Inner Demons

"THE PARAMOUR - PRIVATE RESIDENCE - NO HONKING"

The gates opened slowly, giving ominous creaks and moans as they did so. An older man and a teenage girl greeted them. The man shook Brian's hand, "I'm Thomas Boyd, and this is my daughter Cassandra. We're the owners of The Paramour. I trust you will take good care of it during your stay..."

Thomas continued talking, and led them into the house, but Delia and Nadine stayed outside. They wandered the grounds, doing a few laps around the pristine pool. They finally settled down on a bronze bench located in the garden. Delia ran her fingers along the top of a row of pansies, "These next four weeks should be interesting," she sighed.

Nadine nodded, and the girls looked up when they heard something behind them. She turned to see Cassandra hiding behind a large red bush, her face covered by a sheet of pale copper hair. Her glasses glinted a bit and Delia motioned her to sit down. Cassandra gave her a timid smile and shook her head, "I have to be going soon, but I just wanted to warn you,"

Nadine shifted uncomfortably, "Warn us?"

Cassandra nodded and moved from behind the bush, "This house, well, it's never empty. It's best to avoid the far hallway on the third floor.."

Delia blinked, "What... is there, like, personal stuff there?"

Cassandra glanced downward, "Just stay out, okay, unless you like hospital food.."

The girls exchanged awkward looks but nodded and watched as Cassandra left. "That was weird." Delia muttered.

Nadine nodded and they went inside as Thomas was handing Ray a set of keys, "Call me if anything goes wrong. I'll see you in four weeks then!" he exclaimed, walking out the front door.

Ray turned and stared around the heavy looking foyer. It was decorated with foreboding paintings and sculptures scattered carelessly across the walls. There was an exceptionally large one of a dying man that filled them all with a sense of fear. Gerard coughed and it reverberated, he then looked up, "I guess we should find our rooms.."

Brian held out the keys, which he had placed in his hat, and everyone drew one. Delia was staying on the third floor with Gerard and Frank, Nadine was with Mikey, Bob, and Ray on the second floor, and Brian offered to stay in the room downstairs. They all wandered into the different rooms, each one giving comments. Gerard was fascinated at all the paintings, and became upset when there were no works of art in his room. He did have a nice view of the garden though, so he was content. Frank crashed into the fluffy, four-poster bed in his room and began making odd noises in the back of his throat. Nadine watched him for a moment and quirked an eyebrow, "How am I related to you?" she asked him.

He stopped rolling around and looked up at her, "Well, you see.. Mom and Dad had to have se.."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Nadine shrieked, covering her ears with her hands.

Frank smiled wickedly and flopped back down on the bed, "What? You don't wanna hear your older brother talk about sex?"

Nadine turned pale, "No!"

"Sex." Frank said coolly.

Nadine blushed, "Shut it you perv!"

"Sex, sex, sex, SEEEEEXX!" Frank wailed.

Nadine screamed out and threw her shoe at his head, hitting him in the jaw. He narrowed his eyes and chased her out of the room. They ran screaming down the hall, nearly mowing Gerard over, but stopped. The hallway ended with a heavy oak door. Nadine ran her fingers down the front, "I wonder what's back here..." she muttered.

She grabbed the door handle but jerked her hand away quickly, "Jesus, it's freezing!"

Frank rolled his eyes, "Nah, you're just a baby,"

He stuck out his tongue and opened the door effortlessly, but he was wearing gloves. The hallway seemed to stretch out endlessly and grew the deepest shades of black as it did so. Nadine stepped back a bit, "That's fucked up!" Frank bellowed, listening intently for an echo.

Strangely there was none. He quirked an eyebrow and stepped inside. Suddenly, a dense frigid wind snaked its way through Frank's body. He fell backwards, unblinking and gasping for air. Nadine knelt down beside him, "Oh my God, are you okay?!"

He continued to lay there, staring ahead, his face blank. Nadine began to panic, "Frankie! Answer me!"

He started making vowel noises, eyes darting place to place. Nadine shook her brother and started screaming as his eyes fluttered closed. She shook his shoulders and gasped when his eyes snapped open and were fixed on her. He started smirking and Nadine slanted her eyes, "How dare you!"

