LIDIA VAZQUEZ

Lidia Vasquez

Sara Islas

Humanities- “Terrors”

10/6/15

                                                                          Spiritus

“I can't wait to get there Nat .” If only she knew. If only I knew, that once we entered we would never come out. I remember that peculiar autumn breeze, those dead orange and yellow leaves that hung around, Carrie jumping in puddles with her little doll.  Her laughter and her innocence were opposite to the setting as we roamed on my bike, returning from our grandmother's house. It was quite lonesome and isolated. It was almost a two hour walk from our tiny town of sadness.  It was a gray, gloomy day. There were only small trails for bicycles, every day we would take a different trail. From afar I had seen a pond, not far from where we stood. It was quite hidden with trees and a metal fence, what increased my curiosity of the aspect or presence it brought. The old rusty metal gate was wide open as if it were asking us in. We couldn't be ill mannered and accepted its invitation.

 

Once we entered, there was a certain aroma of despair, and hatred which blew through our hair. Something was off;... I felt uneasy and weak,  unprotected even.”Do you hear that Nat”? It is completely silent. You can’t even hear the orchestra of crickets that normally plays through these areas”. The pond instantly caught my eye; it laid completely still, the color was strange. It wasn’t completely  pitch black nor it was filthy, it was just black, dark. I began to approach it, my eyes grew wide, and wider, with every step I took. There was no reflection, not even of the white clouds that hung above us. The trees that were wrapped around us like a huge embrace surrounded every corner of the pond. I approached it. My heart began beating. It felt like it was expanding. In a like manner the more I feared it, the more I felt the need to approach it. My stomach was uneasy. As I leaned slowly closer over and observed inside the water “THERE IS SOMETHING MOVING!.” I shouted. I sprang backwards onto the floor, and I quickly jumped back up like a dysfunctional spring . “Carrie let's go now!” Carrie stayed still, almost paralyzed, staring at the water. If I wouldn't have been so focused on that lifeless, dreary substance of water, and had directed all my attention to her, everything would have been different … but I didn’t. “Let's go,” I grabbed her tiny hand, pulled her, and away got on my bicycle and placed her on to the extension.

 

I began hyperventilating. It was getting difficult to breath. What was going on? Nothing had really happened, but something felt wrong. It was the presence I felt when I went there. It were as if I had broken a force field, or a border of our world into darkness and despair. My thighs were burning and my muscles were sore, I had to continue peddling. We needed to get away.

Oddly, I had a sense that I couldn’t escape, I could still feel something creeping behind me. I slowly began to turn my head back, nothing was there. Or maybe there was?

 

That night, I couldn’t stare at  the sky or even be shown a glimpse of it; it brought a certain remembrance to that the feeling I experienced earlier that day.

 

It had been two weeks since we had gone to that pond. Carrie would hardly speak after. Sometimes I would hear sounds from her room; that would penetrate through my room. I would hear her saying strange things, exactly at 5:00pm.“dies venient spiritus duas sacrificium.” I never questioned Carrie or confront her about her unusual ways.

 

She would constantly repeat it in a combination with other things. One day just playing around on Google the word Carrie would say, “Venient” came up on a quote on a history article. A coincidence, you might consider it unusual one of multiple sounds or should I say words carrie would constantly say was in latin, that meant “Will come”. Thoughts began to flow through my adolescent brain. What will come? This was so bizarre. Regaining my thoughts and coming to a conclusion that I was just being paranoid and it was all irrelevant  and a queer coincidence, I continued with my day. That very same night I dreamt of the mumbling noises that Carrie would repeat what overflew my ears every afternoon at exactly 5:pm in. As I lay there in my dark cold room, the only thing visible was my little mermaid night light. Suddenly I heard the gate open outside, my gaze instantly found my clock 3:00 am. Should I awaken my parents? I despised the darkness; not knowing what crawled behind you or whose gaze it was that you felt on the back on your neck. I should go back to sleep, and just forget about that sound. Just as I reassured myself that it was all in my head, I heard someone outside  “SCREECH”.

