Hell-oween Vol. 2

Glad that tonight went smoothly and didn't turn into another hell-oween like last year, Jade curled up in her worn out Gray cardigan, reading her favorite book. She took a sip of tea as she looked around the room, all done up with spooky ghosts and smiling pumpkins and sighed at the pleasure of a clam night.

Until the lights went out.

Then a string curses came out of her mouth that would make a sailor blush. “For the love of-- Why, why does it always have to be Halloween?” Her black ears flattened in irritation as she shook her head. Silently, she prayed for the generator to kick in. But before it had a chance to, she heard her son called to her from upstairs.

“Coming sweetie,” she back called up to him as she set her book down and preceded up the stairs.

As she began to take the stairs she didn't notice the basement door off the living room silently crack open. A small hand on the basement side of the door nob was illuminated by a sliver a moonlight

Being a Werecat she effortlessly found her way to Jordy's room in the dark. She slowly pushed her sons door open. Jade saw him with his back to the headboard, knees pulled up to his chest and space themed pillows placed around him like Shields. Even though she tried not to, she couldn't help but smile at the sight as she sat on his bed and took the top pillow off of his fort, so she could see his face.

“Mom,” his voice shaking, “is it happening again?” His grey ears flat and his tail is wrapped around his legs with the tip shaking like a rattlesnakes.

Jade gently strokes the hair between his ears, in a attempt to soothe him, “It's not happening again, I promise.”

“Are you sure?”

Jade stood up from his bed and began throwing pillows to the floor, “Jordy, it's almost midnight, there isn't time for anything bad to happen,” she gently touches his cheek then pulls his covers back. “Now get back in bed, you need to get some sleep,” she holds the covers up waiting for him to crawl under.

Shaken and still scared of what the night might bring, Jordy scoots down on his bed. As Jade fluffed his pillow he asked, “Why did the lights go out?”

Jade tucked him in, “I don't know. If you're OK here, I'll go and check it out.”

Jordy nodded his head, “I'm OK.” He forced himself to smile to reassure his mom. She smiled back knowing her little man is trying to be strong for her. She kissed him goodnight and tousled his hair, then turned on her heel to the door.

A creaking sound emanated from downstairs then stopped, Jade and Jordy froze in place, after a moment another long creak sounded, followed by a small clack. Her pulse started to race as she stepped backwards towards Jordy's bed, they heard a clatter and someone mumble, it sounded like it came from the kitchen.

 Jades pulse quickened, Jordy grabbed his moms arm and paw, she looked into her sons scared eyes, pleading with her to do something.

“What happened to the lights?” yelled a masculine voice from downstairs.

Jade let the breath out she didn't know she was holding as she recognized her husbands voice. She looked to her son, “It's just dad.” She poked her head out into the hallway, “Generators out, I was about to go out and see what's wrong with it.”

“I'll go,” Matt yells. A few moments of silence, “Hey, where are the flashlights?”

She rolls her eyes, “Hang on I'll be right down.” She looks back at Jordy, “Are you sure you're OK sweetie?”

Jordy looked around the room, “Where's Skittles?”

Jade looks out in the hallway then turns back scans the room. As she opened her mouth to speak something fell in the closet causing Jade to jump. A white and Brown speckled blur darts out and jumps on to Jordy's bed.

“Stupid cat,” she mumbled. “You good now?”

Jordy nodded his head, hugging the fur ball to his chest, his eye lids falling shut.

Jade cracked the door out of habit and preceded down the stairs. As she walked past the basement door she noticed it ajar, “Did I leave that open?” she mused out loud while she shut the door. Two small figures ran behind her up the stairs.

Her tail ticks behind her as she enters the kitchen, “You could have called,” she told Matt with her paws on her hips as he rummaged through the kitchen drawers.

“Sorry 'bout that. I swear I can't find a freaking thing in this kitchen. Where are the flashlights again?” Matt asked, his forehead crinkled and eyes squinted, straining in the dark, opening another drawer.

Jade stepped over in front of her butchers block, opened the drawer underneath it and pulled out two flashlights. “Here,” she plopped one of the lights into Matt's hand and pointed with a furry digit above the refrigerator, “the oil lamps are up there.”

