Vritra

When I moved to Gallup, New Mexico at the age of twenty I had no idea how much my life would change. Not long after I had arrived in Gallup I started dating Alex, who was living with his parents, and ended up moving into the motel room I had been renting. After about three months of dating, I mentioned to Alex that we should move in together since it was too cramped for us to live in the motel room. So the next couple of weeks on our days off we would look, but nothing seemed quite right until one day I found a gorgeous two-story home on the outskirts of town.

I automatically called Della the real estate agent that was listed on the for sale sign and gave her the address to the house, then I asked if she could show him the inside of the house. "I'm sorry, sir," Della replied with a shake of her voice, "I'm completely booked for today, but if you would like to take a look around for yourself the code for the key box is four two five five," Then she abruptly hung up the phone. I just stood there in disbelief for a few minutes, then walked up to the porch punched in the code Della had given me to get the key then let myself inside the big beautiful house.

I fell in love with it right as I entered the large entranceway. It had hardwood floors, a cream-type color on the walls, and a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. As I moved into the kitchen it was just as breathtaking with its big open floor plan with an island in the middle, which left enough room for a small breakfast table. I make my way throughout the rest of the house, each room just as beautiful as the last one. When I walk into each of the rooms I make mental notes of where everything will go.

When I finished looking at the house I went straight over to the real estate agent and asked her how much it was for the house knowing it must be out of my price range, but when she told me that it was only a hundred thousand I looked right at her and said. "I'll be right back," As I jumped out of the chair I was sitting in and went across the street to the bank to buy the house. Alex wasn't too happy that night when I told him that I had bought us a house, but his attitude changed when he saw his new home. "Oh my god," He beamed "I just love it, it's so open and inviting I just love it," I just smiled at him with an I told you so look all over my face. "I knew you would, that's why I went ahead and bought it without you, but also for you," I explained. "Welcome home my dear," I say as I give him a hug. "So when do you want to start moving in," I laughed knowing that he would want to start right away, and sure enough, we started moving what little we had over to our new home.

The next day I had to work and Alex was off so he had the task of finding furniture, along with other items we needed for the house. We didn't sleep a wink our first night in our new home, we kept being woken up by scratching noises in the walls to the creaking of the stairs. "It was probably nothing, just our minds playing tricks on us since we aren't used to this house," I suggested during breakfast the next morning even though I didn't believe a word I just said. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Alex accepted. We went about our day decorating our new place. We moved our living room furniture around about five different times until we agreed on one spot. "How about I go make us some lunch after all that hard work," I suggest. "That sounds great and I'll make us something cold to drink," When we go into the kitchen to start making lunch we notice that our kitchen has been rearranged and our chairs stacked on the kitchen table. We just stand there in disbelief, staring at our kitchen not knowing what to think or what to say. "How about we go out for lunch," I whisper to Alex, who nods his head in agreement; he then heads for the front door as I follow him out.

We were nervous about what we would find when we entered the house after we got back, as we walked through the front door everything was as we had left it to our amazement, everything was back the way we had it. "Maybe it was our imagination playing with us from a lack of sleep," Alex offered up while I sat down at the kitchen table with my head in my hands. "Yeah, maybe so," I answered, but I knew that it wasn't our imaginations running away with us, how do I find the proof that I needed to make Alex realize that our new beautiful home is haunted.

The next morning, after Alex had left for work I decided to call in sick. I needed answers to what was happening in our house and I was going to get them one way or another. After what seemed like hours looking at different websites I finally found one called The New Mexico Paranormal Group, who, after giving them the details of what happened the past couple of days promised to be out first thing tomorrow. I don't know if the ghost heard me make that call or what but the activity in the house seemed to pick up. The lights started flickering or went off completely, bedroom doors started banging, and every few hours I would see a black shadow in different parts of the house. The investigators showed up around nine o'clock the next morning. Brandon the founder of the group brought with him his team of investigators Jason, JB, and Ellie a sensitive. They brought with them different equipment to use to record the ghosts such as a recorder to record EVP's which is short for Electronic Voice Phenomena so we can hear what the ghost is saying, along with different kinds of cameras with night vision and also a thermal imaging camera. After showing them all the places we experienced things, they got right down to business so Alex and I left them to their work while we went to the movies for a few hours. We couldn't really enjoy the movie. We kept whispering to each other about what we thought was going on at the house. Thankfully only a few people were in the movie theater with us so we weren't bothering anyone with our chatter. We went straight home when the movie was over, curious to see what the paranormal group had found. The team was loading their equipment up as we pulled into the driveway. They were clearly shaken up by something that had happened while they were investigating. Ellie was sitting in the van with the doors open, I walked over to see if she was okay. I was also hoping she could tell me what they had found out, but as I got closer to her I knew she wasn't in any condition to talk. Her face was pale white, almost like she had been scared to the core.