 

I had to make a decision quickly. I sucked it up and ascended slowly down the cold wooden stairs.At first I attempted to be silent yet the dilemma was that every step I took came with a loudcreak, CREEEAK. The darkness surrounded every inch of the house.Recognizing my couch, I began to get closer to the only source of light, under the door.

 

There it was, that sound again.I questioned every muscle in my body: stop, don’t. My body did not obey my mind. I slowly opened the door knob.  

There was nobody outside. Suddenly I saw a small figure right next to the trees. It was getting closer. As it approached me I was able to recognize certain characteristics. I could recognize those pink tails anywhere. I whispered loudly  “what are doing outside Carrie? You almost gave me a heart attack. She didn’t respond, and stared at me with a completely blank expression. Noticing that she was hiding something with her hands, I turned her around. I became pale, terror conquering every inch of my weak body. Her hands were drenched with blood.

I couldn’t speak. The corners of her mouth twisted into a cynical grin, distorting her angelic face. She put her index finger in front of her mouth, signaling me to be quiet.  She ran to her room. Who was that stranger? At first I had recognized her, but that was certainly not Carrie.What was going on with my sister? Why was she covered in blood? I needed to know.

I couldn’t sleep. I would just replay and replay the terrifying scene in my head over and over again. I heard a knock on my door. I remained silent and covered my face with my covers and shut my eyes as tightly as I could. That chilly morning as I awoke, I hoped that incident that happened last night was just something I had dreamt. As my mother served us a sticky gooey oatmeal, I observed my little loving sister. She looked the same, she sounded the same, she had the same habit of rubbing her left eye. Yet there was something, something that reached the depths of my gut that told me that she was not right.Carrie acted as if nothing had happened last night. I wasn’t going to bring it up, I was too afraid. Saturday I spent all day locked in my room.

Google was what I needed. I tried Googling “how do you know when someone is being possessed? “bloody hands,” all kinds of stuff. I was getting nowhere. Clearing my head, I began to recollect my ideas. Alright, when did she began to act unusual? After the dark pod incident? I recall she was paralyzed and began to speak  in Latin and stopped coming in my room, and smiling. Maybe she was traumatized? What could it be? What was the name of that pond? Was it like Aqua Mortm, Morton? As  I searched it, it corrected me “Aquae Mortem”. There were pictures and news articles about it. “What was it? ”I asked myself. The head titles were “Unknown location” “ Cain’s Pool” “Dark Water”.

 

Information started flowing into my brain. The more I read the more I feared. Scientists from the late 1700’s to five years ago found that after exploring the pond, they had abnormal things happen to them: deaths, suicide, murdering their whole family, ending up  in asylums. Their biography included there research and work. Dr. Bill Herbs had evidence there was no living substance in the pond. Although, to many, there appeared to be one,  because of optical illusions. It claimed that there had not been any more wide investigations.

 

I found out that there was an ancient theory. It was the first place Cain, the first murder bathed in after killing his brother, After that the water has always been pitch black, absorbing all evil and darkness. There was also  stories of abnormal dark evil creatures living in the depths of it. Yet that couldn’t be it. That happened in the middle east, yet it felt closer to the truth.

 

I longed for there to be a better explanation of what was going on with Carrie.  In every single theory and article, the person had touched the water and that had the effect. I didn’t touch the water and neither did Carrie...or did she?

 

“Natt, come down sweety! Your babysitter is here”. Announced my mother from downstairs. As I ascended the stairs and faced my mom for her good night kiss, I stared at her eyes. Don’t go I need you, I can feel that this will be a very bad night, I longed for her to stay, yet everything I wanted to express  couldn't escape my mouth. My eyes were expressing all my desperation, longing, and concern into hers, as if it were some kind of energy. For once she understood me, she looked at me sympathetically and said “Don’t worry sweetie we’ll be okay.” and gave me a kiss on my forehead that burned for a while. I wanted to scream “listen to me!” Yet I stood there silent, expressionless and watched my parents get in the car.

