Pierced Souls: Part 2

“Bugs aren’t monsters, Holly,” Sam said in exasperation.

“It wasn’t BUGS, it was real monsters, Samuuueel... They were real monsters who stayed away from you because you’re. A. Cranky ass.” The rhythm in her words irritated him.

“Whatever.”

“OHMYGOSHLOOKITHOWCUUUUTE!” Holly intervened as Sam placed the boxes on a coffee table that adorned the center of the living room atop a dark round rug. Holly was hovering delightedly over an intricate snow globe, sitting on an end table next to the fireplace. The figurines inside were a silver color; a fairy sitting next to a flower the same size as itself, looking to have a delightful conversation. The ‘snow’ was a glitter-like substance, a nice little decorative piece. “It’s got a cute little faiirrryyy awwwee…” Holly pressed it with her finger to make it tip ever so slightly. A shimmery cascade rolled to the side, swirling elegantly. Her eyes sparkled as the image seemed to entrance her.

Damien’s grunt broke her hypnotic stare, as he leaned against the doorframe to breathe for a second.

“Guys, get your butts out there, and bring boxes in!” Another huff and he finished bringing two large boxes into the living room and half dropping them on the floor.

“DAMIEN, DON’T EVER DO THAT,” Sam screamed, before finding himself and rushing to the boxes, “These are specifically labelled DO NOT DROP!!” Damien waved his hands frantically in the boy’s face.

“SAM, DON’T YELL AT ME, if you don’t want your crap dropped, bring it in yourself. You two need to stop fighting, I have work to do!” Sam pouted for a moment before immediately opening both boxes and rummaging through piles of what anyone would think were just wires and scrap pieces of electronics.

“It’s not crap...” was muttered while Holly confirmed it was indeed crap. Damien shook his head, defeated, and grumbled before stomping back outside. Sam finally decided to quit skulking, and followed Holly as she skipped to the deck and back to the car. They both made a small bit of effort to clear it, filled to the brim from the back seats to the trunk. When they remembered that there was a U-haul behind the car, Sam had a plan devised. But of course, Holly had the same one a couple seconds later.

“Alrighty, I’ve got my last box, Sam, what about you?” Holly chirped as she pulled one of the two remaining boxes out of the trunk.

“Oh yes, sis, this seems to be my last box from the car.” The two simultaneously raised their hands to close the trunk before heading towards the door. Damien, from the back of the U-haul, ducked his head to the side, boring a hole in the back of their yellow heads with a glare.

“What do you two think you’re doing?? There’s a whole trailer to empty here!!” Holly turned to Sam without looking back at her angry uncle.

“I was sleeping, but Sam said I needed to help unpack the car.”

Sam continued, “Yeah, I did say that.” He looked back to his sister, “and Damien asked me to help unpack the car...” The two resumed pace to the porch, Sam stepping aside to let his sister pass.

“Why thank you, brother,” Holly nodded a dramatic appreciation before stepping in, and he followed suit. Damien stifled an aggravated yell while instead stomping his foot, pacing back to the trailer. The two really had a knack of working together when it got them out of something they didn’t want to do.

“Nice job, Goldilocks!” Sam placed his box down and held his hand up for a high five. Holly made the connection then finger-gunned her womb mate. Sam’s smile faded when his eyes cast on a floorboard meant to lead into the basement. Holly stepped in front of his gaze and caught his eyes, smiling reassuringly. “Do you think this one’s haunted?” he asked hesitantly. Holly shook her head, grinning.

“No, Sam, I’m not feeling anything weird about this place. Not so far, anyways.” She sidled up to him and reached an arm around his shoulder, trying to maintain that smile. She knew that no matter how much she reassured him, he would still have nightmares the whole first week in their new home. He always had.

“There are other houses around here, but none of them have people living in them. It... kinda bothered me, to be honest.” Sam looked down at his fingers as he twiddled them nervously.

“Damien’s been careful since... house 3. He’s been looking into things more before moving.”

Sam and Holly researched the third house they had moved to with Damien after they could bear to re-live the memories of what happened in its basement. The house belonged to a man who died around the age of 37, after kidnapping, torturing, and sacrificing several kids to a demon in the underworld. He was found out by a girlfriend of his after she heard screams coming from the basement. One of the children’s sedatives had worn off and they heard footsteps above, knowing he was not alone in the house and hoping they might get rescued. It’s guessed that when the woman heard, the man found her in the bathroom on the phone with the cops, and then killed her, before making his way downstairs and finishing the children. The police busted down the door just in time to see him turn a pistol on himself, a symbol of some sort drawn in children’s blood on his forehead.

Several cleansings had occurred on the property, making it livable for the average human family, though the energy had been seeping back into the house and finally made an attempted escape when the twins moved in. Appearing as a friendly, well-groomed man, he talked to the twins, who at the time were 7, and after earning their trust, kidnapped them into the same basement.

