"Darkness was absolute. His
bones were cold, but the terror he felt reached to his soul"...
Here you can read the first part : "THE SHADOW OF DEATH" Chapters I to VI of my novel: "THE EVIL VISITOR"
SPANISH
TITLE:
EL VISITANTE MALIGNO
FERNANDO E. SOBENES BUITRÓN
All rights reserved. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 11/19/2009
7805—015155
SAFE CREATIVE 1104229042854, April 22, 2011(Spanish edition)
SAFE CREATIVE 1111290621819.November 28, 2011(English edition)
NOT TO BE COPIED IN WHOLE OR PART BY
ANY MEANS WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR
TRANSLATED
BY:
Benjamin Barnett
*** All names of characters and
places are fictitious; any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.
DEDICATION
“To the two most important people in my
life: my beloved wife Islet and my son; my dearest Fabricio, who are my inspiration
and strength”
“To my dearly and missed mother. Wherever
you are; may you find the happiness and understanding that you never had in
this life.”
THANKS AND APPRECIATION
"To
my beloved wife for her love; her invaluable support and understanding to allow
me to be able to complete this work"
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Is
there life after death? Do God and the Devil exist? Nobody knows for sure. We
all want to believe that this life is a step towards something else, toward
some other dimension that brings a better existence than the current one. All
of this is based on faith, for there is no scientific proof either way.
All
religions (or many of them) deal with the topic of life after death: reincarnation,
good and evil. They use these concepts and adapt them conveniently for their
purposes. The figure of a vengeful God is present in the Bible and Christian
doctrine affirms it, summoning a radical Manichaeism: God or the devil, heaven
or the underworld; adapt to our rules or you'll burn in the fires of hell. Threats and blackmail, rewards and
punishments, where if we do not embrace the former, we fall without recourse,
in the claws of the latter, condemning us to an eternal existence, frightening,
in the never ending pit of purgatory paying for our sins and being the object
of a merciless God that sentences us to a brutal and ruthless punishment for all
eternity.
If we
become aware of the horrible acts that have occurred on our planet since before
any of our memories such as epidemics, wars, bloody dictatorships, genocides,
accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, abuse and abandonment of children,
people born handicapped, deformed, various diseases, and finally, an unending
wave of plagues, we ask ourselves: Why
does God permit all this? Does He really
want us to suffer? Should we be
condemned to pay for the sins of "our first parents" who committed
the "original sin"?
If you
ask a priest the cause of all these miseries, his answer is that the ways of
the Lord are mysterious and that mankind has free will. That is, we remain the same, without an
adequate or convincing explanation about God that reveals his existence and
behavior.
On the
other hand, it would appear that the Devil is winning the battle against
good. Man has suffered and committed
indescribable outrages against his fellows since the beginning of time;
innocent blood has been shed many times for no reason at all. Many absurd accidents occur in which people
perish indiscriminately without even having had the opportunity to enjoy life, and
others fall in the claws of drug addiction and alcoholism. The victims of wars, child exploitation,
terrorism and drug trafficking, kidnappings, imprisonment and suffering of the
innocent, religious fanaticism that does so much damage to humanity, and
executions due to hate or sexual or racial nature, make one think that there is
a supernatural force behind all of the evil of humankind.
Society's
moral values are in these times, lower than ever. The marvels of the modern world that have
contributed enormously to the advancement of humanity are also its disgrace,
such as in the case of the inappropriate use of the Internet, where children
are the main victims of the evil that is easily transmitted and messages of
hate, racism, violence, and darkness cannot be controlled. Iniquity, depravity, and negativity are two
clicks away. Globalization is, for some,
a blessing, while for others, a curse; it all depends on how it is used.
As for
me, I believe that something exists; a superior or greater being that has
created all good and evil and it is up to us to make a difference: Loving others, causing no harm, and treating
others as we would want to be treated.I believe in therein lies the good and
evil. Doing good is the work of God.
Doing evil is the work of the Devil. It is that simple.
The author
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was
found in thee.
16 By the multitude
of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou
hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God:
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was
lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of
thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground; I will lay thee before kings,
that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that
know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror,
and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel
28)
12 How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation. In the
sides of the north:
14 I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt
be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see
thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man
that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the
world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the
house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of
the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house.
19 But thou art
cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those
that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the
pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
20 Thou shalt not
be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain
thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
21 Prepare
slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not
rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. (Isaiah 14, Old Testament
PROLOGUE
He could never get that terrible day out of
his mind when something happened that froze his heart and changed his life
forever. It was the month of February 1991; Peter Donovan Lieutenant of the
United States Army, 2nd Infantry Division was in charge of a group of forty
soldiers in the Persian Gulf who had to get to the Ar Rumaylah oil field in
northern Kuwait; where Iraqi troops had put explosive charges in the oil wells
with the intention of exploding them when coalition forces arrived; following
the orders of Saddam "Butcher of Baghdad" Hussein, turning them into
"fiery graves" creating chaos and destruction. Their mission
consisted of deactivating the explosives and clearing the area before the Iraqi
dictator accomplished his goal.
The
target was 10 miles away, and they were on foot; since there was still some
resistance from the Iraqi Republican Guard; and it was necessary to neutralize
the enemy troops that they found in their way.
They could depend on air support if this proved necessary.
The
march through the middle of the desert was difficult due to the amount of men
and equipment traveling. The sky was
filled with stars and the sound of aircraft flying through Iraqi airspace could
be heard. The cold was harsh, but in
spite of this, they moved quickly.
Their
night goggles allowed them to see the enemies hiding under the cloak of darkness: sporadic gunfire; a human silhouette in the
sights. The sounds of missiles and automatic weapons; the flash of tracers and
the target fell. Resistance was indeed minimal.
The
roar of explosions in the distance made the ground under their boots
shake. The sky lit up with the flashes
of the bombs and missiles that fell from the planes. From far off, the tongues of fire from some
wells that were already burning gave off clouds of black smoke that made the
night even darker. The smell of burned fuel filled the air and made it almost
unbearable.
- Sergeant
Wilkins! — said the Lieutenant – order
your men to put on their masks; there are still three miles before we arrive at
the target.
- Yes,
sir — responded the sergeant — Men, put on your masks!
In silence, soldiers continued, advancing,
braving the cold with the wind whipping the desert sand against their bodies;
while approaching nearer and nearer to their destination. Anxiety was growing;
they did not know what they would come across; if there would be an ambush.
Suddenly a whistle and then an explosion were felt in the rear, instantly
killing three soldiers and injuring two more. Donovan fell on the sand
propelled by the shock wave of a mortar projectile. He could not hear anything
but an intense piercing sound. He could see the flashes of guns resembling fireflies
in the middle of the night. Then in the distance, he heard the sound of gunfire
and the rattle of machine—gun fire.
-
Mortars!
Mortars, under cover! Take cover! — One of the soldiers shouted–
From a trench two hundred yards away they
could see the flashes of tracer rounds from AK—47 rifles fired continuously
toward them, while the explosions would not stop.
-
Wilkins!
— Ordered Donovan —: check the status of the men. Split up into two groups to
surround ... Wilkins!
He turned to look at the sergeant, just to
see him lying on the sand a few feet away writhing in pain; his left leg was
completely gone, and the arm on the same side only holding onto a shred of
muscle.
-
Corporal
Torres! — Ordered Donovan — request immediate air support.
-
Yes
sir! — Said the corporal, making use of the radio: Fox 2!, Fox, 2! Sleuth 3,
here, requesting immediate air support; coordinates 0—5—7. We are under mortar
fire. We have six casualties!
-
Copy,
Sleuth 3! Air support on its way! — Said the voice on the radio.
Donovan
and his men defended themselves, repelling the attack. They were cornered,
unable to move. Then, they heard a hopeful sound of a Comanche helicopter
firing Hellfire missiles into the enemy nest of enemy mortars position, eliminating
the attackers.
The air raid lasted no more than a couple of minutes, until the sound of gunfire ceased. Another medical rescue helicopter appeared. It descended to assist the wounded and to collect the bodies, while the Comanche swam ashore to protect personnel and verify that the coast was clear.
Donovan and his men entered the trench to
see if there were enemy survivors. Peter was shocked to see what remained of
the enemy; the sight was Dantesque.
Dismembered corpses, charred bodies,
organs scattered everywhere, burned bodies thrown against the walls of the
trench, and others in various grotesque positions, products of the shock waves
that made them seem like puppets. Every part of the trench had turned purple,
as if a giant hand had been immersed in a pool of blood and had shaken at the
site. The smell of death reigned in the area.
Some
Iraqi soldiers were writhing in pain, men without arms, legs. One of them, with
only one arm remaining, was trying to crawl unsuccessfully. The cries of pain
and wails of the wounded were unbearable.
-
Lieutenant!
What do we do with the Iraqi wounded? – Asked Corporal Ferris, who arrived in
the medical helicopter.
-
Is
there room in the helicopter? — Asked the lieutenant. –
-
No
sir, we are full with casualties! I have the order...
-
Yes,
yes! I know! No prisoners. — Donovan finished –
-
Corporal
Torres!
-
Sir?
-
Arrange
to verify whether if there is any information! Look up and down all over!
Destroy any weapon you find!
-
Yes,
Sir!
-
Torres!
...
-
Yes,
Sir?
-
No
prisoners!
-
Yes,
Sir!
Like a slow motion movie, soldiers
approached the wounded soldiers, pointing their guns at the enemies’ heads to
make them explode with the impact of bullets.
-
Here,
motherfucker, damn you!
-
Hussein
piece of shit, eat lead!
Shots sounded while some of the wounded
were begging for their lives, imploring not to be killed. There were others who
even managed to get on their knees, but still, they were assassinated. Revenge was on holiday. The anger over the
attack made soldiers showed no mercy to the fallen. Some soldiers used their
bayonets and enjoyed the time when cutting their enemies’ throats; others burst
the heads of the wounded by hitting them with the butt. The orgy of horror
seemed to be endless.
Peter Donovan was unable to stop the
killing, even though he felt bad for the atrocities committed by the soldiers,
he remembered how the enemy ambushed them, and how his men had fallen destroyed
by enemy fire.
-
Screw
them! – He thought — These bastards deserve it! ...
-
Sir,
— Ferris said — Cathedral radioed and ordered to suspend operations, and
ordered all men to return to base.
-
Okay!
— Donovan said — Corporal Torres! We are leaving. This mission has been
canceled. Order the men to retreat, and go back to the base!
-
Understood,
sir!
