Hey all,

This is a thread I created for my new serial novel "The Friend". Those of you who know my work know that I tend to stop the story right in the middle. Well...This time its different. This story will be taken right to the very end. I will try to write a new update every week. These updates will be called "Parts". OKay, lets get started!




Sarah Johnson knelt by her bed deep in her nightly prayers as the sun began drifting below the horizon. The ominous shades of orange and yellow danced around the room, creating eerie shadows on the dark walls. Sarah crossed herself quickly and jumped into the bed, eager to pull the soft, warm covers over her body.

It was late October, and the temperature rose and fell regularly in that part of the country. Sarah was used to the wild fluctuations in weather, and eagerly awaited the first snowfall. Building a snowman using the fresh powder of the first snowfall was a Johnson family tradition as far back as she could remember. Unlike other teenagers her age, she tried diligently to maintain a great relationship with her parents. Though it was rocky at times, her relationship with her parents was one of the few things she could be proud of. When and if that disintegrated, she knew she would be left with nothing but her purposeless soul. Then a new friend entered her life.

Sarah’s parents had always considered her a beautiful girl with a brilliant mind. In fact, almost everyone did. Her long black hair and deep red lips were the perfect accents to her pale white skin. Her dark brown eyes were deep and mysterious like an open grave awaiting its occupant. Though she was quite petite, she was as strong as any man. She had trained her body regularly since the age of five, after being beat up by a group of ‘popular’ kids. However, there was one major difference between her and every other teenager in her age group. She had an imaginary friend.

Nathan was his name. Sarah believed deeply that Nathan was, and forever would be, her only friend and she tried hard everyday to keep it that way. Whenever someone with the same interests as Sarah would come along, Nathan convinced her that he was the only one who could truly fulfill her need for friends. Sarah eventually stopped trying to make friends, and even went so far as to not make any contact with other people, besides her parents. Even that was beginning to dwindle, and it worried her parents deeply.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had considered every option including a psychologist and an intervention, but they quickly dismissed the ideas. They didn’t want to interrupt what was, for many years, the perfect parent-child relationship. Besides, the way they figured it, the problem was only a stage that would quickly pass. Unfortunately, it did not.

Sarah drifted out of consciousness as the room around her faded into a black abyss.
“Goodnight Nathan.” She said, her voice barely audible.
“Goodnight.” Came the voice from within her mind.




“Sarah.”
“Sarah.”

Sarah slowly opened her heavy eyelids at the sound of a distant voice calling her name. It didn’t sound like the sweet, loving voices of her parents. In fact, it sounded just the opposite; plain, uncaring, emotionless. Unsure of her whereabouts, Sarah sat up in her cozy bed and examined her environment. The silent, still darkness of the night filled the room, with only a small sliver of yellow light entering from beneath the door. Through the darkness, she could make out her familiar dresser, toys, and self-painted artwork taped to her walls.

“Sarah.”
“Sarah.”

The voice called again, only this time, it sounded much more urgent; as if it were pleading. Sarah was confused. The voice was definitely coming from within the house. She quickly slipped out of her bed and walked across the cold, hard floor. As she opened the door, light flooded her dark room and illuminated the items that had given her comfort so many times before. Her knees collapsed as she took in the scene before her.

There, in the family room of the suburban house, laid her two parents in pools of their own blood. Sarah’s mother lay prostrate on the floor, her head crushed to a red and black pulp. A lone eyeball sat next to the sofa where her father laid. His hair had been torn out, leaving his scalp bleeding horribly. His lips were cut, hanging from his mouth by small strands of skin and fat. Even worse, a large shard of broken glass was impaled in his stomach, allowing blood and a yellow liquid to ooze out and onto the floor.

“Oh my God!” She screamed.

Sarah hurriedly jumped up from the floor, adrenaline pumping to every part of her body. She ran down the hallway and out the front door, leaving it wide open as she ran in the cold nighttime air. Thinking quickly, she ran toward the town church which was only a block away. Sarah could feel the rocks in the cement cutting holes in the bottom of her feet as she drunkenly ran toward the church. Even though she knew the priest would not be there at that time of night, she felt it would be safe, or safer than her house.

The church doors swung open, and then just as quickly slammed shut; the noise echoing loudly through the small church house. A few rows of candles were the only illumination in the twenty pew church. The flickering light created random shadows on the life-size crucifix occupying the front of the church. Sarah walked slowly down the aisle, tears streaming down her pale face and onto the red carpet. The color only reminded her of the horror she had just witnessed. The parents whom she had loved and cherished had been killed. The question in Sarah’s mind was who. Who would have, or could have killed her parents? Most of the town’s population were either over seventy years old, or crippled, or both.

She sat in the front pew, wailing loudly.

“Why?” She screamed, facing the crucifix.
“Why’d you take my parents away?”

As she sat, blaming God for her parent’s deaths, she was reminded of the voice she had heard before she discovered them. Could it be, she thought? The voice sounded awfully like that of her only friend, Nathan. She called out to him, desperately in need of someone, anyone, to talk to.

“Nathan, please, I need you.”

Suddenly, a dark figure sat next to Sarah in the church. She leaned over and gave him an unsure glance. He had changed since she last saw him. He had grown darker, even more sinister looking. Nathan reached down and grabbed Sarah’s hand, gently massaging it. He used his other hand to dry her tears, though they just kept flowing.

“Do not worry.” He said. “I will be with you. I am always with you.”

With that, Nathan stood up from the pew and stepped in front of Sarah. She looked up in bewilderment as he rose his hands toward the ceiling and cried out against her God.”

“You shouldn’t have prayed to him.” He screamed.
“He is a liar; a hypocrite. God, my daughter, is dead.”

very chilling !!! very descriptive !
thank-you very much-i love how you write !

when , is PART 3 coming . I am afraid that i might not get addicted to this.

I'm aiming at a Friday or Saturday completion of Part 3.

Should have it posted by Monday of next week!!

very good. creepy...

Part 3

Sarah watched in sheer terror as Nathan screamed fiercely about her devotion to God. She was stunned at his change in personality. He had once been a very mild tempered, even Jesus-like friend. Now he was more like Satan.

“Please Nathan, your scaring me. Stop it!” She cried out, but he would not stop.

“One day my father will rule the world. Then you will bow before him and accept his mark.”

“Please!” She screamed reaching out to grab Nathan.

In the back of her mind, Sarah realized that Nathan was only a figure of her imagination. She figured that the words he was saying were just some sort of repressed feelings, deep within her sub-conscious. She would have to plead with God to forgive her.

Even though she realized he was only a mental image, she couldn’t help but continue to reach out. Her soft, silky hand grasped onto the dark, rough clothing of Nathan. She quickly pulled it back, denying that what she felt was real. Was she really that crazy? She couldn’t help but mull over the thought. One last touch would be required to prove to herself she was not crazy.

While Nathan continued to cry out blasphemies against God, Sarah reached out to touch him again. This time, she tried to clear her mind of all thoughts. Eyes closed, fingers extended, she grasped onto Nathan’s dusty pants. They were real. Nathan was real. Her mind was in utter confusion.

“Oh my God! Nathan…y...you’re real.” She whispered.

Nathan quickly glanced down at her, smiled devilishly, and looked around the church. As he turned his head, the candles around the church began to blow out one by one, as if a fast wind had swept through. The holy place was flooded with darkness. Sarah could no longer see Nathan, and was beginning to breathe ecstatically. She was genuinely scared and began screaming, though she knew it was useless. The place was deserted, and the priest would be sound asleep that time of night.

“Help! Help!” She continued screaming.

Nathan was becoming annoyed. He lifted a powerful hand and swiped it through the air, bringing it down hard on Sarah’s face. She was thrown out of her seat and into the main aisle. Nathan walked slowly to Sarah, as she tried to pick herself up from the floor. He had torn a small gash in her cheek, allowing blood to trickle from the wound. Sarah was able to push herself up onto her knees and sobbed, trying to stop the blood now pouring from her cheek.

