Page 22 of Unholy Fate

EVELYN

I satin Father Hudson’s office, my hands trembling as I clutched the small silver ring. Tears streamed down my face. “I don’t know what to do.” I sobbed. I wiped away the tears, but they kept running down my face. “I’m consumed by wrath, gluttony, lust. Envy and pride and anger. I’ve succumbed to thievery and sloth in my duties. What’s happening to me, Father?”

Without saying anything, he nudged a box of tissues closer to me. I grabbed one to have something more to do with my hands.

My whole body shook as a wave of intense sensation pulsed between my legs, just like what happened earlier in the street. Was this the sin of lust manifesting in my very flesh? What happened in the street—it had to have been an orgasm. I’d never had one before, but what else could it have been? I’d never experienced anything that felt that good.

“Am I going insane? These carnal urges, all the intrusive thoughts...what’s happening to me?” I cried out in anguish.

With a shaking hand, I placed the ring on Father Hudson’s desk. “I don’t understand, Father. Why am I suddenly wracked by these dark impulses? I know I’m not perfect but I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

A chilling thought crept into my mind. Could there be an evil force at work, a demonic presence tempting me astray?

No, surely not. Demons were spiritual beings, not living creatures that could manipulate me in the flesh. They could twist a mind and soul, but they couldn’t give me an orgasm. Could they?

“My child, we all face trials and temptations,” Father Hudson said gently. “Even the most devout among us have our moments of weakness.”

But I shook my head vehemently, unconvinced. “Please, Father, I beg of you. Bless me, pray with me so that I may resist these sinful urges.”

“Of course.” Father Hudson pulled his rosary from his pocket, reverently bringing the crucifix to his lips.

I stared at the symbol of our Lord, hope blossoming in me. “Father, please, show me I’m not unclean. The crucifix would show if I’m being influenced by the unholy. Would you touch my forehead with it?”

Father Hudson gazed at me, then said quietly, “Of course, Sister, but I’m also going to set up an appointment for you with Sister Mary’s therapy practice. You’re having a hard time, and I think she can help you. Come close, my child.”

Leaning forward, desperate for his help, for healing. A soothing balm that would calm my soul. He reached out and pressed thesacred symbol to my forehead as I squeezed my eyes shut in hopeful prayer.

As soon as the crucifix touched my skin, a searing pain engulfed my brow, and I screamed, yanking my head away. At the same moment, an intense pressure swelled within my most intimate area, ripples of unwanted pleasure radiating outward. It felt like something was moving inside me, stroking and probing, sliding in and out of my vagina.

Gasping in both pain and pleasure, I writhed on the chair, feeling like the same bursting ecstasy I’d felt when walking was going to happen again. Father Hudson sat back, staring at me in shocked horror, the crucifix having fallen from his hand, his eyes wide in fear and uncertainty.

Standing, I hurried over to the small mirror on Father Hudson’s wall. To my horror, angry red welts had appeared where the crucifix had touched my skin, as if the metal itself had burned me. Like it had been heated red hot and pressed into my flesh. I wailed, doubling over as my mind and body betrayed me. The room spun sickeningly and I gasped for air, clutching at my heaving chest.

Father Hudson leapt to his feet, eyes wide with shock at the blistering cross-shaped mark on my forehead. “Dear Lord,” he exclaimed, face ashen. “Stay here Evelyn. I’ll fetch the medical kit.”

He dashed out of the office, leaving me rocking back and forth, consumed by anguish, astonishment, and unwanted arousal. Clawing at my groin with one hand, I used the other to frantically make the sign of the cross again and again.

“I’m possessed,” I sobbed brokenly, the terrible realization crashing over me. “Demons have taken hold of me, defiling my body and spirit. Heaven help me, I’mpossessed.”

Hysteria rose like bile in my throat as I awaited Father Hudson’s return, silently mouthing prayers that did nothing to quell the infernal sensations wracking my cursed form. Sweat drenched my clothes as I shivered violently, feeling unholy forces ravaging me from within.

I clutched at his vestments, allowing my full terror to come out as I screamed into his face. “Cast them out! Please, cast them out!”

Father Hudson hurried back into the office, a white metal box clutched in his hands. Kneeling beside me, he hastily popped open the lid and rummaged inside.

“Here, this should help soothe the burn,” he said, his voice somehow calm even though he looked shaken to his core. He unscrewed a jar of clear ointment. Scooping out a generous dollop, he reached toward my marred forehead.

I flinched away instinctively, seized by an irrational fear that his touch would somehow make things worse. “No, please,” I said, “you don’t understand. It’s not just a burn, it’s a sign. I’m possessed by demons, I must be!”

Father Hudson paused, his hand hovering uncertainly. His brow furrowed with concern and he slowly shook his head. “Sister Evelyn, listen to me. You’re not possessed. The stress and shock are getting to you, that’s all.”

He carefully dabbed the cool cream onto my inflamed skin, his fingers gentle as they smoothed it over the blistered cross. Ishuddered at the contact, torn between relief at the soothing cream and revulsion at being touched.

Father Hudson tried to catch my wild, darting gaze. “You need to talk to a professional about everything you’re going through.”

“A therapist?” I echoed hollowly, barely registering his words. The cool ointment tingled on my burning forehead, momentarily distracting from the bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to pull me under. Father Hudson moved with practiced ease to place a bandage, covering the injury.

“For now, why don’t you go lie down in your room and try to rest?” He reached out a hand and helped me to my feet.

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