by P. S. Power
The demon inside me just took a deep breath and blew it out.
“I guess you do have a point, I’ve had my fun. I’m growing a bit bored with the whole thing anyway. I’ll tell you what. How about we release the my little horse into the new world you built? The one where they’re just reading a book right now? I can just let it come to an end, let them feel fine about it all and merrily spend time reading more and writing glowing reviews, or working whatever job they come up with. Does that seem sufficient? It’s that or set up an internal hell dimension. Why don’t you pick?”
“Fine. We’ll do that first one, it seems kinder. Do you think it will work? I don't think that the reality of spirits, ghosts and our kind can be totally hidden, not once awakened in a person. There will be side effects. Dark things plaguing the mind of the one doing the reading. It may even become worse than what has already happened. It could break a mind, don't you think?” Milford looked worried, but the demon shrugged lazily.
“Do I actually care? Human minds are so fragile anyway. Of course it will break.” It answered in my own voice. “Just do it and make it so I don’t have to bother with this again. I find myself growing pained by the whole thing.”
The man in front of me still looked creepy, with his triangular beard and down pointed evil looking eyebrows, but he stood easily and looked at the demon his hands spreading easily.
“Then… when I say the word, I want you to release your old life and become a new person, the observer who has been reading this book. You can’t escape the darkness, or that which dwells within it and within you, I’m sorry that has to be, truly, but try to make it as good as you possibly can for yourself otherwise, even while you see the ghosts and demons of the world and feel the constant fear and dread of it all. I’d do more to help, but that is all I can offer. Ready yourself for it.” Dr. Milford sounded sure of himself as he spoke, but he tilted his head to the demon.
“Is that sufficient do you think?”
The demon made my hand wave in front of my face in the other mans direction.
“You are entirely too soft on these humans, Dr. Milford. Do it then, we have real work to get too.”
The man in front of me, inhabited by a demon, the same one that I’d agreed to obey, shook his head sadly. I could see it, but he hadn’t truly cheated me, even if he was forced to do it all by the others. I was reunited with Alex after all. It wasn’t what I’d expected, but it was the truth, in the end. He gestured to me, stepping closer, looking deeply into my eyes and I knew that it was meant for me alone, the real me.
He whispered the word. The last thing that I heard as myself.
“Eclipse.”
Afterword
If the aftermath of this book is too much for you, and it likely will be, provided you are of sound mind and decently advanced intelligence, if the sense of being haunted or possessed is overwhelming, rest assured this feeling happens to many people. One of the best ways to help relieve this sense of invasion is to tell others about it. Make connections and share your story. doing this will not save you fully, but it will help, at least a little.
Remember, the goal of this work is to cause specific effects, feelings of fear and terror, as well as others, in a long term fashion, so it may take days and weeks for the full results of this work to impact you. Over ninety-five percent of all readers report significant effects, as long as the work is written in their native language.
The remainder of people tend to have either stopped reading after the first page or to have a deficit in either empathy or ability to process fear. Basically people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and people with Psychopathic tendencies. On the good side, both of those groups also tend to perceive some of the books intended effects over time.
Most people express greater results over multiple readings.
There should be a small outlier group that experiences no particular results at all. Hopefully those people liked the story well enough. Everyone else should hold on to their sanity if they can, because the real ride is only just about to begin.
Good luck.