“Pl...please. I...”

Nathan kicked her in the chest. Sarah was nearly thrown to the ceiling of the church, then came crashing back down onto the alter in the front. The altar had been broken in two, and splinters of wood penetrated Sarah’s flawless skin. She lay there unconscious as Nathan walked up the short steps and onto the alter. He lifted Sarah’s head from the debris and stroked her soft, dark hair. Nathan knelt close to her ear and whispered.

“Pray God protects you now.”

Nathan rose and raised his arms out, in the shape of a cross. A fierce, bright fire raged from the floor, and engulfed him completely. Then it quickly engulfed the Unconscious Sarah. Spinning as if it were a twister of fire, it moved throughout the church, charring all religious symbols and statues. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the fire left, returning through the floor. Sarah lay alone on the alter, dense smoke and debris filling the desecrated church.

hackle raising !!! how realistic you write-like i am there !!!
very very good !!! i'm on edge--♥
thank-you !!!

oooh! very good! write more!

Very good stuff. Can't wait for more!

Its great .But it would scare me more if u put SOME non fictional matter in it too.

Non-fictional items relating to Saten, possesion, and the catholic church are going to be added in Part 4. It will be, by far, the longest part.

I will give you one hint...

We will meet the priest of the church in Part 4, and let me just say that he is not what he appears.

THANKS FOR THE INPUT GUYS!!

Part 4

Sarah was woken by a cold splash of water that fell on her face. Once her eyes had focused and she had fully regained consciousness, she glanced around the bare room. Where am I? She thought as she slowly turned her head to look around. The large room seemed nearly empty with the small amount of furniture it contained. All that she saw was a bookcase, desk, lamp, chair, and the bed she was laying in. She looked up and saw the wrinkled, kind face of an old man. He was probably in his seventy’s, she thought. His hair was white and looked as if it hadn’t been combed in years. His eyes looked soft and gentle, yet concerned and worried. The man slowly put his hand on the ground and lifted himself to stand from his kneeling position at the side of the bed.

“It’s okay, my child.” He said with a wide smile.

Sarah noticed a white collar around the man’s neck. It contrasted with his black clothing, tucked in and well ironed. He was obviously a clergyman. As soon as she had seen the collar, she jumped up from the bed and threw her arms around the man’s neck. Her breathing became erratic, and the man quickly pushed her away and laid her back on the soft bed.

“Nathan…” She said, finally able to form a word. “Nathan did something to me. I think he’s in me.”

“My child” replied the man in a soft voice, “he could not be inside you. You are in the house of God. No demon is allowed in God’s dwelling place.”

Sarah shrugged off the thought that her imaginary best friend had possessed her somehow. Perhaps it was all just a dream, she thought. Sarah quickly remembered that her parents were dead. She flew up again from the bed and laid her head on the priests shoulder, wailing.

“My parents are d…” She tried to finish her sentence, but the priest finished it for her.
“…Dead. Yes, my child. I’m deeply sorry.”

Sarah continued to weep for nearly an hour until she was finally able to get up and stand on the cold tiled floor. She hung her head low, while her eyes traced the patterns in the tiles.

“You know, the police can’t find out about my parents.” She said, while muffling tears. “They’ve been in the house for a day already. I think its time we get them out of there.”

The priest shivered at the thought of dragging the bloody bodies from the defiled house.

“Sarah, perhaps we should leave the grunt work to the police. After all, they know what they’re doing.”

“Yeah sure Father, they know what they’re doing. They’re going to arrest me, no doubt. I’m was their only child and the only person they truly associated with.”

Sarah’s eyes welled up and beads of salty tears rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the floor.

“My parents.” She Squealed. “Oh God why….”

Sarah was brought to her knees by an intense pain in her lower abdomen. She had had the feeling before, and knew what was to happen. Within seconds, black fluids began dribbling out of her throat as she was thrown onto her back by some invisible force. Just before she lost consciousness, she watched as two arms, a body, and two legs crawled out of her mouth. It was Nathan, and he was darker than ever.

Sarah awoke again by the refreshingly cool water from the priest’s tap.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, my child. Shall we go dispose of your parents bodies?”

“Did you see him!?” Sarah screamed, jumping up from the bed. “He was here, you must have saw him!”

“Sarah! Sarah, calm down. There was no one here. It’s been just you and me for two days.”

“No way. Then how did I end up unconscious when I said G…” Sarah did not want to say God’s name again. “Well, how did I end up unconscious?”

The priest walked over to her beaten body and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

“So.” He said, looking straight into her eyes. They were almost jet black and seemed like a bottomless pit. What happened to his gentle eyes? “You know.”

“Know what? What are you talking about?” The priest would not answer her. He moved his hands and walked over to a small closet. Reaching into a pocket in his priest outfit, he pulled out a rusty old key. He slid it into the lock and turned it, the lock making a loud click. From inside the darkness, he pulled out what looked like a large stick. But when he turned, she nearly fell onto the floor in fear. It was a hunting rifle, and the priest was pointing it directly at her.

“If I were him, I wouldn’t have kept you alive this long. But he seems to think you will be useful.”
Sarah was too afraid to talk, but wondered who the crazed priest was talking about. Who wanted her kept alive? Sarah scooted herself on the floor toward a large window. If the priest tried to shoot her, she would at least try to get out of the window.

Slowly the priest stepped toward her and bent down, picking her up by her armpits. He was astoundingly strong, considering that she weighed over one-hundred and fifty pounds. He lifted her nearly two feet off the floor and carried her toward the bed once again. Though she kicked and screamed and bit and scratched, he seemed to be unaffected.

The priest laid Sarah onto the soft bed and quickly smacked her head with the butt of his rifle. An extreme pain shot through Sarah’s head and her ears began to ring. She began crying, but the priest just turned her over onto her stomach so her face was engulfed by the down pillow. He handcuffed her arms behind her back and lifted her up by the cuffs, nearly pulling her arms out of their sockets. She screamed and writhed in pain as the evil priest opened another door in the room which revealed a dark stairway. He swung Sarah once, then twice, then finally let go. She flew down through the air, which changed from the fresh air of the room, into a musty old air that seemed like a damp basement.

Sarah hit the floor with a thud and she felt every bone. The wind was knocked out of her, and she swore she had broken a rib. As she slowly regained her senses, she heard the old priest call out to her.

“Hey Sarah, don’t worry, you’re in good hands. Besides, Nathan will be with you soon!”

--Part 5 Coming Soon--

very good. can't wait for the next part!

OMG. So. How long do we have to wait until Part 5? You're so talented, 75! Keep it up, bud!!

i think this was the best part till now.

you have awesome depth!!!--beautiful !!!
i feel as if i'm there--how chilling-i l♥ve it !!!

♫ ♪ ♥ ♪ ♫ happy birthday to you ♫ ♪ ♥ ♫ ♪

niiiiice. keep up the great work.

sorry everyone, about the delay in the posting of the next part. I have a research paper due in my composition class, so that takes priority.

Anyway, you can expect the next part, Part 5, sometime this week!!

THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING!

Part 5

Sarah struggled to lift herself from the cold, dusty floor, but her effort was foiled by her restraints. She simply lay where she hit the floor and slowly glanced around the dark basement. It was cold, wet, and the air smelled like soured milk. The only windows in the room were covered with moldy wooden panels. Suddenly, out of the darkness, a large figure began walking toward Sarah.

“Sarah, my friend, I am glad to see you.” Said the dark figure.

“Who the hell are you?” Sarah screamed, urgently struggling to release herself from her harnesses.

“You know who I am. I am the being inside you. I am your longtime friend.”

“Nathan? You’re not real, I made you up!”

