The Good Sisters

by Helen Phifer

  Ollie looked at Joe. He was so engrossed in his prayers he clearly hadn’t heard anything. They blessed three of the five bedrooms and were about to enter the one Kate’s daughters had claimed as their own, when there was a loud crack above their heads. It sounded like a thunderclap, but it wasn’t thunder. The weather was far too cold for it. Footsteps began to cross the attic floor above their heads. They were so loud that the floor started to vibrate. Ollie whispered, ‘We need to get out and ring the cops.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘No, there’s nothing they can do. Joe was right. Whatever it is has been hiding up there hoping we’ll leave it alone. It knows we’re getting nearer and it’s trying to scare us away. Well fuck it. I’m not going anywhere.’

  Ollie thought that at this very moment in time Kate had finally succumbed to a nervous breakdown, that she was mad. His hands were shaking and he was so scared that his feet didn’t want to move. He couldn’t move forwards or backwards. He was literally frozen to the spot. Kate pointed at the ceiling and Joe nodded. He continued praying and Ollie couldn’t miss how the Bible, which had moments ago been held steady in his hands, was now trembling from side to side. Joe’s voice was barely a whisper.

  Beatrice closed her eyes. She nodded her head. ‘Yes, I hear you. I know you’re here. Thank you.’

  She looked at Kate.

  ‘Sisters Mary and Edith are here. They want you to know that you’re doing the right thing and should carry on.’

  ‘Where’s Sister Agnes?’

  Beatrice closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know, Kate. I can’t get a hold of her. It’s either blocking me or her. I can’t say for sure that she’s here, Kate. Are you sure you want to continue if Agnes isn’t here with us?’

  Before Kate could answer the walls and floor began to pound as if someone was hammering on them with huge fists.

  ‘I don’t think we have a choice, Beatrice. We have to finish it. I don’t care who or what you are, we’re coming up. This is my house now and you need to get out.’ Kate screamed the words at the top of her voice and the banging stopped. ‘See, we just need to let it know who the boss is.’ She giggled and Ollie looked at her in disbelief. Her face didn’t look the same as it had outside. Once again it had taken on the distorted, misshapen look it had borne last night. He looked at Beatrice who was also studying Kate’s face. She took hold of Kate’s hand.

  ‘Are you sure you want to continue, Kate? You’re so cold.’

  Kate threw back her head and began to laugh; only it wasn’t the normal, quite high-pitched laugh she usually had. This was a deep, gravelly sound.

  ‘Of course I want to continue, you stupid fucking cow. If you’re going to talk such rubbish get out of my house.’

  ‘Kate, whatever is trying to get inside you stop it. Block it. Say the Lord’s Prayer, sing your favourite song, but don’t let it get inside your mind. You can do it.’

  Kate’s head flew around to stare at Beatrice, and Ollie took a step back. Her lips were peeled back in a sneer and there were drops of spittle on her lips. Beatrice managed to keep hold of her arm.

  ‘Get out of her now. You’re not welcome inside Kate or this house. Come to mention it, take your filthy self and get out. I command you by the power invested in me by God.’

  At the mention of God, Kate snatched her arm away from Beatrice.

  ‘Go and die, you interfering old woman.’

  Beatrice shook her head. ‘Not today.’

  Joe, who had been watching the scene before him play out, looked on in horror. He stepped forward and pressed his cross against Kate’s head.

  ‘Get out of her, beast. You have no right to be in there.’

  She looked in his eyes and smiled. ‘Why, would you rather I came into your head, Father?’ Kate’s voice was light and mocking. ‘Would you like to see some graphic images of what your God won’t ever show you? I can show you how good hell is and I can change your life if you want me to, priest.’

  ***

  Kate, who could hear the voice she didn’t recognise coming from her throat, closed her eyes and summoned up the picture she had in her head of Agnes. A loud growl erupted from her throat and her hands flew up to her face as if to try and block the image of the elderly nun out.

  Joe continued to pray, then said, ‘Tell me your name, demon. I want to know your name.’