As I turned around I saw Brandon run out of the house with the rest of their equipment while everyone else jumped into the van. Thankfully Alex pinned him to the ground demanding answers "What happened in there," He asked Brandon sternly. All he could say was. "You two need to move or get you a damn good priest to exorcise this place," Alex let him up off the ground and they sped away as fast as they could leaving Alex and I stupefied. "Now what do we do," Alex asks in almost a whisper. I just shake my head not knowing how to answer him, so I just stand there looking at the house debating if I should go inside or not. After a while of standing there in silence, Alex starts heading inside like he was ready to face this thing head-on. When we make it to the front door, he pauses, then turns around and looks at me "Don't follow me in, let me make sure everything is safe first alright?" He orders. Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw Alex. The coroner ruled his death a heart attack which I knew wasn't correct at all; it was the ghost that had killed him. After that night, though the haunting suddenly stopped almost like Alex was the cause of the haunting, I know he wasn't this ghost had to have been here before we moved in. Come to think of it, that's probably the reason why the realtor didn't want to come to show me the house when I had called her about it.

It took a couple of weeks for me to go out partying again. Being the queen I am, it didn't take me long to find me another boy toy for the night. There wasn't any sign of the ghost while my new boyfriend Brett slept over which was a relief. A month later when Brett moved in with me things started up all over again, this time things have gotten worse than before.

The Saturday afternoon after Brett had moved in we started hearing voices saying. "Leave," But we just ignored it hoping it would stop. "Sparky I don't know how much more of this ghost I can take," Brett exclaimed after one episode. "Why don't we just find a nice quiet place to rent," I just looked at him with concern. "I don't have the money for that all my money is tied up in this house, besides this is my home and I'm not letting some ghost kick me out," I affirmed. Brett just shook his head and walked off saying. "We have got to do something before it kills one of us," I knew he was right, but I was also standing firm in my decision to stay in the house. I called the paranormal team that I had used before to see if they could recommend a demonologist since they were still firm on not coming back to my home after their last visit.

Thankfully, I was given the name of Zane and Cindy McCoy who were renowned demonologists. When I got off the phone with Brandon I called the McCoy's up and set up a time for them to come over. The strange thing was that they requested me not to tell them anything that was going on in the house since Cindy was a psychic if there was something in my home she would be able to pick up on it. They said that they would be over the next evening. Hopefully, the McCoy's could get rid of whatever was in our home before Brett or I ended up dead like Alex.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you Sparky," Brett said as he walked into the living room where I had just gotten off the phone with the demonologists. "It's ok, we're both just stressed out lately," I replied sweetly. "I just gotta hold of a husband and wife demonologist team. The husband is a psychologist and his wife is a psychic,"

Brett sat down on the couch beside me while reaching for my hands. "You did," He asks in almost a whisper. "Did they say that they would come over to help,"

I smiled. "Yes, they will be here tomorrow evening," Brett clapped his hands in anticipation of their arrival. The husband and wife demonologist team showed up around seven o'clock the next evening. When Cindy came into our house, she went right upstairs, then entered our bedroom. "There's a lot of activity inside this home," She told us. "But the darkest entity resides mainly in this room,"

"Who are you," She asked the entity as she stepped further into the bedroom. "What do you want," All of a sudden she jumped out of the room, then motioned us to follow her out of the house. When we all gathered outside, she sat down in one of the garden chairs. "This isn't your normal haunting here," She spoke as she had the wind knocked out of her. "There is a very serious demon here and it has the other spirits trapped here. "Zane walked over to his wife with a bottle of water and handed it to her then turned to Brett and me. "We need to call in our team to record and document everything, only then can we ask the Vatican to do an exorcism on your home,"

"How long does that usually take," I asked, getting really worried that this could take years. Brett looked over at me as if he knew what I was thinking as I asked Zane the question.