“Not real? Why… If I weren’t real, could I have done what I did to you in my church?”

“Your church?” Sarah was suddenly bombarded with thoughts. “What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said!” He screamed. “That is my church!”

“That is the church of God.” Sarah said, her face nearly buried in the cement of the floor.

“b****!” Nathan screamed, causing Sarah to jerk in fear. “That is my church, the church of Lucifer.”

Nathan quickly cocked his right leg and released it, throwing Sarah halfway across the basement. She was nearly knocked unconscious again, which would have been a great relief that time. Nathan moved slowly into the light, as shadows played across his goat-like face.

“Sarah. You are lucky to be in this situation. You will be protected from my wrath.”

Sarah began coughing up blood violently, but was still able to talk shakily.

“Protected? You just kicked me across the basement.” She screamed.

“Ha! That is nothing compared to what the world will witness soon.”

Suddenly, the basement door open and light flooded the dark room. It nearly blinded Sarah, so she quickly looked away. Through the doorway came the old priest, still dressed in his black outfit, only this time he was wearing a pentagram necklace around his neck. As soon as the priest appeared, Nathan turned and ran full speed toward Sarah. She flinched and fell to the floor as Nathan’s body turned into a substance almost like water vapor, and made its way into Sarah’s mouth.

Sarah was thrown around the room, hitting hard surfaces and scraping patches of her skin to shreds. Blood trickled everywhere as she began twitching. Nathan quickly possessed her, she knew that. But this time it was different. She felt as if she had lost control of her body. Her self was quickly pushed to her subconscious, while Nathan’s sadistic spirit inhabited her conscious. This time, he was ready to do some damage. All Sarah could do was hope and pray within the safe house called her subconscious. Her view grew dark and her mind slipped away as Nathan took control.

Sarah’s opened her eyes at the day’s first sunlight. She was in her own bedroom, in her own bed. Could it have all been a dream? Just when she got to thinking the horrible ordeal she had went through the night before was a dream, she realized she could not move her arms, legs, or even her mouth. From deep within her being came a deep, dark voice. It was Nathan.

“Good morning, my child.” He said in an almost sweet voice.

“Get out of me!” She screamed, but she realized she was not moving her lips. Her voice was coming from within her unconscious.

“I’m terribly sorry, Sarah. I need your body for a little while.”

At that, Nathan moved her arms and legs so she was standing up from her bed, dressed in the same bloody outfit she had worn the day before. He guided her body out the door and down the hall to the living room. There, in the middle of the floor, were the rotting corpses of her parents. The blood around their bodies had turned a dark black, and maggots swam in deep gashes on both bodies. Though she was not in control of her body, Sarah could still use her senses, though at the moment, she wished she could not. The smell was horrible.

Nathan then guided her to a sharp knife sitting on the coffee table toward the side of the room. She picked it up and examined it. Blood and small bits of skin and hair covered the once shiny blade. Sarah tried with all her being to stab herself with the knife to end her horrible life, but Nathan would not allow it. Instead, he guided her hand with the knife, to her inner thigh and sliced through her skin, causing blood to trickle out.

“Oh my God!” She screamed from within. The pain was too intense, but she could not pass out. Oh how lovely it would be to die right now, she thought.

“Now Sarah, I will use you for my bidding.”

With that, Nathan guided her out the front door and into the world, still carrying the bloody knife. She knew there would be bloodshed.

-- Part 6 Coming Soon --

wowza. That's pure talent -nods-. I'm honestly shaking. eek.

this the kind of thing that i wanted to read.
i am waiting for part 6

Wow guys, thanks. ABOTU, You were shaking? That's the kind of response I want. AWESOME. Your going to love the next few parts then.

EXPECT BLOOD, LOTS OF BLOOD!!

Part 6

Sarah could feel the cool wind rush past her bleeding face, she could hear the sound it made as it sped through her dusty hair. But she was not in control. Instead, a demon that she herself had created was now controlling her every move. What started as a child’s foolish curiosity had turned into a nightmare comparable only to a Hollywood movie. What had she gotten herself into, was the first question that crossed her mind as her helpless body was being led across a busy New York street. Then another question quickly formulated in her mind: What could she do about her situation? She began recalling the foolish act that had brought Nathan into the world in the first place.

It was January fifth, the day before school would resume after Christmas break. Sarah had been curiously exploring the attic of her parent’s suburban house. What she was looking for was an item her parents had told her never to touch. Many times they had told her stories of what would happen if she ever used the Ouija board. How she would not know if the entity she was interacting with was a demon or a lost spirit. Even though she had grimaced at the horror contained in the stories, her childish curiosity had gotten the best of her. She quickly pushed through the mountains of boxes, notebooks, papers, and old magazines. The smell of mildew filled the air as plumes of dust rose from an old crate sitting on the rotting wood floor. Old stinking rags and a few yellow pieces of paper covered a disintegrating box at the bottom of the crate. Sarah slowly lifted the heavy box from its resting place and set it on her lap as she sat on the only clean box in the attic. She lifted the top off the box and set it next to her as she gazed into the old box.

Inside was a wooden board which had become pitted with age, and a small magnifying glass-like tool. On the board was the alphabet and the digits zero through nine. Sarah quickly realized, through descriptions from her parents, that it was the dangerous Ouija board of which her parents had warned. She was both scared, and curious as to its potential power. She quickly replaced all the old rags and papers into the crate, put the lid on the Ouija board box, and quickly ran down the stairs and into her room.

She had only played with the Ouija board once, following the directions on the box. But just that one time brought a world of despair unlike anything she had ever experienced. Right after that night, Sarah was visited by the entity she had contacted. His name was Nathan, and she enjoyed his company. She knew her parents had thought he was an imaginary friend, and she wished to tell them differently, but there was no way she could confess that she had defied their instructions not to play with the board. Then finally, came the morning that she found her parents dead. Now, it had been two days and she was being controlled by the very entity she had contacted. She quickly realized that the entity was not only an evil demon, but was THE evil demon. Nathan was Satan himself.

Sarah found that her body was being led into the Central Library. It was quite busy for that time of day, and the patrons seemed to be in a happy mood. Sarah did not like being controlled by the prince of darkness, but slowly realized that there was nothing she could do. Nathan led her to the service counter and she placed her bloody hands on the counter as the clerk turned around with a smile which quickly faded.

“Oh my God! Honey, are you okay?” Screamed the librarian.

Sarah wanted to open her mouth to scream for help, but she could not. The librarian quickly came from behind the counter and wiped Sarah’s face with a wet cloth. The blood on her face smeared around and some of it came off with the cloth. Nathan obviously hated this, as Sarah could hear him screaming from within her. Just as the librarian turned around to call 9-1-1 on her phone, Nathan pulled the knife from out of Sarah’s corduroy pants and lifted it high above her head. Under Nathan’s control, Sarah’s arm was brought down onto the back of the librarian, and the knife penetrated deeply into her spine, causing blood to spray out onto the floor. The woman screamed as she dropped the phone to the floor and reached for the knife in her back, though she could not grab it. She fell to the floor in convulsions as blood pooled around her shaking body. People around the library were screaming horribly as the woman lay dying in her own blood. When she hit the ground, the knife pushed itself farther in, so that the handle was fully in her body. The end of the knife protruded from her chest and tore open her conservative shirt.

Sarah was screaming inside herself, but could not do anything to shield her already broken mind from the horror she had just witnessed. Though she had no control of her body, her senses were as keen as ever. In the distance, she heard ten, maybe fifteen police cars pull up outside the huge library. Nathan turned Sarah’s head toward the front doors, so that she was no longer staring at the now lifeless body of the librarian. Sarah could hear the police yelling commands to each other, even over the screams, as they took up position about a hundred yards away. A police commander, using a high-powered bullhorn, told the library patrons to file out of the building through any exit, besides the main doors. Nathan quickly raised one of Sarah’s hands, and she felt a huge surge of power flow through her body toward her fingers. Nathan extended her fingers toward the ceiling and a flow of fire as hot as the sun blasted toward the ceiling. The building was quickly burning the ashes from the incinerating flames. The police were being consumed in fire, as were the rest of the patrons, but they were able to fire off a few rounds into Sarah’s chest. Her body was unaffected, besides two or three bullet holes which bled only briefly, but she felt the pain of the wounds. She desperately wished she could cry out in pain, or do anything that might reduce its horrible presence, but she could not.

