Tenaha: The Possession: The Possession

By Gina Lynelle Schaefer

Evil has returned to the small town of Tenaha, Texas. The sequel of Tenaha, finds Laura Surge living in the Masters' home, where she discovers the demonic activity that took place just five years before. Instead of running in fear, she chooses to conjure the demon VeNok and perform his bidding of human sacrifice. Employing a coven of devious tee

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regina Lynelle Schaefer
• Release date: Jun 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088262306

Book preview

Tenaha: The Possession

Copywrite 2023 by Gina Lynelle Schaefer

All Rights Reserved

First Edition

ISBN: 979-8-218-21989-5

ISBN: 978-1-088-26230-6 (e-book)

This novel story and characters are completely fictional. Although some certain long-standing institutes, organizations, agencies, and public offices are mentioned, the story itself is imaginary.

Ginalynelle.com

Special Dedication

Dedicated to the people that love and support me despite my weird quirkiness.

Especially Gary and Joseph (Love Bug). The men behind the question, ‘What’cha Writing?’

And a Very Special Shout Out to my BH Girls,

Carol, Angie, and Debbi.

Contents

Tenaha: October 2: Midnight

Rusk: October 2: Midnight

Houston Midnight

Tenaha: October 3

Rusk Early October 3

Houston

Tenaha

Houston

Rusk

Houston

Tenaha

Houston

Whitehouse

Houston

Tenaha

Davy Crockett National Forest

Tenaha

Davy Crockett National Forest

Houston

Rusk

Tenaha

Jasper

Tenaha

Venok’s Vestibule

Houston

Tenaha

27 Houston

Jefferson

Tenaha

Houston

Davy Crockett National Forest

Tenaha

Jasper

Coushatta, La

East Texas News

Tenaha

Rusk

VeNok’s Vestibule

Jefferson

Jasper

Coushatta

Davy Crockett National Forest

Houston

Coushatta

Rusk

Tenaha

Tyler/Crockett/Whitehouse

Venok’s Vestibule

Jasper

Tenaha

Jefferson

Coushatta

Houston

Journal Entry Of Madam Curretta

Coushatta

Jasper

Houston

Rusk

Tenaha

One For All And All For One

Jefferson

Whitehouse

Traveling Car Two: Eli, Gary and Terry

Jefferson

Jefferson 3:00 PM

3:30 Jefferson

Jefferson 4:00 PM

Jefferson: Just before 4;30

Jefferson: 4:30 and then some

5:00 Faith Finds Real Friends

Jefferson: 5:26 PM.

Jefferson 6:00 PM

Jefferson 6:06 PM

Jefferson

Jefferson 7:15

Jefferson: 8:00 PM

Jefferson: 8:56 PM

Jefferson: 9:33 PM

Epilogue

About The Author

Bm

TENAHA: OCTOBER 2: MIDNIGHT

Laura. Breathlessly, Come on, Laura, slow down. Are you sure this is the place?

Quit whining, will ya! I've been here a thousand times. It's right here.

Yeah, a thousand times in the daylight. Jesus, it's pitch black out here. Besides, what about snakes? My mom is gonna kill me if she finds out we snuck out. Rita stumbles as she speaks. I can't see.

Oh, my God, enough already! If ya gonna chicken out, then just go home. Laura stops and looks up, It’s right up here. Breaking out into a sprint, she heads towards the shadow shell of a barn. The air still carries a lingering smoky aroma five years after the legendary Pastor Dan Masters burned it to the ground, snakes, and all.

Rita catches up, strands of ash-brown hair slapping her face. It's cold; if we get caught, our asses will be on fire. She looks around hesitantly. Do you think it's true? You know the stories about crazy Dan being led by the devil himself. Rita wrapped her arms around herself, creating a shield from the ominous ambiance surrounding the environment.

