I thought about what Haley had said. This whole time I thought Mom was suffering from some sort of mental instability, but maybe this was something else entirely.

When I awoke Mom was in my room. She was rifling through stuff on my dresser. I blinked and took a peek at my alarm clock. It was one thirty in the morning. What was Mom looking for in the middle of the night.

"Mom?" I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes. In the darkness, I could barely make her out. She didn't respond, but she threw something on the floor. It landed with a thud.

"Mom?" I stood up and moved toward her. My Bible and journal lay on the ground. When I got to her I could see she was sleepwalking again. Her eyes were glazed over, and her mouth moved in that unintelligible chant. In her hand she gripped something so tight her knuckles whitened from the effort.

I flipped on the wall switch, bathing the room in soft yellow light. Mom still wake up. Holding my arm out, I gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mom, wake up," I said in a soft voice, trying not to startle her.

She still held that far away look and stared right through me. A chill snaked up my spine. Okay, enough was enough. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Mom, you need to wake up."

She blinked and then gasped for air. Her head swiveled back and forth, taking in my room. "Oh, what am I doing in here?"

"I think you were sleepwalking, Mom."

She shook her head, irritated. "No, I don't do that anymore. Haven't for years." She held her hand in front of her, balled in a fist. Something gold protruded from it.

"What's in your hand?"

She opened it, revealing my cross necklace. Why did she have that? I reached for it but she closed her fist back up, hiding it inside her palm.

"Can I please have it back?"

She looked down, seeming to be confused by her own actions. She dropped the necklace back down on the dresser and turned around.

"Good night, Kenzie. Sleep tight."

When she left the room, I s.n.a.t.c.hed up the necklace and fastened it securely to my neck.

Chapter Twenty.

It was getting close to Thanksgiving, which was super depressing because holidays at my house were bleak and lonely. It would be even worse this year because I was pretty positive Drake would be joining us. He hadn't been around very much since the night of Haley's incident, but I knew Mom was still seeing him. She was out almost every night.

Her mood swings were worsening and I tried to avoid her at all costs. I shared my concerns with Tanner and he agreed with Isaac that we should tell our pastor. Only I was worried he'd want to intervene and that would only make matters worse between Mom and me. I was definitely treading on a fine line.

On the brighter side of things, Haley had joined my group of misfit friends. It was fun to share jokes with her about Rick and Janna's PDA at lunch. She also got along well with Tanner, but she did keep insisting that we liked each other.

I think Isaac was happy Haley was back in my life now too, despite his earlier warning about her. He was just glad I wasn't spending all my time with Tanner anymore.

It was Friday evening and I sat in my room doing math homework, which was about my least favorite thing in the world. However, I had no plans that night, so I decided to get all my homework done that way I would have all Thanksgiving week to do whatever I wanted. As I erased the same problem for about the hundredth time, I heard the front door open and close. Footsteps neared my door.

"Mom?" I called out.

No response came.

I dropped my pencil. "Mom?"

It rolled off the desk and fell on to the carpet.

"Mom?" Barely breathing, I listened for a reply. I stood up and walked toward my doorway. The door was already open so I peeked out into the hallway.

I gasped. Mom was standing in the middle of the hallway looking lost.

"Mom?"

She blinked, staring at me.

"Are you okay?"

Still, she just stared. Then a slow smile spread across her face. Her head c.o.c.ked to one side and she appraised me. "Scared you, didn't I?"

I narrowed my eyes. Something was off. Mom didn't play pranks like that and her voice was all wrong. Her eyes looked different too. They were too dark and the pupils were enlarged. Not to mention the fact that she was wearing an all black outfit I'd never seen, and her hair was pulled back in that sleek bun again. If I didn't know better, I would say this woman, wearing my mom's face and body, wasn't my mom.

"What are you doing out in the hallway?"

She looked at me for a moment as if in deep thought. Then, like the flipping of a light switch, she turned on a smile. "I was looking for an earring I dropped."

Her ears were bare. Another thing that was off. Mom always wore an abundance of costume jewelry. "But you're not wearing any earrings."

"I know, because I dropped them." She let out an exasperated laugh, and bent down to look.

"Okay, well, good luck. I'm going to finish my homework." I slipped back into my room and closed the door safely behind me, wishing I had a lock on it. That woman was not my mom. I was sure of it. The certainty of it terrified me deep into my bones. I made a beeline for my cell phone. s.n.a.t.c.hing it up, I dialed the familiar numbers.

Pick up, pick up, pick up.

I let out an audible groan when Isaac's voice mail clicked on. Taking a deep breath, I hung up and dialed the next person on my list. Tanner picked up on the first ring. I walked to the far wall of my room and whispered, hoping that the lady in the living room, couldn't hear me.

"Tanner, remember when I told you my suspicions about Mom being possessed?"

"Yeah?" His voice was laced with uncertainty.

"It's more than a suspicion now."

"What happened?"

"I can't explain it. I just know she isn't herself. She's acting so different. Even her voice and eyes are all wrong." A knot formed in my throat and I choked on it.

"Are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"No, but I wouldn't put it past her at this point." I remembered the night she spewed vicious words at me. I had finally shared the details of that night with Tanner just the other day. At the time, it was so difficult to get the words out but now I was glad I had. He needed to know what I was dealing with if he wanted to help me. And right now, I was desperate for his help.

