Condemned

by Christopher Renna

  "He's annoyed," Conner said.

  "Why? What happened?"

  "Curtis Mann talking crap."

  Sitting on the bench, Adam kicked off his shoes and then punched the locker. "Said I was an overrated player."

  "You're not overrated, but you're overreacting. Calm down," Trevor said as he pulled his jersey over his head. "After we shower, we can drive to his house and wait for him to get home. Then we'll kick his ass before he goes inside."

  Adam chuckled. "Nah. You're right. I'm not gonna let it get to me."

  Trevor gave the thumbs-up. "My dad always says, 'be the better man.' That's us. We're the better men."

  Inhaling deeply, Adam closed his eyes. "I'm the better man." Then he exhaled and grabbed his towel. "Whatcha guys wanna do now?"

  "I'm starving," Conner said.

  "Me too." Trevor gulped water and then tossed the bottle into his locker. "Hailey, Jasmine, and Nate want to meet up at Charlie's."

  Adam smiled at the thought of his favorite chicken tenders at the diner the popular crowd frequented. "Sounds good to me."

  He draped a towel over his shoulder and then turned toward the showers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miguel and Levi headed in their direction. "You effing peeping Toms!"

  "Ha. Whatever," Miguel scoffed.

  "Great game," Levi said.

  Conner smiled. "Thanks. You guys going to Charlie's?"

  "Are you?" Miguel asked.

  "Yep."

  "Then we'll meet you guys there."

  "Hailey and Jasmine are going with Nate," Trevor said. "Maybe you guys can catch 'em outside before they go."

  Miguel and Levi pushed their way through the crowd as the three hurried to the showers. Under the hot water, Adam listened to the guys excitedly boast about the game and their individual maneuvers on the court. He turned toward the tiled wall, and his smile disappeared. I'm not overrated, dammit. I worked my ass off to be an exceptional player.

  Walking into Charlie's, Trevor immediately spotted their friends seated at two booths. His eyes rested on the sight of Nate seated too close to Jasmine, apparently whispering something comical in her ear. Trevor had flirted with her for weeks, but their friendship had never advanced to dating. Now, focused on her dark-colored complexion, Trevor wondered if his light skin was less attractive to her than dark-skinned Nate. Or hopefully, he was overanalyzing her lack of interest in him.

  He arrived at the table with a forced smile. "What's up?"

  Nate straightened his posture, widening the gap between himself and Jasmine. "You guys made Lancaster work their asses off tonight. Great game."

  "Thanks."

  Hailey stood and let Trevor slide in next to Jasmine. When Conner sat at the booth with Miguel and Levi, she relocated to their table.

  Trevor slumped on the vinyl seat with a grunt. "My legs are sore."

  Bumping her shoulder against Trevor's, Jasmine said, "You were tonight's MVP."

  "Nah. First game of the season. I gotta earn the MVP title."

  "Your shot won the game. You can be my MVP, then."

  Trevor grinned and fixed his eyes on Nate's. Hands off, buddy.

  Conner lifted his butt from the seat and leaned over the back of the booth, craning his head above Adam's shoulder. "I need a menu."

  Seated again, he perused the appetizer section. "You guys order?"

  Hailey shook her head as Miguel and Levi responded "no."

  "Want to share mozzarella sticks?" she asked him.

  He looked at Miguel. "You guys want to split a large with us?"

  "I can't," Levi said, "or I'll exceed my fat intake for the day."

  "I'll have some," Miguel said.

  "You psyched for your match tomorrow?" Conner asked Levi.

  "Yeah, I've been killing it on the mat this week. And I'm really watching my diet. Gotta maintain one sixty-five."

  "Discipline," Conner said.

  "Exactly. Discipline and confidence. Plus, I've been working on my technique. So, I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

  Miguel rubbed the back of Levi's neck. "You'll do great."

  "Pissed me off," Adam said. "Overrated? Me? I trained my butt off to be the player that I am."

  Trevor sighed heavily with the shake of his head. "Bro, you said you weren't going to let it get to you."

  "Yeah. No. I mean, I'm trying not to, but it's annoying, man."

