A priest and a nun walk into a farmhouse...
Sister Genevieve opened the door and let Father Polson out of her car. The father was approaching forty, but maintained the build of a frontline war veteran. He looked at the farmhouse at the top of the dirt driveway and frowned, his square jaw jutting out.
"This is the place?"
"It is, Father." Sister Genevieve avoided the priest's gaze, which was imperious at the best of times.
Father Polson glared at the farmhouse a few moments longer, as if daring it to challenge him. The house was painted a pale blue, with a dark Colonial roof that half loomed over the front step.
"Very well," he said. "My bag, please."
He strode off, and Sister Genevieve hurried and opened the trunk, unzipping the large duffel bag inside to check its contents: a Bible, a few bottles of blessed water, incense, a chasuble, candles, and a selection of crosses. Sister Genevieve plucked out the largest of these, gold and heavy, and zipped the bag closed before she chased after the priest.
She caught up as he reached the door and knocked sharply. A minute passed, and no one answered. Father Polson knocked again, then pounded on the door a few seconds later.
"They're not here," he declared, scowling.
"That's not possible," Sister Genevieve said. "Let me..."
She gripped the doorknob and turned it. The door opened easily, with a squeal of unoiled hinges. Inside was a small living room, empty.
"Hello?" Sister Genevieve called. "Is anyone home?"
"Obviously not," Father Polson said.
"But their car is still here," Sister Genevieve said. And it was, a battered red truck parked at the top of the driveway.
Sister Genevieve looked up the stairs off the living room. "The child was in her room when I was here," she said. Her eyes widened. "Father, do you think...?"
The thought hit Father Polson. "Merciful God," he said, racing up the stairs, Sister Genevieve at his back.
"On the left," she called, and Father Polson threw the first door open, and stepped inside.
The room was empty. Utterly empty. No furniture, nothing on the walls, just bare hardwood floor and cables dangling from a single bare plug.
"What-"
Sister Genevieve clubbed Father Polson with the cross, and he crumpled to the floor with a satisfying thud. The nun smiled, cast the cross aside, and closed the door behind her.
* * *
Father Polson came around slowly, on his back on the floor. He moved his head carefully from side to side, trying to shake off the pain in the back of his skull.
"Where...?"
"Hello, Father." Sister Genevieve smiled at him sweetly, the expression contrasting sharply with the change in her appearance. She still wore her robe, but she'd discarded her habit and let her hair, usually kept in a tight bun, flow down over her shoulders in an inky wave. She'd painted her lips a bloody bright red, and applied a dark eyeshadow. Polson was struck by how lustful she appeared now, and how sinister she seemed in the dim light.
"What is going on?" Polson tried to rise, but found he could not move his arms or legs, or even crane his neck to look at himself.
"An exorcism, of course," Sister Genevieve said. "Though I'm afraid I lied about the Harris family and their troubles. No one's lived in this house for years."
"Sister..."
"Oh I'm not sister of yours," Genevieve said, her voice filling with venom. "Nor will I be any man's sister, nor bride. My love is reserved for my Master alone."
"And who is that?"
Genevieve smiled thinly. "Can't you guess? You're about to be his vessel, after all."
"Child, stop this foolishness," Polson snapped, wincing with the words. He struggled to rise, but could not force himself to move.
"Foolishness?" Genevieve laughed, and did something with her left hand that made Polson's eyes hurt. "Take a look at yourself then, you old fool!"
Polson found he could raise his head now. He looked down at himself and immediately regretted it. He was naked on the floor, a circle of candles and blood - his blood - surrounding him. His wrists and ankles had been spiked, and he screamed as the pain of his wounds flooded in.
"And here I was being kind," Genevieve shrugged. She picked up a knife at her side, the blade dull and rusted. "Oh well, you did ask."
"Our Father, who art in Heaven..." Father Polson began. "Hallow be Thy name..."
"He's not listening, trust me." Genevieve stepped closer, her bare feet padding softly. "He knows what you and your brethren have been covering up. You make Him weep."
Polson continued praying as Genevieve raised the knife over her head. She grinned.