Satan’s Chapel

Thinking about the accident sent chills down my spine and the voices danced in and out of my mind. I looked around the empty room and thought to myself, this would’ve been Lester’s room. I looked across the hall at my room and the sign that Lester had made for me at our other house. It said Lisa’s Room and had little hearts and swords all over it; we had two very different perspectives on beauty. But my mom had had an even different perspective on beauty, as we saw five months ago.

It had been a clear Saturday morning and we drove through Angle’s Loft Town, behind our realtor in search of a house. We turned into a suburban neighborhood, called Serene Sunset Grove. I think that is the cheesiest, studipest name I’ve ever heard in my life! I thought, with a snicker. As I thought this, Lester was whining to my mom that I had hit him, even though I didn’t. Well, not too hard at least. We seemed to drive on for forever, with Lester whining the whole way, until, at last, we reached the end of the neighborhood and four empty houses. Three of them were in a row, all right next to each other and across the street was a single house, surrounded by happy families in their homes. Next door, three kids were playing in the front yard, while the parents sat on the porch, with chips and drinks, and watched as their kids frolicked in the front yard. The realtor dragged us to the single house, her extremely high heels clicking on the cement and jabbering away about the neighborhood and what “a darling house this is!” Mom listened intently and made comments but she was the only one participating in the conversation. But when we got to the front of the house, Mom changed her mind. “Ya know, I’m not sure that this is what we’re looking for,” Mom said. “But I really like the big white one across the street. Now that is a darling house!” I looked across the street to the house Mom was pointing to. It was in the middle of the houses and it was an enormous house, with looming, towering white pillars, abandoned balconies, with rod iron railings, sculpted in curly designs. White, heavy curtains were pulled in front of every window and gave the ominous house a forbidding look. The realtor paled and her eyes went wide. “Oh no,” she whispered in a frightened voice. “We can’t go there! That place is haunted!” And, as if on cue, a woman walked her dog down the street and when she got to the houses, she immediately turned around, even though there was plenty of street and a whole cul-de-sac left. “See?” the realtor said in a high pitch voice. “It’s haunted! They call it-”
“I don’t really care what old wives called it! I’m going to see that house, whether you’re coming or not!” Mom snapped. And with that, she marched over to the house and opened the unlocked door. Dad sighed and gestured us to follow Mom as well. The realtor scurried behind and was whimpering slightly. The door creaked as Mom opened it with an unnatural WHOOSH!! and a hard breeze blew my curls back from my face. A harmony of whispering voices filled my head, calling and warning me of something, but the voices were too hard to be distinguished. But a constant, pounding voice repeated over and over again: All will be exterminated, all will perish. It grew louder and louder and suddenly stopped. My eyes snapped open to find myself clutching the doorway, doubled over, with a sweat out on my forehead. “Really, I’m fine, Mom,” I said through clenched teeth, seeing her concerned look, as I pulled myself to a standing position again.
We continued through the house, but it was hard to focus on the house itself, when a continuous drumming echoed in my head. It was like a war drum, it’s deep booming echoing inside my head and speeding up gradually, until it stops and you know that the war is about to start. As we finished the tour, we came down the stairs to leave and I gave the house one last glance and a shudder ran down my back. I didn’t want to see this house ever again, and judging by Dad’s and Lester’s faces, they didn’t want to either. I walked out of the white bordered doorway and onto the porch and was on my way to the car to get out of here, until I turned around to see Mom shaking hands with the realtor and smiling. No, no, no! My mind screamed. We can’t live in this house, absolutely NOT!! I mentally repeated over and over again. “Wait, Mom!” I said, running over, in between Mom and the realtor. “Don’t you think you’re being a, uh, hasty? I mean, we haven’t even seen the other houses yet, right?” I pressed, looking for some confirmation that someone would support me in this argument. Everyone looked at me blankly. “No, this is clearly the best one. Now go get in the car,” Mom said in a tired voice, like she was telling a five-year old for the a thousandth time that he couldn’t have the toy he wanted. “Oh, definitely” the realtor said, a greedy expression on her face as she calculated the amount of profit that she would get from selling this house. “But…” I said quietly. Do I tell them of the voices? But I needed too! “But…I know I heard voices and drums in that house, tormenting me-the place is really haunted, Mom!” I rushed. Mom let out a snort of laughter and then started cracking up. “No, you have to believe me!” I pleaded. Mom was still laughing. “Oh, good one! But there’s no such thing! But we better get the psychotrist on speed dial for you!” Mom said and started laughing all over again at her own joke, as she thanked the realtor and started walking to the car. “But I’m not crazy,” I said, tears brimming in my eyes, as I slowly shuffled over to the car after a very joyous realtor and a very satisfied mother, and when I looked back at our new house, I could see the house almost smirking at my, relishing in the glory of winning the first battle of newly begun war. Score one for team Mom and house.