The helicopter with the wounded began to
take off, while its blades raised desert sand creating a cloud of dust.
Soldiers began to retrace their steps while Donovan stared at the infernal
spectacle of the mutilated bodies in the trenches. The memory of the pleas of
Iraqi soldiers, their voices and moans were still piercing his head.
-
Life
sucks! – He thought –
He turned and started walking. Suddenly,
he ran into his left boot with something that made him stumble. He looked down
and thought he saw something shining, but it was only for a moment. He bent
down and picked it up. It was a small flat figure about four inches long and
about half an inch thick. It was made of black stone, with a carved feline
head, goat's horns on the forehead and a fierce, defiant face, staring ahead denoting
cruelty, and open jaws showing its fang with a savage gesture. The figure had a
hole in its jaws, like a large coin going through, and the fang sticking out of
it.
-
Must
be some kind of charm — He said to himself — and put it in the pocket of his
uniform pants.
His men were already about twenty feet
away when he heard a murmur, which it was not clearly distinguished. He turned
to see what it was, but could not see anything, and thought it was the wind of
the desert, so he prepared to walk away, when he heard it clearly. It was a
crying child!
He returned to the place where the bodies
of the soldiers were, and he heard the heartbreaking crying even harder, sharp,
crying for help. It came from the bottom of the trench that was about three
feet deep.
-
Who's
there? – He shouted — raising his rifle, and pointing in the direction from
where the sound came.
The crying grew louder and Peter kept
moving among the bodies, but could not distinguish very well in the trench. The
infrared light started flashing. He removed it and turned it out. He switched
on his flashlight, and there it was, hidden in the background, the entrance to
a small cave, where the crying was coming. He leaned over and lit the inside,
but could see nothing. He had to lie on the floor and begin to crawl to enter
the small hole in the sand that looked like the lair of an animal. He began to
feel a smell, there was something stale, decomposed, it was clear that there
was something dead in there.
The
sobs became louder.
-
I'm
coming to help you, just wait! ...
The stench got worse as he moved forward.
He put the gas mask back, in spite of this he could hardly bear the retches,
but managed to enter by crawling down through the hole, to finally be able to
rise. He had come to a kind of large chamber. He lit up around the walls with
the lantern, and saw some drawings and letters that he could not understand but
assumed they were ancient characters. Gradually he figured out that they were
some type of box covered by sheets. Those were shrouds, and some of them were
half—buried. He was in a grave. Skulls and bones could be seen on the walls and
floor of the enclosure, the roof was about twelve feet in height.
The crying continued. It was a terrible, a painful lament coming from the grave. He shone the light in the direction of the sob and saw a strange figure, the back covered with a black mantle; it was leaning over one of the mummies and it was muttering something strange, incomprehensible. At that time the flashlight was turned off and the murmur of "that" ended. Donovan could not turn it on again, it did not work...
-
Peter,
Peter! ... – He could hear his name in the gloom –
He
heard several voices, terrible screaming of women and men whispering to him.
-
We
were waiting for you.
His
blood ran cold when he heard those voices, and he was overcome with panic.
-
Join
us! ... — Said those horrific voices —.
-
Peter,
Peter, join us!
Darkness
was absolute, his bones were cold, but the terror he felt reached to his soul.
He put the night vision equipment back
immediately, and what he saw made all the hair on his body stand on end. The
mummies in the tomb were in motion. They had come to life! The
"being", crouching just moments ago, was now standing in front of
Peter, and he was very tall. Peter could see those eyes through the night
viewer, and that filled him with horror.
-
Peter,
join us! Come to us! — Said the "being" with a booming voice.
Peter raised his gun and started shooting
at "that", in front of him, until he emptied the magazine of his gun,
while the "being" laughed out loud. Peter Donovan knew that if he did
not escape from there he was going to meet death face to face. Once again the
infrared light started flashing, remaining in darkness.
Instinctively he threw himself on the
ground, and began to crawl through where he came as fast as he could.
-
Peter,
PEEEETEEEER! ...
The
screams were deafening and he could hear the voices getting closer.
-
PETER,
JOIN, JOIN US!
Crawling swiftly he went, terrified by
what was behind. He could see nothing. He only listened to these frightening
voices and laments. Suddenly he felt someone grab his boots and pulled him to
make him go back. Amid laughter and screaming, "something" prevented
him from advancing and kept returning him back to the tomb.
-
HELP!
HELP ME! HELP! ... FOR GOD’S SAKE,
SOMEONE HELP ME! – He began to cry –
The
voices behind him said:
-
GOD
IS NOT HERE, HE FORGOT ABOUT YOU, BUT WE DID NOT. COME HERE, JOIN US, PETER!
His strength was sapped from him. Whoever was previously holding his boots, held his calves this time, burning his skin with an intense pain. These "beings" were dragging him along back to the tomb, as Peter was unable to get away.
Unexpectedly, he felt a pair of hands
holding him tightly by his arms and pulling him forward, to release him from
the small tunnel. It was his battalion who made a human chain to get him out.
At that moment, Donovan lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness he was in
the rescue helicopter, with bandaged legs. He could feel the burning pain of
burns, with the shock of horror at the experience in the tomb.
-
Are
you OK, Lieutenant? What happened down there? — Asked Ferris –
-
I
do not know; — said Donovan – I do not know. Then, the helicopter moved away
leaving behind the hideous orgy of blood, terror and death.
**********
PART ONE
THE SHADOW OF DEATH
CHAPTER
I
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me (Ex 20, 2—5). It is written: You shall worship the lord, your God, and serve him only (Mt 4, 10).
“Lago Feliz” was a small lovely town
located ninety minutes from the city, where some families had decided to move
to get away from the noise, traffic and the stress of big cities.
It was a halcyon place in the woods, only
linked to the outside world by an access road connected with a highway, twenty
miles away. Surrounded by trees and mountains, it had a huge forest and a
beautiful lake, which gave the village its name, where people enjoyed swimming
and sunbathing during the summer, and the cold and snow in the winter. Fishing
was plentiful and they had deer hunting as well. The town was also famous for
its entertainment: clubs, restaurants, a small amusement park and a roller
coaster that attracted those who wanted to leave the city on the weekends and
take a ride to the town to relax and get entertainment.
"Lago Feliz" was founded twenty
years ago by some entrepreneurs who had the idea to create an exclusive
community which would feature all the comforts of the big city and the
tranquility that nature provides in the countryside. Hence its development had
been according to their needs. They had a fire station, church, municipality,
police station, shopping center, several motels, a library, a small hospital,
school, cemetery, and everything they needed to not have to go to the city. It
had a five-block street of restaurants, cafes, cinemas and the like, to allow
locals and non-locals alike to be entertained. Modern, spacious and comfortable
houses made of this town a dream place for almost fifteen hundred souls who
inhabited this community.
Dawn came as usual for Peter Donovan. He started his day with a lazy morning and wanting to stay in bed and not have to go to work; with an instant arousal revealing his desire to make love, which was already habitual. The friction of the sheet between his legs, and then moving a little bit to get close to her; to feel her soft skin and begin to caress his wife’s body, expecting the desired response. Jennifer would come to her husband to feel his erection and then, as usual, they would make a drowsy love at first until they fully wake up with a frenzied sex that left them at ease, with the feeling of bodily rest; leisurely, relaxed. Staying close together, embracing, wet with passion and trying to catch a few more winks, to continue thus avoiding getting up, getting ready, caring for their child, making breakfast and continuing with the routine they had had, since they got married several years ago.
He had been the sheriff of Lago Feliz for fifteen years. After he returned from the Gulf War he decided not to stay in the Army and immediately turned in his retirement papers. He decided to leave in the past the terrible moments he lived through. The builders of the village contacted Peter and offered him the Sheriff’s post, with a very good salary, room and board, which he accepted immediately and moved in. Once there, he met Jennifer Petersen, daughter of the owner of one of the main chain restaurants in the country, who resolved to settle in the village to start her own business. And now she owned the best restaurant in town, "The Golden Dinner" which many people of the city frequented. Jenny (as she was called) had dark brown hair, brown eyes, full lips, oval face, thin hands and slender fingers with beautiful legs, wide hips, beautiful feet very impeccable, not very tall, with small breasts. She was certainly a beautiful woman who attracted the stares of men. For his part, Peter was six feet tall, tan skin, brown eyes, thin face, athletic build and friendly voice. Immediately, they fell in love, they married a year after, and had their son, George, after five years of marriage. Donovan's family was very happy in the small town.
Peter went out with George in the morning to take him to school, which was ten minutes from home. Driving the police van he watched as people left early for work. Vehicles with parents who also picked other children up; little Luke riding his bike to deliver the paper, throwing it house to house carelessly, and waving to the neighbors who woke up sleepy to clean their yards, or just to pick up the paper, or the ones who went out jogging and exercising.
-
Good
morning, Mrs. Kerry!
-
Good
morning, Mr. James!
-
Hello
Luke! — Answered the neighbors.
Peter watched the tranquility of the
place and looked at his son in the back seat who was still sleepy and trying to
go back to sleep.
-
It's
good to be here! —He thought. He turned on the car and began driving toward
George’s school.
After dropping his son off at school, he
went downtown to his office. The old police station had been growing as the
town did. Initially, when Peter came, there were five men and they had only one
vehicle. After fifteen years of being in charge, he turned it into a police
department with twenty—five men under his command and eight vehicles, earning
the respect and affection of the villagers. At first the work was not very
hard: traffic problems, speeding down the road when "tourists" were
in the city, or those who drank heavily in nightclubs and caused a disturbance.
Then, as the town became more popular and more people began to visit it, work
became more arduous.
-
Good
morning chief! – His assistant, Jeff Douglas greeted him as Peter entered—, the
weekend's almost here!
-
Hi
Jeff! —Said Peter — Yes, I'm afraid so. Have you posted the staff on the roads
and restaurant areas?
-
Yes,
chief.
-
Did
anybody go to investigate Mrs. Mitchell's broken fence? – Remember she called
several times –
-
Yes,
chief.
-
Did
you remind the men about the new plan? Keep in mind that in the tourist area of
the lake...
-
Yes,
Peter, — sympathetic, his assistant interrupted him — I've done it several
times. Why are you so nervous?
-
Peter
remained thoughtful for a few seconds — I have a strange feeling that something
is about to happen –
-
Did
something happen, Peter? Is there any problem?
-
No,
it's nothing, Jeff, thank you! — Let’s see what we have here.
And
they began to check the documents and the routine work of the office.
