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I saw a really weird picture of the girl from Island of the Haunted and then I started thinking about it all backwards and inside out.
seven ways to be damned
The little girl smiles.
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faith
A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
They are good God faring people; say their prayers, go to church. What more could the Lord want?
When she is three years old he tells her about the scrolls and their power. Her eyes go wide and she clutches her doll tightly. He laughs at her expression and thinks of it no longer.
A little while later she asks again, and again, and again.
Every time her eyes go wide but he now knows it isn't from fear. She is different; he can tell. She says she heard voices and he believes her.
Her mother calls her ‘Angel’; he calls her nothing at all.
The administration of law; the act of determining rights and assigning rewards or punishments
His wife was on the ground weeping, her mouth forming God why? as the tears trickled down her cheeks.
“How did you get this?” he asked her.
She looks up at him with angelic eyes and gives a little half-shrug, “They told me where to look.”
Her mother wails.
“I’m locking them away! Don’t try to find them!”
She clutches her doll tightly to her.
He knows she looks; searches endlessly whenever they leave her alone. He knows she’s getting closer, and somehow hiding the clues away, but he knows it’s safe.
A little girl could never move a tomb.
Discretion in practical affairs
The demon – he’s long since ceased calling it his daughter – is smart. He gives it that.
It goes to the priest and confesses. Though he cannot hear what they say, he can imagine the conversations all too easily:
“My father has gone mad. He has the scrolls. He changed since he got them.”
It is crafty to use his own church against him.
The priest asks him if he needs guidance through tough times. The priest reminds him that the devil often takes on pleasing forms.
He stares at it standing beside him. “Yes, father,” he says, “it often does.”
A specific instance of feeling hopeful
It says its prayers but they no longer watch from the doorway with pride. They’re in their own room praying for guidance.
His wife sniffs as she clasps her hands together. He watches her out the corner of his eye.
This has gone on far too long.
At the door it says “Mommy? Daddy?” and they both jump.
“Just a second,” one of them says.
He finishes his prayers and waits for a second. Except for the sniffing from his wife there is silence. A tiny bit of hope dies inside him all over again.
He tries not to think God why have you forsaken me.
The trait of avoiding excesses
He never drank, smoked, or hit his wife. He was a good man and he loved his family dearly.
Before.
It sounds so ominous, as if some sort of great plague or disaster has struck.
Strange that it should be a child.
His wife says, “Dear, I think you’ve had enough.”
The thing is sitting in the corner staring far off places and listening to the voices so, no, dear, he hasn’t had enough. Not nearly enough.
She presses her lips tightly together and takes the bottle from him. He grabs it back, drinking straight from it. She grabs again and this time he hits her.
It’s instinct, pure instinct. He never meant to. He opens his mouth to say so but she dashes from the room.
In the corner the thing laughs.
Strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage
The house burns easily, far better than he had imagined. From inside he can hear the demon screaming and crying. Dimly he wonders why; it was born in fire.
Beside him his wife sobs, great heaves that shake her whole body. He wants to reach out and comfort her but he knows if he looks away the thing will escape from the flames.
Suddenly she dashes from his side and back into the house. He tries to stop her but his hand slips off her arm and she’s gone.
Inside the house the cries stop. He knows she’s found it.
He readies the gun and waits.
A foundation created to promote the public good
Desperate parents come from all over the country to see him. Sometimes they come from around the world.
They all have their stories of supernatural events and frightening abilities. They’ve all reached their wits’ end and have tried everything else: prayer, treatment, discipline. Nothing works.
He explains about his charity easily. A sub-branch of the actual company; treatment is free; he once had a little girl that heard voices. She died.
The parents are sceptical but when even prayer has solved nothing…
They all sign the papers. Each and every one of them.
One day he’ll cure them all. One day.
