In the Dead of the Night - She's a Demon, Part 2

                                  by Fear359
                                (f/m, qs, grim)


When  things  go  *bump*  in  the night, and there is nothing there to make the
noise,  you  are supposed to turn and run. That's what I have always been told,
but  for  some reason I didn't. Why I couldn't tell you; maybe it was because I
am  a  male, and males don't scare as easily as females. Maybe it was because I
could bench press 390 pounds. But none of those things mattered, the reason why
I  didn't  run  was because I was dumb, plain and simple. Now I am dying, and I
have no one to blame but myself.

This is my story.

It  started  out  like  any  normal  day  in  the life of a 21 year old college
student. I was just a normal guy, who liked the normal things, girls, beer, and
partying, in that order. I went to this party on Friday night and met this girl
named Heather. She was dressed in a pair of jeans that had to be painted on her
body,  because  they  were  that  tight,  a pair of black boots, and this tight
T-Shirt. I had seen her around and noticed that she was always smiling at me. I
tried to get the nerve to go up and talk to her, but girls like that always had
a boyfriend lurking around somewhere, just waiting for some poor fool to go up,
and  start  talking to their girl. And then they would come out of nowhere, and
open  one hell of a can of Whup-Ass on you! Well, I'm tough, but not stupid, so
I always just smiled back and kept walking.

The  party  was  kicking,  and  the  local  band  was rocking like there was no
tomorrow. I was sitting over in a corner just listening to the music: Tonight I
didn't want to be bothered by some girl that just wanted sex. I was looking for
a  real relationship, something I could write home and tell mom about. And so I
thought  that  I  would  hold  out for a real woman. And that's when I heard my
name, and when I looked up, there was Heather smiling at me.

"Hi Curtis, how ya doing?"

"Ah,  ah,  hi, Heather. Your name is Heather, right?" Yeah, I know, great line,
huh?

"Well,  it  was  my  name this morning. How come when you see me and I smile at
you, you never come over and talk to me?"

"Well, I didn't know if you had a boyfriend or not, but chances are a beautiful
girl  like  you, you did, and I wanted to keep all my body parts attached to my
body!"

"Curtis,  you  are  funny. First of all I don't have a boyfriend. If I did, you
would  be  the first to know!" Don't ask me why, but for some reason this woman
standing  in  front  of  me  had  me  in  a total trance, and for some reason I
couldn't  take my eyes off her. "So why are you sitting all by yourself? A good
looking guy like yourself, I'm sure you can have any girl here you wanted to!"

"Heather, it's not like that. I want someone who wants something more than just
sex. I want someone to ... to ..."

"Talk to. Someone, who has a brain and knows how to use it. /Right/?"

"My  God,  how did you know what I was thinking? I mean, yeah! That's what I am
looking  for!  It's either they are too smart and don't want to be bothered, or
all  they  want  is sex. I just want someone I can talk to and have a good time
without all the sex."

"Curtis,  tonight  is  your  lucky night, because tonight I'm going to show you
just how smart I am, and when I'm done with you, you'll be mine!"

Don't  ask  me why, but for some reason I believed her. And the look she had in
her  eyes  they were, well, killer. Heather sat down next to me and we began to
talk  about everything - school, music, the mess the world was in, crime, space
...  You  name  it,  we  talked  about  it!  The more we talked the more I kept
thinking that Heather would be a great girlfriend.

She  didn't  seem needy like so many of the girls at this school, and she had a
brain  and  a  body  to  match  and  that  smile she had - if she threw that on
anybody, they were done. You could get lost in that smile and never come up for
air.  Before  I  knew  it  we had been talking for over an hour and a half. The
party was starting to break up, and everyone was either drunk and getting laid,
getting  laid, or passed out drunk. I asked Heather if she might want to finish
our  talk over an early breakfast, and boy was I surprised when she said /yes/!
We headed for my truck and took off for the truck stop on the edge of town.

"Curtis, do you believe in witches?"

"Do I believe in what?"

"Witches! Do you believe in them?"

