The Influence (Supernatural Thriller)

by Matthew John Slick

  “I am Crasak. You belong to me.”

  Kathy shivered once, although she wasn’t cold. She frowned and, without thinking, glanced towards the front door to make sure it was locked. She thought about the chill in the room, then about her father in the hospital, and the encounter with the pastor. She looked around some more, feeling a little anxious.

  It feels like someone is watching me, she thought.

  She looked around again and returned her attention to the TV.

  “Get a hold of yourself, Kathy,” she said aloud. The sound of her own voice comforted her, but the reassurance was fleeting. The feeling that she was being watched grew stronger. The air felt wrong. She flipped through the channels in an attempt to distract herself. The demon crept closer and extended its clawed hand, pointing a single talon at her forehead.

  “Maggots in your clothes,” spoke the creature. “Rats at your feet.”

  Kathy shifted on the couch. She was trying to focus on a news program, but the odd sensation wouldn’t go away. She muted the TV, glancing around at the windows. They were all covered by drapes. It was dark outside, which didn’t help.

  “He is watching you. He wants to get in the house.”

  Is there a prowler out there? she wondered.

  She looked over her shoulder to the kitchen and down the hall, flipping through more channels, paying no attention to what was on the set. The only lights on were in the living room and kitchen. It didn’t help that she was alone. She thought of Mark and wished he were there.

  Darn that cold.

  She kicked the covers off and returned to the thermostat, which was set to 76 degrees. She figured it would take a little while before the place warmed up. She thought about brewing a cup of hot coffee. That would help. She headed into the kitchen to the cupboard and remembered that next to the fridge was the knife drawer. Forgetting the coffee she opened the knife drawer. Inside were three stainless steel blades with wooden handles. The beefiest was around ten inches long and two inches wide. It looked like a long, flat thin mirror with a razor’s edge. She reached down and fingered the handle as she withdrew it from under the other knives, listening to the sound of metal sliding on metal. Its weight and balance felt good.

  Crasak had shadowed her closely. “Vomit, death, hate, murder.” It whispered, close to her ear.

  A strong, uneasy feeling leapt on her. She focused on it as she tensed her muscles. Was it the lack of sleep and worries over her husband and father that had combined to make her feel so bad? Or, was there really something wrong?

  She turned towards the living room.

  “I will kill you,” said Crasak slowly.

  Her heart began to pound hard.

  Is someone here? she thought.

  She carefully moved forward setting each step down on the kitchen tile as quietly as possible. The light from the TV flickered silently on the walls ahead of her. The knife was pointed forward, gripped with both hands.

  She looked down the dark hall and pointed the knife in that direction. Another quiet step, then another. She listened as carefully as she could to anything that might clue her in on the presence of someone else. Was her mind playing tricks on her? She didn’t know. The uneasiness grew.

  She switched on the hall light and the shadows disappeared. There was a bathroom and two bedrooms to be checked. Then, of course, she had to look in the garage. That would be last.

  Crasak followed her.

  She entered the hallway. “This is ridiculous,” she whispered to herself as she stopped and looked at the doors.

  The creature spoke loudly into her ear, “Die in hell.” She turned around quickly, sudden anxiety stealing her breath. Did she hear something or was that her imagination?

  It smiled and walked through her to the other side. She felt a brief twinge of nausea. It spoke again. “He sees you.” She twisted around, jerking the knife in front of her. What was that? She stood motionless, not breathing, just listening. Crasak smiled again.

  Kathy stood there for a full minute, checking back and forth, looking behind her into the living room, then back into the hall. Did she really hear something or was it the house creaking? She forced herself to take another step, then another. On the right was a bathroom door. It was slightly ajar, so she slowly pushed it open with her foot. The hall light flooded the room, and she was greeted by an empty stillness. At the far end of the bathroom, the shower curtain was pulled to the side. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to look behind it.

