The Dark Side of Eleanor Warwick
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Eleanor fumbles with her phone. “Rita? Kim?”

She activates the flashlight on her device. She sweeps it down to replace Rita on the floor nearby. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Where is Nora? Nora!”

“Kim?” Eleanor slowly pans the light around the room. The light catches a mirror on the wall. Eleanor glances away and lowers the phone.

When she brings the light back up, it illuminates Kim standing directly in front of her. Eleanor flinches in surprise. Kim stares forward placidly.

“Kim?” Eleanor catches a glint of light. She turns the flashlight downward to replace the knife resting in Kim’s hand, still wet with her blood.

Suddenly, Kim lunges at her knife raised. Eleanor lifts her arm. The blade slices into her forearm, producing a yelp of pain. Her phone drops from her hand. Eleanor stumbles backward as Kim wildly stabs and slashes at her.

She unknowingly kicks her phone and the device slides up under Kim's couch.

“Nora!” Rita cries. She struggles to her feet, but a wild swipe of the knife sends her back down.

Kim stays focused on Eleanor. Kim drives the point of the knife toward her chest. Eleanor catches Kim’s wrists and shoves her away. “Rita! Lights!”

Rita scrambles over to the wall and flips the switch. In the soft lights of her apartment, Kim’s state is fully revealed. Her eyes are wild and furious. Her lip twitches. A shifting shadow drapes her in darkness.

“Nora!” Rita runs toward her daughter, but Eleanor intercepts her, holding her back. “Leave her alone!” she shouts.

“Rita,” Eleanor speaks quietly into her ear. “I’m going to keep it busy. I need you to replace the sulfur and get it back in the bowl. That’s how you can help Nora.”

Rita looks up at her and then at her possessed daughter. She offers a nod. “I’ll do it,” she quietly affirms.

Eleanor steps between Rita and Kim. “Alright, you. You’re not getting out of this. I’m going to reach down in there and yank you out.”

Kim snarls and takes a step toward her. Eleanor swipes her hand and unseen forces rip the knife out of Kim’s hand.

“You want to do something about it, do it yourself!”

Suddenly the shadow shrouding Kim jumps up and takes shape. Long arms reach out with pointed claws. The formerly formless face opens a wide, jagged maw. The entity shrieks in fury.

Despite her provocation, the sudden aggression surprises Eleanor. She yips in alarm and pushes Rita away. “Go, Rita!”

The entity slashes at Eleanor. She stumbles back as Rita scurries away. As the entity unleashes more furious attacks, Eleanor conjures a ghostly blue shield before her. When the shadowy claws slice into her defenses, she realizes she has no idea what the creature is or what it’s capable of.

The entity jerks its arm to the side, ripping the shield away from her. It grasps at Eleanor with its other arm. Eleanor backpedals from the groping shadow, but stumbles and drops to her back. She rolls away just in time to avoid a swipe of the entity’s claws. The attempted attack gashes Kim’s carpet.

Rita watches the entity in horror. The dark image is connected to the seemingly possessed body of her daughter. She desperately wants to run to her, but she has a job to do. The ritual site was jostled and tossed when everything went awry. Finding the bowl is simple enough, but the sulfur is all over the place. She frantically sweeps the powder together with her hand.

Eleanor swirls her hand and a gust of crackling light answers her call. She flings it at the entity. The hastily conjured spell passes harmlessly through it, scorching a black splatter across Kim’s wall, and damaging a light hanging over her dining table. The entity makes a noise that she interprets as laughter.

She looks at the entity in disbelief before looking down at its host. “Oh, of course.”

The entity looms for another attack.

“I’m sorry, Kim!” Eleanor thrusts her hand forward. A burst of force takes Kim off her feet and throws her against the wall.

The entity jerks back, growling in either pain or just irritation. Eleanor can’t tell which. “Rita! I can’t stop it without hurting Kim! How’s it going over there?”

“I’ve got handful!”

“That’s enough! Now- .”

Eleanor’s instruction is cut off by the long arm of the entity. The blow catches her squarely in the torso, knocking her back against the front door. The back of her head smacks against the wood. She slumps down onto the floor.

Rita freezes. Eleanor is the only one who could put a stop to this. The entity looms toward the helpless wizard. She has to do something.

“Hey!”

The entity looks toward her.

“Why you waste time with them? You can go home now.” The entity makes a noise she can’t interpret. “Wu said you would hide. But you fight.”

The entity’s mouth closes, its face becoming smooth and formless once again. Kim walks calmly toward her mother, no emotion on her face.

“She think you be happy anywhere. But it’s not true, huh? You want to go home.”

Rita reaches down and pulls on the rope. The crossed ends that close the circle slide apart. She turns to the entity and holds her hands out.

“Come home, then. Leave her alone.”

The entity pauses for a moment, glancing back at Eleanor. She remains still. It turns back to Rita. Kim steps closer as the entity reaches out, its claws fading.

Rita stands stoically as the shadowy limbs move toward her. At the last second, her eyes glance past it. Kim whips her head around just in time to see Eleanor before she tackles her.

“Circle!” Eleanor shouts.

Rita dives for the rope as the entity takes a furious swipe at her. She crosses the ends of the rope, once again closing the circle. With a gesture, Eleanor sets the sulfur alight.

The entity howls in rage. It grows larger. More teeth. Bigger claws. It moves to attack Rita, but a tendril of smoke whips around its neck.

It fights frantically, but can’t replace any purchase. More tendrils circle and bind it. Eleanor rips the entity away from its host. Kim sits up with a desperate gasp. She shivers and looks around in confusion.

Alone, the entity’s verbalizing takes on a more pleading tone. Eleanor does not allow herself to be moved by it. She begins loudly chanting a banishment spell. She makes practiced gestures with her hands.

The entity slowly begins to dematerialize. It breaks into tiny pieces and drifts away, eventually fading into nothingness.

Rita watches the entity disappear and feels a weight lifting. It’s as if the sun was rising at the end of a long cold night.

Once the entity is gone, Rita and Eleanor hurry to Kim’s side.

“What the hell happened?” she asks.

“You didn’t stay in circle!” Rita barks.

“I’m fine, Mother! Thank you for asking!” Kim rubs her back. “My back hurts though.”

“Yeah.” Eleanor smiles. “I think that was my fault.”

“Is it gone?”

“Yes,” Rita answers before Eleanor can. “I can tell. It gone.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Mother. It must have been horrible carrying that thing around.”

“Forget it. I’m just glad you are safe.”

Mother and daughter share a tight hug. Eleanor smiles and gives them a little space.

"Where you going, weirdo?" Rita gestures her closer.

"Oh. Just seemed like a family moment."

"Just get over here, Eleanor," Kim insists.

Eleanor happily joins the group hug.

The moment is quickly ruined when the damaged light above Kim's dining table drops and shatters. All three women start and let out a noise of alarm.

Kim clutches her chest. "Jesus Christ!" She looks around her apartment for the first time and her mouth drops open.

Eleanor surveys the aftermath as well. "I...uh...I'll pay for the damages."