"Well,  Heather,  let's  just  say that I have never seen one, but that doesn't
mean  that  are not real. I haven't seen the devil, but I do know that there is
evil  in  the  world. So I guess the answer is: Yes, I believe in witches! What
about you? Do you believe in witches. Heather?"

"Well, kinda sorta. I mean I haven't seen one lately, but I'm sure I'll see one
soon!"

"Now, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"My mother, that's what it means. My mother is a witch, Curtis!"

"Come  on,  Heather.  Everyone  says that about their mothers. You don't really
mean that, do you?"

"You better believe it. My mother is a witch, and she is evil, and I hate her!"

"Heather,not to be rude or anything, but can we change the subject?"

"Sure Curtis. What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything but this one. It's a little creepy if you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you or anything, but you did ask."

"Yeah, I guess I did. Ok, we're almost there. Are you hungry?"

"Well, maybe a little bit."

As  we pulled into the parking lot I looked over at Heather, and there was that
smile  again,  and that put me in a better mood. I jumped out of the truck, and
ran around and opened her side and helped her out, and we headed into the truck
stop.  When we walked through the doors, every guy in the joint turned around a
stared  at  us. Well, really they were staring at Heather. So we got a table in
the back and waited for waitress to bring us a menu.

"Curtis, do you like to hike?"

"Well,  yeah!  I love to hike! I go hiking almost every weekend. I love getting
out into the great outdoors."

"Where do you hike at?"

"I go to the mountains, way up in the hills."

"Have you ever hiked in the swamp about 20 miles from here?"

"I've been there once, and it was alright, just to many damn mosquitoes for me.
Why do you ask, Heather?"

"Oh,  I  was  just  wondering  if  you might want to go hiking in there with me
sometime, that's all."

"That sounds like fun. How about we go next weekend, Heather?"

"How about if we go right after we eat?"

Something in my head said, 'Don't do it, it's too dangerous!' But when I looked
up  into  those  green  eyes  of Heather's, I was lost, and in my haste I said,
"Sure, why not!"

The  waitress  brought  us a couple of menus, and we ordered a couple of BLT's,
two  cokes, and some coffee. And in a matter of 45 minutes we paid the bill,and
were  on  our  way out to do some late night, early morning hiking in a swamp -
something I have never done, but you only live once! The drive out to the swamp
seemed to take like only a few seconds, but once we got there I had the feeling
that  I  should  think  this  through ... but looking at Heather it took only a
matter of seconds to think it through.

We  both  climbed  out of my truck and looked around. I should have been scared
but  for  some  reason I wasn't. I don't know why. Maybe it was to show Heather
that I was cool and not afraid. She walked around to the front of the truck and
started  looking  around,  but it was really to dark to see anything that could
have  bitten  us.  So I grabbed the flashlight from the glove box and turned it
on.  Over  to  our  right,  about  30  degrees,  was a small trail, and Heather
suggested  that  we  try that trail. So we both went off walking into the great
unknown.  Now,  going  into  a swamp in the middle of the day is one thing, but
walking  around  here  in  the  middle  of  the night, is, well, let's just say
/stupid/!

"Curtis, you aren't too scared, are you?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, just a little, Heather. I-"

*snap*

"Curtis! What was that?"

"I don't know. Might have been an animal or something."

"What's a something, Curtis?"

"I  don't  know,  Heather.  Maybe  a  wild  dog,  cougar ... It could have been
anything."

"I  don't like that, Curtis. Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea. Maybe we should
go back and come back next week, like you said."

"Well,  maybe  you're  right,  Heather.  It's pretty dumb to be out here in the
middle of the night, and-"

*snap*

"Curtis! That was less than 10 yards from us, and-"

*thud* *thud*

"Curtis,  let's  get out of here!" Heather took off like a shot from a gun, and
for  some  strange reason I just stood there, ready to take on whatever it was.
And  when that /whatever/ stepped on to the small trail I could not believe it.
It was a woman, a very old woman.

"Is there something I can do for you, little lady?"

"No, Curtis, but there is something that I can do for you."

"For me? And how in the hell do you know my name? Do I know you?"

"No  I'm  just a little old lady that knows all about you, and I am here to see
that you get what is coming to you."