Laura steps over a few cracked boards and enters what is left of the barn. The roof was mostly gone, and the loft was demolished with just a few weak boards dangling overhead, looking for an excuse to come crashing down on some innocent tourist—the full moonlight dances on the jagged edges of the remains to a nocturnal tango.

Jesus, Rita says, shuddering, it looks like teeth.

Better to eat you up, my dear, Laura giggles while she begins pulling out necessities for the evening activity. She then carefully feels the ground with her foot searching for a bare spot. Rummaging around, she finds her dad's flashlight, candles, matches, chalk, and a Ouija board she found in a hidden compartment in the upstairs bathroom of her new home. Kicking away rocks and broken boards, Laura creates a space to set up her altar and begins pulling out necessities for the evening activity.

Please, do you really think that thing is going to work? You couldn't find some weird ass occult shop or something to get a new one?

Shut up, Rita. It will be fine. Laura says as she shines the flashlight too dimmed to pick up pentagrams and goat symbols drawn on what is left of the scorched walls from so-called-Satanic-Worshippers.

Kissing the Ouija board, This one has personality, Looking up, Laura points with the flashlight still clutched in her hand. This is perfect; the moon is full. We are definitely going to contact somebody. Her excited words were welcomed by the wind gently, knocking on the sliver of a door dangling from a noisy rusty hinge. Rita. Rita, where did you go. Rita steps out to where the flashlight partially illuminates her face. Aren't you going to say something?

I thought you wanted me to shut up.

Bro, don't be so GD dramatic. You know what I mean. Now come on, help me set up.

Laura picks up a piece of chalk and draws a crude distorted pentagram over corroded dirt and grass on her designated altar. Rita sets the candles. This place is gonna catch fire again if we aren't careful.

Jesus, Rita, you are so negative. Nothing is going to happen. We gotta hurry, though. We need to do this at midnight.

Laura, you got this idea from Mr. Google. Kinda hard to believe your directions are accurate.

I'm sure of it. This place is a portal or something. Besides, isn't midnight the well-known witching hour or something? Why do you think it has no trespassing posted everywhere?

Uh, because it is a crime scene. Because nobody truly knows what happened to crazy Pastor Dan Masters and because apparently, the devil likes to play with the visitors. Rita squints her eyes and nervously scans the darkness as she speaks. That's if you believe all that stuff.

Was a crime scene. And the salt will protect us from the devil you don't believe in. Oh shit! Laura looks around.

What?

The salt, I forgot the salt.

Is this a séance or conjuring? Look, if you have some hoodoo voodoo ideas, leave me out of it. I don't want anything to do with that devil worship stuff. It's bad karma."

Look, dumbass. I'm only saying we need the salt for the circle of protection. Do you really think I would be worried about salt if I were looking to be Lucifer's baby mama or something?

So, you are worried that this is dangerous.

I am not. I wanted to follow the directions exactly like the website said. It doesn't matter. I am sure we will be fine.

Shouldn't the candles be white?

The black ones were on sale. I didn't see you contributing.

I'm broke. Besides, this was your idea. As Rita spoke, she stepped back into a puddle of water. Yuck, it's muddy, she shuddered as she wrapped herself in her black hoodie, only exposing her eyes. A sharp wind whipped through the barn, causing Laura to pull hers on as well.

Rita, the candles. The wind blew them out. Light them again. Laura places the black mirror in the middle of the circle as she speaks. A shuffle is heard in the back of the barn.

Did you hear that? Laura had looked up at the noise and shrugged her shoulders.

Probably just an animal or the wind.

Sounded too big for that.

Using the flashlight to see her set up, Laura looks down, Again, you can leave if you want.

Rita shuffles her feet, Are you sure you are doing this right?

No, but I can't exactly google this now. There is no service out here. Now come on, it's 11:57.

Rita hesitantly took out two more candles and placed them beside each mirror lighting them, burning her left palm as the heat flickered towards it. Laura pulls out a pocketknife and pricks her left forefinger letting three drops of blood drip onto the black mirror. The two girls sit opposite her, the mirror between them, lights flickering.