Jeff Douglas had worked with Peter for
twelve years and they had become good friends. Besides work, they had something
else in common; both of them fought in the Gulf War. Jeff belonged to the
Marine Corps and he was in an M1 Abrams tank which participated in the Kuwait
City liberation, and he retired with the rank of sergeant. Mary Rock had been
married to Jeff for three years and they had a nine month old baby named
Thomas, and they lived happily in the village. The remaining men had been
recruited by Peter in the big city; some of them were members of other police
offices, and some came from different security forces and were attracted by the
good pay, stability and tranquility of the place, and decided to move to “Lago
Feliz”, which offered a better prospective life.
That Friday, as the day progressed,
tourists were arriving from the city, joining the villagers who had their jobs
or businesses in the city, and commuted the fifty minutes that separated the
two places. That was Will Perry’s case, a lawyer and Peter’s neighbor with whom
he use to take turns every weekend to meet among friends, have a beer and get
together.
But that Friday was not inviting, due to
the threatening gray clouds in the sky that forecasted a storm and discouraged
regular visitors from taking the road to the village. Late at night, it was
evident that the storm was ready to burst at any time and the streets were half
empty, and due to the storm forecast, business had a low influx of people and
they had to wait for better conditions to encouraged people to go to the town.
This time, friends agreed to meet at the
house of Will and Anna Perry, who had two children: six year old Francis and
Louise, three years old. They had a playroom in the first floor, with all the
necessary equipment and toys to have fun. Anna's mom, Susan, who lived with
them, loved to play with her grandchildren, to watch them run and to look after
them.
Clouds were getting blacker over the
skies of Lago Feliz. Friends started to gather: Charles Mercy and his wife,
Dolores, with their children Dennis and Michael, five and seven years old,
respectively; Josh Miller, the village priest with a PhD in Philosophy; Jeff,
Mary and little Thomas, who felt asleep in his stroller, with his pacifier
hanging from a red bow around his neck; then came Jennifer and George.
The
kids ran up, followed by Susan, enjoying themselves.
-
Children,
children! No running! You can get hurt... — said Susan — trying to catch them.
-
Charles
said — Smells great, I'm starving! Is the meat ready?
-
Almost!
— Answered Will – Jennifer, where is Peter?
-
He’s
coming; he is bringing the beer — said Jennifer –
Peter was watching from his house the
thick darkness of night and the black clouds announcing the gathering storm.
-
This
will be a violent storm, hopefully nobody will think of coming here with this
weather — Peter thought—
Using a portable radio, Peter contacted
his men on duty, to ensure they were in position and that everything was going
without problems. He left his room and went downstairs to the kitchen.
-
Hey,
Peter! — it was Will’s voice from the other house – we're waiting for you!, the
game is about to start, and we are starving. Hurry!
-
Okay!
I'll get the beers, I'm coming ... — Peter replied —. He went down to the
basement to find a case of beer. He tried to turn on the light but it didn’t
work.
-
Damn!
The light bulb burned out — he said to himself—
Peter groped for the second switch in the
basement, being careful not to bump into things that were there. Suddenly he
noticed something shining in the dark. He didn’t know what it was, so he got
closer to the mantelpiece where the object was. He moved forward toward it, and
when he was close enough he noticed it was that strange shaped stone animal
head he found in the desert, the one he had tried to erase from his mind. Peter
was terrified, and began to sweat. Those fierce eyes were watching him
intently. It was an evil, wicked look, and its jaws opened even more, like
trying to burst out laughing. Peter was paralyzed by fear. The memories of that
night of horror, blood and fright, turned back to his mind. Peter tried to calm
down and overcome the feeling, when suddenly the first thunder sounded, and
started to rain.
Unexpectedly the light came on. Peter saw
the small rock he had found in the deserts of Iraq, and understood that nothing
bad was happening… — It's just my imagination — he said to himself. He grabbed
the case of beer, two bottles of whiskey and went upstairs. He crossed the
garden and entered the house of his neighbor and friend.
-
Finally!
– exclaimed some of his friends—
-
Peter!
Did you see a ghost? You are pale — Will asked him—
-
No,
it was nothing. The thunder took me by surprise, that was it — said Peter.
- Ha,
ha, ha, — everyone laughed—
Jennifer
approached her husband with a kiss on the cheek and asked him.
-
My
love, is everything okay?
-
Yes,
sweetie, everything is fine...
The evening was very lively. They enjoyed
the baseball game that they'd been looking forward to. Dinner was very
animated. The children ran around the table and they wanted to go back to the
playroom.
Peter was still thinking about what took
place that night. Although he had tried to forget what happened all those years
ago, memories came to his mind, as ghosts bringing the memories when his
comrades died. Sergeant Wilkins torn apart by a mortar shell; the wounded men,
the executions of Iraqi soldiers, the crying child and entering to that
infernal tomb, where he was a victim of unimaginable terror; events that he
never experienced in his life.
He kept watching his friends, talking, drinking
beer. The children were upstairs with Grandma. Peter was looking all this, but
he was not listening. In his mind he repeated, PETER, JOIN US, PETER!
-
Peter,
Peter, join us, what planet are you on? You have been distracted all night —
said father Josh –
-
Must
have been the thunder – Said Anna smiling.
-
I
was thinking of the men on duty in this weather, I hope they are doing well ...
— answered Peter –
-
You
know, if they have not called, it is because everything is all quiet, relax —
replied Jeff—
-
Yes,
you're right. No reason to worry — Peter agreed –
The night progressed, it was early
morning when the rain became a storm, and the lights in town started to
flicker.
-
The
storm must have affected the transformers, — said Will –
-
Yes
— said Dolores —, the rain has become a flood.
Water
flowed like a small river by Main Street.
-
Please,
Jeff, get in contact with the men, check that everything is fine.
-
Yes,
Peter.
Using
the walkie—talkie, Jeff began to call:
-
All
units: please report to Command 2. — Absolute silence.
-
Is
the radio working, Jeff? — Asked Peter –
-
Yes,
— said Jeff — the battery is at full load. There is something causing
interference and it won't let us communicate. Let me try again:
-
Lightning,
Lightning, Command 2, here, please report.
-
Contact
the head office — ordered Peter –
-
Nothing,
no response — reported Jeff –
-
It
could be some static because of the storm — said Jeff –
-
Well;
duty calls — said Peter, standing up follow by Jeff — let's see how everything
is going. We'll back in a couple of hours.
-
Yes,
Peter, let's go –said Jeff—.
-
Watch
out, boys — said Jennifer –
-
Don't
worry, we'll be back as quickly as we can —her husband answered —
The
gathering continued. Father Josh was telling about something that had happened.
-
It
was terrible what happened to that girl, the video has been uploaded to the
Internet.
-
Yes
I saw it, they captured just as she was dying – said Charles—
-
What
was it that happened? –asked Susan, walking downstairs and whispering because the
children were asleep.
-
A
young woman was killed in Iran during a protest. You can see the moment when
she was wheeled away. Then she lost consciousness, and started bleeding from
her nose and mouth, I think they shot her in the chest — said Charles –
-
Oh,
my God, how horrible! — Said Anna – what a misfortune. I don’t know what the
world’s coming to.
-
Only
God knows, — said father Josh— Only HE knows.
-
Ok.
Ok – said Will — let's not talk about sad things, we are here to have fun,
isn’t it? How about if we play something?
-
Card
games — said Anna –
-
NOOOOO!,
— Jokingly, all chanted—
-
Ok,
ok, — said Anna laughing — what do you want to play?
-
I
bought something special in the city, wait a second. – Will said. — He got up
and went to his studio to get something on the desktop.
He returned with a plastic bag, he opened
it and pulled out a box placing it on the table. It was a rectangular tablet of
yellow wood, and antique look. In the upper left corner it had the image of the
sun with a smiling face and the word "YES" on it. On the opposite
side, it was the moon on crescent with a star, and a face of woman looking to
the first one, preceding the word "NO". Below, forming and arc,
capital letters were arranged in two rows: the first one from letter "A to
M" and the second one, from "N to Z". Under the letters were the
numbers from 1 to 0, and immediately at the end, the word "GOODBYE".
At the bottom corners two figures of witches stood, watching up at the sun and
the moon respectively. It was a Ouija board.
-
Good!
– Said Charles— we will close the evening with ghosts. Everyone started
laughing.
-
I
have not played with the "board" since college — said Mary — I
remember it was a little scary.
-
It
is not good to play with things we don't understand — said Susan — I think it
can be dangerous.
-
Come
on, Susan — encouraged her son-in-law — What could happen? Let's have some fun
until Peter and Jeff return.
-
Cheer
up, Susan – seconded Jennifer —it’s only a game.
-
Come
on, Mom, then you can go to see the children, — said Ann –
-
Yes,
that’s it. —Said Dolores — In that case, we can ask the expert. What do you
think, Josh?
Father Josh watched them amused and
curious. He smiled nervously, wondering what his fellow priests would think if
they saw him playing with the Ouija board invoking spirits, beings from beyond.
The first commandment "love God above all things"
came into his mind, remembering the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
especially the part about prediction and magic *. But to tell
the truth he was a little drunk and he wanted to continue the fun.
-
Josh,
Your Eminence: Did a "spirit” turn you dumb? — asked Will sarcastically —
and everyone started laughing.
-
I
do not think our Lord will be offended over some fun — he said smiling — let's
play. Who cares! If it's just a game — he thought –
-
Very
good —said Will— well done Josh, His Eminence spoke and we are determined, I
will bring some candles.
-
And
I will get pencil and paper — said Dolores –
-
What
do we use as a pointer? — Asked Anna – Should we use a cup?
-
No,
I have something much better, which is just for the occasion. — Jennifer said —
and she went home, to look for that rare "thing" in the basement, the
"souvenir" that Peter brought from the time he was in the Gulf War.
-
This
will be rather a long night — thought Josh –
-
I
have some candles to make it more exciting, — says Susan –
-
What
a mess I got myself into? — Josh thought – making a frown.
-
Come
on, cheer up, Josh —Ann assured him, realizing his discomfort. — It doesn’t
hurt, it's only a game. Nobody will get hurt ...
-
I
hope so —said Josh— I hope so...
*
Prediction and Magic (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
2116
All forms of prediction are to be rejected: the recourse to Satan or to demons,
conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to 'unveil' the
future (cf. Dt 18, 10, Jr 29, 8). Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm
reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, the
use of 'mediums' conceal a desire for power over time, history and, finally,
men, the well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor
and respect, and loving fear that we have only to God.