  Kate didn’t want to lose the image of Agnes. She kept her eyes closed. The elderly nun was tiny, but she was surrounded by a halo of pure, white light and she was smiling at Kate and nodding her head. A voice whispered in her ear, ‘Keep fighting, Kate. It’s scared of you. That’s why it’s trying to get inside your head. Don’t let it.’

  She shook her head, trying to free it of the blackness that was threatening to take over. ‘Get the fuck out of my head, demon.’ There was a loud thud from upstairs and suddenly she could think clearly again. She opened her eyes and stared straight into Joe’s.

  ‘It’s scared; it’s hiding upstairs. We need to carry on and chase it out while we have the strength. Agnes is here, but she’s struggling to keep up. She’s still quite weak,’ Joe told her.

  Ollie was as white as Beatrice. Kate knew he wanted to leave and drag her with him.

  ***

  Joe could see the darkness had left Kate’s face for the time being and she looked as if she was full of light and determination.

  ‘Come on, I’m claiming my house back once and for all. I don’t intend to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder playing cat and mouse with some evil bitch from hell. It’s a woman. I can’t believe it. I always thought that demons were male, not female.’

  Joe shrugged. ‘They can take on whatever form they wish. You’re right. We should go and finish this.’

  He could have slapped his own forehead as the words left his lips, but Kate was right. It was time to send this demon back to where it came from. He would finish what Father Patrick and Sergeant Crosby had tried to do and failed. He didn’t want to live the rest of his life in fear of this house. He went first, closely followed by Kate.

  Beatrice tugged Ollie’s hand and whispered in his ear. ‘If it’s too much you can wait downstairs. This isn’t going to be pretty and it’s dangerous.’

  He looked at her and hissed, ‘I’m scared fucking stiff, but I’m not about to leave those two alone to fight the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man or whatever ghoul it is that is waiting in the attic for them. I need to see it with my own eyes or I’ll spend the rest of my life locked up in a mental institution, rocking backwards and forwards, scared of going to the toilet on my own.’

  ‘Good, because Kate needs you.’

  They followed them along the corridor to the attic. Joe began to bless the doorway to the attic. He anointed it with holy water, but snatched his hand back as steam began to rise from the wooden door, burning his fingertips.

  ***

  Kate, who was fired up and angry that it had been inside her mind, threw the door open and turned on the light.

  ‘Coming up ready or not, you mother fucker. You are getting out of my house whether you want to or not. I command you, God commands you and the lovely Sisters Mary, Edith and Agnes command you.’

  The growl was so loud it deafened them. Kate had never felt such anger in her life at being violated. She ran towards it.

  ***

  Ollie thought that she was mad and was probably going to need antipsychotic drugs to calm her down. Still, he followed her because he wasn’t going to let her fight this on her own. As he reached the top step he almost fell back into Joe. Kate was standing in the middle of the attic and in front of her was a huge, black winged beast with the reddest eyes that pierced through the dark.

  Both of them were locked in some form of battle. Kate didn’t utter a word and Ollie wondered if it was because she had just scared herself catatonic, because he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to hold a normal conversation after this ever again.

  Joe stepped in behind him and whispered, ‘Oh fuck.’ Ollie tried
to walk towards Kate to stand with her, but he couldn’t move his feet. The three of them were stuck. There was an invisible force holding them back. The stench of rotting meat and burnt flesh filled the room, making Ollie gag.

  Beatrice began to recite her favourite prayer over and over again in a whisper as if her voice wasn’t working properly. Maybe that was frozen as well.

  ***

  Kate couldn’t speak. The multitude of voices crying out for help inside her mind was deafening, and the thing in front of her was grinning at her.

  ‘Get out of my head. I’m telling you now to leave me alone. Get out of my house and go back to hell.’

  The laughter was so loud it made her brain hurt as it filled her mind.

  ‘You’re a strange one, I’ll give you that. Such strength for a woman so weak-willed. Where does it come from?’

  The voice that spoke next didn’t belong to Kate. It was much older and slightly hoarse. ‘It comes from God, demon, and you should know that. You might have reigned supreme for a little while down here, but know your place. God is claiming his house back to fill with light, so you can go back to hell and get out of here.’