…
I wiped sweat from my brow as I set down another box in my new room. That was the last of my boxes, so I decided to take a break. I went out on the front porch and sat in one of the rocking chairs to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. The chair was comfortably warm from the sun, so I leaned back and closed my eyes. But it suddenly started to get hotter and hotter, until I was being fried like an egg sunny-side up style. My eyes snapped open and I leaped up, clamping my burning butt in my hands and wailing in pain. Lester smirked as he walked by. “It’s called the sun, Doofus,” he snickered. I glared at him and I felt the chair. It was perfectly cool again. I glared at that too, and walked in for dinner.
I couldn’t sleep that night. I was so on edge that footsteps seemed like symbols crashing and creaks squealed like the sound a someone screaming in excruciating pain. Shadows seemed to move flutter by and disappear, like a never-ending game of tag. Even the door seemed like a hunter standing over his prey, toying with it, until he decided to finish it off. I cowered under the blankets the whole night and I dozed occasionally, only to be awakened by the slightest creak or groan. Sleepless hours went by, until I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, to my room. They were heavy and thudding, and the door rattled slightly. Slowly, the door and raspy breathing were the first things that greeted me through the open door. I was frozen in fear, huddled under the covers, with my head poking out so I could see what ferocious monster was after me. Then the door swung open completely and I screamed a bloodcurdling scream. But then my scream immediately died off when I saw Lester standing in the doorway, white as bone (either from my scream or this creepy house I’m not sure which), wearing his heavy boot-like “slippers” and he sputtered and coughed before speaking. “Sorry,” he croaked. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but can I sleep in your bed? This house scares me,” he said, shivering. Stunned from this whole appearance, I just nodded and skooched over for him. “Is your voice alright?” I asked, as he settled in. “Oh, yeah. Sore throat” he rasped in a whisper. He snuggled up to me and I fell deep asleep to the sound of his peaceful breathing.
The next morning, I immediately went to talk to my mom about last night. “But Mom,” I argued, as she made her morning coffee. “Even Lester came and slept in my bed because he was so scared! And you and I both know that he is not scared very easily!” I added, to add the finishing touch to my point. Mom took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “Lisa,” she said, in what I knew to be her lecturing voice. “You’re 14 and need to be mature about this. You can’t act this way and say these things and scare your brother like this! Be a role model and don’t fill his head with silly lies! Now, not another word about this. Besides, there’s nothing we can do anyway.” And with that, she walked off to get dressed, leaving me to contemplate our conversation alone.
The day was uneventful-more unpacking-but the sounds and ruckus started back up at night time again. I was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, when all of the lights suddenly went out. I groped around for my toothbrush and quickly glanced in the mirror, but what I saw sent finding my toothbrush to the bottom of my worries. A huge, black figure that was as tall as the room and twice as wide as me was standing behind me. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Suddenly, I felt a searing burn on my back, as if someone had run a hot match through an open wound. I turned around to see what had caused it and to defend myself, but nothing was there. Then, another one down my arm, one down each side of my face, and more on my legs, until my whole body was searing, like a fried fish. It was hard to keep track of them because they were happening at virtually the same time. I looked in the mirror again. The figure was gone, but a hideous beast stood before me. With torn clothes, disheveled hair, and blood covering my body and running down my face, I looked like a child’s worst nightmare. I heard a loud BANG! and Lester came running and instantly stopped when he saw me. His jaw dropped in horror and he looked around the room wildly for the culprit. Suddenly, he screamed and I saw him be slashed before he collapsed on the floor beside me and we were both out cold.
I awoke to the sound of beeping and people talking quietly. One had green scrubs on and the other was…..Mom! “Mom,” I croaked. Instantly, she turned to me and waved the doctor away. The angry doctor stalked out, muttering something about “ungrateful patients these days!”
“Oh, honey!” Mom wailed. “Are you OK?” “Yeah, just a few scratches.” I said drowsily. “Yes, she’ll be absolutely fine,” the doctor said curtly, reentering. “But she needs rest,” the doctor said, glaring at my mom to let her know that that was her cue to leave. “OK, I’ll let you sleep now,” Mom said, gently kissing my forehead and leaving with the doctor. And then I was out like a light again.