"Well to be honest it depends on how bad your haunting is," Zane explains. "If it is just a mild haunting you know things moving every once in a while it could take months, or it could take just a few weeks if the haunting is a life or death situation,"

"Again, we can't be really sure how bad your haunting is until we investigate further," Zane added. "That long really," Brett finally spoke up. "What are we supposed to do until then,"

Cindy finally catches her breath said, "Document everything that happens, it will make less for us to do, also if it gets too bad, call us and we will be here in the meantime, take this Holy Water and wherever the activity is the worst sprinkle some of this while saying the Lord's Prayer,"

"We will be back as soon as we can," Zane says as they leave. Weeks went by with no word from the demonology guests. "I'm sorry Sparks I just can't stay here no more I've had enough of this haunting," Brett said as he pulled out of the driveway one last time. Just as it did when Alex passed away the haunting stopped all at once. I waited another week, still no call from Zane. I decided to finally call him. "Hello, Zane this is Sparky Surrell,"

"Hello, Sparky I hope everything is alright,"

"No, everything isn't ok you ass," Sparky quipped. "Brett left me because he couldn't handle the haunting anymore,"

"I'm so sorry my wife and I have been doing research on your house and surrounding property, along with waiting for our other members to be able to come with us to document your haunting. Well, don't bother because after he left the haunting stopped again,"

"Wait, it stopped after he left again," Zane asked with a little more concern in his voice than normal. "What happened the first time it stopped,"

"My husband Alex had passed away," I shared while wondering what Zane was getting at.

"And how did he pass away, may I ask,"

"The coroner ruled it a heart attack, but I believe the ghost or whatever is in this house killed him,"

"I do believe you are right about that, I'll be at your home first thing tomorrow,"

"Why, I told you that the haunting has stopped, so there is no need for you to bother yourself by coming over,"

"Sparky the haunting isn't over, it's just dormant, waiting for you to bring another person into your home," Zane explained. "It's getting stronger every day so when the next person moves in it will probably be nearly impossible to get rid of,"

All I could say was. "Ok,"

"As I said I will be there first thing in the morning,"

Zane and Cindy showed up bright and early the next morning with a whole crew of people carrying cases of different investigative tools. I pull Zane aside and say. "I told you there isn't anything to find here, it's been quiet since Brett left,"

"I'm sorry, but your demon is still here Sparky, he is just waiting for you to bring someone else you love, into this house," Cindy announced as she walked toward us. "Your demon wants you to be alone and vulnerable, so it can feed off of you,"

"So what do you suppose I do,"

"First, we would like you to contact Brett and ask him to come back at least act like he is moving back in," Zane acknowledged. "We need to get the demon out of his hiding spot so we can get the evidence to get the church here."

"I'm not sure he would be willing to do that, he moved out not because of me, but because of this house," I informed them. "But I will call and see if he is willing to do this favor,"

"Thank you, that is all that I ask," Cindy smiles as she puts a hand on my shoulder as she steps outside. I walk over to the coffee table and grab my phone, then walk outside to make my call to Brett. It rings about seven times, then goes to voicemail. "Hi Brett this is Sparky I really need to talk to you please call me back, it's very urgent," I say then hang up. But as I'm about to put my phone into my shirt pocket it begins to ring. "Hello, Sparky, what did you need that is so urgent," Brett questions me. "I know you don't want to do this, but I need you to come back at least for one night," I beg hoping that he will feel the urgency of the matter. "I have the investigators here and they feel that your being here will bring the demon out of its hiding spot so they can get the evidence they need to send to the church,"

The phone went silent for a few minutes, then I heard. "Ok, I'll be there in a few," Before I could say anything the phone hung up. "I guess he is coming," I say to Cindy who just smiles and nods her head like she knew he was going to come help. I head back inside to relay my message to Zane, who is a little more excited by my news. "That's so great now we can get down to business," He declares. "Now let's get the cameras set up and make sure you have one set up in Sparky's room facing his bed," He then looks over at me and asks. "Is that ok," I nod in agreement, I knew I wasn't going to have any fun tonight it was all going to be strictly business.

