"Possession 01.htm" by Courtney Reger

Cory awoke in a cold sweat. She gasped for air and shook her head. Groping around on her table, she flicked on the small desk lamp. The light illuminated her small room, and she breathed a little easier when she discovered nothing hiding in her corners. She settled back onto her pillows and watched the moon through her windows.

She got nightmares most nights; she’d had them since she could remember, but they had grown worse lately. She sighed and gazed at the moon as it made its routine march across the darkened sky. Cory turned over and tried to go back to sleep. It didn’t work.

“Uggh!” she said as she pulled herself off the bed. “Maybe I’ll just read for awhile.”

Getting up slowly to avoid vertigo, she walked over to her bookcase, picking a path over her cluttered floor. Passing her mirror, she stopped and looked herself over. Short brown hair reached her chin and framed her brown eyes. She pushed hair out of her face and grinned at herself.

“You’re going to miss all your beauty sleep, Cory,” she said to her reflection. She leaned closer, examining her face. “I’m going to have bags like crazy under my eyes tomorrow.”

She traced a finger under her eye and contemplated how bad they would be. This close, she could see a reflection of her reflection in her green eyes. She put her face near the glass and watched herself watching herself. She grinned again.

Suddenly, she pulled back. Cory hurried back to her bed without her book. Hastily, she dug herself back into her tangle of blankets. With only her head peeking out, she left the light on and forced her eyes to shut, blocking out the sight of the mirror.

* * * * *

Cory yawned hugely when she woke up the next morning. She sluggishly got herself ready for school. Brush hair, brush teeth, wash face. She went through her entire morning routine without a single glance in the mirror. Before she left, she stopped, turned and faced the mirror in her house’s entrance. She gave her waiting double a big smile and headed out the door.

She met up with her best friend about a block from the school. Cory stopped and motioned for Haley to get in her car. They walked into the school together, laughing and talking. They joined their normal group of friends and went to class. Cory zoned through the day, coming around once in Science, and again in Study Hall. The end of the year was coming in less than a week, so the teachers had basically given up trying to force knowledge into the students’ heads.

Cory quit zoning after school. Tina, Haley, and Cory were all walking together to Cory’s car so she could give them a ride home. Both of them lived in town, and walked to school unless the weather was really bad.

“So, Cory, are you going to Justin’s party tomorrow? Celebrate the end of the year in style with us,” Tina said. Cory smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll probably show up; free food is always guaranteed to get my interest.”

Their group passed another as they walked out the door, and Cory collided with Rachel Smith. Both girls dropped their books and scrambled along to pick them up.

Cory stood up while apologizing. “Sorry! I’m sorry!”

Rachel glared at her while her friends helped her to her feet. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going next time!”

Rachel and her friends stalked off, leaving Cory standing stunned in the hall. Tina pulled her along.

“Ignore them, Cory. Rachel was born a bitch, and high school didn’t do anything to change that.”

Cory didn’t answer. She clenched her teeth hard. Her eyes followed Rachel down the hall. Inside her head a voice was screaming. It drowned out all other thoughts except for one. Another voice cried out against it; the two thoughts battled in her hand, echoing around and around. Cory’s mouth tasted metallic as she fought to swallow her anger. Her vision clouded over and she was only dully aware of Tina’s persistent tugging on her arm.

“Cory, what is wrong with you? Are you even paying attention to me? Cory?” Tina waved a hand in front of her friend’s vacant face. Cory gave no response, no sign of acknowledgement.

Tina and Haley glanced at each other, worried, and hurried Cory to her car. When Cory showed no sign of willing movement of competence at driving, Tina loaded her into the backseat. Haley drove; they brought Cory home.

Cory remained silent throughout this entire process. In her head, the battle raged between two warring ideas. As she struggled to give strength to one idea and weaken the other, she was oblivious to the world.

Once Haley and Tina had successfully gotten Cory home- thankful that her mother and father wouldn’t be home for some time- they were completely at a loss as to what to do next. Tina was observing her carefully, watching her face intently.

