A poem of "horror" recall

Once upon a midnight dreary
Set the scene to see fear more clearly
We have all grown so much
Our minds are numb
To scares and such
It takes much more
To shock us silly
We need blood and gore
But its not scary...really.
Bring back the fright
And nightmares galore
Help us remember
Why we check behind doors
And under the bed
Will make our hearts beat
To run and jump
Just to save our feet
To sleep with the light on
Because the shirt in the chair
Looks so much like
A demon with hair
So laugh and scoff
At the ones that boast
About a "horror" movie
Pfffft....it doesn't even have a ghost!

Alexander Hok'ee - Navajo Exorcist

Xander Hok’ee

Exhiled 

"Out."
Xander's Grandfather growled with a husky fierceness and the young hopeful Navajo Priest's face fell.

"Out? How can you kick me out, Grandfather? I haven't done anything wrong."
He pleaded, not with just his tone, and words, but with his eyes. One thing he was sure that would be his saving grace but suddenly he was being pushed backward toward the door.

"I said out Ma'iitsoh! You no longer belong here!"
And he pushed again, knowing that Xander wouldn't push back. No matter what he and his entire tribe were assuming of him.

________________________

Two weeks prior Alexander was assisting his Grandfather in what they had believed to be a possession. A demonic possession. Not that Xander believed in such a thing.
No. Demons didn't exist. No matter what his Grandfather thought. How could they? It just wasn't plausible. Not in this day and age. It was so...old school.

Walking into the hut at the other end of their village, he took the cloth bag from his Grandfather as they were greeted by Yazhi Gah. A small woman in her final years.
And even though she looked kind and soft spoken. She was anything but. 

Xander had grown up with her grandson, Mikel. Mostly getting into more trouble than they had wanted. And Mikel turned into a bit of a dick as he got older, but Xander still considered him a friend.
Xander himself had felt the force of Yazhi Gah's hand anytime he and Mikel had been together. So he knew first hand that this old crone was not as nice as she looked.

Leaning against the wall, he folded his arms over his chest and couldn't help but smirk as Yazhi Gah went on in their native tongue to his Grandfather. 

She went on and on about rituals, and demons and Mikel hadn't been the same since he came back from a hunt in the caves after being gone for three days.

Dumb ass.
Xander never hunted alone. And didn't understand why most of the men in his tribe did. Even though he was explained as a child that it showed true warrior spirit to hunt by yourself. To go off into the woods or caves alone for days on end. Some came back. Some didn't. But Xander, thankfully was exempt from that fate. 

His Grandfather, Sani, was the only Priest they had for miles around and when his parents were killed he was brought into his home and told at a very young age what he was to become. He was going to follow in Sani's footsteps. Alexander Hok'ee was to be the next in line. Whether he wanted it or not. 

As Yazhi Gah finally finished spewing out all the nonsense, Sani turned to him and held his hand out.

"My bag Ma'iitsoh."

The look in his Grandfather's eyes sparked a concern in Xander. He knew that even though he wasn't as much of a believer in the evil spirits that the elders in his tribe did. He did believe his Grandfather. Always.

Handing him the bag then he quickly followed as Sani turned without a word and darted to the back room of the hut. 

Xander had no idea what they would see when they got to the room. He wasn't prepared. This was only the second time that he assisted his Grandfather in such tasks. The first was basically a young one that was throwing a tantrum. And Sani was actually pissed that they even called him there.

But this...this was different.
Even before they entered the room, Xander felt the air grow stagnate in his lungs. No matter how many breaths he drew in it just felt heavier and more foul tasting.

"Stay behind me, no matter what happens Ma'iitsoh. Do you understand?"
He said as he touched the door handle and Xander slowly nodded.

"Yes. I understand."
Those words were barely out of his mouth before the door swung open and Xander stood in the threshold staring at his oldest friend writhing on a table in the center on the room.
He was tied down, as snuggly as they could. And his face was turned away from them. 

