Dial "C" for "Cults"

Chapter Eight

December 5th

2:54 AM

            The phone rang.  It startled Faith because she had been worried ever since that suspicios phone call.  She even made the girls lock their door.  But the phone that rang was her cell phone.  "Hello," said Faith as she answered the phone.  It was her mom.  "Faith, I've got bad news. There are more sleep victims."  "Who are they," asked Faith. although she already knew who it was:  Salem.  (Okay, so River and Salem are already in the hospital, and Faith’s mom is just now calling her?  Way to responsible…not.  Also, how does Faith know Salem is one of the victims?  I think it was supposed to be because Faith thinks the demon is cutting through her friends, but it’s foolish to assume that it wouldn’t target other people connected to her.) 

"There are four."  Faith wasn't ready for this.  (Not surprising.)  "They are Salem Michaels, Lauren Anderson, Colby James, and, and,"  (I don’t know why Faith’s mom feels the need to say their last names.  These are all people Faith knows.) her mom couldn't finish because she started to cry.  "River, isn't it," said Faith.  "Yes," said her mom through tears.

Alright Mrs. Faith’s Mom, I have a bone to pick with you.  Your son has been attacked, as have several of your daughters friends, and you thinks it’s okay to leave your teenage daughter at a strangers house with only two small, annoying children as company?  What kind of mother are you?  Clearly not a very good one.

Faith felt a pit in her stomach.  (I think I used the wrong expression here.  I’m not sure what I meant.)  She felt that again when the phone went dead.  "Mom? Mom! Mom are you there?!," she said.  She put the cell phone down.  The regular phone rang.  "Hello, mom?," she said.  "You wish it was your mom, don't you?," said an evil voice.  (Yeah, I was definitely, umm, let’s just say “inspired” by the Scream movies.  Does this remind anyone else of the scene where Casey a.k.a. Drew Barrymore gets those threatening phones calls and is subsequently murdered?  Yeah, there’s a reason for that.) 

Faithwas terrified.  "Who is this?," said Faith.  (Do you really have to ask?  Ugh.)  "Guess." "This is a demon, a domon on a mission who is putting my friends in everlasting sleep!" 

"You got one right.  You soul is strong and smart!," said the demon  (Are you sure we're talking about Faith's soul?  Did you perchance dial the wrong number, demon?).  "What do you mean?," asked Faith.  "I knew your soul would be too strong to controll so I pocessed Colby to kill you," he said.  (Then why did you, after Colby failed to kill Faith, just stop trying?  More importantly, why did you target the friends of one of the few souls that were useless to you?  Even more importantly, seriously, we're talking about Faith's soul here?)

"But that didn't work," said Faith.  "So," said the demon,"I decided to take your friends souls for the ritual."  "what ritual?," asked Faith.  "I'll will make my sacrifices, then release the souls in the place of evil.  If I release the souls anywhere else, they will be free to go back to their bodies."  (This demon is being pretty damn specific about what’s going on.  Why doesn’t he just give her the address of where this ritual is happening?  It seems the inanity epidemic in the town does not exclude demonic creatures.)

"What does the ritual do," asked Faith.  "Well," said the demon,"It summons the prince of darkness himself.  By the way, I'm surprised that you haven't asked who the sacrifices are yet. They're so cute, sitting here in their room, sleeping so soundly. They ahve no idea that they are living their last hours on this earth."  (You. Effing. Idiot.  Why would you tell her that?  Why are you even calling her?  Hang up the freaking phone!) 

Oh my gosh, thought Faith.  (A completely appropriate thought considering the severity of the circumstances.) The girls.  "You better leave them alone!," said Faith.  No answer.  Faith ran upstairs.  The girls door was locked.  Faith remembered that this was her doing.  Stupid!, she thought.  "Let me in!," she said.  (So the door is locked from the inside?  What babysitter would do that?  But this is Faith we’re talking about, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.)

First Faith heard the girls scream, then she saw the door break into pieces as the demon shattered through it.  Faith was knocked to the ground.  She quickly pushed the rubble of the door off and chased the demon.  It smashed through a window and flew away with the girls.  I have to save them, thought Faith. 

This scene is ripped-off from a scene from Hocus Pocus, the movie about the three witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy.  I’m referring to the scene where the witches kidnap Dani, a precociously young Thora Birch, from the attic bedroom of her home and bust through the ceiling.  I didn’t want to completely rip off the writers of this movie, so I had the demon smashing through a window instead of the roof.  Still, I’m pretty sure I’d be sued if this was ever published.  Then again, I'd also be living in a bizarro world where painfully awful stories find publishers, so who knows what the laws would be there?

