by T. G. Ayer
Maya cleared her throat, the taste of frankincense still in the back of her nose. "And these rites, will they really work?"
"They've always worked in the past." Dev nodded, his eyes flashing with confidence as he gunned the engine. "There's nothing to say that they won't work now."
"Come," said Maya's mom. " We need to get moving. The faster we do this the better."
Maya looked out of her window as their car pulled away from the curb. She stared at the brightly lit house. Despite the lights, the house exuded a darkness that Maya still felt in her bones. What had they done to the girl while she'd lived there? How badly had they treated her for them to deserve this kind of punishment? Had the young man also ill treated her?
Or was he an innocent bystander caught within the net of vengeance?
Chapter 2
As they entered the graveyard Maya had to force herself to hide a smile. In all her wildest dreams she never would've thought she'd be sneaking into a graveyard in the dead of night with both her parents. And on a serious job at that.
They had visited the house at nightfall and that had seemed so creepy. Yet now, just entering the graveyard under cover of the growing darkness, sent shivers up Maya's spine.
They parked in the little graveled lot at the entrance of the cemetery. Maya got out with her mom, her feet crunching the stones underfoot. The sound echoed so loudly around them that Maya flinched. Her mom watched her with a raised eyebrow, and Maya rolled her eyes. They waited as Dev removed a small suitcase from the trunk of the car. He shut the lid, then retrieved something from his trouser pocket. He held a little piece of paper in his hand and though Maya wanted to ask what was on it, she gritted her teeth and followed in silence as he headed off into the darkness of the graveyard. No one stopped them, and Maya guessed that Evergreen Hills Cemetery, with it's unusually high wrought-iron fences and bright security company logos, was not exactly overrun with grave robbers and kids playing midnight pranks. She could just imagine the Rao's getting tossed out for trespassing.
They walked further into the cemetery, with just a small torch and the tiny electric lamplights lighting a thin path way through the trees. Maya shivered. The thought that they were surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies creeped her out. Not that Maya should be creeped out the first place. Killing demons was a hard enough job but demons were far worse than dead people.
Still, she guessed she'd also run and hide at the first sign of the zombie invasion.
At last they reached the dead woman's grave, a plain site marked with a unadorned, simple headstone. Grass had begun to creep across the ground in front of the headstone. Grass that shriveled up and died as the blades reached the area directly above the grave.
Maya stared at the grave, a hollow feeling in her chest. "Is there any way to prevent this from happening?" she asked.
"Well honey, the family must have known there was a possibility that the girl would turn into a Churel. Everyone has heard the warnings, which is why most people usually treat expectant mothers with care and gentleness. But perhaps this particular family didn't want to admit the possibility because an admission would mean they would have to admit, at least to themselves, that they were abusing the girl. That in itself is not an easy thing to do." Leela's face was dark with anger as she looked at the bare grave. "There are a number of things they could have done after she died to make sure she didn't become a Churel. But I have a feeling that in this particular family nobody would've admitted any wrongdoing in the first place."
"Yeah, the best prevention would've been that they should have treated her well in the first," said Maya, her voice bitter and hard.
Dev laid the suitcase down at one corner of the grave. Crouching, he clicked the locks and flipped it open, and Maya raised an eyebrow at its contents. They seemed to have come quite prepared. He withdrew four nine-inch nails and lay them beside him. Then he took a plastic container and laid it on the grave. Next he moved a brass tray to the center of the raised mound of soil and placed a small clay lamp on it, along with what looked like frankincense and camphor.
Maya glanced at her mother who stood beside her, her pale pink sari fluttering in s sudden breeze. She was just as silent as her husband. It seemed the whole idea of the pregnant woman being abused really troubled Leela. But, before Maya could ask her mother any further questions, Dev motioned for her to join him. That left Maya standing alone at the foot of the grave. As creepy as ever. She glanced around her, staring through the trees up the path and behind her down a small gully. Nothing moved, nothing stirred.
Maya watched as her dad handed her mom the nails, which Leela proceeded to place at each of the four corners of the grave. Dev open the large plastic container and removed what looked like a number of small red-flowered plants complete with root and soil. He handed them to Leela who placed two of the plants alongside the nails at each corner. Then Dev followed, quickly leaning over and dropping a small leaf, some camphor and frankincense at each corner as well. Before closing the bag he removed a small-handled shovel.
He rose and dusted the soil from his knees, then came to stand at the foot of the grave. He removed a piece of paper from his pocket. Maya peered closer to see what was written on the paper. Sanskrit. A language she could not read. She waited, and soon her dad began to chant, repeating the words from the paper in the same singsong way that the priests of the temple used. Strange hearing her dad speak that way.
After chanting the incantations Dev turned to his wife and nodded. She rounded the grave placing little clay lamps at each corner filling them with frankincense and camphor. Then Dev went back to the first corner. Withdrawing a small hammer from his pocket, he began to dig a small hole into which Leela placed two of the small red plants. Once buried Dev grasped a nail and hammered it into the soft soil at the corner of the grave site while Leela lit the camphor and frankincense.
