Chapter Four: Paul Michaels:

“Let’s start with Paul Michaels,” Dr. Carta said.

Paul Michaels, age nine. His body was found in an abandoned field near the beach. He had blood from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth and his insides were liquified. The coroner couldn’t figure out the cause. There were no toxics in his body or viruses.

Danielle froze as she looked down at the table.

“He was mean,” she mumbled.

It was true. Paul wasn’t exactly a nice child. He wasn’t the innocent victim that his mother made him out to be. Most of his classmates thought he was mean too. Even the teachers didn’t miss this kid when he was found dead.

“What did he do to you?” Dr. Carta asked.

“Pushed me down,” Danielle said.

“And?”

“He called me names and pulled my hair.”

She replayed Paul’s abuse in her head. The patient never understood why her. Danielle didn’t even know who he was. It started when Paul would run up behind her and hit her on the back. He would run away, laughing. It didn’t stop there. The worst part was the other students pretended not to see a thing. Their teacher didn’t even try to stop it.

“That’s not very nice,” Dr. Carta said. “Why didn’t anyone help you?” Danielle shook her head. Yes, Paul was a little terror around the school and his neighborhood. His mother kept making excuses for his bad behavior. She claimed that the other students were just “jealous” of him. In reality, his mother was just an enabler.

“Tell me about the day he died,” the psychiatrist said. “Take your time if you need to.” The patient breathed heavily.

“I was heading home from school,” she mumbled.

“Okay.”

“I heard someone calling me. When I turned around, I saw Paul running towards me.”

“So what did you do?”

“I closed my eyes and started running away.”

“Did he chase after you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you end up in the field?”

“Yes.”

“And then what happened?”

“I tripped and fell. Paul laughed as he over to me.” Danielle trembled as she remembered what came next.

“And?”

“He laughed and started kicking and hitting me.” The tip of her nose came down to the table. “He kept calling me stupid. I wished that he would leave me alone.” She could still hear his voice in her head. Her injuries that were consistent with her story. Dr. Carta shook her head. Children like that should be beaten publicly and made an example of.

“Then what happened?” she asked. Her eyes carefully stayed on the patient. She watched for cues of discomfort or deception. Dr. Carta couldn’t get a good look at the child’s eyes so far, but her body language told her that she was scared of something or someone. The killer maybe?

“How did Paul die?” she asked. “You have to tell me everything.”

“He did it,” Danielle said.

“Who?”

“He did.” Her mind took her back to that day. Danielle happened to look up and see Paul standing motionless with blood coming out of his eyes. More started to come out his nose and ears. When he opened his mouth to scream in pain, blood poured out all over the grass. Danielle couldn’t move. Paul’s voice came out choked up and silent. He collapsed to the ground, still bleeding. It didn’t take his victim long to figure out to what had happened. The poor child got up and ran all the way home.

“Who is this he you are talking about?” Dr. Carta asked. The patient trembled as she shook head.

“I want to help you, Danielle,” the psychiatrist said.

“You can’t!” the little girl cried.

“Why can’t I?”

“He’ll kill you too!” Tear drops fell on the table. Dr. Carta sat back, frowning. How bad was this monster that she had seen? Did he threaten her not to speak? No wonder the police couldn’t get anything out of her. The psychiatrist rubbed her forehead. It was good thing there was no time limit on this case.

“That man can’t hurt you as long as you are in here with me,” she said in a low voice. Dr. Carta paused when she thought she heard the patient say something.

“Excuse me?” she asked. Danielle lifted her head for the first time in this session.

“He is not a man,” she said. “He’s a demon.”

“What?” Dr. Carta asked.