  The figure in front of her wavered a little and looked a little lighter.

  ‘We cast you out of this house. I revoke your invitation to come inside. You’re no longer welcome to be here. This house belongs to God and Kate. You have no place here, so leave now and don’t you dare come back.’

  ‘And who is going to make me? You, old woman? You didn’t manage it the first time. What makes you think you can manage it now?’

  Kate felt the room fill with brilliant white light and she turned her head to see Agnes holding hands with two other nuns to her left. As she turned to her right she saw Ellen, who was holding hands with another nun, a small child and a big man. Both Ellen and Agnes reached out for Kate’s hands. Joe had stepped forward and was holding on to the young boy and the other nun, all of them standing in a row.

  ‘By the power of God I command you to leave this house now. Your invitation to enter has been well and truly revoked, mother fucker, so get out now so God can fill it with his love.’ Kate screamed at the black figure, which was shrinking in size before her eyes. The light coming from them was blinding. All of them raised their hands, pushing the light forwards until it completely consumed the black beast in front of them.

  ***

  A scream of fury filled the room. It was so loud Ollie thought he was going to wet himself. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Beatrice clasped his hand and they stood hand in hand behind Kate and the heavenly row of angels next to her. Later on when Ollie would have time to think about it, he would realise that was the only way to describe the sight in front of his own eyes. Ellen was standing in front of him, clasping Kate’s hand, and he wondered for a second if he was dreaming it all. It was so outrageous to see his dead wife standing shoulder to shoulder with his girlfriend to fight a demon.

  He’d lost his mind. Any minute now he was going to wake up on a hospital bed and find out he’d had a mental breakdown and this had all been one bad trip. The entire attic was now filled with so much light. He noticed something else: the atmosphere up here no longer felt menacing. It felt warm and embracing. Ellen turned around to face him.

  ‘I love you, Oliver, but I’m tired now. I need to go and rest. Agnes is going to take me to the light. Look after yourself and Kate. I will see you again, just not for a very long time.’

  One by one the figures in front of him shone brighter and brighter, and then they were gone. It was Joe who caught Kate as her legs gave way underneath her. Ollie was still staring up at the roof to see where they’d gone. Joe turned and made his way with Kate in his arms down the narrow staircase.

  ‘I think she’s dead. Phone an ambulance now.’

  The panic that filled Ollie’s chest was so painful it crushed his heart. ‘No!’ he screamed at the top of his voice. ‘She can’t be.’

  He followed Joe down the narrow staircase. Kate was like a rag doll in his arms. Joe kicked the door to the nearest room open and lay her down on the bed. Ollie was trying to phone 999 but couldn’t get a signal. He ran across and felt for a pulse. Beatrice pushed him to one side. ‘Heavens above she’s not dead; she’s fainted. Get some water. The poor lass – it’s been too much for her. Kate, Kate, can you hear me, love? It’s over. You can open your eyes; you did it. You sent it back and set them all free.’

  Kate’s eyelids fluttered and Ollie ended the phone call. The last thing they needed right now was the police turning up to see what they’d all been doing. Kate looked around the room. She saw Joe who smiled at her, and Beatrice who mouthed ‘thank God’, and then she saw Ollie who bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.

  ‘Phew, we thought you were a goner.’

  She pushed herself up on her elbows. Tears filled her eyes.

  ‘Did you see them all? It was amazing. They all came to help. Do you think we did it? Did we send it back?’

  Beatrice nodded. ‘Yes, you did, you all did. I’ve never seen anything like it. What a beautiful band of angels. You set them all free, Kate; they’re no longer tied to this house. They’ve all gone to the light.’

  Kate looked at Ollie. ‘Are you okay? Did you see Ellen?’

  It was his turn to brush away the tears. ‘I did. I can’t believe it. I’m just glad she’s at peace now. It’s all I ever wanted for her.’