"Kenzie, you need to get out of there right now."

My heart raced. I reached for my tennis shoes.

"Get to the church and find a pastor."

I froze. "Would he be at the church this late?"

"Yeah, I remember reading in the bulletin that there was some men's thing tonight."

"Okay, but do you really think I need a pastor? I mean, I have the Holy Spirit too, right? Shouldn't I be able fight whatever evil has taken over my mom?"

"This is serious, Kenzie. You have no idea what you're dealing with here. Besides, you shouldn't walk into a situation like this alone. I'm pretty sure there's something in the Bible about that. A pastor will know what to do."

He was right. Isaac had said the same thing to me before. I needed to listen to them.

I tied my shoes, and stood up. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Leave right now and call me when you get to the church. I'll meet you there."

I hung up, stuck my phone in my pocket and grabbed my jacket. When I swung open my bedroom door, I glanced around the hallway but Mom was nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief and took a step forward.

"Where are you going?" She stood at the end of the hallway, blocking my way into the family room. Her voice was even deeper than before. She hadn't changed her clothes or hair. Her eyes were like giant black beads stuck to her face. My stomach dropped.

"Just out, Mom. I'll be back soon." My voice shook despite my best efforts to sound normal.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that." She narrowed her black eyes at me.

"Why not? I'm just meeting a friend," I lied.

Mom walked toward me, her eyes now turning a fiery red. "Do you think I'm stupid. I know where you're going. I know you're going to try to get rid of me."

I swallowed hard and took a step backwards.

"But it's not going to work this time." Mom opened her mouth and let out a bone chilling cackle. "Why do you look so scared, Kenzie. Aren't you happy to see me again?"

"W-w-wesley?"

"In the flesh. Literally." He laughed again. "Did you really think you'd gotten rid of me for good. You should know better, you naive girl. I'm more powerful than you think."

I reached for my cross necklace and gripped it tightly.

"Even He can't save you this time," Wesley hissed. "This time you're not the one in control. Your mom invited me here. In fact, she's the reason I was in your life to begin with. After the rape, your mom was in so much pain and anguish. Bitterness took over. She turned to me for comfort and I was happy to oblige."

I thought of what Carol said about my mom sleepwalking after I was born. Was Wesley controlling her then too?

"Then, after you so rudely dismissed me on the bridge, your mom invited me in again. With the help of one of my friends, of course." He neared me, his eyes turning so red they resembled blood. Mom was looking more and more like him every second. He smelled like fire. An icy chill blanketed me and I shivered.

"Drake," I said, knowingly.

"Ah, yes, you've met him. Great guy." Mom's mouth turned into a large sneer across her pale face.

"Man, your mom is so naive. She listened to our music, she watched our favorite movies, read our books. Heck, she even put a statue of our likeness in the middle of her living room."

I shuddered, thinking of that awful sculpture. All along, I'd known it was inviting in evil. I thought of that depressing music, and the horror movies she'd been watching.

"Every time she did one of the things we love, she strengthened our hold on her. She made it so easy. She practically begged for us to control her. She's a lot like your dad that way. You are much more of a fighter." He stepped even closer to me. I backed away, turning from his rank breath.

Thinking of Mom, I wished I could talk to her. So badly, I wanted to get this creature out of her body. Did she even know what was going on?

"Of course, then you found religion. So now I can't possess you. You're safe from that but your mom doesn't believe in anything. So I can torment her forever if I want." He laughed his evil laugh.

I felt sick.

"You can't get rid of me, Kenzie. Even if you make me leave again, I'll just come back. And I'll be even stronger next time. As long as your mom allows, I always have an invitation back."

Was he right? Was there really no hope? I felt defeated and hopeless. Mom would never believe in G.o.d. Was it true that if she didn't, we'd never be free? I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream out.

I wanted my mom back.

Determined not to let him win, I made a decision.

"Sorry, Mom," I mumbled under my breath.

Then I charged straight into Mom's body. Pain shot through my shoulder as we collided.

That would leave a bruise.

Mom toppled to the ground I kept running. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to the front door. Gripping the doork.n.o.b, I turned it. Just one more second and I'd be outside and free. Then I could find a pastor for help. Just as the door started to open, Wesley grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the ground.

I kicked and flailed my arms. I got him good in the jaw and he backed away, holding his chin in his hands. My mom's face was red. I felt bad for hurting her but I had no choice. I crawled away from him. He clawed at me, slicing my ankles.

Man, why did Mom have to have such long nails.

"Stop fighting. It's no use." Wesley hissed.

I was so confused. I wanted to just call on Jesus but fear kept me from doing so. Would I set something in motion that I couldn't control? I needed help. Tears stung my eyes. Terror gripped me. I wished I had been able to get to a pastor.

Please Jesus, help me. Tell me what to do.

A loud noise rang out. The door flew open. Cold air rushed into the room. I looked up. Tanner and Pastor Tom stood in the doorway, illuminated against the darkness. Relief overwhelmed over me.

Pastor Tom stepped toward my mom, blinking behind his thick gla.s.ses. His gray thinning hair was disheveled from the wind. Tanner rushed to my side. I leaned into him, grateful he was there. He wrapped his arms around me, trying to stop the trembling.

"You came," I breathed into his neck while he stroked my hair.