ward, that's preposterous, how do you possibly expect to do that? There are so many problems with that theory, I don't even know where to begin."

Ross chimed in as well "I have to agree, Ward. What are you going to do, get a ouija board and try and film it? If it was that easy, it'd have been done already."

"Oh, let the man explain himself," Fernanda said "We've come here to hear him out, let's hear him out."

Ward remained calm. He'd obviously been expecting opposition. "Precisely, where to begin. But I think, if you permit me to finish, you might change your tune, Arthur. May I?"

Arthur waved his hand, a signal for Ward to continue. He'd hear what Ward had to say. But he was going in a skeptic. He'd approach this from an analytical lens, that was how he approached everything. He was curious, he couldn't deny that. But he was also unsure about why he was here. A theologist. That made sense. A psychologist? That too, was logical. Psychology had often been linked to the study of mental illness and what believers claimed to be "Demonic Possession". But a linguist? What was Ward's game? Clearly there was a reason, and Arthur was determined to figure it out.

Ward shuffled his papers again. "Now. I asked myself, how do I begin? Where do I start? I knew that I had to focus on possession, as studying a possessed victim, or several victims, was the only way I was going to get the proof I needed. I debated for a time trying to summon a possession, but there are many problems with that idea. How to go about it? What if it didn't work? Once that was ruled out, there was only one other option. I had to find someone who was already possessed."

"That's what you've been doing for the past few months? Searching the world for a possessed person?" Ross asked.

"Yes."

"And were you successful?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. The reason I've invited you here tonight is because you are all experts in fields that touch upon the idea of possession. Theology. Psychology. And the gift of tongues." When he said the gift of tongues, he motioned towards Arthur. Arthur wasn't sure if gift was really the right word, he spoke eight languages, and had studied for years to get to where he was. And that didn't explain what he was doing here. He still didn't know what foreign languages had to do with Ward's experiment. He probably just wanted him to translate something. Some recording or something Ward had made in his travels. Typical, Arthur thought, Ward could have at least filled him in on what he'd be doing.

Ward continued, "Before I get to the denouement, I want to work through my thought process with you. Ms. Victor, you may not believe in demons, but you do believe in mental illness, and the two are closely related. What are the characteristics often associated with possession?"

"Typically those who are said to be "possessed" are weak minded individuals, who suffer from mental illness or trauma such as sexual abuse. They can often be substance abusers, or have explored the occult as well, if you believe in that sort of thing."

"Thank you," Ward said "Precisely. These are the traits I was looking for. And possession as we like to think of it, is more accepted in other areas of the world. My travels took me to mental institutions all across the US, to Brazil, to Eastern Europe, and finally to Africa. But it was back here, in Georgia, that I finally found what I was looking for. An individual who was possessed with a demon. She had all the characteristics of what I was looking for."

"And so what did you do?" Ross leaned forward in his seat. "I admit, Ward, you've piqued my curiosity."

"What I did...was I brought her here. That's why I've invited you to my home, so that you could see what I've seen with your own eyes. And with our multiple opinions, perhaps we can finally draw some attention and validity to what I've set out to do."

Arthur could hardly believe it. There are some moments in life when you can't help but think to yourself, How did I get here? This was one of those moments. He never in his wildest dreams had imagined that he would ever be part of a council to judge a demonic possession, and yet here he was. And he still didn't know why.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I still don't understand why I'm here." He couldn't take it any longer. The question just slipped out of his lips.

"Ross, perhaps you can enlighten Arthur. What do linguists and demons have to do with each other?"

Ross leaned forward in his seat "One of the ways that you can tell someone is possessed is by their speaking another language, a language the host doesn't know how to speak. Didn't you ever go to Sunday school?"

"Oh, come on Ward, you can't be serious. You brought a mental patient here? How did you possibly get the rights to do that? That seems cruel. They should be in an institution." Fernanda shuffled uncomfortably in her seat.

"Her family is here with her," Ward responded "They agree that she needs help, but they refuse to institutionalize. I managed to convince them that they had the opportunity to do some good here. Perhaps bringing light to this issue, they'd be better able to help those who suffer from a similar problem in the future."

Ross raised his hand. "Question. So you brought us here, to, what? Perform an exorcism? If that's the case, we might as well call it a night."

"No, we're not going to perform an exorcism. Our goal is to prove or disprove that this individual is suffering from a demonic possession. You've studied the occult, the rituals and histories of various cultures. Your expertise on the matter could be extremely useful."

"Yeah, I studied it," Ross quipped "I never said I believed it."

"Well, perhaps tonight will change your mind." Ward stood. "Would you like to meet the patient?"

For a moment no one answered. Arthur wasn't sure he knew the answer. Part of him was excited. He could feel anticipation building in his chest. But that was natural. That was his body, a natural reaction. The other part of him was skeptical. But curiosity was winning. If it was a big joke, then he'd soon find out. But he was in too deep to turn back now.

"Let's get on with it." The words escaped his lips. He couldn't stop them. His loose tongue had gotten him into trouble before. He hoped he wouldn't regret it. 

CONTINUED IN NEXT PART...