I  should  have run when she said that, but for some strange reason I didn't. I
had  to know what she was talking about. As we both stood there looking at each
other,  I  remembered  about  Heather. Where was she? And was she alright? This
swamp  was  big and very dangerous, and I had to go find her fast. There was no
telling  what  trouble she could get into out there. So I took off running past
the  old  woman  who was standing in front of me, in hopes that I found Heather
alright.  There was something strange about that woman standing there - all she
did was laugh as I ran by her.

"Heather!  Where  are  you?  Do  you  hear me? /Heather/!" I ran down the small
trail, and I could hear something up ahead. And as I rounded the corner I could
see  Heather  still  running,  but  I was gaining on her fast. It was about 100
yards more or less when I stopped and called her name again. "Heather! It's me,
Curtis! Please stop running! It's me, Curtis!"

Heather  stopped running and turned around and saw that it was me. As I finally
caught  up  to  her, she looked like she had seen a ghost. Something had scared
her  really bad, and she looked to her left, and just started screaming. When I
looked at what Heather had seen I just freaked out. It was the old woman that I
had  left  back  on  the  trail. But somehow she was there, and to make matters
worse she had this evil look on her face - a look of death! I told Heather that
we had to get out of here now, and we started back the way we came. Not looking
back  we  were  running as fast as we could, but something was wrong. The trail
had  changed  somehow.  Don't  ask  me  how, but it did. We were never near the
water,  but now we were and it didn't look like very clean water either. We got
as far as we could, and then the trail just stopped. In front of us was a small
stream,  about six feet across. Not a very hard jump by any means, but when you
have been running for your life, it might as well be six hundred feet. I turned
to  see  if  that woman was still behind us, but I didn't see her. Maybe we had
lost her. Now all we had to do was to get across this stream.

"Heather,  I don't see that old woman, and we have to cross this stream and get
out of here."

"Curtis,  I  don't like this! Not all all. I don't remember running by this the
first time. It's like the trail has changed somehow."

"I know what you mean Heather, but we don't have much of a choice now, do we?"

"Well, I guess not. Curtis, who was that lady, and what does she want with us?"

"Heather,  I really don't know who she is, and I don't know what she wants with
us.  But  I  do know that we had better get going before she catches up with us
again."

"Yeah,  I  guess you're right. Let's get the hell out of here!" Heather started
out  walking in the stream, and I was right behind her. The bottom was soft but
not as bad as I thought it would be.

We  were  both  just  stepping out of the water on the other side when for some
strange  reason  the ground just gave way. At first it was only ankle deep, but
the  harder we tried to get out of the mud the more it sucked us down. And then
it dawned on me. "Shit! Heather, we're in trouble! I think this is quicksand!"

"Curtis,  no! It can't be! Not quicksand! Please, help me, Curtis! I don't want
to die! Not like this!" Heather began to struggle as hard as she could, but the
more she fought the more she sank, and the more she sank, the more I sank!

"Heather,  for  the  love of God! Stop struggling! This shit is pulling us both
in!  Heather,  stop  it!  You  have to try and relax. The more you struggle the
worse you make it for you and me."

"Curtis!  We have to get out of this stuff! It's dangerous, and if we don't get
out of it soon, we'll die!"

"Heather, you have to trust me on this one! Stop struggling!"

Heather  relaxed  for  a  moment,  and  stopped  trying to get out by thrashing
around.  She looked at me, crying, and I knew that I had to do something to get
us  out.  And  that's when we heard a branch snap, and when we both looked up I
knew that we were done for, because standing in front of us was that little old
lady  that  had  been following us through the swamp. She just stood there with
the  look  of  death on her face. Heather and I sank more into the quicksand. I
had  sunk  up to my waist, and because Heather had thrashed around so much, the
quicksand had taken her up to her chest. As I begged the old woman for help all
she  did  was  smile,  then laugh. It was a morbid laugh that chilled me to the
bone,  and  when  she  stopped  laughing she spoke, and what she had to say was
something right out of a horror novel.