2117
All practices of magic or sorcery, by which seeks to tame occult powers to
bring them to their service and have a supernatural power over others — even to
seek health — are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices
are even more reprehensible when accompanied by an intention to harm another,
with or without the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also
reprehensible. Spiritualism often implies prediction or magical practices. That
is why the Church warns the faithful to be saved from it. The uses of
traditional medicines do not legitimate the invocation of evil powers or the
exploitation of another's credulity.
——————ooo——————
Peter and Jeff got to the Sheriff's
Office, as the rain began to subside. The streets were deserted; the tourists
for the weekend (the few who dared to go into town in that weather) were in the
clubs and restaurants. No one ventured out to get wet yet.
Jeff
spoke to the officer on duty:
-
Jack,
what’s new?
-
Nothing
sir, everything is calm.
-
Is
the radio working? — Asked Peter –
-
Yes,
chief — said Jack — a few moments ago the signal was interrupted, but now it
works.
-
Communicate
with all positions to report news.
-
Yes,
sir: — Lightning, Central here, report situation –
Through the radio, the officers on duty
began to report that, despite the rain, everything was quiet, except for the
checkpoint number 2, which had not been reported since the storm started.
-
Chief!
Lightning 2 is not responding.
-
When
was the last time you contacted them?
-
About
three hours ago.
-
Okay,
Jeff, let's see how our men are doing. Jack, keep us informed if you manage to
communicate with them.
-
Yes,
sir ...
Peter and Jeff left again in the police
vehicle, a rustic van with four-wheel drive with high and wide tires, great to
navigate any terrain, they had no problem crossing the small streams that had
formed by this strange storm that had not lasted long.
The checkpoint Lightning 2 was 25 minutes from town, at the southern end of the lake, a place chosen by young people to dance, drink, and have fun outdoors. Most of the time they installed a platform there, for weekend events where they had rock bands or other kinds of music. Also at night, it was a favorite place for young people to escape with their partners to make love. The more adventurous swam in the lake at night, when the weather was favorable. Police were always hanging around the area to prevent scandals or intoxicated persons involved in a fight. Otherwise, a night like this, the situation must be calm. It was difficult for some madman would think of going that far and the danger that the vehicle was damaged in the middle of the road to wait for someone to get help, or to be located by the police car rounding in the area.
-
Who
is on duty in Lightning 2? — Peter asked to Jeff –
-
Franklin
and Michael — Jeff said – it'd odd that they haven't called.
-
That's
what worries me — said Peter — neither the patrol radio nor laptops or their
cell phones work. I hope everything is fine.
-
I
insist, Peter, I think it is only the storm interfering.
-
Well,
let's see how they are doing.
They continued to drive along the road
parallel to the lake, and began to penetrate the pine-covered road in the
middle of the night. The storm subsided and bound away to the city, the track
was still wet, but the sky was clearing, revealing the light of the moon that
looked great with a sky full of stars.
——————ooo——————
-
Well,
— said Will — we already have everything ready:
paper, pencils, and candles, let's organize everything.
Dolores and Ann began the distribution of
candles while Josh and Charles arranged the chairs. Susan and Mary went to the
playroom and found that the children were sleeping, Mary saw her little Thomas
who was fast asleep with her pacifier in his mouth. There, so carefully and
quietly to not wake them up, they returned to the living room.
Jennifer came down to the basement to find the amulet and realized that the face of the beast now looked wild, his fierce gesture more terrible than before. She felt a little afraid to pick it up, but then she smiled, thinking that her thought was silly; that was the perfect object for the game they were about to start. She never thought how this action would change her life and the others’ forever.
She went back to the neighbor’s house and
was surprised to see the lights off and the candles arranged around the table,
illuminating the faces of her friends who were now drinking coffee and talking,
waiting for her to join and start the game, creating a magical and ghostly
atmosphere.
-
Ah
... Finally, there you are, Jenny. What did you bring us? – Asked her Will –
-
I
brought a piece that will serve as a pointer. — Said Jennifer — putting the
amulet on the table.
-
How
interesting! — Charles said — watching and carefully lifting it up— It seems
like an animal, like a cat with horns or something.
-
Does
it have magical powers? — Mary interjected — Everyone laughed
-
Hey,
Eminence! What do you think of it, — Will asked to Josh—
-
I've
never seen anything like it! — Said Josh – It's a strange carving. Where did
you get it? – he asked Jennifer –
-
It's
a souvenir that brought Peter from Iraq — said Jennifer –
-
Good
enough, let's get started — said Susan –
Will
grabbed the makeshift "pointer" and placed it on the table.
-
Now
everyone put their finger on the pointer — said Will — doing the same.
Jennifer,
Anna, Susan, Charles, Dolores, Mary, and finally Josh joined Will.
-
Now
everyone let your mind go blank, try not to think about anything — continued
Will — breathe deeply, let's calm down and forget what is around us, do not
think anything, close your eyes and let yourself be seduced by my voice,
please.
Everyone got silent, trying to concentrate.
The candlelight lit up the room when suddenly they heard two very loud knocks
on the floor. All eyes were opened. Anna saw Jennifer get frightened, while
Charles and Dolores raised their hands off from the pointer instinctively. Josh
watched them without saying anything. Once again they heard the two beats, then
Susan started laughing and they realized that it was she, who with her feet was
knocking the floor to scare them. She couldn't contain her laughter.
-
Oh,
Mama! You don’t change. — Ann told Susan –
-
Sorry,
— said Susan — I could not help it; you should´ve seen Josh’s face.
The
priest blushed with shame.
-
Well,
well, no more laughter, let’s start for real. Will said; remember that you must
not lift your fingers until game is over, right? It is very important.
**********
CHAPTER II
-
Have
you seen how the sky is clearing, the storm was very fast, don’t you think,
Peter? How strange this is — commented Jeff –
-
Yes,
indeed, the moon is very bright. We should be getting to where the men are—
said Peter –
They continued along the road and the
lake could not been seen anymore because the trees covered the road doing it a
little more narrow. Abruptly from the bushes, a deer came running swiftly
crossing the road. The reflection of the lights from the patrol make her eyes
bright red for a second; hardly the vehicle slammed on the brakes and it was
stopped. The animal continued his race at full speed and crashed headfirst into
a tree.
-
Damn!
Did you see that Jeff? — exclaimed Peter – it seemed he wanted to rush against
us. What the hell happened to that deer?
They got out of the car and headed to the
place where the animal was.
Although the moon was now clear, it was
impossible to distinguish very well the conditions of the deer. They walked
toward it which was about fifty feet and Jeff lit the lantern.
-
God!
— Exclaimed Peter –
One of the animal's antlers had broken
when it hit the tree; the other was run through the cortex. His legs shook in a
spasm. The head, the side that lacked part of the antlers, was bleeding,
glowing with the reflection of moonlight and part of the brain was emerging. Blood
gushed from his nose and foam: uncontrollable shaking dominated his body,
making a horrible roar of pain. His suffering was terrible.
-
We
can´t help him, Peter. — Jeff said –
-
You
are right Jeff, there is nothing to do.
-
Do
you want me to...? – asked Jeff, pointing to his gun –
-
No
thanks Jeff, I'll do it.
Peter drew his pistol from the holster
and approached the deer which kept bleeding with his eyes wide open and the
brain mass hanging over the side of the head. The roar grew louder, now was not
the same feeling of suffering – they could feel it — it could be feel his
anger, his rage. The animal was trying desperately to get rid of the tree.
The
Sheriff pointed the gun to the head of the animal.
-
Sorry,
buddy, this is so you won't suffer anymore.
The bellow was mixed with the shot that
echoed through the night. The bullet pierced the deer's head sideways smashing
what was left of his brain. But the animal did not fall. Still struggling to
escape, his eyes were now more open and bloodshot, his look gave off hatred.
Both were surprised:
-
How
could he not fall? — Peter thought — did I miss?
He threw light on the spot where the animal
was shot. The bloody hole in and out gave the answer.
He aimed the gun again at the head of the
animal, to give the coup de grace, when suddenly a huge shadow flew over, just
for a moment, but everything went dark for a couple of seconds.
-
What
was that Peter? Did you see anything? — Jeff asked.
-
I
could not see anything. What could have been that? — Peter replied —
The deer was frantically trying to
escape, and once again, pointing now to the base of the head, Peter fired.
The animal stood still for a moment
after receiving the second shot, but started moving again, still desperately
trying to break free. Peter and Jeff stepped back surprised. They did not
understand what was happening; all at once the deer managed to escape, leaving
his horn stuck in the tree, then he turned to where both men were, giving them
a blank stare, all covered in blood, took two steps and fell thunderstruck.
They looked confused and surprised at the
same time. There was the animal lying on the ground. Both men were stunned.
-
Do
you hear that? — Asked Peter—
-
No,
I don't hear anything — said Jeff –
-
That’s
what I mean, there is no noise, and everything is quiet.
It was true. Not only was everything
quiet, the strange thing was they did not hear anything, nor the sound of
crickets, or the movement of the leaves of the trees to be shaken by the wind,
nothing. There was no noise at all. It was as if everything had been paralyzed.
As in a picture, everything was still and did not hear a single soul.
Both of them were puzzled, surprised by
this situation, when their radios sounded and startled them.
-
Chief
Donovan, Chief Donovan, Central here.
-
Go
ahead, Central, use the codes — said Peter –
-
Sorry
Tornado – it was Jack’s voice —. We still have no contact with Lightning 2. The
other Lightning has not reported in.
-
OK,
Central — said Peter — keep trying to communicate with them; we're getting to
the area.
-
Understood,
Tornado, over and out.
The police returned to their vehicle in
silence, meditating on the moment they had just experienced. The moon was down to
half the sky and looked red.
-
Do
you think something bad happened to the guys? — asked Jeff —. It is strange
they have been cut off.
-
We
will see what has happened, we are only a few miles from them .— Peter answered
—
They
continued to drive for a few minutes down the road, in the middle of pine trees
and came to a straight path where it could be seen the lake again.
-
What
an awful smell! — Said Peter –
-
Yes,
it's like a skunk or something — Jeff seconded –
-
What
the hell?! — Exclaimed Peter –
In the distance we could see some bumps
on the road at both sides of the highway. They moved closer with the vehicle
and finally, they could see what it was. Several dead deer lying on the
pavement, with their eyes and snout wide open and expressing terror, not less
than thirty were arranged along the path that way.
They got out of the vehicle and turned on
the brights, with shotguns in one hand and covering their noses and mouths with
the other. Approaching the body of the first animal, the stench of rotting
flesh made them gag. Flies buzzed around the body, producing an infernal
buzzing, the animal's belly was open and everything inside was strewn on the
ground; it seemed to have exploded. All the bodies were infested by maggots and
worms.
