The Influence (Supernatural Thriller)

by Matthew John Slick

  The principality moved closer behind the man and peered inside. Grawl noticed a presence, and momentarily wondered if the drugs that it was vicariously experiencing were having an effect on it. Paraptome moved closer. It would have to be careful when ripping Grawl out of Leech because it did not want to unintentionally kill the human. Even though Paraptome could easily crush the demon, to do so would most probably kill Leech.

  The principality leaned forward and whispered, “I am Paraptome.”

  Grawl spun around, instantly startled by the voice. Leech convulsed and twisted. He thought he heard something. A split second later, Grawl growled in terror and Leech felt a wave of cold fear crawl up the back of his neck. His mind filled with the thoughts of the police knocking on his door. He tried to get up and get his weapon, but Grawl, terrified, froze, as did Leech. The fear flooded Leech’s mind. Did he hear a voice or not? He tried to move, but he couldn’t. He struggled to lift his right hand but it seemed sluggish, heavy, and uncooperative. Then it occurred to him that the drugs he had just taken might be bad. There were plenty of people who wanted him dead and perhaps this was payback time for earlier crimes.

  “I claim this human,” said Paraptome. “Leave him or I will destroy you.”

  Grawl knew that it was no match for this vastly superior force; under different circumstances, it would obey instantly. But the insanely evil pleasure of possession forced it to risk defiance.

  “Leave him,” commanded Paraptome.

  Leech felt fear sweep over him. He tried to move but couldn’t.

  “He is mine,” said Grawl. “This one belongs to me, and I will not let him go.”

  Leech’s mind began to fade in and out. Grawl was intertwined within him and, although Leech did not know why, he felt his own mind participating in another conversation. It seemed that he could almost hear it, and then not, then hear it again.

  “Bad drugs,” he said aloud. Again he tried to get up, but still couldn’t. He was dizzy, getting nauseated, and was feeling an increasing uneasiness.

  Paraptome reached down into the neck of the man and grabbed Grawl by the throat. The demon kicked and the man began to choke. Grawl clawed at the massive hand but Paraptome was careful not to crush it. Grawl tightened its grip on Leech’s spirit, wrapping its tail more tightly around his spine and gripping with its talons deeper into the human’s brain. Leech convulsed and shuddered. Voices disappeared and returned. His eyes were open wide; he was confused and fearful. His breathing was rapid and harsh. His muscles tightened.

  Paraptome took its other hand and, with its long claws protruding from its fingers, reached into the man and grabbed the human’s spine just below the neck. Then, carefully and slowly, it began to pull as it tried to separate the demon from the human. Leech crumpled on the couch, and then arched up, his eyes blinking wildly, looking and seeing nothing but the ceiling. He felt the twisting in his spine and the cold and pure evil that washed through him. He felt the terror that Grawl felt and became, for an instant, aware of its presence. Leech almost passed out from sheer terror and for a moment he believed the drugs were poisoned and going to kill him.

  Grawl kicked and scratched into the air, fighting against the hand that held it. Leech’s mind was foggy, unfocused. Fear grew as he thought about the drugs in his system. Grawl resisted but Paraptome squeezed its throat with precision.

  Leech felt the threat and punched the air in front of him, above him, in every direction. He gasped for breath and gurgled out a groan of pain. His eyes seemed to lose focus and regain it. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and then he fell to the floor. His legs kicked and his body bounced as he twisted. Foam spattered from his mouth. The pain was intense, his muscles stiff and twisting wildly. He could not control himself and he feared he would die under the onslaught of convulsions.

  Paraptome gripped hard onto Grawl’s throat, causing it to suddenly stop moving. Leech was motionless, dazed. Then it leaned down, opened its huge jaws, and encased the head of Grawl in its mouth, gently closing on its skull, but not biting. It forced three fangs to bear down upon the demon’s head. Grawl continued to resist. Paraptome began to slowly apply pressure, then more pressure.

  Leech grabbed his head with one hand and screamed out in pain. It was a piercing intense sting. He arched his back, every muscle ripping with agony. Then he fell limp again. Grawl had weakened for the moment.