 

Once they left, I felt exposed as if I was standing alone bleeding, surrounded by furious hungry lions ready to pounce at their prey. The babysitter was very tall. Her name was Carol she had long slender man legs. She was rather rude. I wish she wasn’t here, I had enough troubles already. She just strolled around perking her lips, looked at me head to toe and chuckled “nice sweater”. jumped onto the couch and turned on the t.v. What an amiteur, is that the best she could think of, I had been called much worse It didn’t even hurt I felt pity for her. She would always be very ill mannered and rude towards me, I'm not quite sure why. Once back in my room as I took a deep breath I felt these heavy chains just hanging on me and huge not in my stomach. Something bad was going to happen I sensed it.

 

I spent almost half an hour staring at my closed computer, I couldn’t open it. It contained too much information that would make me be afraid of even my own shadow. I paused there was complete silence, I couldn’t even hear that terrible cooking show that carol enjoyed to watch. Ohh no. Should I go downstairs? last time I ended regretting going downstairs. NO, NO I will not. It was if my body had a mind of its own, I said no yet I began to ascend the dark stairs. The lights are usually on. What was going on? I walked and crept slowly holding my breath uncertain of what I might stumble on. As I saw the living room I felt relief. The t.v was off ,but I could see Carol's curly hair was on the couch. She did usually take a nap. I slowly approached her to get a better angle.

 

“AHHHH!” It was so gruesome I couldn’t recognize her, my stomach began to swirl as I saw my babysitter stabbed with a kitchen knife, right there her forehead the blood crept through her face the dark severe blood was no longer just oozing and seeping, but was now cascading down inhabiting all surrounding places. she was drenched in blood. I felt the vomit raised up my throat,I held it in. Took the enough energy to run, but where? Where was she? I jumped, startled. there, the little person responsible for this, she was weeping underneath the table. “Carrie What did you do ?” I asked. Carrie just shook her head and began crying louder. Carrie was screaming as she saw her bloody hands. It was crushing. She was terrified, I was to. I grabbed her and hugged her. As I did this, she just began to scream louder and loosened herself and ran outside.

 

I began to chase after her “where are you going”?! I followed the sounds of her weeping that flowed through the wind like a map leading me to where she was. I didn’t have time to reflect on what had just happened I just wanted to protect my little sister. I began Screaming her name “CARRIE!” “CARRIE!”. I stopped, I couldn’t see where I was heading, I was blinded by the thick fog that surrounded me. I looked up,  looked quite familiar, It was like a repetitive nightmare, yet it wasn't going to end. As the fog began to clear, I discovered that I was in Aquae Mortem. The same mysterious creepy trees that haunted me at night surrounded me. I felt weak again I could hardly stand up. I froze terrified I found Carrie. She was levitating on top off the pond. She was drenched in blood, I couldn't recognize her. She looked so tormented, terrified. Was she drenched in her own blood? “Who’s Hurting you Carrie”? I screamed crying. She smirked at me, chills ran through me giving me goosebumps . I couldn’t breath I fell backwards attempting to run yet didn’t have the strength. I tried to fight it but she began to pull me.

 

The force was too strong I tried fighting it. I began to get dragged into the dark water Carrie held while dragging  me into the water. My hands with were clenched onto the dirt and the grass. My fingers slipped my nails were clenched on the ground with frustration. It was getting difficult to breath I began to suffocate trying to clench any gasp of air. I was fighting it. I was weak I looked into my sisters blue eyes. Forgive me, I was the one who exposed you to this. There she was. My little innocent sister desperate while drowning me, she was  drenched in blood. What had I done? If only I had known. As I began submerging in the water I felt all the darkness and evil enter me, destroying my interior. In my muscles I felt all the hatred despair consume me. I wasn’t gasping for air now, I looked downward to the depths of the soulless water the dark creature it had no form no eyes no soul, yet I could feel it, how it wrapped itself around me. It was everywhere it was in me. Dies venient spiritus duas sacrificium.