  She continued down the hallway and slowly walked a few feet further to the guest bedroom, her room. The door was open, just as she had left it. She pushed it open and flicked on the light. Empty. She went in and pulled the closet door to one side. Nothing there, either. She bent down and lowered her head to look under the bed. The room was empty.

  Kathy went back into the hall and approached her father’s room. The door was closed. She aimed the knife at it and with her left hand turned the knob and pushed it open. Upon turning on the light, she saw a nice, neat room. The bed was made, and there were some slippers neatly placed side by side on the floor. On the dresser were some coins and a Bible. On the other side of the room was a closet. She opened the door and turned the light on. Empty. Relieved, she lowered the knife.

  “I’m losing it big time,” she mumbled to herself.

  She turned around and walked back into the hallway, still a bit nervous, she again noticed the chilling air. Just as she was about to enter the living room, Crasak opened his wings and flapped once.

  What was that? Did something move near the couch? Instantly raising her knife, she stopped dead in her tracks. She could see the whole living room.

  Did she see a shadow or not? Was it her mind playing tricks on her again? She bit her lip as she contemplated the options. Then she remembered the garage.

  She headed out through the kitchen, knife in hand, breathing shallowly. She stopped in front of the garage door. Would there be someone just inside waiting to attack her? She felt the thump of each heartbeat as she slowly inched her way forward, silently putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, she grabbed the knob, gulped, and threw the door open while hurriedly turning on the light. The garage, too, contained no surprises. Her father’s car was in the driveway outside, so she had a complete and unobstructed view of everything in the garage. With a sigh of relief, she lowered the knife, closed and locked the door, then headed back into the kitchen.

  It had been a nerve-racking few minutes and she was glad it was over with.

  She slid the knife drawer open and slipped the knife into the drawer. Everything seemed normal, but she still had an uneasy feeling.

  “I think I need a good night’s sleep.”

  She walked into the living room to the couch, and with one final look, she scanned the room. The phone was sitting on the end table and she imagined calling 911 if necessary. But everything was fine. She turned up the TV sound, plopped down onto the cushions, and put her feet on the coffee table.

  The demon had followed her through the home; now it again positioned itself in front of her. She looked around the living room once more for good measure.

  “This is ridiculous,” she said aloud. The chill was still in the air so she glanced at the thermostat again and then around the room. Everything seemed to be okay. She turned her attention to the TV.

  The demon was right in front of her, two feet away. It moved closer, raising its clawed hand as it pointed a single bony finger at her forehead. It tilted its head to the left, smiling slightly as it pushed its sinewy hand forward through the air towards her. But it stopped. Changing its mind, it withdrew the claw.

  Kathy still felt uneasy. The air was cool and oddly damp. “Get a grip on yourself, Kathy,” she said as she tucked the blanket under her chin again, forcing herself to focus on the TV.

  The demon kneeled in front of her and stared into her eyes. It opened its mouth and what looked like a small black snake whipped around its fangs. But it was no snake. It
was its tongue.

  Crasak leaned forward some more.

  Kathy shifted in her seat.

  Then, with its face almost touching Kathy’s, it slowly extended its tongue forward. It whipped slightly back and forth. But, the closer it got to Kathy’s mouth, the less it moved, until it entered her mouth.

  Kathy frowned.

  Crasak raised the claw on its skeletal left hand and moved it forward until it was just in front of her skull. The demon extended its tongue until it was moving down her throat.

  Kathy rubbed her stomach.

  Then, Crasak pushed forward a little more until its talon pierced her skull, just above her eyes. As if physically sensing the intrusion, Kathy rubbed the spot on her forehead absentmindedly.

  The demon slowly withdrew its tongue, opened its mouth, and breathed into hers, synchronizing each of its exhalations with her inhalations. It moved its claw deeper, looking for a spot to tweak, hoping to find a place of fear. With each movement, Kathy found her mind effortlessly wandering from thought to thought. They were random, unrelated memories that darted in and out of the periphery of her consciousness. They appeared and disappeared, one after another as the demon searched through her mind—looking, feeling, exploring.