They continued to plant the flowers and hammer in the nails at all the other corners. Soon the scent of frankincense wafted around the grave-site, hanging like a thick white blanket. Not a breeze stirred now, yet Maya felt as if someone was trailing cold fingers up her spine. She shook the feeling off and tried to pay attention to what her parents were doing.
At last Dev returned to the bottom of the grave and completed his incantations. Then he nodded his head and stepped a few feet back from the site. Done, they hurriedly put the shovel and container away and headed back to the car.
Maya frowned as they reached their parked vehicle. She stared back at the dark tree line that hemmed in the graveyard. Already she had no idea where the gravesite was."We left the grave pretty quickly," she said, a question in her statement.
"It's best to leave as soon as we are done. The last thing we need is for the Churel to follow us. It's likely that might happen so we have to take precautions," said Dev and he stepped into the car, seemingly unperturbed at the possibility of being followed by an undead demonic force.
"You mean that thing could actually follow us home?" asked Maya, her voice cracking as she spoke. She jumped in and buckled up, waiting for him to answer her.
"It's possible," replied her mother as she shut her door. "The Churel naturally seeks a male member of her family to wreak vengeance on. That's not to say that another male wouldn't suit her purposes, especially when he is in her way."
"You mean Dad could be in danger?" asked Maya, her heart thudding as she glared at her father's eyes reflected in the rear-view mirror.
"Yes, it is possible." Leela spoke, looking out of her window, and the fingers of cold crept along Maya's spine again.
"Then why did we get involved? Especially when it could endanger Dad?" Maya asked vehemently. She couldn't believed that they would willingly face such dangers to their own lives just to help people who mistreated their family. In this case as far as Maya could tell these people probably deserved what they were getting. She gritted her teeth.
"Honey, you have to understand that we have to do our duty first, even if
it puts us in danger. The family needed us and we did what we had to do," Dev said, meeting his daughter's eyes in the mirror.
Maya's neck remained stiff as she folded her arms. "I don't see how they needed you that much considering what they did to her when she was alive. She would never become a Churel in the first place if it weren't for them."
"I understand what you mean and I agree with you, but that young boy could have been totally innocent. The Churel will seek her vengeance on the family as a whole. When she returns from the grave she is no longer capable of seeing a difference in any of the men in the family, whether they have ever hurt her or not. That is one of the biggest problems with the creature. We may understand her point of view. No one likes the idea of a pregnant woman being abused. But once she turns into the demon she loses all sense of humanity and fairness. She becomes a demonic killing machine."
Maya nodded, although she wasn't entirely convinced. "I can understand that. Okay, let's be careful then. Is there anything that we need to do?"
Her parents shook their heads as Dev backed out of the parking lot. He said, "We've done what we can. We just have one more thing to do before we go back to the house."
Maya remained silent as they drove back towards the area in which the family lived. Just before they crossed the suburb line, Dev pulled up at the side of the road, not two feet away from a giant-sized sign proclaiming Richfield Gardens as the perfect place to live. Dev got out of the car and withdrew another nail and the small hammer from his pocket. He walked to the edge of the sidewalk where he crouched and began to pound the spike into the soil beside the sign.
When he returned to the car Maya asked, "What was that about?"
"I just placed a nail in the suburb line. It should keep the Churel out. We can only do what we know how to and just hope it works." He slid into the car, seemingly unperturbed by the whole episode.
Yeah, Maya thought, let's just hope it works. The last thing she wanted was for that demonic creature to come after her dad. The entire drive from the graveyard Maya had the distinct feeling that if she glanced out the back window she would see ghostly, skeletal fingers reaching out for their car, as if the graveyard wanted them back.
Dev started the engine and drove off, returning to the house which was still brightly lit and still deathly quiet. He got off the car and said, "You two wait here. You don't need to come with me." Then he left, hurrying up the entrance stairs to knock on the door. It was opened within seconds by the old woman. This time though she seemed a bit more pleasant, a smile turning the corner of her lip as she spoke to Dev.
A shiver ran up Maya's spine as she watched the woman. Something about her seemed off. She watched them talk and in the end the old woman nodded and opened the door wider. Dev retrieved another nail from his pocket and bent to hammer it into one end of the threshold. Once done he got to his feet and dusted off his pants, nodding at the woman. She spoke a few more words and Maya assumed she was thanking him. Then he left to return to the car.
Chapter 3
Dev got back into the car and shut the door, an odd expression on his face. For a long moment he just sat in the front seat, his hands on the wheel
"What's wrong?" asked Maya her eyes not leaving his face.
Dev turned to look at her. "I'm not sure. Just something didn't feel right."
Maya nodded. "You felt it too?" He gave her a sharp glance, then started the car.
"Let's not get too complacent. Let's just all be aware and careful. You just never know what could happen." Leela spoke and instead of calming her down her mom's words just put Maya more on edge.
They drove through the tree-lined streets, through the darkness of the night, and Maya wondered what other horrors the shadows held. These days nothing should surprise her. She'd been through so much in the last few weeks, so much that it all seemed so unbelievable at times. But the strange thing was it was getting less and less unbelievable as time went. Funny how that happens.
