Meet Molly

The nocturnal seizures started. At first I thought it was just a spicy new level to sleep paralysis but no such luck. The doctor said it’s not epilepsy and that nothing showed on the scan. No surprise there, my monsters have never been kind enough to stay in my head. The ringing in my ears is getting louder by the day. I mean I get it, the signs have been appearing for quite some time now; flies in winter, the smell of decaying flesh, waking up at 3am on the dot for over a week, my dog staring just past me and growling. He’s here. Payment is due. I don’t know what I expected, I just wanted to be different damnitt. I wanted to be the one people fawned over, I wanted to be the one people talked about, I wanted to be…wanted. None of it came true and now he’s here to collect. It’s not like I even wanted that much, I didn’t ask for money, I didn’t ask for fame, I just wanted to be thinner, I wanted to be more outgoing, I wanted to be the person I feel like when I’m on Adderall. There’s not exactly a return policy on demonic rituals though, believe me, I’ve asked. The shittiest part is my life really isn’t that bad. I have friends and family, I have a decent job, an okay house and now it’s all going to go away because it wasn’t enough for me. I’m so fucking stupid. I should’ve wished to be smarter maybe then I could figure a way out of this but no, I wanted to be skinny cause that’s what really matters when you’re being chased down by a demon, is that you look good running. I’m so worthless, how am I going to explain this to my family? Now they have to grieve me because I’m a selfish, dumb piece of shit.

Cassy finished up her blog entry and called it a night. She reached across her cluttered desk and turned the lamp off. As she stood she saw her dog laying just outside her bedroom door staring in, hackles raised.

“Come on Molly.” Cassy said, patting her knee, trying to coax her into the room but Molly only growled in response. The dog hadn’t come near her in two days. “Okay girl, good night.” Cassy said dejectedly as she crawled into bed. She scrolled through social media until her eyelids fell heavy and her mind finally drifted off to sleep.

The warmth of the sun was what woke Cassy. As she stretched she realized she has slept through the night. She stood out of bed and felt…taller. As she went into the kitchen to get Molly her food she realized the ringing in her ears was gone as well.

“Here Molly.” She called as she poured dog food into the bowl. She walked away, waiting to hear Molly’s footsteps on the tiled kitchen floor. As she passed by the mirror in her living room she had to do a double take. Her usual flat hair was shiny and bouncy, there were no dark circles under her eyes and she was taller, she could swear she was taller.

“Molly, breakfast!” She called out, still staring at herself. But no footsteps came. “Molly!” Still nothing. Cassy went through the house but the dog was nowhere to be found. She went back into her bedroom, looked under the bed, nothing. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand it stared vibrating in her hand. She had 47 new notifications. Panic was starting to rise up her spine as she dialed her mom.

“Hi honey!” Came her mom’s sing-song voice.

“Mom, I’m so glad you answered, I can’t find my dog, she was here last night and she’s not in the house, I can’t find her anywhere.”

“What dog sweetheart? It sounds like you just had a weird dream, is everything okay Molly?”

“Molly?” She asked, sounding confused.

“Yes, Molly, sweetheart, is everything alright? I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

“Everything’s fine Mom.” Cassy finally stammered out. “It, it must have just been a weird dream. I’ll call you later, bye.” Shaken, Cassy hung up the phone. Why was her mom calling her by her dog’s name?

Dazed she ran back downstairs to check outside, thinking maybe Molly had gotten out somehow. That’s when she saw it; Molly’s collar sitting on the kitchen table with a note underneath.

She moved the collar and grabbed the note that consisted of two sentences: The debt has been paid. Enjoy your new life.

“No, no, no. This can’t be right.” Holding the collar in her hand she realized the name tag now said ‘Cassy’ with her phone number beneath. She looked outside and could see a pile of dirt. “No, please no.” She stuttered as she opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside. As she approached the grave she saw there was a headstone which read: Here lies Cassy, An ungrateful dumb bitch. “No!” She screamed and began digging through the dirt with her bare hands. Slowly a face emerged, her face, her dead face covered in dirt. “What the fuck is going on?” She was shaking as she stood and walked backwards into the house. The freshly cleaned and organized house. Looking down she realized Molly’s bowl was gone, she opened the cupboard where she kept the dog food, it was empty. The collar and note were gone from the counter. She heard her phone buzzing in her pocket and pulled it out. 51 new notifications. She looked at her hands, her manicured, dirt-free hands, lifting her head she already knew that the grave would be gone.

Slowly she walked to the living room mirror and stood in front of it, staring.

“Hi, I’m Molly.” She said, tears streaming down her face.