  Paraptome applied more pressure. Grawl screamed as one fang pierced its eye.

  Leech screamed. His eye was searing as if a hot shard of metal had stabbed him. The pain fired into his brain. He struggled as blackness grew, and he slipped slowly into unconsciousness.

  Grawl continued to resist, striking out at Paraptome. But with Leech out cold, it made Grawl’s efforts more difficult. Grawl had to move the weight of the man from within instead of influencing his mind to do it. Leech loosely flopped on the ground as the two spirits fought within him. Paraptome squeezed his jaws upon Grawl’s skull. The demon screamed and arched, causing Leech to arch. Grawl continued to resist, clawing into Leech’s soul, trying not to let go.

  Paraptome applied more pressure. It squeezed and let one fang slip further into the eye and face of its opponent. The demon violently growled and clawed at the huge monster, but it was no use. Paraptome continued to use its strength to slowly, inexorably separate the demon from the human. Grawl could feel its grip loosening, and tried to dig its talons into the man’s spirit as tightly as it could. But Paraptome was far too strong and Grawl’s claws gradually began to give way, scraping across the man’s soul, damaging it. Paraptome could see that Grawl was determined. It knew that a prolonged struggle would probably kill the human. So, the principality decided to risk the man’s life with a quick move.

  With one fang protruding into the face of Grawl and the other upon its skull, Paraptome squeezed, causing both fangs to pierce deep into Grawl’s brain. The demon flinched horribly. Leech was convulsing on the floor, every one of his muscles in spasm, moving in slow motion as his body arched.

  Grawl’s strength was fading fast. First its bony left hand released, then its right. Paraptome squeezed harder on its neck, applying more pressure and driving its fangs deeper into Grawl’s skull. The demon managed a faint growl and finally after a single violent twist, it went limp. In an instant, Paraptome ripped it out of Leech. The principality opened its mouth, withdrawing its fangs from the demon’s skull. The man fell still and Paraptome stood up, holding Grawl in its clawed hand. It was terribly wounded and had only enough strength to open its eyes and look into the face of its hideous master.

  “I will deal with you later,” growled Paraptome as it pierced Grawl’s chest with its talons. The demon flinched weakly, barely aware of its own pain. Paraptome grabbed the wings and with a single movement ripped them from Grawl’s back. The demon groaned weakly. Then Paraptome hissed at the creature, opened its clawed hand, and let the creature fall limp through the floor, disappearing into the earth.

  Leech was still unconscious. Paraptome looked at him and stared into his body. It was bruised, but he was alive. It moved its nostrils up Leech’s torso, stopping at the man’s face and stared. It watched Leech’s breathing and matched its own to his. Paraptome opened its mouth and slowly extended its tongue into the mouth and throat of Leech. It bowed low and moved its face into the face of the man, its hands into his hands, its legs into his legs, and its body into his body. But in order for this huge demon to possess the human shell, it had to compress itself and contort its muscles and frame into the smaller cavity of Leech’s body. The principality explored the mind of the unconscious man, reading his memories, feeling his depravity and, finally, taking full possession. Paraptome growled out loud in a kind of victorious howl. The possession was complete.

  Leech lay still on the floor. He was dreaming of being eaten alive.

  Chapter 8

  PASTOR TIM AWOKE AND looked over at his wife. He loved to see her next to him in the morning. It didn’t matter that her hair was messed up, or
that small wrinkles moved out from her eyes. To him, she was beautiful. He adored her and considered himself blessed.

  I don’t deserve her, he thought.

  In fact, just a week ago, when they were at a friend’s house discussing marriage, Tim told everyone in the room that if it weren’t for his wife’s taste in men, he would have a lot more respect for her. They all chuckled, and she lovingly swatted him on the shoulder. He smiled when he thought of it.

  She opened her eyes. He said nothing. She looked at him. Tim could feel his heart beat just a little stronger. He looked at her lips and the shape of her nose. He loved the way her hair rested on the pillow and how the morning light made it glow. She looked back into his eyes, smiled, and scooted over close to him. They held each other and rested for several more minutes without saying a word.

