THE SEVEN SALLIE SHOWDOWN

PROLOUGE

               Lexi thought she had just awakened from a nightmare. But where was she? There were eight people surrounding her and holding hands. Was she dead? In a hospital? She looked at each face. There was Destiny Knight Storm and her husband Brock. A Santa Clause looking old man with a long white beard. There was her sister Amy and Amy’s husband Dirk. Lexi’s boyfriend Devin, who was also Dirk’s brother. Zella La Stella, who was the psychic she was visiting when she blacked out. And a guy who looked like he was a scrawnier, scar free version of Brock Storm. Her eyes went back to Santa Clause. She thought he might be her sister’s pastor who was known by the nickname Captain Kirk. Why was a pastor hovering over her? Last rights? Was there such a thing for someone as evil as she was? Then it hit her. These people were praying over her. Something she had been fearing lately was apparently true. Lexi was demon possessed!

               Lexi began to look at the group of people again. Their images became altered. It reminded her a little bit of when she had tripped on LSD. She gazed at her sweet little sister. Despite how rotten she had been to Amy, her eyes were filled with love and concern. So why did Lexi feel such animosity toward her? She felt the violent urge to strangle Amy, but she couldn’t move. Lexi growled, but it didn’t necessarily feel like herself. Then pink and white colors began to swirl above Amy’s head in tiny clouds. It began to make Lexi dizzy, so she closed her eyes.

               When she opened her eyes again, everyone had their own distinct colors swirling over and around their heads.  Lexi looked back to the left. Destiny’s cloudy colors were predominately silver with red. Brock’s were brown with blue. Pastor Santa was orange and blue. Dirk’s were multiple shades of blue. Devin’s colors were black at the core, but tapered into various shades of grey, getting lighter as they arose above his head. Zella had purple and the stranger who resembled Brock had a nauseating swirl of yellow, grey and red. Lexi now felt more rage than dizziness. She looked at her boyfriend and felt betrayed. He had to be the reason she was here with her sister, his brother and their holy roller friends. But why was Lexi’s psychic here? Granted, the last thing she remembered was getting a reading at her place before she woke up here. Wherever here was.

               The anger and rage exploded from her. An inhuman bellow emerged as her back arched in an abnormal angle.  After her back slammed back to the bed, all of the faces staring at Lexi became transparent. It was like looking at the negative of a photograph and it seemed to indicate what each person was thinking and feeling. Amy, Dirk, Destiny, Brock, and Pastor Santa exuded love, strength and faith. Zella was fascinated and curious, but very rattled if not downright frightened. In Devin she saw love mixed with concern and confusion, but mostly fear. The stranger’s eyes couldn’t have been wider. He was completely consumed with terror and Lexi automatically keyed on him like a mad dog sensing fear. Her eyes bore into his as her tongue protruded unnaturally far from her mouth and a demonic howl was hurled his way.

               The stranger slammed against the wall. Then he ran to the door and clawed at it in a panic. Brock went to him and the little coward wrapped his arms around him as if he were a frightened damsel in distress. Lexi watched with fascination as Brock rubbed his back and spoke into his ear as if he were soothing a child that had a bad nightmare. The broken circle seemed to give her power. Ironically it was a power that she didn’t necessarily  want or could control. A roar exploded from her mouth and her body appeared to levitate.

               “Brock, you and Seven get back to the circle,” Santa Clause commanded. “Now! Have faith in Christ! He will never leave or forsake!”

               “Yes sir.”

               “Seven, cling to Jesus,” Santa ordered the terrified man with an odd combination of compassion and anger. “There is no fear in love. Jesus is love perfected. We can’t break this circle of love. We are battling spiritual wickedness of the most intense form. Focus on Jesus and unite your weakness with his strength.”

               The name Jesus caused a painful convulsion to rip through Lexi and her back arched again.

               “Amy, dear child of God,” Santa said. “Are you ready?”

               “Yes Pastor.”

                “Destiny, are you ready to assist your spiritual daughter?” Santa asked.

               “Yes sir.”

               Spiritual daughter, Lexi wondered? Her puritanical sister had a former porn star as some type of spiritual mother. Gag!

               The evil within Lexi was urging her to react with violence. But curiosity, maybe even some regaining of control, caused her to watch the two women. Lexi’s sweet, pure sister knelt beside her and their eyes locked. Lexi’s were dark and feral. Amy’s multicolored eyes were wide and expressive. The exotic beauty of her one blue and one green pair of eyes momentarily hypnotized Lexi. She recalled being instantly fascinated by them when she had first met her half-sister several years ago.

               Destiny knelt with Amy and secured an arm around her waist. Amy put a gentle hand on Lexi’s arm. This snapped her out of her trance. A low, deep, supernatural growl emanated from Lexi’s throat. It made a Doberman or Rottweiler sound like a squeak toy. Yet the gaze from the two women’s calm faces held no fear.

               “In the name of The Lord Jesus Christ,” Amy declared. “I command the evil spirits to come out of my sister.”

                This was the first glimmer of light Lexi beheld. The first sign of hope. Yet it seemed so small compared to the evil that held her captive. Anger and hostility roiled in her brain like a venomous, writhing snake. But why? Love shown her by a sister she had betrayed. Suddenly the rage exploded from within Lexi more violent than ever.

               “BLAAAAHHHHH,” The demons bellowed as her hands gripped Amy’s delicate neck and squeezed.