Gross, I got my butt wet and muddy.

Shut up, Rita, and let me do this. What time is it?

Midnight, exactly.

Laura smiles, straightens herself up, holds her arms out to her side, takes a deep breath, and begins the ritual she had instantly memorized the first time she read it.

Come forth, Great Guiding Spirit, and hear my plea. I call upon you by the power of this circle.

Rita lets out a soft giggle. Laura gives her a sharp scowl and then continues.

Appear to us, oh great one, as we sit within this circle. We ask that you manifest thyself in the dark glass we have prepared for you. Show yourself, oh ancient guide; I summon you. We ask that you appear to us so that we can recognize and welcome you into our lives. Please, as we have many questions for you.

Whispering, Laura, I don't know exactly who you are trying to contact, but I don't think it's working.

Shh. Laura listened to the wind.

Laura, let's go.

No, I hear something.

Rita's ears perked up when she thought she heard another loud shuffle in the distance. Still, when she turned slightly, what greeted her was the wind whispering to the broken hinges and the tall grass outside. Then Laura bolstered her voice again, making it bounce off the wood walls and dance into the wind.

Great Guiding Spirit, you are most welcome, oh great one. I have called you forth by ancient rites, and I now bind thee to me until it is time for our souls to part. By the power of the circle and your will, I ask that you destroy my enemies and all those that torment me, and I promise to do your bidding under your guidance and pleasure.

Jesus, Laura, what the hell are you trying to do? Mate with the devil. I thought you were trying to talk to ghosts.

Hush!

I will not hush Laura. Rita steps away from the circle and wipes her jeans off. This is messed up. As she spoke, both girls heard a loud shuffle throughout the barn. Damn, some kind of animal is in here. I knew I had heard something. Sounds like a bear.

Shut up, Rita. You can't break the circle. Besides, there are no bears out here. As Laura spoke, the sound came again, echoing throughout the barn. Rita turns and stumbles over a pile of boards, catching her ankle. The heat of adrenaline forces her to shoot back up and take off running, irritating the pulsating throb in her ankle and shin and releasing a stream of blood from her cut hand, which she wiped on her newly torn jeans. The depth of her injuries increased with each stride she made as she breathlessly prayed to be protected from the devil, she did not believe in.

Hey, Laura shouts out after her. We have to close the circle. She bends down, talking aloud to herself. Damn it, I should never have asked her to come anyways, she yells out loud while blowing out the candles and gathering the rest of her materials. Laura saved the black mirror for last. It was smaller than she had wanted, but the antique frame that held it fascinated her. The only item that caught her eye the day her mother forced her to trudge through the many Canton booths during Trade Days. In her gut, she knew this was special. Once belonging to someone long gone but could connect to her through time. She carefully wipes it off with the sleeve of her hoodie and investigates it. Unstartled, she held it up and examined a glare that appeared through the darkness onto the surface. Holding it upright, euphoric goosebumps tickle her body as her hood slides off her head. Her gaze is met by two gleaming red eyes meeting hers. Her lips curled into a smile, Hello VeNok. She pulled the mirror closer and froze as the touch of a clawed hand grasped her left shoulder.

RUSK: OCTOBER 2: MIDNIGHT

Mr. Masters, it's getting late. I brought something to help you sleep. Florence poked her head through the doorway to see the disheveled man. She had been working at the hospital for a few months and only heard a smidgen of the stories that articulated the legends of Pastor Dan Masters.

The story given to Florence was that Dan became a patient at Rusk State Hospital for the criminally insane after transferring from the Dallas Memorial Hospital burn unit facility, where he had been treated for extensive burns on his face and torso. Doctors observed him displaying signs of dementia while throwing fits and ranting about demons taunting him; it was determined that he would serve his sentence there until he showed recovery. That was five years ago.