Another shiver ran up Maya's spine and she looked around. She turned in her seat and stared out the rear window at the long stretches of dark road behind them. Nothing. Just darkness and shadows and night.
Finally, there were home. Dev turned into their driveway and cut the engine. Maya knew she should be relieved but she still felt strange. As if she expected something to happen but she wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen. All she knew was that it was inevitable. Her gut churned and she swallowed hard as she got out of the car and shut the door. She scanned the shadows around them. Still nothing.
Leela unlocked the front door and went into the house while Dev rounded the car. He opened the trunk to remove the suitcase of ghost-hunting paraphernalia. Maya followed him. Something in her was reluctant to leave him alone.
And then she stiffened.
Something made her sniff. She turned to smell the air that wafted around her. An odd scent floated on the night breeze. A gust of wind blew through the trees, sending all the leaves around them aflutter, as if even the wind knew something was going to happen.
Something bad.
Maya jumped as her father shut the trunk with the bang. He looked at her, winked then turned to walk off when Maya got the scent again. This time it was stronger, thicker, more cloying. More demon-like. Maya scanned the darkness frantically looking for a demon.
Nothing.
That's not true.
Maya narrowed her eyes, staring hard at the spot next to the oak tree beside the driveway. The air shimmered as if Maya had something caught in her eye. She blinked and breathed. The demon smell was strong; raw flesh and incense and something else. The smell of the dead. The smell of freshly turned soil.
Maya turned to her dad as he walked off. She glanced back at the shimmering in time to see it slowly begin to take the form of a woman. Her hair spread open behind her, blowing on an invisible breeze, her dark eyes Kohl-lined and as black as death. The woman would've been pretty once, with her high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes. But now she stood there in the shadows of the trees with the cloying odor of rotting meat around her. Maya could see nothing of beauty, just everything of death.
The woman glided towards the house and that one movement set Maya in motion.She began to run towards her father. Dev had seen and heard nothing, his back still to Maya.
And to the Churel.
He was walking slowly back to the house. Maya's knees felt like rubber, as if of fear had decided to bind her legs. She grunted. She wasn't going to let that happen. She ran, pushing herself forward on feet she could barely feel. And as she ran the ghostly shadow-woman ran too.
The Churel was fast. Faster than Maya ever imagined she would be. The wind lifted the woman's hair as she flew towards Dev.
"Dad," Maya screamed as she ran. "Run," she yelled hoping he would get away but he didn't listen. Instead he turned around, a frown on his face, mouth half open as if he wanted asked Maya what was wrong. Now he could see for himself what was wrong.
The Churel was almost on him, hands outstretched, clawed fingers reaching for his face.
Maya knew she wouldn't reach them in time. Frustrated, she stretched out her hand called on her fire. A ball of flame appeared in her upturned palm. She tipped her hand and aimed at the Churel, flinging the fiery ball at the demon.
The fireball missed the ghostly woman, flying past her head, singeing her hair as it disappeared into the night. It was enough to get the Churel's attention, though. The demon-woman turned to glare at Maya. Her eyes glowed red and she bared yellow spiked teeth when she sneered at Maya. She snarled, then tipped her head in Dev's direction. Her oily hair hung over her face, as she glared at him, her fiery eyes gleaming. And then, in the blink of an eye, the Churel sped towards Dev grasping at him with her viciously long claws.
Dev grunted and held onto his stomach. Maya stomach hurt too, dread filling her slowly. The Churel had gotten to him. And Maya was just standing there like an idiot, watching as her father was attacked by a monster. She had to do something
.
In one smooth move, spurred by her fury and her fear, Maya drew another ball of fire and aimed it at the Churel. She didn't wait. This time she immediately drew another ball of fire and sent a stream of them, aiming straight at the Churel's face. It was too close to her father but there was nothing she could do about it now.
"Dad, duck!" she yelled. She had to get the Churel away from him and the only way she knew how was to kill the creature with her fire. A little voice inside her head asked her 'what if it doesn't work?'. But she couldn't listen. She had to trust her firepower.
The first ball of flame hit the Churel, slamming into its neck. The smell of burning meat rose through the air as the fire dissipated in a small puff leaving a blackened scar behind on the demon's leathery skin. The second ball of flame hit her in the chest, burning the fabric of the sari in which she'd been buried.
Fear rippled through Maya. For a moment she thought that the blasts of fire was not working and all she could smell was that demonic odor of the woman. In a fit of fear she sent three balls of fire at the Churel one after the other. She put all her strength and her might into them, hoping they would at least give her father time to flee. And this time, when the fire hit the Churel it set her clothing ablaze.
But it seemed Maya's flames didn't deter the creature. The demon turned to Dev and grabbed a hold of him, grasping the fabric of his shirt with her sharply-tipped fingers. She pulled him closer. The demon possessed an inordinate amount of strength and though Dev struggled in her grip he couldn't get away no matter how hard he tried. The Churel tipped her head to one side, staring at him with her glowing eyes. She gripped his chin, pushing it upwards and baring his neck to her. She raised her free hand, holding it close to him and Maya watched as a vicious looking nail extended from the demons fore-finger. The Churel grinned, her sharp-toothed leer sending chills through Maya. Then the demon looked at Maya.