A 17-year-old girl watches with a fright in her eyes the drastic scene she witnesses in her dream. The sight of the cruelly wounded Steven, who is trapped in an electric chair being beaten by a doctor, shakes her so much that she trembles.
She tortures him in a sadistic way, the boy doesn't even have the strength to breathe anymore. His face is swollen, full of wounds, so that his eyes cannot be seen.
This young man now in no way resembles himself, but a monster.
- Do you still see them? Do you think ghosts are among us? - The shrill voice of the woman who has the satisfaction of seeing the suffering boy arouses a feeling of unease in Veronica.
- Kill me, and you'll see that my shamanic abilities are not a figment of my imagination," Steven speaks up with difficulty. - I will descend into the underworld, I will curse you; you and each of your next generation will be tormented by me.
The doctor grabs him by the hair and tilts his head back.
- You are sick in the mind. You should die like everyone else locked up in this hospital. The world needs to be freed from chumps like you.
- So kill me. Find out what hell on earth is. I'll prove to you what it's like to see the dead, you'll feel it on your own skin.
The woman puts her hand to his wounded face and snorts under her breath.
- It's been six months now that I've been trying to bring you to order. I thought I would help you heal, Steven, too bad you didn't want to cooperate with me. - She smiles mockingly, affectionately stroking his cheek. - Unfortunately, I got an order from above to fry you today. They say it's taking too long. You can no longer be my toy. Too bad.
Despite the monstrous pain in every part of his body, Steven bursts into demonic laughter.
- Remember that these are my, as well as your, last minutes of life. - He does not move, just looks at her, waiting for death. - Now you will become my toy. For all eternity I will derive satisfaction from tormenting your descendants. I will make their lives bleak, full of problems and death.
The woman looks nervous. She presses her lips together, looking at him with frantic eyes.
- Go to hell, Steven! - she screams, and then presses the button, watching the boy die in agony.
Veronica is unable to watch. She closes her eyes and turns her back, feeling herself getting weak. She rests her forehead against the cold wall, and her breathing accelerates.
- Now do you know, kid, why your family faces only misfortunes? - She energetically opens her eyes and looks with frightened eyes at Steven, who is too close to her. He grabs her hand and forcibly turns her to face his dead, fried body. - Look what your great-grandmother did to me! That woman was the monster! She started it all! She tortured me in this place, killed me, that's why in the cursed room I am the strongest!
The teenager bursts into tears, unable to look at the fried body, which Steven forces her to do.
- She's the one who tormented you, she's the one who killed you, so why are you hurting us too?
Tears run down her cheeks as the demon jerks her in her sleep.
- Because now I am the one who takes pleasure in revenge! I am toying with you, bringing misfortune upon you, though it is nothing compared to what I did to your great-grandmother....
The brunette lets out a cry of terror as Steven grabs her arm, and the dream from which she can't wake up changes.
She sees the doctor who killed him, however, the woman is a shadow of herself. Locked in a dark room, she sits hunched over on the floor, with demented eyes looking around her.
She is emaciated, pale, and the dark bruises under her eyes make Veronica realize that she is not sleeping at all.
- I tormented her to death. The woman who hated the insane became one of them. It was a horrible death. I still remember her shrill howling," he says with pride in her voice.
- I don't feel sorry for her, since she did much worse things to you," says the teenager in a trembling voice, and Steven looks at her with surprised eyes.
- That's right, Veronica, such people are not pitied. You are right.
In this nightmare, the seventeen-year-old is helpless when the demon once again grabs her wrist and changes the image of memories.
They find themselves in a huge, wealthy house. Veronica witnesses a boy crying terribly as he looks at his mother's dead body. The woman lies in a bathtub full of blood, with her veins slit.
- Your grandmother was also finished mentally. She was weak. The weakest of you all. - The demon smiles at the sight of the tear-drenched child. - Your daddy had nightmares every night since he saw his dead mother's body. That's terrible, isn't it? To see something like that at the age of five. - This sight tears a girl's heart. - Your mother would also end up in a similar way. I already narrowly missed destroying her.
- And now you want to kill me and Eric?
- You, because you managed to protect your hopeless little brother. - He grabs her by the neck and presses her against the wall. - You betrayed me, and you could have stayed on my side and I would have protected you like your Aunt Danielle.
- Veronica!
The brunette finds Lucas standing behind the demon with her eyes. It seems to her that they are both in the same dream.
The demon smiles sinisterly.
- Children should not use black magic. It's cute that you gave me this boy instead of your little brother.
Veronica wakes up in her bed. With shaky hands, she throws off the quilt and, despite the fact that it is the middle of the night, runs out of the room. Breathing heavily, she stands in front of the room that belongs to her brother and Lucas.
She bangs on the door with her hand and, surprisingly, her best friend immediately opens it. With a panicked look, she measures his silhouette and finally sticks her eyes into his pale face.
- This dream... You were there with me, weren't you? Did you join there? - The 16-year-old bites his lip and nods uncertainly. - Why didn't you tell me the truth! Why didn't you tell me that you were the victim of that damn demon!
Her scream wakes Eric up. The boy rubs his face with his hands and looks at his sister and her friend with sleepy eyes.
- What do you guys do in the middle of the night?
- I'm sorry, Vera," Lucas answers her, and tears gather in his eyes. - I didn't mean to worry you.
The brunette pushes her hair back, being horrified by what she has led to.