Seeing Mikel like that wasn't what put a chill down to Xander's very core. No. What had the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention were the sounds coming from him. Some English. Some Navajo. But mostly a language he had never heard before. 

Coming around from behind his Grandfather, he was suddenly stopped by an arm and he couldn't move any closer.

"I said. Stay. Behind. Me."
Sani growled without ever looking at him.

"Fine. Sorry."
Xander whispered and moved to take a step back, but that didn't exactly happen, and the following few moments happened faster than he expected.

First he was standing just a few feet from Mikel as he writhed and growled out on the table in front of him. And next he was pulled to the table with Mikel in his face, grasping his shirt collar and growling something inaudible to him. The smell of the air was stale and pungent. And something was wrong in Mikel's eyes. Something very wrong. Xander couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it made his stomach churn.

But nothing could have made him move at that moment. Nothing. At least not on his own. But that isn't what happened. He WAS moved. And moved hard. 

Flying back against the wall, he landed, knocking a lamp off the table next to him.
Shit. Ok, that hurt.
His thoughts were scrambled and his vision a little distorted. But what he thought he saw made no sense to him. At all.

His Grandfather was practically floating over Mikel, chanting the same thing over and over and it was nothing Xander had ever heard. Because it definitely wasn't Navajo. 

Shaking his head, he moved to pull himself up by the way of the table against the wall, but that was short lived as something smacked against his head, knocking him back again.

Everything was a complete blur after that. 

He thought he could tell that the noise in the room lessened as did the smell and density of the air. Then he was sure he heard his friend's voice as he felt bodies hovering over him. But he wasn't able to open his eyes.
Am I dying? He thought. God I hope not.

That would really suck. 

_________________________

What felt like minutes, but in all actuality was days later that Xander opened his eyes to hear the murmured chanting of his Grandfather as he sat by his bedside. 

Not knowing what had happened, but he listened intently as Sani tried to explain. He tried to tell him that whatever demon had possessed Mikel was now residing in him. And try as they might, they couldn't rid Xander of it. Something was helping it to hang on. 

"WHAT?! What the hell are you gonna do?! I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!"
And just like that, Alexander believed.

                __________________________

After days of rigorous rituals and more pain than Xander had ever experienced, his Grandfather finally gave up. And the more that he tried to rid Xander of whatever it was that was inside him, the more the young hopeful Navajo Priest felt a darkness grow quickly.

                  __________________________

"Please don't make me go Grandfather. I can control this. I will find a way to get rid of whatever is wrong with me."

Sani stared for only a brief moment until he turned his back on him. And Xander knew, that was it. He was now dead to him.

Turning to walk to his room to pack a few things, he had barely gotten his backpack filled with a few clothes when he turned to three of the largest warriors in their tribe, Mikel included, standing in the hall ready to either take him out, or escort him out. Whichever they had to do.

Feeling a growl build in his chest he grabbed a hoodie from the hook by his door and put it on as he pushed past the men, then walked out of the house.

Pushing out a breath he turned to look over his shoulder as he walked and he could see his escorts building up speed after him.
Uh fuck no.
He growled in his brain, then took off running. Running through the woods, past a stream he used to swim in as a child. Over a hill where he had gotten his first kiss from Sarah Nizhoni. And quickly making it to a long stretch of highway.

Looking back to look at the line of trees. No one was chasing him. No one was seeing him off. No one cared. He was no longer part of that world. At all.

Shifting his backpack on his shoulder, he stood on the edge of the road, first looking up at the sky to see where the sun was, then he looked up one way and down the other side of the road. 

"East."
He said aloud. Then nodded to answer himself as he turned on his heel and started walking in the direction that the sun and the wind were taking him. Not knowing what he had ahead of him. Or if he'd even survive much longer with whatever it was that has taken over in him.

But he had to do something. Even though he knew from now on, he would be doing it alone.

Because Mesa, Arizona and the life he had always known was now in his past.