"Curtis.  I  have  been  waiting  for  you  a long time. Your kind have brought
nothing  but  trouble  to  us  since day one. You see, I am a witch, a very old
witch.  I am 665 years old, and to stay alive I have to send the devil a victim
each year. And you, Curtis, will be that victim!"

"You're  a witch? No way! Please help us! We're sinking fast in this quicksand!
Please, for the love of God! You can't mean what you say!"

"Oh, Curtis! I do mean what I say, and you are as good as dead."

"What did I ever do to you? I don't even know you, so why are you doing this to
me?"

"Because,  Curtis,  I  need  a victim. Any victim will do, and you are going to
die. Daugther, take my hand!"

"Yes mother!"

I  couldn't  believe  what  I  was  hearing.  Here I am, sinking to my death in
quicksand,  this  old  lady  standing  in  front of me is a witch, and the girl
sinking beside me is a witch also. God! Can this get any worse?

"Heather!  Please,  help  me!  What have I done to you to deserve this? Please,
tell me!"

"Curtis,  you  were born! That's what you have done! I am a witch, just like my
mother,  although  I am not as old as she is. I am only 250 years old, but just
like  her  I have to send the devil a victim every year to stay alive. And that
is where you come in. You die, I live. It's as simple as that."

As the quicksand inched up to my neck something happened. I don't know why, and
I  don't  know  how,  but for some strange reason my feet hit something hard, I
didn't  know  what  it was at first, but the more I moved my feet, I could tell
that  it  was  a  root from a tree. Where I didn't know, and right now I didn't
care.  As  long as I didn't sink anymore that was fine with me. The two witches
just  stood there watching me sink to my death. I knew that if I didn't make it
look good that they would find some other way to kill me.

"Heather, please! For the love of everything holy, help me, please!"

"Curtis,  I couldn't help you, even if I wanted to. You see, a girl has to keep
her  promises,  no  matter what. No matter how much I liked you, I have to keep
this promise."

"Heather, please! I'm going under ..."

"Heather, are you getting soft on me after all these years? Did you really like
him?"

"No,  mother,  I  said  that for effect, that's all. Now let's go home. I would
really like to get out of these muddy clothes."

"Alright my dear. Let's go. But be careful! There is quicksand on both sides of
this trail up ahead."

"Well, mother, lead the way out of this swamp."

It's  strange you can hear all kinds of things underwater, or in my case, under
quicksand.  But  I  heard  every  word that they said, and I heard them walking
away.  And  when I didn't hear them anymore I came up for some much needed air.
When  I got my wits back and the air I needed I slowly pulled myself out of the
quicksand  death  that those two had left me to die in. And now it was time for
my  revenge!  I  followed the trail very slowly and far enough behind them that
they  couldn't  hear  me.  My plan was simple, somehow get in front of them and
push  them  into a pit of quicksand and let them sink to their deaths. I tested
the ground every 15 to 20 yards, but the branch I had just kept sinking into to
ground.  I  came  to  a  bend  in the trail, and I saw both women cross a small
makeshift bridge. And I knew that was where I was going to make my final stand.
I  slowly  got  to the bridge, and over to the right of it was a huge tree, big
enough  for me to hide behind. So I jumpped up and grabbed the over-head branch
and  climbed  up. And I started making noise, loud enough to wake the dead, and
maybe loud enough for a couple of witches to hear it.

"Mother, wait! Did you hear something? It's coming from back there."

"Yes, dear! I heard it. It sounds like maybe we have another victim. Two in one
day! The master will be proud! Let's go get a two for one deal, shall we?"

"Yes, mother, we shall!"

