Invisible Terror Collection (23 page)

The truth is, you are arrogant and self-centered to the core. Ryan Riordan, Mr. Popularity. Ryan Riordan, everybody’s friend …

but it’s all a lie, isn’t it? Just a sham. Just a way to use people to get what you want.”

“Please …” His voice was weaker.

“Just like your parents’ divorce!”

Ryan gasped. “That wasn’t my — ”

“Of course it wasn’t. At least that’s what they tell you. But we know better, don’t we? We know it was your constant demands.

I, I, I! It was your fault, not theirs. You are the one. It is you who pushed them over the edge! You are the one who drove them apart, you are the one who destroyed your family!”

“No! It’s …” Ryan’s voice was small, helpless. “It’s not …”

“Of course it is! You’re no Chris tian! You’ll never be a Christian. You’re not good enough!”

The thing began to laugh. It was loud and hysterical, filling the room, so shrill that the computer monitor beside Ryan resonated until it suddenly exploded, sending glass flying in all directions. Krissi screamed. The wind howled through the room. The giant bookcase creaked forward.

“Look out!” Philip cried. He pushed Krissi aside just as it crashed to the floor, missing her by inches, scattering books everywhere.

She began screaming hysterically.

“Let’s get out of here!” Philip shouted. He grabbed Krissi and raced for the door. “Come on, let’s go! Let’s get out of here!”

“You are no Chris tian!” the thing shrieked. “You’re not good enough. You destroy everything you touch, even those you claim to love!”

“Stop it!” Becka shouted over the wind, pulling her eyes from Ryan’s tormented face. “Stop it this instant!” The thing ignored her. It tilted Julie’s head back and laughed louder than ever, sounding less and less human, more and more like an animal.

“Ryan,” Becka spun back to him, but he sat, his head in his hands, defeated. “Ryan!” Becka was in his face, shouting over the voice that still laughed and raged at Ryan. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

Suddenly the bulbs around the vanity mirror began to explode, each one showering the room with hot, broken glass.

“Ryan!”

The laughter increased.

Becka grabbed his arm. “Ryan! We’ve got to go!” He nodded almost numbly and allowed her to help him to his feet. Suddenly the mirror exploded, firing thousands of razor-sharp splinters at them. Becka covered her face as they stumbled across the books, the broken glass, the splintered wood.

They reached the door, but the wind’s force held it shut.

The laughter increased as they struggled and pulled. Now the window exploded. Inward. Glass flew everywhere. Becka ducked, and she and Ryan continued fighting the door until finally they managed to pry it open an inch, then a foot.

They squeezed through, Becka first, then Ryan. Once they were on the other side, the door slammed shut with a powerful force.

Becka looked down the hall. “Philip? Krissi?” she called, then she turned to Ryan. “Where’d they go?”

He just stared at her. “Beck … I’m sorry.” The words caught in his throat as he fought back the tears. “Some of that stuff — it happened so long ago.”

“It’s okay. Look, we’ve got to go back in and — ”

“No, it’s
not
okay!” He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. “I can’t go back in there. I’m too … Beck, I’m too dirty. That thing was right. I’m no Chris tian.”

“Ryan, that’s all the past.”

He shook his head. “No. Who do I think I am, anyway? I’m not good enough. Don’t you see? Didn’t you hear what she was saying? I’m a hypocrite. A fraud.”

“No, that’s the whole point. We’re all failures — one way or another. Don’t you remember what Dr. Woods said? Jesus died to take our punishment for messing up. That’s the whole point. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. None of us is good enough.”

“I can’t do this.”

“Listen to me.”

“I — ”

“Listen to me!” Her intensity surprised them both. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done! If you’re sorry and you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you, it’s over! Forgotten.”

“But — ” There was a loud crash behind the door, followed by hellish laughter.

“Ryan, Julie needs us! We’re God’s hands, remember? We’re his feet. If we don’t help Julie, who will?”

“But you heard what she said.”

“It’s just like at the mansion, when the demon came after me, making me feel guilty. The only power it had was the power
I
gave it because I forgot my ‘helmet of salvation.’ Just like you forgot yours in there.”

Ryan looked at her, not understanding.

“You forgot you’re saved. That thing inside Julie was playing a mind game with you.” Becka could see the lights slowly coming on. “None of that stuff matters anymore. You’re forgiven.