  Finally, outside the bedroom, the sound of hurried footsteps grew louder until there was a knock at the door.

  “Yes?” said Susan with a smile. The door opened and a small, five-year-old freckled boy with a button nose appeared. “Mom, can I have some cereal?”

  “Yes, dear,” she said as she began to get up. “I’ll be there in a little bit and make breakfast.” The head disappeared and rapid footsteps faded down the hallway.

  Susan exhaled and she said, “That boy never stops eating.”

  Tim smiled, “And he’s growing like a weed.”

  She got up and headed into the bathroom. “You feeling any better?” she asked.

  “Yes. I think praying helped a lot last night. Thanks for being so understanding.”

  She stuck her head out the bathroom door. “My pleasure,” she said with a smile and ducked back into the bathroom.

  Tim stretched in bed and threw his legs over the side. He forced himself up and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. “I’m going to spend some time on my sermon and then go to the church to take care of some stuff, if you don’t mind.”

  “Okay, I’ll just do the grocery shopping all by my lonesome.” She was teasing.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Not at all. Sometimes it’s nice to have time alone. I’ll just see you later when you get back.”

  The little freckled boy appeared again at the door, “Mom? I’m totally starving.”

  “I’ll take care of it, hon,” said Tim as he slipped into his robe.

  ***

  Leech opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling until his head cleared. It was light outside. Saturday morning. He’d been asleep on the floor all night. He tried to move, but an intense soreness ricocheted throughout his body.

  “Crap.”

  He forced himself up, wincing, dragging the dead weight of his body onto the couch. It was difficult to move. “Bad crap,” he said, referring to the drugs he remembered taking the night before. “I’m going to find the guy who sold them to me and kill him.” He rubbed his hair, wincing from the dull pain permeating his body. His mouth was dry.

  Leech sensed that something in him wasn’t right. He felt heavy. He tried to move and, although he could, it required a lot of effort.

  Stinking drugs, he thought.

  Leech forced himself up and headed to the kitchen. He stopped halfway and leaned against a wall. The room seemed to move. He shook his head and lifted his left arm. It was heavy. “I’ve never had a reaction like this before,” he muttered to himself.

  He continued into the kitchen, dragging his feet slightly. With a tug on the refrigerator door, he managed to open it and grab a beer. He twisted off the cap and tossed it behind him as he headed back to the couch. It felt good to let his body fall into the cushion.

  “Man! This is bad.”

  Leech leaned his head back, tilting it from side to side, trying to assess the degree of soreness in different muscles. He looked out the window. Instantly reminded of the shooting last night, his heart skipped a beat.

  Paraptome had remained patiently silent within him but now decided to test its new possession. With the memory of the shooting freshly brought back to his mind, Paraptome tweaked the part of Leech’s brain that gives pleasure. Leech felt good. Paraptome stroked it hard so that each time Leech thought of it, it was exceedingly pleasant.

  Leech welcomed the thought of killing someone else, and with each malevolent contemplation, pleasure surged through him. He was a very willing and easy subject to control. He smiled, but it was a not casual smile. Behind it was wickedness, the kind that takes morbid pleasure in seeing others suffer. Paraptome laughed maliciously and so did Leech. He felt good, relishing the satisfying emotions that flowed through him. He dwelt on the memory of the shooting, reliving his actions, enjoying it. Paraptome raised the beer to Leech’s mouth. Leech took a drink. The evil creature stood up and walked him over to the window. The massive hulk inside of Leech caused him to move laboriously but Leech thought it was due to the bad drugs. Paraptome stared out through the man’s eyes, towards the direction of the shooting. Leech felt powerful and confident. He smiled and laughed out the window in complete defiance.

  Paraptome whispered into Leech’s mind, “You need to kill again.” With these words, it caressed Leech’s mind, sending endorphins flooding into him. That’s when Leech realized he had a new addiction: killing. He smiled and closed his eyes for a moment as he slowly exhaled in pleasure, savoring the thought, the new realization. I wonder how many people I could kill and not get caught.

