cried and held her bloody head.
It is you who is playing games. Now, take my mirror back where
it lay, Muma ordered, or you will continue to pay.
“Never!” Adelyn bellowed in the Southern voice and
cupped her mouth shut from saying anything else.
Muma cackled. You dare to play games and challenge me, thief?
Adelyn dropped her hands. “I-I didn’t say that. I know
you heard her voice. It’s you who is playing games with me
or it’s someone else inside me.”
I would know if someone were in here with us, Muma snapped.
I also know that you love to play games, according to Nellie, who told
Marissa when you went into the restroom last night. Now, take my
mirror back and stop trying to kill yourself. Trust me when I say you
don’t want me to take over you.
Adelyn gasped, having no clue what she was talking
about, and she was unable to grasp that Muma was inside
her. “Get out of me!” Adelyn screamed and took off driving
toward home, not wanting to go to Florida alone. She
wondered why Muma wanted to kill her one minute but then
expected her to take the mirror back.
Adelyn ran a red light in town, too afraid to stop,
confused as to why Muma spoke with a Romanian accent
one minute and then with a Southern one the next. She
couldn’t think of a good reason why and stepped on the gas.
At home, Adelyn jumped out of the truck, looked over
her shoulder to see if anyone was there, and ran inside. As
she paced the family room, she was sure it was Muma
messing with her to be spiteful for not taking the mirror back
when she first warned her in the bathroom.
Adelyn knew she needed to tell Marissa about the
detective for her to believe she was possessed. She hated
having to risk her friend’s life, but she needed someone to
believe her. She was sure that was the only way she would be
able to convince Marissa to go with her to Florida to return
the mirror. She needed her to drive because she feared Muma
would make her kill herself before she ever got there.
Adelyn sat on the couch rocking back and forth and
texted Marissa.
Will you come over when you get out of
school? It’s important. I’ll be upstairs, so
just come inside.
Adelyn rushed upstairs and lay on her bed, crying. She
didn’t want to risk her best friends’ life, but she was
desperate. She opened the top drawer of her end table, took
out a sleeping pill, knowing Muma didn’t like her taking
them, and tossed it into the back of her throat. Adelyn curled
up into a ball, hoping she could rest and waited on Marissa.
An hour later, the sound of a door opened, followed by
footsteps running upstairs. “Adelyn,” Marissa called out.
Adelyn woke up and grabbed her head, feeling dizzy
from the pill.
Marissa walked into her room and stopped with a
shocked look. “Whoa! What the fuck is wrong with your face
and why the fuck did you die your hair all white for?”
Adelyn thought about what Muma said about her
becoming her, jumped up, and ran over to the mirror, where
she looked at her aged self. “Oh, my God. I’m turning into
her.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Adelyn looked at her with tears in her eyes and grabbed
Marissa’s hands. “Marissa, I need you to listen to me.”
Marissa’s eyes widened. “Okay, but can you let go of my
hands first? You’re hurting me.”
Adelyn let go of her hands and paced the room. “I’m
seriously being possessed by that witch. She is real. I-I tried
to take her mirror back, but then she tried to kill me. I’m
scared out of my mind to go to Florida by myself. Will you
take me before I turn into her, please?”
“Are you being serious, or are you fucking around
again?”
Adelyn pointed at her eyes. “Do my tears look fake to
you?”
“No, but the infection could be messing with your
emotions and your brain. And you went nuts and dyed your
hair. Or it’s from the drugs you’re on. You do look wasted.”
“I took a damn sleeping pill, so she would leave me
alone.”
smell your hair.”
Adelyn gave her a nasty look. “I know where Detective
Abel’s sister’s remains are.”
“What? How would you know that?”
Adelyn sighed. “Because I’m either truly possessed by
Muma, or I’m a fucking psychic with split personalities.
That’s how I know.”
“I don’t get it. Who told you he killed his sister?”
“No one did. I’m the one who told him when I was
possessed by Muma, right after he said he was going to arrest
me for knowing where the hunter’s bodies were.”
“Stop messing with me. I’m starting to believe that you
are nuts.”
Adelyn stared her down. “If you don’t believe me, then
let’s go there, and I’ll dig up her remains so you know I’m
not lying.”
Marissa folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “How do
you know where her body is?”
“I saw where he buried her right before I told him. It
was like a movie playing in fast-forward.”
Marissa didn’t say anything and looked at her like she
was crazy.
“Do you want to go there or not?”
Marissa thought about it. “Okay, but I’ll take my own
truck just in case you are possessed. I don’t feel like dying
yet.”