  At first she was curious about the recollections that seemed to come out of nowhere, but Crasak diverted her attention by touching that part of the brain that released endorphins. It worked. She was distracted by the soft pleasure that seemed to push away her uneasiness.

  She welcomed the relief.

  The demon was careful not to be too bold. It did not want to cause Kathy to become curious about what was happening to her, so it moved slowly, periodically touching the pleasure center as it continued to search.

  Then it found something. When Kathy was seven, she was riding in the car with her parents on a summer day. The police were up ahead and her dad had followed a detour around an accident. But John was late for an appointment and, because he knew the area pretty well, he tried to take what he thought was a shortcut. Unfortunately, it brought them back upon the gruesome accident, from a different vantage point. Kathy found herself staring at the mangled and burned body of a man who had died in the inferno of a car wreck. Kathy screamed and her mother quickly tried to cover her eyes, but it was too late.

  It took five minutes for her parents to stop her hysteria. The next few nights were filled with nightmares of burning bodies and the dreams were accompanied by her screams. She ended up sleeping with her parents and for five weeks she could hardly stand to be out of their sight. They were naturally concerned and after a few days they took her to a child psychiatrist, who prescribed some mild sedatives and told them to stay close and to comfort her as much as possible. He said it would take a few weeks for the trauma to subside and that she should eventually recover. He was right. After a couple of months, the memory faded, along with the nightmares, and she finally returned to her own bed.

  It was a gut-wrenching ordeal for John, who had scolded himself repeatedly for what had happened. It was one of those unfortunate regrets that parents sometimes can’t avoid but wish they could take back. It took him many months before he was finally able to forgive himself. He tried never to think about it again.

  For a young child like Kathy, the whole incident was very confusing and painful. As an adult, she reflected upon the unpleasant memory each time she saw an accident or heard about one. Her childhood trauma didn’t terrorize her anymore but it wasn’t completely gone, either. She had simply stripped it of its ugliness, leaving only a shell of emotionally bare facts to review on occasion. Still, she knew better than to dwell on it too long.

  The demon had what it needed, but it kept probing just a bit more until it found something else: an abortion. It happened while in college. Crasak smiled. Perhaps it could use this to stir up guilt.

  It probed further into that time period. There were memories of cheating on a test, flirting, cooking, movies, nothing of real value.

  There! In college Kathy had a girlfriend who was into white magic and, as a result, Kathy had also dabbled in drugs and séances. This open door to the occult was just what Crasak needed. It looked at the woman’s chest and could see her breathing was deep and slightly fast. Then it listened to her heartbeat. It was a little loud. The creature smiled again and with its other hand took a talon and slowly forced it into her mind.

  She felt nothing.

  It tweaked the memory of the abortion to see her reaction. Her heart pounded harder and she tensed slightly. Kathy still felt guilt over it, especially after she’d given birth to Jacob. Crasak thought there might be more emotion hidden within her about this. As the memories surfaced, Kathy tried to push them away. The inner struggle had already begun.

  It would serve Crasak well.

  The nightly news on the TV was conveniently showing images of earthquake-recovery efforts in a Third World country. They were unpleasant pictures of crumbled buildings and dead bodies. Crasak removed its talon from the pleasure center and found the part of her brain that processed images; it then tweaked her mind to help her focus on them. With its other hand, it lightly scratched at the memory of the car accident.

  Kathy stiffened just a bit.

  The demon moved closer until its nose and mouth met hers in a kind of mocking kiss. Then it matched its exhalations with her inhalations again. The breath from the creature passed into her mouth and her breath into its. The demon drew closer until its eyes passed through hers and its mind entered her mind.

  Then it drew its legs up around her hips and hooked its feet around her back. Likewise, it wrapped its wings around her, enveloping them both in a cocoon-like embrace.