Nathan led Sarah toward the burning front door, while stepping over the charred remains of the police officers. The centuries old building began imploding in a massive pit of fire. Sarah could feel the searing heat around her as Nathan led her back toward her town on the outskirts of New York. Her body was disfigured almost beyond recognition. Sarah actually dreaded the day or hour that Nathan would leave her. Would she die, as she now hoped, or would she be forced to continue her miserable existence in a charred and mauled body?

-- Part 7 Coming Soon --

Holy crap!!!!!! Scary stuff, bud. Awesome

hey all,

Sorry about the delay in posting the next part. I had it written, but I didn't like how it sounded, or how it developed. Anyway, I am halfway through with a new Part 7, and it should be up by thursday!!

THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING!!

man. not the librarian!

Great stuff. Can't wait til part 7.

Part 7

Since Sarah’s useless body had left New York, she realized that there was nothing she could do to change her grim situation. Bored out of mind and in near constant pain, she decided she would try to get some answers from her parasite.

“Nathan?” She asked, with little emotion.

“Yes, my child?”

“Why did you take me all the way to New York, it was nearly three miles from town?”

“Sarah.” He said, talking not with Sarah’s mouth, but from within her consciousness. “I took you to New York because I had a feud to settle with the library I destroyed. As you know, that library is several hundred years old. Back in 1856, the librarian there gave me her soul in exchange for riches beyond imagination. Do you know who that librarian was?”

Sarah was suddenly intrigued by Nathan’s story. “No, who?”

“That librarian was my priest’s ancestor. Unfortunately, the librarian was murdered, and did not die a natural death. This caused his spirit to remain in the building until his murderer was captured, or until the building was destroyed. I had no choice but to take my priest as a slave until I destroyed the building, and the rest is history.”

Sarah could feel her head turn, and realized that Nathan was watching a truck that had just stopped, and was backing up toward Sarah. When the passenger side door was lined up with her bloody body, the truck stopped and the driver rushed out. He was racing toward her with a towel in one hand and a bottle of ethyl-alcohol in the other. He knelt in front of Sarah and began pouring the alcohol on the towel, while whispering encouragement to the helpless girl. Nathan raised her eyes to the top of the man’s head and raised both arms. He slammed them down onto the trucker’s bare head so hard that Sarah thought she heard the crack of his skull. He fell to the dirt without a sound and laid limp. Nathan bent Sarah’s gashed knee and knelt on the ground next to the dead man, his head bashed in and blood beginning to trickle.

Nathan felt especially vicious as he thought of what he would do to the man’s body, and to Sarah. He placed her hands on the man’s belly button and sunk her fingers into the deep crevasse. With a strong pull, he tore open the stomach, causing blood and flesh to spray into the air. The skin tore easily as fat and blood poured out of his abdomen. Sarah wished she could vomit, but did not have the luxury. She couldn’t close her eyes either. All she could do was watch and wait. Nathan dove her hands into the man’s slimy intestines and pulled them out, ripping them away and tossing them aside. Then, without warning, he drove Sarah’s head right into the trucker’s eviscerated gut, opening her mouth and chomping on the chewy organs. With every bite Sarah wished she could die. Then a strange feeling came over her. Was she beginning to like it?

The man was nearly devoured when Nathan lifted Sarah’s gore covered head from the body and made her stand. She felt sick within her subconscious, and yet, she felt as though she had had the most satisfying meal in ages. She craved more flesh with every second that passed. As Sarah passed the “Welcome to Millville” sign, she knew that she was home. The question was, did she really want to meet the person who would emerge once Nathan was gone?

She suddenly felt dizzy beyond description and fell to the ground, getting rocks and dirt embedded in her skin. She could not feel the pain as the world around her grew dark once more. She was full of joy when she finally fell unconscious and was able to dream the dream of the free.

She awoke with a start as she quickly realized she could move herself; her limbs, her eyelids, her head, everything. She screamed out loud with joy, only to be shushed by the familiar yet horrible voice of the old priest she had come to hate. She then realized she was not as free as she had thought. Sarah was chained to an aluminum folding chair. The links on the chain were cold and heavy, and made her skin bruise with the sheer weight. She looked up and was surprised to see the priest smiling at her with a sincere, almost joyful smile.

“I’m going to let you go.” He said as he got up from his chair and began unlocking the numerous padlocks holding her in place. “I don’t have much time so listen to me. I was forced to capture you, it was not my doing. Nathan had control over me, just as he controls you.”

“If he controlled you, and you’re normal now, why did he let you in here?” She asked.

“He didn’t, I got in here while you were still out cold. He’s been gone for a while.”

“Wait, when we were in the basement, Nathan was with me. How could he have been within you?” Sarah didn’t like it, but she was beginning to trust the creepy old priest.

“Nathan can simultaneously control many bodies at once and appear in his original form. Who knows, he could be controlling another person same time he’s controlling you.”

“Why is he doing all this?” Sarah was desperate for answers, but saved the most important one for last.

“God has allowed him to. This is the period of time in which Satan is allowed to run free in the world. But don’t worry; his time will come very soon.”

One last lock and Sarah was free from the chains. She quickly rose from the chair, her knees nearly buckling from the intense pain all over. She knew she had been shot several times and had been injured more than any human ever should, but she also knew that Nathan would not allow her to die.

Sarah wanted one more question answered. “Who killed my parents?” she asked with such emotion that she though she would break down and cry.

The priest slowly looked down at the floor and was about to raise his arm when Nathan materialized in the center of the room in a tornado of fire and brimstone. He rushed toward the priest with a long sword and sliced off the old man’s frail arm. The arm dropped to the floor and began twitching as the old man fell to his knees, his good hand trying to stop the endless bleeding. He was crying, pleading for mercy from the prince of darkness. Nathan said nothing; he simply raised the sword once more and sliced the man’s head, causing it to roll across the room and into a dark corner. Sarah could see the eye’s moving around and the mouth opening and closing. What a horrible death, she thought.

Nathan quickly swung around and stared at Sarah with a gaze so evil that she could barely keep standing. She sprinted to the back door of the old church, but she was too late. Just as she reached for the knob, Nathan repossessed her body and shoved her mind into her dark and dreary subconscious. Her home away from home.

He guided Sarah over toward the old priest’s head and lifted it in her arms. Using her deformed hands, he reached inside the bloody mouth and grabbed hold of a canine tooth. With one hard yank, he pulled it clean out, no blood with it. He placed the sharp tooth against her bloody chest.

“Don’t ever try to escape me again, or your punishment will be much worse. But know this, you will not die.”

With that, he sank the tooth into her skin and cut away at the flesh until a bloody pentagram was made in her skin. The agony was unbearable, but no matter how much she tried, she could not make herself pass out. Deep within her, she still wanted to know the answer to her eternal question: Who killed her parents? Would she ever know the truth?

-- Part 8 Coming Soon --

WOW! Thanks 75!!! Spiffy job, as usual. *waits patiently for pt 8*

-covers eyes- sooo creepy. Disturbing, yet amazingly cool at the same time. Melly may be able to wait patiently, but I can't! Fantastic stuff.

(thanks for the thanks :])

Hey all,

Part 8 is about halfway finished and I have some VERY good news.

