Prices to Pay//Michael Langdon

The Boy Next Door

*Warning! Spoilers ahead!*

I've seen a compilation of things that enter his house and never leave, at least not alive. I watch him grow ever so slightly every day, becoming more and more destructive. His, I'm assuming, Mother seems riddled with fear. She fears to let him go, but she doesn't know that she releases him from her mind a little bit more each and every day. 

Although he is but a teen, his mind is much more complex. He knows exactly what he is doing when he does it and understands the darkness behind it. Out of my window, I watch his mother plant roses. Underneath the soil is a variety of dead animals brought to her by him, he loves her. He just wants to make her happy, he just wants her to love him, but he has gone past the point of redemption in her eyes. Not in mine. I know that there is good in him, I see right through his soul and I understand him like no other. 

The house across the street calls to me, I know it is my time to finally face him. Spirits only I can see call to me for help, they desperately beg for me to save them from the evil that takes place from within the interior. He is learning his power, understanding his purpose on this Earth and he is far more powerful than I realized. I can feel his emotions, I can see his mind, I know who he is, and I know exactly why he's here. I've seen people enter his home wearing dark capes, bringing sacrifices of many kinds. I know he knows that I watch him, but I doubt he knows who I truly am. That's the only way I am going to reach him, through deception and manipulation that he cannot see through. 

Hearing the cries of the girl within the house, I decided that I needed to finally come face to face with what many believe is the purest form of evil. Or at least his cult does. He is young and weak, this led me to think that he was a waste of my time and curiosity. That was until I learned of his true intentions, so destructive that the entire world could end. 

I dress in all black, wanting to blend in with the small crowd. Feeling the beating heart of the innocent soul within the house that calls to me, I begin to make my move. The tension and the pain that I feel as I'm drawn closer and closer to the house is almost unbearable for me. Corrupted innocence is here and its source was the boy whom I watched grow up. Crossing the street, I force open the locked gates to the home. One foot in front of the other, I reach the door. Instead of unlocking it from the inside, I knock on the door. I can hear a small whimper from a girl who has shed enough tears to hydrate the entire world. No one answers, so I knock again. Noticing a doorbell, I ring it a few times waiting for an answer. Trying my hardest, I manage to find my way into his mind. He's frustrated that he's being interrupted. I could have guessed that without reading his mind, I continue to ring the doorbell. 

Soon enough someone finally answers the door, it's a man in a long robe. He plans to murder me where I stand but I use my mind to change his intentions. "Please come in," The man says happily, that's more like it. I walk inside the house and feel the dark energy enter my soul, I can see countless trapped souls watch me as I enter the door, and say words of pity for me.

"Poor soul, she is bound to be with us soon."

"I pity her, she will soon regret ever being here."

"I cannot bear to watch another pretty face be tortured to death."

I see all of the remarks as positive because I am selling the 'innocent' act. The man wraps his arm around my waist, leading me to a room with a girl on the table. Feeling many pairs of eyes on me, I see my target staring straight back at me. "What is she doing here?" A woman asks, and I try my hardest to feel genuinely scared of the situation around me. 

Looking at the table of which the innocent girl is lying upon I start to breathe heavily, "I think I should leave, you guys are obviously busy." I say turning around but I am blocked by the man I was sent here to see. He grabs ahold of my shoulders and prevents me from moving. 

"What do I do with her?" He asks the other three bodies in the room. He's clueless about me, and that's exactly what I needed. 

"Mr. Langdon, that is up to you, shall we use her instead?" One of the women says and I shed a few tears and shake my head 'no'. 

I implant something into the man's head and he speaks it aloud, "I think we should have her watch, maybe it will scare her to death and we won't have to get our hands dirty." The teenager in front of me, only wearing a robe and some boxers, looks down at me. He looks scared and conflicted, and I look the same to him. 

"She knows who I am, she's my neighbor. I can't take her, she probably has parents waiting for her." He says back to the group sounding worried, I know he is thinking about his grandmother. 

"That didn't stop you all of those other times, Michael!" The man under my control says. Michael, his name is Michael. "Let's strap her down and make her watch the glory of the Devil. It's a sign, she is meant to be here." Michael lets go of my shoulders nodding and allows the other three to strap me down, despite my small contribution of effort against them. 

Michael stares at me as the worshipers incite the ritual, and I stare back in fear with tears in my eyes. Next thing I know, the girl is screaming at the top of her lungs as she is stabbed in the chest. I scream in horror and one of the women puts their hand over my mouth and tells me to be quiet. The man, whom I've now freed from my control, reaches inside of the girl and pulls the life out from within her, and she screams until her heart is ripped from her body. Michael looks at me for a split second as if he was scared for me, and is handed the girl's heart. He looks back at me for a moment and then starts to get lost within his power. Grinning evilly, he takes a bite of the poor girl's source of life. I feel the dark power radiate from him, as I watch the dark silhouette of Lucifer descend from Michael's shadow. The Satan worshipers are filled with joy, officially knowing that he is the chosen one. 

Hearing the heart thud onto the ground they begin to question what to do with me now. I take control of the man's mind again and implant yet another one of my ideas, "I say we leave her here to die," He says and I make the others agree with him as well.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Michael says and they all question him. "Maybe we should send her back home," He says looking at me. Just like his mother, he only wants the best for me. 

"Make her your slave, Mr. Langdon. She is already involved with our worshipping, no one can know what she knows, and by the look of her right now she looks like she can handle it." One of the women says. 

"I will not enslave her, but maybe she can accompany me in my journey," Michael says right on queue with what I want him to say. He looks to me and I shake my head as fast as I can starting to freak out externally. "I think you all should leave," He says and they nod their heads. They all send him words of encouragement as they exit the home. He closes the door and walks towards me, "What do I do with you?" He asks me, and I cannot tell if he wants me to answer or not. 

"Let her go you sick bastard." One of the male spirits says, and I pretend that I do not hear it. Michael extends his hand backward and the spirit is thrown against the wall, he doesn't speak anymore after that. 

"Do you want to go home?" He asks me and I nod my head desperately. He stands over me and paces back and forth. 

"Please let me go, sir," I say finally speaking actual words to him. He looks at me and places his hands on the arms of the chair so our faces are aligned. 

"Why did you come over here in the first place?" He asks me and I quickly try to think of something to say.