by B. Groves
Kyle inhaled deep breaths and tried to calm his heaving stomach. Both of them needed water and some incense.
He walked over to Miguel who leaned against a tree heaving.
“I never expected that,” Kyle commented.
Miguel straightened up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His face had turned a scarlet color and tears ran down his cheeks from bloodshot eyes.
“That could have been my daughter,” Miguel said in a scratchy voice. “I never thought I would witness such evil in my life even when I served in Afghanistan, but that…” Miguel pointed to the forest. “Did you feel it, amigo? Did you feel the evil inside that place? It was pure and it got under your skin. I didn’t even feel that much with Olivia’s demon, but this… it was like those souls were trying to get into my head and take over my thoughts.”
Miguel inhaled a deep breath and had another coughing fit. After he finished, he said, “Now I understand Alison much better.”
Kyle couldn’t disagree with Miguel. He was still trying to shake the deep whispers inside his head as they stood on the edge of the walking path. Kyle gripped the cross around his neck hoping to find some light in the darkness he witnessed.
He found new respect for Alison. Pushing his other feelings aside, he had a better understanding of her point of view, of the decisions she made in the past with hunting demons, and how hard those decisions must have been.
“Can those things create an army?” Miguel asked.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Kyle answered. “I think if they weren’t useful Samuel would have made them disappear.”
Miguel shook his head in disgust. “That’s fucked up. If those things stay like they are… like rabid dogs, our world is fucked.”
“That’s why God made Alison.”
Chapter 44
Olivia sat wide-eyed when they pulled up to Emma’s driveway.
“Don’t be afraid,” Alison reassured her. “She won’t do anything to us.”
Olivia gazed at Alison in confusion. “Why are we here again?”
Alison sat back in the driver’s seat and sighed. “We…” Alison pointed to Olivia and herself, “need to convince Emma that she’s wrong. That what happened to you and other innocent people is wrong. Like your mother.”
“Why is she helping the dark things?”
Alison smiled at the little girl. “I’m not sure. People do strange things when they’re desperate for power.”
Alison received a text from Miguel that he and Kyle had arrived on the walking path. She sent a quick message to Jamison, who was not only a hunter but a hacker to get ready.
Jamison sent back a message he was waiting for her green light.
Now that Alison sat closer to the huge house that Emma called home, she could feel the evil emanating from one particular area of the property.
There were demons here, but Alison’s brain nagged at the possibility these were another decoy.
“Alison?”
“Yes?”
“I saw Emma in my room,” Olivia said.
Alison turned back to the little girl with raised eyebrows. “While the dark thing was inside of you?”
Alison turned in the car seat to face Olivia. “I need you to think long and hard, Olivia. Do you remember her saying anything?”
Olivia looked away with a finger on her lip. “I heard her say something about a shed but I’m not sure.”
What was similar to a shed?
Alison tried to think of alternatives when her phone beeped.
“Is that Daddy?”
Alison nodded. “They’re ready and so are we. Olivia, I want you to remember anything else Emma said as we talk to her, okay?”
“I will.”
Alison sent her last message to Jamison. She opened the car door and stepped out of the car. Emma’s car sat in the driveway in front of the house. Olivia exited on her side and waited alongside Alison.
Dark whispers entered Alison’s head as they moved closer to the house. The stifling darkness laid itself like a blanket over her body almost making her dizzy. The demons on the property taunted her, trying to make her cower and run away.
She ran a hand through her hair and pushed the gruesome images they showed her aside. She learned over the years those images were not real. They were a product of the darkness to torture the human psyche.
Jamison had turned off the security cameras. They had ten minutes. She sent the text.
Now was the time to distract Emma because she needed the actual physical proof of where the team would attack once they arrived.
It may not have been all of them but it was enough for now.
Olivia squeezed Alison’s hand and Alison reassured the girl that Emma would not hurt them.
They climbed the stairs and Alison rang the doorbell.
Emma answered the door, taking Alison by surprise. She expected a housekeeper or some kind of maid to answer it.
Emma seemed surprised at first and her eyes grew even wider when she realized that Alison had Olivia with her.
Emma tried to hide her surprise by placing an annoyed expression on her face. “This is pretty ballsy. What are you doing here?”
Alison planted a smile on her face. “I was hoping we might have a civil conversation.”
Emma nodded towards Olivia. “Why did you bring her?” Emma raised her hand. “No offense.”
Olivia shrugged but didn’t speak up.
“May we come in?” Alison asked.