  "Newman Hornets won," Nate said, "and Curtis couldn't handle the sting. So he had to be a dick to make himself feel better."

  Trevor emitted a booming, "Yep, yep."

  The school's star quarterback, Zach Willis, appeared and slipped off his letterman's jacket. He sat, forcing Adam and everyone else to shift over on the booth. "What's up, bitches?"

  Jasmine eyed Zach with a slightly amused expression. "You're the bitch, you bitch."

  Once the laughter subsided, Zach said, "My grandparents know the priest who performed the exorcism on Jared."

  Conner whipped his head to the side. "Shut the hell up, Zach!"

  "I'm being serious," Zach replied in a tone that contradicted his usual happy-go-lucky personality. "I heard you go off on Eric Hughes at school. I thought you'd wanna know the truth."

  "But you don't know the truth."

  "My grandparents wouldn't lie. Seriously? About an exorcism on Jared?"

  "Why would they even tell you that story?"

  "Yeah," Trevor chimed in. "Let's talk about the devil, Zach." Then he laughed.

  "Look," Zach said, "I'm telling you because people are talking and eventually everyone's gonna know the story. Don't you wanna know what really happened to him?"

  Trevor sighed. "Practically everyone's talking about it anyway. It doesn't mean it's true."

  "Yeah, well, it doesn't mean that it's not."

  Adam groaned. "This is ridiculous. How long are we gonna have to listen to this crap?"

  "We have to ask his parents," Conner said.

  "Then what?" Trevor asked. "If they don't talk, then we're stuck with a bunch of rumors until something more interesting comes along to gossip about."

  "Let's just ask," Adam said. "His parents. The priest. Whatever. Not much else we can do."

  "I seriously doubt his parents or the priest will tell us anything. But maybe we . . ." Trevor paused and bit his lip. "Never mind."

  "What?" Conner asked.

  "We could check out the house."

  Jasmine flinched.

  Hailey's eyes widened.

  "Seriously?" Miguel asked.

  Shocked by Trevor's suggestion, Conner rounded the booth and sat next to Adam, who looked just as surprised. "Wait. Are you being serious?"

  Trevor shrugged. "Maybe we should."

  "Curiosity killed the cat," Nate muttered.

  "No one invited you," Trevor responded. "It's up to me, Adam, and Conner. But if anyone wants to go, then say so."

  "You are serious," Conner said.

  Zach jumped to his feet. "Holy shit!"

  "Keep your damn mouth shut," Trevor warned. "Sit down."

  Seated again, Zach scanned each face. "You're really going?"

  Elbows on the table, Conner cradled his head. "If we go, what do you think we'll find at the house?"

  "I don't know," Trevor replied. "But maybe it'll be enough for people to stop spreading rumors."

  "We could just say we went," Adam said.

  Trevor gestured to Zach. "Not with this ass sitting here. If we don't really go, he'll tell everyone that we lied."

  "I will not!" Zach shouted.

  "We should make him go too," Adam said.

  "Hell no," Zach replied. "I don't wanna go. It's your idea."

  "You scared?" Trevor asked.

  "No."

  "You can back up our story."

  "What about Nate and Miguel?" Zach asked. "And everyone else sitting here. They can back you up without me."

  As everyone debated and argued in hushed tones, Conner replayed the creepy scenes that Trevor and Adam had share
d with him. Then he thought of Jared in the boys' restroom at school. He cringed at the echo of Jared's anguished voice. Why are you doing this to me?

  Then he said, "Fine. Let's just do it and get it over with."

  Hailey gripped his shoulder. "Conner. Really?"

  "Yeah." He asked Adam and Trevor, "So, are we really going to do this or not?"

  For a drawn-out moment, no one spoke, then Trevor said, "Yeah. It's just a house. And we probably won't find anything interesting. Then everyone can shut up about Jared."

  Conner draped his arm around Adam's neck and leaned back. "All right. Let's go check out the house."

  FIVE

  Outside the Smiths' house, the atmosphere inside the car was gloomy. Trevor, Adam, and Hailey sat silently, staring at the house in trepidation as though they expected a monster to come barreling out the front door. Trevor hadn't even turned off the engine yet.