Both were bound, in a circle of blood from their own lower torso, and tortured by the several spirits of the other children who suffered the same fate. The man had told him that once they endured the trials of all the children, he would be released back into the living world to praise his demon once again. He was nearly successful; if Damien hadn’t sensed something was terribly wrong with the twins and immediately come home, he wouldn’t have intervened with the spirit’s plans by cutting them free while vocally banishing the spirit, giving them enough time to leave the house. Holly and Sam never saw it again, and each suffered extremely lucid nightmares.

Not only that, but they had a connection with the other side now, it seemed. Holly could easily feel the presence of spirits and understand their intent, while Sam wasn’t as sensitive to their aura as he was their appearances, in real life and in his dreams.

“We should check out our rooms...” Holly giggled mischievously, poking Sam in the face before leaning in the direction of the stairs. Sam’s head perked up, and the two of them quickly made their way up the stairs as Damien came in with more boxes, glaring at the two of them. Damien, of course, had the master bedroom, and the twins would claim the first two on the hall. Two neat little bedrooms stood with doors adjacent to the same wall, beds on the shared wall as well. Damien knew that although the twins desperately needed their own space due to their different gender preferences, they still appreciated being near each other during the night. But the rooms as well seemed made for the twins.

Holly stopped at the frame of the right room’s door, Sam, at the left. The two led with their dominant feet opposite each other and entered the rooms. Against the front wall of each room was a desk and book case for each of the twins, and dressers against the back. A small closet space lined the outer wall on each room awaiting junk and unorganized piles to be stored inside. Each twin took time to bring their boxes up and put away their items in each respective rooms. After they were done, they went back downstairs to check up on Damien.

“Oh, hey guys, I was just heading out. Have a good night!” The two stopped at the end of the hallway and stared in disbelief.

“But... We just got here,” Said Holly, disappointed they wouldn’t be spending time together the first night at the house.

“You’re working so much lately,” Sam said, concerned. Damien looked away for a moment.

“Guys, I told you I had work to do. Do you never pay attention?” He smiled. “I’ll be back for breakfast, yeah?” The two looked at each other, then back to Damien.

“Alright,” They echoed, smiling, “Work hard, uncle,” in unison. Damien waved and stepped out, closing the door gently behind him. They heard the car start and watched the headlights as they flashed in the windows then backed away, disappearing and leaving the dimness of twilight. The two walked to the living room.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re hiding from something.” Holly said, but Sam didn’t reply. They both knew the answer, it wasn’t a feeling anymore.

Sam sat on the living room rug and pulled some scraps out of the last box he left in the room. He was making closer inspection on the previously dropped projects, including what Holly had dubbed the spook-o-meter. He pulled it out of the box and looked it over, scrying to see any missing or broken pieces, noticing one of the knobs was missing. Holly had pulled the snow globe she’d discovered to the edge of the end table nearby and was absent-mindedly shaking the pretty thing before setting it down to idly watch the sparkles float to the bottom. She noticed Sam set down the gadget to search in the box for its missing part, and her eyes lit up.

“Oh yeah, this thing, Mr. Spook-o-meter!” She scooped it up, not turning it on, but pretending it was a radar, ‘booping’ it in different directions of the house. “Remember when we went to abandoned houses and used this thing? Wanna see if it still works??”

“Of course it still works!” Sam pulled his head out of the box and glared at his sister, standing to confront her. “But it’s missing a piece, so give it back.” She held it away from him.

“Then can we see if it still works?” Sam reached for it, and Holly backed towards the fireplace.

“I really don’t feel like it. I’d like to pretend this house is normal for a bit.” Sam tried to look annoyed, but his face mixed the emotion with the unease he felt inside as he swiped again.

“Don’t be a baby, Sam. I told you there was nothing here, so we’ll turn it on and it’ll prove we’re fine.” Sam became flustered.

“OR it won’t prove anything because if it says nothing’s here then it could be BROKEN!” Sam lunged one last time to grab the equipment from her, pushing her in the process. Her hip bumped the end table and the glittery globe tumbled off the edge and onto the wood floor, shattering. Holly screeched, nearly dropping the spook-o-meter, while Sam took the opportunity to snatch it back from her, his face red. “That’s what you get for being a jerk,” he shoved it back into the box and pulled a broom from the corner. “Let’s clean it up.” He grumbled.

The twins did their best to sweep up as much glass and glitter as they could manage, attempting to use paper towels to mop up the water. Sam put away the broom and threw away the soaked paper as Holly picked the base of the globe up off the floor. Her face paled. Sam raised his eyebrows and walked to her.

“I’m sorry I broke the snow globe you found.” Sam muttered, Holly shook her head quickly, motioning for him to come closer.

“Do you remember these..?” He squatted down next to her. As soon as he saw the pentagram, his face drained just as hers did. Along with the symbol, carved into the bottom wood, were a few sigils, one that Sam recognized as a binding.

“Well,” Holly placed the globe where it started on the end table, “If this house wasn’t haunted before, it is now.”

That's the end of the first chapter of Pierced Souls. I hope you come back to join me again and give feedback!