I am currently working with Mrs. 75 to create a book cover for "The Friend". It is quite stylish and offers a 'real-life' look at Sarah Johnson. We are also working on a back page for the story. As of today, I have 5,941 words written in "The Friend", this is the most I have ever written for one story.

One last thing: I plan to release the cover and back pages here on UM exclusively, however, you MAY need MS Publisher to view them. I'm gonna try to convert them to PDF files and host them on fileplanet.

Part 8

Nathan dropped the bloody tooth to the ground and led Sarah back to the wooden chair, her chest still bleeding profusely. He chained her arms and legs to the radiator behind the chair and spat in her face. Sarah could do nothing but allow the warm saliva to dribble down her sore cheek. Sarah watched as Nathan was once again consumed by the tornado of fire, but this time it headed straight for her desecrated body.

Something was different this time. The tornado of fire seemed fiercer and the intense heat scorched the walls of the large church. Sarah knew he had been pissed about her attempt at escape, but what could be angering him now? She did not resist his entrance into her body. She allowed him to slip in through her mouth and take over her conscious once again. She was forced into her subconscious, which had turned into a strange home-away-from-home.

“****!” Nathan screamed out loud through Sarah’s bloody mouth. He had forgotten to unchain her body.

In her quiet subconscious home, Sarah was inexplicably sad. She knew that she should have been happy that Nathan had made a mistake; not only would it buy her precious time, but it would be entertaining as well. Why was she so upset that he had forgotten something? It was as if she was sympathizing with him.

In a show of force unlike anything she had seen by him to date, Nathan broke free of the heavy chains. Sarah’s muscles bulged far beyond what they had normally been, and they felt as if they might burst from her mutilated arms. Nathan rose off the chair and smirked at the broken chains lying on the ashy floor. Sarah watched from within herself as Nathan guided her toward a shelf at the back of the church. Among the dusty boxes and aged stacks of papers lay a seemingly ancient scanner. It was the type of scanner used to listen in on police frequencies. Nathan turned the on/off switch to the on position and turned the volume up to its maximum. On the station, among the white noise and constant static, Sarah heard a middle-aged man speaking urgently to what sounded like a dispatcher.

“Affirmative. We’re about a block away from the church…affirmative.” The man’s voice seemed distant and shaky, as if he were in a car or truck. Sarah figured he probably was.

Nathan quickly turned Sarah’s stiff neck toward the entrance of the church. The two windows occupying most of the space on either side of the door were filled with the flashes of red and blue lights. The police had found the church, though neither Nathan nor Sarah knew how. The library had burned to the ground, what kind evidence could possibly had been left? In pure rage, Nathan turned Sarah’s body and began running toward the entrance doors. Sarah was stunned and confused. What the hell could he be doing?

Sarah could hear the man from the scanner on a megaphone outside.

“Attention Sarah Johnson. The building is completely surrounded and you have no means of escape. My suggestion would be to surrender; it’d be the best thing for you right now.”

With that Nathan extended Sarah’s arm out in front of her. The entrance doors began shaking on their hinges, and then finally broke loose. They flew through the air outside the church about forty feet and landed on the hood of a parked car. The theft alarm on the car began to sound, until a police officer was forced to manually disarm it.

With control of Sarah’s body, Nathan ran out of the church and into the street. There in from of him, were more than sixty police officers. They were all equipped with the standard tactical gear and all wielded standard issue shotguns. Sarah knew Nathan was up to something when he raised her arms up into the air in a show of surrender. She longed to scream to the police that he was planning something, yet she also wanted to see that carnage that would ensue. Why couldn’t she shove the thought from her mind?

A group of police officers ran up to Nathan, dressed in Sarah’s body, and tackled him to the ground, quickly cuffing his hands with cold steel handcuffs. As he lay on the ground with the cop’s knees pressed firm against his back, Nathan began gathering energy from who knows where. Sarah could feel the pressure in her body as Nathan rose from the ground, with the police officers hanging on to him. He was twenty feet above the ground when he finally began swinging the officers off of Sarah’s body. One officer went flying through the air and crash through a stained-glass window in the church, causing his skin to be ripped to shreds. Sarah could see him stumbling around in the church, and then finally collapsing into a pool of blood.

Other officers were thrown into squad car’s windshields, and still others were thrown into brick walls or simply struck the ground, smashing their heads to a bloody mess. Sarah was enjoying the carnage, just as she had expected to. When all the officers were shaken off of her body, Nathan lifted Sarah’s arm and raised it toward an eighteen-wheeler hauling a huge tank of gasoline two or three miles away. Instanty, the tanker was levitated off the ground and began flying straight toward the army of police officers on the ground Nathan.

“Yes! Yes!” Sarah screamed from within herself.

Nathan answered her. “Sarah! I knew you’d grow to love my work.”

With that, the tanker hit the ground and exploded into a fireball that reminded Nathan of his home beneath the earth. Sarah was in awe at the beautiful glow of orange and red as the fireball rose toward the dark night sky. There was complete silence accompanied by the smells of gasoline and burning flesh. Nathan turned Sarah’s head to look at the church, now engulfed in flames and collapsing to the ground. Beyond the church, Sarah saw her home among the smoke and debris. Its windows were blown out and the vinyl siding had melted from the intense heat, but the actual structure was unharmed. It was as if Nathan was intentionally protecting it from the flames. Sarah wondered if he had some plan for the house in the future. Would it be their new home?

As Nathan slowly descended into the flames and debris covering the ground, he raised Sarah’s arm once again and cleared an area to land.

“I’m getting sick of these ****ing humans.” He said as Sarah’s feet touched the hot ground.

“Battle time?” Sarah asked.

“Right. No more mister nice Satan.”

Sarah laughed loudly within herself as Nathan parted the intense flames and walked toward the city police station.

-- Part 9 Coming Soon --

By the Way, the cover page is attached to this post!!!!Click to view attachment

Nicely done, bud. Interesting twist to it, too. Keep it coming!!

oo. sounds great, and the cover's awesome as well. Agree with Melly, cool twist. Can't wait for the next part.

Part 9

“What’s happening to me?” Sarah asked herself as she nestled into a small nook at the back of her subconscious.

“Nathan killed those cops, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the blood.”

She was able to muster a laugh at all the psychologists and intellectuals of the world. She found it funny that they all said the mind was not a physical thing, and yet, there she sat against a concrete wall in her mind. Psychics would have called it a mind block. She ran her rough hands against the cold, smooth surface.

In front of her stood a tall projection screen which covered the wall opposite of her. It was on that screen that she saw the world through her eyes ever since Nathan took over. She stood up and walked toward the screen. There, projected onto it from some mystical projector was the city police department. The image was moving around and bobbing as Nathan guided Sarah’s body toward the front door.

He reached her arm out and pulled the door open. It slammed shut behind him as he walked toward the main desk. A male police officer was sitting at the desk typing some kind of data into the computer. As Nathan approached him, the man looked up from his work and held a stare. A few seconds passed as he stared mindlessly into Sarah’s eyes. From in her ‘mind room’ as she called it, she watched the man’s pupil’s shrink to the size of pinpricks, then suddenly engulf his entire eye. Sarah thought he looked much better this way. His eyes were completely black, with only a small white highlight. There was no reflection. Dammit, Sarah thought. I wanted to see myself. But did she really?

The police officer rose from his seat and followed Nathan as he guided Sarah’s body to a large metal door locked by a card reader. The voices of many officers could be heard from behind it. Sarah knew exactly what they were talking about: The explosion and the little female cop killer. She suddenly wanted to ring their necks, whether it was Nathan or her own self that did it. She finally realized why she loved the killing so much. It was exhilarating; better than any sport ever made, except hunting maybe.

“Open the door.” Nathan said through Sarah’s mouth.

The officer showed no emotion at all. As if he were a zombie, he shambled to the door and pulled a shiny metallic key card from his pocket. He slid it through the slot and turned around when a confirmation sound chimed.