***

December 5th

3:07 AM

            Faith took the keys to the Andrews' car after she left them a note.  (What note could possibly convey what just happened?  I don’t think, “Sorry, your children have been kidnapped by a demon who wants to murder them, but don’t worry.  I’m dealing with it.  Also, the demon can fly, but no worries; I have a car, and so I think I’ll be fine.  My car can’t fly, but whatever.  See you soon!  Love, Faith” is going to cut it.)  She saw some rubble that had fallen off the demon heading north, but Faith wasn't headed that way.  She was going to a cult.  (Since not only is every cult easy to find and infiltrate, but all of them worship and/or are associated with child-murdering, soul-stealing demons.)

            She got to the cult's hideout at about  3:30 AM.  She went to the door and, seeing that there was no guard, she walked in.  About hÜ¥e_#À  And this is where the story gets really, really messed up for three and a half pages, and a lot happens.  Well, not really.  Basically, Faith, clearly a seasoned detective, finds the cult, gets them to tell her where this demon is headed (since remember, every cult in the history of cults is connected to this demon), and arrives at the murder site, which is an old cabin the woods where several murders have taken place in the past.  Then, the story goes on repeat itself, literally; nearly everything before the second chapter appears.  I won’t bore you a second time.

The action picks up in the cabin after Faith has killed the demon, released her friends’ souls, and rescued the children.  When she released the souls, her friends appeared magically, wound-free.  Also, the cabin has inexplicably started to collapse.  If I gave a reason for this, which I doubt, it’s been lost.

"What are we waiting for! Let's go!," said River.  They ran out of the cabin.  As they made their way out, the cabin started to crumble.  Lauren and Salem were almost hit with a large piece of wood.  But everyone made it out safely.  (That sucks.  I was really hoping they would all die.  Except maybe for Lily, who needs to find some new, non-stupid friends, though I’m guessing that would be pretty hard in this town.)  When they made it out of the cabin, it was swallowed into the earth.  (This seems to indicate that something supernatural was happening.  But, it’s likely that there is no logical explanation for the cabin being “swallowed by the earth.”) 

After they stood there for a while (marveling at the fact that there’s hope for the imbeciles of the world after all), they started to tell each other their stories.  (Because the remains of a cabin in the woods where Satan was almost summoned is the perfect place for that.)  After they were done Faith said this: "I better be getting a hefty bonus from you parents, Maryn and Drew. (since, you know, I let you get kidnapped after locking myself out of your room.”)

Epilouge

January 10th

6:35 PM

            Faith put on her jacket.  She was going to see a movie with the whole group:Lily, Kris, Salem, Colby, and even Lauren, who she was beginning to like.  She was even taking River with her.  She was babysitting Maryn and Drew tomorrow and was planning to take them to putt putt golf.  (Either Faith didn’t tell the Andrews the whole story, or they’re taking up the mantle of worst parents ever from Faith’s mom.) 

Ever since the incident last month, she was being kinder to everyone. (Because nothing makes you appreciate your loved ones like being stalked by a vicious demon.)  Her and Colby's relationship was doing much better (and, unsurprisingly, we’ll never learn why River thought Faith didn’t really like Colby), she was being nicer to her brother, making friends with new people(Lauren) (I guess Faith forgot that not only has she known Lauren for years, negating any sort of “new” status, but also the fact that they used to be friends) and even enjoying babysitting Maryn and Drew.  Of course that wasn't hard anymore, since they now worshiped the ground she walked on.  (Way to take advantage of your incompetence, Faith.  I’m not sure if I’m outraged or impressed.)  Faith was also seeing a lot more horror movies now, but she couldn't figure out why.  (This is supposed to by my joking, light-hearted way of ending the story, which is completely realistic.  Only, instead of watching horror movies more frequently, one would likely need a lifetime of therapy to recover from such a traumatic experience.  Close enough, though.)

            So, there you have it:  “The Babysitter”.  I really have no words.  Before reading this again to write my comments, I had forgotten how stupid everyone in it is, including the demon.  None of the characters are actually based on real people (at least I really, really hope not) except for River, who was supposed to be an older version of myself (I must have really thought poorly of myself back then).  Even if they were, I would never, ever tell anyone.

This is all we get for “The Babysitter.”  I know, it’s pretty disappointing.  Why kind of ending is that?  I wish my original ending hadn’t gotten ruined because it was much more entertaining.  That doesn’t mean it was good, but the fight scene between Faith and the demon was classic.  The whole cabin in the woods/near sacrifice/demon slayage/earthquake sequence was amazingly appalling and full of impossibilities, but we’ll never be able to read it.  Sigh…

Next time:  a shortish entry about my thoughts and experiences writing “The Babysitter,” which will hopefully be published later today or tomorrow.  Then, we’ll dive into our next story, the compelling drama “Salem.”  People are tortured, drowned, and burned alive in this one, and believe me, they deserve it.  Some of them would even give Faith and Kris a run for their money in the idiot department.