Jesus said the past is gone, and it is!” He looked at her, slowly catching on. “I can’t believe I didn’t see what it was up to. All I could think about was that I wasn’t good enough.”

“And you’re not. None of us is. That’s why we had to get saved.”

He nodded. Another crash came from the room, followed by more maniacal laughter. Ryan met Becka’s gaze, then said, “We have to go back in there, don’t we?”

Becka nodded. “But we can’t argue with it. We can’t even listen to it. We need to let God do the fighting.” Ryan nodded.

Becka took another long, deep breath, then reached for the door.

Chapter 11

Back at home, Becka’s mom was about to step into the shower.

It had been a grueling day of job hunting. She was looking forward to letting the warm water work out some of the tension in her neck. But as she opened the shower door, she was suddenly hit with a feeling of uneasiness. She stopped midstep.

Something was wrong. With Becka.

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.” The verse hit her as hard as the uneasiness.

These kinds of feelings didn’t happen often, but over the years, Mom had learned to trust them. She reached in, shut off the water, slipped on her robe, and headed for the bedroom. She found her Bible, held it close to her chest, and began to pace the hallway.

“Dear Jesus … dear Lord. Protect my baby. Protect Rebecca …”

She continued pacing, her prayers growing more and more urgent. “Give her the faith, Lord. Whatever she’s going through, give her the faith to get through it.”

She pushed open Becka’s bedroom door and looked inside. Waves of memories flooded her … memories of God’s faithfulness, of his protection in the past. “Help her, God, don’t let her go through this alone. Be there for her, in Jesus’ name.” She flipped open her Bible to Psalm 91, one of her favorites, and read it out loud: “ ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night …’ ” Mom leaned against the door frame and gently eased herself down to the floor outside Becka’s room. She continued reading.

And praying.

**********

The wind suddenly let up, and Julie’s door opened easily. Almost too easily. Inside, everything was dark except for a streetlamp shining through the broken window. What was left of the tat-tered curtains danced and flapped in the breeze, throwing eerie shadows across the room.

Ryan and Becka quietly slipped in, trying their best to avoid the pieces of broken glass and mirror covering the floor. They peered through the darkness and saw Julie sitting on the bed. Her eyes were closed … until a shard of glass crunched under Ryan’s foot. Immediately her eyes popped open, wide and expectant.

Becka tried to swallow, but her mouth was bone dry. She cleared her throat, then spoke. “Julie?” No response.

She tried again. “Julie?”

The mouth moved mechanically. “Julie is not here.”

“You’re a liar!” Ryan said, stepping forward.

Becka reached out and touched him. It was a reminder to stay cool. Turning back to the bed, she repeated, “We want to speak to Julie.” 

The eyes locked onto Becka. “Pity about Philip falling off that ladder.”

“What?”

The sneer returned to the mouth. “A smarter person would have asked themselves why it happened just as Krissi entered the hallway.”

Becka’s surprise turned to anger. “That was you?” Now it was Ryan’s turn to reach out and touch her. “Watch it,” he whispered, “it’s baiting you.”

Becka looked at him, then nodded. He was right. She’d almost fallen for it again.
Help us, Lord,
she prayed, then turned back to Julie. “We demand to speak to Julie.”

“I told you, Julie is not — ”

“By the power and authority of Jesus Christ — ” Becka’s voice grew stronger — “we demand to speak to Julie.” Immediately Julie’s eyes rolled up into her head, her eyelids twitching and fluttering. A moment later, her eyes rolled back down — and Becka and Ryan could tell it was Julie. She looked lost and confused, like she’d been wakened from a dream. She searched the room until she spotted Rebecca.

“Beck …” Her voice was husky and frail. “Becka help me, you’ve got to — ” Suddenly her body jerked and her stare went blank.

“Julie,” Becka cried. “Julie!”

The sneer returned.

Now it was Ryan’s turn. “In the name of Jesus Christ, we order you to leave Julie’s body. Now.”

Nothing happened.

Ryan and Becka exchanged glances. What was wrong? In the past, they’d had total authority through Christ. The things had to obey.

Once again the voice started to chuckle.

Ryan repeated himself. “Leave! Now!” 