There were no signs of struggle, no trace
of any other animal. Also found no traces of vehicles or anything that
indicated that the animals had been killed elsewhere and taken there; the
bodies had been rotting for at least twenty four hours.
Jeff,
trying not to vomit, touched one of the animals.
-
Peter,
it’s still warm.
-
What?
— Peter asked — What do you mean?
-
This
carcass is still warm.
-
That's
not possible, — said Peter — also touching it —. Shit, you're right, it's warm,
let's see the others.
They approached the other carcasses and
verified that all of them retained their body heat as if they were alive.
-
This
can't be possible! — Peter exclaimed —. For the level of decomposition they
should be dead for at least few hours; plus the storm, the rain should have
cooled them and because of this, the organs should be scattered, blood....
-
But,
what about if they were struck by lightning? — Jeff interrupted —
Peter
looked at him and said:
-
I
do not think so; there is no trace of burns, or in their bodies, or in the
vegetation, not even on the asphalt. Let's look for the boys.
It was impossible to continue in their
vehicle; the bodies were blocking the road, so they had to continue on foot.
The headlights of the truck's shining from behind as they went by road through
the bodies of animals, both policemen cast their shadows over the trees and
made them look like two giants, but as they came to the other side, their
shadows became shorter.
At that time, they heard a shot, then
another and another; they felt the unmistakable sound of bullets flying over
their heads.
-
On
the ground, somebody is shooting at us! — Shouted Peter –
They threw themselves to the ground, while
the shooting continued, but no longer in the direction where the policemen were.
-
Do
you see anything? — Asked Peter –
-
No,
nothing — said, Jeff –
Once
again they heard the shots now follow by cries of despair.
-
NO!
DAMN IT! NO! HELP, HELP ME!
-
That's
Franklin’s voice! — Said Jeff –
-
Let’s
go help him, — Peter ordered –
Shots
continued and finally they saw Franklin running from behind the bushes, firing
toward the trees.
-
Franklin,
Franklin! What’s the matter? Who are you shooting at? — Asked Peter –
The policeman was pale, trembling from
fright, wide—eyed, and though he had run out of bullets, he tried in vain to
keep shooting.
Peter
and Jeff raised their rifles pointing toward the trees and came to Franklin.
-
What
is in there? What it was attacking you? Where is Michael? — Asked Jeff –
-
Here
they come, here they come! — Said Franklin sweating and trembling —. There they
are!
First they heard squealing like pigs, and
then this sound was multiplied becoming people screaming and wailing. Then
clear voices of men and women, pleading for help and mocking. It was the sound
of a crowd of people. The screams were heartbreaking, hair-raising and was it
coming from there, from the place where moments ago, the police had been
firing.
The bushes began to move and then, out of nowhere, a herd of animals came, black, hairy, huge, full—bodied wild boar, tusks, and human faces with eyes of fire that caught them by surprise, jumping on them, snarling and laughing.
Peter and Jeff shot their guns without
success. The beasts threw them to the ground while the policemen tried to
protect themselves by covering their heads with their arms. The animals began
to bite them everywhere; the cries of pain were heard echoing through the
forest while the beasts laughed and snarled. Finally the creatures ran to the
lake and disappeared into the water.
Jeff and Peter got up from the ground shocked by what had happened, their heads were exploding with pain and they felt dizzy. Franklin was still on the ground, vomiting. Gradually they came to their senses and started running towards the vehicle which was far away with the lights on.
They came to the place where the deer were
dead. The three policemen were out of breath, they were still shocked by what
had happened.
-
What
was that? Shit. What the fuck was that? — asked Jeff – breathless
-
They
were chasing us! They wanted to kill us! — said Franklin –
Regaining his breath and sitting up,
Peter looked at his men and began to touch his body, realizing that he had no
type of injury; only his clothes were dirty, filthy, having rolled in the
vegetation. He was covered with mud, animal hoof prints were all over his
clothes, same like Jeff and Franklin, but they were not injured.
-
Let's
calm down — said Peter –
-
What
was it happened? — asked Jeff —. What the hell was that?
-
Franklin
was still in shock and uttered no words.
-
Franklin,
what happened? — Peter asked –
The policeman did not answer and kept
looking back in terror. Peter grabbed him by the shoulders shaking vigorously.
-
Franklin, what happened back there? Answer me,
snap out of it.
Franklin
looked at Peter, then to Jeff and started to babble.
-
We
... We, Michael and I were going to the lake, checking if anyone was swimming
and to warn them of the storm.
Peter
realized that they had forgotten Michael.
-
Where's
Michael? Where did you leave him? — Asked Jeff –
-
I
do not know, — said Franklin — we were running together and we got separated
when getting on the road. I do not know where he is.
-
We
have to look for him. — Peter said — We have to find him.
-
NO!
— cried Franklin — I don't want to go back there!
-
Chief,
he’s right; we cannot do anything, at least not alone. To go back there would
be a suicide mission. – said Jeff –
Peter
remained silent in thought.
-
You
are right, Jeff, call reinforcements. Wake up all the staff that is sleeping,
leave only two positions covering the town and the entrance; send the rest here
immediately. — ordered Peter–
-
Yes,
chief. — Jeff said — and he contacted the station. The stench and insects
flutter around the carcasses of deer increased,
**********
CHAPTER III
-
Now
let's place our index fingers on the pointer and concentrate solely on my voice
— said Will—
Everybody put their fingers touching the
amulet that moved the pointer. When touched, they felt a kind of chill that was
transmitted from the tip of their fingers to their heels. The stone was cold
and everybody, this time for real, concentrated on Will’s voice.
-
Is
there anybody there? — Will asked –
-
Does
anyone wish to contact us?
Suddenly, the pointer began to move
slowly to make circles on the table, all fingers on top of these. It wasn't
heading anywhere specific, just moving in circles.
Josh
thought someone was moving the pointer, so he decided to follow suit.
-
We
want to talk with whoever is there — Will said aloud – EXPRESS YOURSELF!
This
time, the pointer started to move a little faster.
Dolores
began to write. H... E.... L.... L…O
-
Very
well, we have a guest — said Will –
-
What
is your name?
The
fingers on the pointer were moving more quickly now.
-
Rose
— Dolores wrote and then read aloud—
-
Where
were you born Rose?
-
England.
-
Where
are you? — Ann asked –
-
Somewhere.
-
When
did you die? — Will continued –
-
In
1945.
-
What
happened?
-
Disease
... heart.
-
Well,
well, to play a joke that’s it. — Said Charles — who is moving the pointer?
-
Why
did not you ask a question that only you know the answer? — Jennifer asked him
-
Okay,
let's see — said Charles –
-
What
color is my underwear?
-
None,
you forgot to wear it. –It was the answer –
-
Ha,
ha, ha, ha. —All the laughter burst —As Charles looked bewildered at his wife.
Dolores looked at him shaking her head, indicating that she didn’t do it.
Josh was convinced that the response had
been from Dolores; as she was still shaking his head and gesturing with her
mouth — not me—
They
all looked at each other, skeptical and nervous — Ann asked —:
-
Are
you happy where you are?
-
I'm
calm – was the answer.
-
Who
are you with? Will asked.
-
With
my parents.
-
Did
you love somebody on earth?
-
Yes
-
Is
he there?
-
Yes.
He is here with me...
-
Are
you scared?
-
No.
-
Will
you come back to earth?
-
I
do not know.
-
What's
it like being dead?
-
Different.
-
Different?
How?
-
It's
different.
-
Could
you be more specific?
-
You
will now at its moment.
-
What
do you mean? Would you tell us later?
-
No.
Everyone will experience it. Everyone gets there, it is inevitable...
-
Have
you seen God?
The
pointer didn’t move.
-
Is
there a hell?
The
pointer wasn’t moving, until it started to spin again.
-
Message...
-
Do
you want to give a message?
-
Danger.
-
Who
is at risk?
-
All
of you.
-
What
do you mean?
-
All
of you are in danger.
-
Yes,
but what do you mean? — Josh asked now — confused.
-
Your
souls.
-
Why
do you say that our souls are in danger?
-
You
have opened a door. I have to go, goodbye.
Fingers got frozen on the pointer;
everybody looked at it suspicious, thinking about what "Rose" had
told them, when there again it began to spin, moving by a strange power,
supernatural. Josh's doubts were dissipated yet, thinking it was a joke played
by Will for them to believe in the game, so Josh decided to play along.
-
Is
there anybody here? — Will asked again –
There was no response; the fingers were
making erratic movements.
-
Is
there anyone who wants to express before us?
Now the
pointer began to move over the letters. Dolores went to take notes.
-
Yes
-
What
is your name?
-
Michael.
-
Where
were you born Michael?
-
In
the United States.
-
How
did you die?
Now the
pointer was moving faster.
-
I
was killed.
-
Who
killed you?
-
I
was forced to.
-
Who
made you do it?
-
Them.
-
Who
are they?
-
They
have my soul.
Josh
spoke now with a startled.
-
Who
took your life?
-
“Evil”
-
What
do you mean by "evil"?
-
“Evil”
-
What
is evil?
-
They
got me.
-
Who
got you?
-
The
forces of evil.
At this point, everyone was scared. Ann
and Susan tried to lift up their fingers from the board, but it was impossible,
their fingers were as heavy as a ton of lead. Their fingers now moved quickly
instead, making it difficult for Dolores to continue the writing.
-
Lion,
goat, eat me...
-
What
are you saying? Did a lion eat you?
-
It
has a lion’s head and goat’s horns.
An
atmosphere of fear invaded the room; everyone felt apprehension about what
"Michael" was saying.
-
When
did you die?
-
Today.
-
How
did you die? — Asked Charles –
-
They
forced me to, they forced me to – he repeated. And you are next.
Will’s
voice began to tremble. He was nervous for sure.
-
What
do you mean we are next? What danger are you talking about?
-
They
have my soul, help me.
-
Who
has your soul? How can we help you? — Asked Will –
-
Where
did you die? — Josh intervened –
-
LAGO
FELIZ! — Was the terrible answer –
Everyone was shocked; they look at each
other terrified. The lights of the candles began to lose intensity and a chill
wind entered the place where they were gathering, making their skin to get
goose bumps; they were frightened to death. Their fingers moved frenzied across
the board without any logical order, and they could not leave the table, making
their wrists ache.