“What is wrong with her?” Tina questioned Haley, confusion in her voice. “Her face… it goes from sad and defiant one moment to deadly the next. I’m actually kind of scared of her.”

As she spoke, Cory’s face twisted into such a malevolent expression that both girls flinched back. Just as quickly, her face became pleading; and then the countenance changed back into the face they knew well.

Cory blinked, dazed, and slowly looked around her. She brought her face back to her two staring friends with difficulty. “What happened?” Her voice was faint.

Tina glanced at Haley, and said, “You tell us. What’s wrong? You were completely out of it. Me and Haley all but dragged you to your house.”

Cory’s face blanched, and turned to view her walls. Her face was still blank when she turned it back to her friends. “I don’t know what happened. One minute, Rachel was insulting me…” Here, she quit talking to clench her teeth briefly, “… and the next thing I knew, I was sitting here. What happened?”

Haley answered, “You were, like, in a trance or something. I don’t know; but it was scary. It was like you were, I don’t know, having an out-of-body experience. Tina and I basically pushed you along. You didn’t so much as twitch; just sat there, silent.”

“Your face got all weird. It was actually scary; your face was, like, demented looking.”

Cory shook her head. “I don’t know what happened, but I think it’s over now. I should probably give you guys a ride back to town.”

Haley shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’ll just call my mom and have her pick us up. She’ll probably be angry about wasting gas to get out here, but I’m not sure I trust you behind the wheel of a car.”

“I’m fine. I promise; I’ll bring you home. No reason for you to get into trouble because of me.” Cory attempted to smile and shake off the gloom and worry that invaded the room. It didn’t work.

Haley and Tina were not convinced, but Cory didn’t give them another option. She drove them home; the ride was silent and grim. A couple times, she caught both her friends staring at her, waiting for her to start acting up again. She dropped them both off at their separate houses. Both waved to her; Cory waved back, a smile plastered on her face.

She drove quickly home, the radio turned up to ear-shattering volumes. Two thoughts kept beating against the side of her head, each wanting acknowledgement. One, for having triumphed; the other, for having existed.

Cory reached home before the rest of her family. She sat outside in the warm air, watching the sun dance among the leaves, enjoying the quiet. Only when her mother and little sister came home did she go into her room.

There, she roamed around, looking at the walls, staring at the pictures; some of her childhood, intermingled with many that were more recent. She ran her hand along the walls, tracing a flowing vine pattern on her cream colored wallpaper. Cory’s hand followed the vine as it merged into vine, never ending. The vine was suddenly cut off and her fingers bumped into the edge of her hanging mirror.

Cory faced herself in the mirror, watching double copying her movement. A random thought entered her head. What if people’s reflections didn’t copy them? She shivered. Cory leaned in toward the mirror, as if confiding with a trusted friend.

She stared intensely at the replica of her face, as if expecting it to make a sudden movement, one that she had not made. Her double did nothing that she didn’t do. She sighed and whispered, “Eighteen years.” And she turned away.

* * * * *

“Are you guys ready to contact the dead?” Justin whispered, the firelight flickering on his face. Some people shivered.

They had decided early on that they couldn’t stay indoors, and the party had morphed into a bonfire. And they had all agreed that a bonfire wasn’t complete without a ghost story or something similar. Someone had produced a Ouija board; they were all set.

Cory sat off to the side of the main group, with her two friends. She watched the moon march across the sky; the same moon that she had seen from her window a few nights ago. The same moon that had completed that same journey hundreds, thousands, of times since she’d been born. Amazing how it never changed.

Tina nudged Cory and her attention returned to the circle around the Ouija board. They had laid it out on the ground and were watching it spell something.

Cory, Tina, and Haley all went forward, interested in what was happening. The spelling tool moved slowly across the board, stopping briefly at different letters.

“What’s it spelling?”

“F-R-E… Free me. Something is trapped.”

“Hmm, a trapped spirit. Is it evil?”

As their classmates debated the pros and cons of possibly freeing a trapped spirit, Tina turned to Cory and Haley. “I can’t believe they all buy into this crap! Ghosts!”

“You don’t believe in ghosts, Tina?” Haley asked.