Sarah heard Nathan grunt, then raise his hands and placed them around the officer’s neck. He didn’t resist at all, he just stood there staring into thin air with his black eyes. Finally, Nathan squeezed the man’s neck hard enough that he broke the skin and blood began to flow all over her hands. Within seconds the man fell to the ground, his eyes returning to normal, in a pool of blood. Nathan opened the unlocked door and walked through.
Inside the main office stood over sixty police officers, all engaged in mindless conversation.

“Sarah. I’m going to have a little fun in here.” Nathan said.

Without her consent, Nathan guided her forward to one of the police officers and stared him straight in the face. His eyes turned black as ink and his arms fell limp at his sides. Nathan quickly pulled the bloody knife he had used to kill the librarian from Sarah’s pants pocket. He stepped behind the man and slid the knife across the officer’s throat as the other cops watched in horror. They were stunned, no doubt, but why weren’t they firing?

Nathan pressed Sarah’s crotch against the dying man’s buttocks and began grinding against him. The blood sprayed like a fountain as Nathan danced in the shower of red. The man’s body fell to the floor with a thud.

“Sarah. I’m feeling weak. Watch this little trick.”

Nathan twisted Sarah’s arms together in a braid, then released them quickly sending a shockwave of energy through the room. Every police officer was thrown to the ground. Nathan then did the same braiding motion, only backwards. This time, the energy wave came back towards him. It had sucked the life energy from every cop in the room. Nathan felt rejuvenated with all the new energy.

“Sarah, enough fooling around; it’s time to put my plan into action.”

With that Nathan walked through the room filled with dead and dying police officers and walked out of the back door. They were in the parking lot of the precinct. The smoke from the explosion at the church was still present in the air. He breathed in deeply, and then walked toward one of the squad cars in the lot. He waved Sarah’s hand over the door lock and it clicked open.

“Sarah, I see you are enjoying all the violence. Do I have a new follower in you?”

“Maybe you do.” She said.

Nathan waved Sarah’s hand over the ignition and started the car without keys. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and sped out of the lot and into the heavy rush-hour traffic. Sarah could feel Nathan’s evil intentions as directed the car straight toward front of the local dollar store. A woman pushing a small stroller was just passing by as Nathan drove onto the side walk.

The last thing Sarah saw before she closed her eyes tightly were the terrified looks of the mother and her baby.

-- Part 10 Coming Soon --

Yeah, this wasn;t the greatest part ever. Christmas shopping has been particularly stressful for me this year. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy it.

-covers eyes-

Awesome stuff!

It's still pretty rightous. Still a long ways away from the end! Which is good as I'm enjoying this way too much for it to end anytime soon.

Part 10

All that Sarah could hear amongst the carnage of the crash were the dying screams of the infant and its mother. Blood covered the windshield of the squad car as it plowed through the front of the store. Glass and wood debris flew everywhere as Sarah was thrown around the car. Within seconds the car came to a stop in the middle of the destroyed store. Nathan guided Sarah’s arms and reached for the door handle. The damned arm wouldn’t move. Without warning, Sarah began screaming in pain within herself. Nathan looked down and realized that her arm was missing. Torn skin and muscles protruded from the stump along with the remainder of her bone.

“Oh God,” Sarah screamed. “Why the **** are you doing this to me?”

The mass of flesh, hair, and blood that used to be a mother and her baby now lay on the hood of the car entangled with the twisted metal of the storefront. Nathan walked toward the delivery door of the store while cautiously stepping over cans of food and bags of potato chips that had been strewn about. Blood dripped from the wound as he neared the flimsy wooden door. He uttered the word ‘blow’ and watched as the door blew to pieces, the handle landing at the feet of the store owner. Nathan walked through the door and into the back alley. Sarah watched quietly from her mind as Nathan turned the corner and into the empty streets. It had to have been nearly morning. He turned around and watched as the store was engulfed in flames that seemed to emanate directly from hell. The onlookers scattered as the building collapsed into itself, crushing the squad car.

Within seconds, the car itself blew up, sending flaming debris flying through the air. As Sarah looked at the beautiful orange glow of the flames, she finally thought about officially renouncing her love for God.

“Nathan,” she asked. “I hate what God’s done to me. I’m sick of being punished for something that I didn’t ask for in the first place. Besides, I find all the killing fun.”

“Sarah. I’m glad you’ve decided to re-ignite our beautiful friendship. How would you like to kill someone yourself?” Nathan asked.

“You’re serious? I could kill with my own hands under my control? I’d love that.”

“Good. Sarah, I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you for a little while. I’ve been waiting for you to accept me so that I could leave my bidding up to you.”

“Wait. Wait. You want me to do your bidding? So you want me to kill for you? And where the hell are you going?”

“Yes, Sarah, I’m asking you to kill for me. Don’t worry, it’ll be easier than you think; human life is so fragile. But Sarah, that applies to you too. I want you to watch your back around here. They have police throughout the state on the lookout for you.”

“Listen, I’ll do whatever you want. You’ve been kinder to me than God has ever been, but I still want to know where you’re going.”

“Sarah, I’m going back to hell, just for now. I’ll see you again very soon, so please don’t fray. Now I’m going to return control of your body to you, this will serve as a test of your faith. I have eliminated the chemical in your brain that causes pain. You will no longer feel any pain, but you will still be able to feel slight pains. This will serve you well in the long run.”

“Goodbye Nathan, I’ll see you soon.” Sarah said as she began crying in her mind for the last time.

“Goodbye Sarah.”

With that, Sarah regained control of her body. Nathan was right; she couldn’t feel any extreme pains. It was weird not having a left arm to move, but she knew she would grow accustomed to it. As the sun rose on the horizon and the colors of the morning danced about the streets and reflected off of building windows, Sarah turned from the flaming building and walked down the street. She headed for the only place she knew she would be safe and well hid: the city park.

-- Part 11 Coming Soon --

Incredible! I truly love the stories you have written! They are very descriptive, very breath taking! I love the gore and the spine-chilling phenomena occuring within the story. I can't wait 'till the 11th Part is posted. :]

-supernatural_extortionist

Thank you Supernatural!!!

I sincerely appreciate compliments from my readers! Part 11 is going in a whole new direction with a new character introduction and better dialogue on my part. LOL. I've never been great at dialogue, but I am getting better.

I posted 2 more of my stories up on this forum called: "Burnt Cookies" and "Painted Black"

THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Thank you Supernatural!!!

I sincerely appreciate compliments from my readers! Part 11 is going in a whole new direction with a new character introduction and better dialogue on my part. LOL. I've never been great at dialogue, but I am getting better.

I posted 2 more of my stories up on this forum called: "Burnt Cookies" and "Painted Black"

THANKS AGAIN!!!!

75, u write so wonderfully. i love ev1 of ur stories. if u ever stop then ill have to hurt u.

Hehe your welcome 75. And its alright about the dialogue. I myself have tried to write stories myself and well...they never come out right -or moreover get writer's block- and well, I just leave it a three quarters away or so. xP And I have read Painted Black and it is very interesting. Seems you just love gore. I like gore but more of the sort of pleasurable gore like something to do with zombies and foremost vampires. :] Nevertheless, your welcome. I shall wait patiently for the 11'th part. And by what you said, having a whole new event to it, it has made me even more excited! xD

-supernatural_extortionist

gah! absolutely amazing.

Part 11

“Mike! Mike, get the phone!”

“Wha…what? Damnit, its one am, who the hell is it?”

Michael Johnson drowsily sat up in the warm bed and reached onto the oak nightstand beside him to grab the ringing phone. One glance around the room revealed that it was indeed the time his clock reported. The room was lit by the soft orange glow of the rising sun shining through the window. Mike raised the phone into the beam of light so he could see the keypad better and pressed ‘talk.’