Susan lost consciousness at the table,
banging her forehead and getting a small wound which began trickle blood. Ann
and Jennifer tried to help her, but could not take their fingers off the
pointer. Susan’s blood trickled down on the table and at that moment they began
to hear a whisper that gradually became a shrill laugh, sarcastic, macabre. It
started at the window, and then they realized it was coming from the injured
woman.
-
Michael
is with us, now he belongs to us. — Said the voice coming from Susan —
They all looked scared how Susan's face
was rising slowly, with an atmosphere turning into terror. Her forehead and
part of her face were bathed in blood. Her face sprouted knots under the skin,
and seem to try to let them out without success. Her eyes, normally green, were
now black and moved completely out of control. Her skin was so completely
transparent that was possible to see her blood circulating through the veins.
Her heart was clearly seen in spite of her dress and a pair of hands with black
nails like a lion’s claws stained red with Susan's blood, wrapped around her
neck and started to tear her chest and belly.
She opened her mouth and let out a yellow vapor, offensive, which let them see two fangs like a snake with yellow and brown teeth in an advanced state of decomposition.
-
HE
BELONGS TO US! — Said the voices coming from her mouth – AND SO THIS OLD WHORE!
The voice began to laugh out loud, while
everyone looked on shocked, full of dread, struggling to let go of the Ouija
board without success, Dolores wet herself, scared, while Jennifer and Ann
cried desperate, seized with a nervous breakdown. At that moment, the pointer
stopped and left their hands forcefully projected, giving them the relief they
craved. The table flew through the air and the charm was
thrown out the window breaking
the glass. Everyone
fell over and the candlelight went out, leaving the room dark.
Everything
was silent, only the sobs of Ann and Jennifer were listening.
-
Quiet,
shut up! — Will shouted — ... silence!
In the midst of darkness, they listened
to a hiss; it was the sound of something moving, like a snake crawling on
different sides of the room, with a strange voice moaning at the same time.
That thing was moving quickly, hissing and getting closer to the people in the
room, while laughing hysterically.
-
Please,
turn on the lights, whoever can do it, turn on the lights now. — Ann said
sobbing —
Charles,
who was closer to the switch, got the light on, so they saw her.
Susan was crawling on the ceiling with
her arms perpendicular to torso and her legs moving together like a snake. Her
black eyes were injected with the blood vessels on the verge of bursting; her
body was covered in blood and from her mouth went a dark forked tongue in and
out nonstop between its fangs. She began to spit at all of them as she moved
through the ceiling down the walls and climb again. The figure was hellish.
All those present were paralyzed by the
horror they were witnessing, while Susan was on the ceiling laughing and
shouted:
-
SO,
FAGGOT PRIEST, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
-
THIS
OLD BITCH IS MINE! SO ARE THE FAGGOT COPS! NOW, I'M GOING TO TAKE CARE OF HER
BASTARDS.
Having said this, she collapsed on the
table and her shadow stayed on the ceiling for an instant, while opening her
jaws and looking at them with those bright, scary, evil eyes. Then, she
disappeared.
Jennifer and Ann rushed to help her while
Josh did not hide his amazement, he was petrified. Charles and Dolores
approached with caution, looking at Susan who lay on her back over the table.
Suddenly, they heard screams coming from the nursery.
-
MOM,
DAD: HELP! – They shouted – and an appalling noise was heard.
-
THE
KIDS! — Will cried— IT IS UPSTAIRS WITH THE KIDS!
They ran upstairs to rescue the children,
while Josh stood downstairs gazing at the dying woman on the table, badly
wounded and covered in blood. He approached her, and still with the terror of
what had happen he overcame and grabbed her hand.
-
Susan,
Susan, can you hear me, Susan?
Her eyes were half open, with an absent
gaze when she saw Josh, and tried to say something. Two streams of blood gushed
from her mouth, attempting to talk.
-
Wait,
Susan, I will ask for help – Josh told her –
Using her
last strength, Susan raised her hand and grabbed him by the arm, beginning to
tremble.
Josh
put his ear to her mouth who said to him:
-
I
have seen evil — whispered the moribund -Embrace God, embrace the real God. - Her right eye let a tear out...
She stretched her arm a little, and
weakly she clutched the crucifix that hung from the priest’s neck:
-
This
is not what HE wants; it doesn’t stand for him...
Josh began to mourn, as blood dripped
from mouth and nose of the dying woman, who cried with one last breath:
-
Forgive
me, Lord! — And she breathed her last breath, with her eyes open, as if she was
looking at the priest – She was dead!
********
CHAPTER IV
-
Now
you will tell me exactly what happened. What happened to Michael? Focus,
Franklin — Peter spoke harshly to Franklin — while this one was still pale, but
recovering a little from the race the three of them had made to escape from
those "beasts".
-
Michael
and I were on patrol on the lake, by the jetty. Everything was quiet, we had
not seen anything when the storm began — told Franklin — The rain was so strong
that we decided to stay parked and to come into the hut at the entrance of the
dock. We got off, starting to smoke and play cards waiting for the storm to be
over.
-
Did
you try to communicate with Central? – Jeff asked—
-
We
were all the time trying to talk to Central, but it was useless. Radios seemed
to be dead — said the policeman –
-
Continue
— Peter ordered –
-
Clap
of thunder began and lightning was seen in the lake. Then we looked through the
window and saw how this kind of small clouds were forming, in white color and
gleaming; and they were approaching to the cabin. One of them came in with an
infernal whistle. We were very frightened; suddenly it exploded with a small
noise.
-
Yes,
— said Peter —I've seen that before, they are called: ball lightning or sparks *** 2
-
The
storm lasted a few minutes. We found it odd that it had ended very soon, but we
were still nervous about what we saw. These objects were very strange, they
kept floating still and then exploded, — Franklin continued –
-
What
the hell are you talking about, Franklin? — Jeff asked—
-
That's
real, — Peter confirmed—. These rays are natural phenomena that occur sometimes
in storms like the one we had today.
*** 2 Ball
lightning, also known as spark, lightning or spherical object, is a natural
phenomenon associated with thunderstorms. It takes the form of a bright
floating object that, unlike the short common lightning discharge, this is
persistent. It can move slowly or quickly, or remain almost stationary. It can
make whistling sounds, crackle or no noise at all. Globular lightning
discharges are extremely rare and the details from the witnesses can vary
widely. Many of the observed properties of ball lightning reports are
incompatible with each other, and it is very possible that several different
phenomena are being incorrectly grouped under one name.
Discharges tend to
float or glide in the air and gave the appearance of spheroid. The shape can be
spherical, ovoid, teardrop—shaped or a cane, with no dimension much larger than
the others. The larger dimension measured between 0.1 to 0.4 meters. Many have
a reddish—yellow color. Sometimes the discharge appears to be attracted by an
object, while occasionally it moves randomly. After several seconds the
discharge will go away, be scattered, absorbed by something or, in rare cases,
it vanishes with a bang. (Information taken from Wikipedia)
-
Are
you saying that all what is happening, the deer, the..., the ... the
"things", those which attacked to us, came with the storm? Are you
kidding me, Peter? Here's something strange, very strange, we almost got
killed. What the hell does the storm have to do with it? You saw those things
with human faces, animal bodies, and the screams; something else is going on
here.
-
No,
I didn’t say that the cause is the storm, I really do not know. — Peter
answered— What I know is that you have to calm down; this should have a logical
explanation. One thing is sure: those lightning that Michael and Franklin saw,
are not ghosts or anything supernatural, it is just a natural phenomenon,
that's all.
The
three policemen were lying in Peter’s truck, Jeff pulled out a pack of
cigarettes. He offered one to Peter, who did not accept it, and then to
Franklin, who lit it up and swallowed a deep puff, trying to pluck up courage.
-
Continue,
Franklin — Peter said—
-
The
storm ended and the clouds began to move into the city. Michael and I left the
cabin, still frightened by those rays and we decided to return to the fork in
the road to the lake, to continue our rounds. We got into the patrol car and
set out. We moved a few yards along the shore and then it happened...
-
What
happened? – Jeff asked –
-
We
heard those laughs, some women guffawed.
-
Was
someone swimming in the lake after the storm? — Jeff asked incredulously.
-
Well,
I really would not be surprise if some couples had escaped to the lake and
waited until the storm was over. Remember that today is a Friday and many
people come to have fun, especially those who want to get away and have fun with
their partners — Peter said
-
True
— Jeff nodded –
-
We
though the same, chief, so we stopped the car and we got to see what was the
matter.
-
So?
— Asked Jeff –
-
In
the distance we heard the laughter of women, playing, you could hear the splash
of water, but we did not distinguish very well what was going on. I shone my
flashlight to the place where the laughter came from and we saw two women, very
pale, bathing naked, laughing, and jumping. We note that there was something
between them; they held something in their hands. They were flinging it up to
the air and then sank it into the water. They passed it between their legs,
breasts and they laughed ... and laughed. We got closer and could see what they
were sinking, and then biting. We could not believe it, it was A BABY! Can you
believe it? It was a baby ... and he began to cry.
Peter and Jeff got goose bumps. In the
distance they could see the lights of the other police cars that came in
support. The red and white lights were flashing in the distance.
-
Then
— Franklin continued — The two women looked at us and we saw that they had torn
part of the chest to the creature; you could see a hole through which blood
flowed abundant. Both of them had red eyes, they fixed us with a stony gaze and
dropped the child, who disappeared in the water. Then they began to leave the
lake and we drew our weapons. At that time they rose from the water and they pounce
on us; Michael and I shot them but could not stop them. One of them knocked
Michael down, while the other tried to grab me. I started to run and I heard
the awful laugh again. I stopped and saw that Michael had gotten up and ran to
the hut. Suddenly those "things" became that... those animals that we
saw and began to chase us. I kept shooting and running until you found me.
The
lights indicated that the patrols were very close. Jeff told Peter.
-
Chief,
we’d be better off telling nothing, they would not believe it. They would think
we're crazy, drunk or drugged.
Peter stayed
thoughtful for a moment.
-
You
are right, we will not say anything about what happened to us; are we all
agree? Franklin, I want to know if you understand me.
-
Yes,
chief — he said – wiping his tears away and pulling himself together.
Then,
Peter spoke to Jeff.
-
We
will organize a search for Michael. Get the men together and let’s go to the
hut first.
-
Yes,
chief.
-
Chief
Donovan, are you guys okay? — David Fuller asked; he was one of the policemen
who came to the rescue.
-
Yes,
David.
When Fuller saw the dead deer and felt
the stench of the carcasses, he began to gag and could not help vomiting. Three
more vehicles arrived with six men, so there were nine men, and Jeff began to
order.