Five years was a long time in her world, she had only been a nurse for three, and besides a brief internship at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, this was her first grown-up job, as her daddy put it.

Mr. Masters, it is nearly midnight; you really must get some sleep. I brought you the Ambien that Dr. Anderson prescribed. Florence's small frame stepped nervously further into the doorway. Dan sat up in bed. His hair was straight up, his dark eyes wide and grinning, his once handsome face distorted by the lasting burn scars and wicked shadows. He looks in Florence's direction for a glimpse, just long enough to see the sparkle of a small gold cross draping the young nurse's ivory neck. He coughs, turns to the wall, and rocks back and forth, grinding his teeth. Florence looks nervously at the shadow he is casting on the left wall before speaking louder. Mr. Masters, his rocking continues. She edges closer to the bedside table and lifts the pitcher up. I'll get you more water. Dan is silent. She walks to the sink in the room's left corner and looks out the window. Full moon tonight sure is pretty, Florence says, with a fake chipper voice. I'm sure you'll feel much better once you take your pill. Dan rocks harder as she approaches him stretching her hand out with a small medicine cup. Please take it. The bed starts to shake, Dan canonically rocking faster, staring, and releasing a hideous, cackling laugh towards the wall directly before him.

Florence's eyes twitch to follow the direction of his gaze. They land just below the clock on the image of Dan's silhouette. Looking back at him, she straightens her stance and, in the firmest voice that her twenty-two years of life would allow, says, Mr. Masters, it is time to take your medicine.

Dan's gaze suddenly jolts her. He lets out a loud cackling, bearing yellow teeth and glaring eyes. The left side of his face is still bright red, with bubbled areas tightened to where it appears that blue veins bulged, waiting for the ideal time to explode. Florence thought they would for a moment, but then he turned back to the wall and laughed harder. As he does, Florence's eyes again follow his stare first to his outline, touching a much taller one reaching higher than the clock. Right as the secondhand struck midnight, a hideous creature appeared. He looks down upon the nurse with glaring red eyes and opens his mouth, displaying a full rack of sharp teeth. He snarls and releases a smell of death that fills the tiny room, and as it gnarls, rotting flesh hangs from its canine teeth as if he had just feasted on rotting meat. Dan's laughter echoes throughout the room while a long-strangled hand leaps toward the young girl reaching through to her insides and grasping the rapidly beating heart. At the same time, she falls forward onto the side table. The beast squeezed, Dan laughed, and Florence fell limp, her body crashing on to the water glass, letting its contents trickle down the side of the table.

As the beast dissipates, the red moon rises higher, shining on Florence's lifeless body, slumped backward, face white, eyes opened, plastered into an expression of paralyzed terror. Dan, still on the bed, rocking and laughing.

HOUSTON MIDNIGHT

Preacher man kill himself?

Tilly, I swear, you don't need to be watching that scary stuff. It will give you nightmares. Eli watches his niece from the kitchen counter facing into the living room. Tilly just shrugged her head.

No, no, no.

Do what you want; I am going to bed. You should, too, it is nearly midnight, and we all have a busy day tomorrow.

Tilly snickers, today, today, today.

Yeah, you're right. It is today, case and point. Eli lets out a sigh, Fine, you'll eventually learn. I'm going to bed. I don't want to hear any grumbling from you when you have to get up in a few hours.

Eli knew that would not be the case. It was never the case. Temperance, aka Tilly, aka Boo, never got tired. She has survived on just a few hours of sleep all her life, which has never affected her work. He gives her a loving look, walks to her, and kisses her head. She quickly looks up, smiles, and turns toward the television. He sighs and double-checks the back door leading into the garage and the front door. Satisfied that his eclectic family is secure, he heads for the stairs to check on Joseph. An uneasy feeling swells inside him as he reaches the last step, where his attention is captured by a dim light coming out from underneath his tenant's door. The smell of lavender drifted down. The young man's evening routine involved lighting candles or incense for thirty minutes before bed. However, he is typically asleep much earlier than this. Eli glances at his watch. Five minutes to midnight.