Matt retrieved the lamps and removed the globes then carefully lighted both wicks. “Let there be light," he lifted his arms out to the side, like he willed the flames to appear.

Putting her paw on his shoulder, she kissed his cheek and rolled her eyes. “Yes darling," she smiled at his goofy grin.

With flashlight in hand, Matt opened the back door, his foot just hit the threshold when Skittles made a bloodcurdling screech. They both looked up in the direction in Jordy's room. “You go deal with the generator, I'll go check on him,” Jade said flipping on her flashlight.

They nodded at one another, Matt went out the door and Jade began to move around the kitchen table but stopped when she heard a shrill giggle come from the hallway. She stopped, dread rolled off her head and down her neck, seeping into every pore. Please, she silently bagged, please, not tonight. Not again.

She took a tentative step forward peeking around the corner to the hallway. She saw a short creature with a grotesque looking red pointed hat that covered it's eyes, it looks to be the same height as the monsters body. Her shoulders stiffened. Its body was round in shape with a long beard just a couple inches from hitting the ground, it had spider webs and bugs crawling on it.

It's lips cracked when it smiled, a spider crawling out of its mouth and into it's beard. Jade's breath caught in her throat and her muscles tensed when she saw a glint in it's hand; a knife. “Heeeres Jonny!” it roared pouncing at her, it's hand reared back above its head ready to stab.

Jade screamed turning back towards the counter, she reached for a knife. Her eyes widened when all she found was air, she hadn't noticed when she was by the butchers block before that it was empty. The creature took wild swings at her, she leapt onto the counter to get away but not before his knife made contact with her tail. She yelped as crimson liquid dripped off her tail.

Her head spun towards the sound of the back door opening, Matt sprinted inside. He gasped when he saw the creature. He felt bile rise in his throat when, though it's tattered clothes, he saw maggots wriggling in and out of it's skin. Matt picked up a chair and while the creature was occupied with Jade, he slammed the beast, knocking it across the kitchen. It landed with a thud against the cabinet door and crumpled to the ground.

“What the hell was that thing?” Matt asked breathlessly, as he held a hand out to steady Jade while she jumped off the counter.

“I don't know,” Jades brow furrowed as she gingelly stepped towards the beast, “do you have any idea--”

“What did you do to my brother!?” a slightly smaller creature shrieked in a feminine voice. She had no beard but had a similar disgusting red hat with holes rotted out of it. She had braided pigtails on the sides of her decaying face and a torn dress with what looked to be mold on it.

Before the couple could react, the second creature lunged at them, knife in each hand, delivering much more deliberate blows than the first creature had. The couple ran around the kitchen table, dodging the beast. Their heartbeats thundering in their chests as their minds raced to think of something, anything to stop the maddened creature.

Matt motioned for Jade to get on the table, she didn't know his plan but trusted that he had one, she leaped onto the table while Matt kept running towards the hallway. The creature started to follow him but Jade swung a paw at the creature so it's attention would be on her.

Matt circled the table trying to surprise the beast from behind, his pulse pounding in his ears, he crept around, the dim light of the oil lamps casting haunting shadows around the room. He looked down at the first creature, it laid there, lifeless. He passed it by.

Jade swung again but pulled back when the she-beast sliced her arm, causing her to hiss. Her ears shot up when Matt screamed in agony, Jade tore her attention away from the she-beast and crawled to the other side of the table.

She looked down, the first beast bit matt's leg, it's jaws locked tight as Matt tried to shake it off of him. It growled as its sharp, rotted teeth dug deeper into matts calf. Blood covered the creatures face and ran down Matts leg, forming a small pool below the two.

Jade poised herself too strike the creature latched onto Matts leg but the she-beast had other plans. It tried to stab Jades front paw, she pulled away, leaving a only scratch.

The she beast said something in a ancient and foreign sounding tongue that sounded like Eons, “Glad you aren't dead, brother,” she said joyfully.

In response the first creature, presumably named Eons, hummed a response causing Matt to groan from a fresh wave of pain running though his leg.

Skittles screeched followed by Jordy screaming. Hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs as Jordy ran into the living room followed by two similar looking creatures. “Jordy!” Jade screamed. She looked to her husband and down the hallway at the new monsters on either side of her son, as he ran back and forth trying to escape.