The chuckle turned to laughter … mocking, cackling. “You have no authority.”

Ryan knew better. “Oh yes, we do, and in the name of Jesus, I demand you — ”

“Julie wants me here,” the voice interrupted. “Julie invited me here.”

“You’re a liar,” Ryan shot back. “You leave her, and you leave her now.”

No reaction.

Again Becka and Ryan traded looks. What was going on?

Finally Becka leaned to Ryan and whispered, “What if it’s right?

What if Julie wants it to stay?”

Ryan frowned. “Are you saying there’s nothing we could do to help then?”

“It’s her choice. She’s the one who has to decide. It’s just like Dr. Woods going to hell. If he wanted to go there, God wouldn’t stop him. If Julie wants this thing, then — ”

“That’s right,” the voice hissed, “Julie wants me here, she wants my knowledge.” The voice grew more confident. “She wants my power, she wants my — ”

Becka interrupted, “I want to speak to Julie.” There was a moment’s hesitation.

“Now!” Becka demanded.

Instantly the eyes rolled up and then down. Once again Julie was back on the surface.

Becka approached the bed. “Julie … Julie, you’ve got to listen to me. We can’t make this thing leave on our own. You invited it in, you have to want it to go.”

“He won’t let me. He keeps pushing me under, threatening to put me to sleep. Besides, I had to do it. Grandma — ”

“No,” Ryan interrupted. “This isn’t what your grandmother was talking about, Julie! This thing has nothing to do with heaven! Becka and I, we can make it leave, but you’ve got to want it to go!”

Julie’s eyes started to flutter.

“No,” Becka shouted. “Fight it, Julie … fight it!” The girl’s body tensed. Her face twisted and scowled as her head tossed back and forth. Somewhere, deep inside, a fierce battle was raging. Julie began to sweat profusely. Her body convulsed. She began coughing, gagging, until, finally, she vomited — all over her pajamas, all over the bedding. She took a deep breath then convulsed again, spewing even more vomit. “Help me!” she gasped. “Please.”

The wind in the room was growing stronger again.

“Julie,” Becka cried intently, “you’ve got to deny this thing.

You’ve got to refuse it. All of it! The power, the knowledge, everything. You’ve got to give it all up.”

“But — ”

“Everything!”

“Stop it!” the other voice growled. “She wants me! She wants — ”

“You’re a liar!” Becka cried. “Satan ‘is the father of lies.’ ” The Scripture verse hit its mark. An agonizing scream escaped Julie’s lips. Her body writhed as if acid had been thrown on it.

Becka pressed in, shouting over the rising wind. “Julie, refuse this thing! Deny it! We can’t make it leave unless you want it to!”

Julie came back to the top, only for a second, but long enough to gasp, “Yes … yes!”

That was all they needed. With full confidence Becka shouted,

“By the power and authority of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave Julie.”

Nothing happened.

“No more games. Now!”

Julie’s body doubled over.

“Now!”

Julie threw her head back. Her voice screamed. It was unearthly — full of agony, torment, betrayal.

“Stop it!” Becka shouted. “Leave her
now!”
Instantly, the scream faded, and Julie collapsed onto the bed.

She was totally limp. It was over. Just like that, the battle had been won. Rebecca closed her eyes. The demon was gone. She knew it.

“Thank you, Jesus … thank you … ,” she whispered gratefully. Once again, the enemy had done everything possible to make them doubt the authority they had in Christ, to test their faith, to throw them off. But, once again, God had stood by his promises and given Becka and Ryan the strength to win.

Becka glanced at Ryan. He nodded, knowingly. “I’ll get some stuff to wash her up.”

Becka nodded, then watched as he headed into the hall. She closed her eyes again and took a very deep breath. She was tired.

Very tired. It had been a long, exhausting day — a long, exhausting week.

Julie stirred, and Becka stepped up to the bed. The girl moaned and opened her eyes.

“Oh, Beck …” Her voice was weak and feeble.

“It’s okay, Jules. It’s over now.”

A worn and beaten Julie looked up at Becka, her eyes full of helplessness and shame. Becka knelt on the bed and wrapped her arms around her friend. Julie began to weep. “It was so awful,” she sobbed, “so awful. I tried to come up, I tried to warn them, but …”