  Kathy felt suddenly tired but she still focused on the TV. Crasak moved and aligned itself with her mind. Since it was now inside her, it let itself flow like water down into the void of her spirit. It intertwined its essence with hers. Though not the same as being possessed, it was a temporary imitation and Crasak’s special talent.

  The demon could feel the flow of increased adrenaline in her system. Her breathing quickened and her heartbeat grew stronger. She was agitated. So, it tweaked the part of the brain that made her susceptible to manipulation and whispered, “You are alone in the house. You are vulnerable and weak.”

  Kathy moved her head slightly and frowned. She pressed her hands down on the couch, her fingers gripping the cushion. She tried to clear her mind, but it was useless. She couldn’t focus. The demon was working hard to control her.

  “Someone is outside, watching you. He sees you. He followed you here and knows you are alone. He’s waiting until you fall asleep.”

  Kathy felt a ratcheting up of faint, cold fear in her spine. Crasak moved its talon and prevented her mind from reacting, subduing her flight response. Then it tilted its head downward and opened its mouth. With a small convulsive movement, it coughed up bile and took aim as it looked downward and let the liquid fall from its black tongue. The slime fell slowly through her throat and stomach. A wave of nausea washed through her stomach. She grimaced. Crasak tightened its grip on her mind, keeping her desire to panic at bay. Then it exhaled a whisper, “The man is going to kill you.” With each word it manipulated her emotions with its talons, canceling her resistance with its skill. It was in control, not Kathy.

  Crasak strengthened the image of the body at the car accident with one hand and with the other it caused her to focus on the images of destruction on the TV. Then quickly, it forced the memory of the abortion to the surface.

  Kathy remembered. She saw the burned body and with it experienced the revulsion, terror, and guilt all mixed into a tangle of distress. She tried to force the memories and feelings away, but she couldn’t. She wanted to flee but was too weak to resist.

  Crasak continued to exhale its vile breath into her body as it slowly whispered, “Murder. Torture. Rape. Death. Pain.”

  Kathy swallowed. Her heart pounded. She was vaguely aware of her emotional struggle, but she was lost in a daydream, b
eing carried along by the images and manipulations, exploited by Crasak’s considerable skills.

  She gripped the couch fabric with both hands.

  It tweaked her mind again and let more bile drip down into her stomach. Again the nausea and then an intruding shadow of fear touched her.

  She fought back.

  The creature adjusted its grip, trying to keep control, deflecting her resistance. Simultaneously, her instinct to fight surfaced and began to grow stronger.

  Crasak, aware of this, focused all the more to keep control for as long as possible before it finally released her.

  Slivers of determination pierced her consciousness, trying to pry her free from Crasak’s hold. The demon held strong, controlling her brain, holding on tightly, breathing into her mind, and began whispering over and over, “Release yourself to me. Release yourself. Let go.”

  The creature knew what to do. It squeezed itself tightly around Kathy’s body until its arms, legs, and wings all entered her, bringing its putrid filth into full contact with her spirit. Kathy began to convulse involuntarily, but Crasak would not let her go. It squeezed tighter and gripped her mind with its clawed hands. He shrieked into her consciousness, “He is behind you!”

  Kathy’s head began to sway. She wanted to look behind her, but Crasak would not let her move. She was panting. Her heart pounded and she pressed her back against the couch. She clenched its fabric with both fists as she fought panic and the rising terror within. But the creature was still able to control her. Crasak spoke intensely, “Die! Die!”

  Kathy twitched. She blinked hard and managed to look away from the TV. She moaned slightly, then again. Crasak wrestled to sustain its control.

  She was fighting hard to break free from the intrusive haunting. Aware but unaware, it was as though she were being carried along a powerful river, helpless to get free of the current, but fighting nonetheless.

  Crasak knew it could not hold on much longer.

  Kathy felt cold fear permeate her veins, her bones, and muscles. She could almost taste its agonizing intensity as it seemed to flow within her. She opened her eyes wide. Her chest heaved with gasping breaths as she broke free from the TV and glared at the ceiling.