Brett showed up about noon with a suitcase "You said to make it seem like I was moving back in right," He noted. I laughed "Right, let's get your bags up to the room," I insisted on picking his bag up. As we walked into the house I gave Zane and Cindy a knowing look for things to get started.

We sat through supper time with not so much as a hiccup we even sat through a movie with nothing happening. But when we were asleep in bed with the investigators did anything happen. I was asleep when I had heard Brett scream. As I turned the light on I saw him getting pulled off the bed he was losing his grip on the headboard. I reached over and grabbed his hands just as he lost his grip, then whatever had a hold of him let go of him. We grabbed our pillows and blankets, then ran downstairs to where the investigators were taking turns sleeping, made us a pallet on the floor, and slept there. Except I couldn't sleep not when the man I loved was just attacked in front of my face. I sat on the chair next to Zane, who was taking his turn watching the cameras. "Did you see what happened in the bedroom," I whispered to him?

He didn't say anything, he just pushed rewind on one of the recorders so I could see everything that had happened. I watched as a black mass came out from inside the closet, then went over to Brett, you could hear the evil laughter as it grabbed his feet and started pulling him off the bed. It would have succeeded if Brett hadn't woken up and grabbed the headboard, but the strangest part was when I reached for Brett I could have sworn I heard the black mass scream in pain. I looked over at Zane, who was already looking at me when it was over. "You heard it scream didn't you," He asked solemnly. "I think I did," I answered, shaking my head.

"You must have hurt it somehow when you grabbed Brett to save him," He explained. "We need to figure out how you did that,"

"How do you expect we do that,"

"We need to get Brett to be in the bedroom by himself," He started explaining his plan, I abruptly cut him off. "There is no way I'm letting the man I love stay in that room or this house by himself not after what I just saw,"

"Why don't you get some sleep and all three of us will talk about it in the morning after we get some much-needed rest," I was tired by now so I laid back down by Brett and fell fast asleep. The next morning Brett was complaining about his ankles hurting so bad that it was hard for him to walk. When I pulled his pant leg up there were finger marks that looked like they had been burnt into his skin. "Ok, your ass is going back to the motel because there is no way you're staying here any longer. I love you too much to see you hurt," I exclaimed. Still looking at the burnt finger marks on his ankle. Just as I stood up Zane and Cindy came into the kitchen where we were talking. "I'm so sorry Brett I didn't pick up on it until it was too late," Cindy apologized. "It's ok Cindy," Brett said. "I don't think there was anything you could have done anyway," Then Brett turned to me and announced, "And you Sparky have no right to tell me that I'm leaving that's for me to decide and if it helps to get rid of it, then I'm staying got it!" With that, he stormed outside to cool off. "Well, I guess your boyfriend is fine with staying here and helping us get rid of your demon," Zane said sarcastically. I just shrug as I go outside to talk to Brett. "Hey, I'm sorry about what I said about you not staying here, I just don't want you hurt again or god forbid dead," I proclaimed. "I care too much about you to see that happen,"

"It's ok Sparky, I shouldn't have stormed out like I did I should have calmly explained that I wasn't leaving you behind again," Brett explained. "I want to help you get rid of the demon so we can be together again," I just shake my head in defeat, then pull Brett over to me and give him a lingering kiss. "Fine, but I want someone with you at all times that is my only condition,"

"That's fine, I'll feel safer with someone with me anyway," Brett laughed nervously.

We went back inside to start setting up for tonight's investigation except for this time we put two cameras in my bedroom one facing the closet and the other facing the bed. That night when we went to bed, we were all prepared for a battle against the demon, except sometime during the night we dropped the ball because when I woke up the next morning Brett was missing he was nowhere in the house. Zane decides to look at the footage from last night. We all gather around behind him watching and what we see frightens us to the core of our souls. The demon came out of the closet like last time, but this time Brett got out of bed and walked into the closet with the demon following behind him. I couldn't believe it. The demon took the man I loved, the man that I promised to protect. Now I've got to figure out how to get him back, but how?