Chapter 16

With Brandon's cunning plan, we managed to get Kelly's parents out of the house for dinner, giving us access to their home. As we entered, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, like the house itself was aware of the darkness within. My skin felt cold ,it was weird and uncomfortable having these new senses. It felt so foreign being this new person and I really didn't know how I really felt about it. I shook my head as I avoided thinking about it any further-Kelly needed us right now.

"Brandon, can you unlock the door?" Samantha whispered urgently. Brandon nodded, crouching down to work his lockpicking magic.

Once inside, we found ourselves in the dimly lit living room. Lisa, Sam, Nick, and I stood together, a knot of anticipation in our chests. Samantha placed the crystal Leprechaun carefully in the center of the room.

Nick, with his ever-present skepticism, couldn't help but voice his concern. "How do we even know Kelly's still alive? What if we're too late?"

Lisa, our spirit medium, responded with reassuring confidence. "I would sense her spirit if she had passed away. As of now, she's still connected to this world."

We all gathered around the Leprechaun doll, illuminated by the flickering candles Samantha had prepared for the ritual. Samantha followed the ancient steps she'd found online, creating a protective circle of salt around the cursed doll and drawing cryptic symbols within it.

We waited in tense silence, expecting something magical to happen. Instead, we heard the eerie sound of footsteps, like a child's hurried gait, coming from the staircase. Our hearts raced, and the room seemed to close in on us.

Nick, ever the brave one, suggested we investigate. But Lisa, referencing countless horror movies, warned against splitting up. "No, Nick," she said firmly, "I've seen enough scary movies to know that's a bad idea."

We all agreed with Lisa's wisdom and decided to stick together. Our group cautiously moved toward the staircase, feeling the weight of the unknown descending upon us.

Outside, an unsettling noise drew our attention. It was like the crushing of leaves and mud. With trepidation, we ventured into the garden, our eyes darting around the eerie darkness.

There, at the edge of the yard, we discovered a gaping hole filled with muddy soil. As Brandon reached into the muck, his hand emerged clutching small, shiny trinkets – unmistakably Leprechaun jewelry. The ground beneath our feet quivered, and Lisa let out a scream as she was forcefully thrown to the ground.

We turned to see a grotesque creature emerging from the shadows, a monstrous Leprechaun with malevolent red eyes, tiny horns protruding from its head, and teeth that glistened like razor blades. The encounter left us stunned and bewildered, facing a menace far more sinister than we could have imagined.

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We all stood frozen in fear, staring at the grotesque creature before us. Its red eyes glowed with a terrifying intensity, and its tiny horns seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy. The thing looked like it had crawled straight out of a nightmare. Its skin was rough and dark, almost like the bark of a twisted tree, and its sharp teeth gleamed menacingly under the moonlight.

Nick, always the one to try and lighten the mood, broke the silence with a shaky voice. “Are we sure this is a Leprechaun? They never look like this in the movies.”

Even though the situation was dire, I couldn’t help but agree with him. This creature was far from the mischievous, harmless beings we’d heard about in stories. We all instinctively began to back away, our fear growing with each step.

Suddenly, Sam’s voice cut through the tension. “Look! It’s Kelly!” she cried, pointing toward the edge of the yard.

I followed her gaze and my heart nearly stopped. Kelly was almost completely buried in what looked like mud, but something about it was off. It was too dark, almost pitch black, and it moved with a strange fluidity. The sight of her head barely above the surface sent a wave of panic through me.

“We need to get her out!” I shouted, my voice laced with urgency. “Before she’s completely buried in…whatever that is!”

Lisa nodded, but her eyes were wide with fear. “That’s a good idea, Aili, but how are we supposed to do that? We can’t just walk up to her with that thing right there.”

Brandon, always the strategist, quickly came up with a plan. “Nick and I will distract it. You girls get Kelly out of there.”

Nick nodded, his face pale but determined. He quickly grabbed some rocks from the ground and hurled them at the Leprechaun. To my immense relief, the creature’s attention snapped away from us and focused on the boys. With surprising speed, it lunged toward Nick, its teeth bared in a vicious snarl.

“Now!” Brandon shouted.

Without wasting a second, Lisa, Sam, and I raced toward Kelly. The mud—or whatever it was—clung to her body like thick tar, making it incredibly difficult to pull her free. But we fought against the resistance, our hands slipping and sliding as we tugged with all our might. Finally, with a loud squelch, we managed to drag her out onto the grass.

Lisa immediately began pressing on Kelly’s chest, performing a quick CPR. “Come on, Kelly, breathe!” she urged, her voice shaking with desperation.

But as Lisa worked to revive Kelly, the Leprechaun sensed something was wrong. It let out a horrific screech and turned its attention back toward us. My heart dropped as I saw it rushing at us with alarming speed. There was no time to think, no time to react—

Just then, Sam stood up, her eyes wide with terror as the monster closed in. But before the Leprechaun could reach her, something incredible happened. The water tap near the house suddenly burst to life, and a powerful stream of water shot out with such force that it sent the Leprechaun flying through the air. It landed with a heavy thud several feet away.

I stared in disbelief as the water continued to surge from the tap, slamming into the creature again and again. Sam’s eyes glowed a bright, eerie blue as she gasped for breath, her body trembling. “What the hell just happened?” she mumbled, looking at her hands as if they belonged to someone else.

Before I could respond, Kelly let out a weak cough, sputtering as she finally regained consciousness. Relief washed over me like a wave.

“What’s going on?” Kelly asked weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s okay, Kelly,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

But just as I thought we were in the clear, something else caught my attention. We all turned to where the Leprechaun had fallen, and what we saw made my blood run cold.

There, on the ground, was a swirling pool of water that hadn’t been there before. It churned violently, almost as if it was alive. The Leprechaun, struggling to its feet, was suddenly caught by something. I gasped as I saw a beautiful, ethereal face appear in the water, its eyes glowing the same blue as Sam’s had just moments before. The creature’s sharp nails, long and gleaming, reached out from the depths of the pool and wrapped around the Leprechaun’s neck.

With a sudden, powerful yank, the Leprechaun was dragged beneath the surface of the water. It let out a final, piercing scream before disappearing entirely. The pool of water swirled faster and faster, the edges rippling and bubbling until, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished without a trace.

For a moment, none of us moved. We were all too stunned to speak, too shaken to comprehend what we had just witnessed.

Finally, Sam broke the silence, her voice barely above a whisper. “What…what was that? Did I do that?”

I looked at her, still trying to process everything. “I don’t know, Sam…but whatever it was, you just saved us.”

We all exchanged uneasy glances, knowing that whatever had just happened, it was far from over. But for now, Kelly was safe, and the monster was gone. That was all that mattered.