Frank began laughing, so Nadine drove her foot straight into his groin. He yelped and grabbed onto himself, curling into the fetal position, "Oh... oh my God... do you not want me to have kids?!" he wheezed.

Nadine's eyes became wide, "STOP TALKING ABOUT SEX!" she yelled, kicking him again.

Frank seemed to be winded by the point, and their fighting had attracted attention. Ray bounded up the stairs, fear and worry etched on his face, "You guys okay?"

Nadine nodded and wiped her hand, "Yep, I took care of it."

Frank groaned and held up his right hand, flipping his sister off, "Lies! All lies bitch!" he screamed.

Ray rolled his eyes, "Shut up Frank!"

"Bite me, Toro!" he argued, mostly out of pain and frustration.

Nadine burst out laughing, and in the corner of her eye spotted the hall. She trotted over to shut the door, but a tiny voice whispered "save them.."

She stopped and listened intently, the voice continued, "Sacrifice... save them... only you.."

Nadine stared into the darkness, but suddenly the door slammed shut in her face. She shot down, screaming frantically. Ray looked at her, then the hallway door, "Was that thing just open?"

Nadine kept screaming, "It closed! No one was there!"

Heavy tears rolled down her face, bringing streaks of her eyeliner with it. Frank dragged himself over and wrapped his arms around his sister. He held her and rocked her gently, "Shh, Deeny, it's okay." he cooed.

Nadine shook violently and yelled, "No! A voice! I heard a voice... the door!"

Now she wasn't even making sense, and it worried Frank. They sat there for over an hour until Nadine had fallen asleep in his arms. Frank half-carried her to her room and laid her down, and Nadine woke up. She stared at her brother with watery eyes, and sighed, "Frankie... that door... it closed without anyone touching it."

He nodded, "I saw, but the hallway was pretty windy. It could have been anything." he explained, his voice thick with reasoning and comfort.

Nadine whimpered and curled into her brother, burying her head in his chest, "Don't leave me Frankie.."

He raked his fingers through her thick hair, singing softly. Nadine relaxed, but she could hear the voice again, tiny and timid, like a small child, "Save them... he's in danger... sister..."

She tried to concentrate on the small voice that seemed to fluctuate with each word, "Save them, save the singer... save his brothers... save your sister..."

Nadine shot upright and stared at Frank, "Where is everyone?" she asked.

He blinked in confusion, "I don't know... Gerard, Bob, and Delia left, and I think everyone else is in the ball room."

Nadine looked out the window and saw the sun sinking behind the city. She turned back to Frank, "Um, I'm kinda hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

He shook his head, "No, that's why they left. That, and Gee wanted some cold medicine." he explained.

Nadine grabbed her cell phone with a smile and dialed Delia's number.

"Hello?" Delia piped.

Nadine shoved Frank out of her room, "Hey, what are you guys getting for dinner?"

Delia laughed loudly, "Oh, everything! Pizza, Chinese, some weird French shit..."

"Hey!" Gerard shouted, loud enough for Nadine to hear.

Delia smiled, "Look, we'll be home in about ten minutes."

Nadine crawled out of bed and sat cross-legged on the floor, "Umm.. some weird stuff happened not too long ago."

Delia inhaled sharply, "Like what?"

"Frank started acting weird and I heard voices and... a door slammed in my face." she explained.

The other line was silent for a few moments until Delia sighed, "You don't think... I mean, Cassandra said the house was weird."

Nadine shrugged, "Maybe, but she was kinda weird too,"

Delia chuckled, "Look, I can see the house from here, I'll see you soon,"

Nadine hung up and stared around her room; it was much larger and darker than she though, plus the fact that there was no sunlight. She stood up and left her room, eyeing the now closed hallway door. She trudged down the steps and spotted Delia stepping through the door, her short hair matted with rain. She shook her head vigorously, sending water droplets flying. Gerard and Bob came in after her, carrying bags of food and a couple boxes of pizza. Everyone followed them into the massive dining room and sat down at the long, cedar table. Nadine stared at the peculiar buffet before her; there was pizza, sandwiches, stir fry, fried chicken, and a plethora of random side dishes. She glanced over at Delia who had egg noodles and cheese pizza in her mouth. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a turkey sandwich and some fries. They all ate happily, finally content to be away from the busy life and constant attention they felt in New York. Gerard let out a low belch and everyone turned to him. He looked up and a bit of tofu slipped off his fork, "What?" he asked loudly.

