The Sudden Disappearance of Lindsey Hanington

Short Story

I checked everything three times, to be sure it was in the right place. The roses were all aligned in a perfect circle, with red and black candles surrounding them. On the floor next to me I had a book open, but it wasn’t a normal book you would find at your local library. It was the Diaboli Commentarius. Each of its yellowed pages was full of rituals and summons, and it told of a dimension much darker than our own. I spent months scouring blogs and forums trying to find anyone who had the book or knew where it might be. My hope was dwindling, but on my front porch sat a package addressed to me when I arrived home from school the other day. I ripped it open as I stepped through the front door and explored the book’s pages the whole night.

Some rituals inside speak of wealth and power, but I was after something else. Love. I kept the book next to me with it open to the page that spoke of an entity like that of Cupid. A presence that, once summoned, would search for the one with which you want to spend your life, and it will make it so. I lit each candle and dragged my backpack closer to me. The zipper echoed through the abandoned house I used to perform the summoning. I reached inside and pulled out Lindsey Hanington’s green scarf. My hands melted as I held it, and my hair stood on end. I placed it in the center and reached into the small pocket of my bag for my knife. Goosebumps rose on my arm as I placed the blade on my palm.

I took a deep breath, my chest tightened, and in a swift motion, I slid the knife away. A fire seared from my hand along the cut. Blood seeped from the wound and dripped onto the floorboards. I reached my hand over the scarf. My blood pattered against the floor in a line. A few drops splashed onto the scarf and soaked into its fibers. I pulled my hand back and grabbed the bandages from my bag. The pain in my hand flared as I wrapped my wound. There was one step left to complete the summoning. On the page were words to read out loud. I looked over them a few times to be sure to remember. With my head lowered and eyes closed, I shouted aloud;

“Clamo ad unum quod amo!

Fac ea mea in aeternum!

Animas nostras in perpetuum participemus!”

I picked my head up and looked around. Something blew out each candle in unison. From underneath the blood-stained scarf, rays of light stretched out into the room. The floorboards shook beneath me, like an earthquake. I stared into the circle and watched the floor crack, revealing more light. It opened, swallowing the scarf, and bathing the room in a fiery glow. Sweat dripped from my forehead. I tried to look inside, but my arms and legs weighed down to the floor. A cackle erupted from deep in the chasm and echoed out into the house. My heart raced in my chest.

The cackle grew louder. Two tiny arms appeared and grabbed onto the ledge. The room went quiet except for my deep strained breath. A small head peeked from out of the hole. I grit my teeth and my eyes widened. The small head was that of a baby, but with eyes that were empty and void of color.

He crawled out of the hole with a grin smeared across his face. The baby stood up on two chubby legs and turned his head to the right. Another cackle erupted through the room as his head rotated in a full circle. My heart slammed against my ribcage, and I scooted back a few inches. The baby clenched his fists, and the cackles turned to a high-pitched wail.

I covered my ears, but the sound slipped through, rattling my skull. The baby hunched forward, his eyebrows furled and teeth clenched. Two mounds formed across his back. Something moved and scraped against the skin until it tore open.

Wings of a bat scraped through the torn skin and muscle. He opened his hands and straightened his back. My stomach filled with nauseating sludge. The baby held out his arms and fluttered his wings, flinging blood and flesh from them. They spread out longer than his arms could reach.

He flapped them and lifted into the air. My racing heart sank deep into my chest. I scooted away further, and he circled the room. The entity cackled and flew into a boarded-up window. The first hit shook the boards, but with the second he was able to smash through. Moonlight crept through the opening.

The floor shook, and the hole closed, returning the floor to normal. As I stood up, I held the book in my arms. I walked to the window and stared out. I could still hear his cackle echo in my mind as I watched him dance through the night sky.

***

I sat in the middle of the dim room, holding my bandaged hand. Did it work? Should I wait here? What the fuck was that thing? A knock at the door caught my attention. My muscles tensed and a chill crawled up my spine. I snapped up from the floor and walked to the boarded-up window with the hole in it. The floor creaked with each step. I peeked through and saw, on the other side of the door, Lindsey Hanington. My heart fluttered in my chest with incredible warmth. I leaped to the door and threw it open.

My heartbeat was all I could hear. The warmth in my chest swelled through my face. There she stood, wearing her favorite green turtleneck and boot-cut jeans. She had a scarf that matched, but someone took it in our fourth-period class earlier today. I took a deep breath when I realized I was standing there with a grin from ear to ear. I had to say something.

“Hey Lindsey, didn’t expect you to be here.”

Her curly brunette hair hung down in front of her face. She looked at me without responding. Not even a smile. She reached out to me as if to give me a hug. I froze in place, trying my best to act normal. I knew this had to have meant the summoning worked. She pushed me back into the house and shut the door behind her. I staggered back, feeling my heart beat throughout my body. Lindsey stepped closer and wrapped me in her arms. Her skin made my hairs stand on end.

She leaned in and kissed the side of my neck. My heart was racing. I grabbed onto her waist. Goosebumps raised across my body. I felt her breath against me, and it was hotter than I expected. I never believed the ritual would work, but there I stood, with Lindsey Hanington kissing my neck. Without warning, piercing pain burst through my neck. Lindsey swung her head back and looked at me with a smile bigger than mine. Blood dripped from the pieces of flesh in her teeth. I let go of her waist and pushed her back. Warmth slid down my shirt and pants. I looked down at the trail of blood puddling by my shoe.

Pain throbbed through my muscles. I felt a wave of nausea crash against me. My stomach turned, and I stumbled to the floor. Lindsey stared down at me, chewing my neck and swallowing it. I crawled away from her, but she crept along with me. The floorboards shook again. I looked at the circle of flowers and saw the hole ripped open. Lindsey grabbed me by my ankles and dragged me toward it. I kicked her away the best I could, but she didn’t budge.

“Please stop. Why the fuck are you doing this?” I wheezed with more blood on my shirt than in my head.

She pulled me up to the chasm and picked me up. I couldn’t stand on my own two feet. Lindsey pulled me in and planted her lips against mine. Without thinking, I closed my eyes. My nausea mixed with a new sense of weightlessness. She pulled away from me and my eyes fluttered open. We were falling, embraced in each other’s arms, down the hole. The opening, staring down at us, closed without making a sound. I glanced at the flames below. Lindsey grabbed my cheek and pulled me into her gaze. She smiled and cackled that demonic cackle.