-
Listen,
we have a situation — Jeff said — Officer Michael Hudson is lost, we will
organize a search in the vicinity of the lake. Take out all your shotguns and
flashlights. We are going all together; I don’t want anybody to separate from
the group, not even for a moment. Is that clear?
-
Excuse
me, Jeff — Dean Beacon, one of the newcomers, replied —, we should separate off
by pairs to cover more ground and thus faster to find Michael. We can buy time,
especially if he is injured.
-
No.
— Peter said – We are going all together with lanterns and prepared for any
eventuality. Is that clear?
-
Yes,
chief — his men responded –
-
Chief
Donovan, what happened to these deer? How were they killed? That’s why we need
to stay together? — Asked Fuller –
-
We’ll
see it afterwards — Peter said— to find Michael that’s all that matters. Do not
separate and stay alert.
With the lights of the vehicles on,
behind them, they went into the woods, shining their flashlights, going
forward, until they spotted Michael and Franklin’s patrol, which was still with
the police lights and headlights on. They went to the jetty illuminating the
lake, but they found nothing. There was no sign of Michael, just a reflection
of the moon on the water, moving gently with the breeze.
-
Let’s
check the cabin – Peter said –
They realized that there was no
electricity supply in the jetty, surely because of the storm. Peter and David
came to the door, anguish reflected in their faces. Peter tried to open it, but
he couldn’t, it was locked.
-
See
if you can see something through the windows — said Peter –
Mark Kowalski, one of the policemen,
tried to lean in the window and turning on his flashlight he saw the legs of a
person. The police uniform was unmistakable.
-
There
he is, chief, he is sitting on the floor.
-
Break
the door down, — ordered Peter –
Three policemen began to push hard on the
door until it gave way. Jeff lit the kerosene lamp that was hung at the
entrance, and came into the cabin. There he was, Michael Hudson sitting on the
floor, his back against the wall. He was still holding his pistol with the
right hand and the other lay inert hanging from his body. His head against the
wall with his eyes open staring at the ceiling. The bullet entered under his chin
and exited through the skull. The exit hole was huge, parts of the scalp, teeth
and brains were left stuck to the ceiling, and his body lay in a pool of blood.
-
God!
What happened here? – David exclaimed –
-
Do
not move anything – Peter ordered. Secure the area! Jeff, contact the city
police and report what it has happened. They will take charge.
-
You
heard the chief! Secure the area. Do not touch anything.
Peter
and Jeff stayed looking at Michael’s body.
-
What
do you think is going on, Peter? I had never seen anything like this, tonight
has been terrible, there is something very bad, something supernatural among
us. It must have been something hideous so Michael committed suicide. He was a
veteran of the Gulf War as us, and we know he was not a coward – Jeff said —.
-
I
do not know what to do, Jeff. I do not know how to fight something that lacks
any logic, or who to ask. Those things we saw, that attacked us. I do not
understand — replied Peter —
-
Peter,
I did not believe in witchcraft or spirits or anything of those ghost stories,
but now I'm changing my mind, and to be honest, I am afraid of what might
happen — Jeff said —
Peter listened to Jeff talking,
meditating on the ghost stories and witchcraft. He had not told anybody about
what he experienced that night at the tomb of the Iraqi desert, not even to his
beloved Jennifer. He even made himself to the idea that it was a nightmare
product of the blast that threw him to the ground and left him stunned. Long
since he had those dreams, but he said to himself: "That was not real, it
was only a nightmare." He attributed those scars on his legs from burns,
to the explosion of a mortar, refusing to recognize that something really
happened, that he faced something strange in that place, something unknown,
supernatural, where he felt a terror ever experienced until now, when he relive
the horror, the terrible experience to feel the nearness of death, fear of the
supernatural and having no way to defend themselves or to know how. He looked
at Michael and felt a shiver to see him there, sitting on the floor. What could
be so awful to make him commit suicide? Was it so terrible that instead of
escaping, he decided to take his life?
-
I
am also afraid, Jeff — Peter replied. There must be an explanation for this.
There has to be something logical. We will find the solution. Do not show the
rest of them your fear, all right? We must lead by example. Let's see if we get
something before the homicide department of the city gets here. Check in the
hut I am going to check his pockets.
-
Okay
chief, you're right — Jeff agreed –
**********
CHAPTER V
Josh remained contemplating Susan while
the others ran up the stairs when the children scream of panic, asking for
help, crying, calling their parents. When they reached the hall, the walls and
the ceiling were on fire, they could see human faces in pain coming from the
flames. Faces of men, women and children who tried to speak, but nothing came
out of their mouths of flame.
They saw the door of the playroom opened;
from there they could see as the lights were on and off. Toys, dolls, ornaments
and everything was flying in circles at breakneck speed. The children were
huddled on the opposite wall of the door unable to stand up due to the moving
objects that fly uncontrollably and could beat them and hurt them. The
computer, the little train, the plastic horse and all the furniture revolved by
the heads of the terrified crying children asking to be rescued.
The shadow that had left Susan’s body a
moment ago was now on the ceiling of the playroom, roaring with laughing.
-
HA,
HA, HA, NOW THIS LITTLE BASTARD IS OURS! HE IS OUR...
The fire in the hall prevented them from
reaching the room. The faces in the flames that look in pain before were now
laughing with a horrible, shrill sound. Go through the hall in fire was
impossible.
At
that moment, Jennifer heard George's voice.
-
Mommy,
Mommy, please help me. HELP ME!
-
I'm
coming, sweetie, I'm coming. — Jennifer screamed – LEAVE HIM ALONE, SON OF A
BITCH! LEAVE MY CHILD ALONE! ...
She ran through the hall in flames. As she
headed toward the playroom the corridor began to lengthen, stretching in a way
that she did not reach the door. As she walked through the flames, she could
feel how the beings of fire bit her, licking her and holding her with arms of
fire, burning her on the way. Jennifer felt the excruciating pain on her skin
consumed by the fire, and the smell of charred flesh, HER FLESH! It was spread
throughout the house. She was ablaze, writhing in pain, but still kept running
towards the playroom.
Been
unable to stand the pain, overwhelmed with tears, she implored.
-
God
of heaven, help me to save my son...!
She
jumped to get to the playroom and immediately the flames extinguished, the door
was closed and everything fell silent.
Jennifer was lying on the floor against
the door, trembling and crying. She looked at her hands, arms, legs, and she
found that nothing had happened to her; she has no burns, no injuries.
Everybody else stood paralyzed with
terror, they thought Jennifer was burned to death and when they saw her
kneeling at the entrance, they approached her in silence. Ann and Dolores were
crying inconsolable.
-
I
can hear nothing — said Will –
-
Let's
go inside, I think the men should go first — Charles said –
-
But
what if "that thing" is still there — said Will — we could....
Jennifer stood over, walked between the
two men and opened the door slowly. The whole room was a mess; it seemed that a
hurricane had passed through, toys, ornaments, furniture, everything was upside
down.
-
And
the children? — Ann asked — Where are the children?
The children
were nowhere to be found.
-
SEARCH
EVERYWHERE! UNDER THE FURNITURE! MOVE EVERYTHING, THEY HAVE TO BE HERE! — Cried
Will –
-
Holy
Moses! “It” took them! “It” took the kids! — Said Dolores — crying in distress.
-
It
can’t be true, they have to be somewhere — Charles said — and he continued
looking for them frantically. DENNIS, MICHAEL, ANSWER, PLEASE! ... WHERE ARE
YOU?
Josh ran upstairs and found everybody
looking for the children everywhere; calling them, crying, screaming in pain
and despair.
-
Josh,
Josh, our children are gone; they are nowhere to be found, Josh. They are not
here, please help us. — Ann begged ... –
-
What
has happened to them, damn? Where are they? — Will said, crying inconsolable—
The priest was shocked, moved by the
grief of his friends, terrified by what he had seen. First, Susan's death, and
now the children disappear. What had happened? He loved God with all his heart.
When he left the seminary and he was ordained a priest, his blind faith
prevented him from seeing beyond what he had learned. The Bible was for him
"holy word", no doubt about it, something that could not be
questioned. He became a more critical person over time. He still loved God but
was also aware of how Catholicism used manipulation to keep the faithful, with
a doctrine of blackmail, most of the time, and threats that he did not share.
He realized that the congregation where he belonged was controlled by human beings
with ambitions, envy, errors, defects and unlimited desire for power. He had
seen with much sadness how over the years, his congregation was losing
followers. The so absurd banning in the use of condoms, by the Catholic Church,
seemed really wrong to him. The policy to hide the sins of pedophile priests or
the ones who committed other crimes, and to make it public only when it was
inevitable and already a public scandal, it was unacceptable to him. For him,
evil, devil or whoever was evil personified was on the earth, in evil deeds,
when do badly to others and not to help fellow men. Devil was just a fable,
stories that "enriched" to Catholicism, a way to sell the doctrine
and win followers. Cases of demonic possession were merely mental problems in
nature; God was everywhere, in the love felt by parents for their children, in
the marriage vows, in helping others, in protecting helpless people, in saving
a life even of a stranger, in a work of art, in sacrificing ones’ life for
others. Josh could see God's work every day, but that night, his faith and
beliefs collapsed when he realized the presence of evil. Surely, the author of
all that horror was a dark and evil force, and he didn’t see God anywhere.
Will, Ann and Jennifer were still in the
frantic search for the children while Charles was attending Dolores, who lied
unconscious on the floor. Instinctively, Josh went downstairs to the living
room; he looked at the corpse and went out. He got to his car, entered by the
passenger side, opened the glove compartment and pulled out a black leather
case; he thought for a moment and then returned to his friend’s house.
He
passed by the deceased again and said:
-
Dead
people can wait –
He went upstairs and found Will talking on
his cell phone with the police, while the others were sitting on the playroom
floor. Desperation and despair seized the room.
Father Josh Carter opened the black
leather case from which he got a very small brown glass bottle, with a gold
cross, containing a transparent liquid, and a metal swab with wooden base. He
placed it on a small table next to the door, then he took a green clerical
stole out, he kissed it and placed it over his neck so that the ends descended
on both sides of the chest as if he was going to celebrate a mass. Then he
pulled a small black book, with a cover where it reads in gilt letters “The Holy
Bible".
Standing in the middle of the room, while
the others were left in their despair, he made the sign of the cross, and with
clear, firm voice he said:
-
IN
THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN.