  A streetlight cast the house in a bluish-silvery hue. The orb's light reflected in each window like the cloudy pupil of an eye seemingly watching their every move.

  Conner glanced out the back window at Miguel's black BMW as it parked. He turned toward the front seat, brushing Hailey's arm because she was practically nestled against him. As she placed her hand on his, he asked, "Now what?"

  Trevor cut the engine and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to text Miguel. I want to make sure they're still game."

  "What's in the house that's going to tell us Jared was possessed by a demon?"

  "I don't know," Trevor replied with a shrug. "We're pretty sure they moved. Kayla said they did. So, I think if they hightailed it outta there, then they probably just left all their furniture and stuff. I mean, that would be a sign, right?"

  Conner had a difficult time believing an unoccupied house might provide insight into an alleged demonic possession. "No clue."

  "What are we going to do?" Hailey asked. "Look in the windows? It looks like the curtains are still up."

  "Jared's key," Adam said. "The one he hid in the backyard."

  "Wouldn't his parents have taken it?" she asked.

  "No," Conner replied. "He hid his own extra one out there."

  "If we're going inside, we should pray first."

  Trevor's phone chimed a notification. "All right. I guess everyone's still on board." He chuckled. "Miguel said Zach's freaked out."

  Hailey slipped her phone from her purse. "Me too. A little. And that's why I think we should pray. Just in case the possession story is true. We need protection from Satan."

  Jasmine appeared at Trevor's window with Miguel and Zach in tow. She danced around in the lightly falling snow and tapped on his window. "It's freezing. So, what are we doing?"

  Everyone huddled together on the sidewalk.

  "Let walk to the front door," Adam said, "like normal. Then we'll go to the back and get the key."

  Zach motioned to the house. "Let's go before the neighbors see us."

  The group glanced about and walked nonchalantly toward the porch. Once they neared the steps, they quickly bypassed the porch and headed to the backyard.

  At the back door, they clustered together while Adam ran to the garden shed for the key. When he returned, Hailey said, "Everyone hold hands."

  "What?" Zach appeared utterly flabbergasted. "Why?"

  "I'm going to say a prayer to protect us."

  Conner gripped her hand. "No offense, but it's not a long one, is it? I want to get inside where it's warmer."

  "If a ten-minute prayer would protect us from the devil, wouldn't you listen to a ten-minute prayer? Jeez. But no, it's not a long one."

  The group tightened up and bowed their heads.

  "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I stand with the power of the Lord God Almighty to bind Satan and protect us from all his evil spirits. I ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with the life and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen."

  Adam turned the key and the door clicked open.

  Zach raised his phone, lighting up the kitchen.

  Trevor bellowed, "What the hell are you doing?"

  "A video."

  "Turn it off!" Conner demanded. "Jeez. Don't be stupid."

  "Hey!" Zach exclaimed. "This is proof to everyone that we were in the house."

  Adam swiped his hand at the phone. "Put it away."

  "Fine! Relax, dude."

  The group hurried into the moonlit kitchen. The faint aroma of lemon-scented cleaner hovered in the air. The counters were bare, and the room was absent of the furniture that Conner had expected to see. "They definitely moved," he said. "We're not going find anything in here."

  Trevor stepped farther into the kitchen. "Does anyone think it feels weird or scary in here?"

  "A little bit," Adam said. "Probably because we're thinking about it being scary and weird."

  The wind outside created a murmured whoosh that escalated and then decreased in volume. As the group walked along the hall leading from the kitchen to the front of the house, the interior darkened. At the twang of creaking wood upstairs, everyone halted their steps and eyed each other. Jasmine pivoted as if about to flee from the house.

  "Calm down," Trevor said. "It's just the wind making the house creak like that. There's no one upstairs."

  "The devil's not human," Hailey said.

  "I meant, there's nothing up there for us to be scared of."

  "We're scaring ourselves," Miguel said. "We're walking around like a demon is gonna grab one of us. We need to walk through the house like everything is normal."

