The story
The air in the small rented apartment had always been thick, heavy with the dust of forgotten tenants and the constant murmur of street traffic below. But ever since that night, the density had become suffocating, almost malevolent. Lina, Clara, Sofía, and Marta had all felt it. It all started as a stupid game, an afternoon of teenage boredom fueled by cheap horror stories and a Ouija board bought at a second-hand shop...
At first, there were nervous giggles as their fingers rested on the plastic planchette. Then, the erratic movement, the cryptic answers. And finally, an ice-cold sensation that crept through the room, killing the laughter and making their skin crawl. The little board spelled out dark promises and names they didn't recognize. They stopped abruptly, hearts pounding, packing away the board as if it were burning hot. But something had already leaked through. Something had answered their reckless call.
The following days were a slow descent into strangeness. Lina, who had been the most enthusiastic about the board, was the first to change. Her eyes took on an unfamiliar hardness. One day, without warning, she lunged at Clara in the middle of casual conversation, pulling her hair with an irrational fury that left the others paralyzed with dread. They tore themselves apart, panting, looking at each other like strangers.
Soon, the mere presence of the others became unbearable for Lina. And they, in turn, felt a visceral repulsion toward her, a mix of fear and inexplicable hostility. They couldn't be in the same room together without the tension escalating into physical violence. The apartment, once a shared refuge, turned into a psychological battlefield.
But the worst part was Lina's internal sensations. She would describe, amid sobs of terror and confusion, the feeling of invisible needles, of "sharp blades" sliding beneath her skin, in her arms, her legs, even inside her head. They were stabbing, sharp pains that left her exhausted and shaking.
Lina's family, initially skeptical, could no longer ignore the terrifying transformation. They took her to doctors, psychologists. No one could find an explanation. Desperate, they turned to the local church. The parish priest, an elderly man with a kind gaze but unaccustomed to such extremes, tried to pray, to bless the house. It did no good. The darkness that had latched onto Lina seemed to mock his efforts.
Someone told them about some "experts" in the capital city, people who supposedly dealt with cases of demonic influence. Two young men arrived, dressed in civilian clothes, carrying an almost arrogant air of confidence. They performed a quick ritual, declared the problem solved, and left. But that very night, Lina's condition took a drastic turn for the worse.
Now, a strange voice was pouring from her throat. A raspy, ancient voice, full of contempt. She laughed at the religious images the family placed nearby, calling them "useless trinkets." She proclaimed herself a powerful entity, destined to reign in "hell," and that Lina was just a temporary vessel, a shell meant to break. She claimed there wasn't just one, but many presences inhabiting her tortured body. "She will die," the voice hissed through Lina's lips, "her fate is already sealed."
Desperation was nearly total when, on the recommendation of a distant acquaintance, they contacted another couple: a middle-aged man and woman, humble in appearance but with a palpable intensity in their eyes. They promised no miracles, only prayer and faith.
They arrived at the apartment on a gray, rainy afternoon. The air inside was freezing, despite the humid heat outside. They unfolded a worn Bible and a few simple holy cards. They began to pray in a low but firm voice. The reaction was immediate and violent. Lina's body arched unnaturally. The guttural voice burst into blasphemies and threats. The struggle wasn't just spiritual; it was physical. Lina's small body thrashed with overwhelming force, requiring several family members to hold her down with great difficulty.
"You won't hurt me!" the entity screamed through her, with blood-curdling laughter. "I am legion! She is mine!"
nhưng the man and woman didn't waver. Their prayers intensified, their voices rising, invoking sacred names, commanding the darkness to leave. They placed the Bible on Lina's convulsing chest. A sharp, inhuman scream tore through the air, followed by a sudden, heavy silence.
Lina collapsed onto the bed, limp, unconscious. Her breathing was shallow, her face as pale as wax. When she finally opened her eyes hours later, the hardness was gone. Only an immense emptiness and the echo of profound terror remained.
The Ouija board was burned that very night. The friends, though reconciled, were never the same again. The bond that united them was now marked by the invisible scar of what they had unleashed. And in the apartment, although the main evil presence was gone, the air never entirely lost that suffocating thickness, as if the abyss they had peeked into for a second had left an indelible stain on their lives.