- It's my fault! It's my fault! I'm the one who dragged you into this horror, my god. Because of me, you are in danger.
The 16-year-old embraces her, and she presses her face into his chest and bursts into tears.
Erick, who is watching them from the bed, doesn't understand any of this.
- Can you explain to me what is happening to you?
Lucas rests his chin on Veronica's head.
- You didn't protect yourself from the demon, Erick. It is thanks to me and Veronica that you are safe. We are the ones who put protection on you. On you and the rest of your family," he turns to the peer. His gaze finds Steven, who is sitting next to Erick. However, the boy can no longer see him or feel his presence. - You don't see him anymore, but I do. He sits next to you and smiles mockingly.
The brunet opens his eyes wide and looks to the side, but sees nothing. Veronica steps away from her friend and turns to face her brother.
It's true. Steven is sitting next to Erick, however, the boy does not see him.
What bothers her most is that now Lucas is tormented by him. And she won't let any harm come to him for any reason. She will protect him until the last drop of blood is lost, because it is her fault that he was dragged into her family's nightmare.
- Sweet, handsome Lucas, where is the stuffed dog you got from Veronica? Haven't you heard that it's bad to take gifts from the damned?
The boy trembles with fear, but the brunette embraces his hand and this calms him down. This is all new to him, dark and scary.
- Don't listen to what he says. He loves to mess with our minds. He feeds on our pain.
Steven pretends to be milling his mouth.
- So how do I ignore him?
- Try to think of something that makes you happy," she replies, and he plunges his gaze into her eyes without thinking.
She is what makes him happy. Only and exclusively.
*
The 16-year-old follows his friend with his eyes as she grabs the plush dog she gave him as a gift and heads for the door.
- What are you doing?
- I'm going to burn this toy.
Steven is amused, sitting on the bed next to Erick and watching the teenagers.
- Come on... this is pointless. We're not going to change anything now anyway. - He wants to snatch the mascot from her hand, but she is fierce and won't let him.
- This is not your talisman, but a curse. You have to get rid of it, Lucas.
- Veronica... But this is a special gift you gave me. I really like it.
- You are more important than this damn gift. And I will do everything to keep you safe.
After these words she leaves, savagely heading for her floor. In her hand she clenches the mascot, blaming herself for bringing misfortune to her best friend.
She could even give her life for him.
Nicki rubs her sleepy eyes as the brunette returns to the room in the middle of the night and lifts the mascot up.
- What are you doing? Can't you sleep?
- It wasn't me, but Lucas who became the victim. And I suspect that the damn dog I gave him made it much easier for the demon to get close to him.
The blonde looks confused.
- It's just a mascot. What could be wrong with her?
- I don't know, but I've had it since I was a kid. I thought it was my talisman and that's why I gave it to Lucas, believing it would bring him good luck. Now I am one hundred percent sure that I shared the curse with him. There is a reason why Lucas became a victim of a demon after performing black magic.
- Since you've had it since childhood, maybe it belonged to someone in your family before?
- I don't know, Nicki, but I'll have to find out. The demon mentioned the plushie for a reason. He is making fun of us. He is playing a game, believing that we will never beat him and that he will win this time.
From her friend's locker she pulls out a lighter.
- What are you trying to do, Vera?
- Burn him. Are you coming with me to the bathroom?
- We'll be screwed if someone catches us doing it in the middle of the night.
- Now it's the least of our problems.
Nicki leaves hurriedly behind the brunette and watches her with concerned eyes as she throws the plush dog on the bathroom floor.
- Don't do anything under the influence of emotion. Calm down first. - The blonde continues to try to stop her from doing so. She has a bad feeling about it, the same way she did about performing black magic.
The 17-year-old puts her hand to her face and sighs loudly.
- Do you think the demon is trying to make an idiot out of me? After all, it's impossible for him to just give me an idea like that....
- Well, that's why, Vera, stop acting under the influence of emotions. He sees it and probably has a laugh.
Steven, who appears in the bathroom, circles around Veronica.
- And what should you do with this mascot? Burn it or not? The options are two: either protect your friend or make him start living in a worse hell.
Veronica feels her head cracking. She doesn't know what to do. She is trapped.
Eventually she slides down the wall with her back and sits down on the floor, looking at the demon with dim eyes.
- What did my Aunt Danielle do that made her the only person you protected, even though you've hated our family for generations?
- She simply had a gift. She was able to get along with me and never betrayed me. I liked her because she was special.
- So what can I do to get you on my side as well?
- Since you cheated once, there's nothing more you can do. You are finished, Veronica.
She acts under emotion and with tears in her eyes grabs the plush dog, looking with piercing eyes at Steven.
- Maybe I'll make another mistake and bring worse danger to Lucas, but if I don't risk it, we'll never get out of this hell.
Holding the mascot by the ear, the teenager lights the fire in the lighter and watches it partially consume the cursed mascot. She tosses it into the sink and shifts her gaze to Steven. The phantom dramatically puts his hand to his chest.
- You burned a piece of my soul, the particle where my heart was. Your aunt will not be happy. You broke our truce. I will no longer provide her with protection.
- What are you talking about? - asks the brunette in a trembling voice.
The demon faces her, making the girl swallow her saliva harder. His gaze is even more sinister.
- About to kill you and your friend.
A shudder gathers around her neck and runs down her spine.
Will she be able to win this battle and finally destroy her family's curse?