Climbing further up the steps, he hears Joseph chanting. He gets closer, places his ear next to the door, and listens.

Saint Michael, please, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend me as I go into battle. Be my protection against wickedness….

Eli opens the door, overwhelmed by the burning candles; he pulls his head back, catching his breath before poking back into the room to see Joseph kneeling beside his bed in prayer, a Catholic bible on his pillow, his blonde hair flopped in his face, his hands pressed tightly together. He stumbles over his words.

And snares of the devil; May God rebuke ….

Joseph!

I humbly pray….

Joseph, what is going on with you?

Joseph looks up. Eli can see that he is sweating and scared. What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?

I thought…I thought I saw…well, this man was staring at me from over there. He was standing right there, and he had these dark beady eyes and long white hair that snagged at the end. He was holding a black book, and he kept growling that my name was in it and that I am the enemy of his brothers and… Joseph begins to choke up. Eli calmly enters the room and sits next to him. He points to his desk where his computer modem stands tall, blue, green, and red lights turning, reflecting on the smokey glass top of his desk.

It's all right, Joseph. It's just a dream.

Tilly squeals loudly from downstairs. Not a dream. Not a dream. Not a dream.

Joseph stands as if to run and check on her but changes his mind and collapses on the bed. It was not a dream. I do not dream when the lights are on.

You are safe here. Your name is not in some book, and you are not in Tenaha. I promise. You are safe, With Tilly's inaudible screeching coming from downstairs, he adds, Tilly is safe too."

No, Eli. Nobody's safe. Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it.

Joseph, stop it. If Tilly overhears, you will frighten her. We left all of that behind us.

Can't you hear her? She already knows. Nothing is ever behind us. We will always remember it; if we do not, we look for danger.

I don't understand.

If we forget the past, we have not learned from it. Evil relies on humans being complacent. If we do not keep an eye on it, we are just waiting for some ignorant moron to stumble along and invite evil back in.

Joseph, you have work in a few hours. You need your sleep.

I call mama? Tilly asks in the form of a question halfway up the stairs.

Let me get you a sleeping pill so you can rest. Then looking back, And so I can deal with her.

No! No pill. I have to wake up fast, just in case…. Joseph goes silent momentarily, then suddenly drops to his knees and begins his prayer again. Tilly can sleep in my bed if she wants. I will sleep on the floor. I need to keep her safe too.

Please, Michael, hear my plea! Defend me in battle. By our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him….

Eli places his hand on Joseph's shoulder as he continues praying Saint Michael's prayer.

…we humbly pray and do thou, O Prince of Heavenly Host….

Suddenly Joseph's voice rises to a desperate cry.

…by the power of God, thrust into….

Joseph. Eli's grip becomes firmer.

…hell Satan, and all evil spirits,

Joseph, stop it! You are going to scare Tilly. You are okay." Tilly is now peering into the doorway.

Joseph looks up, tears streaming down his face, No, Eli. Nothing is okay.

Please, Michael, hear my prayer. We need your help.

Tilly squeezes past Eli and sits on Joseph's bed, touching his forehead to wipe off visible sweat. He starts to shake, and with a quivering whisper, he says,

It came back.

TENAHA: OCTOBER 3

Laura. Laura!

Katrina called for her daughter at the bottom of the stairs, swatting her hand impatiently with a red dish towel. Her husband Harvey comes out of their bedroom wearing a deep navy suit complimented by a red tie and crisp blue and white pinstripe shirt underneath his perfectly pressed jacket. Katrina looks at him lovingly, My, Mr. Surge, you look even more handsome each day. He walks over and kisses her and looks up the stairs.

She still hasn't come down.

No, can you go check on her? I need to get the biscuits out of the oven.