-
Lord,
you who can see everything and have mercy on your people, we pray for the
children of these families, for the innocent children who are paying for a sin
they have not committed, Oh, Lord! I implore you to enlighten this place to
find the whereabouts of Francis, Luisa, George, Dennis, Michael and Thomas.
Please do not let these innocent creatures suffer, dear Lord. —He knelt down
touched by the pain of the parents, making a plea from the bottom of his heart
and he raised his arms—: LORD, I IMPLORE YOU TO FORGIVE MY SINS. PLEASE, SAVE
THESE CHILDREN. IF SOMEONE HAS TO PAY FOR ANY OFFENSE, LET ME BE THE ONE, NOT
THEM!
In the midst of her suffering Jennifer
turned to see Josh and instinctively knelt down, so did the others, except Ann,
who turned red with anger began to shout at the priest.
-
WHERE
IS THAT GOD WHO HAS ALLOWED SOMEBODY TO TAKE MY MOTHER AND MY CHILDREN? WHERE
IS THE SON OF A BITCH WE PRAY TO EVERY DAY? AND I ALWAYS GO TO MASS. WHERE IS
THAT GOD WHO HAS TOLERATED “THAT THING” TO RUIN MY LIFE? WHERE? WHERE?
Josh paid no attention to the screams of
Ann; he took the swab and began to agitate it against the corners of the room
by spraying water everywhere.
-
Oh,
Lord, Our Father which art in heaven! ... Give us your indulgence and save
these children. Bless this home and deliver us from evil.
He went on for a while and nothing
happened, while everybody else wept disconsolately. Josh was desperate not
knowing what to do. Around him there was sadness, despair and pain. With all
his strength Josh threw the bottle at the wall and broke it into several
pieces, then he threw the swab and finally the bible; some pages came away when
banging the surface and then stayed on the floor while Josh screamed with his
face flushed with anger:
-
WHERE
ARE YOU, GOD! SHOW YOUR POWER AND MERCY! DO NOT LET EVIL WIN! HELP THESE
FAMILIES! ... LISTEN TO YOUR PEOPLE! LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN!
Suddenly the house started to shake. Jenny
and the others looked terrified, screaming while Josh went completely out of
himself...
-
DO
SOMETHING! DO NOT ABANDON US! DO NOT LET EVIL TRIUMPH! DO NOT REMAIN IMPASSIVE
WHILE THESE CREATURES ARE IN DESPAIR! DO SOMETHING! ...
The whole house was moving, the furniture
in living room, the kitchen utensils; the ceiling lamps trembled
uncontrollably.
Next,
Josh addressed the evil event that wiped the children out.
-
YOU,
DAMNABLE ABOMINATION! LET THE CHILDREN FREE! EVIL FREAK, REMAIN OF THE
UNIVERSE! RELEASE THEM! MISERABLE MONSTER, GET BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM! ...
The walls began to crack as pieces of
paintings felt from the ceilings, making them fear that they were to come down.
Without warning, one of the windows exploded like a giant vacuum cleaner,
absorbing what it was around. It seemed that something very big, a huge body
had gone unseen by. The shaking stopped, and everybody remained very quiet and
they were amazed.
-
Are
you all right? — Asked Charles –
-
Quiet
— Josh said — listen.
They
stayed quiet, trying to hear something. A few seconds passed.
-
There's
nothing, said Will. What did you hear?
At that
moment they heard the children crying and calling to their parents.
-
Mom,
Dad, here we are, here we are. — They were the voices of the kids –
Everyone
stood up immediately, but they didn’t know where the voices were coming from.
-
Search
again — said Josh –
Will went to the closet and there he found
Francis and Luisa, who were sitting and crying, very frightened.
-
Dad,
we are here, Dad...
Will hugged and called Ann. The four of
them came together in a big hug, filling their children with kisses and tears
of joy.
-
Mommy,
Mommy — it was George who came out from under a chair that was overturned on
the bed — Hi Mommy.
Jennifer
ran and hugged her son, saying, thank you, God, thank you, God.
-
Dad,
Mom, — There were Dennis and Michael who were in the little toy tent. Charles
and Dolores could not control their emotions and went to hug their children.
-
Thomas,
Thomas, where are you my love? Thomas, repeated Mary, Thomas...
Josh
started looking around the room again.
-
Will,
Charles, look all over the house, we have to find Thomas. — Josh said –
-
Yes,
— said Will – let’s go, Charles.
-
Listen
to me, Mary, we will look everywhere for Thomas. We will find him, all right? —
Josh said –
-
Yes,
let's go to look for him... said Mary
They
were about to leave the room when Jennifer said:
-
There,
under the blanket! There’s something there!
Mary and Josh were running to the blue
blanket that covered the playpen. Everybody checked it several times before the
children appeared. Josh uncovered all at once. Thomas was there.
Wide—eyed, blue pants, red shirt and stockings with comics, he was semi—sitting with arms at his sides, face and tongue out bruised. The neck secured by the ribbon in the pacifier that had been entangled in the corner of the playpen, choking him to death.
-
NOOOO!
— Shouted Mary — grabbing Thomas and removing the neck loop, No, Thomas, wake
up, Thomas, my love, you're with Mommy, let’s go, wake up, sweetie, wake up.
She
hugged and kissed him tenderly as her tears felt on Thomas’ face.
-
Thomas,
baby, wake up, sweetheart; please, wake up.
Jennifer
came to Mary, hugging her.
-
Mary,
he is gone, he is gone.
-
No
— said Mary – with Thomas’ little body in her arms. Don’t you realize he is
asleep? He will wake up at any time, won’t he, Josh. Father Josh? –
Now she was begging Josh, as if he had
the power to raise the baby
-
Tell
me that Thomas is going to wake up, please, make him wake up, Josh.
The priest moved closer and sore, he had
a feeling of immense sadness and grief, he was overwhelmed by seeing the
suffering of Mary. He approached her, hugged her, and with a lump in his
throat, he said,
-
Thomas
is gone, dear Mary, he is gone.
Mary
kept hugging Thomas, crying silently, rocking and cuddling him as if he was
asleep...
**********
CHAPTER VI
Chief
Donovan, you have a call from Central, they say it's an emergency. — Dean said
–
-
Why
they didn’t call my cell phone? — said Peter –
-
It
seems that this area has no coverage or you have it turned off.
Donovan found that his cell phone
had indeed no signal. He turned to Jeff.
-
Take
over, I will contact central from the patrol.
-
Is
the radio in Lightning 2 working? – Peter asked to Dean –
-
Yes,
chief, it does now. But portables do not reach here that well.
Peter
walked to the patrol and reported by radio:
-
Go
ahead, Central, Tornado here.
-
Tornado,
you need to return home as soon as possible.
-
What
is the matter, Central?
-
We
have an emergency situation.
Peter
felt his legs trembling.
-
What's
the problem, Central?
-
It's
not clear what happened; apparently there was an accident at your neighbor’s
house — Will Perry's. We suspect there are injuries. I've already sent an
ambulance and firefighters are on their way.
Peter
felt short of breath.
-
Chief,
Chief! Are you still there?
-
Yes,
central, we are in our way, keep me informed.
-
Yes,
Sir, over and out...
-
JEFF,
JEFF! — Shouted Peter— let's go, hurry up, let’s go...!
-
What’s
the matter, Chief? — Asked Jeff –
-
Something
has happened at Will’s; it seems there was an accident. I don't have a complete
report. Leave Fuller in charge.
Peter and Jeff ran back down the road
passing between the dead deer and they brought Franklin with them. They got
into the van and drove back home at full speed.
-
What
did Central tell you? — Asked Jeff –
-
Apparently,
there was an accident, we'll find out when we get there — Peter replied —
The three policemen remained silent in
the vehicle, going through the road in the middle of the night. Peter feared
the worst, that Jennifer and her son George were wounded. Same as Jeff, Peter
wanted to arrive as soon as possible. Franklin was still shaking remembering
what he had experienced.
The officers who remained in the cabin
began to cordon it off placing yellow plastic tape with the inscription:
"NO TRESPASSING – LAGO FELIZ POLICE"
Beacon and Fuller finished putting the
ribbon, when Kowalski, who was searching the lake's edge, came up by the dock
and shouted:
-
Hey!
Guys! Come see this! — Said Mark –
-
David
and Dean approached and Mark pointed at something:
-
Look
down there.
Numerous shells of bullets were scattered
on the ground, it seemed as if some sort of confrontation took place.
-
What
happened here? — Asked Dean — someone was shooting into the lake.
Dean reached down, picked up a sleeve,
looked at it and then sniffed it.
-
It's
a nine millimeter, it should be Michael’s, and it shows that it was shot
recently; the smell of burnt gunpowder is fresh.
-
Yes,
Michael and Franklin were at this position. This is very strange — David said –
-
The
shells come from the shore and reach the edge of the woods, there are some
heading to the cottage. — said Mark.
Suddenly everything turned completely
dark, it seemed like an eclipse was happening and an icy wind made them
shudder. They felt overwhelmed with fear but that sensation lasted a few seconds,
then everything returned to normal.
-
Shit,
did you feel that? — asked Mark –
-
Yes,
— said Dean — I felt a sort of cold hand touching my neck. Really, I don’t know
what happened.
-
I
felt the same and also I couldn't breathe — said David –
-
How
long do we have to stay here? I have a strange feeling as if something bad is
going to happen. There is something strange; I can feel it in the air — said
Dean –
-
Come
on, come on. Do you think a ghost is going to come? — Mark said mocking — and
started laughing.
Dean and David forced a smile, trying to
pluck up courage, but the three officers were afraid for real, really afraid,
it was clear...
When Peter and Jeff arrived, they saw a
hearse, an ambulance and the patrol they left in the village, right in front of
Will’s house, with the emergency lights on. At that moment they were lifting a
black bag up on a gurney, while somebody was bringing out a smaller bag from
the house. Mary wept uncontrollably as Josh was holding her by her arm
preventing her to fainting. Will and Ann hugged their children, so did Charles
and Dolores.
Jeff
jumped from the car still running and ran towards his wife.
-
Mary,
Mary, Where is Thomas? Where is Thomas, Mary?
-
Oh,
Jeff, Thomas is gone; he’s gone — replied Mary – crying at the same time –
-
Mary,
for God’s sake! Where is Thomas? Where is my son?
The Douglas’ were destroyed. Peter got
down and hugged his family, he turned to see his friend and it was
excruciatingly painful. Apart from them, Ann hugged her husband and her
children, looking with sorrow as they carried the remains of her mother.
**********
What a stunning book trailer! Love it!
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