Chapter Eight: Danielle’s Truth:

The child stared at her with wide eyes as she walked back to her seat. Something seemed different about the therapist than when she left the room. Dr. Carta had a stern look on her face. Danielle stared at her like a lamb about to be eaten by a wolf.

“Okay, Danielle,” Dr. Carta said. “Let’s start from the beginning. Tell me the truth. I have learned more things about you and your father.” Danelle stared at her, silent.

At her feet, the demon started whispering and shaking the ground.

Dr. Carta sat down in front of her.

“I know you didn’t mean to kill those people,” she began. “I know the truth now. This isn’t the first time the demon has killed people. He’s part of the reason your daddy’s being held in Okinawa.” Danielle looked at her with big confused eyes.

“What?” she asked.

“Yes,” the Italian therapist said. “I guess your mommy hid the fact that your daddy was still alive from you to protect you in some way. But, the Air Force is holding him in a time-out in Okinawa because he hurt some people just like this demon.” The patient felt the grumbling at her feet getting worse as she turned her head away. Dr. Carta turned the child’s face back to her. She could see the fear spread even more as she spoke.

“Did you know that you had an older brother?” she asked. The child shook her head.

“No,” she whispered.

“You daddy killed him because he was scared of that demon inside of your body. He didn’t want your brother to grow up and hurt people.”

“No…”

“That demon inside of you was responding to people that hurt you. That’s why it killed Paul and your mommy.”

The demon’s rumbling grew louder. Danielle drew her knees to her chest. The therapist wouldn’t back down. This needed to be said out loud. She placed the file in front of the patient.

“Look at this,” she said. “Look at it.”

“No!” the little girl cried.

“You can’t turn away from this,” Dr. Carta said. “None of this is your fault.”

“It is! They died because of me.”

“Only because it was trying to protect you.”

“But what about Megan? She wasn’t mean to me. She was my only friend.”

Dr. Carta patted her on the shoulder. “That’s because it was jealous of her. It wanted you all to itself, just like with your father and the rest of his family.” Black shadows began to cover the white floor.

“No!” Danielle cried. “Stop it! Stop it!" The screaming grew louder around her head. The shadows began to race up the walls. Danielle’s body broke down trembling. She could already feel the demon’s fangs and claws lingering over Dr. Carta’s head. The psychiatrist wouldn’t let up. This was happened to the last guy that tried to speak the truth to her. Danielle had to sit in terror as the nice man became nothing but pink mist in front of her. Blood rained down all over her as the shadows disappeared into her body. The patient replayed last month’s events in her head as the demon breathed heavily on the back of her hair and neck. Her eyes moved down to the shaking table separating her from the therapist.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Tears began to form in her eyes. “Please stop. He’s going to kill you too. You’re making him mad. Please, stop it.” Her tears landed on the table. Dr. Carta squeezed her hand.

“You can fight this,” she said. “You have to put an end to the curse!”

“I can’t!” Her tears rained from the child’s eyes. “I’m too scared.”

“You must do this for Megan, your brother, and your daddy! You don’t want more innocent people to get hurt, do you?”

The patient tightly shut her eyes. “I can’t hold him back anymore!” Dr. Carta gave her a strange look.

“What?” she asked. The Italian therapist slowly lifted her head and looked behind the child. Her face distorted into terror.

A scream filled the room.

Blood splattered on Danielle’s face before the demon turned on her at last.

“Forgive… me…” she muttered.