On my way. He jogs up the stairs, and heavy metal music vibrates through the hardwood floors as he reaches the top. Jeez, he sighs, then he knocks on her door.

Inside, Laura is staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair is still messy from the night before, and her throat is dry. She looks at herself and notices three scratches on her left shoulder, and several bruises on her torso and thighs. How in the hell did I get those? she asks herself while examining the shades of blue and purples bubbling up.

I knew I didn't dream it, she mumbles softly. Harvey knocks harder, catching her attention.

All right already, I'm coming down.

Laura throws on jeans, a black long-sleeved Booksie shirt, and a hoodie. Harvey is still at her door when she swings it open.

Dad, move. I'm gonna be late.

No fault of mine. Your mom was downstairs calling for you.

Oh, so she can't walk up the stairs?

And disturb your domain, how could she? He spreads his arms open dramatically, smiling through his sarcasm. Laura rolls her eyes, whatever, she spouts before aggressively squeezing past him and stomping down the stairs. Harvey starts to go afterward but is distracted when a book falls off her bookshelf.

'Well, okay then,' Harvey thinks. Grimm's Fairy Tales. He walks over to pick it up. How very appropriate, his thoughts turned towards the trouble he and his wife has had with Laura lately. Sneaking out, smoking pot, and God knows what. 'Having a teenager is grim.'

Downstairs, Laura enters the kitchen and sees Katrina pulling biscuits out of the oven. Hey, Mom, you got any sausage?

Katrina hands her the strawberry preserves. Sausage, you say, yesterday you were a vegetarian, vegan I don't know but something.

Yeah, well, I changed my mind; I gotta eat meat. It's good for me, Laura says as she pokes at the frozen hamburger meat that Katrina had put out.

Stop that. That's for dinner. I'm making meatloaf. As she speaks, Katrina steps back and examines her daughter. Her hair was a mess. Black eyeliner smudged around her eyes, accentuating her pupils, seeming much darker than the usual light brown hue that her eyes always held.

You seemed to be in a good mood even though it appears as if you have just pulled yourself out of a pig's trough. Think you might want to rethink that look before heading out to the menagerie of boys waiting for your presence. Wash your face, at least. Sniffing, Katrina's brow knit. Take a shower. You smelled like day-old trash.

Laura rolls her eyes, Mom, I told you I don't fly that way. When are you going to accept me for that. Katrina returned to the biscuits and began to butter the top, ignoring her daughter's frustration. Laura continues, Besides, I was in a good mood until you compared me to Oscar in Sesame Street.

No, I distinctly said a pig's trough. Talk about somebody not listening. Turning to her, she reaches forward to brush the bangs out of Laura's eyes, You should listen to your dear old mother. When I was in school, the smelly kid got made fun of, and right now, you are the smelly kid. Just run up and take a quick shower. I'll write you a note or something.

Mom is making excuses for me to be late. That's a new one. I'll make it through the day with a little stank.

I looked up your grades this morning. How are you making a 38 in Chemistry and a 28 in English? Can you make it through the day with some tutorials? Are you not turning anything in?

Yep, the good mood is officially gone.

Harvey walked in and contributed to the conversation. Well, you better get in the mood, or you will find yourself working on homework all weekend.

Jeez, Dad, when will I ever use that stuff?

Well, it's kinda important to know what chemicals not to mix together to avoid explosion. He winks at Katrina, who nods.

Ha, Ha, but your dad has a point. I did cause a smokey haze a time or two while cleaning. So, check out tutorials. You need to get those grades up. If I don't see improvement soon, I will set up teacher conferences; we all know how you hate that. Is Rita coming to get you?

Nah, I'm gonna give her the day off. Laura shrugs, unsure if Rita is still mad at her from the night before. She had yet to return any of her six texts. Dad, can you drop me off at school?

Harvey nods while slathering a biscuit with jelly and points to the door.

***

Laura was too preoccupied with the events of the night before to be self-conscious of the smell