“Go! Go help him,” Matt said through gritted teeth.

Jordy tried running towards the hallway but a creature jumped in front of him. He screamed and doubled back, headed for the couch. Jade looks around the kitchen and spots an iron skillet sitting on the counter close to the hallway. She nimbly leaps over, grabs the skillet and swings it down hard at the she-beast as it runs after her, causing it to skate across the floor and slump to the ground when it hit the wall.

Eons released matt's leg and cried, “Hella!” Matt pulled his leg away out of the creatures reach and whacked it with the flashlight still in his hand.

Jade started down the hallway. The two creatures where on either side of the room as Jordy bounced from chair to couch to table and back, the creatures looked happy as if they were playing a game. Jade came up behind the closest one and bashed it in the head as hard as she could. The second creature gasped, it's lips curled into a snarl and growled like a possessed animal.

She raised her skillet high into the air, ready to knock its block off, but it's snarl turned into a conniving smile as it lunged at Jordy. He screamed putting his paws in front of his face as the beast flew at him. Jade dropped her skillet and grabbed the beast in midair by its shirt and threw it to the floor.

Before the beast got up, Jade ran to her son and surveyed him to check for injuries, she heaved a sigh of relief when she didn't spot any. Behind her, the creature she threw, howled a battle cry that made her blood run cold. She spun around in time to see Skittles attack the creature and knock its hat off. Without the hat its eyes could be seen, or more accurately, it's lack of eyes could be seen.

Two empty sockets stared at her. Two black holes, darker then her own midnight hair. She shuttered, “Oh, you like my pretty eyes? Heh heh,” it snickered and smiled revealing rows of pointed, rotting teeth.

It picked up the baseball bat that the creature she hit with the pan was carrying, it wound the bat back when Matt staggered out of the hallway and suddenly shouted, spooking the creature, “Aniya!”

The creature glowered at Matt. Jade's breath hitched a she took in the sight of her ragged husband. The bottom of his pants leg drenched in blood, scratches on both of his cheeks, a cut above his eye with red cascading down forcing his eye to stay shut and one arm hung limply at his side. “Aniya!” he shouted again.

Matt leaned against the wall, using it to hold himself up. The creature started to run at him, Matt winced, closed his eye and sucked in air and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ani--”

Before he could finish the creature flung the bat at him, knocking him in the gut causing him to keel over to his knees. “No!” Jade shouted. She dashed towards her husband as the creature leaped onto Matt and began slashing his back.

Jade grabbed the creature by the neck, it spun around in her grasp and bit her paw, causing her to yelp and drop it. “Mom!” Jordy yelled. She to whirled around to see the other creature in the room get up. Cackling behind her brought her attention to Eons and Hella, who was whistling a merry tune, walking up the hallway brandishing blood covered knives.

A hand on her ankle caused her muscles tighten, until it donned on her it's just Matt. She looked down into her beloveds battered face, he mouthed what looked like, “Annihilator,” and with that, she understood.

Quickly, before the creatures could reach her, she called out, “Aniya Aniya Aniya!”

An orange mist swirled around the room. The creatures each took a step back, a horrified look on their gnarled faces. The creature Jade bashed in the head jumped when it bumped into a plastic pumpkin behind it. The mist swirled though the air, almost sparkling as it traveled though out the house. It began to congregate above the coffee table, as the mist thickened a shape of a person began to appear.

A woman with pointed ears and a long forked tail emerged from the mist. Wearing a black witches hat she floated in the air, as if part of the smog. “Thank you for calling Aniya the Annihilator!” the strange woman said cheerfully.

She rubbed her hands together excitedly, “So what can I--” she looked around the room at the frightened faces of the creatures, then nodded her head.“ Oh, I see. You need me to dispatch these little monsters? No problem!” her cheery mood not dampened at the sight of the gory creatures.

Aniya raised her hands slowly above her head, palms facing outward, then lowered them to her sides, the mist followed her gestures. Her eyes were closed and she had a serene look on her face. She then thrusted her hands out in front of her, shimmering amethyst hair wafted around her face as she opened her shining icy blue eyes. Following the gestured instructions, the mist surrounded each creature, following them as they tried to run.