“Why, do you? I sure don’t.”

Cory piped up. “I do. I’ve seen ghosts before.” Her eyes stared unfocused ahead of her, seeing something neither of them could.

“I do too. I believe in ghosts, demons, angels, possession, all that stuff. Why is it any less possible than anything else?” Haley asked. Tina shrugged. They all turned back to the board.

The spirit had not quit talking. Try as she might, Tina could not figure out how the thing was moving. Cory was still staring at nothing. Haley was staring at Cory, worried. The speller was moving again. P-O-S-S-E-S-S-I-O-N. C-… The speller quit moving quiet suddenly. In fact, it was gone.

The people in the circle gasped. They glanced around, amazed and spooked by the disappearance. All claimed that they had never taken their eyes off it for a second. While they debated the disappearance, Cory slyly slid something into the fire.

“What was that?” Haley asked, leaning down over Cory’s shoulder. She started violently, falling backward off her seat.

“Don’t sneak up on me, Haley. I nearly smacked you.” Cory attempted to change the subject, but Haley didn’t allow it.

“You stole the speller; and threw it in the fire.” Haley’s face was confused. “Why?”

“I just don’t believe people should contact spirits. They may invite something into this world that nobody wants. And then what would they do. Leave someone else to take care off it. It was a dumb trick anyway.”

With that, Cory turned away, trying to end the conversation. But Haley was persistent. “You didn’t have to do that, Cory. It wasn’t nice. You could have just told them to quit. Now you went and ruined a perfectly good game, of somebody else’s, and for no reason.”

Cory turned angrily on her friend. “You know what? Just leave me alone. Quit talking to me, Haley before I do something you’ll regret.”

Haley jumped back from the venom in her friend’s face and the malice in her voice. Cory stalked around the fire and sat on the other side. Her face was lit brightly by the dancing flames, creating sparks in her eyes. Haley blinked and looked away. For a second, she thought she saw something else looking out of her friend’s bright green eyes.

* * * * *

The next day, Cory was still refusing to talk to Haley. She avoided both of her friends if she could, but talked to Tina if she had to. Haley was worried, and said as much to Tina.

“Something is wrong with her. Really, she’s been acting weird, and jumpy, and moody.”

“It’s called PMS. Leave her alone; she’ll get over it and she’ll thank you for respecting her privacy and giving her space. Calm down, Haley. What else could be wrong with her?”

Haley shook her head and said nothing more about it. She quit trying to talk to Cory and left her alone. After school, though, she saw Cory walking away from her car. Cory was walking quickly, almost oozing through the shadows of the building, staying out of sight. She had something in her hand. Haley followed her.

Cory went around the building part of the way and stopped. Haley ducked behind the nearest vehicle as Cory turned to scan the ground behind her. Haley peered out from behind the hood of the big truck and watched as Cory kneeled down.

Haley heard a loud hiss, and another, and another. Then, Haley heard metal being dragged along more metal. After a final loud hiss, Cory turned and ran back the way she had come. Haley nearly dove beneath the truck to avoid being discovered.

Haley watched Cory sprint to her car and drive quickly away, nearly rear-ending another car in her haste to escape. Slowly, Haley stood up and walked over to see what Cory had done; though she had a good idea.

Rachel Smith drove a nice car to school. Brand-new; now covered in scratches and with all four tires slashed. Haley gasped and put a hand over her mouth in horror. She couldn’t believe that Cory had done that; she’d never sought revenge before, and that hadn’t been the first time Rachel had ever been mean, to her or anyone else.

Haley turned away from the damaged vehicle and trudged home, thinking the entire way. Tomorrow, she resolved to have a word with Cory. But, maybe first she would talk with Tina. She couldn’t deal with their friend’s changed behavior by herself.

Haley spent a sleepless night, dreaming about the different reactions that Cory might have when she was confronted. In one dream, Cory broke down and began to cry, saying she didn’t know what had happened. In another, she had completely ignored Haley and denied everything. In the last, the one that wouldn’t let her go back to sleep, Cory turned furiously and attacked Haley with a knife.