Emma stepped outside and closed the door behind her. “No.”
“All right. I came here because of Kyle.”
Emma blinked but her expression stayed motionless. “Kyle? Did you come to plead for his job back?”
Alison shook her head. “No. That won’t happen after the stunts he pulled, but you and I both know that Kyle is a good man. I hadn’t planned on coming to this town. I retired from hunting, but Kyle convinced me to save Olivia’s life.”
Emma ran a hand over her face. “What does this have to do with me?”
“Emma, Samuel won’t stop until he destroys Kyle’s life. He may do nothing physically, but he will destroy Kyle. Kyle was only trying to help her.”
Olivia leaned into Alison as Emma became more annoyed. “What Samuel does… I can’t stop it, Alison. You and I both know that.”
“You can help me and stop this evil,” Alison said.
“Why would I help you?” Emma asked.
Alison gazed down at Olivia and back to Emma. “I hardly know you, but I’ve read about the charity work you do in town. You care about it, so why let evil take it over?”
Emma lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know that old saying? ‘If you can’t beat um, join ‘em?’”
“Yes. ”
“That’s what this is. I can’t beat Samuel. None of us can, so I had to decide. I made the right choice.”
Alison removed her phone from her pocket. She swiped through it while Emma waited.
“Turn away, Olivia,” Alison said as she pulled up the pictures.
Alison inhaled a shaky breath when the first picture appeared on her phone.
“Why?”
Alison looked down at the little girl. “Because I said so.”
Olivia’s mouth turned down, but she did as she was told.
Alison held the picture up to Emma. “The news said it was a flash flood that killed all those people because New Mexico was in the middle of its monsoon season. It wasn’t.”
Emma turned away from the picture and asked, “Why are you showing me this?”
Alison swiped to another picture and forced Emma to look at it. “This is what they did, Emma. They weren’t helping humans, they were killing them. If powerful demons like Samuel continue to thin out the veil that keeps us safe, then we’re all dead.”
Alison tapped off the pictures as Emma turned back to face her.
Emma stood there trying to hide her emotions as Alison permitted Olivia to turn
around.
“This is the face of one of his victims. Olivia has to live with what she did the rest of her life,” Alison said.
Emma looked down at Olivia. “Wait… you remember?”
Olivia lifted her chin. “You were in my room. I saw you.”
Alison turned back to Emma and narrowed her eyes. “Why were you there?”
Emma turned to Alison in surprise and shook her head. “I wasn’t…”
“Yes, you were,” Olivia cried out. “You were there before I stabbed my mom.”
Alison tilted her head. “You were.”
Emma’s shock turned to anger. Her face reddened but not from the sun beating down on them. “I don’t have to stand here and take this.” She motioned to Olivia. “From either of you. Your little guilt trip didn’t work Alison. Samuel is doing this for the greater good, and yes, there’ll be some hiccups along the way.”
Alison chuckled. “So that’s what Olivia’s mother is to you? A hiccup? You’ll learn the hard way, Emma. Demons are liars and master manipulators. Whatever Samuel promised you is a lie.”
“Get off my property before I call the police, you bitch,” Emma warned.
Alison smiled and said, “Sure. I don’t trespass.”
Alison grabbed Olivia’s hand and both of them stepped onto the driveway.
“We’re onto you and your team, Alison. Once we have this town, the possibilities will be endless for a better world.”
Alison stopped and turned to the other woman. “And what will you be, Emma? I’m curious.”
Emma smirked. “I’ll be right there beside them.”
Alison nodded and turned to walk back to the car with Olivia in tow.
Alison had what she wanted. She didn’t know if she planted the seeds of doubt inside Emma’s head. She doubted, but she had a few slips to work with.
Alison and Olivia seated themselves in the car and Alison checked her messages. Kyle and Miguel were making their way back to the car to head back to the house.
“Nothing happened,” Olivia said as Alison started the car.
“Oh, no, honey. Emma said much more than you realize,” Alison said as she pulled away.
Emma stood at her doorway with her fiery red hair blowing in the wind. Their eyes met momentarily and Alison wanted to laugh.
There it was. The seeds of doubt had been planted. Even from her perspective, the emotions playing over Emma’s face told the whole story.
Alison made sure she wasn’t being followed as she turned onto the main road.
“What do you mean?” Olivia asked.
“Olivia, people can change, I believe that. You may think Emma’s a bad person, but in reality, she’s convinced herself what happened to you and your mom was right. She believes that. It doesn’t make her a bad person, it makes her confused.”
