Chapter 21. MISSISSIPPI GOTHIC: A Substack Original Supernatural Southern Gothic Horror.
Small ghost town. Hidden secrets. Demons. Fallen angels. Root magic. And a woman who can see ghosts— Now forced to stop a crazed pastor from awakening a god.
Before you get started: I want to say thank you for joining me on my “Watch Me Draft a Novel” series. If you want to know more about the story I am drafting, check out this post here: Trigger Warnings. There you will find the introduction, glossary, inspiration photos, and trigger warnings. (please see the trigger warnings before reading) I want to add that this series is an 18+ adult fiction with spice. Enjoy.
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Chapter 21:
Ye say she danced to de devil’s tune.
I twisted the front door knob, locked. I stepped back, kicking the door. What the hell was this door made out of? Steal? It didn’t budge.
“Vex,” I shouted. “Can yo’ strong ass help? Please!”
Vex looked at Jamie for confirmation.
Jamie raised his hands for Vex to hold. “Listen, bish. We can’t go busting in somebody’s house. We already scared her enough. And the house seems quiet. We ain’t heard nothing, right?”
I yanked at the door again. “Something is wrong. Trust me. We gotta get inside.” The rain thrummed loudly against the roof of the front porch. Jamie’s lips disappeared before popping out again.
“Okay,” he said, dropping his hand, allowing Vex to come forward. “If she calls the cops on us, it’s gonna be yo ass,” he said.
“Well, spending a night in jail is far better than a pissed off ghost.” I stepped aside as Vex came to the door.
Vex cracked his neck and steadied himself. He placed his shoulder against the door and pushed. The door resisted. Vex’s eyebrows creased as if he was personally offended at the door’s strength. His human form was still bulky and I was just as surprised he didn’t get it on the first try. This time, Vex’s nails grew a bit longer, his canines flashing. He slammed into the door. The wood flew off the hinges and into a dark living room.
“That’ll do it,” I said, stepping into the gaping hole. Inside, a yellow light came from the hallway. Following the light, a small glowing orb hovered in front of one of the back rooms. I rushed down the hallway and kicked at the door the yellow light was in front of. The door wouldn’t move.
“Vex!” I said.
Vex was already on it. He placed his shoulder against the door and pushed, but the door was sealed solid. He did it again and again, beating his body against the door like a battering ram. He eventually backed up toward the nearest wall and ran toward the door, half-man, half-beast, slamming into the wood. The house trembled on impact. The door didn’t have a crack in it.
“What the hell?” Jamie said, pointing his gun toward the ceiling, standing ready for whatever it was on the other side.
The yellow orb flew past my face and back toward the living room. I followed, watching it fly out of the front into the rain.
My sister, my sister. I have to get to my sister.
I chased until the orb went to the side of the house, bouncing itself over the large metal fence. I climbed, hauling myself over. My foot slipped as I came down, causing me to land in the mud.
My sister, my sister!
The voice was loud in my head. I couldn’t tell if it were my thoughts or the woman in yellow. I struggled to my feet, stomping through the muddy ground.
My sister, my sister!
My senses were overwhelmed. I licked my lips and my tongue tasted blood. That’s when I noticed my nose was bleeding. I was light headed, ears ringing as I rounded the corner. The yellow orb collided with the closed window, bouncing off of it like a confused fly.
My sister!
“Okay! I’m here. I’m here,” I said, picking up a bat laid across the yard. It was solid, firm. I tighten my grip, as I swung, I could feel the woman in yellow swinging my arms as well. With strength I didn’t know I had, the back window shattered. I crawled through the glass. My palm pressing down on a shard of glass. But I didn’t feel the pain. I knew it was happening, I could feel the glass insert in my skin, but the pain was distant. My body was moving on its own, a part of myself was outside in the rain still.
For a moment, I was the yellow orb, hovering above myself. Watching my body fall into a darkroom. My face twisted in agony, fear, and rage. My jaw unhinged, hair wild. My skin had a yellow tint, as if it was radioactive.
“No, no,” I said, but watching my body below, my lips did not move. This has never happened before. No ghost has ever been strong enough to push me out of myself. Who was this woman? “Give me back my body!” I commanded. My self, or consciousness, or soul…plummeted into my body with a sickening snap. I then felt the stab of glass into my palm. The cuts across my skin, the ache in my bones, all at once. It was dizzying, rocking me off my feet until I smelled petrichor and rotting meat.
In the corner of the room, fleshed wrapped around decomposing tissue was Revvy. He stood over GG’s four-year-old son, who had passed out in a cradle. Revvy was a monster. Red muscles and off-white bone, bulging eyes with no eyelids, at his feet lay more flesh. I hoped to god, it wasn’t GG. Please don’t let it be GG.