I woke up the next morning feeling so much better, that I went downstairs for breakfast. Apparently, I was healthy enough to go home from the hospital after 24 hours and Dad just carried me out to the car while I was asleep, so I don’t remember anything. But I was not greeted by Mom and Dad and a nice bowl of cereal when I got there. No, I was greeted by Lester bent over the countertop and shaking violently. I could only see part of his face, but it was pale as snow and his hands were cold and clammy. Next to him I saw a note that said: Will be gone all day shopping. See you tonight! Love, Mom and Dad.

I set the note down and turned to Lester. “Lester! Lester, wake up!” I said, gently shaking him. Slowly, Lester turned his head towards me and opened his eyes slightly. “Lisa…figure….attacked me. Did something…..to me,” he whispered in a labored voice. Then his head snapped up and he blinked and looked at me with brilliant, blood red eyes the color of gleaming and polished rubies. They weren’t Lester’s eyes. They were the eyes of a demon.

“Oh no,” I whispered in shock. Lester lunged at me, with his hands clamped around my throat. He grinned a wicked smile. “This is what happens when you enter my domain-you DIE!!” he said, in a harmonic multitude of voices, voices that clashed, but had the most eerily beautiful harmony together. I wrestled him and ran to the door but it was locked. I ran to another one. That was locked too. I tried all the doors to find them all locked. I heard Lester laugh and I frantically ran around looking for a way out, with him behind me chasing me. He seemed so casual though, as if he would have no problem disposing of me and preferred to torture and toy with me first. It was one big game to him. He had grabbed a lighter and was coming at me. “I think it’s a little chilly, don’t you?” he said, grinning deviously at the lighter and laughing. “Lester, please! It’s me, Lisa! I’m your sister, Lester! Don’t you know what you’re doing?!” I screamed in desperation, hoping that something would bring Lester out and not the demon. It didn’t. He yelled and lunged at me with the lighter, the flamed spewing and spitting, greedy hands trying to get their hands on something, hungry for anything. I dove out of the way just in time, before the entry rug caught on fire. The flames started to lick at the hardwood floors and crawled up the door, but I had run into the kitchen already, with Lester close behind me. He tried lunging at me and slightly skimmed my leg once, but whenever he missed, he caught something else on fire. So, most of the house was on fire, except for a good portion of the second story. So I ran up there to see if I could jump out a window or something, but those were all shut and somehow, locked tight, even though the lock was undone. I was yanking my bedroom window, when the door slammed behind me. I whirled around to see Lester standing there, a cruel smile on his face and the lighter in his hand. He screamed and lunged at me. I dodged it and he caught the curtains on fire, the flames devouring the curtains and moving to the ceiling, eating away at the plaster and woodwork. He lunged at me once again. (You would think that he would get it by now!) He caught the bedspread and the mattress on fire. He continued to lunge until most of the room was on fire and the smoke was so thick that I thought I was going to collapse from the weight of it. I looked around wildly but couldn’t find Lester at this point. Then he leaped on top of me from nowhere and pinned me down. “I have you now and there nothing you can do about it!” he said, laughing wildly, like this was some hysterical joke. He flicked the lighter on. He grabbed a strand of my hair and put it to the flames and it caught fire immediately. It blazed brightly and tears poured from my eyes as I tried to put the flames out, but nothing seemed to be working. This is it. This is the end. The flames had basically reached the end of my head and I had seconds to live. I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared myself for death. Then I heard a loud CRASH! and I felt the heat of the flames from my hair next to my face die away. I opened my eyes and looked up to see a fireman scooping me up. “Lester,” I muttered. “We’ll get him,” the fireman soothed. I heard a loud CRACK! and I saw Lester standing there and then a flaming plank of wood landed on his head and he collapsed. “Lester! No, Lester!” I screamed. “Save him, save him! What are you doing?!” I screamed hysterically, struggling and kicking against the fireman’s muscular legs. But he dragged me out and as I looked back, I saw Lester’s young and innocent face being devoured by the flames and the tears on his cheeks being fried on his skin. To this house, he was just another offering in Satan’s Chapel, the center of evil, but he was my brother and he was gone forever.

Tears splashed on my shirt and I gingerly fingered the sign Lester had made me days before the accident, before we had even come to this town. It was the last thing we did in our other house before moving to the demon one. With a sad sigh and a heavy heart, I hung a sign on the door across the hall that said: Lilly’s Room. Months after the accident, my parents told me that we were going to have a new member in our family. A baby girl, named Lily, was to be born in two months. But it wasn’t like I wanted a new member, I just wanted the lost one back. I don’t know if I could handle having another sibling after losing one. But maybe, just maybe, Lily really will be able to heal the scars from Satan’s Chapel.