Adelyn lowered her head. “I’m not in the position to
drive. I’ll get into an accident.”
Marissa hugged her. “I was messing with you. Come on,
I’ll drive.”
“Will you take me to Florida to return the mirror when
you find out it’s all true?”
“My mother will take my car away, but yes, I will. But
only if you prove to me this is real.”
“It is true.” Adelyn grabbed the bag with the mirror in
it and followed her out the door.
arissa drove for five miles and turned onto a dirt
road, where she continued up the steep hill until
they were at the top of Spell Mountain.
Adelyn looked around and spotted the large pine tree
she had seen in her vision. “Stop here.”
“Are you sure?” Marissa asked and pulled off to the side.
“Yes.” Adelyn got out of the truck and opened the back
door to get the shovel out.
Marissa sighed. “I hope this is going to be fast. It’s about
to get dark. I don’t want to be eaten by a bear.”
Adelyn shut the door, and glanced at the cliff,
remembering climbing down the mountain with Dad. The
memory made her feel at peace as she walked a good fifty
feet from the road.
“How far is it?”
Adelyn looked at the large rock next to the tree and
pointed. “Beth is over there.” She walked on.
“How do I know that this isn’t a game you’re playing
with me, and it’s not animal bones you and someone else
buried there?”
Adelyn stopped in front of the rock. She leaned the
shovel against the tree and turned to her while putting her
hair into a ponytail. “I would never play a horrible game like
this. You should know that. Plus, the last time I checked,
animals didn’t wear a ripped blue dress, covered in blood.”
Marissa looked at the woods up ahead. “If you dig up a
body, I’m gonna freak the fuck out and probably blackout.”
Adelyn grabbed the shovel and glanced at her truck—
glad it wasn’t too far, in case Marissa fainted. “You better
prepare yourself, because you’re about to see her remains.”
Adelyn stabbed the shovel into the earth and began
removing piles of hard dirt.
After a while, Marissa stepped to the side of Adelyn.
“Let me help. I need to do something besides imagining the
detective showing up and burying us right next to his sister.
If she’s really there.”
Adelyn stopped digging and turned to her out of breath.
She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her shirt. “He
doesn’t know that I know where he buried her. I didn’t
mention that part to him.”
“It doesn’t matter. If I killed someone and found out
someone knew I did it, I would remove the body. Is he
slow?”
Adelyn let the shovel drop and climbed out of the hole.
“He did threaten my entire family, so I’m sure he thinks I
wouldn’t dare dig her up.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Adelyn looked around while rubbing her sore hands,
making sure no one was watching them. “Are you going to
dig some? My hands are on fire.”
Marissa exhaled. “Yes, but I can’t believe I’m a part of
this shit.” She jumped into the three-foot hole and began
shoveling out dirt. She stopped and looked up at Adelyn. “If
I feel something hard, I’m not digging anymore.”
“Okay.” Adelyn sat against the tree, looking at the
sunset, hoping she was right about where the body was.
After another twenty minutes, Marissa screamed and
jumped out of the hole. She paced back and forth shaking
her hands off.
Adelyn jumped up. “Did you find her?”
“I-I don’t know. I felt the shovel go through a bone. I-
I think I just chopped her fucking head off or maybe her
leg.”
Adelyn embraced her. “Calm down and sit on the rock
while I check it out.”
Marissa turned her back to her. “I would hate to be
buried up here with no one around.”
“You wouldn’t know because you’d be dead.” Adelyn
jumped back in the shallow grave and gently shoveled away
the dirt until she saw a blue dress. She stumbled backward.
“Marissa,” she said in a shaky whisper.
“Oh, my God, please don’t tell me she’s really there.”
“Turn on your flashlight and aim it down here. I need
more light.”
Marissa did as she asked. “Holy fuck. You weren’t
lying.”
Adelyn lifted her skeletal remains and cried. “I’m so
sorry for what he has done to you.”
“I’m calling the cops. He needs to be locked up for what
he has done.”
Adelyn lay Beth’s skeleton remains back down and
climbed out of the hole. She wiped the dirt off on her pants
and snatched Marissa’s phone out of her hand. “You can’t
call the cops. He said he would kill everyone I knew, and that
means you too.”
“I can’t look at that poor girl’s remains or leave her here.
It isn’t right, Adelyn.” Marissa wiped her tears away and
stormed off toward the truck. “That fucker needs to die for
what he did.”
Adelyn ran after her and grabbed her arm. “Hey, I want
to send him to prison, but I just can’t right now. I’m scared.