I could hear them coming up the trail, and as I waited for them I wondered if I
could  really  do  this - kill two people. Well, the thought lasted for about 5
seconds,  and  then  I  saw  them about 50 yards up the trail heading my way. I
waited, and waited, and waited, and finially they crossed the bridge. I threw a
rock  as  hard  as  I could, and it went sailing and landed about 25 yards from
where  they were at. And after hearing it land they went off to check it out. I
walked  back out on the branch, and dropped back on the old bridge, and started
walking  back  up the trail. Over to the left of the trail was a small trail. I
tested  the  ground to make sure that it was safe, and it was. So I made my way
down  the trail which led me through some pretty rough ground. I had gone about
150  yards  through  the trees when I stopped dead in my tracks. In front of me
was the biggest pit of quicksand that I had ever seen, I picked up branch after
branch,  and  threw them in and the harder I threw them didn't matter, they all
sank.  This  is where I would make my final stand. I made some noise to get the
women  to  come  back towards me, and then get them to come down this trail and
then  somehow get them into the quicksand. Getting them to come back my way was
easy.  I  just  yelled and screamed that I was lost and used a friend's name to
come  and  find  me.  In  less than five minutes I heard Heather and her mother
coming down the trail. Time to kick some ass!

"Mother,  are  you  sure  that  the sounds you heard were coming from down this
way?"

"Yes,  Heather,  I  am  sure! And once we have this new victim we won't have to
worry about killing someone next year."

"Well, I guess you're right. Let's get this over with already."

As  the  two  witches  inched closer they walked right by the tree I was hiding
behind.  And  when  I  looked out from behind it they were headed right for the
quicksand.  I  just  had to time my attack perfectly, hit them before they knew
what hit them. I waited for them to take another five steps, and then I jumpped
out  from  behind  the tree and started running right for them. They were about
three  steps  from  the quicksand when they heard a noise behind them. And when
they  turned  around  I  hit  them  both  full force. I didn't think that I was
running  that  hard and that fast, but I was, and the force that I had hit them
with sent them both into the quicksand.

I  knew that when their feet had hit the quicksand that they would not get out.
Heather  just  stood  there, pumping her legs as hard as she could, but all she
was  doing was making it worse. Her mother was a good five feet from her, doing
the  same,  trying  to make her legs come up and out of the quicksand. And then
they did something that I will never forget. They looked at me and began to beg
and plead for their lives.

"Curtis,  please!  I  can't  get  my legs out, and I'm going in deeper! Please,
Curtis! I love you! Save me, please!"

"Heather,  you  have  got  to be kidding! You leave me to die in quicksand, and
when I get the upper hand you want me to save you? Are you crazy, or just plain
stupid?"

"Curtis,  please!  The quicksand has my knees, and it's getting softer! Curtis,
*please!*"

"If I save you, Heather, what about your mother? What do I do about her?"

"Curtis,  please!  If  you care about me then you'll save me! What do I have to
do? Please tell me, and I'll do it!"

"Heather, the only thing you and you mother can do for me is /die/!"

"Curtis, I place a curse on you! For the rest of eternity we will hunt you down
and kill you slow and painful! You will know what it's like to know real pain!"

As  I saw Heather's mom start chanting out something I just started laughing at
both  of them, and it was a laugh I couldn't stop. But when I did get the laugh
under  control  they  both  just  looked  at me, and then I told them what they
didn't  know.  "Heather! You and your mother cannot hurt me, for, you see, I am
already  dead!  I died back there in the quicksand that you left me in, but for
some strange reason my spirt is putting an end to your wicked ways once and for
all!"

"Your  spirt,  Curtis? Come on, you can come up with something better than that
can't you?"

"Oh,  indeed  I can, Heather! Just watch this!" And with that I raised my hands
to  heaven,  and  I  slowly  started to fade away. But before I did I saw hands
coming out of the quicksand reaching for and grapping Heather and her mother.

I  couldn't  believe  what  I was seeing, and then I heard a voice saying this,
"These  are  all  the victims you have killed over the last 665 years. They are
taking  their  rightful  vengence  on  you.  Suffer  the  same fate they had to
suffer!"

The  quicksand  was  doing good enough on it's own, but now that it had victims
helping  it there was no way for Heather and her Mother to escape. As the hands
of  hundreds  of victims reached out and grabbed Heather and her mother to pull
them  down  into  the murky depths of the quicksand I'm sure that their screams
could  be heard all the way to hell! And as for me, I'm dead. I don't know what
the  future  holds  for  me,  but  I'm  sure  it will be better than sinking in
quicksand with a bunch of pissed off dead people!