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is the Federal Beurue of Investigation. We’re very sorry to disturb you at this time of night, but there is a situation in Mitchell City involving your niece, Sarah Johnson.”

The voice of the agent sounded grieve to Mike’s ears. In the back of his mind he knew that something was seriously wrong.

“What happened to Robert?” Mike asked, knowing what the grim answer would be.

“I’m sorry Mr. Johnson, but your brother is dead, along with your sister-in-law. I’m very sorry.”

Mike’s wife heard the agent from her side of the bed and immediately sat up. She buried her face in the covers and wailed so loud, it would never be forgotten by her husband or the agent on the other side of the line.

“Sounds like your wife was close to your brother and his wife.” The agent said.

Mike was definitely not in the mood for needless small talk. He just wanted to get down to business.

“What about Sarah? What does she have to do with all this?” He asked, almost without emotion.

“Mr. Johnson, Sarah was the killer. Unfortunately, she not only killed your brother and sister-in-law, but she also killed over fifty innocent citizens and wiped out the entire Mitchell City Police Department. She’s a seventeen year-old mass murderer.”

Mike knew that Sarah was not the best apple in the bunch, but he could never had imagined her as an intentional killer. He knew something was wrong with the story.

“No way in hell a seventeen-year-old took out a fully armed police force.” He said.

“I’m sorry Mr. Johnson but it is true. Right now we are sending fully equipped military units to Mitchell City. They should be there by nightfall.”

“Military units? She’s a seventeen-year-old girl, how much damage could she possibly do?”

“Listen, you won’t think the units are overkill when you see the girl for yourself. Look, I’d hate to admit it, but there is something going in with that girl. According to eyewitnesses, she picked up a gas tanker and took out half the police force with it. No way is she a ‘normal’ teenager

Jesus, Mike thought as he put the mouthpiece to his cheek and rubbed his free hand through his messy hair. He couldn’t imagine what had taken place in that little town over the past few days.

“Thank you for telling me about my brother. I need to be left alone now.”

“Again, I’m sorry Mr. Johnson. One more thing, and I’d hate to add more to this tragedy but…well, you know of the destruction of the central library in New York?”

“I’m living here, of course I know about it. Spontaneous fire is what the papers said.”

“Yeah well, don’t believe everything you read. That attack was Sarah’s doing, all with her own two hands. Police shot her several times, but she just kept walking as if nothing out of the normal was happening. Here’s the really weird thing, there were two survivors of the fire. Both of them said that Sarah’s eyes were completely black. No reflections of the environment, nothing. They were lifeless.”

Mike decided that he had to see Sarah for himself. No way she would hurt him. I was her best buddy, she would never hurt me he thought.

“Thanks again for telling me, but I have to go now. I have to be with my wife.”

“Wait! Mr. Johnson, we need you to come here to Mitchell City.”

Mike had been ready to drive to Mitchell City and find Sarah himself, but being under the protection of the FBI and military would be even better.

“Alright, I’ll go.” Mike said as he wiped tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Good. We think you might be able lead us to her.”

In fact, Mike did know where she would go to hide out. It was the same place she had gone to escape many difficult situations when she was younger, Miller Park.

“Yeah. Yeah I think I can.” He said.

“Listen, Mr. Johnson. We’ll have one of our agents come over to your house and pick you up. You’ll need to be ready in about half an hour.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Johnson.”

Mike lifted the phone from his ear and pressed the ‘talk’ button again to hang up. He looked around the room again, admiring the colors that now shone through the window, brightening the room with the daylight. He stared at the huge bookshelf across the room when his eye caught the photo album that he had long forgotten about. It contained pictures of him and his brother when they were children, as well as more recent pictures of Sarah and himself enjoying good times.

With his wife still sitting in the bed crying into the comforter, Mike lifted himself from the mattress and walked across the cold floor toward the bookshelf. He pulled the album off the shelf and opened it in his arms. The first picture hit him like a bag of bricks, and his eyes began to fill with tears as he stared at the photo of his brother, his sister-in-law and his niece. They looked so happy together, Sarah sitting on the swing in Miller Park with her parents standing next to her.

“Mike.” His wife said from the bed, her voice filled with grief.

“Yeah hon?”

“Be careful when you get to Mitchell City.”

He closed the album and set it back on the bookshelf, then walked back to the bed and sat on it making it creak with his weight.

“Honey, I know more about Sarah than anyone else. I’m the one she confided in when times got rough around her house. Let me be the first to tell you that there is no way Sarah could have killed all those people. She just doesn’t have it in her.”

“Mike, just be careful. You never know what might happen.”

He really didn’t know what might happen. What if she did kill those people, he thought. He knew that she had been interested in the occult during the last few years. Maybe that had something to do with it. He stood up from the bed once again and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt and quickly put them on. Afterwards, he slipped on his boots and tied them tight. Just as he finished tying his boots, he heard a car honk its horn outside his house. Mike gave his wife a hug and a kiss and walked toward the bedroom door.

“Mike, I love you.” His wife said as he was about to reach for the door handle.

“I love you too.”

He turned the knob and opened the door, revealing his beautiful New York loft. Would it be the last time he’d ever see it? Without thinking negatively, he stepped out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Sarah would be happy to see him, he hoped.

Part 12

Sarah walked up to the rusted sign which was now grown over with weeds. The sign once said ‘Welcome to Miller Park’, but it was only a shadow of its former state. The place that Sarah would run to when times got bad was now an overgrown vacant lot that not even the stray dogs found homely. From the entrance, Sarah could see the swing set that she would play on when she was younger, as well as the clubhouse she and her uncle had made together. The thought of her uncle suddenly came barging into her mind like a freight train unable to stop for a small child caught on its tracks.

Uncle Mike was the only person in her life that ever understood her, that ever really listened to what she had to say. Sarah quietly walked down the main paved path of the park while attempting to avoid the discarded tires and wrecked cars. With tears beginning to emerge from her eyes, Sarah walked over to the dilapidated swing set and leaned against one of the supporting poles. Tears dropped from her young eyes as she began to cry like she had never cried before. Then, as if the faucet of tears had been turned off, she stopped crying. Nathan had been the only person to truly understand her. He understood her urge to release her anger by inflicting pain on others.

“No!” She screamed out loud, her voice echoing through the huge park. “My uncle never wanted me to hurt anyone; he never cut me with a tooth or made me do anything I never wanted to do.”

Confusion plagued Sarah’s mind as she fell to the ground in tears. All the killing had finally gotten to her. Those were people, she thought. People with lives, thoughts, and dreams. Nathan had done so much harm to her, she knew that. He cut her chest and did all kinds of unspeakable things to her, and yet she followed him as if he was her best friend. All along she had a true best friend waiting for her only a few miles away. Her Uncle Mike would no doubt be disappointed, but she would tell him the truth about everything. She knew he would understand her situation, he always did.

Sarah did not want to kill anymore, though she knew she very well could. She decided to confine herself in the old clubhouse that she and her brother had made years before.

The wooden door was half rotted, and it smelled like mildewed socks, but it was still the same old clubhouse. Sarah opened the door, pieces of it falling to the ground and crumbling into dust. She walked into the dark shack. Someone had apparently used it as a storage shed for the park. Among the weeds and spider webs was an old lawnmower and some half-filled gas cans. The gas had not evaporated, so Sarah knew it had been used recently, probably for the poor upkeep of the park.

With the tears now slowing, Sarah sat on a small bench that her uncle’s hands had fashioned and slowly drifted to sleep. The first sleep she was able to enjoy since she had been possessed by Nathan. Her thoughts disappeared as the warm rays of the sun entered the dark shack. It warmed Sarah’s sore skin and stump of an arm as she finally fell asleep.