  Paraptome walked Leech over to the mirror. The evil creature used its power and presence to manipulate Leech’s mind, knowing it would be easy to bring him to murder once more.

  While looking in the mirror, it continued to massage the pleasure centers of his brain and whispered sinister, evil thoughts in Leech’s mind and mixed them with a wicked pleasure. Paraptome found memories and sifted through them, quickly discovering what naturally pleased the man and what did not.

  Leech was staring back at himself, liking what he was seeing and enjoying the memories that were flooding through his mind. He saw himself as handsome and powerful. He thought of the murder as a kind of baptism, an initiation into a new world of freedom. He could take a life and not care. He had the power to extinguish a living being and enjoy it. He felt so free and alive. He smiled again. Paraptome spoke and Leech said, “I should have done this a long time ago.” Leech smiled.

  The man walked back to the couch and sat down. Still feeling the effects of the repossession, he noticed he was beginning to feel more than soreness. Acute pain emanated from his muscles. Then Leech realized he should have been awake all night from the drugs, instead of being unconscious.

  “I’m gonna kill the guy who gave me that junk,” he said aloud.

  He tucked the beer between his legs and rubbed his eyes. After another swig he closed them and rested his head on a dirty cushion. Paraptome wasted no time.

  “No one can get in your way. You can take whatever you want.”

  Leech listened to his own thoughts. “All I have to do is kill anyone who gets in my way.” He listened to the noises outside the window, thinking of what people were doing and how vulnerable and weak they were. He knew that he had power over them. He liked it. It felt good, very good.

  “Killing is freeing,” said Paraptome softly into Leech’s mind. “It is the greatest of power.” Leech felt his body fill with pleasure. He let his arms drop heavily to his sides and savored the moment.

  “Kill again,” came the voice from within. Paraptome spoke in the first person to mimic Leech’s thoughts. “I can do it again. I can get away with it again because I am smarter than other people. They are all weak and stupid.” Though the words came from Paraptome, Leech believed they were his own.

  He thought of the gang. Undoubtedly some of its members would have heard of the killing by now, and when he took credit for it, they would give him the proper respect and position in the group that he deserved.

  Paraptome spoke into his mind again. “How will they know it was me who did this? Do I have proof? Or will they think that I am taking
credit for what someone else has done?”

  Leech snapped his eyes open. There was no way to prove he was the killer. He could claim it, but that didn’t prove it. He forced himself upright on the couch, trying to think through what to say to them. But the more he thought, the more he realized that there wasn’t any proof.

  “There is a way to prove myself to them,” said Paraptome, still imitating Leech’s own thoughts. “If I tell them who I am going to kill tomorrow, then they will have to believe me.”

  Leech thought about the idea. But who? Who would he kill? It would be difficult to plan to kill someone just walking down the street, unless one of them was with him. But they probably wouldn’t want to risk that. They always wanted to protect themselves. No, it would have to be someone special.

  “A pastor,” whispered Paraptome.

  The idea surprised him. It was a great idea. He could hardly believe that he thought of it. “Yes, a pastor,” he said aloud. “A pastor, yes! That would show them.”

  Paraptome searched Leech’s mind to see if the man knew of the church where Pastor Tim was preaching. But as the creature expected, Leech did not. So Paraptome put it into his mind to look in the phonebook and pick a church. Leech’s heart leapt with a sinister joy. Paraptome tweaked his pleasure centers again and Leech very quickly decided to do it.

  “Get the phone book,” said Paraptome into Leech’s mind.

  Leech struggled to get up, still feeling the noticeable weight within him. He went over to the cupboard next to the phone in the kitchen. Inside the local directory were listings by category. He began leafing through them looking for churches in the area. It was not difficult for Paraptome to guide both Leech’s eyes as well as hands and lead him to the church where Pastor Tim was. “Here it is,” said Leech aloud. “This is the one.” Paraptome had manipulated Leech so easily.