Her crooked grin displayed how much fun she's having while her mist slowly squeezed the creatures. They screamed in agony, dark smoke rolls off of them as flames begin to burst through their skin. Their screams muffled as the orange condensation entered their mouths, noses and any other opening in their bodies it could find.

Since the creatures are were preoccupied, Jordy took the opportunity and ran to his parents. Jade had raised Matt to a seated position against the hallway wall, Jade reached out to Jordy, pulling him between her and Matt and hugged him, covering his eyes with her paw so he didn't have to see what's happening.

Looking up from Jordy, Jade ran a paw across matt's cheek, careful not to hit his scratches. He looked back at her with relief, he knew calling Aniya the Annihilator was their only option. He's grateful his wife understood. His head lolled to the side, watching Aniya work.

After another moment of looking at Matt, silently thanking God that her family survived, Jade did the same, amazed at the grace the woman had floating through the air while checking on the creatures, that are now just balls of deep blue flames, the orange mist still surrounding them.

Aniya hovered to the middle of the room and did a 360, serving the now dying blue flames leaving ashes in it's wake. Finally she nodded as if satisfied with her work, then floated over in front of the family.

Her eyes returned to their original amber color. With her closer, Jade could see better, her skin is actually pumpkin colored, not just tinted orange from the smoke, a short black robe covering a white button up blouse, a loose tie hanging around her neck with a skirt matching her hair.

“Oh, what a cute family,” she clasped her hands in front of her chest, smiling, oblivious to the cuts and scratches littering the family's skin. Her eyes widened, “Oh, right.”

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, she calmed herself then popped her arms and legs out in front of her, and beamed, “Thank you for calling Aniya the Annihilator, your friendly neighborhood exorcist, at your service. Where are you say it once, say it twice, third times the charm. Whether it's possession or spell mishap, we got you covered.” She relaxed some, “Clean up and summoning rates may apply,” she said more robotically.

Jade and Matts mouths dropped, they had seen the commercials but they never imagined a cheerful, orange, pointy eared demon could actually be an exorcist. They thought the cute girls were just a marketing tool.

She drifted closer, her face inches away from them examining their injuries, “Here, let me Patch you up a little...” She closed her eyes. “Bippity boppity Boo!” she chirped while wiggling her fingers in their direction.

Jade could feel the pain going away. She watched as matts slashes glowed a warm orange then disappeared right before her eyes. Flabbergasted at what she just witnessed Jade looked to the demon and stammered, “How did you-- What are-- Why did they--” her head was spinning.

Oblivious to the shell shocked Werecat, Aniya floated around the room looking for something, “You guys were lucky,” she said absentmindedly, “if the clock had struck midnight those little buggers would have been here for good. By the way, while living here have you guys seen any weird symbols or drawings, maybe an odd looking artifact?”

Jade, still in a daze, didn't have the power to answer, so Matt did for her, “Yeah, there was some satanic looking stuff in the basement when we moved in. We just painted over it, and threw out the crap that we could.”

“Let me guess, you guys moved in within this last year?” Aniya looked at nothing in particular while tapping her chin.

Matt nodded.

“Well, that explains all of the calls at the dump,” she said to no one in particular. Turning back to the family, “So, I believe your problem lies within the basement. Now I can take care of that for you, but it will cost extra. But is a little extra change, really more important than the safety of your family,” she looked directly at Jordy. The pretty girls are definitely not just marketing tools, she's a natural born salesperson.

Now out of her stupor Jade answered, “We'll pay, just make sure they don't come back, please,” she pointed behind her to the basement door.

In a blink of an eye Aniya flew past them, the basement door opening by itself and slamming shut after she zipped through, the plastic skeleton hanging made a dull thump against the door.

Jade looked over her family one more time. All of Matts wounds were healed, his clothing still bloody but he's unharmed. Jordy was shaking, Jade pulls him to her and kisses his head, he relaxes as he hears her heartbeat. Matt leaned on her shoulder, exhausted. She put a paw on his cheek.

The grand father clock in the living room, that's Miraculously unharmed from the events of the night, chimed, alerting everyone the house midnight has come. Hugging her family close, Jade gave a sigh of relief at the sound, grateful that this night is over.

“I hate Halloween.” She growled