  Conner surveyed the empty living room. He recalled the layout of the furniture and how he and his friends used to watch television or hang out talking and laughing. He thought of a night when the four of them were around twelve years old. They'd eaten pizza and snacks while they watched the movie, The Grey, and then they'd fallen asleep, sprawled out on the living room floor. In the morning, Mrs. Smith had served what seemed like an endless supply of pancakes.

  The warmth and comfort of the home seemed to have been drained as though it hadn't existed in the recent past. It was literally an empty shell of what it used to be.

  "This looks like my house," Jasmine said.

  "Yeah, mine too," Zach replied. "All our houses are practically the same, except for the paint color and furniture."

  "I don't know about this," Conner said. "What kind of evidence of an exorcism would be here, anyway? And maybe it wasn't even done here. Maybe they did the exorcism at the church."

  "Or it's just a stupid rumor," Adam added. "We're probably just wasting our time. The devil was never here."

  "Upstairs," Trevor said. "Let's walk around and take a look. Then we're outta here."

  Hailey mumbled to herself as she paused at the foot of the stairs.

  "What?" Conner asked.

  "I was saying a little prayer because I can feel darkness in here," she explained.

  "Because it is dark in here," Zach said. "C'mon, let's look around so we can go home. I have things to do."

  "More important than this?" she asked.

  "Yup."

  Adam motioned with his hand like he was jerking off.

  "I have a girlfriend," Zach shouted. "You're the one who has to use your hand every night."

  "I'm a guy just like you," Adam said. "Don't pretend like you don't lie in bed and stroke—"

  "Shut up!" Jasmine shouted. "You guys are being ridiculous."

  "And immature," Hailey added. "Why are you guys even talking about that? It's stupid. And gross."

  "Boys are stupid," Jasmine commented. "Why are you surprised?"

  Adam asked Zach, "Your alleged girlfriend in Farmington? The one no one has ever met?"

  Exasperated, Zach replied, "Yes, my girlfriend in Farmington."

  "Who no one's met."

  Conner nudged Adam in the ribs. "Knock it off."

  Zach leaned against the wall and tucked his hands into his pockets. "At least my girlfriend didn't move a thousand miles away because I got her pregnant."

&n
bsp; It was as if a great superpower had zapped everyone into silence.

  Adam charged toward Zach. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

  "I think everyone here knows what I'm talking about."

  Adam forced Zach against the wall, and Zach instantly retaliated by shoving Adam backward.

  "Stop it!" Hailey yelled.

  Miguel blocked the girls from potential harm.

  Trevor pushed Zach back against the wall while Conner hooked his arms around Adam's torso, yanking him toward the stairs.

  "You're such an ass," Adam shouted.

  "You started it," Zach said, "by insinuating I have an imaginary girlfriend."

  Conner believed very few people knew about Lisa Reynolds, the sixteen-year-old Adam had impregnated the previous year. Even her parents had moved away from town within weeks of Lisa's sudden departure from Newman. By all appearances, it seemed as if the family had relocated due to Mr. Reynolds having received a promotion. Apparently, Adam's big secret wasn't as well concealed as Conner had assumed.

  "You were being a dick," Zach said. "I can be a dick too."

  "No, you're just an idiot," Adam fumed.

  "Is he serious?" Jasmine asked. "Who moved away because she was pregnant?"

  "Don't buy into any of his gossip crap." Adam jerked his body from Conner's grasp. "Maybe you should leave, Zach."

  "Miguel drove me. I'm not walking. It's effing cold outside."

  "Then keep your damn mouth shut."

  "Don't tell me what—"

  "Be quiet!" Trevor shouted. "Forget all about the crap that was said. Let's finish what we came here for."

  Adam marched up the stairs. At the landing, he stalled. "It's like we're walking through a house that's for sale. Even our footsteps echo in here. There's nothing here for us to see. We should go."

  Conner grasped Hailey's hand as the group gathered at the top of the stairs. "You okay?"

  "Yeah. If we're going to leave soon, then I think we should say a prayer for Jared before we go."

  "Really?"

  "Well, he died here, right? We should at least pray that he rests in peace with our Heavenly Father."

  "Isn't that part of the funeral service?" Miguel asked. "The priest or whoever does that."