Fear Factory #Wattys2017

Satanophobia by @itsbedtimesomewhere

Satanophobia is the crippling fear of Satan. This fear is associated with the fear of Demons (Demonophobia) and the fear of Hell (Stygiophobia) These people are scared of burning in hell forever and being tormented by Satan personally. People with this fear usually have very strong religious backgrounds thus this feeds into the phobia itself. (Oddly it's not that rare as this world is vastly populated by Christians)

Satanophobia by itsbedtimesomewhere

He conquers my dreams... He conquers my life... He conquers me.

No one can deny that sin is always looming around the corner. The person controlling it? Satan himself. The figure that has controlled me since the day I decided to perform a satanic ritual with my friends.

"Come on Scarlett, you can't be that much of a wuss," Reyna says, tugging on my sleeve, urging me to follow her into her barn.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like a good idea," I hesitantly say.

"Half of the time it doesn't even work," Evelyn says, trying to encourage me to do the ritual.

 I battle between the decision in my mind. 

"Fine..." 

I say following them into the barn.

We climb a ladder leading up into the hayloft to the layout where we'd perform the ritual. Drawn on the floor was a pentagram with candles on the points of the star. On the floor lay a single knife. Two girls I didn't recognize also sit around the symbol.

"So, how do we do this?" I ask while we sit down.

The two girls ignore me, and we sit down. 

"First we sacrifice something," Evelyn says while gripping the knife. 

She cuts around her hand and drips blood into the circle.

The knife gets passed on until it finally reaches me. I hold it, examining it. 

"Come on Scarlett. You're holding us up," Reyna complains. 

I hopelessly look at the knife. I don't want to do this, I think to myself. I press the blade against my hand and drag it. I bite my lip as the crimson fluid surfaces. I drop my blood in the center of the puddle, and we join hands.

One of the girls that I didn't know starts to talk in foreign tongue. It sounds like a load of gibberish, and a wind starts to pick up.
Anxious thoughts race in my mind, and I shudder.
When the barn turns into a whirlwind of wind and words, I squeeze my eyes even tighter than before. My palms started to sweat. An evil sounding laugh rings out, and the wind stops. My eyes fly open, and I see a dark figure standing against the wall. Shocked, I smack Evelyn's arm to get her attention. 

She looks at me, annoyed. "What?" she snaps. 

I point at the wall, my hand shaking. "There's nothing there," she says.

...But there is. How can't you see it? I frantically ask myself.

I immediately go to bed when I get home. Maybe..... Maybe it's just all a dream, I think to myself. I toss my covers over my head, and roll onto my side, drifting off to sleep.

I open my eyes to see flames engulfing me, consuming me. Souls of sinners surround me, wailing in agony. I look at my arms to see my burnt skin. It was miserable here. I then heard my name and turned towards the source. The same man who was in the barn stands in the flames, beckoning me to come to him.

I jolt up in my bed, my chest heaving. I've always feared the devil after hearing stories about him when I was a child. I rub my arms only feel burned skin.

Panicking, I look down. On my arm was a burn mark in the shape of a clawed hand. I bring my hand up to my mouth, and sob.

"Scarlett," a gruff voice growls. 

I look in the corner of my room to see the black figure. "Go away!" I scream between sobs.

He doesn't listen, but instead walks closer. I shrink into my covers to attempt at hiding from him even though it was no use.

When I surfaced, the man was gone. I sat up all night without sleeping. This persisted for weeks. One night I had been sleeping, and I felt a sharp sensation in my chest. I looked down and saw a pentagram on my chest. Blood stained my sheets, turning them crimson.

He loomed around every corner, and every night, he left a mark of his presence on my body. Soon I had multiple scars of the pentagram on my arms. He was now a part of me.

After a day without him bothering me, I went to sleep. Convinced that he wouldn't harm me tonight, I peacefully went to sleep.

"I am a master of tricks. I can disguise myself. I will take your soul to the pits of Hell, and you will be my puppet," he says in a taunting voice.

I whimpered at his voice. He grabs me by my hair, and it starts to smoulder. 

"You will join me, Scarlett," he whispers. 

I try to object, but no words come out. 

"Now go back to your world. Your time is coming," he taunts.

I bolt to the bathroom, and I stare at the mirror at my crazed look. My long brown hair was sticking out, and my eyes had a feral look in them. Seeing myself in this state broke me. My knees gave out beneath me, and I crumble to the ground. I curl up into a defensive ball, and I cry. I claw at my head at this insanity, and I cry out like a feral animal.

"Scarlett," I hear him say.

"What do you want?!?" I scream at him. 

He doesn't answer. "I said what do you want?!?" I demand once again.

I look up to see his face sneering at my state right now. Infuriated, I stand up. 

"Please, I'll give you anything, just please leave me alone!" I plead.

"Look what I've done to you," he says, proudly sneering. I stagger towards him. 

"You asked what I wanted?" he asks.

I knew that he had more power than I did. He terrified me, and he knew it. That's what urges him to continue terrorizing me. 

"I did," I respond, getting myself under control. 

"I want your soul," he says.

"Then you can have it," I mutter desperate to keep him away from me.

He grins and I could feel my feet melting into the floor. Flames consume me, burning me alive. I screech in agony as flames burn me, slowly killing me. 

"Welcome home," he says as the world I knew disappeared in the inferno that consumed me.

If you enjoyed reading this short then feel free to have a look at Journal Entries From A Deadman. 

https://www.wattpad.com/story/99282378-journal-entries-from-a-deadman