As of Nov 3:

Total Word Count: 5307

Target Word Count: 5000

Given the fact that I started over four thousand words ahead, I’m not totally satisfied with where I’m at so far, though I am where I need to be when it comes to meeting the overall goal. But, it is early in the month. There’s still time to catch up to where I want to be.

Disclaimer: The following excerpt is unedited. You will find spelling errors, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies. There is more telling than showing. I am well aware of the poor quality of the writing; however, fixing it is not the point of the exercise. The point is to get as much written as possible, and editing as I go will only slow me down. Know that I will take a month (or longer) to revise.

 

Well, Val thought, there was definitely something supernatural going on. Her sixth sense was screaming at her that there was a rogue spirit around; goosebumps rose on her bare arms despite the heat of summer, the hair on the back of her neck stood up, and her muscles tensed in preparation to flee. But she didn’t need her sixth sense to know that something was wrong. The temperature inside the house was freezing — her and Nic’s breaths puffed in visible clouds in front of their faces. The wailing upstairs was so loud Val might have been surprised that she hadn’t heard it outside.

Nic yelped as a china tea set soared just above his head. “It’s getting worse,” he said. “There wasn’t all this shit flying around when I left to get you.”

“Sounds to me like someone’s not happy,” Val replied. “Lead the way.”

Nic bounded up the stairs, Val following behind at a more composed pace. She could feel the steps beneath her feet vibrating with the disturbed energy of the house. Someone was indeed very unhappy.

The temperature plummeted even further when she made it to the top of the stairs, and the air felt heavier. Nic was dancing on his toes impatiently, his deep brown eyes darting to the door across the hall and back to Val. The crack under the door revealed shadows darting back and forth, and flashes of light indicated that the lights in that room were probably flickering.

One of Val’s favorite Internet memes said that flickering lights was one percent likely to be caused by electrical problems, and ninety-nine percent likely to be demons and shit. Val was pretty sure, in this case at least, it was demons and shit.

“I take it she’s in there?” Val pointed at the door.

“Yeah,” Nic said, rubbing his hands together against the cold. “She was supposed to meet us to go shopping, and when we came over to see what’s up… Well, you’ll see.”

“Great.” Since Nic didn’t seem keen on going anywhere near the door, Val stepped up and turned the knob.

If the commotion was loud with the door closed, it was deafening with it open. A blast of supernatural wind strove to push Val out of the room, but Val had been expecting it. The spirit knew and recognized her for what she was as soon as she stepped foot in the house, and it did not want her interfering. Val let her own commanding aura flare, and some of the energy obediently settled.

With the roar of the unnatural wind dying down, Val was able to discern voices in all the noise. The loudest voice was an almost inhuman screech, originating from a small Hispanic girl standing on the bed. The girl–who could only be Nadia, since the other three people in the room were all little goth boys like Nic—was not looking good. Her face was long and pale, her eyes shadowed and glowing with a purple fire. Val was probably the only person in the room who saw the fire; it was a clear indication that the girl was possessed by something that was no longer human. Val turned to the boys huddled in the corner.

“You three.” She pointed imperiously at the boys, her voice commanding enough to shock them out of their fright. “Restrain her. I need her lying on her back. Nic, help them.”

While the boys scrambled to obey, Val commandeered the nightstand to use as an altar, keeping an eye on the boys in case the spirit gave them more trouble than expected. She picked up the lamp and set it safely on the ground, then unceremoniously swept the rest of the clutter away.

Nadia shrieked, and with a blast of psychic energy, Nic and the other boys shot across the room, slamming into the walls with painful sounding thunks. “Enough!” Val barked. The rogue spirit inside Nadia silenced, and slowly, Nadia turned her head toward Val, without moving any other part of her body.

“You do not command me,” the spirit inside Nadia rasped.

Val raised her eyebrows. “By the Light of the Morning Star, I do command you, spirit,” she said, infusing her voice with the power of Hell. “You will obey me.”

“I do not answer to the devil or his spawn!” the spirit spat. Val wiped the saliva from her face, glaring. “I and the girl are children of God! Your tricks will not work on us.” Nadia’s right arm lifted and made the sign of the cross over her body, and then she spat on Val again.

Val rolled her eyes and sighed. “Boys?” she called over her shoulder, not daring to take her eyes off of Nadia. This spirit was a new one to her. The followers of Yahweh (or Allah or Jehovah, depending on which branch of Abrahamic religion they followed) tended not to linger after they died. Either they joined Yahweh in his plane of existence if they fit his vision of righteousness, or they joined Val’s father in Hell. There were a few cases where a spirit was not aware that it’s body had died, and that usually was an easy problem to take care of, but this particular spirit seemed to know exactly what it was. “You guys alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nic said, his voice laced with pain and sarcasm. “We get thrown around by supernatural forces all the time. No need to be concerned about us.”

Val exhaled sharply in exasperation. “You’re not being funny, Nic,” she said. “If you’re not seriously hurt I still need the four of you to hold her down.”

The boys groaned, and though Val could feel Nic’s glare on her, she didn’t dare turn away from Nadia in order to meet his eyes, in case the spirit decided to try something while her back was turned. “We’re just gonna get knocked around again!” he protested.

“No, you’re not,” Val snapped back. “I’ve got it under control.” To emphasize her words, she pushed her aura further out, drawing a hiss out of the spirit. “You hear me, spirit?” she muttered. “Those boys are under my protection.”

“The devil’s protection is a poor protection indeed,” the spirit retorted.

“I’m not the devil,” Val answered. “I’m the fucking Antichrist.”