And Detective Able will kill my family, and the cops will
think I’m nuts when I tell them I’m possessed.”
Marissa whipped around. “He can’t kill any of us if he’s
in prison, Adelyn. We need to go to the cops or call your dad.
He will know what to do.”
“We can turn him in after you take me to Florida to take
the mirror back. I need to be back to normal again. Can’t you
see me changing? I’m fucking getting older by the minute.”
“You probably have a disease that makes you age fast
that you’re not aware of. And if you’re truly possessed, then
why haven’t I seen that evil side of you and only heard about
it?”
“You witnessed it when Muma made me eat a raw steak.
And if I wasn’t possessed, then how would I know about a
dead girl?”
“Anyone can put a show on. I’m talking about real
possession like in the movies where the girl levitates or
something supernatural. And I would believe that twisted
fucker told you what he did and where she was before I
believed you were a psychic or possessed by a fake ass
witch.”
Adelyn’s eye’s widened. “Run!”
Marissa squinted. “Why?”
Adelyn’s body jerked forward, and she grinned at
Marissa. “Too late.”
Marissa backed up into the truck. “Too late for what?
And why are you looking at me that way?”
Adelyn walked toward Marissa and cracked her neck
while glaring at her. “So … you think I’m a fake witch, is that
right?” she said in Muma’s voice.
“Adelyn, stop fucking around.”
“Adelyn isn’t here right now.” She grabbed Marissa by
the hair and dragged her back to the shallow grave—Marissa
kicking and screaming.
“What the fuck are you doing to me?” Marissa shouted
with pure terror in her trembling voice. “Let me go!”
Adelyn yanked her up and pulled her against her body.
“I’m showing you how fake I am.” She pushed Marissa into
the grave, knocking her backward onto the skeletal remains.
Marissa screamed as she looked into Adelyn’s glare. She
climbed back out and ran toward the truck.
Adelyn caught her and grabbed her chin, squeezing it.
“You will take the thief back to Florida to return my mirror,
or I … will … kill … you. Is that understood?”
Marissa’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, I’ll take you,” she
choked.
Adelyn let her go. “Don’t ever underestimate pure evil,
child. Adelyn’s body jerked forward and she dropped to her
knees, puking. She looked up at Marissa, who was shaking
with tears streaming down her face.
Marissa rubbed her head while looking at Adelyn.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? You’ve never put your
hands on me before.”
Adelyn got up. “It wasn’t me. It was Muma.”
Marissa shook her head, backing up. “No, that was you
fucking with me with that Romanian voice. Why are you
doing this? Are you that fucked up in the head from that
accident? Or was I right about you being on some kind of
&nb
sp; drug?”
“I would never want to hurt you. Please just take me to
Florida to return the goddam mirror.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you get help.
You’re fucking sick.” Marissa ran toward the truck. “Find
your own way back.”
Adelyn ran after her. “Marissa stop, please.”
Marissa got into the truck, tossed Adelyn’s bag out the
window, and took off down the hill.
Adelyn slowed down to a stop and fell to her knees,
crying. “Why did you hurt my friend? She didn’t do anything
to you. I was bringing your mirror back.” She paused and
waited for Muma to reply. “Why are you ignoring me?” she
shouted—her voice echoing through the valley.
Adelyn walked back over to the shallow grave and sat
and crossed her legs, crying as she watched the sun go down
behind the mountain. She wasn’t crying because she was
stranded five miles from her house, she was crying because
she hated herself for getting Marissa involved. She looked at
the cliff to the right of her, knowing it was a thousand-foot
drop, and imagined leaping to her death. She had nothing
left. She was trapped in her body, and no one believed her.
And she knew taking the mirror back wasn’t a guarantee
Muma would allow her to live.
Adelyn pushed herself to her feet, wanting it to all go
away. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, ready to
send a group suicide message to her family and friends, but
a truck flew up the hill —the floodlights lighting up her
surroundings. She put her phone into her back pocket and
dropped to the ground, not sure of who it was. She slithered
like a snake into the shallow grave, trying not to disturb
Beth’s remains.
As footsteps got closer, Adelyn placed her unsteady
hand over her racing heart. When bugs crawled up her arm,
she held her breath, doing her best to ignore it, not wanting
to make a sound to draw unwanted attention.
“Adelyn, where are you?” Dad yelled with panic in his
voice.
Pure adrenaline flooded through Adelyn’s body,
knowing Marissa had called Dad, but she hoped she didn’t
tell him about the body.
“Adelyn, I know you’re here somewhere,” Dad called