Nadine and Delia burst out into laughter, while everyone else just gave Gerard confused looks. The rest of the evening went smoothly, finally ending with Nadine, Delia, and Gerard holing up in Ray's room, the only room in the house (other than the living room) with a TV. They watched old horror movies, gasping and giggling at the poor quality and "special effects." They sat huddled together underneath a moth-eaten quilt, watching a movie called "The Monster that Threatened America."
Gerard stared ahead at the screen, "This has to be the stupidest movie I've ever seen," he muttered in a monotone voice.

Nadine nodded, not even bothering to blink. Delia curled into Gerard, allowing him to put his head on her shoulder. They were quite happy for some time, until there was a knock at the door. Delia perked up a bit, "Hello?"

Mikey came into the room, "Gee, Brian needs you downstairs in five minutes," he announced.

Gerard moaned and covered his face with the blanket, "No! I'm tired and sick! Lemme watch my movie!"

Mikey scoffed and crossed his arms, "Don't play around Gee. Downstairs, now!"

Gerard gave a pathetic moan, "No!"

Delia laughed, watching the two of them fight like little kids. Nadine rolled her eyes and turned up the volume on the movie, nearly drowning out Gerard's crackled voice. The lights began to fade and flicker and the TV started acting down right weird. Delia nudged Gerard with her elbow and directed his attention to the small screen. The same three-second clip was playing over and over, with bouts of static in between. Nadine moved closer to the screen, staring at the jumbled static. There was an odd glitch, then another, and finally a face appeared. It stared at Nadine, then turned to Gerard, smiling. She screamed and pointed wildly at the screen. Delia and Gerard raised their eyes, staring at the screen. The face remained, and came out of the glass, grazing Nadine's cheek. She yelped and dragged her body over to the bed, whimpering out of pure fear. The face contorted into a brutal yell and a milky entity shot across the room. It darted from wall to wall, finally plunging into Gerard's chest, sending him flying off the bed. Delia scrambled off the bed and knelt down beside him. His shirt had an ashy burn ring on the front, but his skin was unscathed. Nadine was having a little episode herself. She was screaming and crying and flailing her arms like a mad man. She felt her fist connect with something soft and it collapsed beneath her. She turned to see Mikey holding his hand over his nose, a torrent of blood seeping through his fingers. Nadine gasped, "Oh my God! Did I do that?!"

Mikey nodded and moved his hand, making Nadine gasp again. It was bent at an odd angle, one could easily tell it was broken. Nadine rushed him downstairs while Delia cradled a weakened Gerard in her arms. He let out a pained whimper and his hands traveled up to his chest, feeling for some kind of wound, "Del... what's wrong with me?" he asked feebly.

She grabbed a handful of his hair and twirled it in her fingers, "I don't know..." she answered in a whispering cry.

He felt tears in his eyes and fixed his gaze on her, "I think... I'm gonna puke,"

She nodded hurriedly and found some vase to hold under his head when he began to gag. They sat there for almost twenty minutes and the room smelled heavily of sick. A figure stepped into the room, but both Delia nor Gerard had the energy or curiosity to look up. Delia felt strong but comforting arms wrap around her and she barely tilted her gaze to see her brother. He glanced over at Gerard, then back to Delia. He let out a gentle sigh, "Let's get you two to bed, you need to rest,"

Delia, for some reason, started to cry. Not loudly, but hot tears rolled down her cheeks and she held her brother tightly and muttered, "I wanna go home,"

Bob kissed her forehead softly, "Shh, I'm here, I'll keep you safe."

Delia sniffled and a new set of tears flowed from her blue eyes, "I'm so scared Bob," she sobbed quietly.

He nodded and helped her to her feet. He then picked up Gerard and led them up to the third floor. Delia turned to go into her room and heard a woman whisper, "The worst is yet to come..."

She lifted her head in a melancholy fashion and witnessed Gerard black out in Bob's arms. She let out a wail and bounded into her room. She vaulted onto the bed and buried herself in the covers, letting her tears whisk her away.