Olivia’s eyes welled up with tears. “She knew my mom would die. That makes her bad.”
“It might, but that doesn’t mean she can’t change. She may help us, she may not. It’s up to her now.”
Alison reached out and ran a hand through Olivia’s hair. “What you have to do is rise above what people like Emma. Be the better person no matter how much it hurts.”
Olivia sobbed and said, “I’m scared.”
“It’s okay to be afraid. Never let anyone tell you differently, but when we go to the festival, I will need you to dig deep and find that bravery, because Simon and I will count on you,” Alison said.
Olivia’s eyes lit up at the mention of Simon and asked, “Do you think my dad will let me get a dog like Simon? Because I want one.”
Alison laughed. “That’s your dad’s decision, but we can talk him into it.”
Alison winked at Olivia. The little girl stopped crying and sat back in the seat smiling at the thought of getting a dog.
Alison asked Olivia if she was hungry and they stopped at a local Mexican takeout to pick up lunch.
She sent a text to Kyle about the food and he responded that they hadn’t thought about food and thanked her.
Alison’s eyes scanned the tiny hole in the wall but no demons were in the vicinity, but she knew they were watching her. She could feel them waiting for her to make the next move.
No matter how much the demons knew, the team had to come in and be wary of a trap. That’s where they made their biggest mistake in New Mexico. No one had thought the demons had caught on to their secret network until it was too late.
That was not a victory for them. They underestimated their enemy and it cost many innocent lives, including two hunters.
Alison’s next move would be a distraction. One where the hunters could move in and search for the rest of missing persons if there were any that were still alive.
Wolfpine’s festival would be obvious for a team to come in, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t complete their mission during that time.
Alison picked up the bag of food when it was ready and she and Olivia headed outside.
They walked towards the car when Alison looked up and something drew her eyes across the street.
Samuel’s assistant Jason stood at the crosswalk watching Alison and Olivia. Alison could feel the evil emanating from him as the demon swirled around his chest.
Alison stopped and the two stared at each other for several seconds.
Emma must have called Samuel.
Alison lifted her chin. A low growl came through her mind and the words made her blood run cold but she refused to show fear.
I will take away all that you love, the voice said.
No, you won’t, because I’ll send you back to where you belong first. Give Samuel my regards.
“Alison?” Olivia asked as she tugged at the door handle.
Alison jumped when Olivia spoke and realized she hadn’t unlocked the car door. She turned her gaze back to the street corner and Jason disappeared.
“Let’s go,” Alison said as she pressed the button on the remote and the car door unlocked.
“Is something wrong?” Olivia asked as Alison handed her the food inside the car.
Alison gripped the steering wheel for a second and gathered her thoughts.
She hated those feelings of doom that coursed through her whenever one of those things was around.
“Everything’s fine,” Alison turned to Olivia and tried to smile at her. “I’m starving, aren’t you?”
Olivia narrowed her eyes at Alison in doubt but didn’t ask more questions for which Alison was grateful. She didn’t want to frighten the girl anymore. She’d been through enough. Alison only needed her for one last job and then the girl and her father could live a peaceful life.
“The food smells good,” Olivia commented.
“Yes, it does,” Alison said as she started the car. She turned back to Olivia. “It’s a shame we have to share it with the men.”
Olivia giggled and Alison drove off.
Chapter 45
Miguel leaned over the kitchen table and sipped on some water as Kyle sat across from his friend.
Miguel was still a little green, but he improved because he was keeping the water down.
“Why did Alison have to pick greasy food?” Miguel moaned. “I can’t eat that shit right now.”
“I told her to pick up some salad, too,” Kyle said.
Miguel moaned again and raised his head off the table. “I know that place, and even their fucking salads are greasy.” He sighed. “Man, how are you handling it so well?”
Kyle grabbed a cigarette from his pack and said, “Remember, Olivia wasn’t the only one I tried to help.”
Kyle noticed Simon was gazing out the door. He didn’t know if the dog was missing Alison or needed to go to the bathroom.
Kyle rose from the chair and flinched. The day had been hard on his bruised ribs and he downed more Advil when they arrived back at the house.
“The dog needs a walk. Keep drinking water. There’s more in the fridge,” Kyle said.
Miguel nodded and pulled out his phone t
o check it as Kyle put Simon’s leash on.
“Whatever Alison wants to do I’m game,” Miguel said with a shake of his head. “I never felt fear like that before.” Miguel lowered his head and sighed. “I only hope she went fast and she’s happy up in Heaven.”