  Joe shook his head. ‘If I hadn’t just witnessed that with my very own two eyes I would be thinking you were all stark raving bonkers. Seriously, Kate, well done; what a team we all make.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Thank you, Joe; however, I’d rather this was a one-off and we didn’t have to repeat any of this ever again.’

  ‘Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, Kate, I can’t see any demon in their right mind wanting to pick a fight with you in a hurry.’

  ‘I bloody well hope you’re right.’

  Ollie helped her to sit up. ‘Come on, I know you’ve done a better job than Bill Murray or Dan Aykroyd ever could, but for tonight can we please just go back to my house?’

  She wrapped her arm around his neck. ‘Of course we can. I feel so tired – as if my energy’s been depleted.’

  He helped her up. Taking her hand, he led her downstairs. Beatrice and Joe followed. As they got to the front door Beatrice turned to look around. ‘The house feels completely different.’

  Joe nodded at her. ‘It’s gone, no doubt about it. It feels so much lighter in here. This is going to be a splendid home for your family, Kate. And one day when you feel up to it, perhaps you could research the history and document exactly what happened. Who knows, you could have a number one bestseller on your hands.’

  Six weeks later

  The house was almost finished. Kate’s bedroom was now a dining room. She and Ollie had moved into the room that once belonged to the gentle nun called Agnes. Each room now had a cross above the door and Kate thought that Agnes would approve. The living room had a big, open fire, which Ollie was currently stoking. The girls had finished decorating the huge, real pine tree that they had picked out from the Christmas tree farm two days ago. The fairy lights twinkled brightly, reflecting against the gold and silver balls that adorned its branches.

  Autumn and Summer had just set up the Monopoly board and they were about to start playing when there was a knock on the door. Kate looked at the clock on the mantel. It was six o’clock and they weren’t expecting any visitors. Ollie stood up.

  ‘I’ll get it.’

  He went to answer the door. As he peered through the peephole he felt his blood run cold. Standing on the other side were two of the detectives who had come the night Ethan had found the head. God it all seemed so long ago. Both Ollie and Kate had tried their best to forget about what had happened and the fact that Agnes’s head had been found.

  He opened the door and smiled at them. ‘Good evening, detectives, what brings you out here on a cold, snowy night? Is everything okay?’r />
  He stepped to one side to let them come in.

  ‘There’s been an incident at the hospital and we need to speak to you. Is now a good time?’

  Ollie shrugged, trying his best not to look like a major criminal. ‘I suppose it’s as good as any.’

  ‘Is Ms Parker around? We need to speak to the both of you.’

  ‘Why don’t you take a seat in the kitchen? I’ll go and get her for you.’ He led them to the kitchen and pointed to the chairs. As he turned Kate appeared. Her face was ashen and he shook his head and lifted his finger to his lips. They both went and sat down at the table.

  ‘Hello, detectives, is everything all right?’

  ‘Good evening, Ms Parker. Not really, we have a bit of a problem. You remember that head one of the builders found and we took to the hospital?’

  Both of them nodded.

  ‘Of course you would. It’s not every day you find a shrivelled up head in the hall, is it? Well when the pathologist went to look at it a few days ago, there was a bit of a problem. It wasn’t there.’

  Ollie spoke. ‘What do you mean it wasn’t there? Where was it then?’

  ‘Well that’s the million-dollar question; we’d all like to know where it is so we were wondering if you knew.’

  ‘Why would we know where it is? We phoned you to take it away in the first place.’

  ‘Well that’s exactly what I said, but we just thought we’d better check with you.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘I have no idea where it could be.’

  Ollie ran his fingers through his hair. ‘You think that we have something to do with the missing head?’

  ‘No, I’m not sure.’

  ‘I can’t prove who has taken it and I have no idea why anyone would want to steal back the mummified head of a nun who was murdered in 1933. So I’m here for you to tell me – if you wanted to confess?’

  Ollie sat back and smiled. ‘We have no idea what you’re talking about. The last we heard it was being buried in Sister Agnes’s grave.’ Ollie thought he was doing a great job of not sounding like he was about to crack up and confess to it, even when he didn’t know where it could be.