Part 13

Michael stepped out of the Rolls Royce and stood among the crowd of FBI field agents. Some were leaning against their vehicles with maps in their hands, probably planning their next moves. Others were either smoking their cigarettes as if it would be the last one they’d ever have. Michael looked around slowly until the driver pointed him to the man he had talked to on the phone back at his loft. With brisk strides, he walked toward the man. He would accept nothing less than a one on one conversation with his niece.

“Hello, Mr. Johnson.” George said as he extended his open hand to shake Mike’s.

“Hello, Mr. Cochran. Listen, before you say anything, let me just try to make a deal here.”

“Go on.” The senior agent said.

“Alright. You need to find Sarah. I need to find out the real story. I want ten minutes of time to talk to Sarah in exchange for her exact location.”

“What, you don’t believe our story? I’m telling you that your niece killed all those people. There’s no disputing that.”

“Well, in my mind there is. You haven’t known her all your life. You’ve probably never even seen her with your own eyes.”

“Alright, I’ll admit to that. Why is it that you want to talk to her so badly?”

“Because every story has two sides, and so far, I haven’t heard hers.”

“And you’re willing to risk your life to talk to a mass murderer?”

“Yes, I am. I know she won’t hurt me. She’s been able to talk to me since she was little.”

“She’s not in her right state of mind. Listen, if I let you talk to her when we locate her, you’ll have exactly ten minutes. If anything happens to you within those ten minutes, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

“Deal.”

The two men shook hands as the sun finally rose high in the sky, warming the city with its bright yellow light. The bargain was sealed.

“Now, Mr. Johnson. Where can we find Sarah?”

“Got a map?” Mike said, as he put out his hand.

“Yeah.”

George reached into his pocket and pulled out a map that looked as if it had been used quite a bit. It was well worn and was ripped in some places. Mike grabbed the map and opened it up. He laid it on the hood of George’s car.

“Alright, this is Mitchell City.” Mike said as he pointed to a small block of streets on the map.

“Yeah, I know that.”

“Good. Sarah is most likely hiding out here.” He pointed to a large green area inside the representation of Mitchell City. “That’s Miller Park.”

“How are you so sure she’s there?” George asked.

“Because that’s where she used to go when she was little.”

“Alright. It’s definitely worth a try. Listen, in about five minutes, the military reinforcement we called for should be here. I want you to go into Miller Park and find Sarah. Talk to her and get her side of the story. If you’re not out of there within ten minutes, then I’m sending in the military units. If you get hit with a bullet, I’m not liable.”

“Ok, Mr. Cochran. I’m ready to go.”

With that, Mike turned and walked through the crowd and toward the over-grown entrance to Miller Park. He pushed the weeds to the side as he stepped into the park shrouded in shadow.

-- Part 14 "The Finale" Coming SOON --

The Finale! It's been so good this far. can't wait to see the next.

*sigh* The Finale... I guess it had to come sooner or later. But I'm so looking forward to it!!

Part 14

[indent][/indent]Sarah awoke to the sound of movement just outside the shack. She quickly pulled herself up using the small table next to her and accidentally hit the bleeding stump of her arm on a rusty nail protruding from the wall. Blood splattered unto the wall and began pouring from the stump again. Thanks to Nathan, she could feel no pain.

Sarah curled herself up onto the stool she was sitting on and waited to see if the person outside would talk. Footsteps made by the curious stranger grew louder and louder until they finally stopped just outside the shack.

“Sarah.” The stranger called from beyond the door.

She could tell he was a male, but something was very familiar about his voice. Then, as if the bear trap in her mind caught the memory in its jaws, she remembered who the voice belonged to. It was her uncle; she had no doubt about it.

“Sarah, are you in there?” Her uncle called again.

Sarah immediately jumped off the stool and opened the shack door. There stood her uncle; arms spread open waiting for their customary hug. His facial expression changed when he saw the stump of her arm, blood pouring from the gash caused by the rusty nail.

“Oh my God. What happened to you?” He asked as tears began filling his loving eyes.

Sarah reached up and covered his trembling mouth. She’d need to reassure him about her condition.

“Uncle Mike, it’s okay. I’m fine. This is nothing.” Sarah said as she lifted her hand from his mouth.

“We have to get you to a hospital.” He said.

“No. I’m not leaving here. Not alive.”

Her uncle stared at her with confusion and disgust. He stared at the ground for a few seconds, and then lifted his head again as if a new idea had entered his mind.

“Sarah, I love you to death, but I need to know something. Did you kill all those people?”

Images of the blood and death she had witnessed flashed through her mind. Tears welled in her eyes as she opened her mouth to answer. She had to protect Nathan.

“Yes. I did kill them all.”

“Why? Why would you kill your parents and all those people?” Asked her uncle.

“What? My parents? I…I didn’t kill my parents.”

“Yes, you did. You mean you don’t remember?”

“No!” She screamed out loud. “No I couldn’t have, I was asleep!”

Had Nathan killed her parents? Sarah could barely think as the images of her dead parents filled her head.

“Sarah, there is no way you could have killed anyone. I don’t think you could have done it.”

Suddenly, Sarah’s concentration was set straight. This man doubted her potential as an advocate to the one and only Satan. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t allow it.

“What did you just say?” Sarah asked angrily.

“You couldn’t have killed those people. I know you better than that.”

Rage flowed through her veins as she balled her fist close to her side. She would kill one last time. The man she once admired had become doubtful of her abilities. She’d prove him wrong.

Without uttering a word, Sarah ran from the shack and from the proximity of her uncle. He stood staring as she stopped about a hundred yards from the old structure. She raised her remaining hand toward the shack and began uttering the only prayer she knew that could summon powers from Satan. Her mind was nothing but a portal to hell. She balled her fist once more and screamed.

A huge fireball the size of a car erupted from the air in front of her fist. It traveled to the shack and set it ablaze with a monstrous explosion of flames and smoke. Her uncle was thrown some three-hundred feet by the force of the explosion. He lay motionless on the ground for a minute or two while flaming pieces of wood rained upon the entire park.

A jagged piece of flaming wood landed at her feet from the dense smoke filling the air. She could make out the figure of her uncle standing up and staggering toward her. It was time to complete her mission. She picked up the piece of wood, its flames climbing up her arm, causing her skin to char.

“Sarah!” Her uncle called frantically. “What are you doing?”

“I’m finishing what I began!” she yelled.
With that, she held the wood out in front of her and began running at full speed toward her uncle. Images of everything that had occurred throughout the past few days passed through her mind as she neared the man she intended to kill.

With the last of her strength, she shoved the wood forward and impaled her uncle in the stomache. He tried to jump away, but was too late. Screams of pain filled the park as the sounds of a group of men came closer to where Sarah stood. It was his backup, no doubt.

Her Uncle Mike’s clothing caught fire and began burning his skin off of his lifeless body. Sarah dropped to her knees and laid her charred hand on the burning corpse. She laid her weak body down onto her uncle’s and closed her eyes as she heard her uncle’s backup arrive at the clearing. She could tell that they had their guns raised at her.

Sarah could feel the intense heat of the fire burning through her clothing and through her skin, though she could not feel any pain.

“Fire!” Shouted a voice from within the group of soldiers, or whatever they were.

Sarah heard the first shot and felt the bullet pierce her body. It entered her stomach and exited through her back. A sort of tickling sensation came.

As if a war had broken out, hundreds of rounds of gun fire pierced Sarah’s body. She was thrown around the clearing as blood and pieces of flesh splattered the ashy ground. Then, complete darkness.

It was finally over. She could now be with her friend forever. From within the darkness of her death, she heard a quiet voice speaking to her.

“Sarah.”
“Sarah.”

-- The End --

That's all folks!! I hope you enjoyed it! Now begins the editing process!! YIPPIE!!

75, this whole story is absolutely wonderful. I'm glad that we could be part of it. This ending is... amazing. Good luck with publication.

Thanks so much ABOTU!!

I'd like to thank the academy, and all those who made this possible!! *snickers bars are good!!*